Will this help Barack get the Irish votes?
March 14th, 2008
Introducing O’Bama’s T-shirt for St. Patrick’s Day
Latest US betting is here
Mike Smithson
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Introducing O’Bama’s T-shirt for St. Patrick’s Day
Latest US betting is here
Mike Smithson
Big problem for O’bama is that its a long time until his next victory - 5/6 weeks. In the middle of that HC has the Penn primary which she will win - should help her get some positive exposure for days.
It’s pretty cute.
Just to add a comment on the global warming debate from previous threads that takes it back to politics. The truth is that MPs are rarely any more expert than anyone else - we perhaps have more time and incentive to read the reports, but do I really know how to assess ice formation? No.
However, if (as is the case) most scientists in all the developed countries advise that
(a) there is global warming and
(b) we can still do something about it but it’s urgent
it’d be wildly irresponsible if we simply said “nah, I don’t think so”.
If later research shows the predictions were wrong and theere’s no problem, well, fine, we stop doing stuff and have spent some money making the planet cleaner anyway. Conversely, if we delay action while we wait for further research, we are advised that we are increasing the risk of catastrophe.
Critics of the policies are essentially saying they don’t personally believe in it. Well, they *might* be right, but we can’t just assume it. It’s like whether to rearm in the 1930s. Hitler might attack, he might not. But it seems quite possible, so…
1 - It’s not “in the middle of” Obama’s wait for his next win. Pennsylvania is 22 April (5/6 weeks time) with a likely Obama win in North Carolina a fortnight later (ignoring Guam as irrelevant). Also, Clinton is so widely tipped for Pennsylvania that it won’t provide much momentum unless she scores a really big win (just as Obama’s Mississippi win hasn’t given him a massive boost despite the margin being at the top end of expectations for him).
2 - I agree partially, where I have a huge issue is in the apocalypsism involved. The idea that if we do nothing now then on some unspecified date in the future the temperature will jump, sea-level rise and half the population drop dead. It is a gradual process, plenty of time for that great scientific theory of evolution to kick in an for us to adapt to the changing environment. Admittedly it is better to try to clean up our act so that human kind is not damaging our habitat. We also have to bear in mind that our planet has been in existance for 4.5bn years our species for 2million. We are not as significant in the grand scheme of things as our conceit would have us!
There’s no doubt that this T shirt will ensure a crushing victory for Obama !!
….. on the other hand ….
Looking to the November election the Irish, largely catholic, vote will not be much impressed that McCain has accepted the endorsement of evangelist John Hagee, who clearly admires the early Dr Paisley view of the catholic church as ‘the great whore’.
I dare say latinos might not be overjoyed either !!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/06/pelosi-blasts-mccain-over_n_90302.html
206. Bob Sykes on the last thread.
“How did the last ice age end?”
Through natural processes. Nobody disagress with that. But you are making the assumption that just becase natural factors can cause climate changes, all climate change is caused by natural factors.
I’m sure lots of lefties do use the environmental issue as a way to get their state-control system through. But that doesn’t mean the environmental issue doesn’t exist in the first place. Just like because the far right use immigration to justify their policies, doesn’t mean that immigration isn’t an issue.
Do you really think every major scientific institution of every advanced country is really a hot-bed of secret leftism? I’m not talking about the IPCC here but societies like the Australian Institute of Engineers. Secret socialists? Come on, mate, we’re Conservatives here - we’re supposed to look at the evidence, not a vague sentiment we have against tax rises. And the evidence is that every respected scientific academy is saying man-made global warming is happenening with a probability of 90%+.
But Nick, your Government’s policies seems to be “We would quite like to do something but seem a bit short of readies at the moment so its all a bit difficult” and “This bloke in the pub I know, wants to build a new coal fired power station so I think we should let him”
4. Evolution through natural selection involves individuals dropping dead. I’m sure if we don’t do anything civilization will go on - but millions of people will die in places like Bangladesh. Don’t you think we should take serious action to prevent humanitarian catastrophes?
As for your point about our effect on the Earth, I think this sums it up nicely.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/environment/i‘ll-be-just-fine,-says-planet-20080306774/
Don’t want to alarm anyone but markets plunging. Wall Street opened up but now down 200, FTSE following -down 60
9 - Yes pretty much because Bear Stearns is now the US Northern Rock!
Julianna Goldman takes a look at the delegate maths :
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0OkW8Ml8ljw&refer=worldwide
Obama has his own problems with the god squad :
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,300135,00.html
Yorkshire rumour that missing Dewsbury girl has been found alive
A summary of the political betting market in the USA :
http://specials.slate.com/futures/2008/
12. The article is from last October. However, the NY Times seems to be highlighting it now.
9.
From the beeb
US bank Bear Stearns has got emergency funding, in a move that raises fears that even the top Wall Street names are suffering amidst the credit crunch
From PB.com
189 I note all the Conservative doomsters who were commentating yesterday on falling stock market prices here and in the US have crept back under their stones today .
by Mark Senior March 14th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
11. That’s what I’ve been saying. Clinton needs to win over at least a supermajority of the superdelegates, and the factors influencing superdelegates decisions favour Obama. This is over.
