Let us talk about the man who wanted to castrate Michael Gove – politicalbetting.com

MalcolmDunn said:

This thread says more about the author's prejudice than anything else. He has no evidence,none that Raab was incompetent.

There’s a distinction in unfair dismissal law between dismissals by reason of conduct and dismissals by reason of capability. In practice it’s often hard to correctly distinguish between the two.

OldKingCole said:

DougSeal said:

MalcolmDunn said:

This thread says more about the author's prejudice than anything else. He has no evidence,none that Raab was incompetent.

There’s a distinction in unfair dismissal law between dismissals by reason of conduct and dismissals by reason of capability. In practice it’s often hard to correctly distinguish between the two.

Surely 'capability' is a reflection (at least) on the person who employed them, rather than the worker themselves?

It’s too broad to generalise like that. Capability also encompasses dismissals for medical reasons, people who can’t adapt to new ways of working etc.

This cats and dogs nonsense is not really an issue about cats and dogs but one of sentimentality and media emotion getting in the way of decisions - Happens a lot more in the social media world we live in and I hate it. Not just in government but in business and charities. Bring back logic , bring back saying "no" please!

Reported that with the drawbridge now coming up, there are 150 British citizens and 500 US citizens still in the country, not to mention of course Afghans with the right of asylum who now cannot leave.

I would say the political fate of not just Biden but also Johnson will rest heavily on whose hands those poor people fall into. If it’s the Taliban, and a back room deal can be struck to get them out, fantastic. If it’s ISIS/AQ then it could get pretty grim.

Point of fact, Theon wasn't just castrated..

squareroot2 said:

Mexicanpete said:

squareroot2 said:

Premier

Inn?

Nooooooo.. vastly overpriced for what you get.. imho. Ok if you have a family room.. otherwise no way Josė. Be careful if you want to book P Inn ..book as early as possible, price for rooms varies almost by the second. You could in extreme circumstances be paying 29 quid for a room next door to someone who might have paid 150 for a similar room booked on the day...

The one in Kensington is good if you want to meet air crew

Pulpstar said:

Point of fact, Theon wasn't just castrated..

I'm going off the books.

The show was much more graphic.

Pulpstar said:

Point of fact, Theon wasn't just castrated..

Perhaps he ought to be, given the stuff he posts here?

Oh, sorry, ...Theon

TheScreamingEagles said:

Pulpstar said:

Point of fact, Theon wasn't just castrated..

I'm going off the books.

The show was much more graphic.

Ugh that scene where Ramsay bites into the big juicy sausage with the hapless Theon in the background

Pulpstar said:

Point of fact, Theon wasn't just castrated..

Fact…. or fiction ?

MalcolmDunn said:

This thread says more about the author's prejudice than anything else. He has no evidence,none that Raab was incompetent.

Raab sits atop the diplomatic corps and foreign intelligence. Who do you think should carry the can for a) failing to get the evacuation going on good time like the French did, b) leaving a stack of sensitive documents at the embassy

kjh said:

TSE, my hero, predicts in a header a prediction I made a few days ago. My life is complete, even if I'm completely wrong.

Same here. TSE, the villain, is clearly plagiarising our posts. The excellent header is just a longer-winded version of something I posted on Wednesday:

I wonder if Ben Wallace may resign once the immediate Afghan crisis is over? Reading between the lines, he seems fairly pissed off with Raab/FCO and with Boris (and/or Carrie), and he strikes me as if he may have a sense of honour/principle. Next Cabinet Minister out?

DecrepiterJohnL said:

This thread has taken an unsavoury turn already.

Apologies. I won’t mention Raab again.

DecrepiterJohnL said:

This thread has taken an unsavoury turn already.

A thread with "castrate" in the headline? You surprise me.

Would never have happened with a Herdson Saturday offering.....

Northern_Al said:

kjh said:

TSE, my hero, predicts in a header a prediction I made a few days ago. My life is complete, even if I'm completely wrong.

Same here. TSE, the villain, is clearly plagiarising our posts. The excellent header is just a longer-winded version of something I posted on Wednesday:

I wonder if Ben Wallace may resign once the immediate Afghan crisis is over? Reading between the lines, he seems fairly pissed off with Raab/FCO and with Boris (and/or Carrie), and he strikes me as if he may have a sense of honour/principle. Next Cabinet Minister out?

