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Could Attorney-General Barr be next in line to be sacked by Trump? – politicalbetting.com

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Comments

  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,676
    My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,676

    My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules

    Their response received in less than 4hrs - get fucked we can do what we want
  • Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
  • Off topic, but a bit of good, if not amazing, news in astronomy:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55178257

    I've been reading about it since before it was launched, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so good.
  • Scott_xP said:
    which lucky department will get him after the new year reshuffle?
    None - he is hopeless
  • No-one from UKIP? Or is that too long ago to mention?
  • Scott_xP said:
    which lucky department will get him after the new year reshuffle?
    None - he is hopeless
    Indeed. But he knows where the bodies are buried so to speak.
  • Scott_xP said:
    which lucky department will get him after the new year reshuffle?
    Health.
  • My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules

    Good for you. Well done. I'm glad I have pretty much cashed out of the Biden market. Now a total joke.
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172
    Sex, drugs and money for politicians is like catnip for cats.

    No wonder Brussels is so popular with the elected.
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 4,042

    My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules

    Their response received in less than 4hrs - get fucked we can do what we want
    Good on you. You going to contact the Commission given the nature of their reply?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126
    Scott_xP said:
    I don't know that gaffing is what defines him. Inept and dishonest Gavin lacks the same ring though.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126

    My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules

    Their response received in less than 4hrs - get fucked we can do what we want
    From having prepared many a response in my time, even one that short and to the point would probably take awhile to get approved :)
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,713
    Well, are we British not keeping our end up? Is it because we have pulled out?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126
    I can't figure out if by speaking so openly on this topic he is hindering or helping his ability to organise a good time in future.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,725
    Not been on for some weeks. Glad to seee Cummings gone. Looks like Boris's partner is sorting things out. Boris incapable of doing it.
  • So, after getting kudos for acquiring the vaccine early, the govt now plans to screw up the distribution?

    :D
  • Off topic, but a bit of good, if not amazing, news in astronomy:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55178257

    I've been reading about it since before it was launched, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so good.

    The world, and science, have moved forwards massively in my lifetime and continue to do so.

    But we've definitely got worse at sharing that with the general public. One of the reasons I've done what I've done is BBC1 primetime shows like QED and Tomorrow's World. They don't exist in the same way now, and that's a shame.

    Science is blooming amazing.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,676
    edited December 2020
    Quincel said:

    My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules

    Their response received in less than 4hrs - get fucked we can do what we want
    Good on you. You going to contact the Commission given the nature of their reply?
    Their reply didnt address any of the 4 points raised and just quoted there right to keep markets open whilst ever there was uncertainty.

    I have sent a 2nd e mail saying there is certainty on eg over 75m and asking them to address my specific points and am copying the correspondence to GC
  • Betfair aren't settling because they're simply making too much money from keeping it open. It's in all punters interests to settle the market, those with profits anyway, but not theirs.

    It really is as simple as that.
  • If JVT is saying (bbc news) that 99% of hospital cases and deaths could be blocked by a big uptake of vaccine in phase 1 then surely we can unlock as soon as that phase is done?
  • As Jim Hacker taught Bernard Wooley to ask,

    Name five of them.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,713

    If JVT is saying (bbc news) that 99% of hospital cases and deaths could be blocked by a big uptake of vaccine in phase 1 then surely we can unlock as soon as that phase is done?

    By next Christmas then...
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,676

    My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules

    Good for you. Well done. I'm glad I have pretty much cashed out of the Biden market. Now a total joke.
    I only have about £400 profit tied up in these markets but its the bloody principle they are taking the piss
  • Foxy said:

    If JVT is saying (bbc news) that 99% of hospital cases and deaths could be blocked by a big uptake of vaccine in phase 1 then surely we can unlock as soon as that phase is done?

    By next Christmas then...
    you're not optimistic then?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126

    As Jim Hacker taught Bernard Wooley to ask,

    Name five of them.
    A lesson about dismissing a point even when valid through oratorical techniques?
  • If JVT is saying (bbc news) that 99% of hospital cases and deaths could be blocked by a big uptake of vaccine in phase 1 then surely we can unlock as soon as that phase is done?

    Yes I think so definitely.

    I'd still wear a mask, I'd rather not get long COVID, but even though I won't be vaccinated I'd be ok with taking my chances once my parents, grandparents and other vulnerable people are.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,676

    If JVT is saying (bbc news) that 99% of hospital cases and deaths could be blocked by a big uptake of vaccine in phase 1 then surely we can unlock as soon as that phase is done?

    Yep 1 million capacity a week so about 60 weeks time. It will fly by (not)
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,676

    Betfair aren't settling because they're simply making too much money from keeping it open. It's in all punters interests to settle the market, those with profits anyway, but not theirs.

    It really is as simple as that.

    Yep thats what i have said in my 2nd e mail
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689

    Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,480

    That sounds sensible.

    Albeit I fricking love mackerel.
    It sounds sensible up to a point. I don't have a problem using some fish to grease the wheels a bit here - it is harsh to destroy fishermen's livelihoods overnight, and at any rate, it's not like we can rebuild the UK fishing industry overnight. That said, I roll my eyes slightly when I hear about 'the UK quota increasing'. These fishing stocks belong to the UK under international law. Any continuation of fishing in our waters by foreign fleets is at our behest, not the other way around.
  • Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    Hopefully this month. Around Christmas.
  • Off topic, but a bit of good, if not amazing, news in astronomy:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55178257

    I've been reading about it since before it was launched, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so good.

    The world, and science, have moved forwards massively in my lifetime and continue to do so.

