@thevfmaddict
Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
Rider to the above Post –
It follows, Dave, in that I have proven that fixing the fines to any particular currency is not required then either I have more brains than the whole of the EU hierarchy put together in finding a non currency based equitable solution – or – the fixing to the Euro was used for a conspiratorial reason.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
Hmm, let me see. Pricing in Euros is some deep dark conspiracy. Talk about 2 + 2 = 22! Which currency should they be priced in? Whichever one you pick (or localise them all) you will have the same issue. As circumstances change one group will be better off compared to another. Of course 2 years ago the shoe would have been on the other foot. Who do we have to thank for the drop in Sterling’s value?
I think you missed the point totally, Dave. It was not whether we pay more of less than those in the Eurozone. So there is no ‘other foot’. The issue was that we in the UK will not be treated equally compared to others in the UK. Because we all face different fines and penalties dependent on the exchange rate on the day. That cannot be right, can it?
Why fix it to any currency? The GDPR could be based on a far more equitable base line. After all a fine of X Euros is not even equitable within the Eurozone because certain states have wealthier populations and the fine would therefore be harsher than on others. An equitable base line is possible though. For example, 50 times average national income in member state at date of GDPR enactment. That way you have equity both within a state and fairly balanced equity between states, irrespective of whether they are in or outside the Eurozone generally poorer or wealthier. So no, Dave, it doesn’t need to be fixed to the Euro or to any currency, does it?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
Westmonger is like Boris it picks and chooses its facts. From exactly the same source: “We first asked whether people thought the Brexit vote was right or wrong. The result was a four-point lead for “wrong,” with 47 percent to 43 percent for “right,” and 10 per cent undecided.” i.e the majority thought that it was wrong to leave the EU!
You are right re the figures you quote. Nonetheless I have met a fair few folk who voted remain and would vote remain again were there a 2nd Referendum but adopt a Voltaire-like position now. “I don’t agree with the verdict but I would defend to the death democracy first and the democratic vote was Leave.” The thing is if one doesn’t carry through with this verdict, what other democratic mandate could equally be subverted in the future? Indeed, there have been a huge number of governments that have fallen so far from grace within two and a half years of being elected that their election result could also be overturned within 2.5 years. Should that happen too? I didn’t vote remain but I do believe if I had I might side now with the Leavers simply because I do value democracy more.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
And hot off the press its 52% v 36% for Leave.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
I have noted in this general forum several comments re GDPR (the New EU Data Protection Directive, now law). I wonder if anyone has read it in full? Or read the changes made because of it to the Data Protection Act 1998 (which is now the DPA 2018) and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I use the FOIA and DPA often, typically against public authorities and have read it in full.
The GDPR contains an ominous new device by the EU to add pressure to member states to join the Euro. I can see it being used increasingly in future directives. The trick is to set fixed fines and penalties in Euro’s. The consequence is patently against all principles of the common law legal principle of Natural Justice. Let me explain.
If you and I commit the identical offence in the UK but on different days then we face different maximum penalties dependent on the Euro > Sterling exchange rate on that day. Just imagine that re other offences – “Yes Mr Adams, you were caught speeding on Tuesday so your fine was £100 but Mr Willis was caught of Friday so his was only £91”. I am currently researching a legal challenge to this. It prima facie appears to breach the Human Rights Legislation. Fortunately such challenge would sit with the ECHR and not with the ECJ.
I imagine that all here can see that this new approach of setting fines and penalties in Euro’s is a direct challenge to a state’s sovereignty. While the GDPR allows states to set its own criminal laws re Data Protection it equally emphatically bars any action which breaches the principle of (in plain English) double jeopardy, as they see it. Effectively under GDPR you cannot pursue both criminal and civil redress for the same course of conduct. Again this is against English Common law principles because under such one may pursue both criminal complaint and seek civil remedy for the injury to oneself, one’s property or one’s interests.