15 Jack P. The story has been floating around for months awaiting an opportunity for some media traction.
16 exactly the point I was making , a whiff of bad news and out you come rubbing your hands in glee .
12. McCain has accepted endorsements from one preacher who says the United States was founded to destroy Islam and another who considers Catholicism to be the great whore of Babylon.
Still, it’s a mystery to me why Obama didn’t go to a church with a less of a nutjob preacher when he decided he was going into politics.
8 - I think we should take a more realistic view of our place in the grand scheme of things. We should ditch the view that we have an absolute right to exist and the idea that everything revolves around us. We should do what we can to mitigate the impact we have on our environment and then accept that from time to time we are going to be subject to the impact of environmental factors in the same way as any other species on this planet!
20 Has Paisley come out for McCain?
[4] - One way we could adapt would be to change the way we generate energy so as not to disturb the climate we are already adapted to.
Personally, I think it would be a lot less disruptive to change our energy infrastructure, [which after all we changed during the 20th century, from coal to oil], then it would be to relocate many of the world’s major cities, such as London, New York, etc, that are located on coasts, estuaries or deltas.
21. I think you’re right to accept that we are small in the grand scheme of things. But we should also accept that, as far as we know, we are the only time sentience has evolved in the universe. As I consider sentience a positive thing, I think its wise we should protect it.
the dow jones is dropping like a stone, down 260 now.
24, bit off-topic, but I think that’s unlikely. Dolphins and some whales are probably sentient. And they’re more environmentally friendly.
23 - Yes but as we cannot be entirely certain that man is entirely or majoritatively responsible for the acceleration in climate adjustment then we could do that and still end up with the climate changing.
25. No hand rubbing now !
28. i aint rubbing hands, just a bit worried.
27. But you work with likelihoods. When something really bad is 90% likely to happen, it makes sense to try to stop it.
[21] - But with climate change we are imposing our influence on other species on the planet. Don’t you think that is overbearing?
Supposing there was an impending ice age, and we could avoid it by emitting CO2, wouldn’t that be a good thing to do to avoid the loss of millions of lives?
Humans have been shaping their environment with increasing vigour ever since we developed fire. Beavers also shape their environment. We should exercise choice over what we do, and avoid doing things that will damage us. I don’t think this is hubris, merely pragmatism.
[27] - What level of proof would you require?
You can’t be entirely certain that your house will burn down, but for some strange reason I suspect that you have it insured nevertheless. Maybe you would be better off being prepared to adapt to the loss of your home, just as our distant ancestors lived in caves…
ok the dow had bounced back a bit but is now going down again. odd.
that obama t-shirt is horrible.
Missing Shannon Mathews reportedly found alive. That is good news - but don’t expect anything else in the media for the next 48 hours.
31 - Well Climate change has happened before and in this instance whilst man may have an impact it is at least feasible that it is simply a periodic adjustment in the environmental balance. Secondly I am a somewhat eccentric individual and believe that on balance it would be better not to vent C02 into the atmosphere in your scenario and to allow nature to balance itself. Frankly the more you interfere the more you have to and you are much more likely to get it wrong than right. By all means limit the damage humans do to their environment but I don’t think it is sane to believe we can control our environment.
34. Yeah it was a bit off of her to turn up on the day of the Tory Conference.
33 - mid session profit taking I would imagine.
34. Where’s she been ?
33.Bit of caution mixed with bouts of panic as rumours abound no doubt.
The obama T shirt is just boring, it could have done with a nice looking Irish man to model it perhaps…
36. whats that got to do with it?
39 it’s going up and down quite a lot, still well below the start of the day though.
41. Its at the same level as it was 10yrs ago today - 10yrs of NuLabs miracle economy and the stockmarket hasn’t risen.
38. Apparently she was found under her grandparents’ bed.
You couldn’t make it up.
Dick Morris also takes a look at the delegate maths. Don’t e-mail a copy to Hillary !!
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/political_commentary/commentary_by_dick_morris/super_delegates_lining_up_for_barack_obama
Conservatives are responsible for every calamity since the dawn of man. Thatcher was the human reincarnation of the Devil. That is why she commissioned a nuclear submarine fleet called “Trident”. They are the dark side of the force. They are modern-day Nazis. Conservatives eat babies and torture small animals. They steel food from the mouths of the hungry. They beat their own wives to a pulp and spit on the poor. They wipe their boots on the working class. They defecate on the needy and helpless. They wouldn’t take the ring to Mordor. They would defend Mordor with *enthusiasm* against Frodo. Lord Sauron votes Conservative – in fact he probably married Maggie. The bastard.
Everything is the fault of the Conservatives. When I lose money betting, it’s because the Conservatives have bribed the bookies. When I don’t get laid, it’s because of the Conservatives briefing the girls against me – or because she secretly is. When I don’t get promoted, it’s because the Conservatives have been on the phone to my boss. The bastards.
They are all stupid. Any Conservative who posts here is especially stupid. If they had any brains they would vote Lib-Dem. Conservatives always lose by-elections which means they will lose all their seats at the next election. Even when they win by-elections that still means they’ll lose because it’s only stupid people being bribed into voting Conservative.
You are all idiots. I am very clever. Vote Lib-Dem.
