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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Promises, promises – then and now

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  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,205
    Woakes gone is the match. Hopefully Billings can get a richly deserved ton
  • Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,167
    edited September 2020
    FF43 said:

    LadyG said:

    LadyG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    LadyG said:

    Omnium said:

    ydoethur said:

    HYUFD said:

    stodge said:

    Macron who was in the Socialist party is right wing?

    Yeah pull the other one.

    The last polling for the 2022 Presidential election I saw had Macron on 28% leading Le Pen on 25% with Baroin and Melanchon on 12-13%.

    It'll need something remarkable to change this - presumably Macron will run again and if/when it comes to a run off with Marine Le Pen, he will win comfortably.The French centre-right didn't do badly in the recent local elections (nor did the Greens oddly enough) but are making no impression in the Presidential contest.
    Latest French poll for 2022 indeed has Macron 28%, Le Pen 25%, the centre right potential candidates on 6% to 14%, Melenchon on 12% and the Socialist potential candidates on 3% to 5%.

    In the runoff it is Macron 58% Le Pen 42%
    https://harris-interactive.fr/opinion_polls/intentions-de-vote-a-lelection-presidentielle-de-2022-quel-candidat-pour-la-droite-a-2-ans-de-lelection-presidentielle/
    That’s a bit weird, in its own way.

    After all, however you look at his presidency, Macron’s been a complete failure.

    He promised a new politics. He ended up a typical machine politician.

    He promised economic reform. He’s delivered the same old timidity.

    He promised a clean up. His regime is mired in scandals.

    He promised a new deal in Europe. He got Eurobonds in all but name.

    Why would anyone vote to re-elect him? He’s a more articulate version of Johnson or Trump.
    Parallels with Obama.
    To be fair to Macron, his reforms were and are beginning to bear fruit. French universities are improving their global ranking, the number of French start-ups went through the roof about a year ago.

    He's a bit like Boris. Just very very unlucky that he's now encountering a virus that would fuck any leadership, especially one founded on newness, change and hope. Instead they will be known for masks, rules and GDP decline. At least for the next year or two.
    In terms of domestic reform he's been OK. He's been less shit than Sarkozy or Hollande, but I'm not convinced that's that high a bar.

    His response to CV19 has been pretty poor.
    His swanning around the Eastern Med telling Lebanon what to do, and how to solve the Greek-Turkish war, even as his country sinks into the worst 2nd wave in Europe, would especially piss me off, as a voter.

    But I am not French. Maybe they like that,
    Of course they like it. The French delusions about their continued importance are almost on a par with the English.
    Worse, I think. The English can, at least, sit back, kick off their slippers, and say, Well, what the F, we had the biggest empire in the world and now the entire world speaks English, much of it follows English common law, rules, accountancy, banking, and they nearly all play English sports, and the internet is all in English. Basically, England WON.

    The French were about to win, but then they blew it, now almost no one speaks French, few follow Napoleonic law, and France becomes a very beautiful museum. Hence their particular neuroses.
    I don't think it's true that few countries follow Napoleonic law. Almost all countries in Europe and South America do. To the extent "Chinese legal system" is a concept, it's Napoleonic too
    Also, although the relatively recent total dominance of English encourages a sense of English exceptionalism, it's only indirectly due to its originator. It's very much Pax Americana.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    The next Bozo u-turn is on the taxiway:

    Downing Street is facing a mounting backlash from Tory MPs over its new “rule of six” law, including its refusal to follow Scotland and Wales in exempting younger children, amid reports that cabinet ministers were split over the measures.
  • Loving the BBC faithfully hat-tipping the BLM protests in China.

    China doesn't give a shit about black lives. Their views on them would make a southern American redneck blush.

    They are "allowing" it (fostering it) to further stoke wedge issues in the West. Very clever.

    The naive metros at the BBC and CNN are the useful idiots. They're being played like a fiddle.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,719

    Also please dont say that i am the only one who is thinking this. Do you know more than Anders Tegnell?

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/sweden-bucks-trend-in-refusing-to-recommend-masks/

    There is still ongoing debate, and a substantial minority of Swedes want them on public transport, with a majority wanting them mandatory for elderly care:

    https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/aw563L/fler-vill-ha-krav-pa-munskydd-pa-bussen
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,208
    edited September 2020
    FF43 said:

    LadyG said:

    LadyG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    LadyG said:

    Omnium said:

    ydoethur said:

    HYUFD said:

    stodge said:

    Macron who was in the Socialist party is right wing?

    Yeah pull the other one.

    The last polling for the 2022 Presidential election I saw had Macron on 28% leading Le Pen on 25% with Baroin and Melanchon on 12-13%.

    It'll need something remarkable to change this - presumably Macron will run again and if/when it comes to a run off with Marine Le Pen, he will win comfortably.The French centre-right didn't do badly in the recent local elections (nor did the Greens oddly enough) but are making no impression in the Presidential contest.
    Latest French poll for 2022 indeed has Macron 28%, Le Pen 25%, the centre right potential candidates on 6% to 14%, Melenchon on 12% and the Socialist potential candidates on 3% to 5%.

    In the runoff it is Macron 58% Le Pen 42%
    https://harris-interactive.fr/opinion_polls/intentions-de-vote-a-lelection-presidentielle-de-2022-quel-candidat-pour-la-droite-a-2-ans-de-lelection-presidentielle/
    That’s a bit weird, in its own way.

    After all, however you look at his presidency, Macron’s been a complete failure.

    He promised a new politics. He ended up a typical machine politician.

    He promised economic reform. He’s delivered the same old timidity.

    He promised a clean up. His regime is mired in scandals.

    He promised a new deal in Europe. He got Eurobonds in all but name.

    Why would anyone vote to re-elect him? He’s a more articulate version of Johnson or Trump.
    Parallels with Obama.
    To be fair to Macron, his reforms were and are beginning to bear fruit. French universities are improving their global ranking, the number of French start-ups went through the roof about a year ago.

    He's a bit like Boris. Just very very unlucky that he's now encountering a virus that would fuck any leadership, especially one founded on newness, change and hope. Instead they will be known for masks, rules and GDP decline. At least for the next year or two.
    In terms of domestic reform he's been OK. He's been less shit than Sarkozy or Hollande, but I'm not convinced that's that high a bar.

    His response to CV19 has been pretty poor.
    His swanning around the Eastern Med telling Lebanon what to do, and how to solve the Greek-Turkish war, even as his country sinks into the worst 2nd wave in Europe, would especially piss me off, as a voter.

    But I am not French. Maybe they like that,
    Of course they like it. The French delusions about their continued importance are almost on a par with the English.
    Worse, I think. The English can, at least, sit back, kick off their slippers, and say, Well, what the F, we had the biggest empire in the world and now the entire world speaks English, much of it follows English common law, rules, accountancy, banking, and they nearly all play English sports, and the internet is all in English. Basically, England WON.

    The French were about to win, but then they blew it, now almost no one speaks French, few follow Napoleonic law, and France becomes a very beautiful museum. Hence their particular neuroses.
    I don't think it's true that few countries follow Napoleonic law. Almost all countries in Europe and South America do. To the extent "Chinese legal system" is a concept, it's Napoleonic too
    Found this map of legal systems. Cyan is Napoleonic code; imperial pink is common law (suggest India maybe needs to be included)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law#/media/File:Map_of_the_Legal_systems_of_the_world_(en).png
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    IshmaelZ said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Mask wearing Spain new cases today 12183. Non mask wearing Sweden new cases today 201. Who has the best policy ?

    Mask wearing South Korea new cases today 176
    How is that relevant, I am talking about Europe. Has anyone else noticed that when Governments extend forced mask wearing within 2 weeks their cases double. As an example look at France. Governments will require 2 masks to be worn soon. They are like a compulsive gambler following the martingale system. As a gambler runs out of money they will soon run out of areas where masks have to be worn as if they continue with these mad mask wearing policies cases will continue to rise. It will be masks in bed soon!
    I would imagine that forced mask wearing everywhere won't be too long in coming, on the following grounds:

    1. As cases and hospitalisations continue to rise - which the boffins seem to fear is a racing certainty, given the forthcoming arrival of the winter snot-and-coughing season - the Government will panic more and more, and look for further things to do
    2. Business closures won't happen first. I fear that the ultimate destination - at a guess by some point in November - will be Lockdown plus schools, but they won't render the furlough scheme pointless and shove unemployment up to about 12 million until they've run out of other options
    3. Therefore, the initial round of ultimately futile interventions will consist of masks everywhere, no direct social interaction with anybody outside your own household, no weddings, no funerals (bodies will be buried or burnt without ceremony,) but you'll still be allowed to go to the pub to medicate your depression by drinking yourself to death, because the economy
    4. Only when all of the above fails to work will businesses start to be salami sliced and the final collapse initiated

    This may save some some people dying of Covid in the short term, but eventually most of us will be killed by hypothermia, starvation, or from being hunted for food by post-apocalyptic biker gangs.
    You have to understand, though, that @NerysHughes has seen something that no one else has seen.

