YoungWillz

Horticulturist and Gardeners' World presenter Mary Spiller reportedly dead at 95: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2767797/

Interesting. I was updating the UK MP megalist and noted that John Ellis, former Labour MP for Bristol North West and then Brigg and Scunthorpe, died back in May 2019 with little fanfare, except this: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/john-ellis-mp-scunthorpe-tribute-2953230 Death date on Wiki with no reference and still marked as a living person, so that's one rotten edit.

While I think the Tories will hold a couple of seats, I think a lot of voters will feel bloody awful that they actually gave the election to Tezza last time. I do think Scots vote on what is put before them, and Brexit will not be the only show in town up here. Bawjaws himself is absolutely toxic, and there's also an innate dislike of upper-class nonces thinking they know what is best for Scotland. Labour died in Scotland precisely because of what you are seeing down South now, however, deep down left leaning Scots tend to like the idea of regionalism, nationalisation, investment. But they also like thrift. The SNP will do well again, however, if they look like a one issue party of independence, it will also look like they are disregarding their vision on issues - they are struggling on health, education standards and local government - but then isn't everybody? I actually think the LibDems might recover in their heartlands a bit, but Jo Swinson looks precarious. The oppo parties should go hard on her admiration for Thatcher and Tezza, the breaking of bread in the Coalition and the fact she doesn't actually have any Scottish oriented promises - then tata Jo. Brexit Party? Nope, though they will hurt Tories in the seats they want to hold. Greens? I'll tell you what,it wouldn't surprise me if they picked up one or two. Climate change is the big issue in the University towns up here.

Not the actress but the author Rosemary Harris, dead at 96: http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/236935/harris DDP Pick.

I don't care what any politician says, I bloody LOVE voting.

How about Laura Kuenssberg? Not English, not a bloke, common touch, politicians quiver under her glare!

Former MP Jack Dunnett, also former chair of Notts County, reported dead at 97:

Depends how you view it, really. There are special threads which are offshoots of major threads. Question is, bury your obit in a huge unwieldy thread which no-one will ever see it for the succeeding death and possibly confusing discussions on two or three deaths close together, or a specialist thread? Tell you what, if all the music threads apart from Dead Pop Stars were swept away, I might agree with you. But I don't, because that will never happen.

Well, looks like we'll have to get our thinking caps on again. As you know, this thread attempts to give players the opportunity to predict which candidate in the forthcoming General Election will lose by the largest margin. Obviously, a few of our favourites are standing down, but I'd guess Anna Soubry and Mike Gapes must be down there....maybe? Anyhow, remains to be seen who announces they are not standing. We could start throwing names around, maybe when we know better. Bumped anyway.

Chim-Chimney, Chim-Chimney Chim Chim Cheerio.

Well there's Dana Scatton a bit lower down. Billy Clayton wouldn't have got into the Poker Tourney as a pick in a million years. The Indonesian disaster guy just about did on the back of his social media celebrity. It is better now, ridiculousness in the past. I'm guilty as charged, I have a pick I wouldn't otherwise have picked this year because (1) I was trying to improve on last year's score and (2) the obits opened up a bit this year. Because I picked her (not dead), I had a choice on my twentieth pick, so I chose to go for a dodgy unique rather than the more obvious potentially Drop 40 Ricksen to compensate for my overwhelming sense of guilt at picking the FFBI.

As I said, you can't stop folk picking the FFBI or Persons of Reflected Fame. (Unless you run a very successful Poker Deadpool - and indeed some folk have had more hits in that in 4 months than they have had in 10 months of DDP, ha! It can be done on a lower scale.) It's the positive reward, the advantage gained. Volume of press coverage is no measure of achievement. Let's face it, if folk were eternally to be remembered, they'd be on the Death Anniversary Thread here. FFBI are an impulse buy of Ratners' jewellery in the 1980s. Temporary. Flashy. Worth little in the long run, but a massive ostentatious show for the moment. Spade is right, it's a nightmare. Vincent Lambert was a cause celebre, for example. Tyler Trent, no matter how inspirational, no matter how much covered, was an unfortunate soul whose story was leeched on for high points in a game. Unless you increase the risk and/or diminish the reward, somehow, which was kind of done, the problem remains. Unenviable.

