Thursday, November 22, 2007

See You a Bit Later - Open Thread

Another day, another funeral. Today I have to give the address at my sister's partner's mother's funeral. I seem to be making a habit of this.

No blogging until this afternoon. And soooo much to blog about!

Discuss what you like in this open thread until later.

55 comments:

  1. Just in case anyone has forgotten this is a political blog... leave football out of it.

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  2. Rumours floating of Very Bad News from Northern Rock.

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  3. Alistair Darling is Kirsty Young's guest on this week's Desert Island Discs. Unfortunately, the programme has been cut short, as he lost two of them

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  4. anon 10.37 - only down 3% at the moment. Can you flesh out the rumour any more?

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  5. anon 10.37 and marquee - nothing material to contribute, but my word ver is oveyh. Is that an omen??

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  6. It appears the call for Labour to replace Gordon Brown is getting louder and louder.

    Apparently, many Labour MPs are now suggesting it could be time for a new leader.

    Will Gordon Brown resign with (some) dignity or will he have to be dragged out of Downing Street kicking and screaming?

    It's game over for Gordon Brown and Steve MacLaren.

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  7. What about the news that one of Iain's pals, Tory golden boy Rik Willis (PPC in Sutton & Cheam last time) was caught on record praising Apartheid and Rhodesian UDI? Will that get a mention?

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  8. Will Gordon Brown resign with (some) dignity or will he have to be dragged out of Downing Street kicking and screaming?

    you have to ask?

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  9. There is one good thing about Gordon Brown. When the time comes to drag him out of number 10 (and it will have to be dragged). He wont be able to hold on by his finger nails... as it hasnt got any... bom bom

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  10. NHS .. Item on Sky News this morning about fake drugs being dispensed in the NHS.... Is this true ? It`s disappeared from the "Rolling News Board"! Another good day to bury more bad news re- this incompetent government.

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  11. More bad news being buried - the wretched HIPS scheme is being rolled out to cover ALL properties being sold from December. Talk about making a Government even more unpopular!

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  12. Flurry of announcements from the Government ! Now, one about Home information Packs. Methinks Gordon`s quaking in the No.10. Bunker after his pathetic performance at PMQ`s yesterday. The Man`s a joke.
    I wonder who pulls the strings at Sky News ?
    No more Spin. Open and Honest Goverment... "My A... strakan Coat"
    They`re churning out more News from No 10 faster than the News Desk at Reuters on a busy day !

    Jose Mourhino for England Manager
    say I....... (Sorry Iain)

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  13. I don't see how Gordo can bury his bad news at the moment!
    Don't they normally bury bad news with good news?
    Or are nulab setting new standards by burying really bad news with not so bad news?
    Or are they now creating good news (i.e. SPIN) to bury the not-so-bad-news which then buries the bad news!

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  14. When the housing market collapses I shall be able to find somewhere to live... if I still have any income of course, so I for one welcome it!!

    On another topic, Croatia is a wonderful country - when will it join the EU I wonder?

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  15. http://www.libdemvoice.org/tory-ppc-praises-apartheid-1670.html

    OMG!

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  16. What about the news that one of Iain's pals, Tory golden boy Rik Willis (PPC in Sutton & Cheam last time) was caught on record praising Apartheid and Rhodesian UDI? Will that get a mention?

    I think you'll find that he was praising Ian Smith, which isn't quite the same as praising Apartheid and UDI.

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  17. The Telegraph has reported that 'HMRC has announced new security measures that require all data moved on CDs to be encrypted.' It doesn't make clear whether the new memo has also forbidden murder, under-age sex, theft, GBH and other serious criminal activities.

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  18. From libdemvoice
    "Further evidence of the Tories’ unchanging attitudes emerges courtesy of Richard Willis, a Tory councillor in Reading and their parliamentary candidate for Sutton & Cheam in 2005. Commenting on the website PoliticalBetting.com on the recent death of Ian Smith and his white-minority-rule UDI government in Rhodesia, Mr Willis gives a ringing endorsement of Smith’s approach:

    I am very sorry to hear of the death of Ian Smith (former Rhodesian PM). He was a great leader of his country … it has been a silly platitude of the left for the last century (unfortunately all too often bought into by simple minds on the right) that the principle of democracy is more important than economic security and food on the table. … Ian Smith - may he rest in peace in the land he loved! … he was a more courageous leader than [Edward] Heath."