    Masks cause CV19.

    So, it wasn't Spain opening up its nightclubs, or people heading off from the UK to Covid hotspots for holidays, or any of those things.

    It was masks.

    Wherever you see masks, you see rising cases. Except, of course, the Far East where widespread wearing of masks seems to result in less Covid.

    Liam: I am thinking of buying a dog, Paddy.
    Paddy: And what breed did you have in mind?
    Liam: Well, maybe a labrador.
    Paddy: A dangerous breed, man! Have you not noticed how many of their owners go blind?
    I dont think masks cause the increases in cases by themselves. They probably add 5-10% extra protection. It is obvious that if you sneeze with a mask on you will spray less. What is causing the increase in cases is peoples behaviour when wearing masks. They think they are invincible. The experience of a supermarket now is radically different to June. We need to take the masks off and go back to being wary of other people. That worked. Wearing masks reduces social distancing so any extra protection they have provided is negated by a higher percentage than they provide. That is why there is an increase in cases. It really is simple. All the real world evidence in Europe shows this is happening. Fortunately we have Sweden where mask wearing is not required and their cases are reducing.

    I remember arguing on here back in April and May that the lockdown was pointless. I was ridiculed for it. Now Carl Heneghan has also stated this.

    I have no doubt that by Christmas top scientists will be agreeing with me.

    Also remember no one believed me when I said that hospitals were empty in May. Tyson said I was spreading fake news.
    True, about what you said in May.

    Otherwise highly doubtful about the masks make people reckless theory. In my case they act as a reminder that covid is a thing and that I must socially distance etc. I haven't observed different behaviour in supermarkets since June. The recklessness effect would have to be large to overcome both the countervailing cautiousness effect (in people like me) and the undisputed protection provided by masks. And and and (killer point) you have a confounder in that all the people who (on your hypothesis) are behaving recklessly with masks when they weren't before are also people who have lived with covid for 6 months without dying of it. You can't stay scared indefinitely. So increases can be attributed to boredom rather than mask-complacency. You need to compare mask vs no mask jurisdictions and that doesn't really work either because if infection rates are low anyway, everyone accepts that masks won't reduce them much.
  • rcs1000 said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Mask wearing Spain new cases today 12183. Non mask wearing Sweden new cases today 201. Who has the best policy ?

    Mask wearing South Korea new cases today 176
    How is that relevant, I am talking about Europe. Has anyone else noticed that when Governments extend forced mask wearing within 2 weeks their cases double. As an example look at France. Governments will require 2 masks to be worn soon. They are like a compulsive gambler following the martingale system. As a gambler runs out of money they will soon run out of areas where masks have to be worn as if they continue with these mad mask wearing policies cases will continue to rise. It will be masks in bed soon!
    I would imagine that forced mask wearing everywhere won't be too long in coming, on the following grounds:

    1. As cases and hospitalisations continue to rise - which the boffins seem to fear is a racing certainty, given the forthcoming arrival of the winter snot-and-coughing season - the Government will panic more and more, and look for further things to do
    2. Business closures won't happen first. I fear that the ultimate destination - at a guess by some point in November - will be Lockdown plus schools, but they won't render the furlough scheme pointless and shove unemployment up to about 12 million until they've run out of other options
    3. Therefore, the initial round of ultimately futile interventions will consist of masks everywhere, no direct social interaction with anybody outside your own household, no weddings, no funerals (bodies will be buried or burnt without ceremony,) but you'll still be allowed to go to the pub to medicate your depression by drinking yourself to death, because the economy
    4. Only when all of the above fails to work will businesses start to be salami sliced and the final collapse initiated

    This may save some some people dying of Covid in the short term, but eventually most of us will be killed by hypothermia, starvation, or from being hunted for food by post-apocalyptic biker gangs.
    You have to understand, though, that @NerysHughes has seen something that no one else has seen.

    Masks cause CV19.

    So, it wasn't Spain opening up its nightclubs, or people heading off from the UK to Covid hotspots for holidays, or any of those things.

    It was masks.

    Wherever you see masks, you see rising cases. Except, of course, the Far East where widespread wearing of masks seems to result in less Covid.

    Liam: I am thinking of buying a dog, Paddy.
    Paddy: And what breed did you have in mind?
    Liam: Well, maybe a labrador.
    Paddy: A dangerous breed, man! Have you not noticed how many of their owners go blind?
    I dont think masks cause the increases in cases by themselves. They probably add 5-10% extra protection. It is obvious that if you sneeze with a mask on you will spray less. What is causing the increase in cases is peoples behaviour when wearing masks. They think they are invincible. The experience of a supermarket now is radically different to June. We need to take the masks off and go back to being wary of other people. That worked. Wearing masks reduces social distancing so any extra protection they have provided is negated by a higher percentage than they provide. That is why there is an increase in cases. It really is simple. All the real world evidence in Europe shows this is happening. Fortunately we have Sweden where mask wearing is not required and their cases are reducing.

    I remember arguing on here back in April and May that the lockdown was pointless. I was ridiculed for it. Now Carl Heneghan has also stated this.

    I have no doubt that by Christmas top scientists will be agreeing with me.

    Also remember no one believed me when I said that hospitals were empty in May. Tyson said I was spreading fake news.
    If you don't think masks increase cases by themselves, why did you bet me that they did?
    I have been consistent throughout that enforced mask wearing in public will cause the increase in cases. If you wore a mask and stayed 40 metres from anyone then clearly the mask will not cause you to get Covid. Its how you behave when you wear the mask.

    One bet was that enforced mask wearing will cause cases to rise.

    The other bet was that mask wearing will not reduce cases i.e. make no difference to lowering infection rates.

    I really fail to see how I will not win both bets.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,167
    edited September 2020
    FF43 said:

    FF43 said:

    LadyG said:

    LadyG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    LadyG said:

    Omnium said:

    ydoethur said:

    HYUFD said:

    stodge said:

    Macron who was in the Socialist party is right wing?

    Yeah pull the other one.

    The last polling for the 2022 Presidential election I saw had Macron on 28% leading Le Pen on 25% with Baroin and Melanchon on 12-13%.

    It'll need something remarkable to change this - presumably Macron will run again and if/when it comes to a run off with Marine Le Pen, he will win comfortably.The French centre-right didn't do badly in the recent local elections (nor did the Greens oddly enough) but are making no impression in the Presidential contest.
    Latest French poll for 2022 indeed has Macron 28%, Le Pen 25%, the centre right potential candidates on 6% to 14%, Melenchon on 12% and the Socialist potential candidates on 3% to 5%.

    In the runoff it is Macron 58% Le Pen 42%
    https://harris-interactive.fr/opinion_polls/intentions-de-vote-a-lelection-presidentielle-de-2022-quel-candidat-pour-la-droite-a-2-ans-de-lelection-presidentielle/
    That’s a bit weird, in its own way.

    After all, however you look at his presidency, Macron’s been a complete failure.

    He promised a new politics. He ended up a typical machine politician.

    He promised economic reform. He’s delivered the same old timidity.

    He promised a clean up. His regime is mired in scandals.

    He promised a new deal in Europe. He got Eurobonds in all but name.

    Why would anyone vote to re-elect him? He’s a more articulate version of Johnson or Trump.
    Parallels with Obama.
    To be fair to Macron, his reforms were and are beginning to bear fruit. French universities are improving their global ranking, the number of French start-ups went through the roof about a year ago.

    He's a bit like Boris. Just very very unlucky that he's now encountering a virus that would fuck any leadership, especially one founded on newness, change and hope. Instead they will be known for masks, rules and GDP decline. At least for the next year or two.
    In terms of domestic reform he's been OK. He's been less shit than Sarkozy or Hollande, but I'm not convinced that's that high a bar.