    But we've definitely got worse at sharing that with the general public. One of the reasons I've done what I've done is BBC1 primetime shows like QED and Tomorrow's World. They don't exist in the same way now, and that's a shame.

    Science is blooming amazing.
    :+1: I wonder if they will ever produce another one given the wealth of data produced by this satellite? Maybe a pair with one being sent up at 90° to the orbital plane using a gravity slingshot to allow a really long baseline between them? Five or 10 AUs would bump the precision up considerably.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,480

    As Jim Hacker taught Bernard Wooley to ask,

    Name five of them.
    You think it's not possible to name five errors made by the EU?
  • My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules

    Good for you. Well done. I'm glad I have pretty much cashed out of the Biden market. Now a total joke.
    I only have about £400 profit tied up in these markets but its the bloody principle they are taking the piss
    I have had a reply of sorts to my letter of complaint. It addresses none of the specific points I made and is really little more than a rehash of the bland PR statements they have put out publicly.

    I'll pass it on to the Gambling Commission in the hope they can twist a few arms.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    The United States set a pair of alarming coronavirus records Wednesday, surpassing 200,000 new infections and topping 100,000 covid-19 patients hospitalized — the first time the country has reached either metric in a single day.

    And Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the worst might still be ahead. He predicted that the U.S. covid-19 death toll could reach 450,000 by February, and he warned that this winter could be “the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.”

    washington post

    https://tinyurl.com/y394kz9p
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 4,042
    Indeed, and the reverse has been seen on the other side which once believed the EU had a lot to offer but we were better off working closely with them outside the club than as a member and now believes that the EU is radioactive and destroys everything it touches. The sad effect of modern polarisation.
  • Fysics_TeacherFysics_Teacher Posts: 6,285
    edited December 2020

    Off topic, but a bit of good, if not amazing, news in astronomy:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55178257

    I've been reading about it since before it was launched, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so good.

    The world, and science, have moved forwards massively in my lifetime and continue to do so.

    But we've definitely got worse at sharing that with the general public. One of the reasons I've done what I've done is BBC1 primetime shows like QED and Tomorrow's World. They don't exist in the same way now, and that's a shame.

    Science is blooming amazing.
    :+1: I wonder if they will ever produce another one given the wealth of data produced by this satellite? Maybe a pair with one being sent up at 90° to the orbital plane using a gravity slingshot to allow a really long baseline between them? Five or 10 AUs would bump the precision up considerably.
    The previous version, Hipparcos, was thirty years ago.

    https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/hipparcos
  • kle4 said:

    As Jim Hacker taught Bernard Wooley to ask,

    Name five of them.
    A lesson about dismissing a point even when valid through oratorical techniques?
    Touché.

    But seriously- who are these people who think the UK is inferior to the UK in every way? I doubt that even Andrew Adonis thinks that. So why post (fairly patronising) advice to people who, if they exist at all, are statistically irrelevant to the national conversation?

    And the "name five of them" retort is a handy one to remember when reading a certain sort of sh1t-stirring journalism in the papers. An "anger is mounting" story can be made to stand up with quotes from an absurdly small number of unrepresentative people.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,100
    edited December 2020
    I always wondered how they survived evolution....the land where every forest and lake has something that can kill you and these things can't even work out what is the real bush they can eat.

    https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1334380172888350720?s=19
  • Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    I'm optimistic for next week.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    That sounds sensible.

    Albeit I fricking love mackerel.
    It sounds sensible up to a point. I don't have a problem using some fish to grease the wheels a bit here - it is harsh to destroy fishermen's livelihoods overnight, and at any rate, it's not like we can rebuild the UK fishing industry overnight. That said, I roll my eyes slightly when I hear about 'the UK quota increasing'. These fishing stocks belong to the UK under international law. Any continuation of fishing in our waters by foreign fleets is at our behest, not the other way around.
    Well, it depends how much, if any, of the fish the UK eats is currently imported from the EU. If none, that bit of it makes no odds. OTOH we do know that the UK exports fish to the EU and would like to continue to do so..
  • As Jim Hacker taught Bernard Wooley to ask,

    Name five of them.
    You think it's not possible to name five errors made by the EU?
    Easy-peasy, I'm sure. But the more interesting questions are:

    1 Are the EU's errors worse than those of similar organisations?

    2 Are the EU's errors so bad as to make withdrawal a wise move?
  • For what it's worth, here is Betfair's non-answer to my complaint about their handling of the US Presidential Election markets. I believe others have received similarly bland, unhelpful responses.



    Dear Mr Smith,

    I hope that this email finds you well.

    I am writing to you in relation to your query regarding the settlement of bets placed on the Exchange markets relating to the USA Presidential Election.

    I fully appreciate that you have concerns regarding the time-frame in which this market will be settled, however, settlement of the US Presidential Election and related markets will not be completed until the result is beyond doubt and unfortunately, this may take some time, given the possibility of recounts and current legal challenges filed by the Republican Party.

    As such, given the highly contested nature of this election, the decision has been taken in the best interests of our customers to delay settling this market, until there is clarity around any ongoing recounts and legal challenges.

    This decision has been taken in-line with our terms and conditions, which for ease of use, have been copied below:

    In the event of any uncertainty about any result or potential result, Betfair reserves the right to suspend settlement of any market for an unlimited period until the uncertainty can be resolved to the reasonable satisfaction of Betfair.

    Betfair reserves the right to void any market if the uncertainty regarding settlement cannot be resolved to Betfair's reasonable satisfaction.

