politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The ethnic minority vote could be decisive in London’s Mayo
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Ed Miliband jets off on holiday to avoid endorsing any of the leadership candidates. Sums him up totally and to think he wanted to lead the Country.0
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Yes he has. It's a lot easier to run a positive campaign when chunks of your supporters will happily throw massive amounts of bile at your opponents with no direction from you needed whatsoever, it takes the burden off. Enthusiastic amateurs always do it best.bigjohnowls said:
Jezza has run a positive campaign.foxinsoxuk said:
Sounds as if no candidate can make the finish line then!bigjohnowls said:Extract from the leadership rules:
"No candidates or persons acting on behalf of a candidate will use their own material, access to publicity or any media outlets to disparage or brief against any other candidate."
Mandleson plan by rule breaking
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Tristram Hunt on Newsnight shortly.0
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I suggest 'Ed Stone' as a character for SeanT in his next book. Pretty mean and hard as granite.TheScreamingEagles said:twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/633379833913966592
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Speaking of lecturing from Blairites..... Tristram Hunt is about to be interviewed on Newsnight to swing some more votes Jezza's way.0
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Good heavens! I shall have a proper think. There's one person who might fit the description. If it is indeed the same person he made a pass at me to the soundtrack of Blondie's "Denis, Denis". But, TBH, he sounds like the sort of person I'd have crossed the street to avoid. I was a bit of a punk then.....MTimT said:@ Cyclefree. Re our discussion yesterday, I did know one Philosophy student at Bristol. I forget his name, but he looked like a blue-eyed Jesus and fancied himself as an aesthete. Wonder if you can work out who it was based on that sketchy description!
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No, my mother went back to India to care for my sick grandad (he had a stroke during 1975) while she was pregnant with me. He outlived my birth by only a few weeks.AndyJS said:
Was it a deliberate decision for you to be born overseas? (No offence intended).Sunil_Prasannan said:I was born overseas - but so what? I' m a UK Citizen, and have been resident here since I was four months old (early 1976).
As for first entering the country - probably Heathrow rather than Calais!0 -
Possibly he is too much of an admirer of Napoleon to write well about him. The biography by Philip Dwyer is good.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
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Cyclefree said:
The two Hitler books by Ian Kershaw are superb IMO. My favourite history books.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
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Mr Palmer says- ''I wonder what Cooper's 2nd preferences are doing. I know she's called for them to go to Burnham, but the current spat makes that seem less certain.''
lf Labour had a sensible system of voting in rounds then they would know at each round who would be last and dropped out. There would be no need for second guessing just first voting.0 -
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.0 -
What is wrong with some people?
http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2015/08/muslim-majority-school-to-integrate-genders-despite-protests-from-parents
A Muslim-majority, non-faith school is to integrate boys' and girls' classes for the first time, after being placed in special measures by Ofsted.
The Crest Academies in Brent, a secular, non-denominational school which has previously taught the genders separately, has faced protests from parents after the headteacher announced plans to teach boys and girls together as part of his bid to turn the failing school around.0 -
What's Ed Miliband's favourite rail station in London?flightpath01 said:
I suggest 'Ed Stone' as a character for SeanT in his next book. Pretty mean and hard as granite.TheScreamingEagles said:twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/633379833913966592
'Eadstone Lane*
* on the Euston to Watford DC Line, for those curious 0 -
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Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:Cyclefree said:
The two Hitler books by Ian Kershaw are superb IMO. My favourite history books.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
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Burnham is crap and pathetic, yet the public would still prefer him to be PM than Osborne.Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.
Do you think [name] has what it takes to be a good PM?
Boris Johnson - 32%
Theresa May - 28%
Andy Burnham - 27%
George Osborne - 23%
Yvette Cooper - 22%
Jeremy Corbyn - 17%
Liz Kendall - 16%
Michael Gove - 13%
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline-part-two.pdf
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline.pdf
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From The Times, one in six voters in the Labour leadership election are members of Unite
The Times has also seen data, collated by Labour’s compliance unit and disseminated to the leadership campaign teams last Friday, that revealed the breakdown of the trade unions to which affiliated voters and some party members, belong.
It revealed that more than half the 189,703 affiliated voters signed up to vote in the ballot, along with at least 6.4 per cent of the party’s 299,755 members, are Unite members.
Overall, Unite members comprise more than 18 per cent of the 610,753 people signed up.0 -
And they voted to achieve just that in May. Oh wait.......Danny565 said:
Burnham is crap and pathetic, yet the public would still prefer him to be PM than Osborne.Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.
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They voted for Cameron over Miliband in May (as predicted consistently by "best PM" polls for the previous 5 years).Cyclefree said:
And they voted to achieve just that in May. Oh wait.......Danny565 said:
Burnham is crap and pathetic, yet the public would still prefer him to be PM than Osborne.Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.0 -
What's the direction of travel? I'd be interested to know if the public's view of Osborne as a potential PM is increasing, as the commentariat's predictions of him becoming PM have certainly increased.Danny565 said:
Burnham is crap and pathetic, yet the public would still prefer him to be PM than Osborne.Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.
Do you think [name] has what it takes to be a good PM?
Boris Johnson - 32%
Theresa May - 28%
Andy Burnham - 27%
George Osborne - 23%
Yvette Cooper - 22%
Jeremy Corbyn - 17%
Liz Kendall - 16%
Michael Gove - 13%
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline-part-two.pdf
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline.pdf0 -
Apples and oranges.Danny565 said:
Burnham is crap and pathetic, yet the public would still prefer him to be PM than Osborne.Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.
Do you think [name] has what it takes to be a good PM?
Boris Johnson - 32%
Theresa May - 28%
Andy Burnham - 27%
George Osborne - 23%
Yvette Cooper - 22%
Jeremy Corbyn - 17%
Liz Kendall - 16%
Michael Gove - 13%
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline-part-two.pdf
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline.pdf
One is in opposition, whilst the other is in government as Chancellor and has been delivering austerity since 2010.
