19 July 2010

19/07/10

Le kodkod sommeille - Michel Guenanten

We don't know what we want, but we are ready to bite someone to get it.
-Will Rogers

187 comments:

  1. I know we just had an ocelot a few days ago, but I'd never heard of a kodkod until tonight -- there was a programme on PBS about wildlife in Chile. They said that these little guys are about half the size of the average domestic cat!

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  2. leni -its Caerdydd (although pronounced as you spelled it of course).

    I suppose I know because it used to be on my payslip! :)

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  3. Hannah Betts on why people won't defend feminism on Cif !

    OMG where to start!

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  4. Morning ;0)

    Montana - can never have enough kitty cats on 'ere!

    God, just listening to that rabid bastard Gove on R4 this morning.... he's a brae faced liar.

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  5. montana - nice pic! went to the zoo on 14 july (it's a reserve, not too cagey) and am thus interested to see what one looks like as they were all hiding when we peered into their area...

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  6. thought you'd come over all scots in your disgust, larit!

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  7. tangentially - watched 'agora' last night, which, while having some issues with historical accuracy (age / overlapping lifetimes of main characters, terminology, liturgy of the time, sequence of events, documentary evidence, lack of documentary evidence - you know, the usual for a historical pic) was actually rather good.

    it's the story of Hypatia, the female philosopher / mathmetician in 4th c alexandria. featuring rachel weisz in the lead role, who's pretty solid in it. and delving into religious conflict (pagan v christian v jews - guess who wins) of the period.

    hypatia's been adopted as a 'retrospective feminist' a bit (meaning, women who wouldn't know what the hell you were talking about and wouldn't agree with you on much, but did stuff, so get coopted). of course, she managed to retain her position as a teacher by remaining unmarried (even before the christian crackdown) and having a sensible father, but all rather interesting...

    may have to look out a 'proper' history to get a better perspective. but worth a watch if it turns up on TV.

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  8. Fr Inter-- Frederic Lordon
    ' Et si l'on fermait la Bourse ?"
    links en frog .. !

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  9. Philippa:

    Should have left it - there's something great about grrrrrring in a Scot's twang ;0)

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  10. interesting, frog - when more awake will attempt a precis en anglais to share it more widely (this will need to wait for coffee to take full effect)

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  11. "it's the story of Hypatia, the female philosopher / mathmetician in 4th c alexandria..."

    I watched Nacho Libre.

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  12. Philippa:

    I think I might have seen that - rings bells....

    SpeedK:

    The last flim Jack Black made before he started making shite! It's very funny Nacho - but v. bizarre

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  13. 'Interesting' blogpost by Golem XIV on friday In english of course .

    A basic fact to remember is that while a bank's capital can be a handful of £Billion, its bad investments/loans/speculations can be very many times that.

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  14. morning all

    for all you fans of mumsnet someone on Waddya said the founders partner is Ian Katz dep editor of the dear ol' Graun........says it all really...

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  15. mornin' Gandolfo - ah-ha..... seems like someone else was listening in to R4 last night....

    Am celebrating, have finally finished my CV and I can now start looking for work in earnest.... god, it's been grinding ;(

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  16. morning LaRit

    well done I hate doing CV's I actually forget what I've done and when......I think senility has set in prematurely is it normal in ya mid 40s or am I in denial?

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  17. Gandolfo - I've never had a permanent job because of the Music/performing, so I've done loads of temping - it makes people really suspicious so I've had to really ermmmm.... fiddle about with it.....

    So glad it's over.... I really need to find some work soon

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  18. LaRit
    fiddle away........I've got loads of "gaps" in the last 10 years....filled in with private teaching...;0)

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  19. La Rit
    I heard Gove too. The Tories keep going on about how bright he is. Smart enough to avoid mentioning PFI.

    What music/performing do you do ? Intrigued.

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  20. have had a half-witted crack at translating the first third of the Lordon article that Frog linked to earlier (not UN standard, by any means, but you should get the idea) - is up on UT2.

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  21. Hi BW!

    I trained as a classical singer and pianist. Done loads of performing in the past, but the event of my Father's death put it all into a chaotic state for a good while (you'll hear many singers who have had the same problem when suffering a personal loss) If you want, I can email you my MySpazz page ... lots on there on what I've done and trying to do now. I'm really interested in contemporary composers and new works (all starting to become very fashionable) and I'm trying to get work with Opera Companies with a social conscience!

    I started working with a new tacher about 2 months ago - she trained with Callas's teacher - it was a challenge as it's a very old school style of teaching, but seems to be paying dividends! Really need to get me arse in gear and do some auditions ..... I do a few concerts in London - next one is in September as part of the Thames Festival ... I'll keep the UT posted ;0)

    PS (also a hopeless cheesy-quaver!)

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  22. re: Gove, as my nana used to say (thick brummie accent), "well, if he's the smart one, heaven help his mother..."

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  23. La Rit -
    Sound interesting. Not that i pay much attention in the morning but seem to temember R4 saying there are a record number of new composers this year's proms.

    And yeh, let me know the the myspoon page ! Here or hardbjorn@googlemail.com

    Cheers

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  24. @Gandolfo

    fiddle away........I've got loads of "gaps" in the last 10 years....filled in with private teaching...;0)

    Yes, it has been fiddling in that kind of direction!

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  25. BW

    Will drop you an e-mail ;)

    I've not seen any of the Proms yet - like to watch it on TV as I can't stand the Union Jack waving hordes ;(

    Am going to look at the programme re: new composers - about bloody time!

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  26. PB:

    That's brilliant! Are you a Brummie?

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  27. larit - paternally brum, maternally manc, then moved about a lot as a child. nobody can ever work out where i'm from from my accent - which assumes that there is a single place anyway!

    the brum side of the family do deadpan like nobody else i know...but don't have much of it meself, heheheheh.

