The establishment is getting worried

Can always tell when the establishment is getting worried. The Tory media kicks in and it filters down.  The instances of lies and misinformation increase exponentially.

If they just posted facts id be happy to believe them but I would guess that as high as 90% of every negative thing about Corbyn is Bollox.

A fantasy of hysteria created by those who stand to lose control because Corbyn cant be bought. If he could we wouldn't be seeing all the vilification we do see from all angles.

The funny thing is most of the people spreading the false information, havnt checked it and would actually stand to gain from Corbyn getting in.

Divide and Rule.

The simple question to ask is, if Corbyn is really that bad...

Why do they need to lie and create misinformation? 

Surely the truth would be sufficient?

Am I a Twat - Oh most definitely!

I cant answer for anyone else so as a Labour voter, I will answer for myself.

He votes Labour
Yes - I have done recently but didn't when Blair was in as New Labour was Tory Lite.

When Margaret Thatcher was asked what she regarded as her greatest achievement, she is said to have replied: “New Labour”

He always does like its an obligation
No - I vote for the party I believe has the best policies. I might not like all of them but if they have more policies that I feel will benefit the country than other parties, then i will vote for them.

He believes Labour represents the working man and has a social responsibility.
Yes - I believe through out the years Labour has represented more of the population than others and has more social responsibility than the Tories.

Voted for Blair and Brown
No - Already answered that one above.

Who between them took us into war on a lie.
Yes - I believe this is true as it was confirmed that there were no weapons of mass destruction.
https://garysoapbox.blogspot.com/2017/04/iraqs-oil-and-war-fought-for-it.html

Spent all the money in the Treasury
https://garysoapbox.blogspot.com/2016/01/Did the last Labour Govenment cause the financial crisis
https://garysoapbox.blogspot.com/2016/02/was-gordon-brown-good-chancellor.html

Borrowed again and again
If this was true then you would expect debt to be high?
https://garysoapbox.blogspot.com/2015/10/uk-had-lowest-debt.html

Sold off chunks of our gold reserves when prices were at rock bottom
https://garysoapbox.blogspot.com/2015/10/gordon-brown-and-gold-sell-off-myth.html

The gap between the rich and the poor grew at its fastest rate under labour.
Actually the gap between rich and poor grew at its fastest rate under Thatcher, conservatives 1984-1990.

The Gini coefficient is a common measure of inequality in income and wealth

Dont vote Labour.
I'm not going to say who you should vote for but one thing is certain, you should vote and you should vote for a party based on facts and not on mis-information like in the Meme above.  Always check the facts.

As for am I a twat
Most definitely an annoying twat that prefers facts to misinformation and lies.



FT: The lasting legacy of Mrs Thatcher
Fullfact: Did Labour oversee the biggest gap between rich and poor "in modern times"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blair
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom
Independent: Margaret Thatcher's legacy: Spilt milk, New Labour, and the Big Bang - she changed everything
Telegraph: Did New Labour spend too much in government?
https://www.reknr.com/economics/last-time-labour-not-bankrupt-country
https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/14006/economics/can-labour-be-blamed-for-the-economic-crisis

There is no magic money tree .... unless you're the Tories

A brilliant meme I came across, actually it wasn't a meme it was in the Jacob Rees-Mogg: Supporters' Group ....yup I agree you cant make this stuff up :-D

Soapbox Comment

Do you mean the leader of the government who increased the UK debt by 780 billion after saying there wasn't a magic money tree and then gave away 94 billion in tax concessions to big corporations that hadn't requested it and ran her election on an uncosted manifesto and has run the country into the ground by not spending anything on repairs and infrastructure but still managed to increase the UK debt whilst imposing the worst austerity seen in decades..... or do you mean Corbyn who hasn't cost the country any money and had a fully costed manifesto that whilst you might not like it at least you had something to vote for rather than Mayhem's unicorns.

Just wondering because the panic being displayed by all the memes going around at present is priceless :-) :-)

NOTES

1.  Since 2010 and despite the worst austerity seen in decades the Tories have increased the UK debt by 78% or approx 780 billion. ....you cant make it up.
2. 2014 Tories gave away 94 billion in ongoing tax concessions to big corporations, that was after claiming there is no magic money tree. ....you cant make it up.
3. 2015 the Tories ran their election campaign (and nearly lost despite a 20 point poll lead, the biggest ever) on a completely uncosted manifesto. Whereas Labour's was costed and vetted by economists. You might not have liked the content but at least you had something to vote on. Yet Labour gets the flack ....you cant make it up.
4. Terrorist sympathiser ....calling someone that has been against violence and a pacifist all his life and has actually been vilified for being a pacifist, a terrorist sympathiser ...is an oxymoron. ....you cant make it up.

