Tuesday 13th January 2015

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 1:18 pm

All that private debt Osborne is building up becomes massively toxic.

Very important point if there is deflation - prices may fall but your debts go up.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 1:28 pm

HindleA wrote:@ohsocynical

Stay safe.

Hah! Since my last post we now have bright blue skies and wall to wall sunshine. Cold though. Weird weather.

I'm baking fruit buns today. Anyone?

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 1:29 pm

I suppose Osborne has limited choices : say low inflation is a good thing or blame it all on the last Labour government.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 1:37 pm

giselle97 wrote:I think I'll go to this meeting on Wednesday night.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Hinchin ... story.html

Good idea.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 1:39 pm

mikems wrote:I suppose Osborne has limited choices : say low inflation is a good thing or blame it all on the last Labour government.

Osborne can say what he wants, that doesn't mean the media have to parrot him. And enough people understand that low prices mean low wages for the whole "wages will soon being growing in real terms" gambit to come across as a bit too uncertain and in the future to create any kind of pre-election feelgood factor.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 1:39 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
HindleA wrote:@ohsocynical

Stay safe.
Hah! Since my last post we now have bright blue skies and wall to wall sunshine. Cold though. Weird weather.

I'm baking fruit buns today. Anyone?

Definitely. Ta very much. As long as they're not UKIP fruit buns.

Toby Latimer · Post by **Toby Latimer** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 1:43 pm

giselle97 wrote:@TobyLatimer

Hi Toby. I wonder if you could remind me of the name of the prog for capturing images and saving them that you told me about many moons back please. It's on my desktop in the other room but I don't have a monitor for it at the moment so I can't get to it. Many thanks, in anticipation!

Here you are giselle, its callled Fast Stone Capture 5.3 this is the version i have - the last free version. There is a charge for all the newer ones but this one works fine. http://www.oldapps.com/fast_stone_captu ... 7#download" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 1:49 pm

GM crops to be fast-tracked in UK following EU vote
GM maize likely to be authorised in near future, as MEPs vote in favour of new rules to allow countries to choose whether to grow GM crops
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... ng-eu-vote

Friends of the Earth’s food campaigner, Clare Oxborrow, said: “This decision is good news for nations like Scotland and Wales, whose political leaders have opposed GM crops and can now ban them from their fields. But this ruling is a double-edged sword that could open the door to GM crops being grown in England.”

The new law does allow governments to opt out of GM cultivation either by negotiating with the firms for a territorial exclusion, which the companies may refuse, or by imposing national bans on single crops – which the companies can challenge.

In practice, environmentalists fear that countries wishing to ban GM will face protracted national court cases that graduate to the European court of justice and afford corporate protagonists equal or greater rights to national governments.

Where to start? The report says comments made by Lord de Mauley have been taken as a tacit confirmation that GM planting will go ahead from 2017 if the Conservatives are elected to government again.

giselle97 · Post by **giselle97** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:04 pm

Toby Latimer wrote:
giselle97 wrote:@TobyLatimer

Hi Toby. I wonder if you could remind me of the name of the prog for capturing images and saving them that you told me about many moons back please. It's on my desktop in the other room but I don't have a monitor for it at the moment so I can't get to it. Many thanks, in anticipation!
Here you are giselle, its callled Fast Stone Capture 5.3 this is the version i have - the last free version. There is a charge for all the newer ones but this one works fine. http://www.oldapps.com/fast_stone_captu ... 7#download" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's the one Toby! Many thanks.

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:14 pm

Does anyone know how much the public sector spends on software licenses? I ask because there are obvious savings to be made as they have done in Munich:

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2014/07/muni ... pen-source" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

However, these must be the wrong sort of savings for our government, since it would harm multinational profits if we stopped paying for stuff we don't absolutely need (and which provides a useful gateway into our communications for a foreign power).

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:18 pm

Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 34m 34 minutes ago
Bold @Stephentall doing what I'm not ready to do yet. Predict GE15 with seats & GB vote shares. http://bit.ly/14QiYAe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 31m 31 minutes ago
The @stephentall predictions
CON 35 291 MPs
LAB 32 283 MPs
LD 12 32 MPs
UKIP: 11 3 MPs
22 SNP MPs
http://bit.ly/14QiYAe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:27 pm

Stephen Doughty ‏@SDoughtyMP 9m9 minutes ago
It's all gone a bit quiet on Tory benches as @edballsmp exposes failure of government to meet promises. I raised low wages + cost of living.

