Weekend - Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th October 2015

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 4:41 pm

Cheers, Dan.

This is good too.

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolic ... embership/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In summary- you can't say what difference leaving the EU makes because we don't know what deal would be struck afterwards.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 4:43 pm

Them terrorist Muslims again!

Oh hang on!

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... in-belfast" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A hand grenade was thrown at police officers on patrol in Belfast on Friday night.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 5:36 pm

The UK has licensed £4bn of arms sales to the Saudis since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, according to research by Campaign Against Arms Trade. Around 240 ministry of defence civil servants and military personnel work in the UK and Saudi Arabia to support the contracts, which will next year include delivery of 22 Hawk jets in a deal worth £1.6bn.

And research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows that the UK is now the kingdom’s largest arms supplier, responsible for 36% of all Saudi arms imports.

UK business want to capitalise on the fragile situation in the Middle East.

A 2013 document, written by an official at UK Trade and Investment, the body charged with promoting business interests,, outlines how the region’s “global policing and security market has ballooned”. Freedom of information requests show that the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI) is courting the Saudis and that civil servants met Saudi military delegations at the UK’s Security and Policing arms fair this year and last summer at the Farnborough airshow.

Several of the most important Saudi contracts were concluded under the obscurely named Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) policy, which is meant to ensure that the UK’s security and justice activities are “consistent with a foreign policy based on British values, including human rights”.

Foreign Office lawyers have gone to court to prevent the policy being made public.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has written to David Cameron asking him to commit to an independent review of the use of the OSJA process. “By operating under a veil of secrecy, we risk making the OSJA process appear to be little more than a rubber-stamping exercise, enabling the UK to be complicit in gross human rights abuses,” Corbyn writes.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/o ... arms-sales

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 5:44 pm

citizenJA wrote:
The UK has licensed £4bn of arms sales to the Saudis since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, according to research by Campaign Against Arms Trade. Around 240 ministry of defence civil servants and military personnel work in the UK and Saudi Arabia to support the contracts, which will next year include delivery of 22 Hawk jets in a deal worth £1.6bn.

And research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows that the UK is now the kingdom’s largest arms supplier, responsible for 36% of all Saudi arms imports.

UK business want to capitalise on the fragile situation in the Middle East.

A 2013 document, written by an official at UK Trade and Investment, the body charged with promoting business interests,, outlines how the region’s “global policing and security market has ballooned”. Freedom of information requests show that the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI) is courting the Saudis and that civil servants met Saudi military delegations at the UK’s Security and Policing arms fair this year and last summer at the Farnborough airshow.

Several of the most important Saudi contracts were concluded under the obscurely named Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) policy, which is meant to ensure that the UK’s security and justice activities are “consistent with a foreign policy based on British values, including human rights”.

Foreign Office lawyers have gone to court to prevent the policy being made public.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has written to David Cameron asking him to commit to an independent review of the use of the OSJA process. “By operating under a veil of secrecy, we risk making the OSJA process appear to be little more than a rubber-stamping exercise, enabling the UK to be complicit in gross human rights abuses,” Corbyn writes.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/o ... arms-sales

So most of that would have been under the Coalition, despite it being the sort of thing Lib Dems squeal about when in opposition.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 5:47 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Andy Slaughter MP Retweeted
Times Law ‏@TimesLaw 21m21 minutes ago
Gove appears to be having second thoughts on human rights act reform and probs of squaring withdrawal with devolution: Slaughter #BCYBC15
I wonder if Gove imagined his new job would basically be unpicking all the terrible measures and proposals his Tory predecessor set in motion? Nothing so depressing as having to sort out bodges.

It was noted that Gove didn't mention the HRA in his conference speech so wouldn't be a surprise if they're going to quietly drop it.

As Tubby said, Gove is going for education in prisons - Theodore Agnew joined him as a non-exec director and Charlie Taylor who was head of the National College for teaching and Leadership moved over to the MoJ to join his old boss.

http://www.cem.org/charlie-taylor-leaves-nctl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 5:53 pm

David Cameron attacks Jeremy Corbyn for being a 'terrorist-sympathiser'

"David Cameron has launched a blistering attack on Jeremy Corbyn in his
speech to the Conservative Party conference, labelling the new Labour leader's
“ideology” as “security-threatening, terrorist-sympathising, Britain-hating”."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 84511.html

Cameron has a projection problem.
We've noted this before now.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 5:55 pm

Is that an old link from the Tory conference or has he been at it again ?