Mayhems last roll of the dice or a stitch up?

29th March 2017 and Theresa May triggered Article 50.

Its taken just over 2 years while she went off and negotiated what she thought Brexit was. Unfortunately it wasn't what all the other MP's, including MP's from her own party, thought Brexit was.

Its always the problem with vague sound bites like Brexit means Brexit ....it was always open to interpretation. It appealed to everyone because everyone thought they knew what it meant but it actually meant nothing to everyone, because its vagueness left it, a catch 22 almost.  But everyone still quotes it as if what their interpretation of it, is the right one.

Fast forward to tonight, the clock is running down the UK has until 12th April 2019 to propose a plan acceptable by all 27 members of the EU or it leaves with No Deal.

Mayhem has 10 Days to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

Tonight May decides to "take action" and offers to sit down with the leader of the opposition.

"I'm offering to sit down with the Leader of the Opposition to try to agree a plan that we would both stick to, to ensure that we leave the European Union and that we do so with a deal.

Before we move on lets be clear why we are at this point.

1. May went off and negotiated on her own with very little accepted input from others.
2. Its very clear from the comments of Tory MP's that May has been nothing but intransigent, 2 Brexit Secretary's have resigned because of it. 
3. This offer of talking should have happened 18 months ago. Consensus should have been sort at the start so that whatever deal was negotiated had backing and could get through parliament.
4. While writing this I suddenly thought if the Tories wanted a fall guy to blame it doesn't come much better than May.

Soapbox opinion
Personally I think anyone sitting down to talk at this late stage needs to be very wary. There are very few avenues left and the opportunity to share the blame around a bit is high.  Is this the plan behind this last minute reaching out? A bit of slippery shoulder finger pointing?

In a nutshell

• We have 10 days until the 12th April, unless May can come up with a reason for the EU to extend.
• It would need to be a show stopping reason like another referendum or a General Election.
• There is only one deal on the table (May's deal) with the EU and they have said it wont be renegotiated.
• May's deal has already been voted down 3 times now.
• MP's have so far voted against every other proposal put before them.
• MP's have voted to avoid No Deal at all costs. (That's just advisory though and not enshrined in law)
• The EU has stated it wants to do all it can to avoid No Deal.
• However the EU has actually planned for No Deal unlike the UK who's plans are severely lacking and nowhere near complete.
• 12 April 2019 is also the deadline for informing the EU of the intention to hold MEP elections.
• Unless the UK leaves on or closely to the 12th it will be required to hold MEP elections.
• 23rd of May is when EU elections take place, 49 days time.

Lets look at possibilities

1. No Deal, its still the legal default if all else fails.
2. May's deal "The withdrawal agreement" is still the only deal on the table with the EU.
3. A long extension, UK would have to be holding a General Election or another Referendum to get such an extension and would have to take part in EU elections.
4. Revoking article 50, the UK can do this unilaterally. 
5. May could resign.
6. Other suggestions are some form of Customs union and or single market attachment. But surely if going for either of these we might as well stay in the EU. 

Soapbox opinion
I don't know where May is going with this at such a late stage, looks like nothing more than another attempt to get her deal over the line and/or dilute some of the blame away from the Tories. To me this smells of a stitch up.  Jeremy Corbyn you would be wise to be very careful, you could be being set up. I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her and with limited doors to walk through now, I feel the Tories are moving into damage limitation.


LINKS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_invocation_of_Article_50_of_the_Treaty_on_European_Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_of_State_for_Exiting_the_European_Union

What Did The EU Referendum Booklet Say

This little gem is doing the rounds so like a good little fence sitter I thought Id check out the facts.

Did the EU referendum booklet say 

"that a vote to leave meant leaving the single market, the customs union and the ECJ. If you vote to leave the Government will carry out your instructions."

The short answer is no. 

The map is accurate but ......

The facts are....

The booklet never said that a vote to leave meant leaving the single market, nor did it say it meant leaving the customs union and the ECJ ....... all it said was

A more limited trade deal with the EU would give the UK less access to the Single Market than we have now – including for services, which make up almost 80% of the UK economy. For example, Canada’s deal with the EU will give limited access for services, it has so far been seven years in the making and is still not in force.

"This is your decision. The government will implement what you decide."

LINKS

webarchive.nationalarchives: An important decision for the UK

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk: Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK.

