Can I ask that people who post really long links either run them through a url shortener or put them in anchor tags? The formatting on this page on mobile devices is screwed due to a really long link.
Thank you. Personally I don't think racism to be the blasphemy abve all other blasphemies to use your phrase. I'm wary of creating a hierarchy of crimes and victims, though clearly some crimes are more serious than others. Nor do I like the imposition of only one way of thinking about things - the received view, as it were. And I agree that the accusation of racism is often used as a way of shutting down legitimate debate and criticism, in a way which has become very harmful.
As a matter of interest have there been people put in prison for calling people names? I can't think of any cases - but if there are I'd be interested.
But being called rude words may well be trivial and not worthy of having police time etc being devoted to it.
Equally, being thrown out of a job or not employed or paid less for the same work or refused a restaurant table or a bed in a hotel or a flat because someone decides that they don't like women or "poofters" or "Pakis" is not a trivial matter. It's demeaning and wasteful and shaming. Such things did happen and those who endured it did not find it trivial and those who did it are not, really people to be admired. Anymore than we admire now those who attack Muslims and call them "terrorists" or those who attack Jews.
The fact that we did take steps in the 60's and later to address these sorts of issues is something to be admired and not to be thrown away lightly. Babies and bathwater, and all that.
Its also tendentious that the right to be able to discriminate against colored people (and frankly by extension other minorities of anyone who is different and not acceptable to the discriminator) is suddenly posited as being about some alleged difference between ordinary people and some mysterious 'elite'. This elite of course are yet another minority. I think we can see where we are going here with all the prejudiced out there with a vast confection of chips on their shoulder.
You do realise that 'colored' is deemed a racially derogatory discription.
I trust you will have the manners to apologise for using an offensive word.
Only in Holywood. However to be fair the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People seem happy enough. Name the racial groups how you like - you support removing their legal rights to avoid discrimination on the basis of their race creed or colour. Your tortuous excuses continue.
Can I ask that people who post really long links either run them through a url shortener or put them in anchor tags? The formatting on this page on mobile devices is screwed due to a really long link.
Can I ask that people who post really long links either run them through a url shortener or put them in anchor tags? The formatting on this page on mobile devices is screwed due to a really long link.
Can I ask that people who post really long links either run them through a url shortener or put them in anchor tags? The formatting on this page on mobile devices is screwed due to a really long link.
If Ed wins on May 7th, I'll accept the verdict. If he joins with the SNP to form a majority and Scotland gets extra goodies, I'll be irritated but accept it. That's democracy.
If Ukip were to somehow to win a majority (unlikely, I know, but this is a thought experiment), I would accept it (with some trepidation but that's democracy). If the Greens were to win a majority, I wouldn't emigrate, but I might start looking for a warm cave in the Pennines.
But would Antifrank and many others on here accept a Ukip government because the people have spoken? JackW probably; but for some, is democracy only acceptable when the 'right' people win?
We have a chunk of 'progressive' opinion unable to accept that others may have different opinions. They 'know' the others are wrong.
I spent my life as a scientist. A good scientist is never sure of anything, even measurable things. Yet 'progressive' people know everything without doubt. Did they ever grow up?
Good post. I'd accept whatever arises from a democratic vote. A UKIP, Green or Socialist Party government.
What I don't like are coronations, and that's why I got so exercised over Gordon Brown's term in office. I know we live under a party system and Labour had every right to coronate him but there was something very undemocratic about it all, especially the way he had his henchmen do what they could to topple Blair, and the way he had risen to the top of his party (through backroom deals, threats and intimidation, fear and tribalism).
There was plenty of evidence around in 2007 that Brown was not suited to becoming PM, and that was eventually borne out.
The honourable thing for a new leader to do when taking office would be to face the electorate and ask for a mandate. Brown avoided that.
Can I ask that people who post really long links either run them through a url shortener or put them in anchor tags? The formatting on this page on mobile devices is screwed due to a really long link.
I'm baffled by the notion of Sky News that video footage of three foolish girls [quite arguably traitors] in Turkey is the biggest story in the world, and worthy of knocking the appalling state of affairs regarding the rape of children into second place.
Some people [not me] are calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16, yet consider these girls (one 15 and two 16 year olds) to be empty-headed children who aren't responsible for their actions.
The whole letter really pi$$ed me off. The way it was reported was as if the plod wrote a letter saying we think you are going bugger off to Syria...now please give this to your parents.
When in fact, it was please give this to your parents as we need their permission to ask you a few questions about the disappearance of your friend.
The parents and relatives and school have all said they didn't see any signs of radicalization or that they posed a risk that they might go...so how the hell are the plod supposed to know?
Also, when I was 14-15, the chances of me being able to a) have my passport and b) being missing for more than a very very short space of time, was 0%.
F1: hmm. Not sure if the qualifying's at 5am or 6am. BBC commentary starts at 5am, but the terrible redesigned F1 official site indicates qualifying's an hour later than the race start (6am). But because it's horrendous, there's no longer the option to convert to my local time to be sure...
Still the South Yorkshire plods have the confidence of home Secretary Theresa May and Police Minister Mike Penning.
Do they? And what powers would like the Home Secretary and Police Minister to invoke?
As this government always has plenty to say about things it doesn't like and a love of meddling in things it wants to meddle in I think we can assume that the silence and inaction from May and Penning shows they still have confidence in the South Yorkshire plods.
But I see your pavlovian reflex to automatically defend this government still continues.
I'll refer you to DavidL's comments about the SYP as an example of open-mindedness.