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 5:59 pm

yahyah wrote:
citizenJA wrote:
The UK has licensed £4bn of arms sales to the Saudis since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, according to research by Campaign Against Arms Trade. Around 240 ministry of defence civil servants and military personnel work in the UK and Saudi Arabia to support the contracts, which will next year include delivery of 22 Hawk jets in a deal worth £1.6bn.

And research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows that the UK is now the kingdom’s largest arms supplier, responsible for 36% of all Saudi arms imports.

UK business want to capitalise on the fragile situation in the Middle East.

A 2013 document, written by an official at UK Trade and Investment, the body charged with promoting business interests,, outlines how the region’s “global policing and security market has ballooned”. Freedom of information requests show that the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI) is courting the Saudis and that civil servants met Saudi military delegations at the UK’s Security and Policing arms fair this year and last summer at the Farnborough airshow.

Several of the most important Saudi contracts were concluded under the obscurely named Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) policy, which is meant to ensure that the UK’s security and justice activities are “consistent with a foreign policy based on British values, including human rights”.

Foreign Office lawyers have gone to court to prevent the policy being made public.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has written to David Cameron asking him to commit to an independent review of the use of the OSJA process. “By operating under a veil of secrecy, we risk making the OSJA process appear to be little more than a rubber-stamping exercise, enabling the UK to be complicit in gross human rights abuses,” Corbyn writes.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/o ... arms-sales

So most of that would have been under the Coalition, despite it being the sort of thing Lib Dems squeal about when in opposition.

And indeed part of the brief of "left wing" Vince Cable, who is so different to other politicians.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 6:02 pm

yahyah wrote:Is that an old link from the Tory conference or has he been at it again ?

It's from the 8th of October.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 6:10 pm

yahyah wrote:Is that an old link from the Tory conference or has he been at it again ?

Dave made those outrageous remarks about Corbyn while doing deals with a red poppy on his suit.
I posted the quote from the Tory conference because of its astounding hypocrisy.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 6:19 pm

Lordy, I know we irk each other rotten here sometimes but Cif, full of CyberNats, is a hellish place.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 6:26 pm

yahyah wrote:Lordy, I know we irk each other rotten here sometimes but Cif, full of CyberNats, is a hellish place.

I've been over there.

Quite a lot of anti-Nats too.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 6:28 pm

'online supporters of Scottish nationalism' ?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 6:35 pm

I can't believe Sturgeon said 'trust me'. Such a shyster-ish sort of thing to say.
Would trust her more than Salmond maybe, but that's not saying much.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 6:35 pm

citizenJA wrote:'online supporters of Scottish nationalism' ?

Not all, but some.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 6:40 pm

Fervent nationalism makes me nervous.
I like Scotland remaining with the rest of the UK.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 6:56 pm

Jim Pickard Retweeted
Oliver Cooper ‏@OliverCooper 5h5 hours ago
UKIP have lost control of Thanet Council - the only council they control - after a councillor emigrates to Thailand. http://www.thanetgazette.co.uk/Ramsgate ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

From the Thanet Gazette:

Mr and Mrs Munday were best known in the town for running a mobile food van.

The couple were at the centre of the Janice Atkinson scandal in August 2014 when the then-Ukip MEP used a derogatory term to describe Mrs Munday.

Mr Munday's pending relocation means Ukip faces the loss of yet another councillor, although Mr Munday's resignation has not yet been confirmed by the party.

If his resignation is confirmed it means Ukip will now have 27 councillors, six less than in May. The combined number of councillors for other parties is 29.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 7:25 pm

People winning the right to asylum in Britain are being forced into homelessness because Home Office regulations mean they face eviction within 28 days of their application being accepted.

Charities predicted that this winter would be the worst for homelessness in decades, with the rising number of rough sleepers being exacerbated by a rule that prevents asylum seekers from completing the paperwork and organising alternative housing before being moved on from state-provided accommodation.