    Most present-day Zimbabwean blacks would be delighted to return to the relative prosperity they enjoyed under Smith.

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  19. RE: Rik Willis

    Trevor Phillips of 'Racewatch' has not only approved apartheid in the UK, he has openly recommended it.

    Er...without realising he was doing it, of course.

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  20. young pretender 12.16 said...
    "...It doesn't make clear whether the new memo has also forbidden murder, under-age sex, theft, GBH and other serious criminal activities."

    Shouldn't you be at school?

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  21. If you judge by results-
    then everyone in Zimbabwe, except for the ruling clique, was far better off under Ian Smith's regime than they are now. The country could feed itself and its farms were prosperous.

    Now whether the present inhabitants prefer to live as they do now I do not know,my family left because they did not agree with aparthied
    but
    at least Ian Smith knew how to govern
    what a pity he didn't pass on his expertise to some of our politicians!

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  22. Anon

    Young Pretender actually made a valid comment based on an absolutely ludicrous statement of the bleeding obvious made by HMRC.

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  23. Notice how George Osborne (the guy who steals all of Labour's policies) has had to be restrained from taking all of the blame over Northern Rock and losing a couple of discs.

    I think he's taking it a bit too far and he should stick to his own party agenda.

    Personally, I blame him in its entirety, but that's just me and the rest of the Country.

    Gary

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  24. Iain,

    It's a simple equation --

    Y + G = A

    Y = Your age
    G = one generation, say 25 years
    A = Age of higher mortality

    It's been happening to me ever since I passed 40. Only my 80 year old mother left now .....

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  25. Is this 'government' not able to have any 'blunder-free time'? Next on the menu, foot and mouth disease leak...is Gordon hiding in Uganda yet? Don't be surprised if his plane gets delayed on return indefinitely...

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  26. Still thinking about HMRC...

    Good news that there have actually been staff reductions in this department. I thought Brown's talk of staff reductions was just flannel, but it appears not.

    But of course, if you have a tax system of increasing, mind-blowing complexity, which gets more complicated every year AND staff reductions you are asking for trouble.

    I suspect the old, experienced tax inspectors tend to depart and the youngsters who take their place are increasingly overwhelmed and out of their depth.

    Long term solution: FEWER AND SIMPLER TAXES.

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  27. Notice how George Osborne (the guy who steals all of Labour's policies)

    what like the inheritance tax one?

    Gary, you are beyond satire. As ever. Back to your grimy pottery town and pull up the blanket. Labour are going down and there is nothing (that's 'nowt', Gary) you can do about it.

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  28. Apparently HMRC hire gormless kids and pay them poverty wages (£15k per year).

    These kids have few - or no - qualifications, they are virtually illiterate, can't do sums, etc.

    Buy cheap, buy twice.

    What do you expect?

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  29. PS> So, Gordon brown heads to Uganda for four days surprise surprise? coward, coward, coward


    A new (leaked) outbreak of Foot and Mouth?
    OK, Another surprise - or government deflection?


    You decide...

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  30. canvas hat

    none of the above, more likely a fact finding mission on how to properly run a banana republic (not that any of this current lot would be capable of that).

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  31. "Apparently, many Labour MPs are now suggesting it could be time for a new leader."

    Utter bollocks

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  32. utter bollocks indeed

    they don't have any statesmen worthy of the name

    only inexperiended whizz kids who are convinced that they know better than the rest of us and have no idea how many beans make five!

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  33. actually -that last was me I pressed the wrong buttons

    Hey Ho!story of my life!!

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  34. 2:37pm said:

    Utter bollocks

    I wouldn't have put it quite as subtly as that, but I do agree that we could do with a bit of corroboration

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  35. I'd like to know how much they were quoted by the 'outsourced' computer geeks to strip out the confidential data. It's only a database - surely a very simple job to export the records, split out the confidential fields and send off the rest - who are they trying to kid.

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  36. select a,b,c from d where e = f (and that's without a namby pamby front end interface)

    I'd have done it for them for a mere few thousand pounds.

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  37. I thought a couple of beef sandwiches would cover it (no mustard), plus of course the cost of the disc!

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  38. Charlie dog said...
    "I'd like to know how much they were quoted by the 'outsourced' computer geeks to strip out the confidential data. It's only a database - surely a very simple job to export the records, split out the confidential fields and send off the rest - who are they trying to kid."

