22 December 2010

22/12/10



When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?' 
-Don Marquis

211 comments:

  1. Re: moving to Wordpress

    I think that Mods's suggestion of simply putting a notice here that we've moved, with a link to the new site, would probably be the best/safest if we decide to move.

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  2. We actually packing up and moving then? Will be sorry to see the back of the old girl.... We been here about over 18 months now i think.

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  3. seems sensible, montana - and maybe a link on the new site back to the old site for easy archive retrieval, which I'm sure will appeal to some occasional visitors (those that haven't dumped the thing into MySQL already...)

    and i had a couple of comments go 'eep' yesterday, so have changed my vote to 'yes'. actually, voted again. take it the voting system was borrowed from last year's ciffies, heheheheheh.

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  4. in brighter news, have received my 2011 payment schedule from one of the NI people - €0 to pay. marvellous. just have to fight with the other bastards now...

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  5. Morning.

    Jay

    We've been here almost 2 years now. Which means Montana has worked bloody hard at keeping it going!

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  6. And happy solstice to everyone!

    I believe this is one of those years when the winter solstice falls on the 22 December - Stonehenge is open to celebrants for a brief period this morning.

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  7. Eddie

    I was a brickie..

    and...

    "I remember the first Asian building contractors in Slough, Southall etc springing up. There was the apocryphal story of the Indian plasterers/plumbers etc with the slogan on their van - usually credited to the first local Asian company someone could think of - "you've tried thet cowboys, now try the Indians". Of course, it wasn't true. But it should have been."

    I happen to know there were least two Sikh firms who had it on their van...certainly the Rajinder bros...Groundworkers from Woolwich cos I used to rent a flat from one of them and they gave me a few lifts..white on a dark blue Transit, but they didn't invent the slogan because he'd got the idea from his cousin in Birmingham. Not sure if they're still going...was never actually on the same job.. but they had a good reputation.

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  8. Anyway..I'm shortly setting off on stage 1 of my 2 day epic journey to Bethlehem or wherever it is I'm going...just hope the donkey starts...he's a moody little fucker in cold weather

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  9. good luck monkeyfish! remember your jump-carrots...

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  10. Morning all. Anyone who's going to be in the Lord Nelson tomorrow night, I'll be wearing a black bomber jacket and an anti-Glazer green and yellow scarf.

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  11. @Montana, bit of research tells me that although you can migrate your archives, in addition to being rather pointless, you'd have to upload every single image all over again.

    Migrating from one wordpress blog to another is simplicity itself--I've done it. You click a button and wordpress automatically creates an .xml file of the entire blog, images and all. This is then uploaded to the new blog et voila.

    Sadly, migrating a blogspot blog to wordpress is more complicated. Best to just put up a link (plus a link-back on the new blog).

    Not wishing to appear presumptuous but thinking to make it easier for you, I opened a wordpress blog HERE.

    Let me know your email address and I'll send you the log-in details and passwords for the blog and the associated email address I also created for you (obviously, you'll want to change the passwords for both, but that only takes a second).

    Wordpress really is miles better--more flexible, more configurable, etc., with about 400 very groovy themes to choose from, countless widgets, twitter feeds (God help us) and all sorts of other bells and whistles.

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  12. Mornin' all.

    Turminderjie, where are you? Missing you, mera pra.
    And Deano, rattle the cup along the bars to let us know you're okay. :-)

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  13. Philibee,
    "remember your jump-carrots..."
    will live long in my mind.

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  14. So no preview or edit on Wordpress, no?

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  15. 0/ habib

    I'm surviving brother - battling a shitty chest infection/cold thing. Coughing so much me fucking ribs ache! Thanks for enquiry.

    I liked the jump-carrots too

    Best wishes to all travelling

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  16. I will watch with interest. I have a sad feeling however, that on a typical Friday/Sat night embedding 100+ youtube may cause the page to be slow as hell. But maybe I am wrong.

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  17. the 'in praise of' today has caused me to deploy language and anger.

    'anguage', maybe.

    staying away from that, will start metaphorically slapping people.

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  18. "Could we have the economics section moved into CiF Belief?"

    BenC on waddya, made me snigger...