Why do you think only 4% more prefer Burnham to Osborne?0 -
Thanks. I hadn't realised.Danny565 said:
They voted for Cameron over Miliband in May (as predicted consistently by "best PM" polls for the previous 5 years).Cyclefree said:
And they voted to achieve just that in May. Oh wait.......Danny565 said:
Burnham is crap and pathetic, yet the public would still prefer him to be PM than Osborne.Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.
0 -
Naught but PB Tory Propaganda!TheScreamingEagles said:
Apples and oranges.Danny565 said:
Burnham is crap and pathetic, yet the public would still prefer him to be PM than Osborne.Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.
Do you think [name] has what it takes to be a good PM?
Boris Johnson - 32%
Theresa May - 28%
Andy Burnham - 27%
George Osborne - 23%
Yvette Cooper - 22%
Jeremy Corbyn - 17%
Liz Kendall - 16%
Michael Gove - 13%
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline-part-two.pdf
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline.pdf
One is in opposition, whilst the other is in government as Chancellor and has been delivering austerity since 2010.
Why do you think only 4% more prefer Burnham to Osborne?0 -
Dear darling Mr Nabavi, you say ''how can we know how the £3 vote-baggers and union affiliates are leaning?''
They are leaning left (that's 'Left!') to a gravity defying degree.0 -
I'm just bemused by this view that Osborne-led Tories would be unbeatable in 2020, when on the basis of that poll the public views the prospect of him being PM with....something less than full enthusiasm.TheScreamingEagles said:
Apples and oranges.Danny565 said:
Burnham is crap and pathetic, yet the public would still prefer him to be PM than Osborne.Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.
Do you think [name] has what it takes to be a good PM?
Boris Johnson - 32%
Theresa May - 28%
Andy Burnham - 27%
George Osborne - 23%
Yvette Cooper - 22%
Jeremy Corbyn - 17%
Liz Kendall - 16%
Michael Gove - 13%
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline-part-two.pdf
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline.pdf
One is in opposition, whilst the other is in government as Chancellor and has been delivering austerity since 2010.
Why do you think only 4% more prefer Burnham to Osborne?0 -
https://twitter.com/Sunil_P2/status/632950671420096512flightpath01 said:Dear darling Mr Nabavi, you say ''how can we know how the £3 vote-baggers and union affiliates are leaning?''
They are leaning left (that's 'Left!') to a gravity defying degree.
https://twitter.com/Sunil_P2/status/6329484218051133440 -
Did you see Roberts' TV series?SeanT said:
Yes that's my sense. It's like he was over-invested in his subject, too much the admirer, and too full of his thesis (Napoleon the Great!) to be more daring and interesting. Also his prose is just a tiny bit inert, in this book (I hear much praise of his other books)MikeK said:
Andrew Roberts' Napoleon starts well but languishes after the early Italian campaigns. Pity, it could have been a good book.SeanT said:
It's possibly the best biography I've read since Ellmann's Joyce. Which is enormous praise. As that is perhaps the best literary biography ever.Theuniondivvie said:
D'Annunzio is certainly a fascinating character, far more so than Musso. I've had Lucy Hughes-Hallet's bio by my bed since Christmas, must get down to it. Bit off reading lately.SeanT said:
Ah, Mister Smithson, with this you are spoiling us!JWisemann said:Okay, so arming Islamic fundamentalists across a quarter of the globe is realpolitik, chatting to a nutter at a function in aid of oppressed people is tantamount to being Hitler. Of course.
If Fascist Italy had just chosen the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio as leader (as nearly happened) rather than the oafish Mussolini, all would have been well.Theuniondivvie said:
Did he think colonial humiliation, recurring military defeat, invasion & occupation by both allies & enemies and a ubiquitous (if slightly unfair) reputation for martial cowardice was worth it just to get a few commies jailed and the trains to run on time?SeanT said:
That said the single most impressive Italian I've met recently - a world ski jump champion who also knew more history than most academics - yearned for a return of a Mussolini, to sort all the problems.
I wrote about d'Annunzio for Das Torygraf
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/seanthomas/100253258/this-man-was-a-sadomasochist-drug-addict-fearless-pilot-and-politician-only-in-italy/
G d'Annunzio is my favourite politician EVAH. Possibly my favourite single person.
Of course Hughes-Hallett had much better material to work with, but good luck to her. She chose well.
PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
TBH tho I rarely read great books in any genre, these days (think I've just read too much, and now prefer TV and movies). Granite Island by Dorothy Carrington is brilliant, however, as is Tracks by Robyn Davidson. Both read this year and written decades ago.0 -
Just look at the direction of travel, Osborne's star is in the ascendantDanny565 said:
I'm just bemused by this view that Osborne-led Tories would be unbeatable in 2020, when on the basis of that poll the public views the prospect of him being PM with....something less than full enthusiasm.TheScreamingEagles said:
Apples and oranges.Danny565 said:
Burnham is crap and pathetic, yet the public would still prefer him to be PM than Osborne.Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.
Do you think [name] has what it takes to be a good PM?
Boris Johnson - 32%
Theresa May - 28%
Andy Burnham - 27%
George Osborne - 23%
Yvette Cooper - 22%
Jeremy Corbyn - 17%
Liz Kendall - 16%
Michael Gove - 13%
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline-part-two.pdf
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/political-monitor-july-2015-topline.pdf
One is in opposition, whilst the other is in government as Chancellor and has been delivering austerity since 2010.
Why do you think only 4% more prefer Burnham to Osborne?
From July 2014
Just under one in five (18%) agree for George Osborne, with 61% disagree with what it takes to be PM.