I said the following on 20 August:

"On topic I wonder if Ben Wallace could be the next to go. Not because he will be fired, but resigns. He is doing a stirring effort in defending the Govt position, but he has also appeared very unhappy about what happened. I wonder if he is the sort who although he might want to resign is also someone who doesn't do so when there is a problem that needs sorting first. He seems genuinely upset by what has happened"

Just saying....

Evidence suggests that Delta infection much more likely (around 2x) than previous variants to lead to hospitalisation of unvaccinated individuals:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00475-8/fulltext

(The effect relating to vaccinated isn’t clear from the data - since there are far fewer hospitalisations.)

He says “all the emails” like it’s irritating spam. The flippancy and joviality with which he refers to the plight of abandoned, desperate UK citizens is contemptible. These are human beings Prime Minister, in case you’ve forgotten.
https://twitter.com/heidiallen75/status/1431522683225841664

NickPalmer said:

Opinions are divided about Wallace but he certainly made his mark on public awareness, somewhat at the expense of the PM and his wife. Past experience in this administration doesn't suggest that it will be rewarded with a promotion, and I suspect he's aware of that and is playing a longer game.

I would have thought that he has risen as far as he can. He isn't really a candidate for any of the top 4 jobs, so resigning would be the end of his political career. Sacked maybe, but not resigning IMO.

I have to laugh at the post expressing upset at the suggestion that Raab might be a thickie. He's not only politically stupid, he appears to be be arrogant in his actual stupidity. Which is why his place in cabinet was never under threat from beachgate.

Seriously though, who wants to make a stand defending *that*.

Foxy said:

NickPalmer said:

Opinions are divided about Wallace but he certainly made his mark on public awareness, somewhat at the expense of the PM and his wife. Past experience in this administration doesn't suggest that it will be rewarded with a promotion, and I suspect he's aware of that and is playing a longer game.

I would have thought that he has risen as far as he can. He isn't really a candidate for any of the top 4 jobs, so resigning would be the end of his political career. Sacked maybe, but not resigning IMO.

Boris doesn't sack and he has reason to resign, but based on my track record that probably means you are correct.

It would appear than Pen Farthing made it out with his pets, but not any of the Afghan staff

Do we really like dogs more than brown people?

Scott_xP said:

It would appear than Pen Farthing made it out with his pets, but not any of the Afghan staff

Do we really like dogs more than brown people?

Is the colour of the people any more relevant than the colour of the dogs?

isam said:

@OldKingCole latest is my gf went to the doctors and he looked down her throat/ears and said she has an infection and gave her anti biotics. But she’s been coughing all night and has just gone for a PCR test. Four negative LFTs though.

Surely the doctor would have said if she’s likely to have Covid, no?

There are quite a few other respiratory viruses around, as immunity had dropped.

Scott_xP said:

It would appear than Pen Farthing made it out with his pets, but not any of the Afghan staff

Do we really like dogs more than brown people?

As I said earlier, that is a false dichotomy. It was never that one would take the place of the other, if you think about who sits where on planes.

Leaving the Afghani staff to the Taliban's mercies is, or ought to be, a real scandal. Don't confound it with cats and dogs.

Foxy said:

isam said:

@OldKingCole latest is my gf went to the doctors and he looked down her throat/ears and said she has an infection and gave her anti biotics. But she’s been coughing all night and has just gone for a PCR test. Four negative LFTs though.

Surely the doctor would have said if she’s likely to have Covid, no?

There are quite a few other respiratory viruses around, as immunity had dropped.

@isam - I understand why you must be worried, but the balance of probabilities here is very much with it being one of the many non-covid illnesses which are still out there.
My wife had tow or three throat infections during her pregnancies. I don't know if one of the side effects of pregnancy is an increased susceptibility to that sort of thing, but it doesn't sound implausible.
Still not nice for her (or you) but hopefully the antibiotics will sort her out.

Foxy said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Scott_xP said:

It would appear than Pen Farthing made it out with his pets, but not any of the Afghan staff

Do we really like dogs more than brown people?

As I said earlier, that is a false dichotomy. It was never that one would take the place of the other, if you think about who sits where on planes.

Leaving the Afghani staff to the Taliban's mercies is, or ought to be, a real scandal. Don't confound it with cats and dogs.