Socrates You might want to look at the output of this event. Some may trash the output because of the sponsors - not ’serious’ as piechicker might say - but its difficult to trash all the attendees.
http://www.heartland.org/NewYork08/newyork08.cfm
There are two sides to the argument. But we are so often in 1984 mode where any dissent is treated as self evident trash and dangerous trash to boot.
Some on the other thread have pointed out the sun as a factor in climate change, a more powerful change agent than all the world population and their works.
If the sun is mainly responsible then we can do little about it. Is this why that factor is so often ignored or downplayed?
Better to assume that it is people who are to blame as we can do something about their behaviour.
Well, my view is we should avoid the Torquemada trap of the global warming argument where half the world’s population would have to disappear to remove all the global warming postulated in the IPCC scientific report - in the rather hyped political summary which is rather different to the scientific data.
We should be responsible tenants of this planet and do what the Tories have said in their manifestos since the WWII: care for our environment.
The 1979 Tory manifesto said it concisely if not using modern idioms such as ‘carbon budget’ and ‘green’ and not mentioning transport and power generation and usage, as it should have , in fuel conservation aims. But then this was thirty years ago.
“The quality of our environment is a vital concern to all of us. The last Conservative government had a proud record of achievement in reducing pollution, and protecting our heritage and countryside. We shall continue to give these issues a proper priority. Subject to the availability of resources we shall pay particular attention to the improvement and restoration of derelict land, the disposal and recycling of dangerous and other wastes, and reducing pollution of our rivers and canals.
We attach particular importance to measures to reduce fuel consumption by improving insulation.”
45. So we’re all agreed then.
Well apart from the last bit
The latest I’ve got on my screen is the Dow is down 163 points. And the point is, the money the Fed ploughed in on Tuesday to keep the market afloat is clearly struggling to work. It still seems a very volatile market to me. As for the rest of Mark Senior’s ravings in the last thread, I’m speechless, quite honestly.
Anyway, what great news about Shannon Matthews. Its very rare that these situations work out well, but for once it seems we’ve got some good news. If its true about her grandparents taking her though, what a wicked thing to do.
45 Nicely put!!(P.S as a Labourite who tactically votes Lib Dem in local elctions in Bournemouth,I’m an O.K human being?)
45 - I refer you to the previous thread…
O/T Unbelievably Kauto Star is now odds-on for the Gold Cup according to C4.
[35] - I’d encourage you to look at the IPCC reports, in particular the ice core data. What is happening now is going beyond the bounds of the cyclical changes that have happened over the past several hundred thousand years. The spikes in the graphs for greenhouse gases and global mean temperatures are quite striking.
It is different to the past.
I accept your point that “the more you interfere the more you have to and you are much more likely to get it wrong than right.” although on balance I think it would be worth the risk to avoid an ice sheet covering large areas of the inhabited northern hemisphere.
Of course the issue now is to precisely avoid having an impact on the environment.
I think one of the problems with the way that the politics and science have been discussed is that discussion sometimes follows the form: “The science says x, which means we have to cut emissions, and the only way to do that is by policy y”
We actually have a lot of choices about how we cut emissions and the media/campaigning focus is on the wrong things at both extremes - either trivial* things like turning lights off or difficult questions like aviation.
There are more important issues, like household heating, electricity generation and surface transport, that are also easier to make progress on.
* Although, interestingly, the latest figures suggest a decrease in UK household energy usage, which goes against the trend of having more electrical appliances. I haven’t looked at the data in enough detail to be able to judge whether that is because of things like energy efficient lighting, or just that the winter that the figures were based on was milder than the one it was compared to.
42 “41. Its at the same level as it was 10yrs ago today - 10yrs of NuLabs miracle economy and the stockmarket hasn’t risen.”
Factoring inflation, the value of the stock market has actually fallen after 10yrs.
If Gordon Brown hadnt raided the Pension funds with his 5Billion tax raid, that 60billion pounds would have been invested.
Instead, stocks lost that investment, pensions suffered and Labour squandered it.
Question, what does Labour have to show for the 60Billion?
50 - Surely Kauto is a lay in that case? Denman likely to run him very close is he not, and is never that certain?
49. NOO!
You have to vote Lib-Dem. And you have to live in Worthing.
Otherwise, you are as bad as the rest of them. You can go to Mordor and help Lord Sauron and his “Conservatives”.
Further evidence: My wife cooked a sh*t dinner last night. It was Shepard’s pie - she used cheap, crap mince and too much seasoning. It was the fault of the Conservatives. They outsourced all the sea-salt manufacturing to Mali. The beef is probably John Gummers too.
She also heard George Osbourne on the Radio and it put her off. She therefore burnt my pie.
Bastards.
Move to Worthing. Vote Lib-Dem.
52. “What does Labour have to show for the 60Billion?”
Come on. I don’t normally defend the government - indeed I think Labour have wasted money, notably on PFI schemes, Iraq, NHS computers and the GP contracts - but the first wave of the New Deal worked pretty well, and Britain’s public buildings are far better than they were ten years ago.
The school I went to had practically no capital investment between 1961 and 1995. Three new buildings went up in 1995, another couple in 1999, and since then the refurbishment has barely ever stopped.