Gordon Marsden MP ‏@GordonMarsden 13m13 minutes ago
#Budget debate Ed Balls forensically laying out why Osborne so wrong on deficit Low wages, poorly paid new/p time jobs, reduced tax receipts

Tom Blenkinsop ‏@TomBlenkinsop 17m17 minutes ago
Osborne has stopped smiling and the benches behind him are now very quiet.

Iain McKenzie MP ‏@InverclydeMP 7m7 minutes ago
SNP very quiet as Ed Balls in HoC spells out just how Labour will balance the books diff than Tories. SNP fail understand Fiscal mandate.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:29 pm

Alex Belardinelli ‏@abelardinelli 4m4 minutes ago
There is nothing competent about borrowing over £200 billion more than you planned - @edballsmp to George Osborne

giselle97 · Post by **giselle97** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:30 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 34m 34 minutes ago
Bold @Stephentall doing what I'm not ready to do yet. Predict GE15 with seats & GB vote shares. http://bit.ly/14QiYAe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 31m 31 minutes ago
The @stephentall predictions
CON 35 291 MPs
LAB 32 283 MPs
LD 12 32 MPs
UKIP: 11 3 MPs
22 SNP MPs
http://bit.ly/14QiYAe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Stephen Tall? Yahmean Stephen Tall of LibDemVoice?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:34 pm

GENERAL ELECTION PREDICTIONS 60: SCOTLAND - EDINBURGH
http://www.iaindale.com/posts/2015/01/1 ... um=twitter

GENERAL ELECTION PREDICTIONS 61: SCOTLAND - BORDERS & AYRSHIRE
http://www.iaindale.com/posts/2015/01/1 ... um=twitter

GENERAL ELECTION PREDICTIONS 62: SCOTLAND - GLASGOW SURROUNDS
http://www.iaindale.com/posts/2015/01/1 ... um=twitter

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:41 pm

giselle97 wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 34m 34 minutes ago
Bold @Stephentall doing what I'm not ready to do yet. Predict GE15 with seats & GB vote shares. http://bit.ly/14QiYAe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 31m 31 minutes ago
The @stephentall predictions
CON 35 291 MPs
LAB 32 283 MPs
LD 12 32 MPs
UKIP: 11 3 MPs
22 SNP MPs
http://bit.ly/14QiYAe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Stephen Tall? Yahmean Stephen Tall of LibDemVoice?

Idah indeed mean Stephen Tall ex of LibDemVoice! I make no comment on his predictions ... better people read his post for themselves.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:43 pm

mikems wrote:Does anyone know how much the public sector spends on software licenses? I ask because there are obvious savings to be made as they have done in Munich:

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2014/07/muni ... pen-source" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

However, these must be the wrong sort of savings for our government, since it would harm multinational profits if we stopped paying for stuff we don't absolutely need (and which provides a useful gateway into our communications for a foreign power).

Government already uses a lot of open source stuff. Also these products are not free, when you start deploying Open source solutions you have a lot of things to consider:

Ongoing security patches.
Test and Integration.
Who is responsible if it breaks, and how do you fix it.
IPR checking

Remember if you start deploying bespoke solutions you carry the cost of supporting them. In the past I worked on a project where a customer wouldn't pay for features and built their own using open source software. Five years later they paid a fortune for us to take it out and provide them with a fully managed solution, their platform was out of date, full of bugs and nobody knew how to fix it.

That isn't to say open source is always wrong, but be aware of the costs and risk before getting involved.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:45 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Alex Belardinelli ‏@abelardinelli 4m4 minutes ago
There is nothing competent about borrowing over £200 billion more than you planned - @edballsmp to George Osborne

This is excellent. Finally, Balls not running scared of fighting Osborne on the economy.

giselle97 · Post by **giselle97** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 2:50 pm

I didn't see any reference or hear any reference to the fact that Ed Miliband and Justine Miliband went to Paris at the weekend but this appeared in my Facebook timeline.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 3:03 pm

Credit to him, Balls seems to have recovered his mojo. That dreadful speech at the party conference nearly sunk him, but he seems to have learned from it.

giselle97 · Post by **giselle97** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 3:18 pm

Need a laugh ... to smile, to feel good?

[youtube]58-atNakMWw[/youtube]

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 3:35 pm

TE,

The link says that despite retraining and other costs there is a pure savings of tens of millions by switching to open source.

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 3:37 pm

It's not really a 'bespoke solution' in software terms. It is based on Ubuntu 12.04.

giselle97 · Post by **giselle97** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 3:46 pm

It's Kate Hooey again. B....r her.

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehous ... the-facts/

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 3:55 pm

I don't know if any of you here, or anyone you know, submitted any personal or medical information to the Spartacus reports.