So in a year, the changes +5 that agree he has what it takes to be PM, and a fall in 8% that disagree.
So a 13% net change in a year0 -
Danny565 is absolutely right and Comres confirmed it on Sunday with Burnham the only one of the 4 contendors in positive territory. I have voted for Burnham today as he is clearly the most electable in my view, but Labour will make their own choice. In 2010 David Miliband was the most electable, but he is not on the ballot!Philip_Thompson said:
Andy Burnham is one of the crappest and most over-promoted MPs we have today. I can't stand him, he's crap and he only just scraped fourth last time over Diane Abbott.flightpath01 said:
I've just heard Cooper on the News (her voice seemed almost to be breaking before she regained some control and heaven forbid she seemed to be blinking a lot) - anyway - she said she did not know what Burnham stood for anymore as his opinions changed so much. Incredibly cutting. At the death - when its all too late - the race is hotting up.bigjohnowls said:Yvette Cooper: Andy Burnham is too similar to Jeremy Corbyn and must step aside.
Well they are both men one was favourite and is now an outsider
LOL Kendall too similar to Cooper who steps aside?
Cooper loses any chance of 2nd place with this kind of Bollox IMO
From what I saw of Burnham he looked totally weak and pathetic. A perfect rabbit caught in the headlights.
I'm coming to the conclusion that Strictly Come Dancing might have been a better format for this leadership election.
The idea he is being pushed as the "credible PM" in this contest shows just how pathetic the Labour contenders are.0 -
On what world is Burnham too similar to Corbyn?0
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I put Cooper last, behind Kendall and Corbyn, she offers nothing either to floating voters, Scotland or Labour's core, even Corbyn would be a better bet!NickPalmer said:Hard to see beyond the bluffs and double-bluffs, but the claim from Cooper's camp that she's getting 60% of Burnham's 2nd preferences sounds pretty grim for the ABC people if Burnham comes 3rd - I can't see more than 5-10% of Burnham's 2nds going to Kendall, so that means Corbyn is getting a third of them.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/17/labour-leadership-andy-burnham-yvette-cooper-contest
I wonder what Cooper's 2nd preferences are doing. I know she's called for them to go to Burnham, but the current spat makes that seem less certain.0 -
Trump 32%
Bush 12%
Carson 7%
Huckabee 6%
Rubio 6%
Cruz 5%
Fiorina 4%
Christie 4%
Paul 4%
http://morningconsult.com/2015/08/trump-leads-gop-field-fiorina-rises-as-walker-fades/0 -
Very good piece on the FT on Cameron from Janan Ganesh, who I generally find to be a very good writer, whatever he's talking about and whether or not I agree with it. I feel like Cameron, who is not exceptional, has been underestimated by both sides, though there is some sense that is changing. A few snippets:
A party with a good frontman or woman can afford to get everything else wrong, and probably will not. Most other variables — policy, strategy, organisation — flow from the leader...
The resignation of Mr Cameron as prime minister before 2020 will change politics more than anyone seems to appreciate, including his own Tories, who tend to assume he is eminently replaceable, and the many Labour MPs who privately write off the next election...
Because of his outward banality, the vanilla sheen that says “Son-in-law of the Year”, we have Mr Cameron down as fortunate rather than inspired. Yet in May he added to his vote share and parliamentary seats, a rare enough feat for an incumbent that is all the more remarkable for being preceded by five years of stringent fiscal policy...
Mr Cameron also normalises the abnormal. He makes a government of unsettling ambition seem middle-of-the-road...It is precisely his reputation as an unromantic problem-solver that allows the government to take risks. Voters trust the Tories not to go too far as long as he is at the top.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0884c558-44ca-11e5-b3b2-1672f710807b.html#axzz3j755apx30 -
I'm currently reading Tom Holland's 'In the Shadow of the Sword', which I'm enjoying and I suspect would appeal, though I'm only a hundred pages in so it's early days. That said, for a subject as epic as the transition from late antiquity to the early middle ages, and the rise of Islam in that vortex, I'd have expected a longer book so it may skim things a bit. Anyway, it's set off well.SeanT said:Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:Cyclefree said:
The two Hitler books by Ian Kershaw are superb IMO. My favourite history books.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
Titles? Serious and sincere request. I need some good books. Too many have been recently disappointing.Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:Cyclefree said:
The two Hitler books by Ian Kershaw are superb IMO. My favourite history books.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
I did like Rebecca tho, by Daphne du Maurier (I read it last year, I understand I'm a little later than most people), and also Tim Cumming's brilliant poetry collection Rebel Angels in the Mind Shop.
One book I did enjoy was Andrew Hodges' biography of Alan Turing. There is a lot of detail (and maths), but it's worth it.0 -
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self , by Claire Tomalin. I've read three other biographies of my avatar, but this one is in a different league to the others.SeanT said:Titles? Serious and sincere request. I need some good books. Too many have been recently disappointing.
On the fiction side, the book club, after the disappointment of The Ice Twins, reverted to comfort zone, but very successfully: The Age of Innocence. Definitely a goody, if you haven't read it.
Other goodies, in no particular order: Ismail Kadare's Broken April; The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder; Suite Francaise (but you need to read it in French, the English translation is poor)...0 -
Rebecca is a wonderful book. It's the only book I know of where the title character doesn't appear in the book.SeanT said:Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:Cyclefree said:
The two Hitler books by Ian Kershaw are superb IMO. My favourite history books.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
Titles? Serious and sincere request. I need some good books. Too many have been recently disappointing.Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:Cyclefree said:
The two Hitler books by Ian Kershaw are superb IMO. My favourite history books.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
I did like Rebecca tho, by Daphne du Maurier (I read it last year, I understand I'm a little later than most people), and also Tim Cumming's brilliant poetry collection Rebel Angels in the Mind Shop.
