Friday 27th March 2015

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refitman
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Friday 27th March 2015

Post by refitman »

Morning all.
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LadyCentauria
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by LadyCentauria »

Mornin' :)

Here's a cheery start to the day: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-32071377
Election 2015: Who won the interview contest on social media?
Ed Miliband, who faced audience questioning first, traced a somewhat better trend line while answering questions about economic policy and Labour's previous performance in government - he ended the debate with cheers outweighing boos 53-47.
Apparently he's the first politician ever to emerge with more 'cheers' than 'boos', according to Carl Miller from Demos.
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frightful_oik
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by frightful_oik »

Morning all. Just read some of my posts from last night. I felt Ed handled Paxman better than Cameron did. Burley was a disgrace as expected.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by yahyah »

Morning,

Was half asleep earlier but heard Norman Smith saying that post interview polls showed Cameron just pipped it in terms of a win, but more people said they would be open to moving to Labour after what they'd seen.

If anyone sees the actual figures for that anywhere, please can you post them.
Seems positive if true.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by Willow904 »

frightful_oik wrote:Morning all. Just read some of my posts from last night. I felt Ed handled Paxman better than Cameron did. Burley was a disgrace as expected.
After all the excessive deferential "Mr Prime Minister" stuff the way she spoke to Ed was shocking. It's never okay to bring someone's mum into confrontational politics imo. He'd answered the brother question thoroughly and well and the mum comment just sounded spiteful, like Paxman's "are you alright". Why wouldn't he be alright, he'd just given as good as he got.
The reaction on twitter was encouraging, though. Cameron definitely has more to lose with every appearance and Ed everything to gain.

Edited because I'm not actually awake yet, clearly.
Last edited by Willow904 on Fri 27 Mar, 2015 8:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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danesclose
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by danesclose »

yahyah wrote:Morning,

Was half asleep earlier but heard Norman Smith saying that post interview polls showed Cameron just pipped it in terms of a win, but more people said they would be open to moving to Labour after what they'd seen.

If anyone sees the actual figures for that anywhere, please can you post them.
Seems positive if true.
Morning yahyah. AS blog at the other place gave it 54 46 to Cameron but given the number of shills posting there I'm surprised it was so close.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by yahyah »

ICM poll: 56% of undecided voters say they may change their mind & now vote Labour, compared to 30% for the Tories.

:clap:
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by Swarthlander »

Good Morning. :D

I'm biased but I think Ed Miliband did well last night. He got some awful questions and handled them well.
Paxman came across, to me, as a sneering bully and both he and Burley got very personal with EM. They were attacking the man not the ball, being snidey whilst smiling.
I don't know where they found the audience but it certainly wasn't neutral.

IMHO, Ed did very well.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by yahyah »

YouGov poll:
Con 36
Lab 34
UKIP 13
Lib Dem 7
Green 5
utopiandreams
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by utopiandreams »

Have just posted this in the other place, complete with typos too
As interesting or entertaining as these so-called debates may be, just a series of loaded questions whichever party you support, Cameron still chickened out of a head to head.

Now that that's been covered, we have been given a choice between competence and chaos. Somewhat remarkable considering who is giving us such choice. I shall be compiling a catalogue of errors or an index of incompetencies that may be applied to the last five years.
So having now said so in two places, I must really pull my finger out. Meanwhile an incoming text has just delayed that for yet a little longer.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

Bernadette Meaden ‏@BernaMeaden 8 mins8 minutes ago

Oh dear. Conservatives have sent #GrantShapps on to #r4today to tell us how David Cameron won the #BattleForNumber10 #convincing
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

I've woken up feeling angry and hopeless...
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by refitman »

Swarthlander wrote:Good Morning. :D

I'm biased but I think Ed Miliband did well last night. He got some awful questions and handled them well.
Paxman came across, to me, as a sneering bully and both he and Burley got very personal with EM. They were attacking the man not the ball, being snidey whilst smiling.
I don't know where they found the audience but it certainly wasn't neutral.

IMHO, Ed did very well.
I don't think Paxman was that bad, interviewer-wise. The choice of questions is another matter.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by yahyah »

ohsocynical wrote:I've woken up feeling angry and hopeless...