    Good quote from Ha-Joon Chang:

    "Economics is 95% common sense made complicated"

    And even that's generous....

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  19. any particular article causing the suggestion?

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  20. Not sure, Pip.

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  21. @PhilippaB:

    You mean the “Christmas at home” one? I liked VoxAC30’s comment…

    …“It's time to get pissed and put some Quo on.

    But then, it's always time to get pissed and put some Quo on.”…


    Legend.

    Anyway, it’s been many years since I spent Christmas in the parental nest. Thank fuck.

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  22. Re: The move to Wordpress

    I'm holding out with my vote.. I've been reading up on the parliamentary voting ethics, and in true MP fashion I have to state: If you want it - it's going to cost !!

    I'm looking for a life peerage, where I can have a snooze seat. I want to be the old duffer caught catching flies. I want to be a sleeping director on the boards of numerous organisations or conglomerates.

    There... my vote just got me an easy ride in these times of austerity !

    What you gonna do with yours ?

    BTW - I have no preference, having little or no experience with the workings of either. My only thought would be 'What ever makes things easier for Montana..'

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  23. Shiloh - VoxAC30 is often good for a laugh - often on waddya demanding to talk about his bins...

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  24. @PhilippaB:

    He’s great value. I love people like that – single-issue posters whose online mission in life is mostly very simple. In his case, to proselytise for the "Mighty" Quo.

    Anyway, what’s the deal re. Christmas – are you stuck in France?

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  25. aye, but it's not too bad - have managed to arrange a trip back in january. kicking self for choosing the train rather than plane, as the 'flyers' seem to be getting out ok. but no tickets - or none i can afford - remain...

    right - work calls, see you all later

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  26. Montana - an important consideration?

    Can the new wordpress system have multiple 'trusted' folk with admin rights (as with UT) so that things are covered on the very rare occasions when you are absented?

    I think I might continue to post on UT even if everyone else migrates - I always liked the idea of being last man standing and I do spend a lot of time talking to myself anyway so I won't feel alone. ...the meek shall inherit the UT... ;)

    I voted against but I'm all for what ever makes it easier for you.

    You deserve a great thank you from all who enjoy UT for your diligent efforts, through shit and shot, over the nearly two years. Thank you.

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  27. Have had to retreat indoors - its blowing a gale here and have sand in everthing. But its warm! Sipping mint tea in bus station waiting for the coach to the coast. Hope you guys aren't freezing your arses off. Lovely to be in country where people are so friendly - had almost forgotten what that was like.

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  28. Enjoy yourself Sheff.

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  29. "... Lovely to be in country where people are so friendly - had almost forgotten what that was like...."

    Yea, when sincere, an important variable in the quality of life calculus - I'm sure that it will be left out of the Cameron calculator when the details are published.

    Have a good time Sheff

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  30. Hello everyone; just lobbing in my two penneth with regard to the proposed switch to Word Press.
    Is is possible to give it a "test drive" and if it doesn't work out to return to business as usual?

    I'm with Deano on this, Montana, whatever makes it easier for you and second his thanks to you for making it all possible.

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  31. Yey Sheff!

    Deano, being sick just ain't fun, I'm tanked up on Benylin me sen.
    Here's a song to try and cheer us up.

    I wish we could sit together and down a bottle of Jura, singing stupid songs with nasal voices...

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  32. Sheff - have a lovely time! No. 2 child came back from Morocco addicted to mint tea - in fact brought a large packet back with him, which I was quite pleased they didn't discover at customs...

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  33. Hi Sheff, I thought you were going "incommunicado".
    Anyway, glad you changed your mind. Hope you have a great adventure. Keep us up-dated. I can't wait to find out what your hosts are like!

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  34. What would make me happier to migrate to WordPress would be the ability to post articles within the UT Wordpress tent. RapidFire never really got going, on account - as Mishari points out - of me being a lazy fucker.

    I'm not suggesting a poor man's/woman's/crossdresser's version of CiF - the original is intellectually impoverished enough and none of us are the necessary media hoes to keep it busy - but the ability to vent and get feedback occasionally on Planet UT would be welcome.

    So can WordPress's bells and whistles do that can it eh can it?