Ir also won the Best Picture Oscar for David O Selznick in 1940. It was his second in a row, as he won it for Gone With The Wind the previous year.
There is one significant difference between the book and the movie. Anyone know what it is?
Regarding reading material, have you read Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novels?0 -
The count of monte CristoSeanT said:Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:Cyclefree said:
The two Hitler books by Ian Kershaw are superb IMO. My favourite history books.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
Titles? Serious and sincere request. I need some good books. Too many have been recently disappointing.Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:Cyclefree said:
The two Hitler books by Ian Kershaw are superb IMO. My favourite history books.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
I did like Rebecca tho, by Daphne du Maurier (I read it last year, I understand I'm a little later than most people), and also Tim Cumming's brilliant poetry collection Rebel Angels in the Mind Shop.0 -
You've only just noticed??Sunil_Prasannan said:
twitter.com/Sunil_P2/status/632950671420096512flightpath01 said:Dear darling Mr Nabavi, you say ''how can we know how the £3 vote-baggers and union affiliates are leaning?''
They are leaning left (that's 'Left!') to a gravity defying degree.
twitter.com/Sunil_P2/status/632948421805113344
0 -
A Fox poll today had Hillary beating Trump by 5 and Fiorina by 7 but losing to Bush by 2 and Rubio by 2. However if Trump runs as an independent she beats Bush by 11 and Rubio by 12JEO said:Trump 32%
Bush 12%
Carson 7%
Huckabee 6%
Rubio 6%
Cruz 5%
Fiorina 4%
Christie 4%
Paul 4%
http://morningconsult.com/2015/08/trump-leads-gop-field-fiorina-rises-as-walker-fades/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/16/fox-news-poll-shakeup-in-gop-field-after-first-debate-sanders-gains-on-clinton/
0 -
But it was a biography - what did you expect to happen?MikeK said:
Andrew Roberts' Napoleon starts well but languishes after the early Italian campaigns. Pity, it could have been a good book.SeanT said:
It's possibly the best biography I've read since Ellmann's Joyce. Which is enormous praise. As that is perhaps the best literary biography ever.Theuniondivvie said:
D'Annunzio is certainly a fascinating character, far more so than Musso. I've had Lucy Hughes-Hallet's bio by my bed since Christmas, must get down to it. Bit off reading lately.SeanT said:
Ah, Mister Smithson, with this you are spoiling us!JWisemann said:Okay, so arming Islamic fundamentalists across a quarter of the globe is realpolitik, chatting to a nutter at a function in aid of oppressed people is tantamount to being Hitler. Of course.
If Fascist Italy had just chosen the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio as leader (as nearly happened) rather than the oafish Mussolini, all would have been well.Theuniondivvie said:
Did he think colonial humiliation, recurring military defeat, invasion & occupation by both allies & enemies and a ubiquitous (if slightly unfair) reputation for martial cowardice was worth it just to get a few commies jailed and the trains to run on time?SeanT said:
That said the single most impressive Italian I've met recently - a world ski jump champion who also knew more history than most academics - yearned for a return of a Mussolini, to sort all the problems.
I wrote about d'Annunzio for Das Torygraf
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/seanthomas/100253258/this-man-was-a-sadomasochist-drug-addict-fearless-pilot-and-politician-only-in-italy/
G d'Annunzio is my favourite politician EVAH. Possibly my favourite single person.
Of course Hughes-Hallett had much better material to work with, but good luck to her. She chose well.
PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.0 -
Cooper's claim ties in with what the polls found so I'd be inclined to believe her. That said, Burnham's votes may not be redistributed anyway and even if they are, it'll just reduce Corbyn's lead.NickPalmer said:Hard to see beyond the bluffs and double-bluffs, but the claim from Cooper's camp that she's getting 60% of Burnham's 2nd preferences sounds pretty grim for the ABC people if Burnham comes 3rd - I can't see more than 5-10% of Burnham's 2nds going to Kendall, so that means Corbyn is getting a third of them.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/17/labour-leadership-andy-burnham-yvette-cooper-contest
I wonder what Cooper's 2nd preferences are doing. I know she's called for them to go to Burnham, but the current spat makes that seem less certain.0 -
There are many reports of both Biden and Gore(!) folks reaching out to Clinton donors. The panic in the Democratic Party is almost palpable.HYUFD said:
A Fox poll today had Hillary beating Trump by 5 and Fiorina by 7 but losing to Bush by 2 and Rubio by 2. However if Trump runs as an independent she beats Bush by 11 and Rubio by 12JEO said:Trump 32%
Bush 12%
Carson 7%
Huckabee 6%
Rubio 6%
Cruz 5%
Fiorina 4%
Christie 4%
Paul 4%
http://morningconsult.com/2015/08/trump-leads-gop-field-fiorina-rises-as-walker-fades/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/16/fox-news-poll-shakeup-in-gop-field-after-first-debate-sanders-gains-on-clinton/0 -
He was in Wills with me in 1977-78. Some other snippets of memory returning through the haze of time. Said Philosophy student's best mate was a small guy with a black beard called Andre from the East End (studying law) who claimed to know the Kray twins, and thought they were basically good blokes. Can see his face, just can't recall the name.Cyclefree said:
Good heavens! I shall have a proper think. There's one person who might fit the description. If it is indeed the same person he made a pass at me to the soundtrack of Blondie's "Denis, Denis". But, TBH, he sounds like the sort of person I'd have crossed the street to avoid. I was a bit of a punk then.....MTimT said:@ Cyclefree. Re our discussion yesterday, I did know one Philosophy student at Bristol. I forget his name, but he looked like a blue-eyed Jesus and fancied himself as an aesthete. Wonder if you can work out who it was based on that sketchy description!
