FlyTheNest

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/o ... -google-u2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pope Bono, in his stupid glasses, aping Alex Salmond on corporation tax.

tinyclanger2 wrote:http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/o ... -google-u2

Pope Bono, in his stupid glasses, aping Alex Salmond on corporation tax.

From an Irishman, on another blog:

Had a gander at [the article]. Bono lives in his own little bubble that’s bears little resemblance to reality most of the time. He has a point that Ireland needs to be innovative to compete but he has some cheek talking about taxes. He should pay taxes here since he lives and works here and his various companies as well as the band are all based here and yet he’s rigged it so he pays all his tax in Holland, at a much cheaper rate. Considering the fortune him and the band are sitting on that’s easily many hospitals and schools he’s diddled the country out of in the long run, all so he can Scrooge McDuck into a slightly bigger mountain of money.

Eric_WLothian wrote:

rebeccariots2 wrote:

AngryAsWell wrote: Here's the full BBC bit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-29482160" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To be honest I think its quite a nice idea, and I like that Singapore's new teachers receive a compass to point them in the right direction. It might not be best for UK - I'm not a teacher so don't know - but I don't see why a suggestion has to be so ridiculed without examining the idea behind it. Which seems to be, to raise the stature of teaching in this country.
People need to be able to discuss ideas without being thrown to the lions for daring to think a little "out of the box".

We'll have to agree to disagree over this one. If I was an over worked teacher - already at a low ebb and morale having been subjected to Gove and co's constant belittling and perjorative stuff for several years - this would infuriate me. It would say to me - once again - that despite all my hard work and commitment - I needed to go through a little ritual to prove I was a proper teacher going into it for the right reasons according to the government. And it seems such a superficial suggestion to come out with given the real challenges facing teachers and schools. I don't see how this raises the stature of teaching in this country.

Is there any practical advantage in a 'Hippocratic oath'? It didn't seem to affect Harold Shipman's thinking or actions. (There might be some milage in an enforceable one for MPs though - something along the lines of 'I'm here to serve my constituents, not my own interests').

There already exists an oath for MPs - the Parliamentary Oath, or an affirmation if the MP prefers, must be sworn on entry.
MPs cannot draw a salary, take their seat, speak in a debate, or vote, until they've been "sworn in".

In theory, it's an oath of allegiance to the Queen and her successors; but implicit is the assumption that the Member will represent the wishes of his constituents, on whose behalf he swears allegiance.

If they don't take the oath or make an affirmation, they can be fined - if they still refuse they are treated "as if they are dead" and forbidden to take up their Parliamentary duties.

Of course, none of this is a vow to the people an MP represents, nor is there any mechanism to remove an MP who does not act in his constituents' best interests.

I seem to remember OGRFG saying something about recalling dodgy MPs..........whatever happened to that?

TechnicalEphemera wrote:

RogerOThornhill wrote:I see Dominic Cummings has been assessing the state of play for the right...

https://twitter.com/odysseanproject

If you go down the page you'll find the 1st of 26...I like this.

odysseanproject @odysseanproject · 6h 6 hours ago
3/ Tory MPs who demand DC gives more speeches on immigration are also missing the point. They can't work

4/ Why? Cos DC speeches on immigrtn to extent they're noticed (v little) simply evoke the response: the useless git lies and does nothing

And this.

odysseanproject @odysseanproject · 5h 5 hours ago
24/ Many on Right still don't (want to) understand what a DISASTER the 50p tax cut was

Yep. When you've got a huge deficit to deal with, the last thing you do is give the top earners a freebie.

Maybe EM should hire Cummings. Within a constrained environment (not education) he might be useful. They also have more in common than they realise.

If I remember rightly, DC is on record as saying that he's not particularly interested in politics.

TechnicalEphemera wrote:

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Morning All!