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  35. Chekhov - am using my iphone, qhich is a bit of a novelty. Will see if I can upload some snaps from it when i get to Essaouira

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  36. @RapidEddie:

    Nice Wordpress Christmas card - and you beat me to it, because I gave up at this:

    [gigya src="http://www.pageplugins.com/generators/winter_card/christmascard.swf" FlashVars="l1=Line one here&l2=Line two here&l3=Line three here&l4=Line four here&xx=193&yy=45&dom=http://www.pageplugins.com/generators/winter_card/" quality="high" wmode="transparent" width="440" height="315" ]

    I mean, where to start...?

    @sheff:

    My significant other would love an iPhone but, Festive season notwithstanding, £400! We can eat for a month on that...

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  37. I'd also appreciate a Who's Who posting at the start of the WordPress adventure, explaining what name someone posts on at the UT and what their username is/was on CiF. Hopefully it can be updated occasionally without needing a new post. Ta.

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  38. Shiloh, just take out the Line one here and Line two here bits and put your own text in. As the young people say, 'simples'. Just be aware that it only accepts about 12 characters per line, including spaces. As I found out to my bitter, bitter cost.

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  39. Shiloh - my iphone is my daughters cast off, bought from her on ver reasonable terms. There's no way I'd pay 400 quid for one!

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  40. Likewise MsChin- well done Montana !

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  41. Sheff, smoke some good stuff through a hookah, for me? :-)

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  42. To those of you travelling, hope you make it. For those of you who can't, hope it turns out to be a blast anyways...

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  43. @RapidEddie:

    Call me old-fashioned (or Swifty, or whatevs, duh…) but I prefer this layout to the Wordpress one. That layout just looks confusing to my untutored (and no doubt resolutely Web0.0001) eye… I like the clear delineation between posts on here, although maybe there’s a layout over there which separates comments out a bit more?

    @Sheff:

    Quite right too. Our neighbours have got an iPhone each, now I may be a bit of a tightwad but I honestly don’t understand how people can spend that much money on a bloody phone.

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  44. 'noon all

    YES! finished work! off to the airport in a while...bloody hate airports.....don't think there will be any probs....

    BB
    will call you tomorrow....weather permitting!!

    sheff

    I must say i'm quite jealous, not of the iphone, but being somewhere hot considering i'm going from 15° to minus somat.... I quite fancy a trip to morocco....

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  45. Speaking of being media ho enough to try and keep a blog going......

    (Again, apologies for any breaches of netiquette and all that shit!)

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  46. Safe-trip Gandolfo (esp in them Rome subway stations!)

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  47. james......are you talking about the umbrella in the eye murder? or being mangled alive in the escalator story?

    me ...I'm taking the local train just to be on the safe side, none of that tempting fate stuff....come to think of it not really a step up the evolutionary scale of roman transport....in fact quite a few steps down......hey ho great way to start the festive season......life on the edge an' all.... that's even before taking into consideration i'm going sleazy jet....

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  48. Gandolfo,

    Well, I had one eye on the umbrella story (see what I did there!?) but I was mostly referring to the bomb found there yesterday!!

    Or did I dream that too....??

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  49. Yey - I didn't dream it, (just turned out it wasn't a bomb after all)!

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  50. Hello peeps! Just a fly by, new job is fun, if vslow today. Snow is tedious and long since past boring. Other than that. I hope to manage the 30 miles to my girlfriends for Xmas day. If I'm not back b4 have a kewl Yule and all the best for 2011! Rightbackatcha Habib! : )

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  51. Hey Turminder!!

    Have a good Christmas!!

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  52. Swifty -- second that . This page I'm looking at is easy on the eye, as is Golem's, many many other blogs are not,

    Dave, frog2, etc, Happy Solstices All !

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  53. I'm offski........i hopeski!see yas tomorrow....

    hi turm good luck! and HNN to you!

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  54. James - Couldn't resist.

    I'm pretty sure someone else will get the tea-bag though. Bah

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  55. Well, it could be worse. Clegg's spent the last 7 months getting a teabaggin' from Cameron and Osborne. Oh so I've heard anyways......

    ;0)

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  56. Swifty, there are about 350 different themes, many with a much clearer delineation between posts...you just have to let Montana play around with it until she finds the right one...the one you're looking at is just a sort of holding pattern.