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  28. Gary Young's article is quite good but the thread is full of numpties blaming 'welfarism', Labour and the public sector!

    Welfarism? = NOT letting the unemployed starve. Letting them starve is obviously the best solution *sigh*

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  29. come on, anne, you haven't been paying attention. if some of them starve then the others can eat them!

    simples...

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  30. Quick note, mainly to PhilippaB, James, Alisdair.

    I am working on it and nearly there.

    Fiddly, niggling, pesky, boring, puzzling and time-consuming bits still to do.

    Sorry for the delay.

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  31. PhilippaB and other frogophones Frederic Lordon on ze banks ...

    Blazing hot here, but got to go outside !

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  32. Morning all,

    Atomboy

    looking forward to it.

    I might, if it's ok with you, have a crack at contributing stuff to it this time.

    Depends how low your standards are though.....

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  33. I watched Nacho Libre.

    Weird. That was on tv here last night, too. Didn't watch it, though. A new (to us) series of Poirot started last night on PBS.

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  34. Oh, and @Philippa:

    They have kodkods in your zoo?? I'd never even heard of them until last night. I'd love to see one -- at half the size of a domestic cat, they must be too cute for words.

    It would be like having an eternal kitten.

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  35. Afternoon all!

    Just got in, so feet up, sandwich and cuppa for me for a while.

    "the brum side of the family do deadpan like nobody else i know...but don't have much of it meself, heheheheh. "

    Philippa, my bro-in-law is from Stoke on Trent and he has the funniest, quietest, dryest sense of humour of anyone I have ever met. Must be in the Black Country genes.

    That Gary Younge thread is astounding - I really find it so hard to believe that the majority of Graun online readers are Thatcherites, but that is the way it appears these days. Shudder.

    Off to poke about about on CiF...

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  36. montana - apparently, although there is a rumour, as some of the animals are always hiding, that some of the enclosures are empty and they're just trying to look good.

    remembered the (non-apparent) 'kodkod' because the name appealed to the poetic side of my brain. like 'dikdik'. and 'beriberi'.

    BB - my cousin, on the brum side, is S-on-T based and he is, yes, the dryest chap i've ever met, has been for as long as i remember...

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  37. Cheers, AB.
    Not been around much thanks to the complete fucking meltdown at our PCT,SHA and local MH trust.Add in the Local Authority's current headlessness (admittedly that had started before the coalition and that bastard White paper)and trying to get anything actually, y'know,done is quite hard.Oh, and little things like "Can you pay us for that work we did, that is over,has been evaluated and for which we are still waiting to be paid?" "Ah, well, all payments have been suspended on order of the Finance director". Fuck that: you pay for work done as contractually agreed, or you're getting your arse sued off you. Obviously I couched my response in marginally more diplomatic terms...

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  38. It's OK Alisdair,

    They're nicking money out of people's bank accounts as we speak......

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  39. james - yes! 'funded using dormant bank accounts'? last time that was suggested as a handy cash source, the lawyers went completely mental...how is it going to work this time?

    (answer, i guess, is it won't)

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  40. What's the definition of 'dormant', do you know??
    Is it just 'inactive' for 15 years?

    I'm pretty sure I've got an account from primary school, that I haven't 'touched' for 15 years, and I'll be fuckoed if they think they're getting their grubby little hands on that....

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  41. And why stop at money?

    I've got a sega master system that I haven't touched for 15 years, but am still rather found of...

    Can I expect them to be knocking down my Mum's door for that too??

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  42. *fond of.

    (Probably should have spent less time playing on it, and more time doing my homework!?)

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  43. Don't be daft James, completing the original Sonic on the master system is one of my proudest achievements. ;)

    I might put it on my CV next time I am applying for work.

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  44. Sounds grim, Alisdair...

    Now. These bank accounts. When I heard a snippet on the radio this morning behind the drone of the hairdryer, I thought they meant that there were goverment bank accounts lying dormant. I had no bloody idea they were talking about our money?!

    Theft - unless, of course, they are saying that they will give it back to anyone who complains.

    Gits.

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  45. BB / James - I haven't heard anything more that 'dormant accounts', so it could mean either. thing is - if it's dormant government accounts, you have to wonder what the hell they are doing having dormant bank accounts. other thing is that last time, they were talking about accounts in general. with, yes, a long long dormancy, but still, as james says, with the possibility of it being, well, theft (to my basic little eyes). hence with the mental.

    all banks were supposed to identify their dormant accounts and seek to contact the owner, then, after being satisfied that they were dead or something, hand over the cash.

    because we all know how hard banks try to find you if you default, so they are after the possibility of geting money in. they're bound to try just as hard in this case...

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  46. radio 4 is playing a programme about state action against drinking, so am sticking it to the man by just finishing off the bottle of rose from the fridge...

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  47. Afternoon all

    I have a dormant premium bond somewhere.Keep meaning to try and track it down just in case i,ve won the jackpot and the NSI haven,t been able to track me down.I could be a millionaire without realizing it!

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  48. Jen

    "Don't be daft James, completing the original Sonic on the master system is one of my proudest achievements. ;)"

    Hahah - Absolutely. Especially coz in the dark days before memory cards, if you died, you had to start again, and completing a game actually meant something.

    I'd totally hire you if you had that on your CV.

    BB/Philippa

    As far as I know, it's dormant personal accounts. I seem to have a £30 million figure in my head for some reason, although that could be something entirely different!

    I'm off to do a bit of investigating now....

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  49. "The big society bank will be established using every penny of dormant bank and building society account money," Cameron said. "These unclaimed assets, alongside the private sector investment that we will leverage, will mean that the big society bank will – over time – make available hundreds of millions of pounds of new finance to some of our most dynamic social organisations."