54. Would that be Gillian Sheppard’s pie?
51 - Like I say I reject the apocalypsism of the climate debate. We have choices it doesn’t all boil down to large scale self-denying ordinances. Also maybe it is no bad thing that in parts of the world we are barely at replacement rate in terms of population, whilst it might be economically uncomfortable to be top-heavy in demographic terms it might ultimately be good for the environment to slow our population growth and maybe shrink the human population a little over time.
[46] - The Sun has contributed to some of the warming over the 20th century, mostly during the 1900-1940 period. The effect from greenhouse gases and the sun can be quantified, with uncertainty ranges. When this is done the effect from greenhouse gases is about five times greater.
This is data.
Hoping that the Sun is responsible and we aren’t is wishful thinking.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that the political interference in the summary for policymakers was all in one direction. It was mainly from countries like Saudi Arabia and China who wanted to increase the prominence given to solar effects and downplay the role of CO2. This has been the history of the IPCC ever since it was established, one of conservatism. It’’s somewhat cruel for it to be accused of exaggerating the situation when all the pressure on it comes from the opposite direction.
45 How could one not wish to be an active member of such a party?
Mark Senior Snr is ‘Ave It’ with Lib Dem nobs on and I claim a 1906 £5 note from the last Liberal government !!
46, Witan,
I was one of those who pointed out the sun as a factor in climate change - but the next line of yours “If the sun is mainly responsible then we can do little about it. Is this why that factor is so often ignored or downplayed? “ is inaccurate - the sun’s contribution to the current issue is far less than that of humanities - which is fortunate indeed, because if it went far higher, we would, indeed, be powerless.
However, even if the human-induced change were lesser, it still seems difficult to justify not working to reduce that change - if we’re being pulled up an escalator to an unfavourable destination, I’d vote for not walking up it as well.
On your link to the Heartland Institute’s March meeting - I usually hesitate to “play the man rather than the ball”, but I will note that the Heartland Institute’s publications make the following claims:
- “Most scientists do not believe human activities threaten to disrupt the Earth’s climate.”
- “The most reliable temperature data show no global warming trend.”
- “A modest amount of global warming, should it occur, would be beneficial to the natural world and to human civilization.”
- “The best strategy to pursue is one of ‘no regrets’.”
, all of which can (and have) been engaged successfully.
On “playing the ball” aspect, I note that they were basing much of that link on the claim that there is no scientific consensus, citing a 2003 study by Bray and von Storch. It’s with noting that it was performed on the web, without the facility of confirming whether the responders were in fact climate change scientists. It was username/password protected; these were sent to institutional mailing lists. They were also reposted to the climateskeptics mail list (the username was respondent and the password was ccsurvey, by the by).
I do believe that the climate change has been oversold, possibly by an overreacting media, possibly by people seizing it to further their own agendas. We won’t see multi-metre sea-level rises this century - at worst we’ll see about 65 cm rise, but it merely means that it isn’t yet too late. It is real, and the best ways to deal with it are:
- Increased technological capability in energy generation/storage/use
- Increased use of environmental solutions
- Increased globalisation
46. Believe me, I live in Chicago and know the Heartland Institute very well. They are a bunch of extreme right-wing crackpots, who denied that smoking caused lung cancer for a long time. You simply can not compare the results to a conference held by them on a level with that of independent scientific institutions, which all say the same thing: it is very likely (above the ninetieth percentile) that mankind is causing warming on a global scale, which will have devastating consquences if left unchecked. It would be the same if there was a scientific conference on the health of meat products hosted by the Vegan Society.
I’m someone that believes in free trades and free markets, but I find it incredible how many of my ideological counterparts are ideologically selective in their choice of sources. If you want to get your facts straight think about who would come to an independent conclusion. That’s scientific academies, not conferences sponsored by ideological groups.
46. On your other points, far from being ignored, the Sun’s effect is monitored and factored into models.
And yes, the Conservatives have a far better environmental record than right-wing parties elsewhere. There was a wobble for a while, but now Cameron seems to be emphasising it again. But we need more of an effort from all three parties.
59. I agree, Personally I think the media campaign against Lord Sauron was unjustified and quite unfair. The BBC coverage of the battle for middle earth was spectacularly biased.
Latest Rasmussen Presidential and Primary Trackers :
McCain 45% .. Obama 44%
McCain 46% .. Clinton 44%
Obama 50% .. Clinton 42%
This is the first time that Obama has hit 50%.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
[58] You can see the data presented in this plot of radiative forcings, which is similar to the plot TS.5 from the Technical Summary of the latest IPCC report.
45.That’s the great Global warming debate sorted - I’ll put it in the blame it on the previous Conservative government column.
for a e/w punt halcon genelardais.
I know quite a few otherwise sensible people who refuse to believe in global warming. I ask them why and they mutter something about the sun and cycles. Some of them don’t have a reason at all. They just say they don’t believe it and won’t believe it.
I think the Dispatches documentary has a lot to answer for on this. Like the Wi-fi documentary, it was poorly researched and misleading statistics were deliberately selected to fit the ‘line’. But ultimately I think the reason it had such a big effect is that many people just don’t want to believe in climate change. Channel Four gave them a reason not to.
Now I understand that scientists don’t always get predictions right. But when the vast majority say almost exactly the same thing and only differ on the speed in which it is going to happen then you have to concede that there is something in it.
