Is google Echo anything like artificial intelligence..

So, my sometime Dad decided I needed a Google Echo for Xmas.

I have used it for 3 days now and it is an excellent kitchen timer.

However, I cannot pretend this is in anyway AI or artificial intelligence as they suggest is close. At best, it is voice activated Google, except that Google offers me choices, whereas Alexa decides of she has an answer, and the answers are increasingly limited.

The final straw was asking Alexa to not respond until 6 am.  Now even a programmer should be able to program a standard response that works, my phone has a fixed DND option.

Alexa however, responded, I do not know what you want.. so far from being AI, my Amazon Echo is dummer than my computer, my phone, and myself..

Do not be conned by words!

Omnishambles

Omnishambles

I am not a big fan of the Guardian, however some of their opinion writers are very amusing and scarily accurate in their observations.

A Christmas Nightmare..

THIS festive season the Inside Politics column brings you a spine-tingling fairy story about a possible nightmare Christmas yet to come.

Take an imaginary trip forward in time to Christmas Eve, 2019, and read a Yuletide message from Britain's surprise new prime minister. Be warned, what follows is not suitable for Brexiteers of a nervous disposition. After another tumultuous year, Tony Blair is back in Downing Street.

"Hi, and merry Christmas! Frankly, who'd have predicted it? Me and Cherie back running the shop. New Year, New Britain, New Europe. But look, I'm just the same old Tony.

"You know, what a year 2019 has been. I've never been one for sound bites but, over the past few amazing months, I really have felt the hand of history on my shoulder.

"When Jean-Claude Juncker grabbed me, ruffled my hair, kissed me on the cheek and asked me to step in as the prime minister heading an emergency government of national unity for the country in its hour of need, what could I say but yeah, sure?

"I've always said I'd be always with you and here I am. Myself, my foreign secretary David Cameron and my chancellor Nick Clegg are ready to be the servants of the people once again.

"You know, it really was an extraordinary political crisis that brought me back to this job. The country did absolutely the right thing in holding that second EU referendum last spring. Going ahead with Brexit would have been a disaster, so that poll was so important for our future.

It was the People's Vote and that is how it will stay, how it will remain in our hearts and our memories for ever. But you know, who could have possibly forecast the People's Vote would have been a dead heat?

"Quite literally, Brexit split our country right down the middle. As you remember, 16,775,991 of you voted to Leave the EU and 16,775,991 voted to Remain. Even after 37 recounts, the result was the same.

"Sure, the people voted, but the electorate couldn't decide. So that's why the EU appointed politicians of real expertise and experience to sort out the mess, just like it did so successfully in Greece and Italy.

"Let me pay tribute to my predecessor, Theresa May. Look, I have nothing but sincere admiration for her doggedness in keeping on keeping on, despite all the shenanigans.

"But let's face up to it, all those ministerial rows about no deal or Norway-plus or what have you only showed how outdated Cabinet government had become. We're a young country with a great European future ahead of us. Let's take crucial decisions in a truly modern way, on my sofa in Downing Street.

"I've already made some tough decisions. On New Year's Day, this country embarks on an exciting new era as a proud member of the euro zone. Hard-working families will feel a real benefit from earning and spending euros rather than the outdated pound.

"And genuine open borders at last, from our new membership of the Schengen Area, will mean we can welcome millions of new citizens to help our economy grow.

"I'm also staying true to my promise to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. The rioting we have seen across the country following Nick's emergency tax rises has been, frankly, unacceptable. We are doing everything we can to tackle the yellow-jacket protesters and other extremists intent on wrecking our future.

Look, this national unity government won't be here for ever.

In the New Year, we'll be organising free and fair elections to the European Parliament so there can be real accountability to our direct rule from Brussels.

"I really do want to wish everyone a great festive break. Just to show we can come together as Europeans, let's all join hands and sing the Ode to Joy. From Cherie, Jean-Claude and me, it's Joyeux Noel à tout le monde!"

Source

Am I meant to give up?

8 weeks ago my wife was diagnosed wheat, milk and yeast intolerant. 

In 8 weeks we have radically changed our diet, have replaced most of our food choices which are not compliant and are looking forward to Xmas.

Compare that with the disaster that is parliament..

They spent months planning to trigger article 50 and arrived with a  blank A4 pad..

They agreed to an EU timetable which relies on agreeing EU priorities.. hence, the bill, the withdrawal agreement and then the future relationship.

As a result we agree the bill, the relationship could not be discussed until we left which required an extension as agreed.

So, we capitulated over the money, we negotiated permission to withdraw and left the future relationship so vague it meant nothing..

At the same time the government was taken to court and forced to offer parliament a "meaningful" vote by a well funded member of the public who still claims she did not want to stop us leaving..

So now we are in a position where the government has made a hash of the negotiation, parliament are playing politics and refusing to agree what we all admit is a rubbish agreement, and the claim is that having made a hash of things the people need to decide again (be under no illusion, this is political speak for you made a decision we dislike, so please decide again)

I agree with the no deal contingent, but they played their hand too late.  What we voted for was to leave, no one suggested a deal.  This would have been a managed withdrawal, both parties agreeing a staged withdrawal to ensure continuity.

Instead we have got a mess, with parliament in disarray. The conservative party are guilty of politicising it, and labour are guilty of failing as an opposition and allowing this stand of in the hope of winning the next election.

Either way, the country is not being represented by the people they voted for as their representatives.

What happened to politicians ethics?

If ever I admired a woman more than my wife, it would be Lady Astor..