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  50. "When he was chancellor in 2005, Gordon Brown mooted the idea of using dormant accounts to fund youth and community projects but was forced to back down after critics warned there would be administrative chaos and questioned whether the government had the legal right to seize the funds.

    He raised the idea again in 2007 and in 2008 the Dormant Bank and Building Society Act was passed, giving the government the right to collect and distribute unclaimed money from dormant accounts after 15 years."

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  51. aye, it's the same thing gordon tried - bit here.

    the BTL voice is utterly supportive of the idea, heheheheheheh.

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  52. Paul - I tracked down my account for £3 worth of premium bonds when 'cashing in' life in the UK. was v disappointed to find i had won absolutely bugger all in 32 years (they were baptismal gifts). have now thrown in another £1k, to add some element of 'fun' to my diminishing cash holdings.

    won £25 a bit back. not a brilliant rate of return...

    (annoyingly, you can't buy less than £50 worth now, I think - slightly stymying elderly relatives wanting to give a little something to a newborn, for example.)

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  53. has anyone else just been emailed by the G's 'sustainability department'?

    bless 'em

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  54. Can premium bonds be in the child's name?

    If so, isn't that underage gambling?

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  55. think they're in a designated adult's name up to 18 and then they get transferred, james.

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  56. i mean, these child trust funds are all very well, but saying proudly that "grandparents can put up to £250 in", well, it makes £5 sound a bit tame. But in premium bonds, there was a bit of excitement. and a nice certificate (or, there used to be - no more...)

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  57. James

    Yeah like Philippa mine was a baptismal gift as well.However i don,t know what safeguards there are to prevent parents and others using the winnings of a minor.

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  58. Probably not many Paul.

    To be fair though, I'd have preferred my mum to nick it than Dave Bloody Cameron!

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  59. Crikey!!

    ''think they're in a designated adult's name up to 18 and then they get transferred, james.''

    Well that would explain why that lying,cheating bastard of a dad of mine would often disappear for days on end when i was a kid.Was probably spending my winnings!

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  60. @James, @Philippa

    Just heard the dormant account scam explained on the radio - after 15 years the cash gets collected into a fund and handed over to some FSA-managed authority. Then it goes to the Big Society Bank, doubtless with rake-offs at every stage. They're talking about £400m already being identified.

    The fund has to keep some cash back in case the dormant accounts are successfully claimed. Apparently, even if it's gone through the Pretendy Bank and been doled out, you can get your money back if you identify yourself satisfactorily.

    I see, as presciently predicted above, chaos ahead.

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  61. ...mum would have bought sweets with it ...

    ...cameron wouldn't buy sweets. he'd buy an alfafa and houmus snack, or something...

    (all income of an under16 is deemed the income of the parents, think. hence tax-coding cock-ups. so think that it would be entirely for the parents to decide. but between 16 and 18, could be interesting...)

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  62. I don't think I have any money lying dormant in a bank anywhere, I might have a few debts that I should pay back but good luck to them finding me.

    But even if the government don't nab the dormant accounts that is a lot of unclaimed money out there that someone is benefitting from.

    It used to work that way in the bookies, if a winning bet was unclaimed after 6 months you would have the devils own time trying to claim it back, this wasn't often massive amounts but it all added up.

    Non runners, voids and small winnings less than the staked bet are often not collected, some bugger is getting a bigger yacht out of it every year.

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  63. PeterJ

    Exactly.

    It's not even well thought out is it?

    Also, if they're dormant because people have died, doesn't that money automatically go to next of kin?

    I can see it all getting a bit 'legal', and therefore not really working out wrt to fiscal responsibility and whatnot....

    (I get the distinct impression that this government are taking the 'no such thing as a bad idea during a brainstorming session' idea, and then applying it all the way through to the 'making policy' stage....)

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  64. james - quite right on next of kin, should have said 'dead w no living relatives so estate all goes to the crown anyway'. given that the idea was shelved after the last 'no such thing as a bad idea during a brainstorming session' brainstorming session, you do have to wonder...

    jen - the banks benefit from the capital on their books - it makes them look stronger. which is the only thing that might ensure a decent tracking down effort - they won't want to give it over to the government when it could be making them look good.

    the effort involved in returning 23p to Mrs Trellis, last known address [smudged], or her nearest and dearest...well, at least the banks might start hiring...

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  65. Paul

    If you've won, mine's a vodka, lime and soda please, ta! :o)

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  66. @James

    Sometimes the next of kin don't know about the accounts, particularly if someone dies suddenly and, later, doesn't notice the small-print letter from the bank.

    I'm making up a list of mine to put in a big envelope for my daughter to open in due course; I'm in the process of making a will, and will lodge the envelope with the solicitor. I don't want some future iDave using my cash to undercut the welfare state.

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  67. Tsk tsk, poor sentence construction there. In the first paragraph above, I mean the next of kin doesn't notice the letter, not the deceased.

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  68. jen - did you used to work in a bookies? friend from old work used to do that, she was a demon for tracking down rate discrepancies / out-balances etc, used to say that she learned everything she ever learned at so-and-so turf accountants. including self-defence. and she was back-room...

    fairly rough area, as i understand it.

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  69. gah. by which mean geographically, not in industry sector terms.

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  70. It could be both Philippa. ;)

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  71. peterj - that's a very good point, have made will (and notified APs of its whereabouts) but now i've got two uk accounts, a french account, and ISA, premium bonds...

    list. need list. god, i make life complicated sometimes...

