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Cornish Steve

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Everything posted by Cornish Steve

  1. Maybe I can predict the outcome. Conservative 30% of votes (285 seats) Labour 31% of votes (270 seats) SNP 6% of votes (28 seats) LibDem 6% of votes (24 seats) UKIP 14% of votes (12 seats) Green 6% of votes (3 seats) Plaid Cymru (4 seats) DemUnionists (8 seats) Sinn Fein (5 seats) SDLP (3 seats) Other (8 seats) Tory/LD/Union/UKIP = 329 seats Labour/LD/SNP/SF/SDLP/PC/Green = 338 seats In other words, the LibDems, despite losing ground, will be king-makers.
  2. Very interesting discussion, so maybe I can jump in. Before I left Britain, I was an approved parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Party. This was before the merger with the Social Democrats and the fuzzy, ever-changing policies of today's LibDems. The party then was a blend of libertarian, green, devolved power, and pro-Europe. I knew David Steel and, in particular, David Penhaligon (who was a great guy). At that time, we would consistently win over 20 percent of the vote but about 2 percent of the seats - such is the fate of finishing second almost everywhere. Most of the Liberals I knew then were trustworthy people, and a couple of friends from college were elected. Today I would give the LibDems a wide berth, and no longer am I pro-Europe. Parents? My father, in many respects (hate to say it, but it's true), was the kind of person not to aspire to: mostly illiterate, a dockyardee (as people near Plymouth would understand), and very bigoted. He voted for the National Front (for those in the US, the NF was a collection of racist bullies). My mother usually voted Conservative, but based solely on who she liked and disliked ("that man has a funny smile - can't be trusted"). She was big admirer of Maggie Thatcher. Today, I would be really stuck. If there were such a thing, I'd be a cross between Conservative and Green, with a splash of libertarian opinions thrown in for good measure. I'm for the nationalist parties (fellow Celts), but I am very much anti-Labour. They are for the big companies, not the little ones; for the unions, not the entrepreneurs; for bureaucracy and rules, not free enterprise. I have never trusted them, and nothing I've seen recently changes my mind on that. As for UKIP, I can't stand them. They are rather like the Tea Party in the US and offer little more than slogans - which, unfortunately, does sway some people. Thank goodness for the "first past the post" system, because they'll get few seats despite winning a fair percentage of votes. If I had to predict the outcome: the SNP will cut big time into Labour seats in Scotland, to about the same extent that Labour will gain in England. The Welsh Nationalists should do well, and I think the Green Party may create a couple of surprises. UKIP will be third in terms of number of votes but will win only a handful of seats. The LibDems will be decimated. It will either be a coalition of Conservative/Unionist/UKIP/LibDem or of Labour/Nationalists/LibDem/Greens. I would prefer the former (despite my disdain for UKIP), but I suspect the latter will win out. The US should fear a Labour/Nationalist coalition because they will immediately throw out all Trident missiles and make a point of standing up against America around the world.
  3. I see what happened. I somehow combined your prediction with that of pete0. In the results above, his prediction is entered wrongly. I've corrected the problem.
  4. You're right, and I'm sorry! For some reason, I didn't enter your prediction in my spreadsheet. Let me double-check everyone's prediction to be sure I didn't miss anyone else. Once I make the correction, it will be in the master spreadsheet and be taken into account in this weekend's totals. Apologies for that, and thank you for pointing it out.
  5. I worked my first job at 10 - you lazy sod!
  6. What do Januzaj, Sterling, Zaha, and Barkley all have in common? They star in a couple of games and the press suddenly believe they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. The reality is, however, that they are all young kids with potential. They all need to learn and to grow and to make mistakes and to prove their abilities, regardless of what the latest lazy pundit says. Some are pointing to Barkley being played out of position this season. I would say it's part of the learning process. I agree with the point made earlier about Henderson: These youngsters, if they truly do have potential, come good after their apprenticeship years. That's where Barkley is right now. I would expect to see him make a bigger impact next season and a considerably bigger impact after that. IMO, it would be foolish to sell such potential - especially when we're looking to build a younger team that can play together for the best part of a decade.