I'm now unsure what to do about the Pub. I suggested yesterday we might make it Members Only. So far I think one of us says we definitely should. One says we definitely shouldn't

When we originally discussed this on the old site, the decision to make it Members Only was mainly from concerns about libel and copyright. My view is that we have little to worry about on the DP three, because it feels very public, so people are naturally careful, and because we only have one thread open and that is heavily used, so is essentially self-policing.

If we do have make Pub completely public, and I can see it's an attractive part of the Forum, the whole of FTN will need to keep an eye on it and just be conscious that it is every bit in the public domain as DP and other threads.

What do others think?

In my view the pub isn't really the public face of FTN. Somebody who is a casual visiter shouldn't really just browse it, more so when they arrive at a random page via Google.

I tend to agree with TE that the Pub shouldn't, necessarily, be open to casual visitors. There should be something in the settings, though, that would stop Google/Baidu etc.,'s spiders and bots from crawling the Pub pages so they cannot show up in web-searches. Obviously, it will take a while for pages they have already found to slip down the search result rankings. I dunno how this forum works but that locking out of spiders might be built-in for locked/members-only pages.

rebeccariots2 wrote:

PorFavor wrote:

Tycoons mix with top Tories at fundraising ball in London
Lobbyists and oligarchs pay up to £1,000 a head to dine with David Cameron and ministers at Conservative fundraising event

A doorstep lender, a host of property tycoons and a Ukraine-born energy magnate were among guests worth £22bn who attended the Conservatives’ most important fundraising event of the year, a table plan leaked to the Guardian reveals.

The secret list of around 570 guests at the Tories’ “black and white ball” in February will heighten concerns that the country’s wealthiest people are gaining access to David Cameron and senior Conservative cabinet members in private.(Guardian)

I'm flabbergasted. I can't convey how betrayed I feel.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... white-ball

I now want to know what a 'flabber' is - and then how to 'gast' it. And I'm sure only you will be able to tell me PF.

Owen Jones' response to this report is spot on:

Owen Jones ‏@OwenJones84 14m14 minutes ago
of the rich, by the rich, for the rich http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... white-ball" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

They're all in it together.

A flabber is an Old English term for a bumboil. Gasting is a little-known medieval medical term (see lancing (l\c) - ie not the one in West Sussex). All clear now?

RogerOThornhill wrote: If I remember rightly, DC is on record as saying that he's not particularly interested in politics.

I thought you meant Cameron for a minute and it seemed about right.

John Rentoul ‏@JohnRentoul 21m21 minutes ago
Just watched Andy Burnham conference speech. Scary that people talking about him as poss leader on strength of it " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

Nobody here has yet assumed the 'FTN presence' of Rentoul. I wonder why that is?

Could it be because he is as one-track as DFHodges but - lord help him - more boring? (And that's not to credit DFHodges with any kind of pzazz ... at all at all).

PorFavor wrote:

rebeccariots2 wrote:

PorFavor wrote: I'm flabbergasted. I can't convey how betrayed I feel.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... white-ball

I now want to know what a 'flabber' is - and then how to 'gast' it. And I'm sure only you will be able to tell me PF.

Owen Jones' response to this report is spot on:

Owen Jones ‏@OwenJones84 14m14 minutes ago
of the rich, by the rich, for the rich http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... white-ball" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

They're all in it together.

A flabber is an Old English term for a bumboil. Gasting is a little-known medieval medical term (see lancing (l\c) - ie not the one in West Sussex). All clear now?

Absolutely. Just ticketyboo. Let's keep them flabbers well gasted.

TechnicalEphemera wrote:

rebeccariots2 wrote:

PorFavor wrote: I'm flabbergasted. I can't convey how betrayed I feel.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... white-ball

I now want to know what a 'flabber' is - and then how to 'gast' it. And I'm sure only you will be able to tell me PF.

Owen Jones' response to this report is spot on:

Owen Jones ‏@OwenJones84 14m14 minutes ago
of the rich, by the rich, for the rich http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... white-ball" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

They're all in it together.

Tweet him back.

Not quite, more Of the idle rich for the idle rich.