    His response to CV19 has been pretty poor.
    His swanning around the Eastern Med telling Lebanon what to do, and how to solve the Greek-Turkish war, even as his country sinks into the worst 2nd wave in Europe, would especially piss me off, as a voter.

    But I am not French. Maybe they like that,
    Of course they like it. The French delusions about their continued importance are almost on a par with the English.
    Worse, I think. The English can, at least, sit back, kick off their slippers, and say, Well, what the F, we had the biggest empire in the world and now the entire world speaks English, much of it follows English common law, rules, accountancy, banking, and they nearly all play English sports, and the internet is all in English. Basically, England WON.

    The French were about to win, but then they blew it, now almost no one speaks French, few follow Napoleonic law, and France becomes a very beautiful museum. Hence their particular neuroses.
    I don't think it's true that few countries follow Napoleonic law. Almost all countries in Europe and South America do. To the extent "Chinese legal system" is a concept, it's Napoleonic too
    Found this map of legal systems. Cyan is Napoleonic code; imperial pink is common law (suggest India maybe needs to be included)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law#/media/File:Map_of_the_Legal_systems_of_the_world_(en).png
    Cyprus is strikingly an island of pink amongst a continent-spanning sea of blue, there.
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 4,681
    Foxy said:



    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I once had a pizza in Swaziland, cooked by a chef who had only ever seen a picture, didn't know what ingredients to use and didn't have half of the ones he needed*. It was nearly inedible, but still better than the pasta that Fox jr was eating. Of course, being English, we were polite and made an effort to eat it.

    * One of the few ingredients that he had which he recognised and had was pineapple, PB regulars will be appalled/delighted to know.
    I'm intrigued to know what they did put in it.

    If it had pineapple, though, there was at least something worth eating.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,315

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    FF43 said:

    FF43 said:

    LadyG said:

    LadyG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    LadyG said:

    Omnium said:

    ydoethur said:

    HYUFD said:

    stodge said:

    Macron who was in the Socialist party is right wing?

    Yeah pull the other one.

    The last polling for the 2022 Presidential election I saw had Macron on 28% leading Le Pen on 25% with Baroin and Melanchon on 12-13%.

    It'll need something remarkable to change this - presumably Macron will run again and if/when it comes to a run off with Marine Le Pen, he will win comfortably.The French centre-right didn't do badly in the recent local elections (nor did the Greens oddly enough) but are making no impression in the Presidential contest.
    Latest French poll for 2022 indeed has Macron 28%, Le Pen 25%, the centre right potential candidates on 6% to 14%, Melenchon on 12% and the Socialist potential candidates on 3% to 5%.

    In the runoff it is Macron 58% Le Pen 42%
    https://harris-interactive.fr/opinion_polls/intentions-de-vote-a-lelection-presidentielle-de-2022-quel-candidat-pour-la-droite-a-2-ans-de-lelection-presidentielle/
    That’s a bit weird, in its own way.

    After all, however you look at his presidency, Macron’s been a complete failure.

    He promised a new politics. He ended up a typical machine politician.

    He promised economic reform. He’s delivered the same old timidity.

    He promised a clean up. His regime is mired in scandals.

    He promised a new deal in Europe. He got Eurobonds in all but name.

    Why would anyone vote to re-elect him? He’s a more articulate version of Johnson or Trump.
    Parallels with Obama.
    To be fair to Macron, his reforms were and are beginning to bear fruit. French universities are improving their global ranking, the number of French start-ups went through the roof about a year ago.

    He's a bit like Boris. Just very very unlucky that he's now encountering a virus that would fuck any leadership, especially one founded on newness, change and hope. Instead they will be known for masks, rules and GDP decline. At least for the next year or two.
    In terms of domestic reform he's been OK. He's been less shit than Sarkozy or Hollande, but I'm not convinced that's that high a bar.

    His response to CV19 has been pretty poor.
    His swanning around the Eastern Med telling Lebanon what to do, and how to solve the Greek-Turkish war, even as his country sinks into the worst 2nd wave in Europe, would especially piss me off, as a voter.

    But I am not French. Maybe they like that,
    Of course they like it. The French delusions about their continued importance are almost on a par with the English.
    Worse, I think. The English can, at least, sit back, kick off their slippers, and say, Well, what the F, we had the biggest empire in the world and now the entire world speaks English, much of it follows English common law, rules, accountancy, banking, and they nearly all play English sports, and the internet is all in English. Basically, England WON.

    The French were about to win, but then they blew it, now almost no one speaks French, few follow Napoleonic law, and France becomes a very beautiful museum. Hence their particular neuroses.
    I don't think it's true that few countries follow Napoleonic law. Almost all countries in Europe and South America do. To the extent "Chinese legal system" is a concept, it's Napoleonic too
    Found this map of legal systems. Cyan is Napoleonic code; imperial pink is common law (suggest India maybe needs to be included)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law#/media/File:Map_of_the_Legal_systems_of_the_world_(en).png
    WRONG

    Cyan is civil (Roman) law, of which Napoleonic is one of six subsets (and rather a small one). Look at the letters not the colours.
  • Loving the BBC faithfully hat-tipping the BLM protests in China.

    China doesn't give a shit about black lives. Their views on them would make a southern American redneck blush.

    They are "allowing" it (fostering it) to further stoke wedge issues in the West. Very clever.

    The naive metros at the BBC and CNN are the useful idiots. They're being played like a fiddle.

    The time has come for the BBC's power to be severely culled. No longer may they be allowed to set the agenda for what masses of people read whilst having to pay to read it. The BBC is squeezing new suppliers of information and programmes to death. Time for the telly tax to go. If I want the BBC , I'll pay for it, if not I don't have to.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    rcs1000 said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Mask wearing Spain new cases today 12183. Non mask wearing Sweden new cases today 201. Who has the best policy ?

    Mask wearing South Korea new cases today 176
    How is that relevant, I am talking about Europe. Has anyone else noticed that when Governments extend forced mask wearing within 2 weeks their cases double. As an example look at France. Governments will require 2 masks to be worn soon. They are like a compulsive gambler following the martingale system. As a gambler runs out of money they will soon run out of areas where masks have to be worn as if they continue with these mad mask wearing policies cases will continue to rise. It will be masks in bed soon!
    I would imagine that forced mask wearing everywhere won't be too long in coming, on the following grounds:

    1. As cases and hospitalisations continue to rise - which the boffins seem to fear is a racing certainty, given the forthcoming arrival of the winter snot-and-coughing season - the Government will panic more and more, and look for further things to do
    2. Business closures won't happen first. I fear that the ultimate destination - at a guess by some point in November - will be Lockdown plus schools, but they won't render the furlough scheme pointless and shove unemployment up to about 12 million until they've run out of other options
    3. Therefore, the initial round of ultimately futile interventions will consist of masks everywhere, no direct social interaction with anybody outside your own household, no weddings, no funerals (bodies will be buried or burnt without ceremony,) but you'll still be allowed to go to the pub to medicate your depression by drinking yourself to death, because the economy
    4. Only when all of the above fails to work will businesses start to be salami sliced and the final collapse initiated

    This may save some some people dying of Covid in the short term, but eventually most of us will be killed by hypothermia, starvation, or from being hunted for food by post-apocalyptic biker gangs.
    You have to understand, though, that @NerysHughes has seen something that no one else has seen.

    Masks cause CV19.

    So, it wasn't Spain opening up its nightclubs, or people heading off from the UK to Covid hotspots for holidays, or any of those things.

    It was masks.

    Wherever you see masks, you see rising cases. Except, of course, the Far East where widespread wearing of masks seems to result in less Covid.

    Liam: I am thinking of buying a dog, Paddy.
    Paddy: And what breed did you have in mind?
    Liam: Well, maybe a labrador.
    Paddy: A dangerous breed, man! Have you not noticed how many of their owners go blind?
    I dont think masks cause the increases in cases by themselves. They probably add 5-10% extra protection. It is obvious that if you sneeze with a mask on you will spray less. What is causing the increase in cases is peoples behaviour when wearing masks. They think they are invincible. The experience of a supermarket now is radically different to June. We need to take the masks off and go back to being wary of other people. That worked. Wearing masks reduces social distancing so any extra protection they have provided is negated by a higher percentage than they provide. That is why there is an increase in cases. It really is simple. All the real world evidence in Europe shows this is happening. Fortunately we have Sweden where mask wearing is not required and their cases are reducing.

