Comments on: "You will depart immediately, before we set the dogs on you."

"You will depart immediately, before we set the dogs on you."

creeky — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 05:59:17 -0800

Dave Hartnett was surprised with an award this week for his services to tax avoidance. He was celebrating his retirement as head of the UK's tax and customs department, where he agreed "sweetheart" deals with Goldman Sachs and Vodafone, letting them off outstanding tax bills. Cue some pleasantly awkward confusion as the partygoers realise what is going on.

By: inigo2

inigo2 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:04:42 -0800

That was pretty fantastic. I also must say I respect the response of the official party-people/security, merely making them leave (and calling them a couple names); I definitely feel like here in America they would've been arrested, at the least.

By: El Sabor Asiatico

El Sabor Asiatico — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:11:23 -0800

Trespassing scum!!

By: quarsan

quarsan — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:13:01 -0800

Steady on Robert!

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:13:58 -0800

"Before we set the dogs on you." ? I LIKE dogs, I don't see that as a problem.

By: mecran01

mecran01 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:17:44 -0800

Smithers, unleash the hounds!

By: DU

DU — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:21:46 -0800

"Trespassing scum" really says it all.

By: a womble is an active kind of sloth

a womble is an active kind of sloth — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:23:25 -0800

I can't believe that man really threatened to set the dogs on them. What a comic-book level of badness threat.

By: resurrexit

resurrexit — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:25:00 -0800

Smithers, release the lawyers!

By: dry white toast

dry white toast — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:36:58 -0800

Smithers, release the robotic Richard Simmons!

By: incandissonance

incandissonance — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:41:34 -0800

Harry Potter and the Golden Handshake of Doom.

By: jph

jph — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:43:19 -0800

Smithers, release the Dowager Countess...

By: ob

ob — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:44:10 -0800

"Trespassing scum" really says it all. Yes, it's nice to see that the tories have really managed to pair-down their platform.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:44:24 -0800

I can't believe that man really threatened to set the dogs on them. What a comic-book level of badness threat. Don't laugh. "Having dogs set on you" is an ancient punishment where the condemned is forced to stand in the blazing sun for hours, arms outstretched, with a small terrier set on each palm. Dropping a terrier results in the dogs being replaced with larger breeds. The physical pain in the shoulders and back is reported to be terrible, and the mental strain incalculable.

By: DU

DU — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:46:29 -0800

..with a small terrier set on each palm. A corgi, surely.

By: Jehan

Jehan — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:57:11 -0800

His corruption trial starts early next year. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Only kidding. He's getting away with it.

By: lineofsight

lineofsight — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:02:26 -0800

If you want to infiltrate a group of finance types, invest in hair spray.

By: MartinWisse

MartinWisse — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:05:23 -0800

I also must say I respect the response of the official party-people/security Not really.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:08:11 -0800

A corgi, surely. Beginning with a corgi is the sign of an offense against the Monarchy, not merely scumish trespassing. In some extreme cases, the corgis are heated to red hot, in the belief that God will protect the innocent. God has so far declined to hear the appeal.

By: TheAlarminglySwollenFinger

TheAlarminglySwollenFinger — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:10:05 -0800

Dave Hartnett really did react in the worst possible way. Don't just stand there with a face like a slapped arse, man! Here are five better options: 1. Feign a heart attack or asthma. WHO'S LAUGHING NOW!? 2. Seize back the element of surprise. The very first moment you realise it's an ambush, sprint for the door, screaming at the top of your lungs. 3. Create a diversion: slap your best friend's wife in the face really hard, or go in for a passionate kiss with Robert. 4. Pretend it's a sincere award - embrace it, give a very long winded and technical speech -- stultify the room with your terrible HMRC anecdotes! 5. Get your phone out, explain you're you're at a really critical stage in Whale Trail -- you only need one more of those star things before you get a frenzy. Or count wads of cash.

By: acb

acb — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:10:08 -0800

Within a few years' time, this sort of thing will have been eliminated. The police will be able to preemptively detain anyone whose Facebook profile shows trouble-making tendencies, radical sympathies or a suspicious lack of political apathy as soon as the facial-recognition cameras detect them entering a perimeter of any such event.

By: ultraviolet catastrophe

ultraviolet catastrophe — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:32:10 -0800

he agreed "sweetheart" deals with Goldman Sachs and Vodafone, letting them off outstanding tax bills According to the linked article, it doesn't look like anything's been proven. The lack of transparency surrounding the affair is certainly worth criticizing, but we can't just say he did something just because the opposing party is accusing him of it.

By: creeky

creeky — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:38:04 -0800

it doesn't look like anything's been proven Sure, he has not admitted to it, and it hasn't been proven in a court of law. The information came from leaked documents.