1.200 people did - I asked Sue Marsh today if she still has this information, and she has assured me "100%" that she does not.

I will send a message to The Void to let him know.

There remain several inconsistencies in what she has said in various fora about her appointment to Maximus and on other issues; I hope she is certain that her records are accurate and not compromised in any way.

Thanks.

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 3:59 pm

giselle97 wrote:I didn't see any reference or hear any reference to the fact that Ed Miliband and Justine Miliband went to Paris at the weekend but this appeared in my Facebook timeline.

I believe they had 'an intimate dinner' with Mr & Mrs Clooney the other night, chez Geoffrey Robertson QC.

giselle97 · Post by **giselle97** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:04 pm

gilsey wrote:
giselle97 wrote:I didn't see any reference or hear any reference to the fact that Ed Miliband and Justine Miliband went to Paris at the weekend but this appeared in my Facebook timeline.
I believe they had 'an intimate dinner' with Mr & Mrs Clooney the other night, chez Geoffrey Robertson QC.

Well I wished they'd invited me. George and Ed.

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:06 pm

mikems wrote:
All that private debt Osborne is building up becomes massively toxic.
Very important point if there is deflation - prices may fall but your debts go up.

Yes, inflation eats your debt and deflation doesn't, that's the most important thing.

Japan has been living with it for 20 years and I wouldn't call it a disaster for them, they're still there.
Are their problems really worse than ours, or the Eurozone's?
Or just different?

danesclose · Post by **danesclose** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:16 pm

Police staff set to strike

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30802822" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:17 pm

mikems wrote:
Quote:
All that private debt Osborne is building up becomes massively toxic.

Very important point if there is deflation - prices may fall but your debts go up.

Yes, inflation eats your debt and deflation doesn't, that's the most important thing.

Japan has been living with it for 20 years and I wouldn't call it a disaster for them, they're still there.
Are their problems really worse than ours, or the Eurozone's?
Or just different?

Japan has very high levels of public debt and high levels of private savings. That is often offered as an explanation for Japan's decline - people don't buy, business doesn't invest and public stimulus ends up adding to private savings.

But if they didn't have this problem they would have another. The Eurozone problem is really about uneven development in Europe and the dominance of German capital surpluses.

In my opinion the reality is that Japan's industrial expansion came to its natural end and could find no new markets to continue its growth - end of the 80s early 90s. It is really the world's problem, since profits were declining and could only be increased by turning more and more to financialisation of business rather than production of real things, except for the temporary relief of shifting industry to low wage economies and extending credit in 'platform' economies.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:18 pm

mikems wrote:TE,

The link says that despite retraining and other costs there is a pure savings of tens of millions by switching to open source.

Yes, but my point is that isn't always the case and it critically depends on the application and the organisation. As I said government already does lots of open source.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:20 pm

giselle97 wrote:
gilsey wrote:
giselle97 wrote:I didn't see any reference or hear any reference to the fact that Ed Miliband and Justine Miliband went to Paris at the weekend but this appeared in my Facebook timeline.
I believe they had 'an intimate dinner' with Mr & Mrs Clooney the other night, chez Geoffrey Robertson QC.
Well I wished they'd invited me. George and Ed.

Ed announced it on his twitter feed:

Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband · Jan 11
Everyone was shocked and appalled by the murderous terrorism in France last week. I'm travelling to Paris to join the Unity Rally today.

You need a strong stomach to read the tweets in response to him. Cheap, vile abuse follows all politicians so it's hardly surprising some people get 'blocked' by their MP.

Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband · Jan 11
I was proud to march in solidarity with the French people today #NousSommesCharlie

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:21 pm

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... ics-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Paramedics in crisis: ‘When there’s nobody else to turn to, we get the call’"

"We end up doing the job community nurses or social services really should be doing – making sandwiches, brewing cups of tea for people who have nobody else.”

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:23 pm

GENERAL ELECTION PREDICTIONS 63: SCOTLAND - GLASGOW
http://www.iaindale.com/posts/2015/01/1 ... um=twitter

Scotland – Glasgow
Seats: 11
Current Political Makeup: Lab 11
Predicted Political Makeup after May 7: Lab 10, SNP 1

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:24 pm

giselle97 wrote:It's Kate Hooey again. B....r her.

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehous ... the-facts/

Ditto to the zillioneth power. I'm embarrassed that she's a Labour MP with the stuff she spouts.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:26 pm

mikems wrote:
mikems wrote:
Quote:
All that private debt Osborne is building up becomes massively toxic.

Very important point if there is deflation - prices may fall but your debts go up.

