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Cricketing_stargazer

Listed below are comments made by Cricketing_stargazer between Tuesday, 3rd November 2009 and Friday, 13th November 2009.

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Glasgow North East by-election 09:20am on 13 Nov 2009 Really, you cannot compare this by-election to the last General Election because there was not really a contest. Mind you, pro-government swings are collector's items in any circumstances.

It's a good result for Labour, but will a 2% swing from SNP to Labour really win them the next General Election???
Glasgow North East by-election 07:54am on 13 Nov 2009 Just a couple of observations.

First, there must be no more than 5 seats like this one in the whole UK. To suggest that Labour will be competitative nationally based on this result is a remarkable flight of fantasy. This by-election was never about Labour v Conservatives, hence the general surprise that the Conservative candidate not only finished third, but saved her deposit!

Second, there is no comment at all about the fact that the LibDems, in so much of the country the alternative to Labour, only coming 6th! That is a quite astonishing result.

And third, even if there were only one case of presumed voter fraud, that is still introducing a very unpleasant new element into British politics.
Toyota exit shifts F1 balance of power 2:35pm on 05 Nov 2009 I was just thinking back to the days when there were so many teams that pre-Qualifying was introduced to qualify for Qualifying. A new team called Jordan appeared that started the season in pre-Qualifying and ended up chasing podium finishes. I wonder if any of the new teams will be capable of making that kind of impact?

What no one wants is many of the established teams leaving and handing over to the neos. Similarly, I am less than convinced about the wisdom of adding new circuits and getting rid of the old ones. There will always be a place for Monaco where, despite the tightness of the circuit, a brave driver can find ways to pass and only a skilled driver can win, but to add Valencia and Singapore was too much of a good thing. This year Valencia seemed less processional than last year (there were one or two overtaking manouevres), but Singapore seems not to have any salvation. Valencia is a spectacular circuit and a wonderful setting; last year the race weekend atmosphere was just amazing (I kept running into the mean, black, BMW Sauber minivans all over town, which was a thrill even for the non race-fans in the family) but, this year, even with two Spanish drivers on the grid, the race lost some of its pizzaz. How long will other new circuits survive where there is no significan local interest?
Waiting for deliverance 1:15pm on 05 Nov 2009
Consider NY's 23rd, where a Democrat just trounced the bright star of the Republican base in a Conservative rural district. You know, where those "real" Americans live.

#135, which election was this? I thought that actually a Democratic who was supported by the former Republican candidate just held off by a small margin the challenge of a candidate from a fringe party.
Waiting for deliverance 10:49pm on 04 Nov 2009 #126, John from Dublin, you have hit the nail right on the head about why people are starting to get disillusioned with the Obama presidency: a huge popular vote, opposition in chaos, immense popularity, Congress sown-up. No President has had it so good since Jimmy Carter in 1976. And yet, supposedly a bunch of no-hopers who can't even pick a winning candidate for a seat that they have held fot over 100 years is stopping him doing anything. Talking the talk was easy, but walking the walk seems to need a Zimmer frame.

How the hell has any President since Jimmy Carter ever got anything done when they have more often than not faced a hostile Congress? Yet some have and have made a bigger impact faster. Expectations have been built up. The country gave him a huge mandate but, instead of a whirlwind, are seeing at most a gentle breeze.
Jason and the quest for funding 9:29pm on 04 Nov 2009 See my last comment yesterday...
Waiting for deliverance 9:00pm on 04 Nov 2009 A lot of people are missing the point. Yes, you cannot change the system in 12 months. True. Unarguable. And totally misleading.

You have a President elected with a 70% approval rating, backed by a huge majority in the House and a fillibuster-proof majority in the Senate. The opposition has been demoralised and in chaos. Has any President ever had it so good to press through his agenda fast?

A newly elected President will start with a lot of momentum - the famous "first 100 days". By the end of the first year he should normally have most of his main agenda through because by the end of the second year the election is looming and the only aim is consolidation. It doesn't matter how good your agenda is if you can't get yourself re-elected. So, in practice, if by this stage you cannot point to real change you have to be a real optimist to think that it is going to come before 2012.

Does anyone seriously think that after the mid-term elections, with a Senate that may be significantly less blue, a House with a smaller Democratic majority and an approval rating hovering around 50% at best and November 2012 looming, President Obama will really get a lot more done? In reality he has about 12 more months to deliver. After that, the excuse that the Republicans are blocking him won't wash because he will have had two years when they can't even slow him in Congress which he will have wasted.
Toyota exit shifts F1 balance of power 6:21pm on 04 Nov 2009 I tend to agree with the doubts above. Lots of new tracks coming on line, but where were the spectators in Abu Dubai? How long will it remain commercially interesting to hold a Grand Prix in front of empty stands, however much money the local authorities offer up front? After the novelty wears off, will the Chinese GP, or the Korean GP be viable concens?

F1 left the USA because of lack of interest and Canada over advertising. Years back it left Mexico too. Is there really enough local interest in F1 to sustain racing for long in so many new places??? It looks like the plan has been to take the money up front and to hell with the future.
Toyota exit shifts F1 balance of power 6:13pm on 04 Nov 2009 Well, so much for Renault's commitment...
Spain makes its 'breakthough' in space 1:00pm on 03 Nov 2009 All this, to a background, Jonathan, of real doubts about Spain being able to pay its 2010 ESA contribution.

The naming of ESAC as a Establishment last summer after the Ministerial Council very surprisingly rejected Spain's bid last November is probably also not insignificant. There was no public announcement about the move, it just happened at not even most people at ESAC knew that it had happened until months later.

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