Leave v Remain petitions not what I expected

This is even more hilarious, its quite fun sitting on the fence and making obvious observations :-D

So we have the remain petition currently over 4 million and rising fast - Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU.

and the Leave petition on 491,555.  -  Leave the EU without a deal in March 2019.

The difference being the remain one has been running just over one month and the leave one nearly 6 months.

I've checked and the Leave the EU without a deal in March 2019. is the biggest leave vote.

Seriously I was expecting a tidal wave from brexiteers from a massive Farage march (I mean please stop it's embarrassing) to massive demos in major city's as brexiteers pushed this over the line ....I've got this totally wrong.

The question is whats happened to the brexiteers? there were 17.1 million of them in the referendum.


Independent: Today’s Put It To The People march is further proof that the tide has changed and Brexit is not what people want
Julia Hartley-Brewer gets roasted for falsely claiming Article 50 petition can be signed multiple times using same e-mail address
The difference between the Put It To The People rally and Farage's Leave Means Leave march in 10 pictures
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions?q=leave+EU

Changing the Exit day from the EU from March 29th

How can the UK “exit day” be changed?

“Exit day” is defined in primary legislation. Changing it would therefore normally require further primary legislation. However the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 specifically contemplated the possibility of an extension being sought and granted, and allows exit day’s definition to be changed in those circumstances by secondary legislation.
Section 20(4) allows a Minister of the Crown to change exit day provided that a draft statutory instrument has been laid before and approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. However, it can only be used:
“to ensure that the day and time specified in the definition are the day and time that the Treaties are to cease to apply to the United Kingdom.”
In practice this means that an extension must first have been agreed to at EU level before any such regulations can be made to change the date. As the Government itself said in a written statement on Friday 15 March:
“It is expected that the EU will use the March European Council on the 21 and 22 March 2019 to consider and reach a decision on a request from the UK to extend the Article 50 period.
As soon as possible following agreement at the EU level we will bring forward the necessary legislation to amend the definition of exit day in domestic legislation. This statutory instrument will be laid, before it is made, under section 20(4) of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
This legislation is subject to the draft affirmative procedure and so would need to be actively approved in each House. The legislation would give effect to any agreement with the EU on an extension, so would not be laid before Parliament until that agreement had been reached.”

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/brexit/negotiations/what-is-exit-day-dispelling-misconceptions-about-the-extension-of-article-50/ 

Dictator May creates diversion

Or maybe Division?

So Mays idea of getting people together to build consensus is to attack them.

You really couldn't make this up.

Right from the start she has been a dictator on this deal, no talks were had with anyone except maybe the DUP and the ERG.

Now she claims people wouldn't talk....she tried ...its all the others fault.

I wont allow it to go past June .....OMG Woman havnt you realised yet its not your decision. The UK is not a Dictatorship.

I will up date this when we see the fall out from it.




LINKS
https://www.ft.com/content/88cab4b4-53cb-3ed6-b9be-a9ffc72cc9a3

No one should be above the law.

No one should be above the law. Should we have let off Nazi war criminals? There has to be some rules of engagement or we become like the Nazi war criminals. Having said that we come back to no one should be above the law. 

If any troops were going to be prosecuted for 'shall we say' war crimes. Then it should have been done way back then and any IRA should be prosecuted as well. 

Draw a line under it... the families of murdered troops have had to. 

Trooper F should be given a pardon like IRA members. Otherwise proceed with the prosecution of Trooper F and rescind the IRA pardons. Anything else is a miscarriage of justice.

MPs reject a no-deal Brexit

MPs reject a no-deal Brexit by 312 to 308, in a non-binding vote.....

Its worth remembering though that the EU Referendum was non binding as well.

Having said that, because article 50 was put into UK law the default legal position is, we leave on 29th march 2019 either with a deal or with no deal ...unless a delay is agreed with the EU.

LINKS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendums_in_the_United_Kingdom

https://fullfact.org/europe/was-eu-referendum-advisory

Could Mayhem still come out of it a winner?

What is clear from the current Brexit shambles is, Theresa May is probably going to go down as the worst PM ever.

Winston Churchill was described as Pig Headed and Theresa May certainly gets that mantle. She has forged ahead on her own Brexit deal regardless of advise from others and regardless of massive historic vote losses. In this regard she has not brought people together she has alienated and divided.  In any other point in time a PM facing such losses would have to resign, they would have no option.

Now she has the spectacle of her own party voting against a three line whip, which is almost unheard of and they are not going to be sacked for doing so. Truly unprecedented times.