We're his Afghan staff and their families eligible for evacuation?

The weight of the evidence did suggest the man is a total arsehole but it did cross my mind that this whole saga may have been a contrivance by Farthing to get his staff out.

Scott_xP said:

It would appear than Pen Farthing made it out with his pets, but not any of the Afghan staff

Do we really like dogs more than brown people?

You already know the answer to that question...

squareroot2 said:

MattW said:

On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

Never seen before, and very welcome.

There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

Hot cross buns used to be a seasonal treat. Come to think of it, I'm not sure Creme Eggs were year-round either. Jumpers for goalposts...

moonshine said:

Reported that with the drawbridge now coming up, there are 150 British citizens and 500 US citizens still in the country, not to mention of course Afghans with the right of asylum who now cannot leave.

I would say the political fate of not just Biden but also Johnson will rest heavily on whose hands those poor people fall into. If it’s the Taliban, and a back room deal can be struck to get them out, fantastic. If it’s ISIS/AQ then it could get pretty grim.

A question is how many of those people wanted to leave - there will be some who would not for whatever reason.

I'd still like to know what the limiting factor(s) in getting people out of Kabul was. Was it airlift capacity? Airfield capacity? Documentation/bureaucracy?

Foxy said:

DavidL said:

Foxy said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Scott_xP said:

It would appear than Pen Farthing made it out with his pets, but not any of the Afghan staff

Do we really like dogs more than brown people?

As I said earlier, that is a false dichotomy. It was never that one would take the place of the other, if you think about who sits where on planes.

Leaving the Afghani staff to the Taliban's mercies is, or ought to be, a real scandal. Don't confound it with cats and dogs.

We're his Afghan staff and their families eligible for evacuation?

The weight of the evidence did suggest the man is a total arsehole but it did cross my mind that this whole saga may have been a contrivance by Farthing to get his staff out.

No, he plainly is devoted to his animals, no matter how bonkers that seems.

Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt here. Otherwise total tosser.

MattW said:

On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

Never seen before, and very welcome.

Last year as lockdown removed the restaurants and hotels sector we saw some amazing food being offered for a song through supermarkets and wholesalers. The back end of this year threatens the same - not because a lack of demand, but because of a lack of capacity.

The workforce crunch (500k workers!!!) means that stacks of piggy wiggy woos and other foodstock animals can't go for the chop. Which means that the usual Christmas ranges can't be produced, which will lead to a glut of non-seasonal product later in the autumn as Mr Pig and Mr Turkey has to get turned into *something* so go for the lowest effort option instead of luxury pings in blankets or that delicious Iceland 7 Bird Roast.

You may not be able to get your planned nice meats this year. But you'll be able to get piles of bangers for a song. Buy a chest freezer...

MalcolmDunn said:

This thread says more about the author's prejudice than anything else. He has no evidence,none that Raab was incompetent.

Good morning Dominic

MattW said:

On the cats'n'dogs, Wallace took the only position possible for any non-deranged politician - people before pooches.

I wonder how Pen wotsit's reputation will survive.

All that rhetoric about 'plane will be filled with people where for places our staff don't take', getting into bed with Dominic Dyer, all that trolling from supporters and the rest.

Pen will be fine. He's a Military Hero, and he's saving pets. In the court of British public opinion, that makes him doubly immune.

(For avoidance of doubt, this is a bad thing.)

Another good day at the Paralympics leaves Britain second in the medals table, whether scored by quality or quantity of medals.
https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/en/results/all-sports/medal-standings.htm

Brexit is certainly partly responsible for shortages, but it's far from the whole story

https://capx.co/will-supply-shortages-choke-the-economic-recovery/

williamglenn said:

Scott_xP said:

squareroot2 said:

There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649

In the US they’re trying to encourage more women to become truck drivers because of a shortage.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-20/women-are-entering-a-trucking-industry-that-s-not-built-for-them

No reason why not. Power steering changed the game for women bus drivers. Anti-social hours and nights away from home are perhaps the big issues now that cabs are nice places.

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Another good day at the Paralympics leaves Britain second in the medals table, whether scored by quality or quantity of medals.
https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/en/results/all-sports/medal-standings.htm

One of my best sporting memories was being in a beer garden right outside the swimming arena with a huge screen while Ellie Simmonds won her gold medal in 2012. The noise from the swimming arena and in the beer garden was incredible. Everyone went berserk as she lost ground on every turn and then engaged those propeller arms.