May I give you a :hug: OhSo.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by yahyah »

Have just seem that end clip when Ed obviously thought fliming was over, Paxman must have known it would get shown.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by utopiandreams »

ohsocynical wrote:I've woken up feeling angry and hopeless...
Perhaps you need a weekend free of the msm, ohsocynical. Just try to enjoy it, I'm sure there are things that may bring you joy.

Edit: I believe there was once a TV programme along the lines of 'Turn off the telly and do something else instead'. I used to find myself giving computing students similar advice regarding the computer, which is equally applicable to all of us now, especially those who regularly post and follow fora or other forms of social media.
Last edited by utopiandreams on Fri 27 Mar, 2015 8:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by TechnicalEphemera »

yahyah wrote:Have just seem that end clip when Ed obviously thought fliming was over, Paxman must have known it would get shown.
I think Miliband knew the mic would be open, which is why he gave an instant and fairly sharp reply.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by yahyah »

utopiandreams wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:I've woken up feeling angry and hopeless...
Perhaps you need a weekend free of the msm, ohsocynical. Just try to enjoy it, I'm sure there are things that may bring you joy.

Good point UD.
I've done less country walking and spent more time online this week and it does affect the mood.

But at the moment it is hard not to get hooked in. So much seems at stake.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

@PF
Goodnight. And to ohsocynical (if you're loitering). I'm not still up when you're going to bed, as a rule, and you always say night night to me!
From last night.

So sorry PF. Meant to then got distracted by Mr Ohso. We don't normally talk politics but did quite a lot yesterday. Also talking a lot about Richard 111 and he doesn't let the fact I'm on the computer or doing other things stop him when he's in full flow.

Went to bed with mixed feelings about the so called debate and still feel the same way this morning with anger being the predominant emotion.

Okay, so I'm voting Labour no matter what this time, but if I was undecided and wanted to hear policies from both sides to help me make up my mind, last night was a total farce.

We deserve better.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by LadyCentauria »

ohsocynical wrote:I've woken up feeling angry and hopeless...
Oh, Ohso :hug: for you, m'dear.
And the social media result (I linked to the BBC article about it up there ^) gave Ed the win and said he was the first ever politician to do so well!
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by PorFavor »

Did anyone catch the Grant Shapps interview, please?
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by Lonewolfie »

Morneveaft...

Just dropping in quickly (much busyness today) to say...

Watched the 'interviews/audience questions' with a sinking heart - 'oooh, that nice Mr Cameron, he looks so nice and sounds great and he's obviously born to lead' fawn fawn genuflect (although Paxo gave a (very light) stuffing (sag and onio?) and...tsk, Miliband, you're just so...well...tut, what about your brother hey?...your brother? Why are you so glum? Eh? Why?

...so pleased to see that some people actually saw what was going on - it seems everyone except 'on-message' Tories gave it to Ed. However, it's an example of quite how low and unintelligent our supposed media is...'roll up, roll up, read all abart it - who won the interview?' WTF? How do you 'win' an interview? A highlight for me - whilst sitting out of the way (Mrs Wolfie has developed a rather pleasing dislike for Cameron and would not be drawn into watching it so watched on PC), in burst Wolflet No2 - "wtf is that sh!t?" she asked, relating to what she'd seen from Chicken Dave (full 36 mins) to the first 5 mins of Mr Ed..."why are they being like that to him?". Normally calm and placid, if it was that obvious (not that Wolflet No2 wouldn't get angry about stuff, but it's unusual to verbalise (and to hunt me out to do so)) many more will have seen the bias.

Still, at least it's knocked 'Little Willie and the Government rout' out of the headlines.

This has worried me a bit though...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ed ... ar_twitter

...I rather hoped he'd got some protection officers, just in case.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by PorFavor »

Oh -

Good morfternoon, everyone.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

You are a lovely lot.
I am going to some charity shops later. If I can find a few good books that'll help.