  7. Of course! You're still clearly in contention for winning most points per prediction.
  8. This is how family views the election in Cornwall. http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276272/Article/images/26407886/9952806-large.jpg
  9. Nope. Taxation without representation. Sounds familiar...
  10. I rather agree, although the emergence of limited-over games has helped bring a little excitement. It's also a lot more fun to play than to watch. Years and years ago, along with several other Brits, I worked for a British software company at its office in Boston, Massachusetts. We heard that HMS Intrepid was coming to Boston, so someone arranged a Sunday afternoon cricket match against them. Of course, we all fancied ourselves at cricket, but we needed a couple of Americans to make up our number. The day dawned, and the Intrepid crew went into bat. In their 20 overs, they scored about 160 runs. We went into bat and were all out for 5. Even funnier, one of the Americans had never played before, so held his bat horizontally as in baseball. He scored 4 of our 5 runs, despite facing only 2 balls. We learned at drinks later that the HMS Intrepid crew had played the West Indies national team earlier in their journeys, which made defeat a little easier to take.
  11. The results are in for this week. Several people scored four points, but I just pipped you at the post to take the lead for May. Romey is holding on to a 2-point lead for the season, while TonkaRoost retains the lead for points per prediction. PS - Has anyone yet twigged my "cunning plan" for winning the inter-forum game for next season? Thought it better to post here than there, so as not to give the game away. It's known as the "Wisdom of Crowds", in case no one else has read the book by that name. http://www.toffeetalk.com/index.php?/topic/26483-inter-forum-premier-positions-game-2014-15/?p=456554
  12. All over. Well done to the West Indies team - and especially to Bravo. What a great innings.
  13. Let me guess. You were the student who decided "heads I sleep in, tails I take the day off, and, if the coin lands on its edge, I go to class."
  14. Fewer than 50 runs needed now, still with 6 wickets left and still Bravo to Bravo. It took real effort to let the Windies get back into this game, but England's awful batting and inconsistent bowling strike again.
  15. Wow. Just seen a picture of Moeen Ali, with the - ahem - unusual beard. Does Tim Howard have a cousin who plays cricket for England? A little over 80 runs needed with 6 wicket left. Bravo to Bravo right now.
  16. Right now, it's a nail-biter. Have to go with the Windies, though.
  17. Frustrating that I'm a citizen but cannot vote. There's a 15-year limit for those who live outside the country.
  18. Fascinating game of cricket going on. England are 18-3 in their second innings, and it's only the second day.
  19. Right. A real sign of inexperience. You just don't do that in public, no matter what you might think.
  20. All the more so given how dedicated are the Gurkhas in the British army. I agree with this very much. Several years ago, I visited Kathmandu on business. Looking at some of the before and after pictures at the BBC website, I recognized where I stayed - and it's now a pile of rubble.
  21. The people of Cornwall, on the whole, are not well off. Houses are expensive because the English come down and buy up many of the houses. Then there's Prince Charles who, as Duke of Cornwall, gets most of his income from his land in Cornwall. In this day and age, it's a disgrace that someone as privileged should be taking money in this way. I know plenty don't agree, but so be it. A colleague knows my views on this and wryly pointed out that the Duchess of Cornwall was visiting the States and would I like to go wave a flag? She's not my duchess, and she probably wouldn't even know what a Cornish flag looks like,
  22. So who's this Kate women who's just had a baby? And why is it all over the BBC news site? Isn't there any important news today?
  23. After how much people have paid for this, I would love to see a knockout inside of eleven seconds (with ten of them being the count).
  24. Both United and Liverpool have played crap for most of the season. It's astonishing that they are fourth and fifth.
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