Yes, inflation eats your debt and deflation doesn't, that's the most important thing.

Japan has been living with it for 20 years and I wouldn't call it a disaster for them, they're still there.
Are their problems really worse than ours, or the Eurozone's?
Or just different?
Japan has very high levels of public debt and high levels of private savings. That is often offered as an explanation for Japan's decline - people don't buy, business doesn't invest and public stimulus ends up adding to private savings.

But if they didn't have this problem they would have another. The Eurozone problem is really about uneven development in Europe and the dominance of German capital surpluses.

In my opinion the reality is that Japan's industrial expansion came to its natural end and could find no new markets to continue its growth - end of the 80s early 90s. It is really the world's problem, since profits were declining and could only be increased by turning more and more to financialisation of business rather than production of real things, except for the temporary relief of shifting industry to low wage economies and extending credit in 'platform' economies.

Not sure about Japan, deflation has been a disaster for them, the good days of the country haven't come back. Just because they still exist doesn't mean they don't have issues.

These days I think its problems are massive and more to do with demographics and cultural factors than stagnation. Their industry issues probably relate to the growth of software, which they are generally hopeless at providing. Their hardware was always top grade.

They could do with a shed load of immigration, and they need to treat married women far better. Try the French child funding model.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:26 pm

gilsey wrote:
mikems wrote:
All that private debt Osborne is building up becomes massively toxic.
Very important point if there is deflation - prices may fall but your debts go up.
Yes, inflation eats your debt and deflation doesn't, that's the most important thing.

Japan has been living with it for 20 years and I wouldn't call it a disaster for them, they're still there.
Are their problems really worse than ours, or the Eurozone's?
Or just different?

(my bold)

Do you know how much Japan spends subsidising public transportation? What is their housing situation like? What are those costs? How is Japan's healthcare delivery system operate? What social security provision does Japan have?

It's an entirely different world, Japan is, compared to the UK in so many ways. They don't[/b] have many people dying on the street homeless for a start.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:26 pm

pk1 wrote: Ed announced it on his twitter feed:

Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband · Jan 11
Everyone was shocked and appalled by the murderous terrorism in France last week. I'm travelling to Paris to join the Unity Rally today.
You need a strong stomach to read the tweets in response to him. Cheap, vile abuse follows all politicians so it's hardly surprising some people get 'blocked' by their MP.

Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband · Jan 11
I was proud to march in solidarity with the French people today #NousSommesCharlie

It is now almost a ritual that the first reply to an Ed tweet is some supreme wit squawking "f*** off beaker"

(thought that was Danny Alexander's nickname, anyway?)

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:31 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:
pk1 wrote: Ed announced it on his twitter feed:

Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband · Jan 11
Everyone was shocked and appalled by the murderous terrorism in France last week. I'm travelling to Paris to join the Unity Rally today.
You need a strong stomach to read the tweets in response to him. Cheap, vile abuse follows all politicians so it's hardly surprising some people get 'blocked' by their MP.

Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband · Jan 11
I was proud to march in solidarity with the French people today #NousSommesCharlie
It is now almost a ritual that the first reply to an Ed tweet is some supreme wit squawking "f*** off beaker"

(thought that was Danny Alexander's nickname, anyway?)

I hate ritual abuse.

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:35 pm

Japan is said to have problems because profits are down and cannot be revived. It's got nothing to do with the well-being of the Japanese for heaven's sake!

All economic problems tend to boil down to that simple fact, but it often means total upheaval of society to try and get them back at the same levels as before. That's why Thatcher binned industry, why the US dropped the gold standard and forced that on the rest of the world, why the EU has committed itself to ''free and unfettered markets' in a constitutional treaty, why Japan runs such high levels of debt etc, etc.

It is all about profit levels.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:38 pm

Sainsbury’s: 500 head office staff to lose jobs amid drive to save £500m
Jobs in London, Coventry and Manchester set to go as new boss Mike Coupe tries to reduce supermarket’s running costs
http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... manchester

And so it goes on. Companies still seem to be letting go of lots of people, or folding. What new jobs have been announced recently - well paid or otherwise? (Other than sandwich making jobs from next year which they say they have to recruit in Poland for ...).

giselle97 · Post by **giselle97** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:41 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
giselle97 wrote:It's Kate Hooey again. B....r her.

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehous ... the-facts/

Ditto to the zillioneth power. I'm embarrassed that she's a Labour MP with the stuff she spouts.

I know ..... it's childish ..... but I felt better for it!

: 2015-01-13_163843 kh.jpg (35.27 KiB) Viewed 9862 times

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:49 pm

mikems wrote:Japan is said to have problems because profits are down and cannot be revived. It's got nothing to do with the well-being of the Japanese for heaven's sake!