Homelessness in Britain has risen by 36% in the past five years, largely as a result of cuts, especially to housing benefit. With night shelters and hostels already under huge strain and a rise in homelessness among British citizens, there are not enough beds to go round.(Guardian)

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... four-weeks

It's bloody cold tonight - and I'm indoors.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 7:25 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Jim Pickard Retweeted
Oliver Cooper ‏@OliverCooper 5h5 hours ago
UKIP have lost control of Thanet Council - the only council they control - after a councillor emigrates to Thailand. http://www.thanetgazette.co.uk/Ramsgate ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
From the Thanet Gazette:
Mr and Mrs Munday were best known in the town for running a mobile food van.

The couple were at the centre of the Janice Atkinson scandal in August 2014 when the then-Ukip MEP used a derogatory term to describe Mrs Munday.

Mr Munday's pending relocation means Ukip faces the loss of yet another councillor, although Mr Munday's resignation has not yet been confirmed by the party.

If his resignation is confirmed it means Ukip will now have 27 councillors, six less than in May. The combined number of councillors for other parties is 29.

Perfect.

edited to clarify, too-absurd-to-be-real-perfect, 'a UKIP councillor emigrates to Thailand', my husband laughed heartily at this...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 7:34 pm

PorFavor wrote:
People winning the right to asylum in Britain are being forced into homelessness because Home Office regulations mean they face eviction within 28 days of their application being accepted.

Charities predicted that this winter would be the worst for homelessness in decades, with the rising number of rough sleepers being exacerbated by a rule that prevents asylum seekers from completing the paperwork and organising alternative housing before being moved on from state-provided accommodation.

Homelessness in Britain has risen by 36% in the past five years, largely as a result of cuts, especially to housing benefit. With night shelters and hostels already under huge strain and a rise in homelessness among British citizens, there are not enough beds to go round.(Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... four-weeks

It's bloody cold tonight - and I'm indoors.

Just been reading that story. What a crass regulation that is ... kicks away the support from the people that the UK has just agreed really need it.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 7:59 pm

Analyst Oxford Economics said the UK's GDP per head of population will reach £23,500 - £250 higher than in the US.
However, because goods and services are cheaper in the US, Americans will have stronger purchasing power, it added.
UK GDP per capita will also be higher than in Germany (£21,665) and France (£21,700), Oxford Economics calculated.
Managing director Adrian Cooper said: "The last 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK's economic performance and its position in the world economy.
"No longer are we the 'sick man of Europe'."
Oxford Economics said that in 1993, following the last major recession and the UK's ejection from the ERM, GDP per capita in the UK was 34% lower than in the US, 33% lower than in Germany and 26% lower than in France.
It said the improved UK position reflected the sustained strong growth it has enjoyed since then and the recent strength of sterling.
Mr Cooper said: "The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001, so it is a well-established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations."

Cleaning up and having to convert some of my files to Open Office and found this. No date, but I'm pretty sure it was before the crash of 2008.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 8:03 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
Analyst Oxford Economics said the UK's GDP per head of population will reach £23,500 - £250 higher than in the US.
However, because goods and services are cheaper in the US, Americans will have stronger purchasing power, it added.
UK GDP per capita will also be higher than in Germany (£21,665) and France (£21,700), Oxford Economics calculated.
Managing director Adrian Cooper said: "The last 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK's economic performance and its position in the world economy.
"No longer are we the 'sick man of Europe'."
Oxford Economics said that in 1993, following the last major recession and the UK's ejection from the ERM, GDP per capita in the UK was 34% lower than in the US, 33% lower than in Germany and 26% lower than in France.
It said the improved UK position reflected the sustained strong growth it has enjoyed since then and the recent strength of sterling.
Mr Cooper said: "The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001, so it is a well-established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations."
Cleaning up and having to convert some of my files to Open Office and found this. No date, but I'm pretty sure it was before the crash of 2008.