    I remember arguing on here back in April and May that the lockdown was pointless. I was ridiculed for it. Now Carl Heneghan has also stated this.

    I have no doubt that by Christmas top scientists will be agreeing with me.

    Also remember no one believed me when I said that hospitals were empty in May. Tyson said I was spreading fake news.
    If you don't think masks increase cases by themselves, why did you bet me that they did?
    I have been consistent throughout that enforced mask wearing in public will cause the increase in cases. If you wore a mask and stayed 40 metres from anyone then clearly the mask will not cause you to get Covid. Its how you behave when you wear the mask.

    One bet was that enforced mask wearing will cause cases to rise.

    The other bet was that mask wearing will not reduce cases i.e. make no difference to lowering infection rates.

    I really fail to see how I will not win both bets.
    Confounders.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,167
    edited September 2020

    Loving the BBC faithfully hat-tipping the BLM protests in China.

    China doesn't give a shit about black lives. Their views on them would make a southern American redneck blush.

    They are "allowing" it (fostering it) to further stoke wedge issues in the West. Very clever.

    The naive metros at the BBC and CNN are the useful idiots. They're being played like a fiddle.

    The time has come for the BBC's power to be severely culled. No longer may they be allowed to set the agenda for what masses of people read whilst having to pay to read it. The BBC is squeezing new suppliers of information and programmes to death. Time for the telly tax to go. If I want the BBC , I'll pay for it, if not I don't have to.
    This reminds me of the impetus for 'reform' and the Broadcasting Act in 1990 from the Tory party, as well as the installation of Birt.

    I'm afraid the result was just hugely dumbed-down British broadcasting, not great swashbuckling independence.
  • Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Most voters wont ever hear about the detail, so he can simply say the EU was being unreasonable and most Bluekip voters will be satisfied. Some wont, but 2024 is a long way away and gives them a chance to win them back.

    If they lose the Bluekip voters it will because the economy collapses from Brexit, not the legalities or morals of it.
  • LadyGLadyG Posts: 2,221
    IshmaelZ said:

    FF43 said:

    FF43 said:

    LadyG said:

    LadyG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    LadyG said:

    Omnium said:

    ydoethur said:

    HYUFD said:

    stodge said:

    Macron who was in the Socialist party is right wing?

    Yeah pull the other one.

    The last polling for the 2022 Presidential election I saw had Macron on 28% leading Le Pen on 25% with Baroin and Melanchon on 12-13%.

    It'll need something remarkable to change this - presumably Macron will run again and if/when it comes to a run off with Marine Le Pen, he will win comfortably.The French centre-right didn't do badly in the recent local elections (nor did the Greens oddly enough) but are making no impression in the Presidential contest.
    Latest French poll for 2022 indeed has Macron 28%, Le Pen 25%, the centre right potential candidates on 6% to 14%, Melenchon on 12% and the Socialist potential candidates on 3% to 5%.

    In the runoff it is Macron 58% Le Pen 42%
    https://harris-interactive.fr/opinion_polls/intentions-de-vote-a-lelection-presidentielle-de-2022-quel-candidat-pour-la-droite-a-2-ans-de-lelection-presidentielle/
    That’s a bit weird, in its own way.

    After all, however you look at his presidency, Macron’s been a complete failure.

    He promised a new politics. He ended up a typical machine politician.

    He promised economic reform. He’s delivered the same old timidity.

    He promised a clean up. His regime is mired in scandals.

    He promised a new deal in Europe. He got Eurobonds in all but name.

    Why would anyone vote to re-elect him? He’s a more articulate version of Johnson or Trump.
    Parallels with Obama.
    To be fair to Macron, his reforms were and are beginning to bear fruit. French universities are improving their global ranking, the number of French start-ups went through the roof about a year ago.

    He's a bit like Boris. Just very very unlucky that he's now encountering a virus that would fuck any leadership, especially one founded on newness, change and hope. Instead they will be known for masks, rules and GDP decline. At least for the next year or two.
    In terms of domestic reform he's been OK. He's been less shit than Sarkozy or Hollande, but I'm not convinced that's that high a bar.

    His response to CV19 has been pretty poor.
    His swanning around the Eastern Med telling Lebanon what to do, and how to solve the Greek-Turkish war, even as his country sinks into the worst 2nd wave in Europe, would especially piss me off, as a voter.

    But I am not French. Maybe they like that,
    Of course they like it. The French delusions about their continued importance are almost on a par with the English.
    Worse, I think. The English can, at least, sit back, kick off their slippers, and say, Well, what the F, we had the biggest empire in the world and now the entire world speaks English, much of it follows English common law, rules, accountancy, banking, and they nearly all play English sports, and the internet is all in English. Basically, England WON.

    The French were about to win, but then they blew it, now almost no one speaks French, few follow Napoleonic law, and France becomes a very beautiful museum. Hence their particular neuroses.
    I don't think it's true that few countries follow Napoleonic law. Almost all countries in Europe and South America do. To the extent "Chinese legal system" is a concept, it's Napoleonic too
    Found this map of legal systems. Cyan is Napoleonic code; imperial pink is common law (suggest India maybe needs to be included)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law#/media/File:Map_of_the_Legal_systems_of_the_world_(en).png
    WRONG

    Cyan is civil (Roman) law, of which Napoleonic is one of six subsets (and rather a small one). Look at the letters not the colours.
    Yes, the map is nonsense
  • Foxy said:

    Also please dont say that i am the only one who is thinking this. Do you know more than Anders Tegnell?

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/sweden-bucks-trend-in-refusing-to-recommend-masks/

    There is still ongoing debate, and a substantial minority of Swedes want them on public transport, with a majority wanting them mandatory for elderly care:

    https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/aw563L/fler-vill-ha-krav-pa-munskydd-pa-bussen
    There may be an ongoing debate but the evidence of their case numbers must surely show that the no mask policy is working?
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
  • Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    If No Deal happens and, as expectedly goes very badly, they'll need to be a lot of explaining as to how Johnson has gone from having an oven ready fantastic deal to economic disaster in 12 months.

    And there's an additional problem that many people thought that the Withdrawal Agreement was THE deal. Bit of a problem if it is seen that it is the UK that has walked away from it...
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,885

    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I was organising a conference in Edinburgh once. I still remember hearing how one of the Italian students had gone into a fish and chips place, pointed at the pizza in the warming cabinet, and watched astounded as it was folded in half, dipped in batter,and plunged into boiling oil ...
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,208
    edited September 2020
    IshmaelZ said:

    FF43 said:

    FF43 said:

    LadyG said:

    LadyG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    LadyG said:

    Omnium said:

    ydoethur said:

    HYUFD said:

    stodge said:

    Macron who was in the Socialist party is right wing?

    Yeah pull the other one.

    The last polling for the 2022 Presidential election I saw had Macron on 28% leading Le Pen on 25% with Baroin and Melanchon on 12-13%.

    It'll need something remarkable to change this - presumably Macron will run again and if/when it comes to a run off with Marine Le Pen, he will win comfortably.The French centre-right didn't do badly in the recent local elections (nor did the Greens oddly enough) but are making no impression in the Presidential contest.
    Latest French poll for 2022 indeed has Macron 28%, Le Pen 25%, the centre right potential candidates on 6% to 14%, Melenchon on 12% and the Socialist potential candidates on 3% to 5%.

    In the runoff it is Macron 58% Le Pen 42%
    https://harris-interactive.fr/opinion_polls/intentions-de-vote-a-lelection-presidentielle-de-2022-quel-candidat-pour-la-droite-a-2-ans-de-lelection-presidentielle/
    That’s a bit weird, in its own way.

    After all, however you look at his presidency, Macron’s been a complete failure.

    He promised a new politics. He ended up a typical machine politician.

    He promised economic reform. He’s delivered the same old timidity.

    He promised a clean up. His regime is mired in scandals.

    He promised a new deal in Europe. He got Eurobonds in all but name.

    Why would anyone vote to re-elect him? He’s a more articulate version of Johnson or Trump.
    Parallels with Obama.
    To be fair to Macron, his reforms were and are beginning to bear fruit. French universities are improving their global ranking, the number of French start-ups went through the roof about a year ago.