Mr Ohso caught a bit about last night on Radio 4 as he was taking J to work, they heard a caller saying how disgraceful it was and Mr Ohso was gobsmacked when J our grandson said he'd watched it and couldn't figure out what it was supposed to do.
I've been trying to get J to take voting seriously and to register, but as he has special needs I'm always careful not to push my beliefs onto him [except for steering clear of UKIP because he's so impressionable] so technically he was an undecided.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by yahyah »

Am off for shopping, library and lunch out soon but please can you get this across on social media etc.
I may be clinging at straws but I think it significant. Mike Smithson has tweeted what I posted earlier.

Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 10h10 hours ago
ICM leaders' programme poll: Amongst undecided voters it was Ed 56% to Dave's 30%

Surely it must be good for Labour, how undecideds vote will be very important on May 7th.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

I was so mad last night I Tweeted Fucking Paxman, which I have no doubt shocked a few of my more religious and elderly followers. :shock:
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. – Aesop
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by Lonewolfie »

ohsocynical wrote:I've woken up feeling angry and hopeless...
Umm - I feel I should say something about living in hope (just north of Peterborough and rapidly approaching Landslide) but time is against me...I believe the light (can't use Sun or Sky) is starting to pierce the Murkydochian Mist and hope is getting brighter every day - 3 Tory Murchydochians + a lightweight audience vs Mr Ed does not a Tory majority make. (As said by Ed when Paxo sneered and spat out 'so you're going all out for a majority then (derisory snort)'...'you may be important, but you're not that important' :dance:

...and I have to say I find the 'I want to live in a 'we' not a 'me' society' very very strong :clap:

TTFN
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by RogerOThornhill »

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
yahyah wrote:Have just seem that end clip when Ed obviously thought fliming was over, Paxman must have known it would get shown.
I think Miliband knew the mic would be open, which is why he gave an instant and fairly sharp reply.
Sky have form in not switching mics off - remember Gordon Brown? Pretty sure that was deliberate.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by LadyCentauria »

A chap called Ray called into LBC, earlier (Andrew Pierce is standing in for Nick Ferrari) to say that Paxman hadn't done his homework properly on the first question asked of Cameron – because he'd only quoted the food-bank figures for Trussell Trust ones (from 66 in 2010 to over 400 now.) The caller said he's done his own research on the matter and, including TT, there are now over 3,000! I think he said three-thousand, two-hundred, and ninety but was sort of shocked into partial-deafness...
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by Willow904 »

ohsocynical wrote:I was so mad last night I Tweeted Fucking Paxman, which I have no doubt shocked a few of my more religious and elderly followers. :shock:
If you see Lonewolfie's link above, Ed Miliband was intimidated and physically assaulted by a small group of "protesters" at lunchtime yesterday.

Come the evening he's being asked "why so gloomy" - strangest question ever. And "are you alright?". If Burley and Paxman knew what had happened earlier in the day, then it just makes their comments and aggressively personal onslaught even more unpleasant.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by StephenDolan »

ICM Guardian poll is set in stone, that's the Fact. This fact shall be the cornerstone of any articles by the media regarding the debates. There shall be no mention of yet another reference to Ivan. No reference to the questions Burley asked both of them. Forget viewing, making your own opinion and writing about it, it was the poll.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by StephenDolan »

The line of questioning taken was so partisan MrsD (who was half watching) was fuming at Burley's snide and Paxman's personal questions. For those who watched, it was naked.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by ohsocynical »

LadyCentauria wrote:A chap called Ray called into LBC, earlier (Andrew Pierce is standing in for Nick Ferrari) to say that Paxman hadn't done his homework properly on the first question asked of Cameron – because he'd only quoted the food-bank figures for Trussell Trust ones (from 66 in 2010 to over 400 now.) The caller said he's done his own research on the matter and, including TT, there are now over 3,000! I think he said three-thousand, two-hundred, and ninety but was sort of shocked into partial-deafness...

I couldn't believe Dave's answer to the foodbank question.

It roughly went: Labour never used to tell claimants about food banks. :?

I then started calling Dave a lying you know what so missed the rest of what he said, but it either inferred there were always a lot but no-one knew about them :?

Or there are now a lot because job centres refer people to them so they've had to open more to keep up with demand. :?
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by SpinningHugo »

1) Paxman ate Cameron alive. The idea that he was biased is a joke in my view. Cameron got just as tough a time as Miliband and didn't cope with it well.

