Friday 13th March 2015

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ohsocynical
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

daydreamer wrote:
PorFavor wrote:Goodnight, everyone.

Night PF
Night PF :)
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
Eric_WLothian
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Eric_WLothian »

Swarthlander wrote:I also have three baths...
What - all in the same year? :)
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LadyCentauria
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by LadyCentauria »

Swarthlander wrote:
yahyah wrote:Waving hello to our newest member Swarthlander.

Great avatar, a reminder that differences need not be an obstacle to friendship.
Just wish I could remember that when the red mists take over.
Thank you and hello all.

I do have a confession.... I have two kitchens AND a utility room. :shock: No rats though.

:D
Welcome to The Haven, Swarthlander :)

I only have one kitchen and no utility room or porch – but I do have a library with a studio at one end of it.
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tinyclanger2
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by tinyclanger2 »

I used to have a recurring dream that I found an extra room in my flat that I didn't know about. It always felt brilliant - especially the time when there was also a bit of garden I didn't know was mine.
LET'S FACE IT I'M JUST 'KIN' SEETHIN'
ohsocynical
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

From Wikepedia.

Gove.

Children's Homes Scandal and Data Protection Rules

In September 2013 news that the DfE did not maintain a register of Children's Homes in the UK came to light as a result of an article Gove wrote for the Daily Telegraph.
Gove asserted his prior ignorance and surprise that the department did not hold this information and claimed that "Ofsted was prevented by 'data protection' rules, 'child protection' concerns and other bewildering regulations from sharing that data with us, or even with the police".

Gove's claim was refuted the same day by the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, who pointed out there was "nothing" in data protection legislation that prevents vulnerable young people from being properly protected in care homes. Graham noted that "this law covers information about people so it has no bearing on the disclosure of non-personal information like the location of care homes", and said he would be writing to both Gove and Michael Wilshaw about the matter.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
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LadyCentauria
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by LadyCentauria »

Swarthlander wrote:I also have three baths...


...in the fields for the horse's water.
Yay! Yet another horsey person!
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ohsocynical
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

LadyCentauria wrote:
Swarthlander wrote:
yahyah wrote:Waving hello to our newest member Swarthlander.

Great avatar, a reminder that differences need not be an obstacle to friendship.
Just wish I could remember that when the red mists take over.
Thank you and hello all.

I do have a confession.... I have two kitchens AND a utility room. :shock: No rats though.

:D
Welcome to The Haven, Swarthlander :)

I only have one kitchen and no utility room or porch – but I do have a library with a studio at one end of it.
Oooh you are lucky. I always wanted a library....
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
Eric_WLothian
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Eric_WLothian »

citizenJA wrote:Feelings may be too raw yet for analysis of the Scottish Independence Referendum.

I'm going to write this though - it's my opinion regarding the heart & motivation of three men.
Labour party leadership & MPs knew the consequences electorally for the Labour party in Scotland by asking Scottish people not to choose independence.
Labour party leaders did this for the good of the country in its entirety, placing the well-being of the whole above the Labour party.
Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling & Ed Miliband.

One other man, Dave Cameron, made one speech I think may have reminded people of a blessed truth & so also may have helped people in Scotland to choose to vote no to independence.
It was the "Tories aren't going to be in government forever & I'll not be PM forever but choosing independence at this time is forever" speech.
I doubt I'll ever hear a more sincere, truthful word out of Cameron's mouth - none of us will, I suspect.

Please don't hesitate to tell me what you will regarding what I've written.
I don't believe party politics came, to any great extent, into Alistair Darling's leadership of the 'no' campaign. I think his (and Gordon Brown's) experience as Chancellor told him that the figures simply didn't add up.
I'm sure it was one of the PM's better decisions (perhaps the only one) to stay in the background lest a 'Tory toff' was seen to be interfering.
ohsocynical
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

tinyclanger2 wrote:I used to have a recurring dream that I found an extra room in my flat that I didn't know about. It always felt brilliant - especially the time when there was also a bit of garden I didn't know was mine.
Snap! Except my extra room was always in need of repair and bore an uncanny resemblance to the hall at my primary school.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
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TechnicalEphemera
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by TechnicalEphemera »

Did anybody catch QT last night, apparently Charlie Kennedy was tired and emotional. Might have made for good TV.
Release the Guardvarks.
Eric_WLothian
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Eric_WLothian »

LadyCentauria wrote: ...but I do have a library...
Better keep that quiet or Eric Pickles will be round to close it. :lol:
ohsocynical
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

Gove

Expenses claims

Wikepedia. Main article: Disclosure of expenses of British Members of Parliament

Over a five-month period between December 2005 and April 2006, Michael Gove claimed more than £7,000 on a house bought with his wife Sarah Vine, a journalist, in 2002. Around a third of the money was spent at Oka, an upmarket interior design company established by Lady Annabel Astor, Prime Minister David Cameron’s mother-in-law.
Shortly afterwards he reportedly 'flipped' his designated second home, a property for which he claimed around £13,000 to cover stamp duty.