However all is not lost, Churchill made massive mistakes at Gallipoli with his decision to attack Turkey on its Dardanelles coast, at Gallipoli. The ensuing battle lasted over eight months,  involved a total of about a million men on both sides, of whom nearly one half became casualties. The failed campaign led to the humiliation of the British. Churchill was dismissed from his cabinet position, excluded from the War Council, and allowed no hand in the further conduct and administration of the war.

But that was WWI, in WWII Churchill became a national hero with his rousing speeches.

Fast forward to the 80s and Thatcher another Pig Headed politician not known for taking advise, was heading for almost certain defeat in an election until (in my opinion) she engineered the Falklands war, thereby saving herself and becoming a national hero. Although in my mind the real heroes were the troops and not Thatcher. (see this link for my blog on why I feel she engineered the Falklands war)

Is May on Churchill's or Thatcher's level, probably not, shes shown herself to be far more incompetent and a Narcissistic incompetent to boot.  She is only still in power because the Tories need a fall guy for the Brexit fall out. Any other time and they would have had the knives in the back just like they did with Thatcher.

With parliament voting today against a no deal Brexit (although the default legal position is still Deal or no Deal on 29th). We could find, with the prospect of a weakened Brexit or Brexit delay some Brexiteer's could go for another vote on Mays deal on or around the 26th March. (see this link for my prediction on that one.)

Could Mayhem still come out of it a winner?  Personally I don't think so but ...

Only time will tell.




LINKS
https://garysoapbox.blogspot.com/2016/12/was-falkands-war-thatchers-gamble.html
https://garysoapbox.blogspot.com/2019/03/brexiteers-see-their-goal-slipping.html

Brexiteer's see their goal slipping through their fingers and switch

Another of my Facebook posts from earlier today

1. They will vote away the only negotiating card held today, by rejecting no deal Brexit.
2. Tomorrow they will vote to extend leaving the EU. Then there will be much debate as they try and figure out what would be a valid thing to tell the EU why they want to extend, and they wont be able to agree on anything.
3. On the 26th March Mayhem will have another vote on her deal and it'll be voted through as staunch Brexiteer's see their goal slipping through their fingers and switch to accept Mayhems deal.

The only hole in my prediction is that regardless what parliament vote No Deal is the default legal position and the Tories need the DUP to support their Government.

So rock and a hard place, if you can work this one out your doing well.

:-

I could be wrong 🤔😂😂

UPDATE: I noticed late last night that an MP in parliament was trying to bet someone £50 that there would be another vote on Mays deal on or around the 26th of March :-D

UPDATE: 20/03/19 19:30
Looks like my prediction could still be good, EU now saying UK can have a short extension if Mays deal is backed that's gonna put pressure on certain groups. Now I reckon May will put more pressure on by saying she'll resign if the deal isn't backed, that'll pile the pressure on those that don't want to risk a hard core Bexiteer getting in. All in my humble opinion of course :-D :-D
Oh I forgot to mention EU still have to agree to a tweak to the deal so it can be voted on since Bercow stopped it being voted on again without any changes. (apparently that's to do with an old law to stop PM bullying parliament by bringing things back again and again.)

"Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?"
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That's really none of your business. Why do you ask?"
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make $100 an hour."
SON: "Oh. (With his head down).
SON: "Daddy, can I please borrow $50?"
DAD: "REALLY?! If you're asking to borrow money for some silly toy or game, you can just march yourself straight to your room to think about why you're being so selfish. I work hard everyday to provide for this family, and this is the thanks I get?"

The little boy went quietly to his room and shut the door.

The dad sat down and started getting even angrier about his son's questions. "How dare he ask question like that just to get some money?" he stewed.

After an hour, the dad calmed down, and started to think: "Maybe there was something he really needed the $50 for? He doesn't ask for money often..."

So, the dad went to his son's door and opened it.

DAD: "Are you asleep, son?"
SON: "No daddy, I'm awake".
DAD: "I've been thinking, and maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $50 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, smiling.
SON: "Oh, thank you daddy!"

Then, reaching under his pillow, the boy pulled out some crumpled-up dollar bills. When the dad saw the boy already had money, he started getting angry again as the little boy slowly counted out his money and looked up at his father.

DAD: "Why do you want more money if you already have some?"
SON: "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do. Daddy, I have $100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and begged for his forgiveness through a stream of tears.

Just a reminder to all working so hard in life to not let time slip through our fingers without dedicating special time with those who matter most.

If we die tomorrow, the company we may work for could replace us in a matter of days.... but, loved ones we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives, having only precious memories to hold.

Priorities. ❤️

Yesterday is history.

Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with £86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day.
Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every penny, of course?

Each of us has such a bank. It's name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against "tomorrow."
You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!
The clock is running!! Make the most of today.