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  72. BB - good intervention on the Gloria thread. some of the earliest comments made me want to vomit. knowing Rima (the girl I've mentioned before, sprung from Yarls Wood because her church and the local paper weren't about to shut up and let her get bundled onto a plane) is facing the same is....shameful. yes. shameful.

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  73. Here's something. In Ireland, they've been following the Coalition programme for debt recovery. VAT rises, massive public sector cuts, austerity all round. The result? Ireland's debt has just been downgraded.

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  74. Heard yesterday that both Ann Widdecombe-yes her with the chest that lauched a thousand battleships-and Frank Bruno are entering some Dance Competition for the 'Stars'.Hope Frank isn,t stuck with 'Widders' as his partner.Poor guy has got enough problems without the fear of doing his back in lifting that montrosity up whilst jiving.Plus of course the risk of permanent erectile dysfunction if he has to do the rumba with her as well.

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  75. Paul -

    it's times like these when I'm glad the BBCi player has a 'no foreigners welcome' policy!!

    *shudder*

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  76. peterj - from your link:
    "Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded the Irish Republic's sovereign bond rating to Aa2 from Aa1"
    apropos of absolutely nothing, do you not get the feeling that national credit ratings are along the lines of 'inclusive' schooling, in that everybody has to get an 'A' or they'll, you know, feel bad?

    because there's AA1, AA2, A1, A2.... you have to be practically bankrupt before they'll risk giving you a 'B'.

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  77. Philippa

    Re asylum threads - I don't know why I bother. Except that I can't let their bollocks go unchallenged.

    And some twat has even said he feels dirty for posting on the thread because the writer is a "ginner" - meaning "ginger" I presume. Wanker.

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  78. Have just had a quick butchers over at WADDYA and it seems that Bru,s undergarments are the current topic of discussion.If Bru could perhaps combine that rivetting topic with some tales about her Balls it could make for a nice little ATL number.Must remember to suggest that to Jessica after i,ve tracked down me premium bond.

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  79. whaaaaaaaat?

    world - hell - handcart.

    FFS

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  80. Paul - behave yourself.

    (wine / keyboard moment)

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  81. @James

    We were going to fix you up with a UK proxy, weren't we? Have you tried www.daveproxy.co.uk? You just go there, put in the iPlayer URL and off you go. It seems to be rated undodgy by the cognoscenti.

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  82. ooh, peterj, with that proxy enablement, you are really spoiling us...

    (off to try it)

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  83. Meanwhile, ... around at the FT --

    "The G20 meeting in London in 2009 tripled IMF resources from $250bn. " And now they're planning to add another $250bn to make its reserves a nice round $1000bn.

    Hmmmmmmm ? Wonder why ...

    Philippa -- lots of work there on UT too ! Added a comment ;)I'm having a drink too, hot and bloody after brambly hedge-cutting.

    BB -- nasty fundamental prob, in frog I'm afraid...

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  84. Radio4 voluntary work takeover ? Shit, I'll do some of the guvmint's job for expenses only .

    How about it 'Dave' ?

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  85. PeterJ

    Many thanks.

    I'm trying it, but I'm having unrelated internet issues today, so it's taking a while...

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  86. I'm not really getting anything with that dave one Peter, any other suggestions?

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  87. Evening all

    re dormant accounts. I found an old paying in book with about tuppence ha'penny in it last year. Went in to the bank to close the account down and about £30 in interest had accumulated. Small but pleasant surprise.

    BB

    Must get off that asylum thread before I tear out what's left of my hair!! Well done you though!

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  88. given this 'Big society' hoohah, time to share a longstanding daydream.

    (not that one, james. down boy.)

    BBC3 and BBC4 only go live at 7pm, yes? they must have the capability beforehand. why not let the 'big society' do programming for them? was thinking about this last ATP, where they get a group to 'curate' the weekend.

    why not get various people to 'curate' a day, even a week, on BBC3/4?

    you could have live plays (two cameras in the rehearsal room, minimal editing)

    live concerts. dance. discussion shows. interviews.

    it could be like 'schools programming' but better. people doing experiments, readings, holding masterclasses, all sorts of stuff.

    watching a painter paint a picture with music playying in the background.

    watching someone bake a cake.

    anything

    it'd be cheap as hell and could turn up gold.

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  89. (not that one, james. down boy.)

    eh?? what did I do?

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  90. heheheheh.

    sorry.

    have had wine. and am now sounding off about the daily mail and why it's not knee-jerk liberalism to hate their bloody guts over on waddya.

    am a bit frazzled at present...

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  91. ...and kudos on the waddya post!!

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  92. Frog2

    Really interesting that vid. Of course we should have nationalised the banks, instead of nationalising their debts and leaving the profit-making elements in private hands.

    I love the way the arch-Tories bang on about "socialism" while conveniently forgetting that, if it hadn't have been for a "socialist" approach, their banks would now be defunct...

    Sheff - it's hard work. You are doing marvellously as well. :o)

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  93. @James, @Philippa

    There's a list here - move on to page 2 to see more UK servers. I just tried www.browsesafely.co.uk which seems to work, although you'd have to try it from where you are and it does show some not very obtrusive static ads.

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  94. Would the fact that I'm using google chrome make a difference?

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  95. Oh great - now the t'internetz is broken again!!

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  96. BB -- thought you'd appreciate it ! I rather think that all the losses have not yet been nationalised, but they're working on that still...
    You might find GolemXIV's blog interesting. He used to post at the G but gave up there.

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  97. ooh! patriot games on the telly and i might be able to get VO.

    signing off....night all.

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  98. I've got The Jackal on at 9pm here. Haven't seen the newer version so might be worth a watch.

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  99. just a quick thought.... all this fluff about our Dave's 'Big Society' bollox - funny how it was all announced at the same time Lizard Man Gove is trying to rush his stupid education plans past Parliament..... not a whisper about it on any News today after early morning Today prog...

