Friday 14th November 2014

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:12 pm

UK companies at their most profitable since 1998

Better financial picture for UK companies reflects broader economic improvement in the second quarter

http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... since-1998" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The ONS key points following their report out this morning:

Private non-financial corporations’ profitability, as measured by their net rate of return, was estimated at 11.8% in Q2 2014. This is at the higher end of the quarterly range experienced during the last five years.

Manufacturing companies’ net rate of return was estimated at 12.1% in Q2 2014, 0.5 percentage points higher than Q1 2014.

Service companies’ net rate of return was estimated at 15.6% in Q2 2014. This is the highest estimated rate since Q3 2003 (15.3%).

UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) companies’ net rate of return was 16.9% in Q2 2014. This is the lowest estimated rate since the series began in Q1 1997.

Non-UKCS companies’ net rate of return was 11.6% in Q2 2014. This is the highest rate since Q4 1998 (12.0%).

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pnfc2/pro ... Key-Points" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Who's getting the profits then? I've not looked at the spreadsheets yet - I received the ONS report from my e-mails this morning. Who's benefiting from the profitability of UK companies? Regular workers haven't seen great pay increases. That's the reason I ask the question.

Not all is a simple as that - I've only perused ONS data a bit more & the picture isn't as clear as the headlines make it sound - but that's to be expected, I suppose.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:15 pm

Daily Mail faces £3m bill after libel battle with businessman Andy Miller
• Friend of former Met chief pursued claim over six years
• Newspaper could face Ipso after supreme court defeat
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/n ... ndy-miller

How terrible for them.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:21 pm

Westminster gardener ordered to remove autumn leaves one by one
House of Commons spokesman insists manual plucking of yellow leaves would save time spent raking them when they fall
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... -cancelled

Somehow this feels really telling about the insularity, cut-offness from the real world, of Westminster.

A bunch of utter Canutes - whoever they are that are responsible for this exercise in trying to deny nature.

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:30 pm

ohsocynical wrote:Are We All Asleep ? ‏@demindblower 10m10 minutes ago
Michael Portillo predicts David Cameron will be booted out at General Election

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/to ... ts-4629741

After saying Yes to their poll question, this was the result I got:

Do you think Ed Miliband can win the next election?

YES
60%
NO
40%

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:30 pm

This morning I was in the chemist buying Radox shower gel [dead cheap on special offer] to add to the foodbank donation. Mentioned that hygiene items were appreciated by the foodbank as well as food, and she said, 'what foodbank'? I replied that it was local one and that we have a lot of desperate people in Bracknell. She wasn't aware one existed. Looked quite blank.
And even more worrying the food bank has used our local papers for appeals for donations, and a larger property to store the food in...Now the print press are going out of circulation and a wide swathe of people evidently still don't use social media, there will be even more ignorance to contend with.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:35 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Meanwhile I note over there that Deborah Orr, a card carrying LibDem, thinks that Ed's message is too miserable. Diddums

What an absolute bastard she is.

That translates to - I am rich and happy, so I don't give a toss about the majority; and I don't want to listen to Ed reminding me how shit life is for the majority.

Dear Deborah - Fuck off you evil Tory git.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:37 pm

The spreadsheet data is the first result of my searching for the latest median wage data in the UK on the ONS website.

Number of and median hourly wage of employees by occupation 29 Oct 14 (Excel sheet 61Kb)

United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted
Standard Occupational Classification SOC (2010)
All Occupations:

2013 £10.82

2014 £10.58

See notes below:
1 A persons average gross hourly pay
2 Excludes people with abnormally high hourly pay (i.e. People earning over £100 per hour) or recorded as having £0 hourly pay
3 Occupation group is based on the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) 2010 major groups
4 Uses Labour Force Survey datasets for the period April to June
5 Includes people who did not state their occupation
6 Median hourly wages for 2013 and 2014 are nominal values

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index. ... edian+wage" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:42 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Westminster gardener ordered to remove autumn leaves one by one
House of Commons spokesman insists manual plucking of yellow leaves would save time spent raking them when they fall
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... -cancelled
Somehow this feels really telling about the insularity, cut-offness from the real world, of Westminster.