I reject any comments that we retained sovereignty because we agreed to the GDPR. I suspect not one Minister, not one MP and not one Civil Servant even spotted the above or considered its consequences such as to give fully informed consent to its enactment.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
What you’re actually saying is that that which we believed was securely hidden by cryptography will in reality be crystal clear……………
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
You don’t need to convince me either, Dave. I’ve never bought a new lappie and never would. Let someone else take the financial hit that occurs when the box a new laptop comes in is opened. You can almost see a large chunk of money floating off instantly into the sky.
Besides laptops of the nature of their typical use suffer more physical abuse than a desktop. Kitchen tables are dangerous places for such wee things. I would hazard a guess that far less than 5% of laptops ever survive to what should be their usable life. Laptop keyboards, always a vulnerability, these days are not as easily replaced as they once were. So bash them too hard, give them a taste of one’s coffee or the wayward cat’s claws lift a keycap or two and it is quite often exit laptop stage left to trash can; after the ram and sdd/hd has been removed of course.
A refurb/used lappie in good to excellent condition seems to me the only rational choice. Less cost at the outset and less loss when the inevitable occurs. And when the inevitable does occur simply go grab another one.
Looking at the market though such opportunities are diminishing almost by the day. A lot of folks who once had company laptops are now issued instead with tablets. So the number of ex-company laptops on the market is very noticeably falling. I can name around a half dozen used laptop retailers in the UK who have in the last eighteen months ceased trading totally or at least in that sector. The ones that remain seem in general to have less stock. Sad.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
Sorry, Dave, I took it from your phrase ‘Conservatives especially’. If you were referring to my believing that you said you’d leave the UK if Corbyn got in, then no you did not say that in the post above but elsewhere, which IIRC. was somewhere in this thread.
I certainly wasn’t trying to distract from the negative issues of Brexit any more than you were from the positive issues. Neither of us can know for sure how things will go if there were to be a hard Brexit. What I do know is that the forecasts from the experts of what would happen the day after the referendum if we voted Leave could not have been more inaccurate than they were. They said unemployment would rise immediately and that we would go into recession with four quarters of negative growth. We all now know how wrong they were. It was the same predictions a few years back if we did not join the Euro. And how many experts predicted the Banking crash of a few years back which was catastrophic !!! If anything the rule of thumb seems to be expect the opposite of what the experts predict when it comes to financial forecasts. I don’t know if you are aware but the the Director General of the WTO has discredited the fear and doom predictions from the treasury.
Roberto Azevêdo told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s not going to be the end of the world, in the sense that trade is going to stop and that everything is going to fall down, no.” “But it’s not going to be a walk in the park either.” Which to me seems a balanced position. I think most Leavers expected such when they voted. Short term some quite significant turbulence but far better mid-term to long-term prospects being out. Don’t forget, Dave, that the EU’s share of world trade has been falling for thirty years and if anything the decline is increasing. On top of that the EU has big financial problems and political ones too. Those who remain will carry huge burdens. TBH when Merkel falls I cannot see the Germans being willing to carry the heavy financial load they have done and Macron does not really have the gravitas to rally the other states.
As for politics, as much as I dislike Trump he has established a new paradigm or perhaps reminded us of an old one. That is that politicians who actually do what was said on the tin are respected by the majority of the electorate. Populism as I see it is a term that has always been hijacked and used as a term of abuse. Should it be? Surely populism is at the very core of democracy, politicians doing what they said they would do in their manifesto’s; that is to say what was proven popular with the electorate by the fact that they got elected.
We have different opinions you and I but what I know for certain is that the question of whether a full Brexit would be good or bad for the UK is an unknown until, as the Yanks say, “we suck it and see”. If not this time then sure as hell the Eurosceptics in all political parties and Leavers in the electorate as a whole are not going to vanish until that core question is answered conclusively.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
The way you are ranting about the Tories do I detect you now want Labour? I’m confused ????? I was sure you said you’d leave the UK if Corbyn got in.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
Bob, it was all explained in a book, the Petter Principle I think it was called. People advance until they just cross their final fronter of incompetence. In other words when the bull* becomes short supplied they can no longer ride the crest of the wave. Anyway, hopefully your problems will soon be done and dusted – why do I fear that will not really be the case? Still we can live in hope for you.