    He's a bit like Boris. Just very very unlucky that he's now encountering a virus that would fuck any leadership, especially one founded on newness, change and hope. Instead they will be known for masks, rules and GDP decline. At least for the next year or two.
    In terms of domestic reform he's been OK. He's been less shit than Sarkozy or Hollande, but I'm not convinced that's that high a bar.

    His response to CV19 has been pretty poor.
    His swanning around the Eastern Med telling Lebanon what to do, and how to solve the Greek-Turkish war, even as his country sinks into the worst 2nd wave in Europe, would especially piss me off, as a voter.

    But I am not French. Maybe they like that,
    Of course they like it. The French delusions about their continued importance are almost on a par with the English.
    Worse, I think. The English can, at least, sit back, kick off their slippers, and say, Well, what the F, we had the biggest empire in the world and now the entire world speaks English, much of it follows English common law, rules, accountancy, banking, and they nearly all play English sports, and the internet is all in English. Basically, England WON.

    The French were about to win, but then they blew it, now almost no one speaks French, few follow Napoleonic law, and France becomes a very beautiful museum. Hence their particular neuroses.
    I don't think it's true that few countries follow Napoleonic law. Almost all countries in Europe and South America do. To the extent "Chinese legal system" is a concept, it's Napoleonic too
    Found this map of legal systems. Cyan is Napoleonic code; imperial pink is common law (suggest India maybe needs to be included)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law#/media/File:Map_of_the_Legal_systems_of_the_world_(en).png
    WRONG

    Cyan is civil (Roman) law, of which Napoleonic is one of six subsets (and rather a small one). Look at the letters not the colours.
    WRONG (ish ???) Germany is marked with a G but definitely follows the Napoleonic code (not claiming the German or indeed the French legal code has not changed at all since 1815) As does Italy (NG) and the Netherlands (M) from my knowledge.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,719

    Foxy said:

    Also please dont say that i am the only one who is thinking this. Do you know more than Anders Tegnell?

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/sweden-bucks-trend-in-refusing-to-recommend-masks/

    There is still ongoing debate, and a substantial minority of Swedes want them on public transport, with a majority wanting them mandatory for elderly care:

    https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/aw563L/fler-vill-ha-krav-pa-munskydd-pa-bussen
    There may be an ongoing debate but the evidence of their case numbers must surely show that the no mask policy is working?
    Well, let's see. It looks to me that we are all on the same rollercoaster*, just not at the same point.

    * Mayle not East Asia.
  • TresTres Posts: 2,702
    Cyclefree said:

    I've seen reports the EU are threatening now to block food exports by not listing us as a safe country to export to them.

    If they do we should repeal the Withdrawal Agreement completely and stop all money payments to them from that. The billions we agreed to pay were to be paid out over years weren't they?

    As usual you don’t understand what No Deal means. If there is No Deal Britain becomes a third party as far as the EU is concerned. Therefore exports can only get into the EU if they comply with the EU’s rules and requirements. If they don’t, they don’t get in. Just the same as any other third country would be treated.
    Tres said:

    Sir Bob O'Neill?

    Chair of the Justice Select Committee.
    There's no O'. It's just Sir Bob Neill.
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    Alistair said:
    Can't access it - what does it say?
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,413
    eek said:
    So. A bit of boosterism? No questions.
    How very Johnsonian.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Foxy said:

    Also please dont say that i am the only one who is thinking this. Do you know more than Anders Tegnell?

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/sweden-bucks-trend-in-refusing-to-recommend-masks/

    There is still ongoing debate, and a substantial minority of Swedes want them on public transport, with a majority wanting them mandatory for elderly care:

    https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/aw563L/fler-vill-ha-krav-pa-munskydd-pa-bussen
    There may be an ongoing debate but the evidence of their case numbers must surely show that the no mask policy is working?
    Or that it makes no difference at all because it is correlated with but not causally affecting case numbers, or that it is highly damaging and causes the case numbers (even if they are low in absolute terms) to be 10 x what they would be if people wore masks. You can't tell.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,210
    @NerysHughes - you might want to check the exact text of the bet. It had nothing to do with case numbers (which I have been forecasting to rise for some time) but on the settle scientific consensus post the CV19 outbreak being over.

    Given that since our bet, there have been a number of academic studies that back up my view, and exactly oohhhh... none... supporting yours.
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
  • dixiedean said:

    eek said:
    So. A bit of boosterism? No questions.
    How very Johnsonian.
    Everything is 'fantastic' to this charlatan.
  • It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,210

    Foxy said:

    Also please dont say that i am the only one who is thinking this. Do you know more than Anders Tegnell?

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/sweden-bucks-trend-in-refusing-to-recommend-masks/

    There is still ongoing debate, and a substantial minority of Swedes want them on public transport, with a majority wanting them mandatory for elderly care:

    https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/aw563L/fler-vill-ha-krav-pa-munskydd-pa-bussen
    There may be an ongoing debate but the evidence of their case numbers must surely show that the no mask policy is working?
    Correlation != causation.
  • nico679 said:

    Johnson is now going back to his divisive playbook . Just when the country might have been moving on from the divisions of the last 4 years. His comments tonight are just the beginning and I expect will only get worse.

    The Inner Clique's mission of "Creative Destruction" is underway - finding creative ways to destroy the UK.

    They are succeeding admirably.
  • TomsToms Posts: 2,478
    Foxy said:



    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I once had a pizza in Swaziland, cooked by a chef who had only ever seen a picture, didn't know what ingredients to use and didn't have half of the ones he needed*. It was nearly inedible, but still better than the pasta that Fox jr was eating. Of course, being English, we were polite and made an effort to eat it.

    * One of the few ingredients that he had which he recognised and had was pineapple, PB regulars will be appalled/delighted to know.
    Once I had a "Bakewell Tart" in Bakewell. It was some kinda custardy creation and no wheres as good as the bakewell tarts I've had elsewhere.
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 4,681
    edited September 2020
    Carnyx said:

    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I was organising a conference in Edinburgh once. I still remember hearing how one of the Italian students had gone into a fish and chips place, pointed at the pizza in the warming cabinet, and watched astounded as it was folded in half, dipped in batter,and plunged into boiling oil ...
    The thing that I don't get is that the existence of such an option must mean some people actually order deep fried pizza deliberately. Who are they?

    I mean, you could actually justify a deep frying a Mars Bar just for the lolz, but pizza?

    Did the student manage to survive without PTSD?
  • Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
    When you are compelled to cite the actions of Gordon Fucking Brown in defense of your Fearless Leader, the hollowness of your "argument" rings louder and clearer than Big Ben,
  • It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    Perhaps no one is mad enough to work for the delusional w**k*rs in Downing St.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,405

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    There are a lot easier ways to earn far more money with the skill set required
  • ... the hollowness of your "argument" rings louder and clearer than Big Ben,

    Just to be clear (and pedantic - this is PB), everything rings louder and clearer than Big Ben at the moment because it is in pieces for restoration work, back in 2021.

    ;)
  • glwglw Posts: 9,908

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,885
    edited September 2020

    Carnyx said:

    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I was organising a conference in Edinburgh once. I still remember hearing how one of the Italian students had gone into a fish and chips place, pointed at the pizza in the warming cabinet, and watched astounded as it was folded in half, dipped in batter,and plunged into boiling oil ...
    The thing that I don't get is that the existence of such an option must mean some people actually order deep fried pizza deliberately. Who are they?

    Did the student manage to survive without PTSD?





    The locals. The local version of calzone, to be fair. (But the Mars Bar option is a tourist thing, like tourist tat art in innumerable locations worldwide.)

    Edit: they deep fry Scotch Pies [mutton pies in water crust pastry] to warm them up. Ditto white pudding, black pudding, etc.

    The student evidently found it a memorable experience, but I hope it was not quite as bad as PTSD,
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    Perhaps no one is mad enough to work for the delusional w**k*rs in Downing St.
    Well, some people have to.

    But they obviously find it exasperating...