    It is indeed very simple and would take me about 2 minutes to do. My company charges exorbitant rates to do very similar things. That's business!

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  39. The Telegraph has reported that 'HMRC has announced new security measures that require all data moved on CDs to be encrypted.'

    New measures!!
    Surely this should have been standard practice.
    This is a policy failure and a minister must answer for it

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  40. sorry to disillusion you

    but

    ministers these days
    do not take reponsibility for anything

    it is

    always

    someone else's fault...

    a junior of course!

    Leadership is an unknown talent,

    especially when people are promoted way above their gifts and talents

    or

    like throwing their weight around.

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  41. Inheritence tax was stolen from Labour and is now proven you half wit. You really should keep up with events, moron.

    Gary

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  42. canvas 2.07 - maybe he'll come back with sleeping sickness so we can all get a bit of peace.

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  43. Inheritance [sic] tax was stolen from Labour and is now proven you half wit. You really should keep up with events.

    No Gary, you staffordshire idiot, it was a panic announcement by a puppet chancellor and a lame duck leader once they realised that the tories had just shot themselves ahead in the polls.

    'proven' what a treasury paper that mentioned it once magically produced after the event and after it became untenable not to do so (not, one notes, voluntarily) constitutes proof, does it?

    With lackwits like you blindly swallowing everything the Dear Leader tells you it's no wonder labour managed to steal your pension without you noticing.

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  44. Anonymous said...
    "Apparently, many Labour MPs are now suggesting it could be time for a new leader."

    Utter bollocks

    November 22, 2007 2:37 PM

    ______

    Dear Anon -

    you think so? watch miliband carefully...
    apparently, brown could be on the way out...soon.

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  45. When you fill in your Child Benefits Form, you have to sign it. On the missing Cd's, did they also hold a copy of your signature!!!

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  46. Am I the only person who knows for sure that the 'discs' have indeed found their way into the wrong hands? Were this not the case, given the publicity, then they would certainly have been handed in. Just wait and see.

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  47. Anonymous said...
    "When you fill in your Child Benefits Form, you have to sign it. On the missing Cd's, did they also hold a copy of your signature!!!"

    No

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  48. Andrew Hurst said...
    "Am I the only person who knows for sure that the 'discs' have indeed found their way into the wrong hands? Were this not the case, given the publicity, then they would certainly have been handed in. Just wait and see."

    Chances are they are sitting in the IN tray of someone who is off sick.

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  49. canvas said...
    "So, Gordon brown heads to Uganda for four days surprise surprise? coward, coward, coward"

    The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Uganda was set 2 years ago, so the date has been in the No. 10 diary since then.

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  50. I wonder what the government will offer for information leading to the recovery of the discs. I think Stephen Rea should play Gordon in the Crimewatch reconstruction with Julie Walters as Harriet Harman and Ken Dodd as Alastair Darling.

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  51. Re Labour Leadership - the word in the upper echelons of the Jewish Community is that Milliband is busy rediscovering his roots, as his campaign will need funding.

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  52. Desperate Dan. 5.44. Isn't there already a children's TV programme about Darling and Brown called "Badger and Bodger."?

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  53. Trumpeter Lanfried said...
    Still thinking about HMRC...
    .........Long term solution: FEWER AND SIMPLER TAXES.
    November 22, 2007 1:16 PM

    Yup and its called flat tax. Everyone above a certain threshold pays the same rate (usually around 10%) above a more generous min. earnings allowance.

    Result:- treasury collects more dosh, poorer are better off, gets rid of a lot of the rebates/bebefits etc which Gordo has dreamed up resulting in big staff reductions and costs and even the rich bastards have to pay it ... no exceptions.

    Has proved successful in the newly emerging (emerged) soviet block countries. But rejected by NuLab and Tories.

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  54. Anonymous 11.04 said..
    "What about the news that one of Iain's pals, Tory golden boy Rik Willis (PPC in Sutton & Cheam last time) was caught on record praising Apartheid and Rhodesian UDI? Will that get a mention?"

    Yer - terrible man that Ian Smith - keeping good old Robert Mugabe out of office for 14 years. He should have been strung up he really should. Especially for his war record fighting the Nazis flying in a Spitfire.

    No doubt you holiday in Zim and know what a fantastic workers paradise the place has become since he gave up power.

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  55. Troll patrol. Your last comment was deleted. You have now got a yellow card. Stop insulting other posters.

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