But, somehow, this has really not grabbed me this time. Its too far away, the timing is difficult, the coverage is limited and the lack of crowds really hurts. Strangely it seems to hurt even more when the participants are not household names. I have barely watched half an hour of the Paralympics so far. I regret that but it is what it is.

williamglenn said:

Scott_xP said:

squareroot2 said:

There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649

In US they’re trying to encourage more women to become truck drivers because of a shortage.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-20/women-are-entering-a-trucking-industry-that-s-not-built-for-them

That's a great article, and it's good to see more women being encouraged to take up trucking. There's no real reason they cannot do it, so I'd expect a higher percentage of women to be doing it.

One part does amuse me, though: "Missing “birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, being out here by yourself on Christmas, being out here by yourself on Mother’s Day—these are the things a lot of people aren’t prepared for,” says Ingrid Brown, the owner-operator of North Carolina-based trucking company Rollin’ B LLC."

Many people seem to forget that many men don't like having to miss birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc, etc. A friend of mine is often travelling on business, for months at a time. His wife (once a very good engineer) loves the housewife life, and good for her. But he hates the fact he misses so much of his kids' childhood. But someone needs to earn the money.

It's probably impossible for someone in long-distance trucking, especially in a country like America, to live a 'normal' home life. And there are a surprisingly large number of jobs like that, from shift work to the military. If you want to do those jobs, there are consequences.

DavidL said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Another good day at the Paralympics leaves Britain second in the medals table, whether scored by quality or quantity of medals.
https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/en/results/all-sports/medal-standings.htm

One of my best sporting memories was being in a beer garden right outside the swimming arena with a huge screen while Ellie Simmonds won her gold medal in 2012. The noise from the swimming arena and in the beer garden was incredible. Everyone went berserk as she lost ground on every turn and then engaged those propeller arms.

But, somehow, this has really not grabbed me this time. Its too far away, the timing is difficult, the coverage is limited and the lack of crowds really hurts. Strangely it seems to hurt even more when the participants are not household names. I have barely watched half an hour of the Paralympics so far. I regret that but it is what it is.

You may be right. In London 2012, the Paralympics, perhaps for the first time, mattered. It became a first class citizen rather than an afterthought to the "real" games. This year, I've been staying up to watch the Paralympics but then not actually watching, just dipping in and out.

Cookie said:

Foxy said:

isam said:

@OldKingCole latest is my gf went to the doctors and he looked down her throat/ears and said she has an infection and gave her anti biotics. But she’s been coughing all night and has just gone for a PCR test. Four negative LFTs though.

Surely the doctor would have said if she’s likely to have Covid, no?

There are quite a few other respiratory viruses around, as immunity had dropped.

@isam - I understand why you must be worried, but the balance of probabilities here is very much with it being one of the many non-covid illnesses which are still out there.
My wife had tow or three throat infections during her pregnancies. I don't know if one of the side effects of pregnancy is an increased susceptibility to that sort of thing, but it doesn't sound implausible.
Still not nice for her (or you) but hopefully the antibiotics will sort her out.

Yes, agree with Mr C's last sentence, and indeed hope that all goes well. Women get so much, and often contrary, information during pregnancy today. Didn't you say she's got a session with the midwife on Tuesday? Midwives are usually very good at sorting out these sorts of worries.
Only, 5-6 weeks to go now, and, writing as a father of three and grandfather of seven, a new set of worries will take over!

DecrepiterJohnL said:

DavidL said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Another good day at the Paralympics leaves Britain second in the medals table, whether scored by quality or quantity of medals.
https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/en/results/all-sports/medal-standings.htm

One of my best sporting memories was being in a beer garden right outside the swimming arena with a huge screen while Ellie Simmonds won her gold medal in 2012. The noise from the swimming arena and in the beer garden was incredible. Everyone went berserk as she lost ground on every turn and then engaged those propeller arms.

But, somehow, this has really not grabbed me this time. Its too far away, the timing is difficult, the coverage is limited and the lack of crowds really hurts. Strangely it seems to hurt even more when the participants are not household names. I have barely watched half an hour of the Paralympics so far. I regret that but it is what it is.