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  100. God he was vile on R4 this morning, wasn't he?

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  101. It is possible they're going for the 'dazzle them with our stupidity, and then, while they're distracted, do their kids in good and proper' approach.

    I don't suppose anyone would put it past them....

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  102. BB:

    I couldn't in all seriousness bear to listen to that man for the entire interview - he is rabid and very dangerous.... where's Atticus when you need him?? ;0)

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  103. BB:

    Sarah M did try, but not hard enough - he just kept shouting her down. What enraged me was his 'what are they doing spending money before anything is built?' bullshit - errrmmm.... planning, architects, contrators...... does this twat just think somebody magics a new building out of thin air without a set of friggin' blueprints?

    Thing is, I do have this feeling in my bones that he is sitting on some pretty dark secrets... no-one gets like that without having been a completely vicous amoral bastard for all his life... there are times when I wish I was an investigative journo...

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  104. Sheffpixie:

    re dormant accounts. I found an old paying in book with about tuppence ha'penny in it last year. Went in to the bank to close the account down and about £30 in interest had accumulated. Small but pleasant surprise.

    By my calculations that makes you 103 ;)

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  105. Speedy

    I noticed some of the discussion on the BEE thread was of the 'haven't read the book', but down with sort of thing anyway' variety.

    Funny that...

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  106. speedy

    Am feeling about 103 at the moment...have just been trying out my daughter's new bike. it's one of those that real cycling 'purists' love, i.e. no gears and only a front wheel brake and you have to pedal all the time - it's absolutely lethal and I'm useless on it and now totally knackered.

    Fell into the pub for a well earned pint of guinness and have just wobbled home on my old sit up and beg granny bike.

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  107. @James - what's the BEE thread, and what's the book?

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  108. Sorry, Bret Easton Ellis.

    There's a wee interview with him on the Guardian website, and the thread underneath is mostly talking about 'American Psycho'!!

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  109. Ta James, couldn't work it out.

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  110. Sounds like you earned that pint, Sheff.

    How much is tuppence ha'penny in new money, Speedy?

    Anyone old enough to remember this on't telly?

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  111. No BB

    (and having clicked on it, with my speakers turned up to 11, I'm no in the middle of having a heart attack!)

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  112. No problem Peter.

    Speedy and I were talking about BEE just t'other day, so it was a bit of a coincidence!

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  113. @BB:yep I remember when we went decimal, 1969 if I recall correctly. Don't remember that Max Bygraves ditty though.
    I've still got a little plastic wallet somewhere with the first edition new coins!

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  114. My gran likes to regale me with the one x = one y, one y was the equivalent of one z , and one z, well, you got 10 of them to a pound stories all the time.

    It takes her at least 30 minutes, and then, when I say, isn't it just easier when 100 pennies equals a pound, she gets all mad and starts all over again....

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  115. JD:

    I noticed some of the discussion on the BEE thread was of the 'haven't read the book', but down with sort of thing anyway' variety.

    Funny that...

    Indeed. I can half appreciate the argument of someone who has read American Psycho and explains why they hated it. I'm not an ardent fanboy. I try not to get too buttsore when people criticise the things I like. But all these freaks who step up to say how degenerate he is based on what is clearly a second-hand account of a piss-poor precis from some Jehovah's Witness or WI matron really do depress me.

    Lazman actually summed up the experience pretty well when he described it (negatively) as alternating between unspeakable acts of misogynistic violence and passages of banal tedium and obsessive levels of laborious description (his morning skincare routine is a priceless example). That juxtaposition is precisely what makes the whole thing so jarring and compulsive. Loved his 'but it hasn't got a story' moment. Bless.

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  116. Wasn't it 71 when decimal came in?

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  117. chekhov:

    @BB:yep I remember when we went decimal, 1969 if I recall correctly. Don't remember that Max Bygraves ditty though.

    You must have wiped it from your mind as a coping mechanism. I am similarly unable to remember part two of The Matrix trilogy and practically all of the Star Wars films.

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  118. @chekhov

    It was 1971 when we went decimal (well, apart from the 1/2p, but inflation soon took care of that).

    I even remember the song that went with the campaign in Australia when it went decimal, which had the last line "on the 14th of February 1966". So I remember when that was even more exactly.

    But then, I used to spend farthings in the corner shop on the way home from primary school.

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  119. Good grief, YouTube has everything. Here's the Australian song.

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  120. BB/Sheff

    Have just had a quick look at the depressing 'Gloria' thread.Would be grateful if you would clarify a couple of things for me.

    Firstly are failed asylum seekers who are obviously chronically ill and in need of care deported even though there is no guarantee they will get the care they need in their own country.In other words signing a deportation order could be tantamount to knowingly sending them back to a possible/probable premature
    death.

    Secondly i,d be interested in your views on health screening for all incoming migrants.Specifically for TB and HIV.If that wwere introduced here as it has been in other countries would the actual screening take place either in the country of origin or the port of entry here.And if the screening took place here would those infected with either TB or HIV automatically be sent back to their own country no matter how ill they were?

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  121. Speedy

    Yeah, I realise that you have to 'get' BEE, otherwise it's easy to dismiss him as x, y or z, and I get the impression that a lot of people don't, and also, that they throw the book away before finishing it, but still feel that they're in a position to comment on it.

    Fair enough, if you don't like it, don't finish it, but if you're not going to finish it, for me, you're not in a position to comment on the thing as a whole.

    Otherwise, it's like watching only the first 15 minutes of 'To kill a mocking bird', and deciding that it's racist...

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  122. Hi, I'm back after 13 hours travelling- pretty hellish.

    I am at a bit if a crossroads at the moment as well.