    Please note that we are keeping abreast of all developments in this on-going situation and will be settling this market as soon as there is no longer any uncertainty regarding the outcome of this election.

    I fully appreciate that this is not the response which you had hoped to receive here, and I apologise for any frustration or inconvenience which this may have caused to you.

    I hope that this clarifies the matter for you and should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Helpdesk team.

    Thanks,

    Christian
    Escalation Management Team
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,713

    Foxy said:

    If JVT is saying (bbc news) that 99% of hospital cases and deaths could be blocked by a big uptake of vaccine in phase 1 then surely we can unlock as soon as that phase is done?

    By next Christmas then...
    you're not optimistic then?
    Nah, just dark humour. I expect lockdown will be over by Easter.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381
    What a lazy statement.

    One of the crucial reasons we former Remainers lost the Referendum was our ambivalence towards the EU. We were totally eclipsed by Leavers' enthusiasm to leave.

    Most former Remainers had no particular love for the EU. We just knew leaving would be far worse.
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172

    Off topic, but a bit of good, if not amazing, news in astronomy:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55178257

    I've been reading about it since before it was launched, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so good.

    The world, and science, have moved forwards massively in my lifetime and continue to do so.

    But we've definitely got worse at sharing that with the general public. One of the reasons I've done what I've done is BBC1 primetime shows like QED and Tomorrow's World. They don't exist in the same way now, and that's a shame.

    Science is blooming amazing.
    :+1: I wonder if they will ever produce another one given the wealth of data produced by this satellite? Maybe a pair with one being sent up at 90° to the orbital plane using a gravity slingshot to allow a really long baseline between them? Five or 10 AUs would bump the precision up considerably.
    There is a very good reason why this is a very bad idea.

    Almost all the space-borne telescopes are at the Lagrange points.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_objects_at_Lagrange_points

    They are "parked" relative to the Sun and Earth.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689

    Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    Hopefully this month. Around Christmas.
    Being very selfish for the moment, I wonder what chance Mrs P and I have of celebrating our ruby wedding in New York next May as planned. 50/50 at the moment?
  • For what it's worth, here is Betfair's non-answer to my complaint about their handling of the US Presidential Election markets. I believe others have received similarly bland, unhelpful responses.



    Dear Mr Smith,

    I hope that this email finds you well.

    I am writing to you in relation to your query regarding the settlement of bets placed on the Exchange markets relating to the USA Presidential Election.

    I fully appreciate that you have concerns regarding the time-frame in which this market will be settled, however, settlement of the US Presidential Election and related markets will not be completed until the result is beyond doubt and unfortunately, this may take some time, given the possibility of recounts and current legal challenges filed by the Republican Party.

    As such, given the highly contested nature of this election, the decision has been taken in the best interests of our customers to delay settling this market, until there is clarity around any ongoing recounts and legal challenges.

    This decision has been taken in-line with our terms and conditions, which for ease of use, have been copied below:

    In the event of any uncertainty about any result or potential result, Betfair reserves the right to suspend settlement of any market for an unlimited period until the uncertainty can be resolved to the reasonable satisfaction of Betfair.

    Betfair reserves the right to void any market if the uncertainty regarding settlement cannot be resolved to Betfair's reasonable satisfaction.

    Please note that we are keeping abreast of all developments in this on-going situation and will be settling this market as soon as there is no longer any uncertainty regarding the outcome of this election.

    I fully appreciate that this is not the response which you had hoped to receive here, and I apologise for any frustration or inconvenience which this may have caused to you.

    I hope that this clarifies the matter for you and should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Helpdesk team.

    Thanks,

    Christian
    Escalation Management Team

    Except the "uncertainty" is a baseless conspiracy theory being touted by the president.
  • Betfair aren't settling because they're simply making too much money from keeping it open. It's in all punters interests to settle the market, those with profits anyway, but not theirs.

    It really is as simple as that.

    How on earth is it in Trumps backers interests to have it settled? They can either get 3% of their money back or a tiny chance of a miracle if its kept open, or a guaranteed loss now!

    The vast majority of this board will be on Biden, it is not a representative sample of the market at all.

    I think Betfair should have settled it, but the bleating on here without acknowledgment that we are heavily with Biden is slightly distasteful imo. Anyone reading the very informed posters and bettors on this site can make pretty easy money from Betfair politics markets. Attacking them relentlessly does us no favours in the long run. Betfair will just think lets do the minimum we can on politics as it always brings arguments.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,480
    edited December 2020
    Foxy said:

    Well, are we British not keeping our end up? Is it because we have pulled out?
    Hopefully it's because they're paying actual hookers like normal sleazebag politicians. I mean politicians wanting to have sex with each other? It's like the opposite of if Carling made orgies. It's the ultimate in perversion (Peter and Virginia Bottomly excepted. John Major and Edwina Currie not excepted.).
  • Off topic, but a bit of good, if not amazing, news in astronomy:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55178257

    I've been reading about it since before it was launched, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so good.

    The world, and science, have moved forwards massively in my lifetime and continue to do so.

    But we've definitely got worse at sharing that with the general public. One of the reasons I've done what I've done is BBC1 primetime shows like QED and Tomorrow's World. They don't exist in the same way now, and that's a shame.

    Science is blooming amazing.
    :+1: I wonder if they will ever produce another one given the wealth of data produced by this satellite? Maybe a pair with one being sent up at 90° to the orbital plane using a gravity slingshot to allow a really long baseline between them? Five or 10 AUs would bump the precision up considerably.
    The previous version, Hipparcos, was thirty years ago.

    https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/hipparcos
    I remember it well :+1:

    It would be nice if they could launch the James Webb telescope. It is already 13 years behind its original planned launch date - back in 1997 they thought it would be in orbit in 2007 :D
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,676

    For what it's worth, here is Betfair's non-answer to my complaint about their handling of the US Presidential Election markets. I believe others have received similarly bland, unhelpful responses.