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/24/can-you-imagine-having-to-work-with-these-truth-twisters
  • glw said:

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
    Average silicon valley dev salary at one of the big boys isnt far short of it, let alone a real expert with experience.
  • dixiedean said:

    eek said:
    So. A bit of boosterism? No questions.
    How very Johnsonian.
    Everything is 'fantastic' to this charlatan.
    The original deal that he is now disparaging was "fantastic". No wonder he did not allow questions... I can guess what the first one might have been.
  • Editor of Conservative Women calls for mass civil disobedience over the new covid rule of six:

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/covid-has-hancock-gone-too-far-this-time-you-vote/
  • dixiedean said:

    eek said:
    So. A bit of boosterism? No questions.
    How very Johnsonian.
    Everything is 'fantastic' to this charlatan.
    The original deal that he is now disparaging was "fantastic". No wonder he did not allow questions... I can guess what the first one might have been.
    When are you going?
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,413
    glw said:

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
    And they won't have Dom interfering either.
  • Toms said:

    Foxy said:



    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I once had a pizza in Swaziland, cooked by a chef who had only ever seen a picture, didn't know what ingredients to use and didn't have half of the ones he needed*. It was nearly inedible, but still better than the pasta that Fox jr was eating. Of course, being English, we were polite and made an effort to eat it.

    * One of the few ingredients that he had which he recognised and had was pineapple, PB regulars will be appalled/delighted to know.
    Once I had a "Bakewell Tart" in Bakewell. It was some kinda custardy creation and no wheres as good as the bakewell tarts I've had elsewhere.
    I've had some bloody awful Indian food in India. Bone curry, anyone?
  • glw said:

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
    Average silicon valley dev salary at one of the big boys isnt far short of it, let alone a real expert with experience.
    I think there may be another reason that no sentient technologist would touch this with a bargepole.

  • felixfelix Posts: 15,164
    nichomar said:

    RobD said:

    nichomar said:

    dixiedean said:

    MaxPB said:

    kamski said:

    MaxPB said:

    In per capita terms France is seeing almost double the number of new cases per day vs the US and with a much, much less rigorous testing regime with far fewer tests per day per capita. Where is the media outrage at Macron for fucking it up so badly, why wasn't the French government prepared for the second wave, what steps are they taking to get to 1m tests per day, what policies does France have wrt schools, universities and socialising? I know about ours, of course but I also know about most of the US just from reading our own media.

    There is a serious lack of scrutiny of left wing government responses to the virus, apparently cuddly lefties can't be bad at these things, only baby eating right wingers are evil and let everyone die of it.

    Weirdly the same lack of outrage of Macron buddying up to Trump even more than Boris, rolling out the biggest of big red carpets....When he does it, it is all about international diplomacy, when Boris does it, it is because he loves everything about the Donald.
    There is just zero coverage of French politics compared to US politics full stop.

    People here know about also rans (barely-rans more like) in the contest to become the opposition party presidential candidate for an election months away, but who is the current French prime minister?
    No one cares who the French PM is, it's like asking who the senate leader is in the US. Everyone knows Macron and the excuses that the British media don't have any French speakers is laughable. The fact of the matter is that the media outrage will never exist for virtuous nations, it will only be for evil ones like the UK (and US) despite France and Macron having as crap a time of it as the UK and Boris.
    So you're outraged that the UK media is more outraged about the pandemic in the UK than in France?
    I'm bloody furious we don't get 25 minutes a day on Ecuador.
    You should - Ecuador (and Brazil) are likely to overtake our death rate per capita within days. Chile and Bolivia have already done so within the last 24 hours.
    Oh good let’s have a few third world countries go out of control so we can drop down the league table, sick
    So OK to say the UK is worst in the world/europe, but not okay to say the same of other countries?
    I just think it’s sick to make it appear like a contest.
    Then you won't like reading the many commenters on here who do it on a daily basis. I suspect we even have thread headers who do it though I've long since stopped reading them.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868

    Carnyx said:

    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I was organising a conference in Edinburgh once. I still remember hearing how one of the Italian students had gone into a fish and chips place, pointed at the pizza in the warming cabinet, and watched astounded as it was folded in half, dipped in batter,and plunged into boiling oil ...
    The thing that I don't get is that the existence of such an option must mean some people actually order deep fried pizza deliberately. Who are they?

    I mean, you could actually justify a deep frying a Mars Bar just for the lolz, but pizza?

    Did the student manage to survive without PTSD?
    Is Pizza Totally Spoiled Disease a thing?
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
    When you are compelled to cite the actions of Gordon Fucking Brown in defense of your Fearless Leader, the hollowness of your "argument" rings louder and clearer than Big Ben,
    Well, Gordon ****** Brown's dishonesty in refusing the referendum and arguing in court that his own manifesto promises were worthless have rather set the stage for the present spectacle, have they not? While Boris' critics pretend that before him, no PM ever told a lie, no way...
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,247
    Toms said:

    Foxy said:



    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I once had a pizza in Swaziland, cooked by a chef who had only ever seen a picture, didn't know what ingredients to use and didn't have half of the ones he needed*. It was nearly inedible, but still better than the pasta that Fox jr was eating. Of course, being English, we were polite and made an effort to eat it.

    * One of the few ingredients that he had which he recognised and had was pineapple, PB regulars will be appalled/delighted to know.
    Once I had a "Bakewell Tart" in Bakewell. It was some kinda custardy creation and no wheres as good as the bakewell tarts I've had elsewhere.
    You seem to be confused between Bakewell Tarts and Bakewell Puddings.

    Foreigners :-) .
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381
    alex_ said:
    John Fogerty could well have been writing about Trump. I can't work out whether Trump using the song is beyond parody or Trump trolling his voters.
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    edited September 2020
    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Most voters wont ever hear about the detail, so he can simply say the EU was being unreasonable and most Bluekip voters will be satisfied. Some wont, but 2024 is a long way away and gives them a chance to win them back.

    If they lose the Bluekip voters it will because the economy collapses from Brexit, not the legalities or morals of it.
    Yes. Both he and his voters will rationalise away his broken promises and them not caring about it.
    eek said:
    Poor Boris: too scared to take questions from even his own own MPs.

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
    Oh goodie: another rationalisation. Keep ‘em coming!
    The idea that a lawyer can criticize anyone else for employing rationalizations is pretty comical, to be honest. I'm sure the list of your own would fill quite the tome.
  • TomsToms Posts: 2,478
    MattW said:

    Toms said:

    Foxy said:



    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I once had a pizza in Swaziland, cooked by a chef who had only ever seen a picture, didn't know what ingredients to use and didn't have half of the ones he needed*. It was nearly inedible, but still better than the pasta that Fox jr was eating. Of course, being English, we were polite and made an effort to eat it.

    * One of the few ingredients that he had which he recognised and had was pineapple, PB regulars will be appalled/delighted to know.
    Once I had a "Bakewell Tart" in Bakewell. It was some kinda custardy creation and no wheres as good as the bakewell tarts I've had elsewhere.
    You seem to be confused between Bakewell Tarts and Bakewell Puddings.

    Foreigners :-) .
    Interesting. Now can anybody explain the difference between Eccles and Banbury cakes?
  • Carnyx said:

    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I was organising a conference in Edinburgh once. I still remember hearing how one of the Italian students had gone into a fish and chips place, pointed at the pizza in the warming cabinet, and watched astounded as it was folded in half, dipped in batter,and plunged into boiling oil ...
    The thing that I don't get is that the existence of such an option must mean some people actually order deep fried pizza deliberately. Who are they?

    I mean, you could actually justify a deep frying a Mars Bar just for the lolz, but pizza?

    Did the student manage to survive without PTSD?
    Deep fried pizza is fucking delicious. I mean, it's a pizza, and it's deep fried. What's not to like about that?
  • glw said:

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
    Average silicon valley dev salary at one of the big boys isnt far short of it, let alone a real expert with experience.
    I think there may be another reason that no sentient technologist would touch this with a bargepole.

    They refuse to use python and tensorflow?
  • dixiedean said:

    eek said:
    So. A bit of boosterism? No questions.
    How very Johnsonian.
    Everything is 'fantastic' to this charlatan.
    The original deal that he is now disparaging was "fantastic". No wonder he did not allow questions... I can guess what the first one might have been.
    When are you going?
    Me? Or Johnson?
  • dixiedean said:

    glw said:

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
    And they won't have Dom interfering either.
    You do have to put up with wokeism though.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381
    edited September 2020

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
    When you are compelled to cite the actions of Gordon Fucking Brown in defense of your Fearless Leader, the hollowness of your "argument" rings louder and clearer than Big Ben,
    Well, Gordon ****** Brown's dishonesty in refusing the referendum and arguing in court that his own manifesto promises were worthless have rather set the stage for the present spectacle, have they not? While Boris' critics pretend that before him, no PM ever told a lie, no way...
    Not true. There was a time Blair was hysterically refererred to on here as B.Liar! I laughed until I stopped!