Never fully became a punk myself, but was definitely into the Stranglers, and later all the post-punk bands like Killing Joke, The Fall, Siouxsie, The Psychadelic Furs, Joy Division, the Cure et al.0 -
Here goes:-SeanT said:Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:
Titles? Serious and sincere request. I need some good books. Too many have been recently disappointing.Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:Cyclefree said:
The two Hitler books by Ian Kershaw are superb IMO. My favourite history books.rcs1000 said:
First book of his I haven't finished.SeanT said:PS I'm slightly struggling with Andrew Roberts' Napoleon. Brilliant on facts but needs more absurd, colourful gossip. Hopefully it will sharpen up.
I did like Rebecca tho, by Daphne du Maurier (I read it last year, I understand I'm a little later than most people), and also Tim Cumming's brilliant poetry collection Rebel Angels in the Mind Shop.
Mark Thompson's The White War on the Italian campaign in WW1 - little known (by non-Italians obviously) and good background to D'Annunzio.
James Holland has written two good books on the Battle of Britain and Italy 1944. Raleigh Trevelyan is also very good on the latter.
Norman Lewis is a brilliant writer. His travel books are superb, as are Naples 44 and The Honoured Society (on the Mafia). Try his autobiography Jackdaw Cake.
Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands: utterly harrowing but very well worth reading.
Tony Judt: Postwar - A History of Europe from 1945, Reappraisals, Rethinking the Twentieth Century (with Timothy Snyder) and Past Imperfect. The Memory Chalet and When the Facts Change are both good collections of his essays.
Tom Holland writes very well about the classical world. Rub on, Persian Fire and Millenium.
John Horne Burns - The Gallery (short stories set in Naples and North Africa 1944/45) - well worth reading.
Michael Burleigh: The Third Reich - A new history, Earthly Powers and Sacred Causes ( 2 books).
Mark Mazower: Dark Continent
I've also enjoyed the first volume of Elsa Ferrante's sequence of novels - My Brilliant Friend.
Anyway, that should keep you going for a bit......
0 -
There is panic in the GOP too given the Trump runaway train continues on!Tim_B said:
There are many reports of both Biden and Gore(!) folks reaching out to Clinton donors. The panic in the Democratic Party is almost palpable.HYUFD said:
A Fox poll today had Hillary beating Trump by 5 and Fiorina by 7 but losing to Bush by 2 and Rubio by 2. However if Trump runs as an independent she beats Bush by 11 and Rubio by 12JEO said:Trump 32%
Bush 12%
Carson 7%
Huckabee 6%
Rubio 6%
Cruz 5%
Fiorina 4%
Christie 4%
Paul 4%
http://morningconsult.com/2015/08/trump-leads-gop-field-fiorina-rises-as-walker-fades/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/16/fox-news-poll-shakeup-in-gop-field-after-first-debate-sanders-gains-on-clinton/0 -
The biggest rallies so far have been for Bernie SandersTim_B said:
There are many reports of both Biden and Gore(!) folks reaching out to Clinton donors. The panic in the Democratic Party is almost palpable.HYUFD said:
A Fox poll today had Hillary beating Trump by 5 and Fiorina by 7 but losing to Bush by 2 and Rubio by 2. However if Trump runs as an independent she beats Bush by 11 and Rubio by 12JEO said:Trump 32%
Bush 12%
Carson 7%
Huckabee 6%
Rubio 6%
Cruz 5%
Fiorina 4%
Christie 4%
Paul 4%
http://morningconsult.com/2015/08/trump-leads-gop-field-fiorina-rises-as-walker-fades/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/16/fox-news-poll-shakeup-in-gop-field-after-first-debate-sanders-gains-on-clinton/0 -
Fun factoid -
in addition to his sumptuous private plane, a Boeing 757, Trump owns 3 - THREE - helicopters. One based in NYC (that's the one in Iowa over the weekend), one in Florida, and one in Turnberry.0 -
I'm not going to get into this with you. It has already been established by more than me that you have no real understanding of the tides and currents of the US political environment.HYUFD said:
The biggest rallies so far have been for Bernie SandersTim_B said:
There are many reports of both Biden and Gore(!) folks reaching out to Clinton donors. The panic in the Democratic Party is almost palpable.HYUFD said:
A Fox poll today had Hillary beating Trump by 5 and Fiorina by 7 but losing to Bush by 2 and Rubio by 2. However if Trump runs as an independent she beats Bush by 11 and Rubio by 12JEO said:Trump 32%
Bush 12%
Carson 7%
Huckabee 6%
Rubio 6%
Cruz 5%
Fiorina 4%
Christie 4%
Paul 4%
http://morningconsult.com/2015/08/trump-leads-gop-field-fiorina-rises-as-walker-fades/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/16/fox-news-poll-shakeup-in-gop-field-after-first-debate-sanders-gains-on-clinton/0 -
I went out with the brother of the Buzzcock's lead guitarist - though not when I was at uni. And spent more time than was probably good for me at the Hacienda. Still love the Smiths.MTimT said:
He was in Wills with me in 1977-78. Some other snippets of memory returning through the haze of time. Said Philosophy student's best mate was a small guy with a black beard called Andre from the East End (studying law) who claimed to know the Kray twins, and thought they were basically good blokes. Can see his face, just can't recall the name.Cyclefree said:
Good heavens! I shall have a proper think. There's one person who might fit the description. If it is indeed the same person he made a pass at me to the soundtrack of Blondie's "Denis, Denis". But, TBH, he sounds like the sort of person I'd have crossed the street to avoid. I was a bit of a punk then.....MTimT said:@ Cyclefree. Re our discussion yesterday, I did know one Philosophy student at Bristol. I forget his name, but he looked like a blue-eyed Jesus and fancied himself as an aesthete. Wonder if you can work out who it was based on that sketchy description!
Never fully became a punk myself, but was definitely into the Stranglers, and later all the post-punk bands like Killing Joke, The Fall, Siouxsie, The Psychadelic Furs, Joy Division, the Cure et al.