    Dear Mr Smith,

    I hope that this email finds you well.

    I am writing to you in relation to your query regarding the settlement of bets placed on the Exchange markets relating to the USA Presidential Election.

    I fully appreciate that you have concerns regarding the time-frame in which this market will be settled, however, settlement of the US Presidential Election and related markets will not be completed until the result is beyond doubt and unfortunately, this may take some time, given the possibility of recounts and current legal challenges filed by the Republican Party.

    As such, given the highly contested nature of this election, the decision has been taken in the best interests of our customers to delay settling this market, until there is clarity around any ongoing recounts and legal challenges.

    This decision has been taken in-line with our terms and conditions, which for ease of use, have been copied below:

    In the event of any uncertainty about any result or potential result, Betfair reserves the right to suspend settlement of any market for an unlimited period until the uncertainty can be resolved to the reasonable satisfaction of Betfair.

    Betfair reserves the right to void any market if the uncertainty regarding settlement cannot be resolved to Betfair's reasonable satisfaction.

    Please note that we are keeping abreast of all developments in this on-going situation and will be settling this market as soon as there is no longer any uncertainty regarding the outcome of this election.

    I fully appreciate that this is not the response which you had hoped to receive here, and I apologise for any frustration or inconvenience which this may have caused to you.

    I hope that this clarifies the matter for you and should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Helpdesk team.

    Thanks,

    Christian
    Escalation Management Team

    SNAP
  • So, after getting kudos for acquiring the vaccine early, the govt now plans to screw up the distribution?

    :D
    No. They plan to stick to the original plan and not screw it up.

    Elderly care home residents first. The MHRA need to specify how it may be distributed to them. Some had assumed that because it would go into hospitals first, it would go to NHS staff first. It's work in progress.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,052

    As Jim Hacker taught Bernard Wooley to ask,

    Name five of them.
    You think it's not possible to name five errors made by the EU?
    Easy-peasy, I'm sure. But the more interesting questions are:

    1 Are the EU's errors worse than those of similar organisations?

    2 Are the EU's errors so bad as to make withdrawal a wise move?
    3. Is the EU quicker, or slower, than other similar organisations to acknowledge and remedy errors?
  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,821
    edited December 2020

    Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    Hopefully this month. Around Christmas.
    Being very selfish for the moment, I wonder what chance Mrs P and I have of celebrating our ruby wedding in New York next May as planned. 50/50 at the moment?
    50/50 sounds about right. Let's hope it comes good (and that you both have a great time!)
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,480
    IshmaelZ said:

    That sounds sensible.

    Albeit I fricking love mackerel.
    It sounds sensible up to a point. I don't have a problem using some fish to grease the wheels a bit here - it is harsh to destroy fishermen's livelihoods overnight, and at any rate, it's not like we can rebuild the UK fishing industry overnight. That said, I roll my eyes slightly when I hear about 'the UK quota increasing'. These fishing stocks belong to the UK under international law. Any continuation of fishing in our waters by foreign fleets is at our behest, not the other way around.
    Well, it depends how much, if any, of the fish the UK eats is currently imported from the EU. If none, that bit of it makes no odds. OTOH we do know that the UK exports fish to the EU and would like to continue to do so..
    Well a lot of countries in the EU export wine to the UK and would like to continue to do so - that doesn't mean we can or should claim a proportion of the grape harvest as our own.
  • For what it's worth, here is Betfair's non-answer to my complaint about their handling of the US Presidential Election markets. I believe others have received similarly bland, unhelpful responses.



    Dear Mr Smith,

    I hope that this email finds you well.

    I am writing to you in relation to your query regarding the settlement of bets placed on the Exchange markets relating to the USA Presidential Election.

    I fully appreciate that you have concerns regarding the time-frame in which this market will be settled, however, settlement of the US Presidential Election and related markets will not be completed until the result is beyond doubt and unfortunately, this may take some time, given the possibility of recounts and current legal challenges filed by the Republican Party.

    As such, given the highly contested nature of this election, the decision has been taken in the best interests of our customers to delay settling this market, until there is clarity around any ongoing recounts and legal challenges.

    This decision has been taken in-line with our terms and conditions, which for ease of use, have been copied below:

    In the event of any uncertainty about any result or potential result, Betfair reserves the right to suspend settlement of any market for an unlimited period until the uncertainty can be resolved to the reasonable satisfaction of Betfair.

    Betfair reserves the right to void any market if the uncertainty regarding settlement cannot be resolved to Betfair's reasonable satisfaction.

    Please note that we are keeping abreast of all developments in this on-going situation and will be settling this market as soon as there is no longer any uncertainty regarding the outcome of this election.

    I fully appreciate that this is not the response which you had hoped to receive here, and I apologise for any frustration or inconvenience which this may have caused to you.

    I hope that this clarifies the matter for you and should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Helpdesk team.

    Thanks,

    Christian
    Escalation Management Team

    Except the "uncertainty" is a baseless conspiracy theory being touted by the president.
    That's both true and for the courts to decide.

    Only four days left now in which new court challenges can be lodged.

