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Messages - Mike Tyson

#1
Down / Re: Down Club Hurling & Football
February 11, 2024, 02:43:05 PM
Quote from: supersub on February 11, 2024, 01:59:24 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on February 10, 2024, 09:22:32 PM
Quote from: ardtole on February 10, 2024, 08:50:23 PMIn fairness there is a massive difference in winning the McCrory with the equivalent of Kerry and bringing Kilkeel single handedly to the final more suited to a Sligo.

Ordinarily I'd agree with you.

But Clarke weren't alone. It was a freakish time for St Louis football.

Over those couple of seasons he'd teammates of the calibre of James Colgan, Joe Ireland and Pete Fitzpatrick, three of the best players in Ireland for their age group.

Then Gavin Joyce, Eamon McConville, Hugh Magee, Gerard McCartan, who won AI minor medals in 2005.

Luke Howard was involved too, a fine player who I think played in an u21 Ai final.

And something in my head says the O'Reilly brothers were St Louis men too around that time.

Marty was fabulous.

But this wasn't just the Marty show.




This is true, they did have a great group. However you take one of those named players out and they still get to the finals. You take Clarke out and they don't. He was still very very much the main man, despite the others around him. The same can be said of the AI Minor team, a great group, but without Clarke, wouldn't have done what they did. In my opinion.

I'd have the same opinion. The second MacRory year, the game plan seemed to be give him the ball and hope for the best. That year it very much was the Marty Show. His fifth year he was also prolific in St Louis McLarnon & All Ireland B campaign's, man of the match in both finals?

Jamie O'Reilly never was near St Louis and Ben joined the year after Clarke left.
#2
General discussion / Re: Cost Of Living
December 20, 2023, 03:24:26 PM
Quote from: armaghniac on December 20, 2023, 03:11:38 PM
Quote from: imtommygunn on December 20, 2023, 12:11:09 PM
Quote from: armaghniac on December 20, 2023, 12:06:41 PMWhile there are people struggling, in general wages have kept pace with inflation, and in the ROI the government has indexed tax bands etc. Most people are about the same and do not have a crisis, which seems to showing up the shops.
In Ireland, people have not lost the run of themselves they way they did in 2007.

You read of queues for food vouchers etc, I would be interested in the stories behind these; e.g. excessive rent might be squeezing the food budget.



Not up north they haven't or even close. Are you just talking about the south here because in the north or the remainder of the UK that is very very far from the truth particularly for public sector workers.

Clearly public sector workers are screwed, but someone is getting increases, many in the private sector are doing OK.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/pay-up-75-in-northern-ireland-to-2100-a-month-report/a256063943.html

Not sure I'd use that term given inflation was around 11% the year prior. So not only was there a delay in wage rise but they haven't even kept pace with inflation.
#3
General discussion / Re: Cost Of Living
December 20, 2023, 12:59:59 PM
Quote from: armaghniac on December 20, 2023, 12:06:41 PMWhile there are people struggling, in general wages have kept pace with inflation, and in the ROI the government has indexed tax bands etc. Most people are about the same and do not have a crisis, which seems to showing up the shops.
In Ireland, people have not lost the run of themselves they way they did in 2007.

You read of queues for food vouchers etc, I would be interested in the stories behind these; e.g. excessive rent might be squeezing the food budget.



Surprising how easily it could happen - our mortgage fixed rate came to an end a year ago and went from £700 to £1200, childcare bill shortly after went up due to increased staff, heating & electricity cost from £780 to £1100 a month - so there's £820 a month extra we are paying on those two items. Factor in home electricity, gas, food & fuel increases and I can understand how people who were relatively comfortable are suddenly having trouble paying bills and buying food.

Edit - my salary hasn't increase by £820 a month in the same period!
#4
General discussion / Re: Teachers get it handy!
November 29, 2023, 09:47:14 AM
Quote from: trailer on November 29, 2023, 09:22:08 AM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on November 29, 2023, 12:01:52 AM
Quote from: Kidder81 on November 28, 2023, 09:01:43 PM
Quote from: quit yo jibbajabba on November 28, 2023, 06:08:07 PMThink one of the big differences which gets ignored is the pension. Excellent pension at end of it by they sure pay for it while working. Not uncommon to see a deduction of 4/500 pm taken out. Compare this to a pension of eg tesco/tyre fitter.

Just one argument but I know what yous are saying

Yeah and what they pay in their employer (taxpayer) is paying in 4/5 times that

So break it down for me, a pension for a teacher who retires at 65 gets what (on average) per month after tax?

Employee putting in anywhere from 7.4% to 12%
Employer putting in a whopping 17.7%

Normal pension is 8% total (4% employee, 3% employer 1% Gov)

Nice work if you can get it.