A bunch of utter Canutes - whoever they are that are responsible for this exercise in trying to deny nature.

That reminds me of when my son was the groundsman at BMWs head office.
As anyone who has a lawn knows, daisies can suddenly pop in an otherwise immaculate lawn, grow faster than grass and grass should never be cut really close to the ground in hot dry weather.
The managing director liked everything ship shape when he gazed out of his office window, so during a heatwave my son was instructed to cut off all the daisy heads with a pair of scissors.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:44 pm

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Meanwhile I note over there that Deborah Orr, a card carrying LibDem, thinks that Ed's message is too miserable. Diddums
What an absolute bastard she is.

That translates to - I am rich and happy, so I don't give a toss about the majority; and I don't want to listen to Ed reminding me how shit life is for the majority.

Dear Deborah - Fuck off you evil Tory git.

From her Tweets she appears to be a bit of an airhead....

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:44 pm

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Meanwhile I note over there that Deborah Orr, a card carrying LibDem, thinks that Ed's message is too miserable. Diddums
What an absolute bastard she is.

That translates to - I am rich and happy, so I don't give a toss about the majority; and I don't want to listen to Ed reminding me how shit life is for the majority.

Dear Deborah - Fuck off you evil Tory git.

Married to Will Self, too. Let's not forget that.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:47 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Westminster gardener ordered to remove autumn leaves one by one
House of Commons spokesman insists manual plucking of yellow leaves would save time spent raking them when they fall
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... -cancelled
Somehow this feels really telling about the insularity, cut-offness from the real world, of Westminster.

A bunch of utter Canutes - whoever they are that are responsible for this exercise in trying to deny nature.
That reminds me of when my son was the groundsman at BMWs head office.
As anyone who has a lawn knows, daisies can suddenly pop in an otherwise immaculate lawn, grow faster than grass and grass should never be cut really close to the ground in hot dry weather.
The managing director liked everything ship shape when he gazed out of his office window, so during a heatwave my son was instructed to cut off all the daisy heads with a pair of scissors.

Oh I can believe that one alright Ohso. I spend a lot of my time trying to gently get the best deal for nature, commonsense and my time with some of my customers. Daisies and other low growing flowers in lawns really seem to get up the noses of some of them.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:52 pm

: ThatAwkwardMoment.jpg (48.5 KiB) Viewed 15029 times

John Prescott ‏@johnprescott 25m25 minutes ago
That awkward moment when a Tory candidate criticises someone for having EXACTLY the same background as her leader!

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:53 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:
TechnicalEphemera wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Meanwhile I note over there that Deborah Orr, a card carrying LibDem, thinks that Ed's message is too miserable. Diddums
What an absolute bastard she is.

That translates to - I am rich and happy, so I don't give a toss about the majority; and I don't want to listen to Ed reminding me how shit life is for the majority.

Dear Deborah - Fuck off you evil Tory git.
Married to Will Self, too. Let's not forget that.

I didn't know that to forget. But I do now. And I won't.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 7:58 pm

citizenJA wrote:
UK companies at their most profitable since 1998

Better financial picture for UK companies reflects broader economic improvement in the second quarter

http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... since-1998" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The ONS key points following their report out this morning:
Private non-financial corporations’ profitability, as measured by their net rate of return, was estimated at 11.8% in Q2 2014. This is at the higher end of the quarterly range experienced during the last five years.

Manufacturing companies’ net rate of return was estimated at 12.1% in Q2 2014, 0.5 percentage points higher than Q1 2014.

Service companies’ net rate of return was estimated at 15.6% in Q2 2014. This is the highest estimated rate since Q3 2003 (15.3%).

UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) companies’ net rate of return was 16.9% in Q2 2014. This is the lowest estimated rate since the series began in Q1 1997.

Non-UKCS companies’ net rate of return was 11.6% in Q2 2014. This is the highest rate since Q4 1998 (12.0%).

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pnfc2/pro ... Key-Points" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Who's getting the profits then? I've not looked at the spreadsheets yet - I received the ONS report from my e-mails this morning. Who's benefiting from the profitability of UK companies? Regular workers haven't seen great pay increases. That's the reason I ask the question.