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  123. I remember spending sixpences (2 and half pence ) when I was very little so I don't know when they stopped being used.

    I read American Psycho because everyone was reading it and it left me fairly cold, I laughed at the Phil Collins bit but the violence didn't phaze me much, I blame my mother whose horror books I had been reading since I was a teen.

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  124. Glad you arrived safe Nap.

    And you're just in time to stop me feeling so young, what with all this talk of 'decimalisation' and whatnot...

    ;0)

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  125. @James, @Speedy

    I started reading American Psycho when it came out and hated it, and haven't seen the film, so I guess I'm perfectly qualified to join the thread.

    Don't know why I hated it, apart from my general distaste for graphic violence in print or on the screen. I remember thinking it was creepy, which could have been the point.

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  126. Paul

    First question - yes. The test is whether there is treatment "available" in their own country. No consideration about whether they would have to actually pay for it, or whether they could pay for it, or not.

    This case was quite hi-profile a couple of years ago.

    Your second question - I have no idea. Would they be refused entry/sent back no matter how ill they were? Probably.

    There was a recent HIV removal case though - I will go and look it up and come back on that one.

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  127. JD:

    Yeah, I realise that you have to 'get' BEE, otherwise it's easy to dismiss him as x, y or z, and I get the impression that a lot of people don't, and also, that they throw the book away before finishing it, but still feel that they're in a position to comment on it. Fair enough, if you don't like it, don't finish it, but if you're not going to finish it, for me, you're not in a position to comment on the thing as a whole.

    I think reading part of a book gives you some qualification to comment, but that's because I hardly ever finish one! I think I must ditch about 80% of stuff I read within the first 50 pages. Life is too short to persist with something that doesn't interest you. Lots of worthy fiction has fallen at the first fence for me; Ulysees; Zen and the Art; A Suitable Boy; Gravity's Rainbow; practically everything Don DeLillo has ever written (can't imagine why I even bother). If I get to the end of a book then it usually gets a five-star review.

    NapK:

    You're going to have to expand on your last matey...

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  128. PeterJ

    Haha - you're probably more than qualified.

    It's certainly extremely graphic. But, for me anyway, there's a point to it. Maybe.

    Or perhaps, more accurately, the fact that there is no point to it, has a point to it. Possibly!

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  129. Paul

    Firstly are failed asylum seekers who are obviously chronically ill and in need of care deported even though there is no guarantee they will get the care they need in their own country.In other words signing a deportation order could be tantamount to knowingly sending them back to a possible/probable premature
    death.


    Yes this does happen. A year or so ago a terminally ill woman (cancer) was sent back to Africa - she was in a wheel chair. She didn't last long. You'd have thought they could have shown a little mercy but they didn't.

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  130. SK

    I always try to finish a book if I start it, I remeber forcing myself to finish Foccaults Pendulum (sp) which has got to be the longest book ever.

    I have tried twice with Salman Rushdie (The Satanic Verses and Midnights' Children) and just given up both times, I think I am a philistine.

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  131. Speedy

    Yeah, I think we can say, I tried that, and I didn't like the style, or that the story bored me, but I don't think we can not finish a book, and then be in a position to comment on the overall point/message/moral though....

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  132. Re HIV-AIDS - the latest authority dates from the end of last year, where a woman who was here lawfully and had had her leave extended on the basis of medical treatment, yet was refused further leave to remain, had her appeal sent back to the Tribunal for rehearing. Dunno what the final outcome was though.

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  133. Jen

    I started the satanic verses, and found it extremely hard work for the first 100 pages or so, but at some point it just seemed to get a lot, lot easier, and I flew through the rest, and actually quite enjoyed it.

    I don't know if it actually got better, or whether I adapted to it though....

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  134. Speedy

    While you're here, and everyone's being all cultural and that, what is it about 'Capturing the Friedmans' that you liked so much?

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  135. {devil's advocate} These asylum cases are very depressing, not to mention downright callous when taken in isolation, but it's worth sparing a thought for the alternative situation; opening the floodgates to healthcare tourism. I'm almost certain the political/legal rationale behind these decisions is based on oversimplification and overstatement of the scale of the threat, but can we really afford - at this precise moment - to do otherwise? {devil's advocate/}

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  136. Jen

    I LOVED Foucault's Pendulum.

    I need to buy it again cos I lent it to someone - don't remember who - and never saw it again.

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  137. Ok 1971 then, maybe I remember the start of convincing everyone that it was a good idea two years previous.
    The conversion from Pounds, shillings and pence was a bit of a challenge for the older generation at that time.
    The loss of the "Threpeny Bit" and the "Half crown" and the "florin" and all that stuff was all a bit daunting for our grand parents.

    TBH, I,m struggling to remember how the old money system worked. Was it multiples or divisions of twelve?
    I never was any good at maths!

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  138. JD:

    While you're here, and everyone's being all cultural and that, what is it about 'Capturing the Friedmans' that you liked so much?

    Have you seen it? Fascinating stuff. Chap sets out to film a fairly mundane documentary about his family and halfway through the project it turns out that both his dad and his brother are paedophiles. You couldn't make it up. Total car crash and very poignant.

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  139. BB

    All I can really remember about it is staying awake until dawn when I was babysitting promising myself that I would finish it. :)

    I suppose in that way it did it's job, maybe I should try it again.

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  140. "TBH, I,m struggling to remember how the old money system worked. Was it multiples or divisions of twelve?"

    Dunno, but my Gran'd love to tell you all about it....

    ;0)

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  141. Oh its job, not it's job, every time I make such a simple mistake I think Peter B is laughing at me. ;)

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  142. Speedy

    Yeah, I have, and I went on the the film tab to recommend it too.