    For me, the clinchers are:

    A. no more having your comments vanish into the maw of the spamosaur.

    B. Being able to embed music videos

    C. Better html rendering

    D. No limit on the length of a comment

    It's a no-brainer.

    Eddie, the posting articles thing is simple enough: just post it as a comment and ask Montana (or whoever has admin rights) to post it as an article.

    HERE is a blog that's an off-shoot of my main blog.

    It's specifically for translated poems and what people do is alert me to a translated poem they've posted and I choose an image and post the translated poem as a main article, complete with commenting facility.

    Honestly, listening to the old farts moaning about how they prefer the old blog is comical.

    It's like those old cunts who moan about the advent of the Graphical User Interface--'...aye, the old command-line...that were a man's game...a proper keyboard...had to know yer stuff...this new point-and-click rubbish just int the same, like...'.

    Yeah, yeah, yeah...fuck off, grandad.

    Wordpress makes thing easier for Montana. That should be all you need to know, you ungrateful, whining twats...

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  57. Well, when you put it like that....

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  58. B. Being able to embed music videos

    James - you seem to have cracked embedding videos in your new blog can you do one here on UT?

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  59. OK - I'll have a crack!!

    Give me a minute!

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  60. D. No limit on the length of a comment

    Quack to infinity

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  61. No can do, I'm afraid Deano.

    (I'm guessing you can do it in a post, but not subsequent comments)!

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  62. @Mishari:

    A) Righteous, man, I hates the spamosaur!
    B) Woah, awesome functionality dude, that rocks!
    C) Fuck yeah! That’s what this blog and its predecessor have been like totally lacking – better HTML rendering.
    D) ‘Ray! Bitethehand can now post a 7,000 word meticulously-researched and cross-referenced comment. Again and again and again!

    So on reflection, you’re quite right. You’ve made a “young fart” of this previously “old fart”. To the other dissenting or even ambivalent old farts – c’mon you staid fuckers, I’ve seen the future! And it’s like totally all about having the ability to post animated messages like “Fuck off Bitey”! In different colours!!

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  63. Mind you, if it makes MW's life easier, then yeah, it's got that to recommend it...

    I don't post much these days anyway, so wouldn't affect me much either way.

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  64. Whatever Montana fancies to be honest, yeah, its her that does the work for it.

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  65. Cheers James - still your never more than a "link" away from any vid you want to draw attention to. And a one line link occupies less physical space on the screen and thus reduces scrolling if your not interested.......not that I'm trying to fart up a storm you understand.

    you need to get Montana to change the UT link from your old to your new blog if you've decided to abandon the old.

    Mods - can you have multiple administrators on wordpress?

    The most burdensome task for Montana seems to be drawing the line on the UT day by posting a new daily blog - how is that reduced on the new fangled?

    Does it automatically start a new thread every 24 hours?

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  66. Turminder

    Glad the first impressions of your new job are positive.Have a good Xmas and New Year.

    deano

    Sorry to hear you're unwell.Take care of yourself.

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  67. I probably will do Deano, once the moving interweb home thing's been sorted (and once I know I'm definitely sticking with my new blog, before asking anyone to go to any bother!!)

    Hope you're keeping warm and comfortable!!

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  68. Hello All

    If it gets any colder life will become extinct.

    Happies to Turm and sympathy to Deano - try to keep warm.

    what a load of rubbish on Cif today - festive rubbish is no better than the ordinary, every day kind.

    WordPress used to lock me out a lot - but decision really rests with Montana . The ease or otherwise of admin. of site is an important consideration.

    I hope good old Sol realises it is the Solstice and remembers to turn round and come back in our direction.

    More and more birds coming closer to houses as the forest freezes. Owls are dying - heard ours the other night - a lonely call with no response from mate. Saddening.

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  69. The e-mail on my home computer isn't working.It says i need to verify my account properties and i have no idea what that means.

    Does any kind soul here have an easy way of explaining to a technophobe what needs to be done?

    Cheers!

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  70. No idea off-hand, I'm afraid Paul.

    Is it outlook express, or a t'internet based e-mail like hotmail or gmail!?

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  71. Thanks for good wishes all.