    Only ten days left now until this needs to be resolved.
  • Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    Hopefully this month. Around Christmas.
    Being very selfish for the moment, I wonder what chance Mrs P and I have of celebrating our ruby wedding in New York next May as planned. 50/50 at the moment?
    How likely do you think it is the US will have inoculated a significant portion of its population by then to allow them to lift the travel ban?
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,676
    edited December 2020

    My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules

    Good for you. Well done. I'm glad I have pretty much cashed out of the Biden market. Now a total joke.
    I only have about £400 profit tied up in these markets but its the bloody principle they are taking the piss
    I have had a reply of sorts to my letter of complaint. It addresses none of the specific points I made and is really little more than a rehash of the bland PR statements they have put out publicly.

    I'll pass it on to the Gambling Commission in the hope they can twist a few arms.
    Copy and Paste of the response to me.

    So basically myself and Peter had entirely different complaints about specific but different markets and received word for word the exact same response

    Only one word different

    Smith
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    edited December 2020
    Fishing said:

    As Jim Hacker taught Bernard Wooley to ask,

    Name five of them.
    You think it's not possible to name five errors made by the EU?
    Easy-peasy, I'm sure. But the more interesting questions are:

    1 Are the EU's errors worse than those of similar organisations?

    2 Are the EU's errors so bad as to make withdrawal a wise move?
    3. Is the EU quicker, or slower, than other similar organisations to acknowledge and remedy errors?
    Bingo!

    My thoughts exactly. The EUs sclerotic nature is its main problem for me.

    Going forwards it's entirely possible the UK will make more mistakes than the EU, because the UK can act quicker and more agile than the EU. But it doesn't matter if you make mistakes so long as you're willing and able to fix them.

    "Why do we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.'
  • Off topic, but a bit of good, if not amazing, news in astronomy:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55178257

    I've been reading about it since before it was launched, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so good.

    The world, and science, have moved forwards massively in my lifetime and continue to do so.

    But we've definitely got worse at sharing that with the general public. One of the reasons I've done what I've done is BBC1 primetime shows like QED and Tomorrow's World. They don't exist in the same way now, and that's a shame.

    Science is blooming amazing.
    :+1: I wonder if they will ever produce another one given the wealth of data produced by this satellite? Maybe a pair with one being sent up at 90° to the orbital plane using a gravity slingshot to allow a really long baseline between them? Five or 10 AUs would bump the precision up considerably.
    There is a very good reason why this is a very bad idea.

    Almost all the space-borne telescopes are at the Lagrange points.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_objects_at_Lagrange_points

    They are "parked" relative to the Sun and Earth.
    It does not give a long enough baseline using the Lagrange points (and even L3 is pointless). They are used to keep the satellites in a stable position whilst minimising the need for orbital corrections which means less fuel needs to be carried. I was thinking of a probe moving out of the solar system so a Lagrangian orbit would not be of any use. The reason for the high inclination of the trajectory is so that the probe is always in an easily accessible part of the the sky regardless of where the Earth is in its orbit.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,480

    As Jim Hacker taught Bernard Wooley to ask,

    Name five of them.
    You think it's not possible to name five errors made by the EU?
    Easy-peasy, I'm sure. But the more interesting questions are:

    1 Are the EU's errors worse than those of similar organisations?

    2 Are the EU's errors so bad as to make withdrawal a wise move?

    As Jim Hacker taught Bernard Wooley to ask,

    Name five of them.
    You think it's not possible to name five errors made by the EU?
    Easy-peasy, I'm sure. But the more interesting questions are:

    1 Are the EU's errors worse than those of similar organisations?

    2 Are the EU's errors so bad as to make withdrawal a wise move?
    1. I doubt it. Though of course there aren't many organisations that are particularly similar.
    2. No. The errors are not why it's a wise move to withdraw. That lies in the very nature of the organisation, not how efficient or otherwise it is in the execution of its tasks.
  • OT there is something about the previous page that makes it very slow to load. I'm not asking anyone to investigate.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,205

    For what it's worth, here is Betfair's non-answer to my complaint about their handling of the US Presidential Election markets. I believe others have received similarly bland, unhelpful responses.



    Dear Mr Smith,

    I hope that this email finds you well.

    I am writing to you in relation to your query regarding the settlement of bets placed on the Exchange markets relating to the USA Presidential Election.

    I fully appreciate that you have concerns regarding the time-frame in which this market will be settled, however, settlement of the US Presidential Election and related markets will not be completed until the result is beyond doubt and unfortunately, this may take some time, given the possibility of recounts and current legal challenges filed by the Republican Party.

    As such, given the highly contested nature of this election, the decision has been taken in the best interests of our customers to delay settling this market, until there is clarity around any ongoing recounts and legal challenges.

    This decision has been taken in-line with our terms and conditions, which for ease of use, have been copied below:

    In the event of any uncertainty about any result or potential result, Betfair reserves the right to suspend settlement of any market for an unlimited period until the uncertainty can be resolved to the reasonable satisfaction of Betfair.

    Betfair reserves the right to void any market if the uncertainty regarding settlement cannot be resolved to Betfair's reasonable satisfaction.

    Please note that we are keeping abreast of all developments in this on-going situation and will be settling this market as soon as there is no longer any uncertainty regarding the outcome of this election.

    I fully appreciate that this is not the response which you had hoped to receive here, and I apologise for any frustration or inconvenience which this may have caused to you.

    I hope that this clarifies the matter for you and should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Helpdesk team.

    Thanks,

    Christian
    Escalation Management Team

    "Possibility of recounts ?"

    There's no possibility of recounts in any of the markets now.

    Their rules were not on who would become president, it's on projected ECVs to attain the presidency.

    Uncertainty in projected ECVs would be along the lines of if a state was as close as Iowa-2 which is currently a 6 vote margin.