It might well be that May has an opinion on the SYP. Indeed I strongly suspect she has and can well imagine what it might be. However given https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/ipcc-announces-investigation-south-yorkshire-police-handling-rotherham-cse-matters it might be wise just at the moment not to express them too succinctly. However in terms of her actual authority its not really clear what she personally could do in respect of South Yorks Police. Meredydd Hughes, who was chief constable from 2004-11, and who told MPs on the home affairs select committee in September that he had “no understanding of the scale and scope of what was going on in Rotherham” is no longer in post, and was clearly not appointed by a Tory Home Secretary.
I'm baffled by the notion of Sky News that video footage of three foolish girls [quite arguably traitors] in Turkey is the biggest story in the world, and worthy of knocking the appalling state of affairs regarding the rape of children into second place.
Some people [not me] are calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16, yet consider these girls (one 15 and two 16 year olds) to be empty-headed children who aren't responsible for their actions.
The whole letter really pi$$ed me off. The way it was reported was as if the plod wrote a letter saying we think you are going bugger off to Syria...now please give this to your parents.
When in fact, it was please give this to your parents as we need their permission to ask you a few questions about the disappearance of your friend.
The parents and relatives and school have all said they didn't see any signs of radicalization or that they posed a risk that they might go...so how the hell are the plod supposed to know?
Also, when I was 14-15, the chances of me being able to a) have my passport and b) being missing for more than a very very short space of time, was 0%.
Imagine the fuss if the police had started surveillence, electonic or otherwise, without informing parents or "community leaders".
The parents are only doing what parents always do. Blame others when their children do something stupid.
Can I ask that people who post really long links either run them through a url shortener or put them in anchor tags? The formatting on this page on mobile devices is screwed due to a really long link.
If Ed wins on May 7th, I'll accept the verdict. If he joins with the SNP to form a majority and Scotland gets extra goodies, I'll be irritated but accept it. That's democracy.
If Ukip were to somehow to win a majority (unlikely, I know, but this is a thought experiment), I would accept it (with some trepidation but that's democracy). If the Greens were to win a majority, I wouldn't emigrate, but I might start looking for a warm cave in the Pennines.
But would Antifrank and many others on here accept a Ukip government because the people have spoken? JackW probably; but for some, is democracy only acceptable when the 'right' people win?
We have a chunk of 'progressive' opinion unable to accept that others may have different opinions. They 'know' the others are wrong.
I spent my life as a scientist. A good scientist is never sure of anything, even measurable things. Yet 'progressive' people know everything without doubt. Did they ever grow up?
FPTP throws up odd results. Suppose UKIP won 300 seats on 31% (not now, but say in a future election)? Would such a result be considered legitimate? I really don't know. You get Nadim Zahawi, who heats his stables at public expense, comparing Nigel Farage to Joseph Goebbels. To some people, UKIP is the Third Reich Reborn, so how would they react if UKIP did well?
If Ed wins on May 7th, I'll accept the verdict. If he joins with the SNP to form a majority and Scotland gets extra goodies, I'll be irritated but accept it. That's democracy.
....
Good post. I'd accept whatever arises from a democratic vote. A UKIP, Green or Socialist Party government.
What I don't like are coronations, and that's why I got so exercised over Gordon Brown's term in office. I know we live under a party system and Labour had every right to coronate him but there was something very undemocratic about it all, especially the way he had his henchmen do what they could to topple Blair, and the way he had risen to the top of his party (through backroom deals, threats and intimidation, fear and tribalism).
There was plenty of evidence around in 2007 that Brown was not suited to becoming PM, and that was eventually borne out.
The honourable thing for a new leader to do when taking office would be to face the electorate and ask for a mandate. Brown avoided that.
I'm not sure I would agree. There are situations, such as when Ken Livingstone (?) staged some sort of coup I think at the GLC (??) right after an election to remove the Labour leader, where you might well think the electorate were duped. However otherwise I do not think a change of PM must mean a quick election. We elect MPs and the job of a PM is to head a cabinet and form a majority in Parliament. To be fair to your point Brown and his mates did agitate against Blair and then ensured there were no other candidates for labour leader. This was well reported and in the end undermined him. For all of that - especially half way or more through a term - and bearing in mind his long stint at the top and proponent of many policies - I do not think it morally or constitutionally a requirement for an election. There is a tradition in all this isn't there? A sort of political danse macabre where the opposition clamour for an election and the govt loftily refuse one.
You do realise that 'colored' is deemed a racially derogatory discription.
I trust you will have the manners to apologise for using an offensive word.
Not in southern Africa, if you describe someone Coloured as Black they may not be very pleased at all. They are Coloured and proud of it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Coloureds
Indeed there is a docufilm on the subject called "I'm Not Black, I'm Coloured: Identity Crisis at the Cape of Good Hope (2009)"
An aquaintance of my wife, discovering that she is also from southern Africa told her that he is really fed up with people in the UK calling him black all the time rather than coloured!
One of the more odd nuances of language is that "coloured people" is highly offensive yet "people of colour" is highly politically correct. What a minefield!
I remember Basil D'Oliveira who was in South Africa classed as a Cape Coloured I think. The sad miserable episode of that cancelled tour did no one any credit except perhaps D'Oliveira.
@RobD You may have a point, but since cannabis can be detected in the blood months afterwards, and most other drugs far less (less than 24 hours in some cases), it has a perverse effect on usage in prisons. Rationality should be no part of government!
There may have been crossover on UKPR but still Labour most seats. Caught up with' This Week ' tonight Portillo was excellent in his castigation of Sarah Vine , well worth watching. Channel 4 News had a very sad item about the suicide of some people on benefits, Tory Britain exposed.