I
0 -
Never mind AirForce One and Marine One it will be TrumpForce One!!Tim_B said:Fun factoid -
in addition to his sumptuous private plane, a Boeing 757, Trump owns 3 - THREE - helicopters. One based in NYC (that's the one in Iowa over the weekend), one in Florida, and one in Turnberry.0 -
@ Sean T: Some of my favorite all time books
TOWER STRUCK BY LIGHTENING by Fernando Arrabal (Penguin, 1991)
The Lady in a Car with Glasses and a Gun, Sebastian Japrisot
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Candid, Voltaire
War with the Newts, Karel Capek
The Good Soldier Schweik, Jaroslav Hasek
Brazzaville Beach, William Boyd
Samarkand, Amin Maalouf0 -
Tom Holland's Rubicon not Rub On.Cyclefree said:
Here goes:-SeanT said:Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:
Titles? Serious and sincere request. I need some good books. Too many have been recently disappointing.Cyclefree said:
Yes, they are. Some very good history books in the last few years: Kershaw, Burleigh, Overy, Mazower, Tom Holland, James Holland, Mark Thompson, Snyder and the late and much missed Tony Judt.AndyJS said:
I did like Rebecca tho, by Daphne du Maurier (I read it last year, I understand I'm a little later than most people), and also Tim Cumming's brilliant poetry collection Rebel Angels in the Mind Shop.
Mark Thompson's The White War on the Italian campaign in WW1 - little known (by non-Italians obviously) and good background to D'Annunzio.
James Holland has written two good books on the Battle of Britain and Italy 1944. Raleigh Trevelyan is also very good on the latter.
Norman Lewis is a brilliant writer. His travel books are superb, as are Naples 44 and The Honoured Society (on the Mafia). Try his autobiography Jackdaw Cake.
Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands: utterly harrowing but very well worth reading.
Tony Judt: Postwar - A History of Europe from 1945, Reappraisals, Rethinking the Twentieth Century (with Timothy Snyder) and Past Imperfect. The Memory Chalet and When the Facts Change are both good collections of his essays.
Tom Holland writes very well about the classical world. Rub on, Persian Fire and Millenium.
John Horne Burns - The Gallery (short stories set in Naples and North Africa 1944/45) - well worth reading.
Michael Burleigh: The Third Reich - A new history, Earthly Powers and Sacred Causes ( 2 books).
Mark Mazower: Dark Continent
I've also enjoyed the first volume of Elsa Ferrante's sequence of novels - My Brilliant Friend.
Anyway, that should keep you going for a bit......
0 -
In other topical news, Tube worker seeks to supplement income:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11807929/Tube-worker-dupes-Welsh-Assembly-into-paying-her-their-104000-cleaning-bill.html0 -
Good grief - are we really going here?Cyclefree said:
I went out with the brother of the Buzzcock's lead guitarist - though not when I was at uni. And spent more time than was probably good for me at the Hacienda. Still love the Smiths.MTimT said:
He was in Wills with me in 1977-78. Some other snippets of memory returning through the haze of time. Said Philosophy student's best mate was a small guy with a black beard called Andre from the East End (studying law) who claimed to know the Kray twins, and thought they were basically good blokes. Can see his face, just can't recall the name.Cyclefree said:
Good heavens! I shall have a proper think. There's one person who might fit the description. If it is indeed the same person he made a pass at me to the soundtrack of Blondie's "Denis, Denis". But, TBH, he sounds like the sort of person I'd have crossed the street to avoid. I was a bit of a punk then.....MTimT said:@ Cyclefree. Re our discussion yesterday, I did know one Philosophy student at Bristol. I forget his name, but he looked like a blue-eyed Jesus and fancied himself as an aesthete. Wonder if you can work out who it was based on that sketchy description!
Never fully became a punk myself, but was definitely into the Stranglers, and later all the post-punk bands like Killing Joke, The Fall, Siouxsie, The Psychadelic Furs, Joy Division, the Cure et al.
I
My only reference here is that the older sister of a guy I went to school with went out with a member of The Troggs.0 -
Anna Karenina - brilliant.MTimT said:@ Sean T: Some of my favorite all time books
TOWER STRUCK BY LIGHTENING by Fernando Arrabal (Penguin, 1991)
The Lady in a Car with Glasses and a Gun, Sebastian Japrisot
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Candid, Voltaire
War with the Newts, Karel Capek
The Good Soldier Schweik, Jaroslav Hasek
Brazzaville Beach, William Boyd
Samarkand, Amin Maalouf
Ditto Vanity Fair.
The short stories and novels of William Trevor and John McGahern.
PS Perhaps we could have PB Book Club when Nighthawks fails to make an appearance!
0 -
How could I have left Joseph Conrad off the list. Virtually anything by him, but Heart of Darkness, of course.MTimT said:@ Sean T: Some of my favorite all time books
TOWER STRUCK BY LIGHTENING by Fernando Arrabal (Penguin, 1991)
The Lady in a Car with Glasses and a Gun, Sebastian Japrisot
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Candid, Voltaire
War with the Newts, Karel Capek
The Good Soldier Schweik, Jaroslav Hasek
Brazzaville Beach, William Boyd
Samarkand, Amin Maalouf
For non-fiction:
The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, Paul Kennedy
A History of Warfare, John Keegan
The Information, James Gleick
Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Daniel Dennett
Society of Mind, Marvin Minsky
The Language Instinct, Stephen Pinker
Linked, Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
Probably Approximately Correct, Leslie Valiant
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, Peter Bernstein
0 -
OK I'm sorry. He did ask me to marry him though. Who the hell are The Troggs anyway?Tim_B said:
Good grief - are we really going here?Cyclefree said:
I went out with the brother of the Buzzcock's lead guitarist - though not when I was at uni. And spent more time than was probably good for me at the Hacienda. Still love the Smiths.MTimT said:
He was in Wills with me in 1977-78. Some other snippets of memory returning through the haze of time. Said Philosophy student's best mate was a small guy with a black beard called Andre from the East End (studying law) who claimed to know the Kray twins, and thought they were basically good blokes. Can see his face, just can't recall the name.Cyclefree said:
Good heavens! I shall have a proper think. There's one person who might fit the description. If it is indeed the same person he made a pass at me to the soundtrack of Blondie's "Denis, Denis". But, TBH, he sounds like the sort of person I'd have crossed the street to avoid. I was a bit of a punk then.....MTimT said:@ Cyclefree. Re our discussion yesterday, I did know one Philosophy student at Bristol. I forget his name, but he looked like a blue-eyed Jesus and fancied himself as an aesthete. Wonder if you can work out who it was based on that sketchy description!