To realise the value of one year, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realise the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realise the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realise the value of one hour, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realise the value of one minute, ask a person who just missed a train.
To realise the value of one second, ask someone who just avoided an accident.
To realise the value of one millisecond, ask the person who won a silver medal at the olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with. And remember time waits for no one.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why its called the present.

So what did Brexit mean to you?

Back in 2018 I put a post on my Facebook page with a little prediction.  I meant to turn it into a blog post but forgot, so I'm catching up now.

10 December 2018 · 

Mayhem will return to the EU do a little Tyre kicking, the wording in the backstop will get changed so either side can unilaterally pull out of it, if its used. Then she'll return with the small tweak that was planned all along and making sure its right up to the wire, it'll be my deal or no deal. MP's will panic at the thought of crashing out with no deal and it'll get voted through by 2 votes. :-) :-D

Yesterday in Grimsby, she warned that if her deal does not pass, “the only certainty will be ongoing uncertainty”. If that is so, it will be because of her tactics.

After all if her deal doesn't get through there shouldn't be any uncertainty because the default position should be we leave with no deal.  Unfortunately May alienated everyone from the start, its always been MY DEAL it should have been the countries deal.

Next week is when we will see if there are any changes on offer as the EU suggested.

and I guess we should remember the mantras

“no deal is better than a bad deal”.

and

“Brexit means brexit”. 

If anyone really knew what the latter actually meant then they are doing well. It was to designed to be vague so that everyone thought they knew what it meant but didn't really. 

After all who knew that “Brexit means brexit”, actually meant Mays deal. Those of you who assumed that “Brexit means brexit” meant we leave with no deal and WTO terms were all wrong it didn't mean that at all :-)

“Theresa May's 'Brexit means Brexit' catchphrase is meaningless, Tory minister admits”.

So what did Brexit mean to you?

LINKS

May to EU - Agree to backstop changes or risk disorderly Brexit

Telegraph: The deal is still bad, and there is no reason for Brexiteers to compromise now

Independent: Theresa May's 'Brexit means Brexit' catchphrase is meaningless, Tory minister admits
FT: EU offers new Brexit backstop plan

Have you restarted your computer?

Have you restarted your computer?

The dreaded question that IT ask when you contact them with a problem.   Can be very frustrating especially when your busy and don’t want to restart your computer. We do understand :-)

However contrary to the belief that IT Helpdesk are spawn of the devil and just want to inflict more pain and frustration on people with issues.

There is a very good reason for us asking you to restart.

·          

• It’s our job to get you up and running again ASAP and 80% of the time restarting will cure the problem. 
• It can cure a multitude of issues very quickly.
• It’s also one of the 1st things we will want to do if we look at your computer. Obviously if you’ve restarted and it doesn’t fix it then we need to know about it so we can investigate.
• 80% is good odds so why wouldn’t you do it? The possibility is you’ll be up and running again in about 10mins, against maybe waiting for an hour+ for someone from Helpdesk to look at it …..it’s a no brainer.

So why does it work?

1.       Over time your operating system gathers “leftover” digital junk, such as page files, temp files intermittently used by running applications, disk caches, open file descriptors, Zombie Processes, memory leaks, and other mess that hangs around even after you have closed the apps that created them, for days or weeks, until you restart your system.

a.      Tech Lingo Explained:

                                                               i.      Zombie Process is a defunct computer process that has completed execution but still has an entry in the process table.

                                                             ii.      Memory Leak A type of resource leak when a computer program mismanages memory allocations – can eat up your system’s resources. In such case restarting your machine clears out the Memory and gets everything back to working order.

2.       When this type of junk builds up in your computer your system performance is impacted and it starts to slow down your entire system. Over time it will eventually lead to your machine freezing/locking up. This can also lead to driver crashes or software malfunctions, causing issues with your network connectivity.

3.       Most important reason to restart your computer: Cybersecurity! The security patches, system, and application updates cannot be applied unless and until you restart. Both security and feature patches are meant to fix or improve your system’s and your software’s performance. Cybercriminals are able to create and implement zero-day vulnerability exploits in less than 24 hours, so if your security patches and feature updates have not been installed and “activated” by a restart, your system can be compromised at any time.

a.       So don’t put off windows updates.

b.      A restart means a proper windows restart. Do not shut down by holding power button, you will potentially cause more problems…. unless advised by IT Helpdesk.

c.       Tech Lingo Explained: 

A zero-day vulnerability is a software security flaw that is known to the software vendor but doesn’t have a patch in place to fix the flaw. It has the potential to be exploited by cybercriminals.