Yep.
Monday, 7 January 2008

Britons 'richer than Americans'

Goods are more expensive in the UK compared with the US.
The average UK person will this year have a greater income than their US counterpart for the first time since the 19th Century, figures suggest.
Analyst Oxford Economics said the UK's GDP per head of population will reach £23,500 - £250 higher than in the US.
However, because goods and services are cheaper in the US, Americans will have stronger purchasing power, it added.
UK GDP per capita will also be higher than in Germany (£21,665) and France (£21,700), Oxford Economics calculated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7174372.stm

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 8:10 pm

But wait - less than a year later in the Guardian, 28 December 2008:

Britain's standards will fall to the lowest level of any major economy in 2009 as recession and the plunging pound take their toll, new research by consultancy Oxford Economics reveals.

As recently as 2007, Britain was at the top of the heap, with GDP per capita - measured at market exchange rates - exceeding that of America for the first time since the Victorian era. Consumers rode a decade-long wave of prosperity, snapping up holiday homes in the Dordogne and bargains at Bloomingdale's store in New York.

But Oxford Economics predicts that in 2009, with sterling expected to weaken further, and the credit crunch rippling out from the City into the real economy, the UK will slip right to the bottom of the league, with GDP per capita of $35,243 (£23,913), compared with $46,373 in the US, and $41,531 in Germany, and beaten too by Italy, Japan and France.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/200 ... n-gdp-2009

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 8:11 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
PorFavor wrote:
People winning the right to asylum in Britain are being forced into homelessness because Home Office regulations mean they face eviction within 28 days of their application being accepted.

Charities predicted that this winter would be the worst for homelessness in decades, with the rising number of rough sleepers being exacerbated by a rule that prevents asylum seekers from completing the paperwork and organising alternative housing before being moved on from state-provided accommodation.

Homelessness in Britain has risen by 36% in the past five years, largely as a result of cuts, especially to housing benefit. With night shelters and hostels already under huge strain and a rise in homelessness among British citizens, there are not enough beds to go round.(Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... four-weeks

It's bloody cold tonight - and I'm indoors.
Just been reading that story. What a crass regulation that is ... kicks away the support from the people that the UK has just agreed really need it.

My God, what's going to happen if we have a bad winter with months of snow as predicted

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 8:27 pm

citizenJA wrote:But wait - less than a year later in the Guardian, 28 December 2008:
Britain's standards will fall to the lowest level of any major economy in 2009 as recession and the plunging pound take their toll, new research by consultancy Oxford Economics reveals.

As recently as 2007, Britain was at the top of the heap, with GDP per capita - measured at market exchange rates - exceeding that of America for the first time since the Victorian era. Consumers rode a decade-long wave of prosperity, snapping up holiday homes in the Dordogne and bargains at Bloomingdale's store in New York.

But Oxford Economics predicts that in 2009, with sterling expected to weaken further, and the credit crunch rippling out from the City into the real economy, the UK will slip right to the bottom of the league, with GDP per capita of $35,243 (£23,913), compared with $46,373 in the US, and $41,531 in Germany, and beaten too by Italy, Japan and France.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/200 ... n-gdp-2009

Exchange rate mad a massive difference

When I moved to Switzerland in 2006 the exchange rate was CHF2.5 to the pound and it is now 1.5 (dropped as low as 1.2 in January after decoupling from Euro but back up now)

This is why everyone keeps telling me Switzerland is so expensive - the prices are pretty flat here but when you factor in the exchange rate then it makes a big difference

Exchange rates and devaluations are a real problem for anyone working across currencies

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 8:31 pm

I've just discovered Ralf Little on Twitter. Why did nobody tell me about him before, huh? Spiffing stuff.

Ralf Little ‏@RalfLittle Oct 14
Worth following Joe & Joe @GoodChanceCal. They're doing amazing work - providing a theatre space in the refugee camp in Calais. #humanising

Good Chance Calais
‏@GoodChanceCal
@RalfLittle We love this #humanising tag. Everyone here is very different, but everyone needs a nice place to go, to feel and to think.

Ralf Little ‏@RalfLittle Oct 15
Ralf Little Retweeted Good Chance Calais
.It's great @GoodChanceCal After the basics of food, shelter, water... A space for art and expression is #humanising

not to mention this which is what brought me to him ...