I wouldn't say idle. It's agony having to fork out a thousand quid, then drag yourself out in order to sit for a whole evening drinking champagne, eating countless courses of indigestion inducing food and having to bid for tacky souvenirs of previous Tory Leaders in order to increase your income.

.....and now for something completely different and off topic
Craggy face of 'Cliff' appears in rocks on Devon coast
The features of a man, resembling a character from Lord of the Rings or Walter White from Breaking Bad, have appeared near Hope Cove in the county

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... coast.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PorFavor wrote:

rebeccariots2 wrote:

PorFavor wrote: I'm flabbergasted. I can't convey how betrayed I feel.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... white-ball

I now want to know what a 'flabber' is - and then how to 'gast' it. And I'm sure only you will be able to tell me PF.

Owen Jones' response to this report is spot on:

Owen Jones ‏@OwenJones84 14m14 minutes ago
of the rich, by the rich, for the rich http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... white-ball" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

They're all in it together.

A flabber is an Old English term for a bumboil. Gasting is a little-known medieval medical term (see lancing (l\c) - ie not the one in West Sussex). All clear now?

I'd thought: Flabber: A flacid rounded bottom. Gast: Rush of air as a foot swings to kick the flabber.

Oowhhh.

Take THAT.

Biff.

Duck .... and .... counter Biff.

OK, you win. I'm not on their side anyway. Of course you're the party of the 'working class' now.

AngryAsWell wrote:.....and now for something completely different and off topic
Craggy face of 'Cliff' appears in rocks on Devon coast
The features of a man, resembling a character from Lord of the Rings or Walter White from Breaking Bad, have appeared near Hope Cove in the county

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... coast.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Blimey I hope hobiejoe hasn't been out at night making busy with a chisel to pull in more tourists.

rebeccariots2 wrote:

UKIPToRunLabourToTheWire.jpg

Oowhhh.

Take THAT.

Biff.

Duck .... and .... counter Biff.

OK, you win. I'm not on their side anyway. Of course you're the party of the 'working class' now.

Indeed. Boris Johnson thinks there's hardly any difference between the Tories and UKIP. That's how 'working class' they are. And Nigel Farage having a pint surgically attached to his hand doesn't make him one of the working class, it makes him an alcoholic.

ohsocynical wrote:

AngryAsWell wrote:.....and now for something completely different and off topic
Craggy face of 'Cliff' appears in rocks on Devon coast
The features of a man, resembling a character from Lord of the Rings or Walter White from Breaking Bad, have appeared near Hope Cove in the county

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... coast.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Blimey I hope hobiejoe hasn't been out at night making busy with a chisel to pull in more tourists.

I like how it's got a little goatee made out of grass.

Farage: July 2015 referendum is my price for propping up Tories
Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, will prop up a Conservative minority government in exchange for a referendum on EU membership in July 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... ories.html


Heh, heh, heh. The Tories are going to love that.

Goodnight, everyone.

There's no flabber to Mr Riots (why I love him).

He's just switched the TV off before the end of the footie match saying 'I'm not going to watch anymore of this, love. Stick the washing machine on if you want.' (Need to do a lot of washing before we go away - not a drudge command ...)

When I said 'Really? You don't want to watch till the end?

'No. I just want them to get to the bloody point of the game and score a goal.'

PorFavor wrote:Goodnight, everyone.

Night PF.

PorFavor wrote:Goodnight, everyone.

Wet and windy here. A good night to snuggle under the covers.

Night PF.

ohsocynical wrote:Farage: July 2015 referendum is my price for propping up Tories
Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, will prop up a Conservative minority government in exchange for a referendum on EU membership in July 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... ories.html


Heh, heh, heh. The Tories are going to love that.

Aren't they just. (Well some of them really will ...)

Because I'm both ignorant and lazy, can anyone explain the hatred the SW (farmers) have for Europe (given the CAP)?