Yep that’s true and often described in short as people being promoted to their level of incompetence. Makes sense really because if you do a job well you usually get promoted. You only stop getting promoted when you are crap at the job you are doing. The only company which I know of that tries very hard indeed to avoid such is Tesco’s who work their Traffic Light System like clockwork. When classifying an employee Green meaning ready for promotion focus is always on likely competency in the new potential role rather than competency in their current role. As far as possible they test individuals in ‘Acting As’ roles during superiors’ holidays and maternity leave, etc. I’ve a lot of time for Tesco’s senior store managers. They are usually class acts and truly worth the £100-120K that the managers of the larger stores are paid.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
@Wheels, you are assuming that the EU will blink before we do. Unfortunately we are entering the dangerous phase of negotiation where people throw logic out of the window and just say ‘sod you’. I have certainly seen that happening during Corporate negotiations.
If only that were true. I’d love it if May said ‘sod you’ to the EU. She’s done this all the wrong way round. In negotiation you go in hard and then soften if need be. You don’t go in soft and then try to harden up. It never works that way. So now the only hard option is the nuclear one – a full sod off and no divorce payment. Besides if its a no deal then the £39B would ease the short term turbulence for us and worsen it for the EU, especially Germans who are already sick to death of carrying the heavy lift financial burden for the EU. A no deal and the fall of Merkel I suspect would be the death of the political side of the EU and it might get back to being what the common market was supposed to be a trading agreement not a political superstate. I have no problem with that and may even vote yes to it.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
@VFM — pilferage is one of the major problems that stuffs up a fully integrated sales/reordering system. Although it is possible to think of ways of using technology such as RFID to monitoring stock being moved around it is probably more cost effective just to do inventory spot checks on the goods that are found to break or ‘walk’ the most, and link shortages with the reordering process. As Lidl only pay bare minimum wages using staff spare time is probably the cost effective route.
I agree but why would that not be the same across all spermarkets. So why is it that Lidl and Aldi alone do manual ordering? As for spare time you must have better eyesight than me. Finding an assistant with ‘spare time’ in those stores is pretty much impossible. By chance I knew a Lidl branch manager for a short while. They are on bonuses for reducing staff. Indeed more so than for increasing branch sales. That’s why the queues are so long at the checkouts. Better to have a few customers give up and leave the store rather than have an extra member of staff on check-outs. Crazy to my mind. Perhaps that’s why Aldi despite having less stores are outperforming Lidl.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
Just to correct false impressions I was not being Luddite in my thinking, however anything that buys time to allow reality to sink into the moribund techno-phobic brains of our politicians would be a good thing. “It will take people to test, order replacements including doing the (electronic) ‘paperwork’ via a new series of chains.” Btw over 20 years ago the linking of the General Ledger to purchase order-entry to POS boxes, high-rise automated warehouses and ‘picking’ algorithms pretty much ripped the guts out of that particular business sector. Many companies now only have jobs for a few buyers, replacing the 40 or 50 people who previously staffed that particular job stream — been there and implemented such stuff (SAP ran a lot of it).
The whole ‘Just in Time’ model with central warehouses wiped thousands and thousands of sales jobs off the job market. Until that occurred all the big FMCG companies had hundreds of reps on the road visiting each store, doing stock checks and taking orders that would be delivered direct to each store. I was in that game in my early twenties and visited most big chain outlets like Tesco’s outlets, Woolworths, etc., in NW London on a two weekly sales cycle. I would bump into dozens of other such reps from Mars, Unilever, Heinz, etc., etc., every day. Central purchasing and JIT wiped out thousands and thousands of sales jobs in a few short years.