Ralf Little ‏@RalfLittle 8h8 hours ago
Sure Jeremy Hunt. Because if there's one thing about #juniordoctors they're not very intelligent so easily misled. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

Ralf Little ‏@RalfLittle 8h8 hours ago
Not content with screwing over #juniordoctors, Jeremy Hunt is now patronising them too. Fuck off Jeremy. #misled http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

Post by **refitman** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 8:50 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:I've just discovered Ralf Little on Twitter. Why did nobody tell me about him before, huh? Spiffing stuff.

Ralf Little ‏@RalfLittle Oct 14
Worth following Joe & Joe @GoodChanceCal. They're doing amazing work - providing a theatre space in the refugee camp in Calais. #humanising

Good Chance Calais
‏@GoodChanceCal
@RalfLittle We love this #humanising tag. Everyone here is very different, but everyone needs a nice place to go, to feel and to think.

Ralf Little ‏@RalfLittle Oct 15
Ralf Little Retweeted Good Chance Calais
.It's great @GoodChanceCal After the basics of food, shelter, water... A space for art and expression is #humanising
not to mention this which is what brought me to him ...
Ralf Little ‏@RalfLittle 8h8 hours ago
Sure Jeremy Hunt. Because if there's one thing about #juniordoctors they're not very intelligent so easily misled. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

Ralf Little ‏@RalfLittle 8h8 hours ago
Not content with screwing over #juniordoctors, Jeremy Hunt is now patronising them too. Fuck off Jeremy. #misled http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

I think he might have picked up a thing or two from Ricky Tomlinson

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 9:07 pm

Junior doctors march over contract dispute

There is a sense that Jeremy Hunt's patience is wearing a little thin. His latest interview is in effect an attempt to sidestep the BMA and appeal to the wider body of junior doctors in England.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34561366

Chunt's patience is wearing thin? Oh FFS.

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 9:14 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
Junior doctors march over contract dispute

There is a sense that Jeremy Hunt's patience is wearing a little thin. His latest interview is in effect an attempt to sidestep the BMA and appeal to the wider body of junior doctors in England.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34561366
Chunt's patience is wearing thin? Oh FFS.

That is such bad reporting.....why do they find it beyond themselves in the media to criticise the current Government?

There is shambles followed by U-turn, followed by lies, followed by incompetence but there is never any criticism from the press.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 9:32 pm

Goodnight, everyone.
love,
cJA

NonOxCol · Post by **NonOxCol** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 9:50 pm

nickyinnorfolk wrote:Investigative journalist Martin Hickman, who co-wrote Dial M for Murdoch with Tom Watson, defends Watson against the recent full on abuse levelled at him.

http://www.martin-hickman.com/tom-watso ... -hunt.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't see it last night, but I gather from Twitter that Have I Got News For You was particularly dire yesterday, and Hislop seemed uncomfortably close to mocking victims of sexual abuse.

Genuinely now, I don't know why anyone still watches this poxy excuse for "satire". It's an establishment backslap and has been for the best part of a decade. It was unwatchable by 2010; gawd only knows how bad it's got since.

The first ten seconds of this pretty much sums up what HIGNFY has become. An absolute bloody shambles. Would be #1 on any list I made of programmes the BBC should scrap.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 10:00 pm

I used to find Rory Bremner's satire pretty sharp.

Is he retired?

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 10:07 pm

Something I hadn't noticed. Looks like a good idea.

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/heathrow/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We are developing plans for a new rail tunnel, leaving the Great Western main line between Langley and Iver, connecting to London Heathrow.

The tunnel will allow passengers to travel to the airport from Reading via Slough without going into Paddington station.

The specific stopping pattern for the service is still being defined, however it is expected that the new tunnel will provide capacity for four trains per hour between Reading and Heathrow Terminal 5, two of these calling at Twyford and Slough and two calling at Maidenhead and Slough.

That should help people get to Heathrow from South Wales and South West England. Wonder if it'll be dependent on Heathrow expanding though? If this and HS2 happen, Heathrow will be much better connected than it is now.