Not all is a simple as that - I've only perused ONS data a bit more & the picture isn't as clear as the headlines make it sound - but that's to be expected, I suppose.

I'm suddenly hearing about loads of young men and women travelling long distances to work for £400 a month. My grandson included.
There is no public transport that runs at the right times, it's too far to walk from the station, and due to his dyspraxia riding a bike safely for such a distance isn't an option. His mum has been dropping him off in the morning and his father picks him up after work, but due to roadworks he's been late a couple of times and been told he'll be sacked if it happens again. He walked for 42 minutes in the pouring rain the other morning. As he has special needs he tried block booking a taxi, but had no luck, and just ordering a taxi each morning for a certain time seems to be impossible around here, so Mr Ohso is getting up every morning to take him and he pays his granddad for the petrol. We are sweating Mr Ohso doesn't get ill. In the meantime J will have to find something easier to get to.

A young boy has just started working with my son...A lovely lad, keen and a good worker. He also has a hell of a journey which takes up a huge chunk of his earnings, and is worried to death about arriving on time.
It's happening to others I know too. What are we doing to our young.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:02 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote: Somehow this feels really telling about the insularity, cut-offness from the real world, of Westminster.

A bunch of utter Canutes - whoever they are that are responsible for this exercise in trying to deny nature.
That reminds me of when my son was the groundsman at BMWs head office.
As anyone who has a lawn knows, daisies can suddenly pop in an otherwise immaculate lawn, grow faster than grass and grass should never be cut really close to the ground in hot dry weather.
The managing director liked everything ship shape when he gazed out of his office window, so during a heatwave my son was instructed to cut off all the daisy heads with a pair of scissors.
Oh I can believe that one alright Ohso. I spend a lot of my time trying to gently get the best deal for nature, commonsense and my time with some of my customers. Daisies and other low growing flowers in lawns really seem to get up the noses of some of them.

Amazing isn't it. Managing Director for the whole of BMW UK, and he was obsessive about daisies. If that's how the other 90% work and view life, I'm glad I'm not one of them.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:03 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
citizenJA wrote:
UK companies at their most profitable since 1998

Better financial picture for UK companies reflects broader economic improvement in the second quarter

http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... since-1998" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The ONS key points following their report out this morning:
Private non-financial corporations’ profitability, as measured by their net rate of return, was estimated at 11.8% in Q2 2014. This is at the higher end of the quarterly range experienced during the last five years.

Manufacturing companies’ net rate of return was estimated at 12.1% in Q2 2014, 0.5 percentage points higher than Q1 2014.

Service companies’ net rate of return was estimated at 15.6% in Q2 2014. This is the highest estimated rate since Q3 2003 (15.3%).

UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) companies’ net rate of return was 16.9% in Q2 2014. This is the lowest estimated rate since the series began in Q1 1997.

Non-UKCS companies’ net rate of return was 11.6% in Q2 2014. This is the highest rate since Q4 1998 (12.0%).

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pnfc2/pro ... Key-Points" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Who's getting the profits then? I've not looked at the spreadsheets yet - I received the ONS report from my e-mails this morning. Who's benefiting from the profitability of UK companies? Regular workers haven't seen great pay increases. That's the reason I ask the question.

Not all is a simple as that - I've only perused ONS data a bit more & the picture isn't as clear as the headlines make it sound - but that's to be expected, I suppose.
I'm suddenly hearing about loads of young men and women travelling long distances to work for £400 a month. My grandson included.
There is no public transport that runs at the right times, it's too far to walk from the station, and due to his dyspraxia riding a bike safely for such a distance isn't an option. His mum has been dropping him off in the morning and his father picks him up after work, but due to roadworks he's been late a couple of times and been told he'll be sacked if it happens again. He walked for 42 minutes in the pouring rain the other morning. As he has special needs he tried block booking a taxi, but had no luck, and just ordering a taxi each morning for a certain time seems to be impossible around here, so Mr Ohso is getting up every morning to take him and he pays his granddad for the petrol. We are sweating Mr Ohso doesn't get ill. In the meantime J will have to find something easier to get to.