55. Oh great ..£60 billion and a few building have had a nice lick of paint and a new nylon carpet..New deal is somoke and mirrors and expensive smoke and mirrors at that…no ones doubting they have spent money..they are brilliant at spending money..its the value and what it could have been spent on instead…moreLabdemmery..keep it up please..
O Mi God, Mark Senior has caught SeanT syndrome. It may be fatal.
68 - I’m assuming 4th place will count?
71 Icarus. Terminal !!
depends on the bookies, but no.
56. Correct. Of course. John Gummer shoved his mince right into Gillian Sheppard’s pie. I bet she got a right thrill out of it too.
Evil cow.
67. Of course it is. You feel the need to ask?
*Everything* is the fault of the Conservatives. EVERYTHING.
The fact that you need to ask makes me wonder whether you are secretly a Conservative too.
Are you?
Don’t talk to my wife if you are. I’m looking forward to a nice dinner tonight.
[69] - I agree, particularly with the statement that: “many people just don’t want to believe in climate change.”
I think one of the reasons for this is that realistic solutions are rarely discussed.
On the one hand you have the farcical lists of “ten things you can do to help”, which include turning the lights off, etc, and they don’t seem to measure up to the gravity of the situation.
On the other hand you do get people who act as though you are evil to drive a car or fly in a plane - regardless of the lack of alternative, etc, and psychologically people don’t want to be made to feel bad about themselves.
42/52 - Actually, you are basing that on Paul Staines’ dodgy analysis which measured from 1998 to 2008. A measure from the day Labour came to power to today shows a different picture. You also fail to factor in dividends and the fact that - with hindsight - the stockmarket was overvalued in the late 1990s and due a correction. It should not be the government’s job to exacerbate stock market bubbles - far from it.
You also fail to recognise that the value of UK companies is not a sensible measure of the position of consumers. Shares in large monopolies which successfully rip off consumers tend to do well. Companies with thin margins may be “doing badly” (with shares following suit) because of excessive government regulation or management failure. But they could equally be doing badly because they are operating in fiercely competitive markets which serve consumers well.
77. Guido’s figures are debunked here:
http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2008/03/stock-markets-u.html#comments
55 Britain’s public buildings are far better than they were ten years ago.
Is that it?
Lets say for a moment that the public buildings are better, which I do not neccesarily agree with…
Is that really worth the price? A stock market worth substantially less…Pensions worth less…
Without damaging the stock market or pensions, I would hope public buildings would be better anyway. Indeed, if that 60billion had been left in the markets, there would have been extra tax revenues and pensioners with adequate pensions.
77,
So keeping interest rates artificially low did not create a credit bubble and lots of cheap lending. Nor did changing the inflation calculation to get the interest rates low. In no way did this contribute to the problems we now have.
Scrapping PEPs and replacing with less tax efficent ISAs did much to encourage savings? This government has wasted money for 10 years so now when we stimulus to the economy, we cannot afford one.
76. My own view is that there is very little realistic chance of climate change being reversed and zero chance of it being reversed by any of the policies currently proposed.
Flight emissions are a complete red herring. All efforts should be put into creating new forms of energy production and on preparing ourselves for the inevitable.
75 You forgot to add that when you go to canvas a house in Worthing, and the hallway smells of wee - they are always Conservative voters. Something about voting Conservative will make your house smell of wee. LibDem houses smell of fresh bread and flowers and fresh coffee and have cute kittens scampering around the hall; Conservative houses are depressing and painted nicotine-yellow-brown - and smell of wee.
70 “Oh great ..£60 billion and a few building have had a nice lick of paint and a new nylon carpet..”
that about sums it up. The best Labour can come up with…
76, hear, hear.
For example, one major technological solution that almost certainly will help in the near future is OLED lighting.
The inneficiency of incandescent bulbs is well known, but the CFL (low-energy bulbs) solution is not ideal by any means - light quality (Poor Colour Rendering Index performance), source of mecury, dimming over time, etc. They are, still, up to 4 times as energy efficient (7-8% efficiency compared with about 2% for normal bulbs).
OLED lights, coming off of the drawing board now, have better light quality than incandescent bulbs and ~30% efficiency (about 4 times better than CFLs). They also have far less issues than CFLs.
A huge amount of energy goes on light generation. Much of it is still at the 2% efficiency level. Even assuming average 5% efficiency level (extensive use of fluorescent tubes in industry and workplaces and widespread adoption of CFLs), we could reduce the amount of energy given over to light generation by a good 80% with no loss whatsoever in provision. In fact, OLED lights are likely to be superior to incandescent bulbs and CFLs in pretty much every way (not restricted to bulbs - you could have a glowing wall tile, lights could be easily shaped).
Pretty useful saving, yes? How many people here had even heard of the concept?
Not debunked at all. D- must try harder.
That link is a complete straw man argument comparing apples and oranges.
Many people see Climate Change as another tool for the Left way to gain control the people.
the good thing about climate change, if it is something rather than nothing, is that the left will wilt.
Where can we invest in OLED then, Andy?
And there is no crime in a libdem council area. The buses run on time and council tax is tuppence.
Latest ARSE Worthing Mayoral Tracker :
M.Senior 99.99% .. Any Tory B*stard 0.001%
Does anyone know if there’s a way of filtering Jack W’s posts?