Plus they're Defined Benefit which are impossible to get in the private sector. A guaranteed income for life which increases with inflation each year - "PI is always applied on the first Monday falling on or after 6 April. PI this year will be 10.1%, which will be applied from 6 April 2023."

Nice wee 10% boost to their pensions this year!
#5
General discussion / Re: East wall #Irelandisfull
November 24, 2023, 11:48:02 AM
Quote from: tyrone08 on November 24, 2023, 11:38:32 AM
Quote from: NAG1 on November 24, 2023, 11:19:09 AM
Quote from: imtommygunn on November 24, 2023, 11:15:04 AMThere is a lot of talk that the UK situation is now worse due to Brexit too.

No incentive now for the ex-partners in the EU to stop the migration through their countries to the UK.

Actually it makes sense for them to allow them migrants through to the final destination of the UK. The UK Govt are now going to have to pay the likes of France etc to prevent the migrants from crossing the channel. Instead of working as a partner inside the EU framework.

Crazy decision of Brexit is the gift that keeps on giving for the people of GB/ UK.

The question should be why are they chosing to go to uk when they are passing through a number of far better countries to get to the uk and in some respect ireland. The only answer i can think of is the benefit package must be better in ireland and uk than elsewhere in Europe.

If you stop that then it would solve alot of the issues in that people who then come to the uk and ireland will only do so because they want to and not because its an easy life.

Would be interesting to see the figures compared to France or Germany say over the last 10 years. I'd imagine it isn't a case of UK being the most desired for migrants, although I did read numbers have sky rocketed the past year or so.
#6
General discussion / Re: Car Insurance!!!!!
November 09, 2023, 02:15:34 PM
Quote from: toby47 on November 09, 2023, 01:55:42 PM
Quote from: RedHand88 on November 09, 2023, 01:16:14 PM
Quote from: toby47 on November 09, 2023, 12:05:55 PM
Quote from: clarshack on November 07, 2023, 09:23:43 PMIf it keeps going the way it is will more and more people just end up driving around with no insurance? Probably worth the risk if you drive an old banger but maybe not so much if you're running around in a 20-30 grand motor.

What would happen if you were stopped? Not in an accident or anything, but just pulled in by the cops and no insurance.

6 points and a huge fine. Also in the north (not sure about the south) they don't need to pull you over and discover it. It flags up when they are driving past you, behind you etc.
Camera on the car picks up your reg and does the search automatically.

How huge would you be talking? More expensive than a years insurance?


Potentially a lot more expensive:

"The police could give you a fixed penalty of £300 and 6 penalty points if you're caught driving a vehicle you're not insured to drive.

If the case goes to court you could get:

an unlimited fine
disqualified from driving
The police also have the power to seize, and in some cases, destroy the vehicle that's being driven uninsured.
"
#7
Down / Re: Down Club Hurling & Football
October 15, 2023, 11:34:02 AM
Niall McCoy now reporting that Gough considering pulling out. What a shit show
#8
GAA Discussion / Re: County Manager Merry go round
October 03, 2023, 07:37:04 PM
Ciaran Meenagh in with Down & Laverty.
#9
General discussion / Re: Man Utd Thread:
August 16, 2023, 02:17:03 PM
Quote from: gallsman on August 16, 2023, 01:17:09 PM
Quote from: Mike Tyson on August 16, 2023, 12:56:49 PM
Maguire perfectly entitled to stay and receive his wages while sitting on the bench and not playing. Football no different to any other workplace in that you'll get employees with no motivation to better themselves and coast along collecting their wage.

You'd think with a euro's coming up, regular first team football and securing his England spot would be the priority over money but obviously not.

If I was in a workplace were I effectively got demoted twice (losing captaincy & first team place)and told there was no plans for me, I'd be fairly eager to move on regardless of money owed. Maybe it's different when you're a multimillionaire.

He's hardly coasting along. I assume he turns up to training and gives nothing less than 100% every time. The choice not to play him is the club's. Nothing to do with his "motivation to better himself", whatever the f**k that means in this context.

Of course he is coasting along lol. Sitting on the bench collecting 200k a week is coasting along, regardless if it is the clubs choice not to play him.

'Motivation to better themselves' in this context = play first team football & therefore an England spot, not that hard to understand  ;)
#10
General discussion / Re: Man Utd Thread:
August 16, 2023, 12:56:49 PM
Maguire perfectly entitled to stay and receive his wages while sitting on the bench and not playing. Football no different to any other workplace in that you'll get employees with no motivation to better themselves and coast along collecting their wage.

You'd think with a euro's coming up, regular first team football and securing his England spot would be the priority over money but obviously not.

If I was in a workplace were I effectively got demoted twice (losing captaincy & first team place)and told there was no plans for me, I'd be fairly eager to move on regardless of money owed. Maybe it's different when you're a multimillionaire.
#11
Quote from: illdecide on August 10, 2023, 10:59:55 PM
Hi guys...have a query that hopefully some of you can offer me help.