2) Burley was far more interventionist with Miliband, but the reason was clear. The audience section with Cameron was very flat. He was given bland questions that he could give stock answers to. He was allowed to recover from the tough time Paxman gave him. Burley was clearly told to intervene a bit more. This helped Miliband as his section with the audience went well.

3) Miliband did get more snide remarks about his character than Cameron, indeed some of them weren't really questions. But, the biggest question for most people is whether Miliband is up to it. It was good for him to face tough, indeed rude, inquisitors, It is how he won the night.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by TechnicalEphemera »

Willow904 wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:I was so mad last night I Tweeted Fucking Paxman, which I have no doubt shocked a few of my more religious and elderly followers. :shock:
If you see Lonewolfie's link above, Ed Miliband was intimidated and physically assaulted by a small group of "protesters" at lunchtime yesterday.

Come the evening he's being asked "why so gloomy" - strangest question ever. And "are you alright?". If Burley and Paxman knew what had happened earlier in the day, then it just makes their comments and aggressively personal onslaught even more unpleasant.
I suspect Paxman assumed the mic was off, and was probably asking the question on the basis of the above.

Makes Miliband's performance even more impressive.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by frightful_oik »

Pienaar called it for Milliband on 5Live.
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you-
Ye are many - they are few."
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by RogerOThornhill »

Paxman was wrong about the forecast of Polish workers who might come here after access arrangements were changed - it wasn't a government forecast at all.

Prof says his '13,000 EU migrants' report 'misinterpreted'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21682810
The economist who predicted that opening UK borders to 10 new EU countries in 2004 would increase the population by 13,000 a year has accused MPs of misinterpreting his figures.
Politicians have said the forecast was "spectacularly wrong" and "laughable".
But Prof Christian Dustmann believes none can have read his 2003 report.
He said it made clear immigration would be much higher if, as happened, Germany and other countries decided to curb access to their labour markets.
He told the BBC that at the time he was compiling the report, which was commissioned by the Home Office, "everybody expected" that "other countries, in particular Germany, would likewise open up their labour markets".
Although some Conservative MPs voiced fears when the report was published in June 2003 that Germany would seek to impose restrictions - and called for the UK to do likewise - Germany did not confirm its plans with the European Commission until November 2003.
Why the question anyway - Miliband wasn't even an MP when that happened. If it was supposed to be about who runs the country after May, asking about something when he wasn't even in the Commons seems very odd.

In fact, Ed wasn't even in the country in 2003 let alone in the HoC!
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by LadyCentauria »

ohsocynical wrote:
LadyCentauria wrote:A chap called Ray called into LBC, earlier (Andrew Pierce is standing in for Nick Ferrari) to say that Paxman hadn't done his homework properly on the first question asked of Cameron – because he'd only quoted the food-bank figures for Trussell Trust ones (from 66 in 2010 to over 400 now.) The caller said he's done his own research on the matter and, including TT, there are now over 3,000! I think he said three-thousand, two-hundred, and ninety but was sort of shocked into partial-deafness...

I couldn't believe Dave's answer to the foodbank question.

It roughly went: Labour never used to tell claimants about food banks. :?

I then started calling Dave a lying you know what so missed the rest of what he said, but it either inferred there were always a lot but no-one knew about them :?

Or there are now a lot because job centres refer people to them so they've had to open more to keep up with demand. :?
I just snarled "Lie!" Yes. He said, "but we made it possible for Jobcentres to point people towards them." So very careful not to use the 'signpost' work, oh yes, my precious, sneak EmptyDave isss ;)

I really wish they'd both been asked the same questions. I'd hope that Ed would have been able to point out that people used to be able to go to a Jobcentre(Plus?) on the day, see someone, explain the problem, and usually get a counter-payment (giro,) if they waited for it, which they could cash at the nearest post office. I think, but couldn't swear to it, that the few food-banks which existed then mostly looked after refugees and asylum seekers, plus street-homeless, and occasionally, people who hadn't received benefit payments.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by StephenDolan »

A decent, supportive Mark Ferguson piece. No, really! http://labourlist.org/2015/03/morale-bo ... r-cameron/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by adam »

SpinningHugo wrote:1) Paxman ate Cameron alive. The idea that he was biased is a joke in my view. Cameron got just as tough a time as Miliband and didn't cope with it well.