90 P O’F. For posterity !! How kind.
87, Wish I knew, mate
Apparently Kodak Eastman have some patents on them, but I don’t know if investment there is worthwhile.
I haven’t even mentioned OLED tellies (you should see even the early ones that Sony now sell in Japan - only 11 inches, but they’re so thin and energy efficient, you wouldn’t believe it. Contrast ratios effectively infinite (usually recorded as 1 million+) and better picture reproduction (blacks, etc) than CRTs.
Not to mention that prototype flexible displays and transparent displays have been demonstrated.
Can you tell I’m a fan of OLEDs?
80 - I would absolutely agree that the Government has made important mistakes (all governments do - it’s only a matter of degree) and have no intention of voting for them.
But looking at the current level of the stock market compared with 1998 doesn’t prove that (or anything like it) and what infuriates me is the idiotic level of debate that people on this site stoop to by stating that it does. By that measure, Labour were one of the most successful governments in history until the dot-com bubble burst and subsequently one of the worst - both of which statements are utterly ludicrous.
83
I think you will find that the £ 60 billion was pissed away on failed computer systems,e universities,extra layers of government,tax credit overpayments,60% pay increases for GP’s etc.
New buildings are usually hidden under the PFI contracts that are so expensive that our great grand children will still be paying for them.
93,
Which is why I was choosing those examples among many, as they illustrate the hole in the heart of its economic policy.
95 - Fine. But do you accept that Staines’ stock market argument is bobbins of the highest order?
94. Dont forget all McSporran’s multitude of reviews, NuLabour stuffed Quango’s, Scotish preferential treatment and of course the entirely unecessary war in Iraq (for which the cost is also measured in terms of humanity).
But dont forget that shiny new reception at the local school…
93. As Chris Dillow puts it on the post I linked to:
“There are lots of good reasons to criticize the government; you don’t need to invent bad ones.”
whoo hoo. Backed Denman as soon as hit a rather silly 9/4
75.Get the wife a cookery book full of pictures of that nice Mr Clegg, I recommend the recipe for making fudge, you can achieve excellent results while sitting down.
99 - well done - I was just about to when interrupted by a sick child…
No.
On the gounds that the stock market performance effects everyones pension, and it has been pants.
good for you.
103 - Read the link at 78 and also learn some basic economics.
Take pity on us Mike, and give us Sean’s slot! This thread has thrown up not a single interesting discussion.
103 Doesn`t effect a Police pension.
107. I believe the verb is ‘affect’.
…or a teachers. What would be the size of pension pot required to fund all those non funded state pensions? Should that be added to Gov liabilities together with actual borrowings.
Working class girl found in Yorkshire. Don’t expect the sort of national celebration as if it was Maddie…..
110. It’s hard to celebrate when you find out she’s been living with her grandparents. More like a massive waste of police time.
96. Do you accept my pension fund hasn’t gone up a jot as it tracks the FTSE ?
109 yes
105 you too could do with a bit of economics tuition. The performance of the stockmarket is poor since the year 2000 in comparison with similar economies - the government is not solely to blame but cannot escape some culpability.
anyway DENMAN WON so it’s real Asti Spumante in the bongo household tonight
I don’t see anything about grandparents on the bbc website.
Mother 32, arrested man 39, suggest grandparents angle is just rumour.
5 live saying American bank asking fed for funds
more here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7296678.stm
115. The arrested man seems to have been a friend of her step dad..dear oh dear what a waste of time, money and energy.
Her stepfather is 22, not suggesting that it was the grandparents but it’s not an impossibility because of age.
Thursday 13th March 2008.
Barnoldswick TC, Coates
Ind 368 (53.6), LD Alison Sauer 318 (46.4).
Majority 50. Turnout 16.7%. Ind hold.
Brent LBC, Queens Park
LD Simon Green 1242 (47.3; +11.2), Lab 851 (32.4; +2.7), Con 292 (11.1; -2.8), Green 239 (9.1; -5.7), [Ind (0.0; -5.5)].
Majority 391. Turnout 27%. LD hold. Last fought 2006.
Cotswold DC, Water Park
LD Peter Clarke 648 (55.5; +15.3), Con 519 (44.5; -15.3).
Majority 129. Turnout 26.2%. LD gain from Con. Last fought 2007.
Harrow LBC, Marlborough
Lab 972 (41.4; -2.1), LD Pete Budden 628 (26.7; +3.1), Con 507 (21.6; -11.3), BNP 97 (4.1; +4.1), Ind 74 (3.2; +3.2), Green 71 (3.0; +3.0).
Majority 344. Turnout 29.6%. Lab hold. Last fought 2006.
Kendal TC, Kendal Highgate
LD Andy Kaye 347 (67.5), Lab 105 (20.4), Con 62 (12.1).
Majority 242. Turnout 36.3%. LD hold.
Middlesbrough UA, Gresham
Lab 584 (47.9; -1.4), Ind 377 (31.0; +31.0), BNP 135 (11.1; +11.1), LD Don Theakston 78 (6.4; +6.4), Con 44 (3.6; +3.6), [Middlesbrough Independents (0.0; -50.7)].