By: MartinWisse

MartinWisse — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:38:27 -0800

That video got me thinking (a rare event, to be sure). The posh asshat at the end is right that these protestors are tresspassing, but if they didn't they could never confront Hartnell with his actions. Funny how that works. Meanwhile the violence that he himself has dealt out to thousands or even millions of ordinary British people is not even recognised, let alone something he could ever be called to account for. Consider that all these billions of taxes he gave to Goldman Sachs and co could've been used to pay for social security and the NHS, not having that money available meant benefit cuts or freezes happened that needn't have happened, investments in health care were not made that needed to be made, which in turn means a lot of people on benefits had somewhat shitter lives, or worse, that people stayed ill longer than they needed have been for want of medications or proper treatment. So people were hurt longer, might even have died, just because Hartnell decided doing his job properly was too much to bother with.

By: Jehan

Jehan — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:40:59 -0800

According to the linked article, it doesn't look like anything's been proven. The lack of transparency surrounding the affair is certainly worth criticizing, but we can't just say he did something just because the opposing party is accusing him of it.

The allegations are grounded, and aren't just party politics. The Private Eye has been knocking on with this for donkeys.

By: ultraviolet catastrophe

ultraviolet catastrophe — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:56:22 -0800

The information came from leaked documents Thanks for the link. Didn't know about this.

By: Podkayne of Pasadena

Podkayne of Pasadena — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:10:37 -0800

Why do even the words "trespassing scum" sound fairly tolerable when said with an English accent?

By: 1adam12

1adam12 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:12:56 -0800

It said the figure of £25bn tax outstanding had been an initial estimate before investigation, as of March 2011, but in fact in many cases it turned out that no more tax was owed at all. "Many" is a weasel word most commonly used when the speaker wants to give the listener the impression that he means "most." If I say the estimated total is £25bn, but what I get in response is not the corrected total outstanding amount owed but something else, then I am being lied to.

By: etherist

etherist — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:16:38 -0800

"The Private Eye has been knocking on with this for donkeys" ?

By: LogicalDash

LogicalDash — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:22:32 -0800

It's okay, you can ask your question. The comment field contains multitudes.

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:22:52 -0800

"The Private Eye has been knocking on with this for donkeys" ? I know, right? But then I've been bricklaying round with this for lemurs.

By: saucysault

saucysault — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:23:06 -0800

Knocking about = talking about Donkeys = ears = years

By: Sonny Jim

Sonny Jim — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:24:54 -0800

Embarrassing lack of message coordination there from the Tories. This week's approved mode of address for social inferiors who get in the way is: "Best you learn your fucking place. You don't run this fucking government. You're fucking plebs." Additional followups should include the epithet "morons" and a threatening comment that "you haven't heard the last of this." Hopefully Hartnett will be better briefed next time.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:25:05 -0800

"Donkeys = ears = years" Your math is not like my math. Did anyone else google that donkey remark and regret it?

By: normy

normy — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:25:08 -0800

"The Private Eye has been knocking on with this for donkeys" ? The magazine Private Eye has been reporting about this for a considerable period of time.

By: ob

ob — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:27:40 -0800

Why do even the words "trespassing scum" sound fairly tolerable when said with an English accent? They don't if you have that accent.

By: Bwithh

Bwithh — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:36:05 -0800

"Donkeys = ears = years" Your math is not like my math. It's Cockney rhyming slang. Donkey's ears = years Apple and pears = stairs Trouble and strife = wife etc.

By: Bwithh

Bwithh — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:44:47 -0800

I can't believe that man really threatened to set the dogs on them. What a comic-book level of badness threat. posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 6:23 AM on September 24 [4 favorites +] [!] It's a figure of speech, possibly even meant with slight humour. There are no actual dogs. They're guests at a Oxford college dining hall which has been hired for the night. Maybe he means vaguely calling the cops or the porters (i.e. Oxbridge college security). I agree with inigo2 that the targets here dealt with the situation in a surprisingly and admirably calm and restrained manner for the most part (the "scum" remark at the end even got shut down immediately; and they didn't try to shut down the cameraperson first - s/he got to film the activists being led out).

By: Sonny Jim

Sonny Jim — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:47:31 -0800

This whole thing with the Tory resurgence since 2010 reminds me of an episode of Warehouse 13. You know, we thought Tories were cute objects from the past. Decorative and eccentric, certainly, but basically harmless. There's no way they could reach through from past aeons and affect our current lives in real ways, right? But then people started watching Downton Abbey and taking the Royal Family seriously again and unironically caring about the characters in Parade's End, and the next thing we knew we'd restored the power of the Elder Gods and they were among us again, very much alive, resplendent in spats and overcoats, threatening us with their riding crops and calling us all plebs. Don't mess with the artefacts, man! Leave the past alone!

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:51:52 -0800

A corgi, surely. Don't joke. The Queen's Corgis will fuck you up.