A young boy has just started working with my son...A lovely lad, keen and a good worker. He also has a hell of a journey which takes up a huge chunk of his earnings, and is worried to death about arriving on time.
It's happening to others I know too. What are we doing to our young.

Punishing them. Pure and simple. The saddest thing really is that there is precious little they can do about it. We - my generation - had a sense of being worth something (certainly worth being taken on with little experience and trained up at a company's expense), able to move on to better places, at the same age (and we could, jobs were relatively plentiful and easy to move between).

It's despicable what is being done to young people and their futures.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:06 pm

http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/11/ ... abandoned/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

Have a sitdown - not MSM - but someone at least thinks Ed is good bloke.

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:13 pm

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Meanwhile I note over there that Deborah Orr, a card carrying LibDem, thinks that Ed's message is too miserable. Diddums

What an absolute bastard she is.

That translates to - I am rich and happy, so I don't give a toss about the majority; and I don't want to listen to Ed reminding me how shit life is for the majority.

Dear Deborah - Fuck off you evil Tory git.[/quot

The first comment was something like 'for gods sake give it a rest' from hacklesup,with some good replies.The whole lot wiped out as though they never existed,not even a comment not allowed thingy.

Whoops,don't know what I did here..blame the brandy.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:16 pm

Martin Rowson ‏@MartinRowson 2m2 minutes ago
Special BBC Children In Need editions of Jim'll Fix It & Rolf's Cartoon Time coming up next, but first we want A squill ion quid for these..

His tongue is as sharp as his paintbrush.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:16 pm

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update ... -a-leader/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

Another poor excuse for a "journalist". Is all getting very tedious. Ed getting good practice at coping with more or less anything.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:28 pm

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... ed-justice" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

're Thalidomide.

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:34 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Westminster gardener ordered to remove autumn leaves one by one
House of Commons spokesman insists manual plucking of yellow leaves would save time spent raking them when they fall
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... -cancelled
Somehow this feels really telling about the insularity, cut-offness from the real world, of Westminster.

A bunch of utter Canutes - whoever they are that are responsible for this exercise in trying to deny nature.

Absolutely crazy! A more efficient use of time, indeed

I bet they did not take scientific advice on that decision. Leaves change colour and drop for a reason, after all. Oh, there is no longer a Chief Scientific Advisor, is there...

I have an imaginary Rowson in my head: Cameron dressed as the Red Queen and a gardener (Clegg?) painting the leaves red in front of the HoP...

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:35 pm

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... nhs-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Latest headline over yonder at the G - NHS crisis

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:40 pm

citizenJA wrote:The spreadsheet data is the first result of my searching for the latest median wage data in the UK on the ONS website.
Number of and median hourly wage of employees by occupation 29 Oct 14 (Excel sheet 61Kb)

United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted
Standard Occupational Classification SOC (2010)
All Occupations:

2013 £10.82

2014 £10.58

See notes below:
1 A persons average gross hourly pay
2 Excludes people with abnormally high hourly pay (i.e. People earning over £100 per hour) or recorded as having £0 hourly pay
3 Occupation group is based on the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) 2010 major groups
4 Uses Labour Force Survey datasets for the period April to June
5 Includes people who did not state their occupation
6 Median hourly wages for 2013 and 2014 are nominal values

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index. ... edian+wage" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cripes, that is bad

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:42 pm

http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2014/1 ... -claimant/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Judge brands DWP jobseeker’s agreement ‘unlawful’, after action by disabled claimant

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:46 pm

From BTL on UK Polling report ...

COUPER2802
Good news for people that like political fun – the SNP have voted to allow non-Members to stand for the SNP in the May GE. This is to allow the leaders of the pro-Independence groups to stand for Westminister. There are a lot of very good people in those groups but career politicians but very independent minded. It is also not clear if they would take the SNP whip. So Westminister minority government government will be even better fun.

http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archi ... 1#comments

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:48 pm

DWP admits investigating 60 benefit-related deaths since 2012

http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2014/11/1 ... ince-2012/

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:52 pm

HindleA wrote:http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2014/1 ... -claimant/

Judge brands DWP jobseeker’s agreement ‘unlawful’, after action by disabled claimant

That seems like a really significant ruling. I certainly hope so.