    The thing is though, I can't quite put my finger on why I 'like' it.

    I've made other people watch it with me every time it's on, telling 'em that it's really good, and they usually end up looking at me a bit funny when it's all finished.

    The best I can usually come up with by way of explanation, is that I've watched it x times, and still haven't quite decided what the 'truth' is....

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  143. Yeah, I managed Foucault's Pendulum, which is why when everyone started banging on about The DaVinci Code I really didn't have much need for another secret religious order conspiracy thriller. 'Flicker' by Theodore Roszak is another example of the genre that shits all over Dan Brown.

    btw, didn't we have the ha'penny until about 1980? I certainly remember it, nipper that I am. I seem to recall the price of Mojos doubling overnight without them getting significantly bigger. Almost Zimbabwean levels of hyperinflation.

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  144. Chekov

    All I remember about decimalisation was that pre- , a Mars Bar cost 6d. Post- , a Mars Bar cost 2 1/2p for about a month, then suddenly it was 6p.

    My bus fare home from school was 6d/ 2 1/2p at the time, and I would often swap it for a Mars Bar and walk home. I was not a happy bunny....

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  145. @speedy

    Looking it up, I see the halfpenny coin lasted until 1984. Longer than I thought.

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  146. BB/Sheff

    Cheers for that.The case of the terminally ill failed asylum seeker been sent back to Ghana for what will almost certainly be a painful death is barbaric beyond belief.WTF ever happened to using discretionary powers in cases like that?

    With regard to Health Screening for all incoming migrants-except asylum seekers of course-i,m actually in principle in favour of that being introduced for TB and HIV .But the screening should take place in the country of origin before a visa is granted.

    But certainly the automatic deporting of seriously ill failed asylum seekers or seriously ill people whose work/student/tourist visas have run out is unacceptable.Dunno how some of these bureaucrats sleep at night.Although they,d probably argue they were just doing their job.Bastards!

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  147. JD:

    I've made other people watch it with me every time it's on, telling 'em that it's really good, and they usually end up looking at me a bit funny when it's all finished.

    Some people would no more 'enjoy' a documentary about paedophiles than they would a gay porn film (unless they were gay of course). I got similar funny reactions from people who I recommended 'Happiness' to, having found it hilarious. (It had a very similar effect to American Psycho actually, the art is in forcing you to appreciate extreme material). One friend of mine watched it on my recommendation and thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen, but then went on, in a room full of horrified people, to describe the few bits in it that you weren't supposed to find funny. And it was all on my recommendation... I felt like Fred West.

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  148. Paul

    Well they seem to listen to the Daily Hate-Mail readers and their wails of "we will have to let every sick person in the world stay if we let this one stay". Or something.

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  149. Yes, there is so much to talk about, with current affiars etc, but I am busy at the moment, and all this week.

    I was also wanting to write about my experiences,observations and reflections during my time away, but that will have to wait. For example, modern architecture, and yuppification of urban areas, none of which actually helps poor people, and creates homogenous soulless cities- an example is Manchester which I passed through each way on the journey- incredibly bland but shiny archtiecture, intercrossed with run down areas.

    In short I think it is credible to say that Britain is a dystopia, a mixture of an Orwellian, Huxleyan and Neoliberal dystopia.
    Orwellian= authoritarian state, CCTV everywhere, 'if you suspect it report it' messages on trains, paranoia. 'We are fighting a war in Afghanistan to keep the streets of Britain safe.'
    Huxleyan= servile and hedonistic pursuit of pleasure, slaves to consumerism- 'who cares about politics' mentality.
    Neoliberal dystopia= we already know about this. Mass privatisation and outsourcing, erosion in the conditions of labour, increased regulation and 'qualifcation-ism' of simple jobs. Sham companies like ATOS and A4E. Etc etc.

    Much as I'd love to write long pieces on social political themes and current affairs I have to write 2 essays about Romeo and Juliet and Victorian moral values. If only I had more time :).

    Goodnight.

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  150. OK me dears. Off to beddy-byes. School tomorrow xx

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  151. Paul:

    But certainly the automatic deporting of seriously ill failed asylum seekers or seriously ill people whose work/student/tourist visas have run out is unacceptable.Dunno how some of these bureaucrats sleep at night.Although they,d probably argue they were just doing their job.Bastards!

    Can't see this getting any better under the Coalition sadly. No doubt Cameron will be ordering a Gaza-esque flotilla into the Channel, with medics abseiling onto dodgy-looking Italian fishing boats from helicopters and tipping the sick and infirm overboard, Amistad-style. "If they don't land they haven't got a legal leg to stand on" (no pun intended).

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  152. @BB; well the price of your Mars Bar went through the roof but at that age you didn't realize the capitalists would naturally exploit the new monetary system!

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  153. Speedy - haha - I haven't seen happiness for a while, but I certainly wouldn't 'recommend' it to anyone I didn't think would get it/be discreet about it.
    (Will have a butchers next time I'm at the 'video' shop!!)

    Right, on that note, that's me out too...

    Night all!

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  154. BruWatch Update: In a classic piece of point-missing by the Romford transsexual, Bru tells a feminist about the joys of bikini-wearing:

    The author of this piece has obviously never been on a beach in a glamorous South of France resort at the height of the monokini craze.

    Because if you''ve never seen a woman in her late seventies going topless with her ample breasts touching her midriff, you've never had the true beach experience.

    No doubt Laurie Penny will be issuing a full retraction of her misguided article in light of this revelation.

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  155. Paul, my apologies, had to be away for a little while...

    " Heyhabib

    I would like you to log into the Muslim Council of Britain website which is-

    http://www.mcb.org.uk/

    Once there i would like you to click STATISTICS on the toolbar.