Never fully became a punk myself, but was definitely into the Stranglers, and later all the post-punk bands like Killing Joke, The Fall, Siouxsie, The Psychadelic Furs, Joy Division, the Cure et al.
I
My only reference here is that the older sister of a guy I went to school with went out with a member of The Troggs.
0 -
Sounds good to me. Like Sean T, I am in a rut with reading, other than for work, where I still find plenty of fascinating stuff.Cyclefree said:
Anna Karenina - brilliant.MTimT said:@ Sean T: Some of my favorite all time books
TOWER STRUCK BY LIGHTENING by Fernando Arrabal (Penguin, 1991)
The Lady in a Car with Glasses and a Gun, Sebastian Japrisot
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Candid, Voltaire
War with the Newts, Karel Capek
The Good Soldier Schweik, Jaroslav Hasek
Brazzaville Beach, William Boyd
Samarkand, Amin Maalouf
Ditto Vanity Fair.
The short stories and novels of William Trevor and John McGahern.
PS Perhaps we could have PB Book Club when Nighthawks fails to make an appearance!0 -
Do the Labour candidates understand AV?
The more time they spend slagging each other off, the more of their second prefs (or thirds, which will likely matter for one of them) head away from The ABC Three ... whether into oblivion or for JC, it can't be a good thing. If they really are running scared at the prospect of JC winning the election, at least. Otherwise it makes me wonder whether they are simply using the Spectre of Corbynism as a ruse to get one up over the other ABCs, and are just keeping their fingers crossed that the Corbyn surge is an artefact of social media.0 -
Their big hit was "Wild Thing". It was a different time.Cyclefree said:
OK I'm sorry. He did ask me to marry him though. Who the hell are The Troggs anyway?Tim_B said:
Good grief - are we really going here?Cyclefree said:
I went out with the brother of the Buzzcock's lead guitarist - though not when I was at uni. And spent more time than was probably good for me at the Hacienda. Still love the Smiths.MTimT said:
He was in Wills with me in 1977-78. Some other snippets of memory returning through the haze of time. Said Philosophy student's best mate was a small guy with a black beard called Andre from the East End (studying law) who claimed to know the Kray twins, and thought they were basically good blokes. Can see his face, just can't recall the name.Cyclefree said:
Good heavens! I shall have a proper think. There's one person who might fit the description. If it is indeed the same person he made a pass at me to the soundtrack of Blondie's "Denis, Denis". But, TBH, he sounds like the sort of person I'd have crossed the street to avoid. I was a bit of a punk then.....MTimT said:@ Cyclefree. Re our discussion yesterday, I did know one Philosophy student at Bristol. I forget his name, but he looked like a blue-eyed Jesus and fancied himself as an aesthete. Wonder if you can work out who it was based on that sketchy description!
Never fully became a punk myself, but was definitely into the Stranglers, and later all the post-punk bands like Killing Joke, The Fall, Siouxsie, The Psychadelic Furs, Joy Division, the Cure et al.
I
My only reference here is that the older sister of a guy I went to school with went out with a member of The Troggs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hce74cEAAaE0 -
My aunt dated one of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. Not sure which. I suspect Beaky.
Wrt books.
Middlemarch
A brief history of time
& Mr Topsy Turvey
all highly recommended0 -
With YouGov putting Corbyn on 57% I don't think it's possible to regard the surge as simply a social media generated artefact. All the other candidates must know this.MyBurningEars said:Do the Labour candidates understand AV?
The more time they spend slagging each other off, the more of their second prefs (or thirds, which will likely matter for one of them) head away from The ABC Three ... whether into oblivion or for JC, it can't be a good thing. If they really are running scared at the prospect of JC winning the election, at least. Otherwise it makes me wonder whether they are simply using the Spectre of Corbynism as a ruse to get one up over the other ABCs, and are just keeping their fingers crossed that the Corbyn surge is an artefact of social media.0 -
Another one for Sean T, "Imagining Argentina", Christopher Hampton. An amazing first novel. And from the Sci-Fi field, Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson.0
-
Final confirmation of my philistine status. Not only haven't I read any of those, I haven't heard of most of them. I'll have a go at one of them soon though.MTimT said:@ Sean T: Some of my favorite all time books
TOWER STRUCK BY LIGHTENING by Fernando Arrabal (Penguin, 1991)
The Lady in a Car with Glasses and a Gun, Sebastian Japrisot
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Candid, Voltaire
War with the Newts, Karel Capek
The Good Soldier Schweik, Jaroslav Hasek
Brazzaville Beach, William Boyd
Samarkand, Amin Maalouf0 -
Yet if they really are desperately desperate to stop Corbyn, their tactics (especially Cooper and Burnham splitting further apart, hence making each other increasingly transfer-unfriendly) are curiously designed to play into his hands. And again, I'm sure they both know this.AndyJS said:
With YouGov putting Corbyn on 57% I don't think it's possible to regard the surge as simply a social media generated artefact. All the other candidates must know this.MyBurningEars said:Do the Labour candidates understand AV?