Lady Astor 100 Statue Campaign

Of the more than nine hundred statues and monuments in the UK, only 27 are of non-royal, non-mythical women. I am supporting the campaign to raise a statue to Devon's Nancy Astor, to celebrate one hundred years since she was elected as the first female MP to take her seat in Parliament. It was the people of Plymouth who voted her in just one year after some women were finally given the vote. She served the city as MP for Plymouth Sutton for another 26 years and fought for the rights and safety of women and children, education, the people of the city, and equality throughout that time.

The above is from Dr Sarah Wolleston's website..

Shame on Dr Sarah Wolleston for leaving parliament whilst her party is in chaos. Anyone claiming to represent their price should be holding a sit in and forcing government to sort the problem, not asking the people to change their decision to suit her view.

For Posterity, a letter to Dr Sarah Wolleston, my MP.

Following is an email sent to my political representative Dr Sarah Wolleston, reproduced verbatim.

Dear Sarah,

I know I promised not to bother you, but I do not do social media.

From your website..

"I could not remain a member of the Conservative Party if PM changed her main policy objective to delivering No Deal and No Transition. No responsible government could knowingly aim to inflict that kind of harm on the people & especially when we are so woefully unprepared"

When the PM announced her plan at chequers it was obvious that this fudge was the best we could hope for.  At that point the politicians we voted for should have stood up and removed her (please do not say you did not see it)

Instead the various factions in the conservative party and labour thought it would be a good idea to play politics, and here we are.

You say you will not vote for the "deal" which I did not vote leave for, but are not honest enough to say you want to keep us in the EU, instead pretending that I did not know what I was voting for, and since your government has made a mess of it I need to vote again, so I vote the way you want.

So, your refusal to vote for Mrs May's "deal" may result in the very thing that you say will cause you to leave..

At least then, if you are honourable, will trigger a by-election in Totnes and we can waste time whilst the country crashes out of the EU.

Beware of what you wish for, I will never vote for Corbyn, but your government's incompetents is currently ensuring that Labour will take the next election, and that may just move me from just about managing to worry as I earn a good wage, but support my wife who takes nothing from the state. We are the squeezed middle

This email might seem rambling, but I am amazed at how the politicians have mismanaged a process that both the government and opposition stood at an election to support.

Kind regards

And we have to ask..

.. unless you are cashing in on the EU cash cow why would you want to remain and pay into this elite country club with aspirations to be a country by assimilation?

Interesting..

I had a good chat with a friend today.

He voted remain, largely because he owns a house in France and it suits him to be in the EU.

Essentially, he accepts the leave vote and like me is appalled that the politicians are making such a hash of it.

Given a second vote, he is wavering and a leave vote is not a given.

So, for those wanting a second referendum to nullify the first, what happens if leave happens again?

I might as well give up..

..Blogging that is.

People with a much bigger presence than me vocalise what I think so much better.

Delingpole

I will be back when I have something original to offer.

We need a second vote

My MP is right, the people clearly need a second vote as they obviously did not know what they were voting for.

So, can we re-run the 2017 election in which I held my nose and voted conservative to get a strong and stable government.

What an incompetent joke this parliament has become, at the moment I like many other feel politically homeless.

Anything is on the table

It appears we are in the barrel and heading for Niagara

Article

And all because politicians need to play politics.

When we (I voted to leave the failing project) won the referendum, to our surprise, I wrote to my MP to suggest that now it was time to put together a cross party group including Scotland, Ireland, Wales and business to deliver the EU exit whilst the Government got on with running the country.

But no, they decided to politicise it, ensuring the current opposition who have their own problems would insist on rejecting any solution, even if rejecting it harmed the country.  And surprise, this is exactly what has happened.

So now, given that we have not planned for an organised exit, the deal (no one voted for a deal) is likely to fail as the opposition will vote hoping for an election, the deal is not complete as we agreed the the eu timetable, and the government cannot gain support from it's own politicians, we are heading for another referendum, one which will be designed to split the leave vote and ensure remain wins.

If you were a conspiracy theorist you might suggest this was the plan all along.  I leave you to make up your own mind.

Oh FFS

So, I have time to log into my phone's news feed.  Given the fail that is the government's negotiation to leave the EU and subsequent delay of the mandated but meaningless meaningfull vote (don't forget both mainstream parties stood on a mandate to respect the referendum and actually leave), I was presented with this..

Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham BACK TOGETHER - Love Island couple reunited says her dad Danny

WTF.. how is this news worth reading? Some nobody's have had fling, had a row, and got back together.

Makes my life meaningful..

I have no voice regarding leaving the EU

My MP Dr Sarah Wolleston originally came out for leave, she then said she wanted to stay. After the vote she wanted an EEA agreement (remarkably what the country were sold in a referendum regarding joining)

Now she says that the public did not know what they were voting for and we need a people's vote.  This is code for staying in as everyone who suggests a people's vote calls for remain to be on the ballot and two leave choices, thereby splitting the leave vote and ensuring remain wins.

Dr Sarah Wolleston enjoys using a medical analogy to explain why the people, her voters were stupid and need to be asked again.

http://www.drsarah.org.uk/sarah's-blog/informed-consent-is-essential-before-brexit-surgery/2825

I would like to offer my own version.

Imagine you knew something was wrong in your body and so went to the experts for advice.  You are then told something is not right and you have two choices.  You can either do nothing in which case the problem will continue to develop with an unknown ending, or you can have surgery the effect of which is unknown.

So, you decide despite the risks to have the surgery and at that point you leave the details to the experts having given them consent to act collectively on your behalf and undertake the procedure.

Now, imagine your surprise when you are woken up on the operating table to be told that not only is the surgeon so incompetent they do not know what they are doing, but the medical team cannot agree on what surgery to undertake.

As a result, they want you to decide again, do you really want to have the surgery now you know they are incapable, or do you want to decide to not have the surgery which would be easier for the medical team, but leave you with the disease and an uncertain future you cannot control.