Majority 207. Turnout 20.6%. Lab hold. Last fought 2007.
Middlesbrough UA, Marton West
Con 993 (63.0; +13.5), Lab 413 (26.2; -4.5), BNP 170 (10.8; +10.8), [LD (0.0; -19.8)].
Majority 580. Turnout 39.2%. Con hold. Last fought 2007.
Oxfordshire CC, Grove and Wantage
LD Jenny Hannaby 1901 (46.7; +11.1), Con 1786 (43.9; +11.0), Lab 382 (9.4; -14.3), [Green (0.0; -7.7)].
Majority 115. Turnout not known. LD hold. Last fought 2005.
Oxfordshire CC, Wallingford
Ind 867 (65.6; +65.6), Con 386 (29.2; -4.6), Lab 69 (5.2; -8.2), [English Democrats (0.0; -2.0)], [Green (0.0; -4.9)], [LD (0.0; -46.0)].
Majority 481. Turnout 19.7%. Ind gain from LD. Last fought 2005.
Snodland TC, Snodland East
Con 313 (52.2), Lab 287 (47.8).
Majority 26. Turnout 21%. Con gain from Lab.
Telford and Wrekin UA, Horsehay and Lightmoor
Con 358 (45.6; +6.8), Lab 172 (21.9; +1.6), Telford and Wrekin People’s Association 145 (18.5; +18.5), Ind 110 (14.0; -26.9).
Majority 186. Turnout 33.4%. Con gain from Ind. Last fought 2007.
Telford and Wrekin UA, Wrockwardine
Con 918 (67.3; +15.3), LD Patricia Fairclough 306 (22.4; +22.4), Lab 141 (10.3; -5.9), [Ind (0.0; -31.8)].
Majority 612. Turnout 32.7%. Con hold. Last fought 2007.
Vale of White Horse DC, Wantage Charlton
Con 760 (45.6; +3.6), LD Lorraine Todd 731 (43.8; -3.8), Lab 177 (10.6; +0.2).
Majority 29. Turnout not known. Con gain from LD. Last fought 2007.
Wantage TC, Charlton
Con 791 (47.5), LD Monica Turcu 698 (41.9), Lab 178 (10.7).
Majority 93. Turnout not known. Con gain from LD.
Weston-super-Mare TC, Summer Lane
Con 296 (49.5), LD Robert Payne 165 (27.6), Lab 137 (22.9).
Majority 131. Turnout 21.4%. Con gain from LD
118. Flipping heck, imagine being a 9 year old with a 22-year-old stepfather. That’s a ridiculous state of affairs.
119 - Seeing him on TV he didn’t exactly come across as the sharpest knife in the box.
118. The father is 22 and the daughter is 9 ? So the father was 12 when the mother conceived aged 20 ? Jeez ?!
121. Sorry - step father - pfew.
119 - It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that you could be 9 and have a 22 year old father or mother.
123. ‘Broken Society’ anyone….
112 - Which FTSE? It will certainly have risen if it tracks the FTSE All-Share. And it will have received dividends so yes, it will have grown even if it was just the FTSE 100. Also, what sort of muppet invests their entire pension in the tracker for one index?
113 - It is simply ludicrous on almost every level to use stock market performance as a measure of the government’s economic management. You quote the period from 2000 (and then the FTSE 100 rather than All-Share and not including dividends both of which show a different picture). But as I noted at 93, your result depends on the timeframe chosen. By your logic 1997-2000 was a period of outstanding success and a triumph for the government whereas in fact it was a bubble. The performance of a sample of large companies is a poor indicator of the health of the economy (as noted, a strongly competitive sector serving consumers well will often have poorly performing stocks) and it isn’t the government’s job to handle bubbles and troughs.
New projections have McCain ahead of both Obama and Clinton nationally.
http://thepoliticaltipster.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/mccain-leads-both-hillary-and-obama/
123 - Not in Dewsbury, anyway!
117. Are you joking? Whether or not he is a ‘friend’, if he’s abducted a girl that is very serious.
All the talk about banking problems here and in America makes me wonder if we are seeing the beginnings of the decline of the English Speaking Peoples. I mean we’re mired in debt, inequality, decadent culture, not to mention our misadventure in Iraq. The euro is soaring, confidence in the dollar waning and according to the WHO we have the worst child welfare in the Western World.
123 - Sky report the person arrested as a member of the step-father’s extended family (not a very close relative) so possibly some earlier reports were off the mark. Of course, there could well be more to the whole story.
Dewsbury what a lovely place…didn’t 3 of the 4 7/7 bombers come from there?
130. Perhaps we could give it to Scotland in lieu of lovely Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Sean Fear please.
131. Are the Scots laying claim to it as their territory? I wonder if we’ll see Alex Salmond stick a flagpole up in the town centre.
OLED: Aixtron (equipment makers), Zumtobel (enclosures), Epistar (LEDs and OLEDs).
125. I think you are right that the performance of a stock market cannot be directly linked to the performance of any particular government.
However, it is clearly one of many indicators of how an economy is performing at a macro level and I certainly think that looking at a market over a long period of time, therefore including troughs and peaks, is perfectly reasonable given that is the same sort of approach that Brown uses himself to spin his own, now tarnished, credentials.