I have a small business (4 year old) and recently the bank (Santander) contacted me asking for information to back up the cash i was lodging as this was a new thing the Government have been pushing them for (all banks). Information like invoices, till receipts, proof of address and utility bills etc that match what I bank, I provided them with everything they asked for and about a month later they contacted me again asking for the tax returns for further info which I reluctantly provided but they said a few weeks after i submitted this that because there is a Water mark on the tax return that it was not acceptable. I downloaded a digital copy from HMRC and sent it to them and they said as there was no signature that it was unacceptable, I explained it's digital tax return taken of HMRC and that there is no section in that for a signature. Long story short whilst on Holiday last week the put a block on my account and I am unable to use my Business account, I can't pay the wages tomorrow and can't pay any bills.

Can I go above the banks heads to Regulatory Authorities or Financial Conduct Authority and report them...I have done everything they asked and provided everything i possibly have and have nothing else to give them. I have nothing to hide, I pay tax and VAT and have all the accounts up to date so WTF is their gripe. Any help or useful info would be appreciated.

P.S. I intend to move banks after this but need a short term solution...

This will be part of their anti money laundering due diligence but certainly isn't something new so don't know why they would tell you that. It looks as if you have been flagged for some suspicious activity or money laundering - usually if a large or unusual transaction occurs but sometimes the algorithm can just flag customers in complete error.

Tax returns can be asked for as part of AML but the fact they didn't accept it due to watermark is ridiculous. The digital copy not being accepted doesn't surprise me, my own bank wouldn't accept their own digital statement for my mortgage. Common sense is usually scarce when it comes to banking processes.

I would call them and ask for a full explanation as to why the account has been frozen, state you have wages to pay and ask them to remove the block. You'll most likely be put through to a junior call center staff member, so ask to speak to someone with more authority if they aren't doing much, and however hard it may be, try and keep the head and be reasonable. I think if they have money laundering suspicions they can freeze your account for up to 38 days.

If they are being unreasonable, mention they aren't complying with the new Consumer Duty regulations which recently came into force, specifically Chapter 9 on Consumer Support. In this case it appears to contradict that firms should;

  • put consumers at the heart of their business and focus on delivering good outcomes for customers
  • ensure that customers can use their products as reasonably anticipated
  • ensure that customers do not face unreasonable barriers (including unreasonable additional costs) during the lifecycle of a product or service

https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/finalised-guidance/fg22-5.pdf

The FCA are putting a big push on banks surrounding Consumer Duty, so use this to your advantage and query how they are complying with it in this case - they have to provide evidence that they are complying with it. Also mention you want to make an official complaint and by law they have to then register your compliant and provide you with a complaint process. Use key buzzwords & terms for this part like 'customer journey has been terrible', 'very poor customer outcome' etc etc. Google their values on their website and stress your experience does not meet these values. You will also be needing financial compensation for loss of funds from having your business account blocked, compensation for late payment off wages and anything else that may be affected (mention this when speaking about unblocking your account also). The length of time it has taken for this could also be unreasonable if it is rolling on.

You certainly can also make a complaint with the FCA and detail the above, as well as the FOS https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help. The bank should make all this clear to you if you complain (and even if you are unhappy with the service should state it), so make a note if they don't. All their calls should be recorded (again they should mention this) so you can take them up if they don't mention either. You may also be entitled to compensation from the FOS.

The bad news is, this all takes time and unless they remove the block from your account today of their own accord, there is nothing immediately that you can do to get it unfrozen if they refuse I'm afraid.

If you have the funds to pay staff outside that account somewhere, setting up a Starling or Monzo business account and using it to pay is the next best thing. Always useful to have them and some cash sitting in them for future use also.

#12
Quote from: armaghniac on August 04, 2023, 03:04:11 PM
Quote from: 93-DY-SAM on August 04, 2023, 02:24:18 PM
Interesting how many of these big firms' profits have increased by factors of stupid yet they'd have you believe on a day-to-day basis that their margins are being squeezed which is why prices have had to go up. Everyone is at it from oil companies, energy companies, insurance companies, supermarkets etc. It is us mugs at the bottom who are being taken for every penny but sure look over there, there is a boat load of people that look different than us arriving into the country. It is an absolute scandal where the super-rich are getting richer by the minute and everyone else is poorer.

Your statement is indiscriminate. Some companies are making large profits, if you own an oil well or gas field and the price of these things go up then of course you make a big profit. That in itself does not mean that your local petrol station makes more money.