    "Quack to infinity" - was a reference to that lunatic hermit who one day in the recent past simply repeated the word Quack to the comment limit.

    He was then at least obliged to keep cutting and pasting and then reposting as he tried to blockade the site. Making it easier for the disturbed quacker may be a mixed blessing when the moon is next full.


    Swifty - I can't get it to do Fuck off Bitey in dancing text....but I'm still trying I thought it would be a nice Christmas present for BB

    It's battle for water for the birds at moment leni it freezes so quickly here. A tad milder today though.

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  72. Apologies to those who are going to be in Brighton tomorrow night, especially Monkeyfish, but I'm afraid I won't be able to make it.

    I was feeling a little rough this morning and tried to shrug it off, but by early afternoon I was sick as a dog. I've spend the day in bed, missed the ferry and cancelled Christmas.

    So in the end, it wasn't the weather that got me but some miserable soddding microbe. Oh well.

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  73. Paul

    don't know who you have mail with - I am still trying to open a gmail ac.

    I think you message means you have to prove you are you - there should be a button somewhere leading you to password verication thingy.

    Deano

    I top up the water with hot stuff every so often. x

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  74. D. No limit on the length of a comment

    Quack to infinity
    ?

    IP filtering = No quacking at all (otherwise known as pre-moderation).

    It's not a free speech issue. Engrish Helmet is perfectly free to quack to his heart's content at Speaker's Corner or on a blog of his own, nor would I dream of trying to prevent him. That is a free speech issue.

    What he's not free to do is barge into my home and do it...or my blog...or even my local, although he could try if he doesn't mind a hiding. I don't understand why he's allowed to do it here.

    'Ooooh...censorship'. No, it's fucking not.

    English Hairnet and Gum the Bum are perfectly free to go and start their own blogs, where they can, without let or hindrance, say whatever the fuck they like.

    Posting endless exceptionally nasty attacks on BB on this blog is not a God-given right.

    IT'S NOT A FUCKING FREE SPEECH ISSUE.

    Some people need to learn the difference between 'license' and 'liberty'.

    Yes, @deanO, multiple admins is no problem--share the workload.


    Chill, Swifty...don't get your incontinence knickers in a twist. Have a nice cup of Horlicks...I understand it now comes in Vimto-flavour, especially for you coffin-dodgers.

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  75. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  76. Oh Shit Spike - Swine flu ?

    I still don't feel like i've shaken orf the bugger that grabbed me. Had to have 3 days off - only sickie taken in 8 years - just couldn't function at all, and was as weak as a kitten, it sapped all the energy right out of me.

    Paul - Sorry no clues on that one

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  77. I wonder how Spencer is doing. From what he said he was gonna fly from Luton to Embra, then get another plane to SY. I'm not sure how it's gonna turn out for him. Hope it goes well. If he turns up on here, stuck in a hotel or something, tell him I said hi. I'm off out to the sauna.

    Last night the roads and the ferry crossing were working almost to clockwork but the planes weren't running at all yesterday becuase the runway was iced over.

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  78. Having multiple admin staff is good and always helpful for those rare times when our hostess falls asleep on the job.....

    IP filtering = No quacking at all (otherwise known as pre-moderation).

    Therein lies the possible burying of a founding/fundamental principle of UT?

    Pre moderation probably increases the workload? It's always been avoided here on UT

    I'm simply playing Devil's advocate - it's Montana's call.

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  79. Paul - if you're using Outlook, it usually means that there's a problem with the POP server. Should sort itself out.

    Spike, commiserations!

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  80. You know, if you lot keep posting stuff between 5 and 6pm, you make the music hour redundant.

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  81. cracked it..... I know she likes dancing words ( fucking lawyer ain't she)

    BB's Christmas Present - scroll down to 5.31pm young miss

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  82. Habib

    The music hour can continue - we can listen and type at same time - unlike our thumbsucking masters.

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  83. Spike - hope you can get back to base and rustle up some company and supplies.

    Go easy man.

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  84. Hi All

    Spike--Tough luck buddy. Get better soon, I advise a fine single malt for best results.

    Hi Habib--Thought the music never stopped?


    Agree with others, whatever is easiest for Montana and admins.

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  85. "unlike our thumbsucking masters".