Thank you for casting me into the darkness Richard. I was a member of Hertsmere Conservatives from 97-05 or so up until Howard wanted to reclassify Cannabis as class B. Why wasn't there an open primary?
From 97 - 05 there wasn't a single Open Primary in any constituency, so it seems a bit odd to complain now about it.
In this parliament there have been some 'open primaries' - or, to be more precise, open selection meetings. We had one here in Wealden. The effect of these is to reduce the say of party members. That may or may not be a good thing, but your complaint seems rather incoherent. In Hertsmere, the local party members chose the candidate. That seems to be what you want, and yet you're complaining about it.
Oh - and you're thinking of voting UKIP. How many Open Primaries have they held?
If Ed wins on May 7th, I'll accept the verdict. If he joins with the SNP to form a majority and Scotland gets extra goodies, I'll be irritated but accept it. That's democracy.
If Ukip were to somehow to win a majority (unlikely, I know, but this is a thought experiment), I would accept it (with some trepidation but that's democracy). If the Greens were to win a majority, I wouldn't emigrate, but I might start looking for a warm cave in the Pennines.
But would Antifrank and many others on here accept a Ukip government because the people have spoken? JackW probably; but for some, is democracy only acceptable when the 'right' people win?
We have a chunk of 'progressive' opinion unable to accept that others may have different opinions. They 'know' the others are wrong.
I spent my life as a scientist. A good scientist is never sure of anything, even measurable things. Yet 'progressive' people know everything without doubt. Did they ever grow up?
FPTP throws up odd results. Suppose UKIP won 300 seats on 31% (not now, but say in a future election)? Would such a result be considered legitimate? I really don't know. You get Nadim Zahawi, who heats his stables at public expense, comparing Nigel Farage to Joseph Goebbels. To some people, UKIP is the Third Reich Reborn, so how would they react if UKIP did well?
People blame FPTP for lots that it really isn't responsible for.
In the PR-based Greek election SYRIZA won 149/300 seats with 36.1% of the vote. That is a higher proportion of seats in exactly the same share of the vote as the Tories got in 2010. Yet everyone globally views that as a victory and doesn't bang on about the elction method.
This is very old news. There was a widely publicised pre invasion news conference at the time, involving Bush and Blair. Blair went on about WMD as i recall but Bush pointedly added 'regime change'. I'm not sure if this is the exact occasion that I remember watching on TV, but this is what Bush said in Sept 2002 at a press conference with Blair present, "Well, as you know, our government in 1998 -- action that my administration has embraced -- decided that this regime was not going to honor its commitments to get rid of weapons of mass destruction. The Clinton administration supported regime change. Many members of the United States Senate supported regime change. My administration still supports regime change. There's all kinds of ways to change regimes.''
Indeed ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8386645.stm ''Tony Blair signalled that he would be willing to back "regime change" in Iraq when he met George Bush in Texas in 2002, the Iraq inquiry has been told.''
Nice to meet you again at Cheltenham. Hope you had more success finding winners than me, though that isn't setting the bar very high.
Thanks Peter
My best winner of the week was Aux Ptits Soins, which Chris tipped in the Centaur that morning.
I wasn't on the 40/1 Pricewise tip. I didn't back the 40/1 place shot I was given.
But it was fun week none the less.
Hmmmm....must have been at the bar while he was tipping that. I did however follow his advice to back Sam Winner in the God Cup. As you know, it was first....to pull up.
Nice to meet you again at Cheltenham. Hope you had more success finding winners than me, though that isn't setting the bar very high.
Thanks Peter
My best winner of the week was Aux Ptits Soins, which Chris tipped in the Centaur that morning.
I wasn't on the 40/1 Pricewise tip. I didn't back the 40/1 place shot I was given.
But it was fun week none the less.
Hmmmm....must have been at the bar while he was tipping that. I did however follow his advice to back Sam Winner in the God Cup. As you know, it was first....to pull up.
Good week nevertheless.
I'll try and make it next year, really couldn't this year as all my wonga is tied up in a pretty sizeable General Election book right now.
Am on Don Poli @ 10s and Vautour @6s for the Gold Cup next year now - think I ended up down about a fiver this year, picked Coneygree out and then put an entire pound on it as it wasn't in those racing club notes or tipped up by Raceclear so I wasn't too sure ;p
Neither the New One or Jezki placing got me off to a bad start...
There may have been crossover on UKPR but still Labour most seats. Caught up with' This Week ' tonight Portillo was excellent in his castigation of Sarah Vine , well worth watching. Channel 4 News had a very sad item about the suicide of some people on benefits, Tory Britain exposed.
People commit suicide all the time. Its rarely due to a single event, even when a person actually claims thats why they are doing it.
All the programme is doing is blaming X because X is bad, on Y because they dont like Y. The same old rope is used when they give examples of people dying on the way to a work capability assesment etc, which somehow proves that these tests are wicked and dispicable. Actually every day people die for lots of different reasons, people can appear perfectly healthy and drop dead on the way to the supermarket, or on the journey back from a 100 mile bike ride.
The reality is the toughening up of welfare has become staggeringly successful, and they dont like it. hundreds of thousands of people who languished on benefits, some of them for decades are now out their earning a crust and a bit of dignity for themselves.
If Ed wins on May 7th, I'll accept the verdict. If he joins with the SNP to form a majority and Scotland gets extra goodies, I'll be irritated but accept it. That's democracy.
If Ukip were to somehow to win a majority (unlikely, I know, but this is a thought experiment), I would accept it (with some trepidation but that's democracy). If the Greens were to win a majority, I wouldn't emigrate, but I might start looking for a warm cave in the Pennines.