Ta.

ohsocynical wrote:Farage: July 2015 referendum is my price for propping up Tories
Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, will prop up a Conservative minority government in exchange for a referendum on EU membership in July 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... ories.html


Heh, heh, heh. The Tories are going to love that.

But, but, but this bit is very bad news for Ed!

Meanwhile, Tory MPs have warned that the Prime Minister could face a vote of no confidence if Mark Reckless wins the Rochester and Strood seat for Ukip.
One Cabinet Minister told the Mail on Sunday that "if Reckless wins Rochester, there'll be 46 names', a reference to the number of Tory MPs who would be required to force a leadership contest.
The minister said that the vote would fail but prove to be "very damaging" for the Prime Minister.

Just been sent this missive and link by a friend ...

Watch the video of Truss you cannot Trust. The good news is that in her short term of office she has aged considerably and just look at those frown lines on her forehead .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-29577827
Environment Secretary Liz Truss has defended the badger cull following claims it may fail to meet its targets for a second year.

A minimum of 615 badgers in Gloucestershire and 316 in Somerset need to be killed, according to those behind the cull.

But farmers say the operation has been hindered by opponents of the cull damaging cages used to catch the badgers.

Grrrrrhhh. I could say so much .... but I won't.

tinyclanger2 wrote:Because I'm both ignorant and lazy, can anyone explain the hatred the SW (farmers) have for Europe (given the CAP)?

Ta.

No, don't understand, unless its regulation on H&S on Farms that means they need to be a bit careful of their workers health and safety or animal welfare regulations, or banning some of the chemicals they love ?

tinyclanger2 wrote:Because I'm both ignorant and lazy, can anyone explain the hatred the SW (farmers) have for Europe (given the CAP)?

Ta.

Now that is the sort of specialist subject you could spend a lifetime on ........... and those farmers do, in fact several lifetimes and generations.

tinyclanger2 wrote:Because I'm both ignorant and lazy, can anyone explain the hatred the SW (farmers) have for Europe (given the CAP)?

Ta.

Something to do with EU directives supposedly made the dumping of dredged material more complex and expensive which may or may not have influenced EA decision to dredge less/ stop dredging. Not sure if this answers your question but I suspect something in this area may be a good place to start, at least if you're looking for reasons why Somerset farmers are unhappy with the EU.

The Guardian article on the Tories ball has a photo of Cameron in which he is the living spit of....

Neil Hamiltion!

Just caught up with HIGNIFY on iPlayer.

Confess it's the first time I've seen Liz Truss in the flesh as it were. Photographs only until today.

Am I being unkind or is she really as weird as that?

So many young lives ruined

Austrian Teenage IS Girls 'Want To Return Home' After Marrying Jihadists And Falling Pregnant

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/10 ... 1413117612" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 wrote:

ohsocynical wrote:Farage: July 2015 referendum is my price for propping up Tories
Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, will prop up a Conservative minority government in exchange for a referendum on EU membership in July 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... ories.html


Heh, heh, heh. The Tories are going to love that.

Aren't they just. (Well some of them really will ...)

I suppose he's only saying he'll do what Clegg should have done.

Taking that position wields a lot of power.

ohsocynical wrote:

rebeccariots2 wrote:

ohsocynical wrote:Farage: July 2015 referendum is my price for propping up Tories
Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, will prop up a Conservative minority government in exchange for a referendum on EU membership in July 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... ories.html


Heh, heh, heh. The Tories are going to love that.

Aren't they just. (Well some of them really will ...)

I suppose he's only saying he'll do what Clegg should have done.

Taking that position wields a lot of power.

But not exactly "winning" the Labour votes he's chasing to get him the seats he needs to do the "propping" with ?

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

ohsocynical wrote:

AngryAsWell wrote:.....and now for something completely different and off topic
Craggy face of 'Cliff' appears in rocks on Devon coast
The features of a man, resembling a character from Lord of the Rings or Walter White from Breaking Bad, have appeared near Hope Cove in the county

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... coast.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Blimey I hope hobiejoe hasn't been out at night making busy with a chisel to pull in more tourists.