    You're using thumbsucking in a euphemistic sense, right!?

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  86. habib - I'm a Covonia man myself. Two bottles of Covonia Original Bronchial Balsam and I'm anybody's.

    If I were richer or it wasn't so costly I'd take two every night.

    Look forward to cracking the Jura with you one day.

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  87. Spike - sorry to hear you're feeling shite. Best wishes for a quick recovery. x

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  88. James

    Yup - feel free to replace with adjective or phrase of choice.

    Perhaps we should have a numbered scale to refer to ? a list of possibilities and interesting suggestions.

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  89. Evening all

    Thanks for the Christmas pressie, Deano! Nice one! x

    Spike, sorry you are under the weather, mate. Hot toddies for the win x

    Now are we to post here or on t'other or on both?

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  90. One day, deano...

    Leni, thanks for your support on cif the other day xxxx

    Boudi, quite right. Here's a bit of music from my childhood that I think many of the tossers on the thread Leni offered her support would just love.

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  91. Shaz - any more news from the travel stuck kid?

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  92. Still stuck, deano - I managed to book him onto the 11pm tomorrow, so if that flies he'll be back on Christmas Eve - but if not, could be looking at 27-28th. Fingers firmly crossed!

    Sorry you're feeling poorly - stay warm x

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  93. Shaz - fingers crossed for ya! Hope he manages to get home in time for the Queen's Speech. :o)

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  94. Deano - also sorry to hear you're not well ... are you seeing your kids/sometime over xmas?

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  95. Apparently the pope is to address us all on TFD on friday morning.

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  96. Thanks for all your commiserations.

    Solidarity, Deano!

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  97. Sorry you're poorly too, Deano. Hugs x

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  98. Habib--Lovely song,beautiful woman. Will check out more of her.--That's one very good thing about this site; the opportunity to be turned on to different types of music. Thanks for that. BTW, that thread got ugly in a hurry. Very unpleasant to read.

    Leni--He won't be addressing us all. I shall carry on with my heathen ways during the solstice.

    That said, Sol has just popped out, so the dog and I will too. Laters.

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  99. Hi Had a look at the new site - looks interesting but all those toys look very tempting! I need to get a (real) life!!

    But then I could be boring and not use them I suppose.

    Get well hugs(((((( to those who are feeling poorly)))))).

    I actually went into our main Tesco's this afternoon (by taxi!)

    I now have all my Crimbo food except the Goose and the farmer has just told me he is coming down from Llandindrod Wells on his bike to make sure I get it tomorrow! This guy deserves my custom! Just wish I could afford him more than once a year! I'm assuming its a motor bike BTW!

    Shattered now going to bed with hot water bottle to warm up!

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  100. I'm away back to my bed - am much better today than yesterday and the day before so all will be well.

    Living the isolated life means that I don't get many bugs, and my resistance and recovery is still very good considering all the years of abuse I have subjected myself to.

    thaum yea joining the kids(2) and their partners and me sometime for Christmas day. Sadly me daughter can't join us this year (but she's over for New Year). Eldest lad who got his first house this year is hosting.

    fingers crossed Shaz

    laters

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  101. ah, spike - so sorry.

    clearly my 'karmic transfer' theory only went as far as travel arrangement...

    and good luck to shaz and the lad - keeping things crossed it works out.

    anne - goose... mmmmmmmmm.....

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  102. Goose is lovely - had it a few years ago for the first time for xmas dinner. Really enjoyed it but there wasn't much left over after 6 of us had had a feast on it. So much of the mass is fat - bloody fab for cooking roast spuds for the following year though.

    We've got a capon coming - prefer the flavour to turkey and there are plenty of turkey-ish left-overs for sarnies.

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  103. '...a founding/fundamental principle of UT?'

    Oh...I see...you feel very strongly about English Herpes' right to post 50 2000-word comments consisting of the word 'quack', one after the other? Right.

    Don't tell me...it's the principle.

    Listen, that's not a fucking principle, it's adolescent posturing...or perhaps you're actually consistent and would be equally happy to have the prick ringing you up 250 times a day to deliver an endless fusillade of quacks? If not, why not? What are you, some kind of fascist?