You may be right. In London 2012, the Paralympics, perhaps for the first time, mattered. It became a first class citizen rather than an afterthought to the "real" games. This year, I've been staying up to watch the Paralympics but then not actually watching, just dipping in and out.

One of the many things that made the 2012 Olympics the best ever was the fact that even the early morning heats took place before packed stadiums with a buzzing atmosphere. It gave the participants an incredible lift and the same applied to the Paralympics after it. We are, as a nation, crazy for live sport. Other nations may have higher participation rates but I doubt anyone else matches the enthusiasm for attending.

YoungTurk said:

FPT

rcs1000 said:

YoungTurk said:

Off-topic: what is it supposed to mean when the government say that everyone aged 18+ has been offered vaccination?

What do they mean by "everyone" and "offered"?
Does "everyone" mean all residents, everyone who has an NHS number, everyone who is registered with a GP, or something else?
Does "offered" mean contacted personally, addressed impersonally in a publicity campaign, or one of these if a person is in one part of the population and the other if they're not?

I'm trying to get a handle on the demographics of the unvaccinated. Many (anecdotally) seem prone to believe that groups on which they're not especially keen are over-represented among the unvaccinated. Sometimes such beliefs may be accurate, but sometimes they derive in large part from prejudice.

How does being unvaccinated vary with level of formal education?

I plugged a few areas into the BBC website and came up with the following figures for the double-vaccinated: Western Isles 90%, South Norfolk 83%, North Norfolk 83%, Cardiff 81%, Highland 81%, Basingstoke 80%, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 79%, County Durham 77%, Thanet 77%, Belfast 77%, Derry City and Strabane 77%, Tunbridge Wells 76%, Windsor and Maidenhead 76%, Edinburgh 72%, Glasgow 72%, Leeds 66%, Reading 61%, Southampton 61%, Cambridge 54%, Lambeth 54%, Oxford 53%, Hackney and the City of London 52%, Kensington and Chelsea 50%.

At Cambridge, you are required to be registered with a local GP. Cambridge GPs therefore live high on the hog, as students aren't there half the year. And don't forget, the academic year finished there three months ago.

Their low percentage is therefore a consequence of students not being in Cambridge and probably getting jabbed at mummy's place.

Can that explain the size of the difference? Cambridge is at 54% double-vaccinated, against a national figure of 78%.

I'm not even sure that Anglia Ruskin which has more undergraduates than Cambridge University, albeit not all studying on the Cambridge campus, has a local GP registration rule.

Target indicator economics suggests that

1. officials in areas where vaccinations take place will rush to add them to the tally, but

2. officials in Cambridge - where presumably GPs' offices are informed when patients get vaccinated elsewhere - won't hesitate much in removing elsewhere-jabbed patients from their denominators.

That said, 2. would be counteracted by the expectation of funds, not necessarily directly SARSCoV2-themed, for the size of those denominators.

Canterbury is probably more studenty than Cambridge and is at 71%.
Then there's Kensington and Chelsea at 50%.

Some are blaming the unvaccinated for a lot, so it would be interesting to know more about who they are.

K&C especially, and Cambridge as well, must be very high on the list of areas where some residents own multiple homes, not just students living in a mix of places. You are right to ask for more context, I don't think the numbers are particularly reliable.

RochdalePioneers said:

rottenborough said:

squareroot2 said:

MattW said:

On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

Never seen before, and very welcome.

There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

Don't Morrisons have their own owned uk suppliers for things like fish? I seem to recall old Sir Ken Morrison was keen on controlling the supply chain.

All there to be asset stripped no doubt by the new owners.

They do - and they manufacturer most of their baked goods like Hot Cross Buns and Donuts (hence the low price). Had they been bought by one of the predatory bids then undoubtedly this would all have been flogged off. Their new owners? Doubt it - they're investing for the long haul and the vertical supply chain is what makes Mozzas unique.

I've lost track then. Who bought them in the end?

OldKingCole said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

bigjohnowls said:

On Topic

Should have been Gove's father that was castrated.

Wouldn't have helped. Gove was adopted.

Still had a biological father, though!

Has he though? One wonders.

Dogs must have contributed an awful lot to helping many people keep their spirits up, and their sanity, these past 17 months.

The vast majority of even feral dogs are commensal with humans. In Moscow some take the tube from where they live, beg, and then catch the tube back home again later in the day.