I did study a bit of geomorphology when I was up the road from you in Egham, but I promise I've never put it into practise.

I do love Hope Cove, though. It's all a bit Enid Blyton - I keep expecting to come across the Famous Five having a picnic, with lashings of ginger beer!

[youtube]Mm6Y5FAPx9w[/youtube]

I've always had a burning urge to get a scientifically accurate definition of how many bottles of beer consitute 'lashings'. And is this a constant factor, i.e., do lashings always come to the same figure whether they're being swigged by the Famous Five or by the Swallows and Amazons (greatly superior books, incidentally). In the latter case, is there a conversion factor in their transformation into pirate 'grog'?

mbc1955 wrote:I've always had a burning urge to get a scientifically accurate definition of how many bottles of beer consitute 'lashings'. And is this a constant factor, i.e., do lashings always come to the same figure whether they're being swigged by the Famous Five or by the Swallows and Amazons (greatly superior books, incidentally). In the latter case, is there a conversion factor in their transformation into pirate 'grog'?

As a fan of the Famous Five, Billy Bunter and Just William and coming from a family where we usually had a bottle of water at our picnics, I always imagined lashings as more than you could drink in one sitting. Some left. But as I was never in that position I haven't a clue how many that would be.

But I knew I wanted red and white gingham curtains when I got married.

Survation online poll on behalf of Unite regarding NHS workers action.




http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e17 ... 15b5669641" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HindleA wrote:Survation online poll on behalf of Unite regarding NHS workers action.




http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e17 ... 15b5669641" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Headline figures:

Cheers refitman

PorFavor wrote:Good morning.

@LadyCentauria

Shattered scours here in the sunny south.

Edited to add:

Oh - and I'm off to a flying start. I meant to say, "Good afternoon".

And, fear not, I've always held to the opinion that morning continues until one has lunched. As a semi-nocturnal creature, my lunch-time is most peoples tea

Tomorrow's Times front page: 'NHS reforms our worst mistake, Tories admit'
Well ya don't say.......

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

ohsocynical wrote:

mbc1955 wrote:I've always had a burning urge to get a scientifically accurate definition of how many bottles of beer consitute 'lashings'. And is this a constant factor, i.e., do lashings always come to the same figure whether they're being swigged by the Famous Five or by the Swallows and Amazons (greatly superior books, incidentally). In the latter case, is there a conversion factor in their transformation into pirate 'grog'?

As a fan of the Famous Five, Billy Bunter and Just William and coming from a family where we usually had a bottle of water at our picnics, I always imagined lashings as more than you could drink in one sitting. Some left. But as I was never in that position I haven't a clue how many that would be.

For an encore can you provide a precise SI unit based definition of a "shed load".

I would also be grateful if you could place a number on the quantity of objects beyond which offensive stick shaking becomes impossible.

"PM and Chancellor failed to realise the explosive extent of Lansley's plan,described as "unintelligible gobbledygook" by one insider An ally of GO states "George kicks himself for not spotting it and stopping it"

"5 Billion wasted annually on overpaying for supplies,out of date drugs,agency staff and empty buildings"

Lord Ashcroft "We knew it was politically dumb at the time"

Martin Rowson on the "teachers'oath"


http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good grief...I've just read Cameron's latest idea for failing schools.

Prime minister to send rescue teams into failing schools

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... mentpage=1

A hit squad of centrally employed teachers is to be created to be dispatched into so-called failing schools, David Cameron will announce on Monday.

Describing 500 schools as still failing, the prime minister will also give the hitherto low profile eight regional school commissioners extra powers to remove their leadership if deemed necessary.

So this hit squad will just be sitting around doing sod all until one of their regional commissioners phones them up and says that he has a job for them? And that they have jurisdiction over LA schools too? That'll go down well...

I find it astonishing the amount of centralization that has gone on that if Labour had done the same would have been called Stalinist.

I'll have a look out for Cummings reaction...it won't be good.