    Frankly, you seem far too keen on striking cod-noble attitudes ('...a founding principle', eh? Thank you, Toussaint fucking L'Ouverture) and far less keen on addressing my substantive point: it's not a free-speech issue--stop pretending it is.

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  104. D) ‘Ray! Bitethehand can now post a 7,000 word meticulously-researched and cross-referenced comment. Again and again and again!

    Have never done so in the past and can't imagine wanting to do so in the future.

    Shame there's no embedded AI though as then, even Deano would be able to post something worth reading.

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  105. (and, as if on cue)....even if it means putting up with the above!!

    ReplyDelete
  106. Hello everyone; qu'est ce qui ce passe?

    Has there been a coup?

    People seem to be packing their bags and heading for the door.

    Is it a fait accomplie?

    This move won't compromise our claim to be "un-moderated" will it?

    ReplyDelete
  107. @JamesDixon: missed your last two but yeah, I was thinking along the same lines.

    ReplyDelete
  108. .........it's much simpler than a fascist farters view/theory on free speech mods

    I wouldn't dream of giving the quacker my phone number any more than I gave you my true email address when I logged onto your trial pad. One strength of the alternative system is that you can comment from an entirely fictitious email without even having to create an account

    anger at moderation ....no moderation was, as it happens, a call/response that helped establish and then differentiate UT from CIF/waddya

    it also prevents endless work for admin folk charged with defining and then policing and explaining a moderation policy

    the UT site is probably now best described as an organic cooperative venture - if it wants moderation it will emerge. But I doubt it will just drift into it.

    moderation may gain some posters and loose some other posters.

    Personally I think the general no moderation/censor policy is a strength, as is the dustbin (self moderation) facility for posters which wordpress seems to lack

    I don't pretend anything when I say the best moderation policy/rule is scroll on by buddy

    the excesses of the hermit were quite rightly removed but the twat was allowed the odd quack

    not so much a principle as a price we pay.....cheaper than the alternative though

    sorry my young friend mods but I just can't recommend you for the job of UT moderator

    I'll pick it up on the morrow if you wish but me Covonia has all gone now

    ReplyDelete
  109. Major IT rage going down here.Really understand why some people get so frustrated with their computers they lob them out the window.Worst of all i'm now having to actually talk to people rather than e-mail them.Plus Money's Too Tight (To Mention)

    @ Could someone point me in the right direction when we move.Ta!

    ReplyDelete
  110. Could anyone clarify how the terms of engagement would be altered if we move?

    As James just said, most of us came over here because we got sick and tired of being "modded" or vetted or in anyway scrutinized by anything other than our posts.

    ReplyDelete
  111. Deano - you back on the booze then? Just the time of year for it.

    *raises glass to Miss D*

    ReplyDelete
  112. .

    From The Independent

    I probably shouldn't have laughed, but I'm afraid I did. It was the moment when he said that women had been "extremely helpful and generous". Being "helpful and generous" in WikiWorld meant, it soon became clear, a range of supportive activities, from the secretarial to the – well, I'm far too much of a lady to spell it out.

    And Julian Assange, it seemed, was far too much of a gentleman. Asked by John Humphrys on yesterday's Today programme to throw a little light on the sexual behaviour that has garnered him a "hi-tech" house arrest, a request for extradition, and, according to his own account, 30 million web pages, Assange declared that it was "private business". To the question that got the Deputy Prime Minister a nickname that was rather hard to shake off, he replied that "a gentleman certainly doesn't count". The women, that is, not the mentions on Google....

    He also seemed a little confused. When Humphrys asked if there was "any truth" in the sexual allegations made by the two women in Sweden, which largely amount to non-consensual sex without a condom, he said "no". Asked if he denied having sex with the women, he also said "no". Asked if it was "a honey-trap", he said that he had "never said" it was. But then he said that he had "never said" it wasn't. It was a bit like having a conversation with Paul the Octopus.....