All economic problems tend to boil down to that simple fact, but it often means total upheaval of society to try and get them back at the same levels as before. That's why Thatcher binned industry, why the US dropped the gold standard and forced that on the rest of the world, why the EU has committed itself to ''free and unfettered markets' in a constitutional treaty, why Japan runs such high levels of debt etc, etc.

It is all about profit levels.

I know why Japan is said to have problems.
But I, personally, am interested in the well-being of the Japanese.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:50 pm

Affordable rural housing under threat
Fear that scrapping planning rules to build cheaper homes will make villages off limits to all but the wealthiest
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... new-threat

... For Lewis Rose, the Conservative leader of Derbyshire Dales district council, the provision of affordable rural housing has been high on his list of priorities. By using the planning system to raise extra money from developers, his authority created a ringfenced fund to leverage cash from housing associations and plug a hole left by declining government grants.

“It had wide support,” he says. “People realised that youngsters cannot afford to stay in the area unless we do all we can to make it easier for them through reducing housing costs.”

Over the past 10 years, the council has channelled £1.2m to associations to help deliver more than 1,000 homes from shared ownership to social renting. “They torpedoed our scheme at a stroke by an arbitrary change to planning rules,” Rose says of the Pickles directive. “It came out of the blue. It meant that our whole affordable housing strategy was severely damaged. I was appalled.”

The result for Derbyshire Dales was immediate. A further £407,000 of funding in the pipeline was lost. “I am afraid ‘Mr Builder’ will not provide affordable housing left to himself,” Rose says.

He complained to his local Tory MP, transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin. “I think he was taken aback because he realises the seriousness of the matter,” says the council leader. McLoughlin is now looking into an issue which, across England, has pitched Tory councils, and many other organisations, against a seemingly obdurate Department for Communities and Local Government...

All part of the Tory 'rip up regulations' lust - to allow their monied developer pals to do what they want and profit with no contribution to society. It says something when Tory councils are going on the record saying this policy is a disaster.
And this is the government that introduced the bedroom tax at the same time ... knowing there were insufficient smaller properties for people to move into - especially in the North and rural areas. And with the other hand they were scuppering the requirement to build more affordable homes in rural areas. They seem utterly blind to the consequences of their actions - wilfully blind.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:52 pm

Guido F***s Tweeted yesterday some old quote from Ed that was disparaging about slebs and politics.

Personally, I think Ed and his wife (a leading environmental lawyer) having dinner with an eminent QC, a human-rights lawyer who is in the QCs chambers, and a free-speech proponent and political activist (who just happens to be a film star) is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

I'm a lot less impressed with OGRFG's sleb pals - his "Cool Britannia II" involved such intellectual heavyweights as Michael Macintyre, Tess Daly, Kirstie Allsopp (daddy's a baron, dontcha know) and the forensically insightful mastermind that is Cilla Black.

I rest, m'lud.

(Anyway - imagine! Swooney Clooney and Elegant Ed in the same room......I can feel a girlie flush coming on....)

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:52 pm

mikems wrote:Japan is said to have problems because profits are down and cannot be revived. It's got nothing to do with the well-being of the Japanese for heaven's sake!

All economic problems tend to boil down to that simple fact, but it often means total upheaval of society to try and get them back at the same levels as before. That's why Thatcher binned industry, why the US dropped the gold standard and forced that on the rest of the world, why the EU has committed itself to ''free and unfettered markets' in a constitutional treaty, why Japan runs such high levels of debt etc, etc.

It is all about profit levels.

(my bold)

It's all about profits down & nothing to do with Japanese well-being? You've contradicted your first sentence by pointing out the total upheaval of society?

The question I was answering was how deflation may affect the lives of regular people in the UK. Someone else brought up Japan, a country suffering from deflation for a long time. I was pointing out the social welfare policies as they exist in Japan & how they exist in the UK are different. So too will the effects of deflation in each country.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:54 pm

Re, Weather.

On the Welsh borders today, we have has a positive cornucopia of weather.

Started with fog and dank drippiness; moved on to brilliant sunshine; more dankiness; then wild winds; then a bit more sunshine.
In the last half-hour, we've had snow, then rain, then snow.

Wild, man.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:59 pm

I've just noticed that something unpleasant is likely to happen to HindleA this evening if he keeps posting

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 4:59 pm

CJA :"I hate ritual abuse"

Yes,I do wish you would stop it.JOKE.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Tue 13 Jan, 2015 5:00 pm

Ooh watch out Adrian