    What Betfair is doing rather than intrroduce clarity is potentially allowing false markets to come about as a potential of corrupt state legislatures, bias courts and dictatorial moves by the White House.
    Fortunately the superloons in GOP legislatures are outnumbered, GOP governors (Ducey, Kemp) and SoS (Raffensberger) are putting democracy above fealty to Trump, not enough WH minions are quite corrupt enough to declare huge fraud (Barr) and the judges with a couple of exceptions (MAGA McCullough springs to mind) are placing the law & constitution above any sort of fealty to Trump.

    Simply put Biden is the winner of Projected ECVs. The murky depths of the US legal political system look, fortunately for the US as if they'll hold but they should never ever have entered into the Betfair market as the rules were rather simply (And well !) stated.
  • So, after getting kudos for acquiring the vaccine early, the govt now plans to screw up the distribution?

    :D
    No. They plan to stick to the original plan and not screw it up.

    Elderly care home residents first. The MHRA need to specify how it may be distributed to them. Some had assumed that because it would go into hospitals first, it would go to NHS staff first. It's work in progress.
    Well then, they need to be careful how they manage the PR. If they trumpet a Great Vaccine Victory Saving Us All rather than a phased approach where "you, Jo Smith, will get it next Autumn" then people are going to get very annoyed. A lot of businesses and people want this over now, not their turn sometime late next year,,,
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689

    Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    Hopefully this month. Around Christmas.
    Being very selfish for the moment, I wonder what chance Mrs P and I have of celebrating our ruby wedding in New York next May as planned. 50/50 at the moment?
    How likely do you think it is the US will have inoculated a significant portion of its population by then to allow them to lift the travel ban?
    About 50/50 for that and I think 60/40 that we will have been vaccinated and be confident to travel.

    But in the great scheme of things ours is a very minor issue.
  • Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    Hopefully this month. Around Christmas.
    Being very selfish for the moment, I wonder what chance Mrs P and I have of celebrating our ruby wedding in New York next May as planned. 50/50 at the moment?
    50/50 sounds about right. Let's hope it comes good (and that you both have a great time!)
    And if it doesn't ... apparently a lot of people are upgrading their cars with the money they were not allowed to spend on a summer holiday, and I expect the same is true for other high-value purchases. Congratulations and good luck.
  • OnboardG1OnboardG1 Posts: 1,589

    Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    Hopefully this month. Around Christmas.
    Being very selfish for the moment, I wonder what chance Mrs P and I have of celebrating our ruby wedding in New York next May as planned. 50/50 at the moment?
    How likely do you think it is the US will have inoculated a significant portion of its population by then to allow them to lift the travel ban?
    About 50/50 for that and I think 60/40 that we will have been vaccinated and be confident to travel.

    But in the great scheme of things ours is a very minor issue.
    I'm meant to be travelling to the US on business (that cannot be done at home since it requires wire strippers and a shovel) in July. Not sure if it'll happen. Depends if the US is less of a basket case under Biden on COVID.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,602
    edited December 2020

    My complaint to Betfair

    I cannot tell you how angry your stance on the US Elections Markets is making me and how disinclined i am to bet on markets in the future.

    All other betting firms have closed the following markets can you supply your rationale for not settling the following

    1. Biden Popular Vote Biden is currently on 81,012,489 votes. Why has Biden over 75m not settled

    2. Georgia State Betting Democrats to win. Georgia Certified its results on 20/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of almost 13,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    3. Arizona State Betting Democrats to win. Arizona Certified its results on 30/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 10,000 there are no court challenges outstanding why is it not settled?

    4.Pensylvania State Betting Democrats to win. Pensylvania Certified its results on 24/11/20 as a Democratic win with a margin of more than 80,000 there are no court challenges outstanding that can impact that number of votes, why is it not settled?

    I look forward to a speedy response to the 4 points above. If none is received by 6/12/20 I will contact the Gambling Commission who i am aware have already been contacted by many Betfair Customers due to you refusing to settle the main Presedential market in accordance with your own rules

    Their response received in less than 4hrs - get fucked we can do what we want
    They must be really worried about some contingency pointed out by their lawyers, to destroy the goodwill with their punters to such an extensive degree.
  • Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    If JVT is saying (bbc news) that 99% of hospital cases and deaths could be blocked by a big uptake of vaccine in phase 1 then surely we can unlock as soon as that phase is done?

    By next Christmas then...
    you're not optimistic then?
    Nah, just dark humour. I expect lockdown will be over by Easter.
    Urgh.
    You mentioned Easter but I think we got away with it.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689
    O/T

    It must really infuriate Trump that he has only 88.7m Twitter followers compared to Obama's 126.9m.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,713
    https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1334630248915333122?s=19

    I have no particular issue with Fauci, but America is crazy to have such a gerontocracy. Let the poor bugger put his feet up.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689
    OnboardG1 said:

    Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    Hopefully this month. Around Christmas.
    Being very selfish for the moment, I wonder what chance Mrs P and I have of celebrating our ruby wedding in New York next May as planned. 50/50 at the moment?
    How likely do you think it is the US will have inoculated a significant portion of its population by then to allow them to lift the travel ban?
    About 50/50 for that and I think 60/40 that we will have been vaccinated and be confident to travel.

    But in the great scheme of things ours is a very minor issue.
    I'm meant to be travelling to the US on business (that cannot be done at home since it requires wire strippers and a shovel) in July. Not sure if it'll happen. Depends if the US is less of a basket case under Biden on COVID.
    I read that as "...involves wine, strippers, and a shovel".