Hobiejoe · Post by **Hobiejoe** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 10:10 pm

NonOxCol wrote:
nickyinnorfolk wrote:Investigative journalist Martin Hickman, who co-wrote Dial M for Murdoch with Tom Watson, defends Watson against the recent full on abuse levelled at him.

http://www.martin-hickman.com/tom-watso ... -hunt.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't see it last night, but I gather from Twitter that Have I Got News For You was particularly dire yesterday, and Hislop seemed uncomfortably close to mocking victims of sexual abuse.
Genuinely now, I don't know why anyone still watches this poxy excuse for "satire". It's an establishment backslap and has been for the best part of a decade. It was unwatchable by 2010; gawd only knows how bad it's got since.

The first ten seconds of this pretty much sums up what HIGNFY has become. An absolute bloody shambles. Would be #1 on any list I made of programmes the BBC should scrap.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Actually, last week's episode was pretty good, but then again it was Charlie Brooker chairing.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 10:21 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:I used to find Rory Bremner's satire pretty sharp.

Is he retired?

I think Bremner was past his best by the late 90s, tbh. He still appears in things from time to time, though I don't think he's had his own show for a while.

Post by **refitman** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 10:24 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:I used to find Rory Bremner's satire pretty sharp.

Is he retired?
I think Bremner was past his best by the late 90s, tbh. He still appears in things from time to time, though I don't think he's had his own show for a while.

He did a series in May, just before the election.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 11:23 pm

One moment it's rumours Gove is shelving plans to scrap the HRA ... the next it's this shocker.

William Bain ‏@William_Bain 12m12 minutes ago
Report: Govt aims to scrap HRA next summer without even a White Paper or full public/Parliamentary scrutiny #saveHRA http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 98261.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

A cabinet minister told The Independent on Sunday that the summer timescale was “aspirational”, because the Bill could be “really clogged up in the House of Lords” and predicted it was more likely to be law by the end of next year. The upper chamber has some seasoned lawyers, many of whom fear the consequences of scrapping the HRA, and the Tories do not command a majority in the Lords.
Mr Gove is understood to be visiting Scotland before the consultation is published, when he will try to convince the Scottish government to back the Bill of Rights. He will also need the support of Wales and Northern Ireland.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Sat 17 Oct, 2015 11:43 pm

So how likely do you think it is that the devolved assemblies will back Gove here? This is nothing but pure spin.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 12:02 am

And how likely is that the procedural bods in the House of Commons and Lords would allow the usual legislative order to be bypassed?

Chris Bryant is good on this stuff - he'll have a field day.

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 12:05 am

ohsocynical wrote:
Analyst Oxford Economics said the UK's GDP per head of population will reach £23,500 - £250 higher than in the US.
However, because goods and services are cheaper in the US, Americans will have stronger purchasing power, it added.
UK GDP per capita will also be higher than in Germany (£21,665) and France (£21,700), Oxford Economics calculated.
Managing director Adrian Cooper said: "The last 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK's economic performance and its position in the world economy.
"No longer are we the 'sick man of Europe'."
Oxford Economics said that in 1993, following the last major recession and the UK's ejection from the ERM, GDP per capita in the UK was 34% lower than in the US, 33% lower than in Germany and 26% lower than in France.
It said the improved UK position reflected the sustained strong growth it has enjoyed since then and the recent strength of sterling.
Mr Cooper said: "The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001, so it is a well-established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations."
Cleaning up and having to convert some of my files to Open Office and found this. No date, but I'm pretty sure it was before the crash of 2008.

A search using the text of the first three lines brings this text up as from BBC Business News on 7th January 2008 - so your memory is spot-on:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7174372.stm
Edit to add: ... and @cJA beat me to that one! Note to self: Check later posts, woman! Just check!!!

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 12:19 am

Nick Sutton ‏@suttonnick 2h2 hours ago
Sunday Times front page:
VIP sex cases link to false memory
#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers

We really are almost round the full circle now.

Looks like this inquiry is going to be discredited before it really gets going. Why am I not surprised.