What truly surprises me today is that the big discounters, Lidl and Aldi, do not link sales at checkout to ordering. Their Managers manually stock check on shelf daily with a handheld scanner and that generates the order. That makes no sense to me. Surely the figures could in effect be taken from checkout sales. I can only assume that because stuff gets thrown about in those stores they anticipate a very high and variable level of breakages and that can only feed into the system if the Managers assess usable remaining stock daily.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
It’s OK ed, don’t worry as after brexit our labour will be cheaper than idea. We will be all making clothing for the likes of primark. there will be loads of work, I’ve all ready started to teach my young ones to use a sewing machine, and how to stich on sequins . ?
WOW…. So you are upping sticks and leaving the UK after Brexit. Which part of India or Bangladesh are you moving to? That’s where all our clothing comes from.??? But look on the bright side. We will be able to do our own free trade deal with you without Brussels being involved.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
VHM You lost me when you cited the f-+king sun. LMFAO
It may have lost you Duke but it hasn’t lost Robbie Gibb, No10’s Director of Communications. He is not contesting the finding and reports it in his Twitter account.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
But we do not have proportional representation, so that is irrelevant. Farage had only marginal electoral support, and UKIP is plagued by instances of them committing self harm. Just like BoJo they could not organise a booze-up in a brewery. In any case we will probably have another referendum before we have an election now the second referendum campaign has had a £1MM donation.
I can’t see that 4million plus votes is irrelevant in the context it was being discussed. It showed that Nigel Farage’s position was resonating with a sizeable percentage of the population. If one merely concentrates on seats then one would argue that had he had 50,000 voters supporting him in just one constituency (but none elsewhere) then those voters and the single seat it would have resulted in was more significant. Quite patently it would not be.
As regards a second referendum I am neutral in that I don’t care either way about there being one. I suspect there won’t be one but am certain that if there was then there would be an even greater majority for Leave. Today’s poll (Sunday 19 Aug) in The Sun is clear that more Remainers have switched to Leave that the reverse. This marries with my own experience. The bullying by the EU and by Remainers seems to have swayed Remainers towards Leave; and the sway seems motivated by a desire to uphold and defend democracy than anything else. I have heard often words akin to – “The vote was Leave and although I voted Remain if that vote is overturned how can any vote we ever make be considered of worth?” It takes little swing indeed to make the result a truly resounding LEAVE and I would bet good money that such would be the result of a second ref. As a Leaver therefore I am neither for nor against another vote, merely neutral because it won’t change the result.
Significant as I see it is that in the last year all of the voices in the main have been those of Remainers everywhere. Yet still that appears not to have impacted opinions towards Remain, quite the reverse. Thanks Blair and Clegg for much of that. Neither realise that whatever they say a large percentage will adopt the reverse position merely out of disdain for them. Once Leave gets its voice again, which Farage’s return to campaigning will ensure, I suspect public opinion may swing even more strongly towards Leave. Besides, how could we with confidence ever remain in the EU now? Seeing that we were not truly prepared to walk away there is no question that the EU would take advantage of us if we stayed. Why not? So, we would be in the same position as a partner who stays in an abusive relationship; the abuse simply continues and grows. The Rubicon has been crossed. One ignores that which we all know is human nature to conclude otherwise.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
I think that to say that Farage never got elected is to miss the point and is somewhat at odds with your normal rant about the inequalities of FPTP. The reality is of course that he managed to get 4 million plus votes for UKIP. Such is very sizeable share of the vote which would in a proportionate system have given UKIP many dozens of seats.
The latest polling is that a very sizeable percentage of Labour voters would support a single issue party dedicated to delivering a full Brexit. Therefore Labour has as much to fear from Farage’s return as do the Tories.