Gove also claimed for a cot mattress, despite children's items being banned under the Commons rule. Gove said he would repay the claim for the cot mattress, but maintained that his other claims were "below the acceptable threshold costs for furniture" and that moving house was necessary "to effectively discharge my parliamentary duties".
While he was moving between homes, on one occasion he stayed at the Pennyhill Park Hotel and Spa following a constituency engagement, charging the taxpayer more than £500 per night's stay.

Gove's second home was not in his constituency, but in Elstead, in the South West Surrey constituency. Gove subsequently sold the house and now has no base in or near his constituency.
People in glasshouses really shouldn't throw stones.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
ohsocynical
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

Gove.

Wikipedia: Freedom of Information and email

Gove has been the subject of repeated criticism for alleged attempts to avoid the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. The criticism surrounds Gove's use of various private email accounts to send emails that allegedly relate to his departmental responsibilities.
The allegations suggest that Mr Gove and his advisers believed they could avoid their correspondence being subject to Freedom of Information requests, as they believed that their private email accounts were not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
In September 2011, the Financial Times reported that Gove had used an undisclosed private email account – called "Mrs Blurt" – to discuss government business with advisers.
In March 2012 the Information Commissioner ruled that because emails the Financial Times had requested contained public information they could be the subject of a Freedom of Information request and ordered the information requested by the paper to be disclosed.
Gove was also advised to cease the practice of using private email accounts to conduct government business. Gove disputed the Information Commissioner's ruling, something that cost taxpayers £12,540, and proceeded to tribunal, but the appeal was subsequently withdrawn.

It was also alleged that Gove and his advisors had destroyed email correspondence in order to avoid Freedom of Information requests. The allegation was denied by Gove's department who stated that deleting email was simply part of good computer housekeeping.
@PF Couldn't resist. This is for you. :D
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
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LadyCentauria
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by LadyCentauria »

ohsocynical wrote:
LadyCentauria wrote:
Swarthlander wrote: Thank you and hello all.

I do have a confession.... I have two kitchens AND a utility room. :shock: No rats though.

:D
Welcome to The Haven, Swarthlander :)

I only have one kitchen and no utility room or porch – but I do have a library with a studio at one end of it.
Oooh you are lucky. I always wanted a library....
My landlord claims it's a bedroom – and, so, I pay the Under-Occupancy Penalty for it. There is an inflatable double-bed (and electric pump) in the cupboard, for those times when I have guests or need assistance overnight. But, mostly, it houses most of my bookcases and books (overspill in the other rooms) plus instruments and recording equipment. And doubles as garage-space for my mobility scooter as it's the only place I can re-charge it and keep it safely out of the elements.
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Eric_WLothian
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Eric_WLothian »

TechnicalEphemera wrote:Did anybody catch QT last night, apparently Charlie Kennedy was tired and emotional. Might have made for good TV.
It certainly looked like it - it was difficult to make out what he was saying. (although he didn't say much)!
Eric_WLothian
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Eric_WLothian »

LadyCentauria wrote:
PorFavor wrote:@ LadyCentauria

Ok. I'll come clean and risk looking a complete pillock (although it's probably too late to be worrying about that).

Please tell me - what's the significance of "I think they're for 1 a.m."?
It's the punchline to a wonderful short-story/long-joke (written, I think, by Dennis Norden) about Descartes and Madame Descartes hosting a late dinner party. It appears in a book called An Anthology of Nonsense, which I can't find at the moment. More and more guests appear, including Descartes' best friend, the food gets delayed and delayed, there are some vol-au-vents (I think) on the sideboard and Descartes' friend drifts towards them as he's getting very hungry. Descartes touches him on the arm, as he reaches for one, and passes him a hastily scribbled note which reads, "I think they're for 1 a.m."

Which has, ever since, been misread and misreported as, "I think, therefore I am." but made his reputation as a philosopher of note...
It sounds as if it might be a story he (or Frank Muir) made up for the final round of a radio programme called 'My Word'. They were each asked to give their idea of the origin of a well known phrase - and came up with explanations like this!
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AngryAsWell
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by AngryAsWell »

"A wee bit of Anti-Irish stereotyping too. I'd like to see the size of this "lazy and Irish" guy. @JeremyClarkson ? "
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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AngryAsWell
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by AngryAsWell »

A fuller account of the incident from the Mirror.
"Jeremy Clarkson called Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon 'a lazy Irish ****,' BBC probe will be told"

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/jere ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(Edit to add quotation marks)
Last edited by AngryAsWell on Fri 13 Mar, 2015 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tubby Isaacs
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

Wow.

Watch the non-shitstorm for Cameron supporting a violent racist.

(if this is true)
ohsocynical
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

Michael Nixon retweeted
Lord Ashcroft ‏@LordAshcroft 23 mins23 minutes ago

Populus Online Poll LAB 32% CON 29% LDEM 8% UKIP 18% GRNS 6%
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
ohsocynical
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

Shit. Just watched BBC News and according to them the economy is on the up.