But would Antifrank and many others on here accept a Ukip government because the people have spoken? JackW probably; but for some, is democracy only acceptable when the 'right' people win?
We have a chunk of 'progressive' opinion unable to accept that others may have different opinions. They 'know' the others are wrong.
I spent my life as a scientist. A good scientist is never sure of anything, even measurable things. Yet 'progressive' people know everything without doubt. Did they ever grow up?
FPTP throws up odd results. Suppose UKIP won 300 seats on 31% (not now, but say in a future election)? Would such a result be considered legitimate? I really don't know. You get Nadim Zahawi, who heats his stables at public expense, comparing Nigel Farage to Joseph Goebbels. To some people, UKIP is the Third Reich Reborn, so how would they react if UKIP did well?
People blame FPTP for lots that it really isn't responsible for.
In the PR-based Greek election SYRIZA won 149/300 seats with 36.1% of the vote. That is a higher proportion of seats in exactly the same share of the vote as the Tories got in 2010. Yet everyone globally views that as a victory and doesn't bang on about the elction method.
Greece does not have a PR system, it gives a big bonus to the biggest party so it is like an institutionalised version of FPTP.
I particularly enjoyed the Telegraph infographic "Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, in numbers"!
With '1' being the only similarity he has with Hitler??
A crass joke, I think!
I thought I was being terribly libertarian. Kippers have been busy both denying and defending the biggest crass joke of the week. I've just done my 2 yearly test for bowel cancer (feel free to joke away...) courtesy of the same NHS that Farage is attacking and has gone on record as saying he wants to break up, which strangely (I see a trend here) he then denied he wanted once he realised the effect of his words.
I particularly enjoyed the Telegraph infographic "Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, in numbers"!
With '1' being the only similarity he has with Hitler??
A crass joke, I think!
I thought I was being terribly libertarian. Kippers have been busy both denying and defending the biggest crass joke of the week. I've just done my 2 yearly test for bowel cancer (feel free to joke away...) courtesy of the same NHS that Farage is attacking and has gone on record as saying he wants to break up, which strangely (I see a trend here) he then denied he wanted once he realised the effect of his words.
Why would I want to joke about your bowel cancer??
If Ed wins on May 7th, I'll accept the verdict. If he joins with the SNP to form a majority and Scotland gets extra goodies, I'll be irritated but accept it. That's democracy.
If Ukip were to somehow to win a majority (unlikely, I know, but this is a thought experiment), I would accept it (with some trepidation but that's democracy). If the Greens were to win a majority, I wouldn't emigrate, but I might start looking for a warm cave in the Pennines.
But would Antifrank and many others on here accept a Ukip government because the people have spoken? JackW probably; but for some, is democracy only acceptable when the 'right' people win?
We have a chunk of 'progressive' opinion unable to accept that others may have different opinions. They 'know' the others are wrong.
I spent my life as a scientist. A good scientist is never sure of anything, even measurable things. Yet 'progressive' people know everything without doubt. Did they ever grow up?
FPTP throws up odd results. Suppose UKIP won 300 seats on 31% (not now, but say in a future election)? Would such a result be considered legitimate? I really don't know. You get Nadim Zahawi, who heats his stables at public expense, comparing Nigel Farage to Joseph Goebbels. To some people, UKIP is the Third Reich Reborn, so how would they react if UKIP did well?
People blame FPTP for lots that it really isn't responsible for.
In the PR-based Greek election SYRIZA won 149/300 seats with 36.1% of the vote. That is a higher proportion of seats in exactly the same share of the vote as the Tories got in 2010. Yet everyone globally views that as a victory and doesn't bang on about the elction method.
Greece does not have a PR system, it gives a big bonus to the biggest party so it is like an institutionalised version of FPTP.
Sounds good, we should always have a reserve of ~100 PB Tory seats in each Parliament.
If Ed wins on May 7th, I'll accept the verdict. If he joins with the SNP to form a majority and Scotland gets extra goodies, I'll be irritated but accept it. That's democracy.
If Ukip were to somehow to win a majority (unlikely, I know, but this is a thought experiment), I would accept it (with some trepidation but that's democracy). If the Greens were to win a majority, I wouldn't emigrate, but I might start looking for a warm cave in the Pennines.
But would Antifrank and many others on here accept a Ukip government because the people have spoken? JackW probably; but for some, is democracy only acceptable when the 'right' people win?
We have a chunk of 'progressive' opinion unable to accept that others may have different opinions. They 'know' the others are wrong.
I spent my life as a scientist. A good scientist is never sure of anything, even measurable things. Yet 'progressive' people know everything without doubt. Did they ever grow up?
FPTP throws up odd results. Suppose UKIP won 300 seats on 31% (not now, but say in a future election)? Would such a result be considered legitimate? I really don't know. You get Nadim Zahawi, who heats his stables at public expense, comparing Nigel Farage to Joseph Goebbels. To some people, UKIP is the Third Reich Reborn, so how would they react if UKIP did well?
People blame FPTP for lots that it really isn't responsible for.
In the PR-based Greek election SYRIZA won 149/300 seats with 36.1% of the vote. That is a higher proportion of seats in exactly the same share of the vote as the Tories got in 2010. Yet everyone globally views that as a victory and doesn't bang on about the elction method.
The Greek election method is completely fecking moronic - they have a perfectly good PR system, then randomly bollocks it up by randomly adding 50 seats to the largest party. Even under FPTP the media generally report the largest party as the winner, but I'd be surprised if election nerds in Greece haven't noticed how dumb what they're doing is.