This poor bloke - plunged into utter poverty and already so vulnerable - and yet he had the courage to insist on taking it to law rather than sign the unlawful job seekers agreement.

If I've understood this article - the 'My Rights' section of the agreement was actually being used in a way that denied people their rights ... classic DWP - classic IDS - classic Tory - oh, and Lib Dem, lest we forget they are in it up to their necks.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:53 pm

LadyCentauria wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Westminster gardener ordered to remove autumn leaves one by one
House of Commons spokesman insists manual plucking of yellow leaves would save time spent raking them when they fall
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... -cancelled
Somehow this feels really telling about the insularity, cut-offness from the real world, of Westminster.

A bunch of utter Canutes - whoever they are that are responsible for this exercise in trying to deny nature.
Absolutely crazy! A more efficient use of time, indeed

I bet they did not take scientific advice on that decision. Leaves change colour and drop for a reason, after all. Oh, there is no longer a Chief Scientific Advisor, is there...

I have an imaginary Rowson in my head: Cameron dressed as the Red Queen and a gardener (Clegg?) painting the leaves red in front of the HoP...

Just pictured all those enormous Plane trees that line many of London's streets...And then imagining the time it would take to pluck all the yellow leaves off just one tree, compared with sweeping them up. And how do you reach the thin branches? These people are running the country.
Jesus wept.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 8:55 pm

citizenJA wrote:http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... nhs-crisis

Latest headline over yonder at the G - NHS crisis

Calling Julie .... Julie, Julie, Julie. Come in Julie ... taps intercom. Letter to Mr Hunt needed - plus calls for his sacking. Julie?

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 9:09 pm

"Starving children are eating from bins in Fenton"

Read more: http://www.stokesentinel.co. ... urn false;

I know this story is from July, but I've only just found the link, and with Christmas coming up it's made me feel ill.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 9:28 pm

Britain lent £1.5bn for ageing power grid

http://www.energylivenews.com/2014/11/1 ... ower-grid/

EU bank lends the money. Say thank you Dave!

ErnstRemarx · Post by **ErnstRemarx** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 9:36 pm

Does anyone here ever watch Gogglebox? It's an excellent vox pop programme that follows TV programmes by allowing families recroded in their own homes to comment freely - and often ripely - about the programmes featured. Narrated by the peerless (and I'd add, gorgeous) Caroline Aherne, it's become compelling viewing for me, as it's ordinary people reacting to news or other TV programmes as they see fit.

They've just (I mean about 2 minutes ago) done Miliband's interrogation by the meeja after his CBI speech, and the balance seemed to be that more or less all viewers feaured - and we're talking a very wide variety of people here - were pretty sympathetic towards Miliband for the attempted monstering by the assembled meeja. Even the obviously Tory viewers from thatSouth.

I have to say it made me sit up and then hurry into here to post. Ordinary people - these are genuinely a slice of UK life - seem to have got it that the meeja in the UK is trying to break Miliband, and from what I can see they don't like that sort of hectoring and bullying in the slightest.

A rather different narrative to the sort of bullshit we get every single fucking day from the routine mosters who routinely monster Miliband simply to create a story and, by definition, their reputations and salaries. I'd call them whores, but sex workers at least have some dignity and integrity. The meeja in the UK have neither, and as for principles, I imagine they couldn't spell the word, still less define it to their audience.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 9:58 pm

Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 22h22 hours ago
Lab hold Wigan Douglas

Lab 874 UKIP 452 Con 80 Green 37 CAP 29

Have UKIP nicked all the Tory votes?

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:08 pm

Goodnight, everyone.
Love,
JA

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:09 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Andy Burnham challenges Nigel Farage over NHS 'cover-up' in open letter
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 62159.html
Indy now reporting on this (I believe we had it here first btw).

Surprised there aren't already a few comments from followers of Cure the NHS btl slagging Burnham off for things he didn't do or have responsibility for. Are they still very active on Twitter or has it quietened down of late?