    That's some 'business trip'. 😂
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,136
    Pulpstar said:

    For what it's worth, here is Betfair's non-answer to my complaint about their handling of the US Presidential Election markets. I believe others have received similarly bland, unhelpful responses.



    Dear Mr Smith,

    I hope that this email finds you well.

    I am writing to you in relation to your query regarding the settlement of bets placed on the Exchange markets relating to the USA Presidential Election.

    I fully appreciate that you have concerns regarding the time-frame in which this market will be settled, however, settlement of the US Presidential Election and related markets will not be completed until the result is beyond doubt and unfortunately, this may take some time, given the possibility of recounts and current legal challenges filed by the Republican Party.

    As such, given the highly contested nature of this election, the decision has been taken in the best interests of our customers to delay settling this market, until there is clarity around any ongoing recounts and legal challenges.

    This decision has been taken in-line with our terms and conditions, which for ease of use, have been copied below:

    In the event of any uncertainty about any result or potential result, Betfair reserves the right to suspend settlement of any market for an unlimited period until the uncertainty can be resolved to the reasonable satisfaction of Betfair.

    Betfair reserves the right to void any market if the uncertainty regarding settlement cannot be resolved to Betfair's reasonable satisfaction.

    Please note that we are keeping abreast of all developments in this on-going situation and will be settling this market as soon as there is no longer any uncertainty regarding the outcome of this election.

    I fully appreciate that this is not the response which you had hoped to receive here, and I apologise for any frustration or inconvenience which this may have caused to you.

    I hope that this clarifies the matter for you and should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Helpdesk team.

    Thanks,

    Christian
    Escalation Management Team

    "Possibility of recounts ?"

    There's no possibility of recounts in any of the markets now.

    Their rules were not on who would become president, it's on projected ECVs to attain the presidency.

    Uncertainty in projected ECVs would be along the lines of if a state was as close as Iowa-2 which is currently a 6 vote margin.

    What Betfair is doing rather than intrroduce clarity is potentially allowing false markets to come about as a potential of corrupt state legislatures, bias courts and dictatorial moves by the White House.
    Fortunately the superloons in GOP legislatures are outnumbered, GOP governors (Ducey, Kemp) and SoS (Raffensberger) are putting democracy above fealty to Trump, not enough WH minions are quite corrupt enough to declare huge fraud (Barr) and the judges with a couple of exceptions (MAGA McCullough springs to mind) are placing the law & constitution above any sort of fealty to Trump.

    Simply put Biden is the winner of Projected ECVs. The murky depths of the US legal political system look, fortunately for the US as if they'll hold but they should never ever have entered into the Betfair market as the rules were rather simply (And well !) stated.
    Under the US constitution when the Electoral College meets on December 14th that will actually confirm the next President, so unlikely to be any payouts until then absent a Trump concession
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,602
    Any provision on state aid is going to need a rather short sunset clause - 24 months? - to get past Conservative MPs. They can't go into the next election with that still a thing.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,592
    edited December 2020
    Just had to switch off Newsnight. Pity because it used to be my favourite news programme.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689
    Pulpstar said:

    For what it's worth, here is Betfair's non-answer to my complaint about their handling of the US Presidential Election markets. I believe others have received similarly bland, unhelpful responses.



    Dear Mr Smith,

    I hope that this email finds you well.

    I am writing to you in relation to your query regarding the settlement of bets placed on the Exchange markets relating to the USA Presidential Election.

    I fully appreciate that you have concerns regarding the time-frame in which this market will be settled, however, settlement of the US Presidential Election and related markets will not be completed until the result is beyond doubt and unfortunately, this may take some time, given the possibility of recounts and current legal challenges filed by the Republican Party.

    As such, given the highly contested nature of this election, the decision has been taken in the best interests of our customers to delay settling this market, until there is clarity around any ongoing recounts and legal challenges.

    This decision has been taken in-line with our terms and conditions, which for ease of use, have been copied below:

    In the event of any uncertainty about any result or potential result, Betfair reserves the right to suspend settlement of any market for an unlimited period until the uncertainty can be resolved to the reasonable satisfaction of Betfair.

    Betfair reserves the right to void any market if the uncertainty regarding settlement cannot be resolved to Betfair's reasonable satisfaction.

    Please note that we are keeping abreast of all developments in this on-going situation and will be settling this market as soon as there is no longer any uncertainty regarding the outcome of this election.

    I fully appreciate that this is not the response which you had hoped to receive here, and I apologise for any frustration or inconvenience which this may have caused to you.

    I hope that this clarifies the matter for you and should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Helpdesk team.

    Thanks,

    Christian
    Escalation Management Team

    "Possibility of recounts ?"

    There's no possibility of recounts in any of the markets now.

    Their rules were not on who would become president, it's on projected ECVs to attain the presidency.

    Uncertainty in projected ECVs would be along the lines of if a state was as close as Iowa-2 which is currently a 6 vote margin.

    What Betfair is doing rather than intrroduce clarity is potentially allowing false markets to come about as a potential of corrupt state legislatures, bias courts and dictatorial moves by the White House.
    Fortunately the superloons in GOP legislatures are outnumbered, GOP governors (Ducey, Kemp) and SoS (Raffensberger) are putting democracy above fealty to Trump, not enough WH minions are quite corrupt enough to declare huge fraud (Barr) and the judges with a couple of exceptions (MAGA McCullough springs to mind) are placing the law & constitution above any sort of fealty to Trump.