This is presumably the same problem as in Britain, where the parties with the power to fix a broken system are the ones that benefit the most from keeping it broken.
' Channel 4 News had a very sad item about the suicide of some people on benefits, Tory Britain exposed.'
Never happened under a Labour government, get real.
Quite. Any system of healthcare, transport, welfare that deals with millions of people is going to have casualties. Sometimes they are a consequence of changes, sometimes its just that you encounter people with very difficult lives and problems, and tragedies happen.
I particularly enjoyed the Telegraph infographic "Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, in numbers"!
With '1' being the only similarity he has with Hitler??
A crass joke, I think!
I thought I was being terribly libertarian. Kippers have been busy both denying and defending the biggest crass joke of the week. I've just done my 2 yearly test for bowel cancer (feel free to joke away...) courtesy of the same NHS that Farage is attacking and has gone on record as saying he wants to break up, which strangely (I see a trend here) he then denied he wanted once he realised the effect of his words.
I see it doesn't change the quality of the excrement you post.........
I particularly enjoyed the Telegraph infographic "Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, in numbers"!
With '1' being the only similarity he has with Hitler??
A crass joke, I think!
I thought I was being terribly libertarian. Kippers have been busy both denying and defending the biggest crass joke of the week. I've just done my 2 yearly test for bowel cancer (feel free to joke away...) courtesy of the same NHS that Farage is attacking and has gone on record as saying he wants to break up, which strangely (I see a trend here) he then denied he wanted once he realised the effect of his words.
Why would I want to joke about your bowel cancer??
You don't, you misunderstand - the test is designed to catch it early in case you do have it. I quote it as an example of the NHS working. You merely have to catch and packet up your number twos and send through the post. Its not something the current English cricket team would be good at. I could quote my 89 year old mother-in-laws cancer treatment as another example of the NHS working. Your upset I made a joke at Farage's expense. I'll have to live with that. For all that it's he who is the crass one I am still happy he is still with us.
I think Michael Portillo has become my favourite politician. I always liked his programmes on art and the impressionists and even his train journeys but this broadside on Mrs Gove is as good as he gets. What a piece of work she is and what a great couple they must make
Nice to meet you again at Cheltenham. Hope you had more success finding winners than me, though that isn't setting the bar very high.
Thanks Peter
My best winner of the week was Aux Ptits Soins, which Chris tipped in the Centaur that morning.
I wasn't on the 40/1 Pricewise tip. I didn't back the 40/1 place shot I was given.
But it was fun week none the less.
Hmmmm....must have been at the bar while he was tipping that. I did however follow his advice to back Sam Winner in the God Cup. As you know, it was first....to pull up.
Good week nevertheless.
I'll try and make it next year, really couldn't this year as all my wonga is tied up in a pretty sizeable General Election book right now.
Am on Don Poli @ 10s and Vautour @6s for the Gold Cup next year now - think I ended up down about a fiver this year, picked Coneygree out and then put an entire pound on it as it wasn't in those racing club notes or tipped up by Raceclear so I wasn't too sure ;p
Neither the New One or Jezki placing got me off to a bad start...
Well I'll be there next year, looking for the grand I dropped this year.
Vautour was the most impressive winner of the week. Your 6/1 looks value.
The notes were necessarily brief. The consensus on the panel (and in the audience) was that they should have sent Coneygree to the RSA. In fairness, we were all working on the basis that the ground would dry out through the week. I was going to lay the horse, until I saw the weather forecast, when I shifted it on to my short list. In the end I went for Djakadam. Kind of sums up my week.
AP suggested after the Champion Hurdle that if he hadn't taken on Faugheen he would have finished second. Even The Champ can ride a bad race, and I guess that was one.
Still cheered him home on Uxizandre. He owes nobody.
Tandem skydiving is open to pretty much anyone as long as you are aged 16+ and weigh less than 16 stone. Our oldest skydiver to date is 93! Take a look at our full list of restrictions.
I think Michael Portillo has become my favourite politician. I always liked his programmes on art and the impressionists and even his train journeys but this broadside on Mrs Gove is as good as he gets. What a piece of work she is and what a great couple they must make
Portillo was great there, he really stood up for manners and decency over spin and tat. Massive fan of his anyway, esp the railway series.. I even have a bradshaws!
People on lifetime disability awards because of brain damage,caused by road accidents have been called up for ATOS assessments to establish whether they are fit for work.Many of them have appointees who have to gather evidence to support their claim, this is a very stressful and time-consuming process.The claimants will never get better but they still have to endure this pantomime designed by Duncan Smith.This never happened in all the years of a Labour government.
People on lifetime disability awards because of brain damage,caused by road accidents have been called up for ATOS assessments to establish whether they are fit for work.Many of them have appointees who have to gather evidence to support their claim, this is a very stressful and time-consuming process.The claimants will never get better but they still have to endure this pantomime designed by Duncan Smith.This never happened in all the years of a Labour government.
So they were never assessed at all prior to getting benefits? How does that work?
People on lifetime disability awards because of brain damage,caused by road accidents have been called up for ATOS assessments to establish whether they are fit for work.Many of them have appointees who have to gather evidence to support their claim, this is a very stressful and time-consuming process.The claimants will never get better but they still have to endure this pantomime designed by Duncan Smith.This never happened in all the years of a Labour government.
So they were never assessed at all prior to getting benefits? How does that work?
I presume they just submit the medical evidence from their treating doctors, instead of an extra assessment for ESA purposes.
