Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

I think somebody means this:-

Oink oink ....



MPs could be allowed to submit receipt-free expenses claims

MPs could be allowed to submit expenses claims which are not backed up by receipts to make the system more streamlined.


The idea - which could prompt fears that it will encourage abuses similar to those seen in the 2009 expenses scandal - has been suggested by John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in a letter to the chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. Photo: PA


Christopher Hope By Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent
4:28PM BST 11 Aug 2013

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10236067/MPs-could-be-allowed-to-submit-receipt-free-expenses-claims.html



The idea, which could prompt fears that it would encourage abuses similar to those seen in the 2009 expenses scandal, was suggested by John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, in a letter to the chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), Sir Ian Kennedy.

Mr Bercow wrote that more than eight out of 10 MPs were not submitting claims because the system was too complex and it was not clear if the claim would be successful.

He told Sir Ian that MPs would welcome “your further consideration of ways in which the [expenses] scheme might be made easier both to administer and to comply with”. “You have recently indicated your willingness to consider the case for dealing with overnight costs and subsistence through an allowances system,” he said. “The final decision is of course a matter for you, but we are encouraged that you will approach the question with open minds.”

Mr Bercow also asked whether Ipsa would allow MPs to transfer budgets from an MP’s office to staff budgets, a process called “virement”. He said he hoped “you will keep the matter under review”. “There may also be merit in reviewing Ipsa’s policy on the handling of low-value claims,” he added.

A spokesman for Ipsa said: “Over the past three years we’ve been consistent and clear, the old system of allowances failed and there’s no going back to it. Instead, we now have a clear set of rules for business costs and expenses. This approach is cheaper, fairer and transparent. Anyone can go online and see details of every claim made by every MP.”

John Bercow has played down a report that he agreed a deal with Boris Johnson, the London mayor, to quit his Buckingham seat in the middle of the next parliament to let Mr Johnson re-enter the Commons as an MP. A spokesman for Mr Bercow said he and Mr Johnson had never discussed the idea.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=it%20now%20seems%20that%20the%20next%20general%20election%20will%20be%20decided%20by%20asian%20and%20black%20voters&source=newssearch&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC4QqQIoADAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2013%2Faug%2F12%2Fminority-ethnic-voters-key-to-next-election&ei=6bEIUpraJo3TOf2tgQg&usg=AFQjCNFdr6X6T9l0LEPj0DJgBrEVnpRZKw&bvm=bv.50500085,d.ZWU

Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, study finds

Religious people are less intelligent than non-believers, according to a new review of 63 scientific studies stretching back over decades.

A team led by Miron Zuckerman of the University of Rochester found “a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity” in 53 out of 63 studies

Even in extreme old age, intelligent people are less likely to believe, the researchers found - and the reasons why people with high IQs shun religion may not be as simple as previously thought.

Previous studies have tended to assume that intelligent people simply “know better”, the researchers write - but the reasons may be more complex.

For instance, intelligent people are more likely to be married, and more likely to be successful in life - and this may mean they “need” religion less.

The studies used in Zuckerman's paper included a life-long analysis of the beliefs of a group of 1,500 gifted children - those with IQs over 135 - in a study which began in 1921 and continues today.

Even at 75 to 91 years of age, the children from Lewis Terman’s study scored lower for religiosity than the general population - contrary to the widely held belief that people turn to God as they age. The researchers noted that data was lacking about religious attitudes in old age and say, “Additional research is needed to resolve this issue.”

As early as 1958, Michael Argyle concluded, “Although intelligent children grasp religious concepts earlier, they are also the first to doubt the truth of religion, and intelligent students are much less likely to accept orthodox beliefs, and rather less likely to have pro-religious attitudes.”

what a load of crap .... next there'll be a decades-long study proving that muslims or hindus or jews or (especially) catholics are species of sub-humans

What! Do you mean that isn't true?

No.

He means it is crap.

Also, suggests that somebody wishes the herd to support his position.

Choose your own beliefs and question them for yourself.

just looked out of the window to virgins flying past in the nude .
god sent them .
do you disbelieve .

Hey Tanks.. suggest you add more water -):

FT says .... Chris Bryant’s botched speech is a reminder that Labour does not simply have an immigration problem; it has a capitalism problem as well

i didn't think the speech was that good .... mind-boggling that a senior (shadow) minister could make or even be allowed to make such a totally crass and imbecilic speech

reckon he'll be looking for another job in the very near future!

stan . I was making a point about beliefs
religion is a fairy tale load of rubbish written by clever humans
to keep the scum down giving them hope of life after they die

you have to be stupid to believe in something that no human as ever seen .
another flying pig just past my house it was pink with a jockey on its back

judaism doesn't, and hinduism believes in reincarnation in one form or another, which is not the same as "life after death" either, and the confucians are not much interested in the hereafter either, and i am sure there are others too, so go back to school young man!

What is the government's policy on immigration?

Complete confusion!

------------

I do like the complaining and of course the posturing by Cameron and cronies over the Gibraltar spat.

Send them another gun boat, that will sort Johnnie foreigner out.

----

A pity they don't address the problems of passing through the ports from France into Britain.

At Dover, delays, holdups and go slows by the new reformed UK Border Agencies are laughable. Many delays and obstruction causing delays of up to 2-3 hours.

The French are amused at fortress Britain.



-

Bit vicious but I suppose for some a work force is just another commodity!

I suppose we may be lucky, the third from left looks a bit like Wavy Dave.

-):

New ICM Poll – Labour Lead by Just 3% as Economic Confidence Grows

There is a new ICM poll in the n showing the Conservatives just 3% behind Labour with UKIP recovering some of the losses shown in last month’s ICM poll:

Conservative 32% (down 4%)
Labour 35% (down 1%)
Lib Dem 14% (up 1%)
UKIP 10% (up 3%)

As the Guardian report says:

“A growing proportion of the public believe David Cameron and George Osborne are more capable of managing the economy than their Labour rivals, according to the latest ICM poll for the Guardian.

The proportion of people prepared to back the Tory team for economic competence has soared to 40% from 28% in June. The findings will make grim post-holiday reading for the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, who along with shadow chancellor Ed Balls has seen a much smaller rise in credibility, with 24% of the public preferring them compared with 19% two months ago.”

This is a very good poll for the Conservatives although not quite as good as last month’s level pegging. That now looks like an outlier but this ICM poll is consistent with other pollsters in the last month or so in showing a significant narrowing of the gap between the Conservatives and Labour.

ICM is considered the “gold standard” amongst pollsters and I have therefore always given a lot more weight to their findings alongside YouGov.

Gold Standard.

More like fool's gold!

Or perhaps a Fools' Goal.

Today's Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/voters-increased-faith-in-tories-over-economy-will-be-blow-to-labour-8758452.html