    Johnson's whoppers are bigger and more frequent than those in whose steps he has followed. His economy with the actualitaire is world beating.
  • Pro_RataPro_Rata Posts: 5,288
    There is one possible reason a Conservative MP might meekly pass through the aye lobby on this one and come out with honour - the letter is already in to the 1922 and you just want it to bloody well count.
  • glw said:

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
    Average silicon valley dev salary at one of the big boys isnt far short of it, let alone a real expert with experience.
    I think there may be another reason that no sentient technologist would touch this with a bargepole.

    They refuse to use python and tensorflow?
    :lol:

  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
    When you are compelled to cite the actions of Gordon Fucking Brown in defense of your Fearless Leader, the hollowness of your "argument" rings louder and clearer than Big Ben,
    Well, Gordon ****** Brown's dishonesty in refusing the referendum and arguing in court that his own manifesto promises were worthless have rather set the stage for the present spectacle, have they not? While Boris' critics pretend that before him, no PM ever told a lie, no way...
    Not true. There was a time Blair was hysterically refererred to on here as B.Liar! I laughed until I stopped!

    Johnson's whoppers are bigger and more frequent than those in whose steps he has followed. His economy with the actualitaire is world beating.
    You wonder if even the likes of Archer and Browne don’t blink occasionally at the shit Johnson comes out with.

    Of course, compared to Trump he comes out OK.
  • dixiedean said:

    eek said:
    So. A bit of boosterism? No questions.
    How very Johnsonian.
    Everything is 'fantastic' to this charlatan.
    The original deal that he is now disparaging was "fantastic". No wonder he did not allow questions... I can guess what the first one might have been.
    When are you going?
    Me? Or Johnson?
    :lol:

    Johnson!!!
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,315

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Most voters wont ever hear about the detail, so he can simply say the EU was being unreasonable and most Bluekip voters will be satisfied. Some wont, but 2024 is a long way away and gives them a chance to win them back.

    If they lose the Bluekip voters it will because the economy collapses from Brexit, not the legalities or morals of it.
    Yes. Both he and his voters will rationalise away his broken promises and them not caring about it.
    eek said:
    Poor Boris: too scared to take questions from even his own own MPs.

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
    Oh goodie: another rationalisation. Keep ‘em coming!
    The idea that a lawyer can criticize anyone else for employing rationalizations is pretty comical, to be honest. I'm sure the list of your own would fill quite the tome.
    No doubt. But I am a private citizen not someone standing for public office and publicly making promises to voters. If Tory MPs don’t like the heat of criticism, they can push off out of the kitchen.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    Also please dont say that i am the only one who is thinking this. Do you know more than Anders Tegnell?

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/sweden-bucks-trend-in-refusing-to-recommend-masks/

    You are like a bottle of poppers for people already primed for a Swedish Covid-death sex party
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381
    ydoethur said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
    When you are compelled to cite the actions of Gordon Fucking Brown in defense of your Fearless Leader, the hollowness of your "argument" rings louder and clearer than Big Ben,
    Well, Gordon ****** Brown's dishonesty in refusing the referendum and arguing in court that his own manifesto promises were worthless have rather set the stage for the present spectacle, have they not? While Boris' critics pretend that before him, no PM ever told a lie, no way...
    Not true. There was a time Blair was hysterically refererred to on here as B.Liar! I laughed until I stopped!

    Johnson's whoppers are bigger and more frequent than those in whose steps he has followed. His economy with the actualitaire is world beating.
    You wonder if even the likes of Archer and Browne don’t blink occasionally at the shit Johnson comes out with.

    Of course, compared to Trump he comes out OK.
    What are you saying? Johnson isn't even a world beating fibber.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Most voters wont ever hear about the detail, so he can simply say the EU was being unreasonable and most Bluekip voters will be satisfied. Some wont, but 2024 is a long way away and gives them a chance to win them back.

    If they lose the Bluekip voters it will because the economy collapses from Brexit, not the legalities or morals of it.
    Yes. Both he and his voters will rationalise away his broken promises and them not caring about it.
    eek said:
    Poor Boris: too scared to take questions from even his own own MPs.

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
    Oh goodie: another rationalisation. Keep ‘em coming!
    The idea that a lawyer can criticize anyone else for employing rationalizations is pretty comical, to be honest. I'm sure the list of your own would fill quite the tome.
    No doubt. But I am a private citizen not someone standing for public office and publicly making promises to voters. If Tory MPs don’t like the heat of criticism, they can push off out of the kitchen.
    Or better yet, push Johnson out of it.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,413

    alex_ said:
    John Fogerty could well have been writing about Trump. I can't work out whether Trump using the song is beyond parody or Trump trolling his voters.
    They played "Knockin on Heavens Door" at one recently...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    ydoethur said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting header, I expect the MP for Newxastle Under Lyme's priority is pleasing Cummings rather than Cyclefree though.

    But not apparently keeping his promises to the voters in his constituency to whom he promised to act with “honesty and integrity”. In January he told them he was delighted to be voting for the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act. How - in compliance with this promise of honesty and integrity - is he going to explain why he will now vote (I assume) to tear that up?
    A bit harsh to target him personally.

    If you want to lobby him a public put down probably isn't the best way of doing it.
    I am not a constituent. He is simply an example of the dilemma that all Tory MPs face. He made a promise to his constituents. His statements and votes are a matter of public record and he proudly displays them on his website. It will be interesting to see how he - along with many other MPs - respond to what the government is doing.
    Speaking of promises to constituents, and legalistic adherence to them, manifesto commitments do not carry the force of a contract, as the Labour Government's barrister famously argued in 2008 when defending - what else? - Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to do so:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm

    'Cecilia Ivimy, for the Government, said: "A manifesto promise is incapable of giving rise to a legally binding contract with the electorate. It is a point which is so obvious that I don't want to labour it."'

    It seems good old Gordon got over that dilemma fairly easily.
    How did he do in his next election? How is he remembered?
    Breaking the letter of a promise in pursuit of the substance is perfectly forgivable; Gordo violated both the letter and the substance, which was not.
    When you are compelled to cite the actions of Gordon Fucking Brown in defense of your Fearless Leader, the hollowness of your "argument" rings louder and clearer than Big Ben,
    Well, Gordon ****** Brown's dishonesty in refusing the referendum and arguing in court that his own manifesto promises were worthless have rather set the stage for the present spectacle, have they not? While Boris' critics pretend that before him, no PM ever told a lie, no way...
    Not true. There was a time Blair was hysterically refererred to on here as B.Liar! I laughed until I stopped!

    Johnson's whoppers are bigger and more frequent than those in whose steps he has followed. His economy with the actualitaire is world beating.
    You wonder if even the likes of Archer and Browne don’t blink occasionally at the shit Johnson comes out with.

    Of course, compared to Trump he comes out OK.
    What are you saying? Johnson isn't even a world beating fibber.
    He is to fibbing what Mr Baldrick is to village idiots.

    Supremely overqualified, but not quite so supremely overqualified as the winner.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381
    dixiedean said:

    alex_ said:
    John Fogerty could well have been writing about Trump. I can't work out whether Trump using the song is beyond parody or Trump trolling his voters.
    They played "Knockin on Heavens Door" at one recently...
    Yeah, he's trolling the rednecks!

    Keep on Rockin' in the free world!
  • Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    LadyG said:

    Alistair said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    I may have found a worse topping on pizza than pineapple.

    Sultanas!

    S-U-L-T-A-N-A-S.

    Fecking sultanas, the world has gone mad.

    Just think of it as Peshwari naan and eat it with curry. The problem with pizza is not the toppings, it's the pizza. Bread for people who find breadmaking too difficult.
    That's not true of proper Naples or Rome pizzas. The ones which have a base like bad bread (i.e. any pizza in the US, and nearly all here) are not doing it right.
    The best pizza I have ever eaten was Keste in New York. Owned by a immigrant from Naples with the pizza oven shipped over.
    I can well believe that.
    Nah. The best pizza in the world - cliche of cliches - comes from its birthplace, the backstreets of old Naples. Maybe the Spanish Quarters, maybe by the station, with the hookers.

    Anyway, watch where the locals queue for their evening pizza. Join the queue. It will move quickly. If it is the real deal it will come wrapped in a cone, in paper, and be just dough, plain tomato, local mozarrella, fresh basil, and scalding hot.