Al Murray going down like a lead balloon in Thanet
And Farage has corrected his line on FKUP. That's the second most impressive thing about Farage in my book. He makes lots of mistakes, but he surprisingly rarely makes the same one twice.
(The most impressive thing is his ability to stay in touch and understanding the public whilst working full time as a party leader.)
People on lifetime disability awards because of brain damage,caused by road accidents have been called up for ATOS assessments to establish whether they are fit for work.Many of them have appointees who have to gather evidence to support their claim, this is a very stressful and time-consuming process.The claimants will never get better but they still have to endure this pantomime designed by Duncan Smith.This never happened in all the years of a Labour government.
So they were never assessed at all prior to getting benefits? How does that work?
I presume they just submit the medical evidence from their treating doctors, instead of an extra assessment for ESA purposes.
Seems like those two could be merged into one, if that is what used to happen!
People on lifetime disability awards because of brain damage,caused by road accidents have been called up for ATOS assessments to establish whether they are fit for work.Many of them have appointees who have to gather evidence to support their claim, this is a very stressful and time-consuming process.The claimants will never get better but they still have to endure this pantomime designed by Duncan Smith.This never happened in all the years of a Labour government.
So they were never assessed at all prior to getting benefits? How does that work?
I presume they just submit the medical evidence from their treating doctors, instead of an extra assessment for ESA purposes.
Al Murray going down like a lead balloon in Thanet
And Farage has corrected his line on FKUP. That's the second most impressive thing about Farage in my book. He makes lots of mistakes, but he surprisingly rarely makes the same one twice.
(The most impressive thing is his ability to stay in touch and understanding the public whilst working full time as a party leader.)
I met him briefly while campaigning in Jaywick and again at the piss up after Carswell won and he genuinely just seemed like a normal bloke to me.
PClipp, "And what precisely, CD13, does the FPTP voting system measure?"
All we can do is accept that democracy has faults too. But I'm still in favour, even if I don't always like the results.
But the problem, CD13, is that there is nothing democratic about FPTP.
A system where MPs can be elected by a distinct minority of their electors.
Where weight of money can swing the election.
Where a small group of top Tories can raise 72,000,000 from bankers and oligarchs to try to make sure that their interests are protected in the next Parliament.
And where a vote for one candidate/party is assumed to be an endorsement of everything that they have been proposing.
Nobody with a pretence to thinking can rationally be in favour of a system like that.
Nice to meet you again at Cheltenham. Hope you had more success finding winners than me, though that isn't setting the bar very high.
Thanks Peter
My best winner of the week was Aux Ptits Soins, which Chris tipped in the Centaur that morning.
I wasn't on the 40/1 Pricewise tip. I didn't back the 40/1 place shot I was given.
But it was fun week none the less.
Hmmmm....must have been at the bar while he was tipping that. I did however follow his advice to back Sam Winner in the God Cup. As you know, it was first....to pull up.
Good week nevertheless.
I'll try and make it next year, really couldn't this year as all my wonga is tied up in a pretty sizeable General Election book right now.
Am on Don Poli @ 10s and Vautour @6s for the Gold Cup next year now - think I ended up down about a fiver this year, picked Coneygree out and then put an entire pound on it as it wasn't in those racing club notes or tipped up by Raceclear so I wasn't too sure ;p
Neither the New One or Jezki placing got me off to a bad start...
Well I'll be there next year, looking for the grand I dropped this year.
Vautour was the most impressive winner of the week. Your 6/1 looks value.
The notes were necessarily brief. The consensus on the panel (and in the audience) was that they should have sent Coneygree to the RSA. In fairness, we were all working on the basis that the ground would dry out through the week. I was going to lay the horse, until I saw the weather forecast, when I shifted it on to my short list. In the end I went for Djakadam. Kind of sums up my week.
AP suggested after the Champion Hurdle that if he hadn't taken on Faugheen he would have finished second. Even The Champ can ride a bad race, and I guess that was one.
Still cheered him home on Uxizandre. He owes nobody.
Champagne Fever was my main bet for the week, being a non runner it was just about my best result too! I had Next Sensation in the last but not for much stake, done my bollocks this year I am sad to say.
People on lifetime disability awards because of brain damage,caused by road accidents have been called up for ATOS assessments to establish whether they are fit for work.Many of them have appointees who have to gather evidence to support their claim, this is a very stressful and time-consuming process.The claimants will never get better but they still have to endure this pantomime designed by Duncan Smith.This never happened in all the years of a Labour government.
1) WCA was setup under labour 2) Labour appointed ATOS 3) brain damaged people with no chance of recovery were called up to ATOS assesments prior to the coalition.
Nice to meet you again at Cheltenham. Hope you had more success finding winners than me, though that isn't setting the bar very high.
Thanks Peter
My best winner of the week was Aux Ptits Soins, which Chris tipped in the Centaur that morning.
I wasn't on the 40/1 Pricewise tip. I didn't back the 40/1 place shot I was given.
But it was fun week none the less.
Hmmmm....must have been at the bar while he was tipping that. I did however follow his advice to back Sam Winner in the God Cup. As you know, it was first....to pull up.
Good week nevertheless.
I'll try and make it next year, really couldn't this year as all my wonga is tied up in a pretty sizeable General Election book right now.
Am on Don Poli @ 10s and Vautour @6s for the Gold Cup next year now - think I ended up down about a fiver this year, picked Coneygree out and then put an entire pound on it as it wasn't in those racing club notes or tipped up by Raceclear so I wasn't too sure ;p
Neither the New One or Jezki placing got me off to a bad start...
Well I'll be there next year, looking for the grand I dropped this year.
Vautour was the most impressive winner of the week. Your 6/1 looks value.