FTN was having a go at one on Twitter earlier

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:10 pm

ErnstRemarx wrote:Does anyone here ever watch Gogglebox? It's an excellent vox pop programme that follows TV programmes by allowing families recroded in their own homes to comment freely - and often ripely - about the programmes featured. Narrated by the peerless (and I'd add, gorgeous) Caroline Aherne, it's become compelling viewing for me, as it's ordinary people reacting to news or other TV programmes as they see fit.

They've just (I mean about 2 minutes ago) done Miliband's interrogation by the meeja after his CBI speech, and the balance seemed to be that more or less all viewers feaured - and we're talking a very wide variety of people here - were pretty sympathetic towards Miliband for the attempted monstering by the assembled meeja. Even the obviously Tory viewers from thatSouth.

I have to say it made me sit up and then hurry into here to post. Ordinary people - these are genuinely a slice of UK life - seem to have got it that the meeja in the UK is trying to break Miliband, and from what I can see they don't like that sort of hectoring and bullying in the slightest.

A rather different narrative to the sort of bullshit we get every single fucking day from the routine mosters who routinely monster Miliband simply to create a story and, by definition, their reputations and salaries. I'd call them whores, but sex workers at least have some dignity and integrity. The meeja in the UK have neither, and as for principles, I imagine they couldn't spell the word, still less define it to their audience.

Hi Ernst. It was interesting wasn't it? If you look same time last week you'll see me commenting on the excellent Gogglebox NHS stuff. Shh let's keep quiet

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:16 pm

ohsocynical wrote:Martin Rowson ‏@MartinRowson 2m2 minutes ago
Special BBC Children In Need editions of Jim'll Fix It & Rolf's Cartoon Time coming up next, but first we want A squill ion quid for these..

His tongue is as sharp as his paintbrush.

Sharpest paintbrush in the west!

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

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:16 pm

Note sure if we have had this but worth a read - as I said when she was appointed, Lucy Powell is not to be trifled with

Lucy Powell: Mancunian streetfighter taking on key role in Labour campaign
A founder member of the Ed Miliband club, many in the party hope Powell can bring some urgency and drive to Labour

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:18 pm

Having just ventured BTL on that Deborah Orr 'thing' (article or piece seems too much like praise) - Tea & Chocolate has really really gone off on one against Miliband ... keeps shouting about why doesn't he DO something instead of whining. I know T&C has been pretty anti Labour for quite a while but this seems pretty extreme. I see refitman and hackles up and a few others have given some good responses - listing how effective an opposition leader Miliband has been - setting the agenda and changing the course far more than an opposition leader would normally - giving Syria, energy prices etc as examples.

It's made me wonder just what it was that proved the tipping point for T&C - it feels as though something must have. If not - I am falling back on very far fetched notions of long games being played.

Post by **refitman** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:19 pm

John Prescott ‏@johnprescott 3h3 hours ago

That awkward moment when a Tory candidate criticises someone for having EXACTLY the same background as her leader!

Post by **refitman** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:23 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:Having just ventured BTL on that Deborah Orr 'thing' (article or piece seems too much like praise) - Tea & Chocolate has really really gone off on one against Miliband ... keeps shouting about why doesn't he DO something instead of whining. I know T&C has been pretty anti Labour for quite a while but this seems pretty extreme. I see refitman and hackles up and a few others have given some good responses - listing how effective an opposition leader Miliband has been - setting the agenda and changing the course far more than an opposition leader would normally - giving Syria, energy prices etc as examples.

It's made me wonder just what it was that proved the tipping point for T&C - it feels as though something must have. If not - I am falling back on very far fetched notions of long games being played.

I think T&C might be Scottish and came over a bit cybernat during the referendum. This has morphed into Labour = unionist, Tories = unionist, therefore Labour = Tories.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:27 pm

refitman wrote:
John Prescott ‏@johnprescott 3h3 hours ago

That awkward moment when a Tory candidate criticises someone for having EXACTLY the same background as her leader!