I think the relatively static performace of the stock market over 11 years of Brown says a great deal about the impact of his catastrophic smash and grab on pension funds.
133
No it’s the people of Berwick who want to be part of Scotland and enjoy all the freebies instead of having to pay for them.
Who could blame them?
126. No bloody surprise. Clinton is smearing Obama, and bringing them both down because of it. Bring on an election where it can be a one-on-one fight. Obama will have a whole party behind him and McCain will be walking a tight rope between appealing to the centre-ground and keeping on board the insatiable demands of the wackos in his party.
Woger Watch :
Barclays down 30p to 420p
135; would you like to tell me how the FTSE-100 Total Return has performed relative to other (say) the French market, the German market, the Japanese market or the US market?
Or don’t you know?
139.
Start here - of course they dont pay dividends in America blah blah
http://www.order-order.com/2008/03/myth-of-uk-economic-strength.html
Here’s a graph of the All-share index.
http://uk.moneycentral.msn.com/investor/charts/chartdl.aspx?Symbol=%24GB%3aUKX&CP=0&PT=10
Latest Gallup Presidential and Primary Trackers :
McCain 46% .. Clinton 46%
McCain 45% .. Obama 45%
Obama 50% .. Clinton 44%
Gallup following Rasmussen in showing a significant Obama lead.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/104986/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Leads-Clinton-50-44.aspx
141. email that to all superdelegates
CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP
Last night I posted -
“I haven’t seen the official forecast but further light rain in the area is expected. The “experts” at the London Racing Club last Thursday gave it to Denmam, with 172 rated Neptune Collonges rated good value for a place.”
by Peter from Putney March 14th, 2008 at 12:13 am
TODAY’S RESULT:
Winner - Denman
Third - Neptune Collonges (25-1)
Don’t say you weren’t told!!
87: OLED is already in use in the latest generation of projection TVs- you’re too late
ps gorgeous picture they have too, shame they don’t sell over here (European houses are too small for 70″ sets!)
Ah but did you back Denman PfP?
145 Mais naturellement!
145 ….. as well as “Neptune”
Exchange rate problems looming for sterling/euro
Breathtaking drop now:
GBPEUR=X 1 14 Mar 1.2963
Big sell off in sterling underway.
Is it the EZ CPI or something else?
I’ll have some more of that 3/1 Alistair Darling to be out of office before the end of the year.
148.
Please read in conjunction with my previous post
DUBLIN: European consumer prices and wages rose in February more than economists forecast, leaving the European Central Bank with little room to lower interest rates as economic growth slows.
Consumer-price inflation in the euro zone accelerated to 3.3 percent in February, the European Union statistics office said Friday. That is faster than a Feb. 29 estimate and the median forecast in Bloomberg News survey of economists. Labor-cost growth quickened in the fourth quarter to the highest since 2006, a separate report showed.
Should boost the Euro. No wonder sterling is down below 1.30 and the US$ nearing 1.60. Trichet says he targets one thing, and one thing only: inflation. This means a sries of hikes beginning with the next meeting.
Ireland, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, RIP.
I wonder how Broon manages to keep our CPI at 2.1% when we have the same increases as the EZ in just about everything from fuel to wheat? A miracle perhaps?
Peter the Punter: you are my favourite poster. Congratulations!! [not on being my favourite poster - just on Cheltenham, silly]
In my imagination you look just like my neighbour Peter the Painter.
In the PB official photo were you the guy on the extreme right?
Photographically, not politically.
Malcolm
142 Harry. I just did and what do you know …. Wisconsin Super Delegate Melissa Schroeder has just endorsed Obama.
It Was Jack(W)ot Won It.
149
Our inflation rate is truly a miracle when fuel prices have increased by 20%,food 30%,Utilities 6/15%,train fares 7% and council tax 4% and out of the hat complete with rabbit comes 2.1%.
Some Tory doomster was spinning that the stock market was near a ten year low earlier.
If that spinner had bothered to check the facts, (s)he would have found the market was far lower (about 3300) just after the start of the Tory backed Iraq invasion.
Yes, the stock market is generally crap these days, but at least get your facts right, otherwise you look crap too.
132. Thanks. Hopefully, about 6 p.m.
152 - what will be starting to hit inflation is recent huge electricity and gas prices increases.
I do not know, but I think inflation was kept down by large cuts in gas and electricity prices last autumn.
148 sterling is toast due to the idiot browns economic maangement. sell sterling savings against the euro in short term and against rmb in long term
154. Hope it’s a corker! Sure it will be
Have you noticed how the political pundits think Boris is running a better than Livingstone at the moment?
When you couple that, with the fact that Cameron will probably get a bounce in the polls following the Spring Conference this weekend, Boris is worth a bet at the moment. I think he represents value.
So many people think he’s a clown, they assume he won’t win. His price is unnaturally low but the maths favours him greatly.
157 - “So many people think he’s a clown, they assume he won’t win.”
Just like the monkey in Hartlepool.
150 I regret to say you are confusing me with PtP, but please feel free to re-confer your congratulations on yours truly.
The customary fine of £1 will be imposed for this error on your part, which will be added to the coffers towards the next PB.com party.
130, 3/4 of the 7/7 bombers came from Beeston, which is in/near Leeds.