By: magstheaxe

magstheaxe — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:05:20 -0800

I can't believe that man really threatened to set the dogs on them. What a comic-book level of badness threat. posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 9:23 AM on September 24 Don't laugh. "Having dogs set on you" is an ancient punishment where the condemned is forced to stand in the blazing sun for hours, arms outstretched, with a small terrier set on each palm. Dropping a terrier results in the dogs being replaced with larger breeds. The physical pain in the shoulders and back is reported to be terrible, and the mental strain incalculable. posted by GenjiandProust at 9:44 AM on September 24 I'm glad some people think it's funny. When I hear "set the dogs on you", I think of Bull Connor and his attack dogs. Not saying that Hartnett had trained attack dogs at his disposal or anything, but some of us can't bring ourselves to dismiss such threats out of hand, either.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:13:58 -0800

Is there significance to the fact that the "Golden Handshake Award" is a left hand?

By: metaBugs

metaBugs — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:16:54 -0800

Yeah, I heard "set the dogs on you" as a very dry joke. The guy chucking them out was insistent but completely calm, and nothing about his body language suggested that violence was on the cards. Also, as already said upthread, this was a dinner in an Oxford college: there's no way that they have dogs to set on people (although there might be a cat in the porters' lodge), and they could reasonably expect the protesters to know this. Calling them "trespassing scum" was a little jarring -- especially in a tone of voice that suggested he thought they'd care about being called that -- but, again, not a threat. For my money, this was a brilliant protest. A very good cause, a witty idea to publicise it, and they managed to get their point across before being shut down. The icing on the cake is that the people chucking them out just wanted them gone, did it calmly, and weren't interested in trying to intimidate or punish them.

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:31:28 -0800

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:45:09 -0800

This is great, and follows in a long line of distinguished activism. Good for them; this takes a good amount of courage to do well, and they did it perfectly.

By: ocschwar

ocschwar — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:51:41 -0800

Dave Hartnett never lost his composure, standing rock steady face forward head up never honoring his foes with a look or word. A pleb like me might interpret his looking away as cowardice. But I ain't never been this close up to my betters, no, sir, never.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:07:54 -0800

Yeah, I heard "set the dogs on you" as a very dry joke. Well, if by "very dry joke" you mean that they sub vocalized the "I wish we had the legal cover and the means to..." in the sentence before "set the dogs on them." I mean, I know the British have different humor traditions, but this is more that universal "scratch an extremely privileged person, find a sociopath" kind of thing. I am also sad to discover that Private Eye does not, in fact, have a special edition for donkeys and other equines.

By: El Sabor Asiatico

El Sabor Asiatico — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:00:55 -0800

Dave Hartnett never lost his composure, standing rock steady face forward head up never honoring his foes with a look or word. A quick whisper and they are vanquished. As if it was no surprise and he knew exactly how to handle the situation, his coolness under fire suggest someone familiar facing down protestors. He was not afraid to die, O brave Sir Hartnett! He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways, Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Hartnett!

By: Segundus

Segundus — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:38:25 -0800

Angela is the Hartnett for me.

By: BlueHorse

BlueHorse — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:41:09 -0800

Business ethics. Moral compass. It is to laugh.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:43:41 -0800

That was great. Here's a piece in the Guardian by one of the pranksters: Crashing the tax avoidance party: We gave former HMRC boss Dave Hartnett an award for services to tax avoidance – but his activities represent a far deeper problem

By: ocschwar

ocschwar — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:05:31 -0800

But the really outrageous event on the conference itinerary was the black-tie dinner in the great hall of New College, Oxford, where the after-dinner speaker was Dave Hartnett, former head of HMRC, who has just retired after revelations that his organisation made deals with Vodafone, Goldman Sachs and many other companies, resulting in billions off their tax bills. That is a lot of fucking nerve.

By: saucysault

saucysault — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 07:58:49 -0800

Huronbob: Your math is not like my math. In case you don't know rhyming slang, it is common to have the original word, "years", replaced by a rhyming phrase, "donkey's ears", but then only the first word of the phrase, "donkey's", is actually said. So a man asking "have you seen my trouble about?" is understood to be referring to his "trouble and strife"; his wife.

By: saucysault

saucysault — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 08:01:47 -0800

Setting the dogs is clearly a dog whistle for classism, much as telling a woman complaining about sexism that she sounds "shrill" or "hysterical". Just a nasty little dig putting someone in their place with plausible deniability about being impolite or uncivil.

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 08:09:16 -0800

Is rhyming slang something that people actually do? I was under the impression that it was rather passe.

By: saucysault

saucysault — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:37:17 -0800

My parents/aunts/uncles are all in their seventies so I don't think they have bothered to learn the new slang. So yes, some people do.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:53:18 -0800

The Intruders crash the Investment Banking Awards in Mayfair

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:57:19 -0800

The Intruders crash the Investment Banking Awards in Mayfair God damn, more of this, for fuck's sake. I cannot fucking believe there aren't hordes of people shouting down these executive pieces of shit.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 12:22:28 -0800

US Woman Takes on Banks Over Libor