    Let it cool for a few minutes, wander to the nearest piazza. Eat with a friend and a shared bottle of Campanian red on the steps of a crumbling Baroque fountain. Sublimity.
    Naples certainly has its charms. I remember being propositioned by a whore having just come off the ferry from Capri, having walked from Capri to Anacapri. I was footsore, tired and dusty. She was nothing to write home about either.

    I was slightly disappointed by Neapolitan pizza, although I admit I didn't try the street food variety. I recall my best meal was a pile of lamb chops washed down with the house red. There are some brilliant local red wine varieties we never see in the UK.

    The worst pizza I recall having ever eaten was in Ravenna. Which makes sense when you accept that Italian food is regional. It was worth it for the Byzantine mosaics, though.
    You've obviously never ordered a pizza in the land of Freeeeeeeeeeeedom.

    I was served a deep fried pizza base (plus toppings) by a takeaway in Invereray once. As I'd been on a hill all day I managed to eat half, but I really can't recommend it unless you like greasy cardboard.

    It didn't actually specify fried on the menu. I suppose that was just assumed.
    I was organising a conference in Edinburgh once. I still remember hearing how one of the Italian students had gone into a fish and chips place, pointed at the pizza in the warming cabinet, and watched astounded as it was folded in half, dipped in batter,and plunged into boiling oil ...
    The thing that I don't get is that the existence of such an option must mean some people actually order deep fried pizza deliberately. Who are they?

    Did the student manage to survive without PTSD?





    The locals. The local version of calzone, to be fair. (But the Mars Bar option is a tourist thing, like tourist tat art in innumerable locations worldwide.)

    Edit: they deep fry Scotch Pies [mutton pies in water crust pastry] to warm them up. Ditto white pudding, black pudding, etc.

    The student evidently found it a memorable experience, but I hope it was not quite as bad as PTSD,
    Battered deep fried haggis is something else. I rather enjoyed it in Newcastle as a student, but I can no longer understand why.
  • FregglesFreggles Posts: 3,486
    Interesting writing style you have there LadyG....
  • solarflaresolarflare Posts: 3,707
    I enjoyed walking past a Russian (I think) student once in Glasgow just as he was trying Irn-Bru for the first time with his friends. It seemed to go down well. Made me smile, anyway.


    There's a lot about masks that makes sense, but I do struggle to get the logic about mandating walking into a restaurant or café with a mask on, sitting down & taking it off to eat and drink for an hour, and putting it back on to walk out again or go to the loo mid-visit or whatever.

    It just feels contrived. Maybe there is actually some amazing scientific data and rationale and modelling behind it. But it really just feels more like desperation, a need to create policy to be seen to be trying everything at your disposal.

    If you've got the virus, you've been breathing it out for ages, in an indoor environment, the aerosol is hanging about dispersing in the air, when we have specifically allowed the social distancing to be reduced from the 2m we know is not even necessarily sufficient anyway to try and make the opening of the establishment vaguely viable in the first place.

    Maybe a few random bits of perspex and killing the music to stop people shouting and all that is sufficient to work against this. Maybe all the infection transmission is happening on that 30-second walk from your table to the exit/entrance, and not the 90 minutes you spent actually in the place. But at some point you have to wonder if there is a level of hoops to be jumped through that means it just gets hard to justify to keep places open if that's the deal.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381
    Freggles said:

    Interesting writing style you have there LadyG....

    Unnecessarily sweary?
  • glw said:

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
    Imagine the stress of being in charge of some COVID related data or app. Or something to do with benefits. If you screwed it up you'd be on the front page of every paper.

    I wouldn't do it for £2m.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    felix said:

    nichomar said:

    RobD said:

    nichomar said:

    dixiedean said:

    MaxPB said:

    kamski said:

    MaxPB said:

    In per capita terms France is seeing almost double the number of new cases per day vs the US and with a much, much less rigorous testing regime with far fewer tests per day per capita. Where is the media outrage at Macron for fucking it up so badly, why wasn't the French government prepared for the second wave, what steps are they taking to get to 1m tests per day, what policies does France have wrt schools, universities and socialising? I know about ours, of course but I also know about most of the US just from reading our own media.

    There is a serious lack of scrutiny of left wing government responses to the virus, apparently cuddly lefties can't be bad at these things, only baby eating right wingers are evil and let everyone die of it.

    Weirdly the same lack of outrage of Macron buddying up to Trump even more than Boris, rolling out the biggest of big red carpets....When he does it, it is all about international diplomacy, when Boris does it, it is because he loves everything about the Donald.
    There is just zero coverage of French politics compared to US politics full stop.

    People here know about also rans (barely-rans more like) in the contest to become the opposition party presidential candidate for an election months away, but who is the current French prime minister?
    No one cares who the French PM is, it's like asking who the senate leader is in the US. Everyone knows Macron and the excuses that the British media don't have any French speakers is laughable. The fact of the matter is that the media outrage will never exist for virtuous nations, it will only be for evil ones like the UK (and US) despite France and Macron having as crap a time of it as the UK and Boris.
    So you're outraged that the UK media is more outraged about the pandemic in the UK than in France?
    I'm bloody furious we don't get 25 minutes a day on Ecuador.
    You should - Ecuador (and Brazil) are likely to overtake our death rate per capita within days. Chile and Bolivia have already done so within the last 24 hours.
    Oh good let’s have a few third world countries go out of control so we can drop down the league table, sick
    So OK to say the UK is worst in the world/europe, but not okay to say the same of other countries?
    I just think it’s sick to make it appear like a contest.
    Then you won't like reading the many commenters on here who do it on a daily basis. I suspect we even have thread headers who do it though I've long since stopped reading them.
    I believe you both live in Spain? Coincidentally. *checks Spain worldometer ratings*

    Actually the rankings are an incredibly valuable monitor of how well a country's leaders are dealing with the situation. They are of course flawed in all kinds of ways but they are not produced by the government. When you are told by the government that it is world-beating it is valuable to know that what it is world-beating at is deaths per million, Spain and Belgium excepted.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    edited September 2020
    Scott_xP said:
    If only there were someone to vote for who is opposed to this

    Are the Lib Dems still trying to overturn Brexit? Are they on board with locking us all up?

    Morrissey lookalike Davey grassed Farage for going to the pub,so no hope there
  • Scott_xP said:

    witter.com/TimesPictures/status/1304520085558747138

    All we need now are internal passports and Gulags.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,413

    dixiedean said:

    alex_ said:
    John Fogerty could well have been writing about Trump. I can't work out whether Trump using the song is beyond parody or Trump trolling his voters.
    They played "Knockin on Heavens Door" at one recently...
    Yeah, he's trolling the rednecks!

    Keep on Rockin' in the free world!
    Indeed.
    "Mama put my guns in the ground,
    I can't shoot them any more..."

    Cos the Dems have repealed the 2nd Amendment.
  • Lockdown 2.0 incoming.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,210

    glw said:

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
    Imagine the stress of being in charge of some COVID related data or app. Or something to do with benefits. If you screwed it up you'd be on the front page of every paper.

    I wouldn't do it for £2m.
    I have some excellent news for you.
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    Duh. This is why anything that stops trump talking about the economy is a good thing
  • Freggles said:

    Interesting writing style you have there LadyG....

    It's Sean.
  • Scott_xP said:

    witter.com/TimesPictures/status/1304520085558747138

    All we need now are internal passports and Gulags.
    Just for the slags?
  • alex_ said:
    I've never understood how those on the left were simultaneously against the Vietnam war and also critical of the young people who refused to fight in it.
  • rcs1000 said:

    glw said:

    It's the biggest job in tech. So why can't they find anyone to do it?

    An exciting new vacancy has opened up that will likely tempt some IT leaders into freshening up their CV: the UK is recruiting a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), who will be working at the highest levels of the Cabinet Office to lead the digital transformation of public services in the country. All of this and more, for £200,000 a year

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-the-biggest-job-in-tech-so-why-cant-they-find-anyone-to-do-it/

    £200,000 is a lot of money, but people who could do that job likely earn more for a lot less hassle.
    Imagine the stress of being in charge of some COVID related data or app. Or something to do with benefits. If you screwed it up you'd be on the front page of every paper.

    I wouldn't do it for £2m.
    I have some excellent news for you.
    If it's £3m then I'm open to negotiations.
This discussion has been closed.