"Recent figures from RAC Fuel Watch show that the average profit margin on a litre of petrol is 10p. For diesel it's a massive 21p. Prior to the pandemic, the long-term margin on both fuels was around 7p per litre"

https://www.nationalworld.com/opinion/as-profit-margins-double-its-hard-not-to-feel-drivers-are-being-taken-for-a-ride-on-fuel-prices-4155088

The above statement may be heavily influenced by supermarkets taking the pi$$, but would suggest that everyone is at it.
#13
GAA Discussion / Re: Standard of Refs
August 01, 2023, 10:29:06 AM
Quote from: guevara on August 01, 2023, 10:00:59 AM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on August 01, 2023, 09:36:31 AM
Quote from: Main Street on August 01, 2023, 01:19:32 AM
Quote from: Wildweasel74 on July 31, 2023, 11:37:29 PM
Why is it one ref makes them work for a free, and another was giving frees for very littikr in the semi, it's either a free or its not.
According to MR2, the ref was correct when he called a foul in one incident of foul play and still correct when he doesn't call a foul in a similar  or even worse incident of foul play, because apparently it wasn't foul play when the ref decides it wasn't a foul. Or the last resort excuse, it wasn't foul play because of the peculiar viewing angle.

Regardless, a GAA ref  has a mammoth task to ref championship games, I 100% favour having 2 refs  say from group stage onward. There's usually an experience ref  lingering on the sideline whose only duty is to inform the mentors of what's what. I couldn't care less if the 2 refs slightly differed on their application of the rules. Eventually they will end up performing in unison like those synchronized swimmers.
For my money Coldrick was the best at letting a game roll with the punches and blowing up for foul play when appropriate, definitely the best for an Ulster free for all final.

If ref'ing was so simple, as in how everyone here knows better and how it should be applied, then why are we having these discussions?

2 Ref's? f**k me! Clubs struggle to put forward one referee, the fall out rate after completing the course is nearly 50% after the first year, main reason is gobshites either hanging over the fence or on the pitch telling the ref he's a useless cnut!

Some people haven't the first clue of the actual rules, and still questioning the rules when they are explained, As for Sunday's game I haven't seen it on TV, watching it on my phone isn't the same, was raining too which didnt help, I'll watch the game back, as I said earlier

Plenty of Referees haven't a clue on the rules either!  The problem a lot of the time is Refs apply their own interpretation of the rules. Take Sunday for example David Gough influenced the game by not applying the rules of the game consistently.
McCarthy should not have been on the pitch & it could be argued that he allowed Dublin away with overly aggressive late hits (McCarthy, Smalls) & let Costello away with throwing a punch.

If you have played the game you will realise his call to overturn the Clifford free was a cop out. Why did he not consult his umpires on the other decisions?

There is no consistency from game to game and as a neutral it appears The Dubs seem to come out on the right side of these inconsistent performances in the big games.

Lol
#14
Quote from: general_lee on July 20, 2023, 11:21:07 AM
Quote from: RedHand88 on July 20, 2023, 10:19:15 AM
Quote from: tonto1888 on July 20, 2023, 09:18:15 AM
Genuine question. Why would legalising then help?

It doesn't. It makes it worse. I have no idea why people push this argument. Is it the tax revenue?
How does it make it worse?

Explain to me how diverting (wasted) resources from chasing, arresting, charging and prosecuting individuals for carrying small amounts of drugs to a more public-health based approach makes things worse?

You're literally freeing up hundreds of thousands if not millions of pounds that can be put towards treating drug addicts, needle exchanges, funding educational programmes etc rather than pissing away time, money and resources on a battle you're never going to win.

I think we all know this wouldn't be the case and it would be spunked on an overpriced contract to a mate of some MP. Does the tax revenue from alcohol go toward rehab and help for alcoholics?
#15
General discussion / Re: UK pensions
June 06, 2023, 11:08:44 AM
Quote from: Mario on June 06, 2023, 08:11:40 AM
You pay a charge if you contribute more than £40k to a defined contribution pension scheme or for doctors who have DB aka final salary schemes, they pay a charge if the value of their pension increases by more than £40k in one year. That limit has been upped to £60k following the last budget.

If this is the charge tommygunn is referring to, then he is correct - their pension is not what some think, it is exceedingly more. Hard to have sympathy with anyone who contributes more to their pension than the average worker receives in gross salary.

Quote from: RedHand88 on June 05, 2023, 10:07:21 PM
Quote from: Tony Baloney on April 12, 2023, 08:15:11 PM
Poor doctors have to contribute about 9% but neglect to mention the employer (tax payer) is chipping in 20-30% on top of that.

They don't get that 20-30% though. It goes into a communal pot to pay everyone who works for HSCNI.  They get 1/54(?) of each years salary every year of retirement.

They would appear to get more. A doctor with 30 years service on pensionable final salary of 50k (not unreasonable, maybe conservative estimate) would receive yearly pension of c.£30k - 60% of their salary? Be very hard pushed to get anything as good anywhere else for 9% contributions from your wage.

Average accrual rates for DB schemes are 1/60 or 1/80, so getting a boost here too.