    Simply put Biden is the winner of Projected ECVs. The murky depths of the US legal political system look, fortunately for the US as if they'll hold but they should never ever have entered into the Betfair market as the rules were rather simply (And well !) stated.
    Is there not the option to sue BetFair for any winnings you are due through the small claims court?
  • OnboardG1 said:

    Slightly disappointing, but who wouldn’t have taken 5 million doses in arms by 31st dec 2020 at the start of the week?
    Oxford on its way. May be a better solution anyway as doesn't need a -70c supply route.
    How far away from approval do you reckon?
    Hopefully this month. Around Christmas.
    Being very selfish for the moment, I wonder what chance Mrs P and I have of celebrating our ruby wedding in New York next May as planned. 50/50 at the moment?
    How likely do you think it is the US will have inoculated a significant portion of its population by then to allow them to lift the travel ban?
    About 50/50 for that and I think 60/40 that we will have been vaccinated and be confident to travel.

    But in the great scheme of things ours is a very minor issue.
    I'm meant to be travelling to the US on business (that cannot be done at home since it requires wire strippers and a shovel) in July. Not sure if it'll happen. Depends if the US is less of a basket case under Biden on COVID.
    Sounding quite contract killery there.
  • Pro_RataPro_Rata Posts: 5,288

    So, after getting kudos for acquiring the vaccine early, the govt now plans to screw up the distribution?

    :D
    No. They plan to stick to the original plan and not screw it up.

    Elderly care home residents first. The MHRA need to specify how it may be distributed to them. Some had assumed that because it would go into hospitals first, it would go to NHS staff first. It's work in progress.
    Again to mention Ebola in response to the idea that the Pfizer vaccine is somehow too difficult for wide distribution in the UK. Below 40k vaccinated in a challenging province of Congo to bring a localised outbreak under control with vaccines that also required -70.

    https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/11/1077912
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689
    That's a very chilling photo.
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172

    Off topic, but a bit of good, if not amazing, news in astronomy:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55178257

    I've been reading about it since before it was launched, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so good.

    The world, and science, have moved forwards massively in my lifetime and continue to do so.

    But we've definitely got worse at sharing that with the general public. One of the reasons I've done what I've done is BBC1 primetime shows like QED and Tomorrow's World. They don't exist in the same way now, and that's a shame.

    Science is blooming amazing.
    :+1: I wonder if they will ever produce another one given the wealth of data produced by this satellite? Maybe a pair with one being sent up at 90° to the orbital plane using a gravity slingshot to allow a really long baseline between them? Five or 10 AUs would bump the precision up considerably.
    There is a very good reason why this is a very bad idea.

    Almost all the space-borne telescopes are at the Lagrange points.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_objects_at_Lagrange_points

    They are "parked" relative to the Sun and Earth.
    It does not give a long enough baseline using the Lagrange points (and even L3 is pointless). They are used to keep the satellites in a stable position whilst minimising the need for orbital corrections which means less fuel needs to be carried. I was thinking of a probe moving out of the solar system so a Lagrangian orbit would not be of any use. The reason for the high inclination of the trajectory is so that the probe is always in an easily accessible part of the the sky regardless of where the Earth is in its orbit.
    The satellite is measuring the sky positions and distances of stars, etc. The measurement of the distances comes from the parallactic motion (i.e. the annual motion of the Earth (& Lagrange point) about the Sun).

    Spaceship Beibheirli zooming about the Solar system on an high inclination orbit would not be very useful for measuring parallactic motion.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,671
    edited December 2020
    Ugh, if Boris agrees to this then he deserves to be ousted and charged with High Treason.

    https://twitter.com/QuentinAries/status/1334596958204407812
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,713

    So, after getting kudos for acquiring the vaccine early, the govt now plans to screw up the distribution?

    :D
    No. They plan to stick to the original plan and not screw it up.

    Elderly care home residents first. The MHRA need to specify how it may be distributed to them. Some had assumed that because it would go into hospitals first, it would go to NHS staff first. It's work in progress.
    Supposedly they are going to opportunistically catch care home residents in hospital outpatients and inpatients and vaccinate them. Apart from the slightly random approach, it is a scheme that doesn't address how they do the second shot.

    Its almost as if it has been outsourced to Grayling and Harding.
  • I've seen something similar in lockdown for nursing homes to allow them to chat to family members and not because they are about to die.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689
    Ventured out to John Lewis today to look for some new sofas - not a sensible on-line purchase imo.

    First time out apart from exercise since the start of lockdown2.

    Quite busy but 100% mask compliance by everyone we saw - good distancing - all felt very sober, sensible and safe.

  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,592
    Not helpful.

    "Anthony Fauci: Britain was too quick to approve Covid vaccine"

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/anthony-fauci-britain-was-too-quick-to-approve-covid-vaccine-587vv3c6x
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,713

    That's a very chilling photo.
    Our ICU staff find that the hardest thing. They are pretty used to patients dying, it is the nature of their work, but they find it very hard without any relatives around. It is a very cruel death.

    Our Leicester numbers have improved, less than 200 inpatients now and only 25 or so on ICU, indeed we are takingpatients from other hospitals again. Nottingham still seems to be a nightmare. They have 70 odd on ICU when I last heard.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689
    edited December 2020
    US recorded its highest daily deaths yesterday according to Worldometer.

    https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,592
    I reckon the Americans are annoyed that they didn't get there first with the vaccine.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,689
    Andy_JS said:

    Not helpful.

    "Anthony Fauci: Britain was too quick to approve Covid vaccine"

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/anthony-fauci-britain-was-too-quick-to-approve-covid-vaccine-587vv3c6x

    "Dr Fauci apologises for saying UK 'rushed' vaccine"

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55177948
This discussion has been closed.