    I would then like you to absorb the info which highlights the levels of disadvantage that exist in Britains Muslims communities.

    And then i would like you to come back to me and explain why you think such deep-rooted levels of disadvantage exist.And more importantly what you think should be done to address them. "

    And I'd really like a full on kiss on the lips with Sandi Toksvig and Sue Perkins, but I don't think it's quite their thing...

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  156. Paul, if you're going to pick your stats from a right wing site, such as the "Muslim Council Of Britain" unelected (except by themselves) and full of zealots, I would suggest that the BNP one is more accurate.

    At least their agenda is less well hidden. I really don't know why you have it in for muslims, but hey, it's your own thing.

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  157. Hello

    chekhov

    12p=1sh
    20sh=£1

    Jenni

    Pendulum - love it but then I am an Eco fan.

    Paul

    There was an Africanwoman deported from Wales - picked up in hospital where she was receiving treatment for cancer. She died within weeks of rturning home.

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  158. chekhov

    To be correct that should read 12d (from dinari I think) LSD = £:sh:d

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  159. Heyhabib

    You really are a moron aren,t you.The statistics about Muslim disadvantage and under-achievement in Britain are similar whether you view them on the MCB website or in reports conducted by the TUC or the ONS of fuck knows how many other sources.And it is my belief that certain cultural attitudes within many Muslim communities in this country are holding those communities back.Now if your response is to either deny the validity of these reports and/or resort to accusations of Islamaphobia then all you,re doing is showing what a complete dickhead you are.

    You,ve accused me of being a liar,being disingenuous in the apology i gave you after my one car crash moment and being Islamaphobic.And you haven,t provided one shred of evidence to back up your allegations.And as i,ve repeatedly told you before the burden of proof is on you to substantiate your allegations.

    It,s time to either put up or shut up Habib.And remember this.I ain,t some exponent of political correctness that you can simply guilt trip into not saying what he thinks.So please bear that in mind next time you make your pathetic and deeply offensive allegations.

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  160. 2.5 million Americans have reached limit of unemployment benefits - how are these people supposed to live ?
    It doesn't seem possible that people can be totally deprived of an income - they will all have paid taxes.

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  161. Well, Leni, the Republicans seem to think that the fact that there are 7 officially unemployed people for every job currently available is irrelevant. Clearly, the unemployed are just too lazy to get off their duffs and get a job. They have this "McDonald's is always hiring" mentality that tells them that no one is ever unemployed through anything but their own damn fault.

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  162. "after my one car crash moment"
    Really, that old stuff again? That would be what, Paul? Go on, show me you were never disingenuous in your apology, tell everybody what you said... and not what you lied about having said.

    "The statistics about Muslim disadvantage and under-achievement in Britain are similar whether you view them on the MCB website or in reports conducted by the TUC or the ONS of fuck knows how many other sources."

    Yeah, muslims are disadvantaged and under achievers, as you would be better placed to know.

    "And remember this.I ain,t some exponent of political correctness that you can simply guilt trip into not saying what he thinks."
    I think you should say what you think.

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  163. Montana

    Well I suppose even lazy people can find the energy to do a nonexistent job whilst expending so little energy that they do not need to eat.

    Quite an art eh?

    I am beginning to hope that Hell really does exist.

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  164. Heyhabib

    "after my one car crash moment"
    Really, that old stuff again? That would be what, Paul? Go on, show me you were never disingenuous in your apology, tell everybody what you said... and not what you lied about having said.

    Yeah that old stuff again!Cos it,s that old stuff again that is at the root of all this.I,m not 100% sure what i said that night but i,ve told you time and time again what i think i said and the context i said it.So if i,m wrong then tell me what i did say and the context i said it.And also prove to me that my apology was disingenuous.And that my later offers to sort this out and my later apologies were also disingenuous.

    Balls in your court pal!

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  165. You said I laid a guilt trip on you. How can I do that? I don't know you.

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  166. If your apology was out of guilt that I or any others (a day later) made you feel, I hold that it was disingenuos.

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  167. To subsequently state that you were trying to find perceived solidarity with me was always a lie.

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  168. Your comment to me two days ago was about Islam and what you think about it, justifying your viewpoint by finding stats from wherever you could. Two mistakes there, silly source, silly notion that I care.

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  169. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  170. Yeah, you said that before...

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  171. Heyhabib

    I just thought to myself WTF.Who is this wanker?Why have i let him wind me up with his unfounded accusations.Well this is Montana.s site and she,s made it clear that she supports you.And as a result i,ve had a couple of spats with her over this.And i notice Montana has been lurking tonight whilst this spat has been going on.And from what has been said in the past you and Montana are in regular contact with each other.Anyway i,m gonna bow out gracefully this time.but there are just two thingss i want to say.Firstly i think most people on UT are great -including you Montana despite our differences..And secondly i,m never disingenuous when i apologize to someone,I,m not a liar and i,m not islamaphobic.

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  172. Oh and for the record what i said in my now deleted 2.35am post was-

    Heyhabib

    I want you to know that wasn,t a deranged rant it was 100% heartfelt.

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  173. Just that you said you weren't going to bother with me any more, Paul. Guess what? You asked me very silly questions about a dubious organisation's stats, but hey, if you hate me that much and I upset you so, best we ignore each other?

    Nice touch, bringing Montana into it. just a whole lotta class!

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  174. Heyhabib


    'Eat dirt and die trash'


    Sweet dreams!

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  175. What colour would you prefer?

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  176. You know something i,m through with bothering with a rasclaat like you.

    I've always wondered how you spelt that

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  177. speedkermit

    ''I've always wondered how you spelt that''

    Well now you know!And i suppose i shouldn,t be surprised that it,s an expression that got your 'coppers nose' twitching.

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