The notes were necessarily brief. The consensus on the panel (and in the audience) was that they should have sent Coneygree to the RSA. In fairness, we were all working on the basis that the ground would dry out through the week. I was going to lay the horse, until I saw the weather forecast, when I shifted it on to my short list. In the end I went for Djakadam. Kind of sums up my week.
AP suggested after the Champion Hurdle that if he hadn't taken on Faugheen he would have finished second. Even The Champ can ride a bad race, and I guess that was one.
Still cheered him home on Uxizandre. He owes nobody.
Champagne Fever was my main bet for the week, being a non runner it was just about my best result too! I had Next Sensation in the last but not for much stake, done my bollocks this year I am sad to say.
Ah, The Getting Out Stakes....the best winner you can back!
I remember backing Pigeon Island in that one a few years back. It meant I could afford fish and chips on the way back home. Luxury!
I was going to back Champagne Fever too. I heard it just got a minor knock in its box. Would surely have won a very below average Champion Chase.
People on lifetime disability awards because of brain damage,caused by road accidents have been called up for ATOS assessments to establish whether they are fit for work.Many of them have appointees who have to gather evidence to support their claim, this is a very stressful and time-consuming process.The claimants will never get better but they still have to endure this pantomime designed by Duncan Smith.This never happened in all the years of a Labour government.
1) WCA was setup under labour 2) Labour appointed ATOS 3) brain damaged people with no chance of recovery were called up to ATOS assesments prior to the coalition.
Comments
It's certainly not more important than the industrial scale abuse of children certain cities have seen in this country.
http://goo.gl/9RfFdf
/shameless plug
What I don't like are coronations, and that's why I got so exercised over Gordon Brown's term in office. I know we live under a party system and Labour had every right to coronate him but there was something very undemocratic about it all, especially the way he had his henchmen do what they could to topple Blair, and the way he had risen to the top of his party (through backroom deals, threats and intimidation, fear and tribalism).
There was plenty of evidence around in 2007 that Brown was not suited to becoming PM, and that was eventually borne out.
The honourable thing for a new leader to do when taking office would be to face the electorate and ask for a mandate. Brown avoided that.
Charlotte was by far & away the best. Whether it will be enough I don't know.
When in fact, it was please give this to your parents as we need their permission to ask you a few questions about the disappearance of your friend.
The parents and relatives and school have all said they didn't see any signs of radicalization or that they posed a risk that they might go...so how the hell are the plod supposed to know?
Also, when I was 14-15, the chances of me being able to a) have my passport and b) being missing for more than a very very short space of time, was 0%.
Edited extra bit: qualifying starts at 6am.
However given
https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/ipcc-announces-investigation-south-yorkshire-police-handling-rotherham-cse-matters
it might be wise just at the moment not to express them too succinctly.
However in terms of her actual authority its not really clear what she personally could do in respect of South Yorks Police. Meredydd Hughes, who was chief constable from 2004-11, and who told MPs on the home affairs select committee in September that he had “no understanding of the scale and scope of what was going on in Rotherham” is no longer in post, and was clearly not appointed by a Tory Home Secretary.
The parents are only doing what parents always do. Blame others when their children do something stupid.
Woman on my right voted for Shaun Bailey but most expect Victoria to win. #kensingtonselection
Result : winner on first ballot is Victoria Borwick. #kensingtonselection
There are situations, such as when Ken Livingstone (?) staged some sort of coup I think at the GLC (??) right after an election to remove the Labour leader, where you might well think the electorate were duped.
However otherwise I do not think a change of PM must mean a quick election. We elect MPs and the job of a PM is to head a cabinet and form a majority in Parliament. To be fair to your point Brown and his mates did agitate against Blair and then ensured there were no other candidates for labour leader. This was well reported and in the end undermined him. For all of that - especially half way or more through a term - and bearing in mind his long stint at the top and proponent of many policies - I do not think it morally or constitutionally a requirement for an election.
There is a tradition in all this isn't there? A sort of political danse macabre where the opposition clamour for an election and the govt loftily refuse one.
Con 33%, Lab 32%, UKIP 15%, Lib Dem 7%, Green 6%, Others 7%.
Men are innocent until proven guilty [well. Perhaps rape cases are now an exception to this, given the insanity on documenting female consent].
Would anyone dare question the claims of the Daily Mirror?
860,000 people are happy to sign a petition without a care for the circumstances.
Whether or not they are as described by the Mirror
I am sure you would agree.
http://reset.me/story/heres-why-cannabis-plants-are-growing-wild-all-over-britains-cities/
Well, if they have a lighter and cigarette papers handy at least.
You may have a point, but since cannabis can be detected in the blood months afterwards, and most other drugs far less (less than 24 hours in some cases), it has a perverse effect on usage in prisons.
Rationality should be no part of government!
Caught up with' This Week ' tonight Portillo was excellent in his castigation of Sarah Vine , well worth watching. Channel 4 News had a very sad item about the suicide of some people on benefits, Tory Britain exposed.
Con 33.1
Lab 32.5
UKIP 15.0
LD 7.7
Green 5.9
In this parliament there have been some 'open primaries' - or, to be more precise, open selection meetings. We had one here in Wealden. The effect of these is to reduce the say of party members. That may or may not be a good thing, but your complaint seems rather incoherent. In Hertsmere, the local party members chose the candidate. That seems to be what you want, and yet you're complaining about it.
Oh - and you're thinking of voting UKIP. How many Open Primaries have they held?