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 12:29 am

Hobiejoe wrote:
NonOxCol wrote:
nickyinnorfolk wrote:Investigative journalist Martin Hickman, who co-wrote Dial M for Murdoch with Tom Watson, defends Watson against the recent full on abuse levelled at him.

http://www.martin-hickman.com/tom-watso ... -hunt.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't see it last night, but I gather from Twitter that Have I Got News For You was particularly dire yesterday, and Hislop seemed uncomfortably close to mocking victims of sexual abuse.
Genuinely now, I don't know why anyone still watches this poxy excuse for "satire". It's an establishment backslap and has been for the best part of a decade. It was unwatchable by 2010; gawd only knows how bad it's got since.

The first ten seconds of this pretty much sums up what HIGNFY has become. An absolute bloody shambles. Would be #1 on any list I made of programmes the BBC should scrap.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Actually, last week's episode was pretty good, but then again it was Charlie Brooker chairing.

Very true. I was surprised by how much I laughed - proper laughter - whereas most 'comedy programmes', these days, just raise the occasional smile or near silent snigger or snerk.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 12:42 am

AnatolyKasparov wrote:So how likely do you think it is that the devolved assemblies will back Gove here? This is nothing but pure spin.

Nice bit of SNP boosting there from Gove.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 1:01 am

This looks like a non-story to me, but fits nicely in with the Guardian's self-image of radicalism.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... dards-gmos" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A campaign group says that a report in a US journal concerning the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks show that Europe is already capitulating to huge pressure from the US to allow imports of previously banned goods before an agreement is reached.

So the goods are banned or they aren't?

They aren't. And it seems like nothing to do with TTIP. It's based on regular scientific advice, from 2 years ago.

the European commission said Levie was referring to separate decisions to allow chemically washed beef from the US into European markets that were agreed in 2013 “following favourable advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on its use”.

Am I missing something here?

That looks like pretty lazy "left Euroscepticism".

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 5:50 am

I think it was @HindleA who linked to this article on speye.wordpress the other day, on the new HA Right to Buy scheme. I've just got around to reading it and this bit stood out:

If you really need any further confirmation of that look at this mornings Times which says:

If this is so, it more or less brings the whole Right to Buy full circle to where it was (within some councils) back in the 'sixties and 'seventies when my friend's parents bought their house from the council - the offer of purchase was made to them when they'd been tenants for 21 years - and before Thatcher's Government massively expanded the scheme to all tenants after 5 years! I know that, in this case, it only relates to Housing Association tenants but even so it looks like another massive rowing-back (if not a u-turn) from this continuing omnishambles of a Government.

I look forward to a further four-and-a-half years of Conservative-voting people, Housing Associations, and practically anyone else who enters into 'voluntary agreements' with this Government, increasingly realising that they've been sold a pup, sold down the river, given a bent shilling and a nine-bob-note, generally taken for mugs, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 8:25 am

LadyCentauria wrote:I think it was @HindleA who linked to this article on speye.wordpress the other day, on the new HA Right to Buy scheme. I've just got around to reading it and this bit stood out:
If you really need any further confirmation of that look at this mornings Times which says:

If this is so, it more or less brings the whole Right to Buy full circle to where it was (within some councils) back in the 'sixties and 'seventies when my friend's parents bought their house from the council - the offer of purchase was made to them when they'd been tenants for 21 years - and before Thatcher's Government massively expanded the scheme to all tenants after 5 years! I know that, in this case, it only relates to Housing Association tenants but even so it looks like another massive rowing-back (if not a u-turn) from this continuing omnishambles of a Government.

I look forward to a further four-and-a-half years of Conservative-voting people, Housing Associations, and practically anyone else who enters into 'voluntary agreements' with this Government, increasingly realising that they've been sold a pup, sold down the river, given a bent shilling and a nine-bob-note, generally taken for mugs, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

Interesting post above, LC, especially for your last paragraph. It does really seem as though the last five years has been spent on this rollercoaster of hopes, fears, and u-turns, the later of which I have had to ask myself many times over the question 'why'. To my mind it has to be more than them just trying it on, so I've thought on, and the only reason I can come up with for the whole wretched botched bag of misgovernance is the imposition of austerity. Then I've had to ask myself where the huge sums drained out of our economy have gone, because even the budgets seem bent. We are told it reduces the deficit, but where's the evidence, and can there actually ever be any? I'm no economist, so any answers - or thoughts - welcome.