2) Burley was far more interventionist with Miliband, but the reason was clear. The audience section with Cameron was very flat. He was given bland questions that he could give stock answers to. He was allowed to recover from the tough time Paxman gave him. Burley was clearly told to intervene a bit more. This helped Miliband as his section with the audience went well.

3) Miliband did get more snide remarks about his character than Cameron, indeed some of them weren't really questions. But, the biggest question for most people is whether Miliband is up to it. It was good for him to face tough, indeed rude, inquisitors, It is how he won the night.
I agree with all of this, although I think it's almost necessary to add that Paxman's final 'still-open-mic' question was a disgrace.

For OhSo in particular - I accept entirely that the things I say (the things we all say) are loaded with our own prejudices, confirmation biases and so on (I recommend 'Rashomon' by Akira Kurosawa on how all people can ever do is tell self-serving stories) but still, with that in mind...

About half of the Conservative's campaign strategy is 'Miliband is Useless' (and the other half is 'LongTermEconomicPlan). For Miliband to be so close to Cameron in opinion poll feedback and for the commentariat reaction to be so positive about Miliband is a disaster of the first magnitude for Cameron and the Conservatives. They have hardly anywhere left to go.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

utopiandreams wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:I've woken up feeling angry and hopeless...
Perhaps you need a weekend free of the msm, ohsocynical. Just try to enjoy it, I'm sure there are things that may bring you joy.

Edit: I believe there was once a TV programme along the lines of 'Turn off the telly and do something else instead'. I used to find myself giving computing students similar advice regarding the computer, which is equally applicable to all of us now, especially those who regularly post and follow fora or other forms of social media.
Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go and Do Something Less Boring Instead?
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

My post would have been more amusing from adam (with his strapline)
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by adam »

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:My post would have been more amusing from adam (with his strapline)
My strapline is our Media and Film Department motto. We have it on posters on the classroom walls. In Latin.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

StephenDolan wrote:A decent, supportive Mark Ferguson piece. No, really! http://labourlist.org/2015/03/morale-bo ... r-cameron/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ferguson has generally been pretty good since last November's rumoured anti-Ed "plot", tbf. I think that helped him decide whose side he was really on.
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TechnicalEphemera
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by TechnicalEphemera »

adam wrote:
SpinningHugo wrote:1) Paxman ate Cameron alive. The idea that he was biased is a joke in my view. Cameron got just as tough a time as Miliband and didn't cope with it well.

2) Burley was far more interventionist with Miliband, but the reason was clear. The audience section with Cameron was very flat. He was given bland questions that he could give stock answers to. He was allowed to recover from the tough time Paxman gave him. Burley was clearly told to intervene a bit more. This helped Miliband as his section with the audience went well.

3) Miliband did get more snide remarks about his character than Cameron, indeed some of them weren't really questions. But, the biggest question for most people is whether Miliband is up to it. It was good for him to face tough, indeed rude, inquisitors, It is how he won the night.
I agree with all of this, although I think it's almost necessary to add that Paxman's final 'still-open-mic' question was a disgrace.

For OhSo in particular - I accept entirely that the things I say (the things we all say) are loaded with our own prejudices, confirmation biases and so on (I recommend 'Rashomon' by Akira Kurosawa on how all people can ever do is tell self-serving stories) but still, with that in mind...

About half of the Conservative's campaign strategy is 'Miliband is Useless' (and the other half is 'LongTermEconomicPlan). For Miliband to be so close to Cameron in opinion poll feedback and for the commentariat reaction to be so positive about Miliband is a disaster of the first magnitude for Cameron and the Conservatives. They have hardly anywhere left to go.
Actually worth saying I entirely agree with Hugo's analysis, although I hadn't considered that KB had been briefed to liven it up.
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Willow904
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by Willow904 »

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
utopiandreams wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:I've woken up feeling angry and hopeless...
Perhaps you need a weekend free of the msm, ohsocynical. Just try to enjoy it, I'm sure there are things that may bring you joy.