Prescott's comments were made "at a February fundraising event for Lord Prescott’s son, David, in Gainsborough."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11471452/Lord-Prescott-says-Tony-Blairs-bloody-crusades-radicalised-Muslims.html
In the PR-based Greek election SYRIZA won 149/300 seats with 36.1% of the vote. That is a higher proportion of seats in exactly the same share of the vote as the Tories got in 2010. Yet everyone globally views that as a victory and doesn't bang on about the elction method.
https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/576510073280819200
Nice to meet you again at Cheltenham. Hope you had more success finding winners than me, though that isn't setting the bar very high.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farage/11466515/Nigel-Farage-Cancer-a-lemon-sized-testicle-and-how-the-NHS-failed-me.html
I particularly enjoyed the Telegraph infographic "Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, in numbers"!
There was a widely publicised pre invasion news conference at the time, involving Bush and Blair. Blair went on about WMD as i recall but Bush pointedly added 'regime change'.
I'm not sure if this is the exact occasion that I remember watching on TV, but this is what Bush said in Sept 2002 at a press conference with Blair present,
"Well, as you know, our government in 1998 -- action that my administration has embraced -- decided that this regime was not going to honor its commitments to get rid of weapons of mass destruction. The Clinton administration supported regime change. Many members of the United States Senate supported regime change. My administration still supports regime change. There's all kinds of ways to change regimes.''
Indeed ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8386645.stm
''Tony Blair signalled that he would be willing to back "regime change" in Iraq when he met George Bush in Texas in 2002, the Iraq inquiry has been told.''
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21626668
My best winner of the week was Aux Ptits Soins, which Chris tipped in the Centaur that morning.
I wasn't on the 40/1 Pricewise tip. I didn't back the 40/1 place shot I was given.
But it was fun week none the less.
Good week nevertheless.
Am on Don Poli @ 10s and Vautour @6s for the Gold Cup next year now - think I ended up down about a fiver this year, picked Coneygree out and then put an entire pound on it as it wasn't in those racing club notes or tipped up by Raceclear so I wasn't too sure ;p
Neither the New One or Jezki placing got me off to a bad start...
All the programme is doing is blaming X because X is bad, on Y because they dont like Y. The same old rope is used when they give examples of people dying on the way to a work capability assesment etc, which somehow proves that these tests are wicked and dispicable. Actually every day people die for lots of different reasons, people can appear perfectly healthy and drop dead on the way to the supermarket, or on the journey back from a 100 mile bike ride.
The reality is the toughening up of welfare has become staggeringly successful, and they dont like it. hundreds of thousands of people who languished on benefits, some of them for decades are now out their earning a crust and a bit of dignity for themselves.
' Channel 4 News had a very sad item about the suicide of some people on benefits, Tory Britain exposed.'
Never happened under a Labour government, get real.
Kippers have been busy both denying and defending the biggest crass joke of the week.
I've just done my 2 yearly test for bowel cancer (feel free to joke away...) courtesy of the same NHS that Farage is attacking and has gone on record as saying he wants to break up, which strangely (I see a trend here) he then denied he wanted once he realised the effect of his words.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dZcGPn5Lpg8
This is presumably the same problem as in Britain, where the parties with the power to fix a broken system are the ones that benefit the most from keeping it broken.
Except under a labour government...
You merely have to catch and packet up your number twos and send through the post. Its not something the current English cricket team would be good at.
I could quote my 89 year old mother-in-laws cancer treatment as another example of the NHS working.
Your upset I made a joke at Farage's expense. I'll have to live with that. For all that it's he who is the crass one I am still happy he is still with us.
'Vine taken apart by Portillo'
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/03/13/ed-miliband-kitchen-vine_n_6862288.html
Vautour was the most impressive winner of the week. Your 6/1 looks value.
The notes were necessarily brief. The consensus on the panel (and in the audience) was that they should have sent Coneygree to the RSA. In fairness, we were all working on the basis that the ground would dry out through the week. I was going to lay the horse, until I saw the weather forecast, when I shifted it on to my short list. In the end I went for Djakadam. Kind of sums up my week.
AP suggested after the Champion Hurdle that if he hadn't taken on Faugheen he would have finished second. Even The Champ can ride a bad race, and I guess that was one.
Still cheered him home on Uxizandre. He owes nobody.
PR^2 is the closest to FPTP, while being fairer to the larger smaller parties, and still keeping FPTP's quirks like Galloway or the KHHC guy.
The bonus increases smoothly the bigger the lead. Equal votes should produce equal seats.
"Portillo was great there, he really stood up for manners and decency over spin and tat."
I await 'Flightpath's' official explanation for why she was absolutely right.
(The most impressive thing is his ability to stay in touch and understanding the public whilst working full time as a party leader.)
A system where MPs can be elected by a distinct minority of their electors.
Where weight of money can swing the election.
Where a small group of top Tories can raise 72,000,000 from bankers and oligarchs to try to make sure that their interests are protected in the next Parliament.
And where a vote for one candidate/party is assumed to be an endorsement of everything that they have been proposing.
Nobody with a pretence to thinking can rationally be in favour of a system like that.
I'd say she was the worst type of journalist - happy to write the vilest tripe because she lacks personal or professional integrity.
But then she's not really a journalist, is she?
With that I'm off to Bedfordshire, gnight
2) Labour appointed ATOS
3) brain damaged people with no chance of recovery were called up to ATOS assesments prior to the coalition.
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?252657-Atos-Medical/page2
I remember backing Pigeon Island in that one a few years back. It meant I could afford fish and chips on the way back home. Luxury!
I was going to back Champagne Fever too. I heard it just got a minor knock in its box. Would surely have won a very below average Champion Chase.