As I've watched the sums leap from millions to billions, and the endless selling off, saving, scrapping and so on I wonder who is keeping account, and does it all add up for them? I suppose I'm asking because we are a wealthy nation, we've got a huge and willing workforce which seems to be squandered along with much else. I've lived through real austerity, it doesn't look a bit like this, in fact this looks more like a scam. I guess I'm thinking too of how the 1%s share of the worlds assets has increased to around half, so I'm trying to see the bigger picture.

Edited once to eliminate malicious autocorrection.

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 8:43 am

"Tory MPs in 71 marginal seats at risk from cuts to tax credits" http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... ax-credits" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And that's before Universal Credit kicks in.

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 9:12 am

Amazon Sues 1,114 People For 'Fake' Reviews ;

http://news.sky.com/story/1571496/amazo ... ke-reviews" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

: ScreenShot00872.jpg (57.32 KiB) Viewed 5977 times

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 9:14 am

Another "let off" for Duncan Smith. He will probably claim the poor reviews on his book were all planted.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

: ScreenShot00871.jpg (67.7 KiB) Viewed 5976 times

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Sun 18 Oct, 2015 9:43 am

Yesterday evening, I went to bed at 8pm as I wasn't feeling well. At 10pm I was woken by quite severe upper abdominal pain.

Show called ShropDoc - and was told call volumes were very high. ShropDoc covers all of Shropshire, Herefordshire, and a big chunk of Powys.
It was pretty obvious that the chances of a home visit from a GP was gong to take hours if it happened at all.

I felt so awful I got Show to call 999; and 20 minutes later, an ambulance from Llandridnod Wells arrived. I was given a slug of IV morphine and some other bits and bobs of care/treatment, then off to A&E in Hereford we went, arriving at about midnight.
We got there just before midnight, and were put into a corridor with others; no nurse or triage at this point, I stayed on the ambulance trolley and the paramedics had to stay with me.....for 2 hours. As they were putting up a drip, administering more analgsesia, etc. there were calls coming through on their phones which they were unable to respond to.

At 2am, a nurse triaged me and I was put on a hospital trolley in another corridor; and the ambulance paramedics were allowed to go. I stayed in that corridor until 3.30am, when I was finally admitted into A&E proper, still on the trolley.
At 4am, I was seen by a doctor; he arranged for various blood tests/x-rays/etc. which got done over the next 2 hours; at 6am it was decided that I had nothing serious going on, and I could go home after another 2 hours of drips and observations.

At 7.30am I was pronounced fit for discharge although I was still in a bit of pain and under the influence of various drugs; but I was ready to leave, and Show set off from home to come and collect me. I got back about an hour ago.
On paper, all targets were met - had been in A&E for 4 hours officially, but nearly double that in reality.

I have had an episode of acute abdominal pain of unknown etiology, which is probably not serious. If it gets worse again, my instructions are to try to get a GP visit but if that fails I must call 999 again.

For want of a GP visit at 10pm last night, I have - kept an ambulance and crew tied up for 4 hours; been kept out of A&E for over 5 hours; taken up valuable space in an acute unit for nearly 8 hours; used expensive diagnostic facilities and whatnot.
Had a GP examined me at home and had my pain been treated at home, the chances are I'd have had a good rest and be OK - as it is, both Show and I have had to go through a totally unnecessary performance and are now exhausted.

I don't feel too guilty - I was and am quite poorly - but a lot of what went on was not only unnecessary but very expensive. My paramedics had no choice but to stay with me; the nurses had no choice but to care for me in a corridor; the doctor had no choice but to send me home, even though he wanted to admit me for observation.
The A&E was very busy with people like me in the various corridors, cubicles, rooms, and overspill ward; 6 beds were occupied with drunk people sleeping; there were no acute surgical beds in the hospital, and some people were being admitted to wards unsuitable for their presenting conditions. Luckily, there were no big trauma cases or things would have been worse.

I cannot praise the staff who cared for me highly enough; had my condition been serious, I am confident that I would have had excellent care.
But all that could have been avoided if the GP service was sufficiently resourced.

If Chunt had spent the night as I have, he would be singing a different tune.......