Vladimir Bukovsky is dead: https://www.vladimirbukovsky.com/obit

Well, you never know, I've seen FFBI's only on the Mail in the past. The only other way would be for the game runner to judge each FFBI as they die, give half points for that pick and no bonuses accrue, even if unique. But that might involve some horrid coding revamping of how the system is set up. I do think introducing trio, duo bonuses might be an idea as well, just throwing that hand grenade in while I'm on.

You've taken that one too far @Skinny kiltrunner, lol.

I see Tony's cousin, Tim Benn the publisher died earlier this month and gets a write-up proper in the Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tim-benn-obituary-x8g6nzxxd

It's quite clearly not a wheel chair. It's a Kane chair. I'll get my coat....

Ah. I see we are weighing in on this. As I recall, the main issue was that the DDP seemed to have lost its way (though I'm willing to be corrected on this by some of the more seasoned players). You can call FFBI/cancer sufferers "interesting picks" all you want (though I don't think that was what DDT meant, I hasten to add), they are not celebrities. Culminating in the Shameless era, it showed up the worst instincts of those desperate to win at all costs and the appearance of complete and total ghoulishness. To my mind picking those FFBI types is basically the equivalent of picking folk on Death Row (without the infamy). Now, the Drop 40 bonus never really solved the problem as I think I pointed out on many an occasion. The bonus for a unique pick and the Drop 40 were the same, so given those picking FFBI types generally picked those younger, the FFBI picks still had an advantage and even more so when unique. The narrowing of the QOs abated that somewhat, as the risk of picking a FFBI type was increased with the requirement for a better quality of QO. I thought that was rather a jolly idea and a superb compromise to try and give a bit of balance. Remember, even those of us who picked folk genuinely famous for something didn't necessarily get a QO, or indeed on a couple of occasions, no QO at all. (Ah Zara Nutley, how you were forgotten!). So that made it a doubly horrid slap in the face when John Doe with Stage 4 brain cancer who died at a tender age known only to journos or the worst sort of researcher gets a write up in the Mirror and huge pointage to boot. The game had become a back-slapping clique of players congratulating themselves and each other on spotting an unique with John and Jane Doe with terminal illnesses. How lovely. Treating the other participants as those folk dressed as chickens, Big Ben or a double decker bus in a marathon, only really there to help the game and its clique congratulate themselves further on breaking the record for the number of deaths in a year/breaking the record for the number of teams participating. It will never be perfect, you will never and cannot eliminate the issue. But diminishing the risk for the FFBI pickers by opening up the QOs seems to me to be an open invitation to the Shameless-es to return many fold. In a world where social media is poisonous, why add to it? I miss the voice of TMIB too. I felt kindred in some way and could see how he became a bit of a hostage. I too hope he returns sometime, even occasionally, just to poke us in the ribs. We all need that. TL DR: I'm against opening up the QOs further, failing which I'm with Toast and do away with the Mail, lol.

Former Congressman and DDP Pick of this year John Conyers, dead at 90: https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/former-congressman-john-conyers-passes-away

Barrere has QOs from the Star and the Mirror I see.

Trump's statement would be hilarious if it wasn't so obviously full of bullshit. So this frail, injured IS leader "ran" "carrying" 3 of his children with him, into a tunnel. Detonated a suicide vest which no soldier was close enough to be injured by, despite the tunnel "caving in", and Trump clearly watched him die, "whimpering and screaming"? Secures the oil "to protect it" from IS, even though IS has been "totally defeated", wants to take the oil even though Trump declared a few weeks ago that USA was totally self sufficient in oil and gas, happy to take intel from the Kurds while sending them to potential ethnic cleansing/genocide, content for Russia to take over total operations in the area. Healthy skepticism here due to fucking obvious lies and embellishments.

Official announcements are usually forthcoming from the leadership. Wasn't he replaced as leader ages ago?

I assume IS have to confirm it too?

FTFY.