Yes - it's another CCHQ (Shapps?) marketing treasure, isn't it? Not only that ... have they not twigged that it's the same person with the same background that represented them until a few weeks ago ... ?

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:31 pm

refitman wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:Having just ventured BTL on that Deborah Orr 'thing' (article or piece seems too much like praise) - Tea & Chocolate has really really gone off on one against Miliband ... keeps shouting about why doesn't he DO something instead of whining. I know T&C has been pretty anti Labour for quite a while but this seems pretty extreme. I see refitman and hackles up and a few others have given some good responses - listing how effective an opposition leader Miliband has been - setting the agenda and changing the course far more than an opposition leader would normally - giving Syria, energy prices etc as examples.

It's made me wonder just what it was that proved the tipping point for T&C - it feels as though something must have. If not - I am falling back on very far fetched notions of long games being played.
I think T&C might be Scottish and came over a bit cybernat during the referendum. This has morphed into Labour = unionist, Tories = unionist, therefore Labour = Tories.

Yep, T & C morphed into a rabid Cybernat during Indyref (along with people like the Great Ron) so I think that is a pretty fair assessment.

As for the fragrant Deborah, you're wasting your time trying to get through to that one; she really is the epitome of everything I loathe about the Guardian, and why it no longer has anything to offer me (now I can get Martin's cartoons via Twitter).

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:33 pm

Latest Philae/Rosetta news!

I hear you @philae2014! MT @esaoperations: SIGNAL IS BACK telemetry & science data are flowing from the surface of #67P #CometLanding

3 minutes ago from @ESA_Rosetta

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:33 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
refitman wrote:
John Prescott ‏@johnprescott 3h3 hours ago

That awkward moment when a Tory candidate criticises someone for having EXACTLY the same background as her leader!

Yes - it's another CCHQ (Shapps?) marketing treasure, isn't it? Not only that ... have they not twigged that it's the same person with the same background that represented them until a few weeks ago ... ?

That slogan. Simon Hughes. They can't be suggesting Reckless is gay?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:35 pm

refitman wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:Having just ventured BTL on that Deborah Orr 'thing' (article or piece seems too much like praise) - Tea & Chocolate has really really gone off on one against Miliband ... keeps shouting about why doesn't he DO something instead of whining. I know T&C has been pretty anti Labour for quite a while but this seems pretty extreme. I see refitman and hackles up and a few others have given some good responses - listing how effective an opposition leader Miliband has been - setting the agenda and changing the course far more than an opposition leader would normally - giving Syria, energy prices etc as examples.

It's made me wonder just what it was that proved the tipping point for T&C - it feels as though something must have. If not - I am falling back on very far fetched notions of long games being played.
I think T&C might be Scottish and came over a bit cybernat during the referendum. This has morphed into Labour = unionist, Tories = unionist, therefore Labour = Tories.

Thanks for that response. I suppose it's a credible ,if very depressing, theory. We had a discussion here the other day about not lumping everyone who votes for / supports a particular party with a predetermined set of characteristics ... The very simplistic progression you set out above proves how limiting and flawed that can be.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:38 pm

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
refitman wrote:

Yes - it's another CCHQ (Shapps?) marketing treasure, isn't it? Not only that ... have they not twigged that it's the same person with the same background that represented them until a few weeks ago ... ?
That slogan. Simon Hughes. They can't be suggesting Reckless is gay?

I wondered the same when I first saw it. Then thought - nah - it's just utter Shapps crappiness - incapable of seeing even the most glaring of gaffes, double entendres and blazing hypocrisy.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:43 pm

For the record

Spacedone · Post by **Spacedone** » Fri 14 Nov, 2014 10:44 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Yes - it's another CCHQ (Shapps?) marketing treasure, isn't it? Not only that ... have they not twigged that it's the same person with the same background that represented them until a few weeks ago ... ?
That slogan. Simon Hughes. They can't be suggesting Reckless is gay?
I wondered the same when I first saw it. Then thought - nah - it's just utter Shapps crappiness - incapable of seeing even the most glaring of gaffes, double entendres and blazing hypocrisy.

It's an odd slogan to use if they're not trying to imply he's gay, especially underlining the word like that.