The more time they spend slagging each other off, the more of their second prefs (or thirds, which will likely matter for one of them) head away from The ABC Three ... whether into oblivion or for JC, it can't be a good thing. If they really are running scared at the prospect of JC winning the election, at least. Otherwise it makes me wonder whether they are simply using the Spectre of Corbynism as a ruse to get one up over the other ABCs, and are just keeping their fingers crossed that the Corbyn surge is an artefact of social media.0 -
How is Survation weighting turnout in this poll?
Carbon copy of what all the pollsters did at the GE?
Or something a bit more realistic?0 -
I just finished reading 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom', the Oxford edition, that's the long one.
A wonderful book, and I learned several new words.0 -
Well Sanders is already ahead of Hillary in New Hampshire in one poll and running ahead of Trump in some polls in the general election, if Trump is GOP nominee even Sanders would have a shot!Tim_B said:
I'm not going to get into this with you. It has already been established by more than me that you have no real understanding of the tides and currents of the US political environment.HYUFD said:
The biggest rallies so far have been for Bernie SandersTim_B said:
There are many reports of both Biden and Gore(!) folks reaching out to Clinton donors. The panic in the Democratic Party is almost palpable.HYUFD said:
A Fox poll today had Hillary beating Trump by 5 and Fiorina by 7 but losing to Bush by 2 and Rubio by 2. However if Trump runs as an independent she beats Bush by 11 and Rubio by 12JEO said:Trump 32%
Bush 12%
Carson 7%
Huckabee 6%
Rubio 6%
Cruz 5%
Fiorina 4%
Christie 4%
Paul 4%
http://morningconsult.com/2015/08/trump-leads-gop-field-fiorina-rises-as-walker-fades/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/16/fox-news-poll-shakeup-in-gop-field-after-first-debate-sanders-gains-on-clinton/0 -
LOL. I've moved in international circles my whole life, so have been fortunate enough to have been introduced by friends to authors whose works haven't necessarily made it onto the book lists in the UK. Looking at it, the Czechs seem inordinately represented on my list.AndyJS said:
Final confirmation of my philistine status. Not only haven't I read any of those, I haven't heard of most of them. I'll have a go at one of them soon though.MTimT said:@ Sean T: Some of my favorite all time books
TOWER STRUCK BY LIGHTENING by Fernando Arrabal (Penguin, 1991)
The Lady in a Car with Glasses and a Gun, Sebastian Japrisot
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Candid, Voltaire
War with the Newts, Karel Capek
The Good Soldier Schweik, Jaroslav Hasek
Brazzaville Beach, William Boyd
Samarkand, Amin Maalouf0 -
The only books I've bought this year are the latest editions of London Railway Atlas (where I get a mention in the acknowledgements!), and the Rail Atlas of Great Britain and IrelandAndyJS said:
Final confirmation of my philistine status. Not only haven't I read any of those, I haven't heard of most of them. I'll have a go at one of them soon though.MTimT said:@ Sean T: Some of my favorite all time books
TOWER STRUCK BY LIGHTENING by Fernando Arrabal (Penguin, 1991)
The Lady in a Car with Glasses and a Gun, Sebastian Japrisot
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Candid, Voltaire
War with the Newts, Karel Capek
The Good Soldier Schweik, Jaroslav Hasek
Brazzaville Beach, William Boyd
Samarkand, Amin Maalouf0 -
Donald Trump and I have even more in common - he had jury duty today and wasn't selected, just like me a few months ago.
I could be a billionaire, if I had the money.0 -
My dad's cousin dated the Queen Mother, apparently - he was supposedly a suavely tough character (thought Churchill a hopeless wet):Jonathan said:My aunt dated one of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. Not sure which. I suspect Beaky.
Wrt books.
Middlemarch
A brief history of time
& Mr Topsy Turvey
all highly recommended
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stuart,_1st_Viscount_Stuart_of_Findhorn
Books:
Heavy going at times but worth it: Sansom's earlier Shardlake books on an idealistic lawyer trying to avoid multiple dangers in the Reformation period (he runs out of steam by book 4 IMO)
Lighter going than you'd expect:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quest-Moral-Compass-Kenan-Malik/dp/1848874790 - easily the most readable and fairest overview of philosophy that I've ever read, and occasionally even funny. (He thinks Bentham's rigid utilitarianism would have made him an excellent X-Factor judge)0 -
Democratic Nomination:
I think taking a punt against Clinton is a fair option. This email issue isn't going away and its getting worse. What it does is emphasize her divisiveness that killed her off in 2008.
What we have, betting-wise then, is a 'who will emerge' situation to make a trading bet rather than necessarily look at the end winner. There is still room for someone new to turn up officially but if I rule out Sanders that leaves us just two as it stands from what I can see who could go anywhere.
1. Biden, who must fancy a try.
and 2.. Jim Webb.... who is nowhere right now and may remain nowhere or just go one way, upwards.
Neither quite appeal yet. Is Biden as good as it gets? Surely there is someone else in the wings.
Why rule out Bernie? I think looking at the polls its about as good as it gets. Thats the ceiling.
So from a betting perspective, theres no more room.
Iraq: Former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki is considering a coup attempt and one that would launch very soon. You may remember many moons ago when this divisive figure was ousted in the aftermath of a succession of defeats to IS, particularly in Mosul, I said that he'd retain an important post and remain a key figure
The guy has just never left but now may face legal action over those very defeats. Maybe thats why the coup option is on the table, maybe its a threat to encourage those considering legals to back off.
He has a powerbase but it'd be very high risk stuff.
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Louise Mench just retweeted my tweet about my Labour leadership vote.
Should I be afraid?0