Edit: I believe there was once a TV programme along the lines of 'Turn off the telly and do something else instead'. I used to find myself giving computing students similar advice regarding the computer, which is equally applicable to all of us now, especially those who regularly post and follow fora or other forms of social media.
Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go and Do Something Less Boring Instead?
It was a kids show about making stuff in the holidays instead of watching tv presented by children (was it made in Northern Ireland?). Needless to say it was so boring I did, indeed, turn the telly off and went and did something less boring instead, so don't remember it that well!
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by TheGrimSqueaker »

Morning all.

Some of my Daily Mail reading co-workers watched the debate last night. They have all commented on Burley's obsequiousness to Cameron and how differently she behaved toward Miliband, and Paxo's stance toward Ed; to a lady they have used the word "bullying" and also commented on how impressed they were that Miliband didn't let it phase them. Cameron definitely lost their votes last night, jury is still out as to whether they send it Ed's way.

Re. the final open mic comment, it illustrated perfectly Paxman's overweening self regard, the fact that he assumed that he had been so intimidating that he needed to check on the status of his victim; what neither he nor Sky were expecting was that reply, which clearly showed Ed had not been rattled by Paxo. That moment may prove significant in the long run.

The best question directed at Ed by an audience member last night, in my opinion, was the "I was born working class, now earn a lot, why do you hate me" lady; I thought it noteworthy that she was nodding all the way through Miliband's reply, presumably satisfied by what she was hearing (although, significantly, Burley didn't check that).

Today's YouGov, the weighting is frankly astonishing as are some of the subsets; they show the Conservatives in the lead again with the younger age group, they show Con/Lab virtually neck & neck in London and they show the Tories leading significantly in Wales and the Midlands. If anybody believes those figures are credible then I have a bridge for sale in which you may be interested.
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Willow904
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by Willow904 »

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
Willow904 wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:I was so mad last night I Tweeted Fucking Paxman, which I have no doubt shocked a few of my more religious and elderly followers. :shock:
If you see Lonewolfie's link above, Ed Miliband was intimidated and physically assaulted by a small group of "protesters" at lunchtime yesterday.

Come the evening he's being asked "why so gloomy" - strangest question ever. And "are you alright?". If Burley and Paxman knew what had happened earlier in the day, then it just makes their comments and aggressively personal onslaught even more unpleasant.
I suspect Paxman assumed the mic was off, and was probably asking the question on the basis of the above.

Makes Miliband's performance even more impressive.
It could explain the Paxman question, if it really was accidental, otherwise it just seemed aimed at making him look weak after a grilling. The gloomy question is still completely inexplicable to me and, if they knew about the incident earlier, extremely unfair.

My other really big beef was the way in which Miliband was asked why Labour was only level pegging in the polls. This is a stupid question that implies Labour should be doing better, that wasn't aimed at Cameron even though the Tories are also level pegging in the polls and presumably should be doing better also. It's a question for a political pundit and completely wasted time which could have been used to ask Miliband about things the voters want to hear about to help them make up their minds.

Still, the only really memorable quote of the show was "Hell yes, I'm tough enough". Oh and apparently Cameron talked about Ivan again. I missed that bit but my husband saw it - was that the bit when the audience gasped? My husband thought that was a bad sign.
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by gilsey »

Observations.

1. Dave trotted out the same line that Sam Gyimah used on Tuesday, that they'd banned exclusive zerohours contracts. Have they? Did I blink and miss it?

2. Answers from a parallel universe.
Q 'I'm a higher rate taxpayer and I feel demonised by Labour'
A 'I'm sorry you feel that way but you're not going to be queueing at a food bank any time soon, are you? That's where the poor people demonised by the Tories are.'

3. When Ed's standing for the third time in ten years, will there still be people who want to ask about his brother? And will there still be media types who think it's a really great question?
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Re: Friday 27th March 2015

Post by PorFavor »

As an aside -

Does anyone here remember "Do Not Adjust Your Set"? I was an avid watcher and thought it hilarious although, as I recall, it had a rather sinister tinge to it which probably added to my childhood fascination.
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