Laugh as much as you like but the betting odds have been shortening very dramatically over the last week or two regarding Boris becoming leader. The reality is that he is now favourite. And Farage’s return can only cause those odds to shorten further. Who else in the Tory party has any chance whatsoever of capturing both the Labour voters who remain intent on a full Brexit and retaining the Tory voters who are also such (the majority of the Tory party membership). Moreover, Boris has a proven track record of capturing Labour voters having twice taken London from Labour, a significant achievement. It is true that most Tory MPs would not of choice desire Boris as leader but I suspect that they desire losing their seats even less.
One area where I might agree with you is that there exists a not inconsiderable prospect of a left wing government after the next election. Not a Labour majority but a coalition with the wicked witch of the north. Because it could be that only a Labour and SNP coalition could command a majority in the HoC. But what price would Labour have to pay for SNP support? A second Scot IndyRef at the very least I would suspect. I seem to recall you stating that you would leave the UK if Corbyn became PM. So I presume you do not welcome the prospect of such happening.
Of one thing we do appear in total agreement, Dave. These truly are Interesting Times.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
Well, Farage is back. He’s going on the road with Leave means Leave and as the UKIP Leadership is up for re-election next March the chances are he will stand. I think this makes BoJo odds on as next Tory leader because even the Tory MPs know that he is the only leader that might be able to appear pro-Brexit enough to stop a major Tory voter bleed to UKIP.
Interesting times ahead.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
Not so sure about that, Bob. From what the opinion polls say about her personal standing she’s already well f@%$ed……lol
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
I wrote the following yesterday.
I wonder if May has seen today’s YouGov Survey. The writing is on the wall yet again, revealing that Immigration Control is still a HUGE issue. Folks rarely voice it up front because of fear of being called racist. But polls show it. If May fails to retake FULL control of immigration in whatever deal she eventually agrees then the Tories will be slaughtered at the next GE. There is no question whatsoever about that. Like it or not polls have shown that the only Tory with any chance of beating Corbyn is BoJo. Gove, Javid and Hunt have been shown in polls to fall far behind Corbyn. Paradoxically, although I am a staunch Brexiteer, I do not agree with the sentiments of either of the two paragraphs above although I acknowledge the reality of them. I am very pro-immigration albeit with a level playing field that gives non-EU citizens equal opportunity with EU citizens. My reason for leaving was always identical to that of Tony Benn; which was that the EU is inherently non-democratic. Such is surely so given that the EU (the institution not the 27 other member states) is committed to ensuring we don’t get a good deal for fear other member states may leave. Give that some thought. Is that not the ‘institution’ putting its needs and desires first before those of its individual members’ right of self-determination? As regards BoJo, I am not convinced that he is generally the ideal Tory Leader. But I do acknowledge the fact that he is the only Tory with realistic prospect of beating Corbyn. He would drive for a true Brexit rather than Brino. Therefore he may well be the right man for the moment. In this respect (although only in that respect) he might indeed be somewhat like his hero Churchill in that he will get the current job done only to be booted out (as was WC in 1946) after the battles were won. I spoke to two Tory activists last night who also hold this view and tell me it is pretty much the growing consensus among party members. They’ll fight for BoJo because he has a chance of winning but have little appetite for fighting for any of those who have pledged allegiance to what they see as the Chequers Sell-Out. Gove’s currency in particular is nose-diving with the party grassroots. One of those local association members said not to rule out an outsider. She told me that if Penny Mordaunt abandon’s May fairly soon she might well become Tory leader. She is liked both by Tory MP’s and by grassroot Tories. This being so she could become one of the final two candidates that the Tory MPs put to the party. Carrying little past baggage Penny could well beat BoJo or anyone else she was up against. I wasn’t so sure. But the more I think about it today the more I realise that it could indeed happen. I think I’ll check out the betting odds because she could be a very good outside bet if one gets one’s money on early enough. EDIT – 33/1. Had to be worth a small punt. £20 on instantly.
Now look what gets posted on ConservativeHome today. It seems that the tip I got about Penny Mordaunt was indeed spot on. Far, far better than a 33/1 outsider.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.
-
AuthorPosts