Earlier they had featured how cuts to the Police Force had caused child abuse to be put on the back burner but it didn't take them long to revert.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
Tubby Isaacs
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

Did they thank the oil price for falling obligingly?
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LadyCentauria
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by LadyCentauria »

Tubby Isaacs wrote:Wow.

Watch the non-shitstorm for Cameron supporting a violent racist.

(if this is true)
That's just reminded me of a day when I was heading for the shops and a bunch of the local teenagers were all yelling because one of them had been insulted (dissed!) I missed the original insult but, at the point I came within hearing, I heard, "You can't call him that, it's racist." "Ain't!" "'Tis!" ...ain't, 'tis, ain't, 'tis, (repeat for half a minute at increasing volume.) Then:

"Nah bruv, it ain't racist! It's countrist!!! Innit!!!"

Stunned silence, for seconds...

Cue howls of reeling laughter from all but the lad who'd spoken last, followed by, "What? What did I say?" Then realisation dawned and they were all falling about, friendships mended.

It really tickled me and cheered my day up.

Edit for formatting purposes only
Last edited by LadyCentauria on Fri 13 Mar, 2015 11:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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RogerOThornhill
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by RogerOThornhill »

AngryAsWell wrote:A fuller account of the incident from the Mirror.
"Jeremy Clarkson called Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon 'a lazy Irish ****,' BBC probe will be told"

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/jere ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(Edit to add quotation marks)
If what they say is true then there's going to be a lot of people with some well-deserved egg on their faces.
If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.
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AngryAsWell
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by AngryAsWell »

Martin Rowson on the media furore over Ed Miliband's kitchens – cartoon

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... are_btn_tw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Tubby Isaacs
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

RogerOThornhill wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:A fuller account of the incident from the Mirror.
"Jeremy Clarkson called Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon 'a lazy Irish ****,' BBC probe will be told"

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/jere ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(Edit to add quotation marks)
If what they say is true then there's going to be a lot of people with some well-deserved egg on their faces.
Sadly not the PM.
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by mbc1955 »

RogerOThornhill wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:A fuller account of the incident from the Mirror.
"Jeremy Clarkson called Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon 'a lazy Irish ****,' BBC probe will be told"

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/jere ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(Edit to add quotation marks)
If what they say is true then there's going to be a lot of people with some well-deserved egg on their faces.
To be honest, I'm now bored with the whole thing, and couldn't give a damn what the outcome is. Apparently, Clarkson reported it to the BBC himself, over the wishes of the assistant producer, giving rise to yet more conspiracy theories, whilst the number of people willing to grant him licence to do whatever he wants as long as they get to see Top Gear on Sundays has risen far beyond the point of disgust. It's just one more reason to wash my hands of the BBC, which is no longer worth the spittle of my disgust at them.
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Tubby Isaacs
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

I see David Laws says Gove is still running Education.

That'll be a bit of a downer for Durham Free School's fan club.
Tubby Isaacs
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

Govey's marginal seats disaster tour continues. Didn't know Cuckoo Hall Trust were in Enfield North.

http://www.northlondon-today.co.uk/News ... signations" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
AN MP has called on board members who run a free school empire in the borough to resign after it was revealed this week that two headteachers of schools run by the trust have stepped down.

Nick de Bois, MP for Enfield North, has called on those who run Cuckoo Hall Academy Trust to resign from their positions after it emerged this week that Matthew Laban, headteacher of Kingfisher Hall Primary Academy, in The Ride, Enfield Highway, has resigned as has Alison Edmonds, headteacher of Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy in Nightingale Lane, Edmonton.
Eric_WLothian
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Eric_WLothian »

RobertSnozers wrote: Didn't stop him undoing all the good work everyone in the Better Together campaign had done with that astonishingly ill-advised speech the day of the No vote which more or less went back on everything the Scots thought they'd been promised.

Cameron's comments were also a tiny bit rich following his efforts to lock in Tory hegemony with the constituency changes.
True, although I think the stage was set by 'no' campaign panicking over the result of a single opinion poll. The crucial phrase is "thought they'd been promised" - in fact nothing specific was promised. Additional powers for the Scottish Parliament were already in the pipeline in the form of the Scotland Act 2012. Gordon Brown's last minute intervention was, imo, unfortunate in that it gave the SNP (through the Smith Commission) a peg on which to hang further perceived grievances. The vote was for independence - yes or no - nothing more.
letsskiptotheleft
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by letsskiptotheleft »

Is this a supposedly lesson on how to take the piss?

For it be that it at least has to have a smidgen of credibility?

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... onceivable" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Eric_WLothian
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Re: Friday 13th March 2015

Post by Eric_WLothian »

letsskiptotheleft wrote:Is this a supposedly lesson on how to take the piss?

For it be that it at least has to have a smidgen of credibility?

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... onceivable" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
From the linked article:
The latest Guardian polls projection suggests the Tories would win 279 seats, down 27, Labour would win 266, up eight, the Lib Dems would be down 30 on 27 while the SNP would see a dramatic increase from six to 53 MPs.
27 Lib Dems? Electoral Calculus have 17.
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