    On certain things, he was clear. It was, he said, "ridiculous" that the women had gone to the police. The women, he said, had "gone into a tizzy" about whether there was "a possibility of sexually transmitted diseases". A "tizzy", presumably, because a man who had found so many women so helpful and generous, and who, if the women are right about his lack of enthusiasm for a condom, may well have been enjoying widespread freedom of access without the barriers that only prosaic mortals impose. A "tizzy", therefore, that a brief encounter, and one which, on one occasion, according to the allegations, happened when one of the women wasn't actually awake to give her consent to it, might leave rather a long-standing mark. I don't know what other women thought when they heard this man dismiss the allegations of a couple of distraught women with such casual contempt. To me, it was evident that this was a man so convinced of his probity that he couldn't believe that any woman, anywhere, could ever find his approach to sexual mores anything other than helpful and generous.

    ReplyDelete
  113. From The Independent

    I probably shouldn't have laughed, but I'm afraid I did. It was the moment when he said that women had been "extremely helpful and generous". Being "helpful and generous" in WikiWorld meant, it soon became clear, a range of supportive activities, from the secretarial to the – well, I'm far too much of a lady to spell it out.

    And Julian Assange, it seemed, was far too much of a gentleman. Asked by John Humphrys on yesterday's Today programme to throw a little light on the sexual behaviour that has garnered him a "hi-tech" house arrest, a request for extradition, and, according to his own account, 30 million web pages, Assange declared that it was "private business". To the question that got the Deputy Prime Minister a nickname that was rather hard to shake off, he replied that "a gentleman certainly doesn't count". The women, that is, not the mentions on Google....

    He also seemed a little confused. When Humphrys asked if there was "any truth" in the sexual allegations made by the two women in Sweden, which largely amount to non-consensual sex without a condom, he said "no". Asked if he denied having sex with the women, he also said "no". Asked if it was "a honey-trap", he said that he had "never said" it was. But then he said that he had "never said" it wasn't. It was a bit like having a conversation with Paul the Octopus.....

    On certain things, he was clear. It was, he said, "ridiculous" that the women had gone to the police. The women, he said, had "gone into a tizzy" about whether there was "a possibility of sexually transmitted diseases". A "tizzy", presumably, because a man who had found so many women so helpful and generous, and who, if the women are right about his lack of enthusiasm for a condom, may well have been enjoying widespread freedom of access without the barriers that only prosaic mortals impose. A "tizzy", therefore, that a brief encounter, and one which, on one occasion, according to the allegations, happened when one of the women wasn't actually awake to give her consent to it, might leave rather a long-standing mark. I don't know what other women thought when they heard this man dismiss the allegations of a couple of distraught women with such casual contempt. To me, it was evident that this was a man so convinced of his probity that he couldn't believe that any woman, anywhere, could ever find his approach to sexual mores anything other than helpful and generous.

    ReplyDelete
  114. Chekhov,

    I think it's just a hypothetical discussion at this point. We don't have to have moderation on wordpress, so nothing would change if not... just the website address, functionality etc.
    Some would probably need to sign up to another ID thingy though....

    Paul - set up a hotmail account, and then import your contacts. Hotmail's free and web-based, so you just use it as and when you need!

    ReplyDelete
  115. I'm such a fucking klutz - how do you change your avatar on WP? Abd why can deano do all those brilliant scrolling jobbies, but all I can do is post a whopping linky?
    Bah...

    ReplyDelete
  116. Not yet thaum Covonia cough mixture by bottle really is a kinda loony juice. Dangerously addictive when taken by the pair

    I'm going to have a dry Christmas (only the second in the last 55 years) and then review me options on Jan 1st.

    Bless Miss D - whenever she heard carols on the radio she used start licking her lips in anticipation of her Christmas chicken.

    ReplyDelete
  117. Hi All

    chekhov,deano--Agree with no moderation. Scroll on by works for me when certain avatars/names appear.

    Bitey--Is that post meant to incriminate or inform? I'll wait to see if or when he is charged to help make up my mind. And no, I do not excuse rape of any kind, but who knows if it was?

    Anyway, off for drinks with an old pal. Bye for now.

    ReplyDelete
  118. shaz--Don't ask me. My computer skills amount to SFA. Sorry.

    deano--Will hoist a dram to Miss diesel as well. My friend just lost his dog in october ( a beautiful friendly doberman) so we will be talking of memories.

    OK, I'm out.

    ReplyDelete
  119. Thaum - only half a day for me then work drinkies \o/

    Although the way I'm feeling if I manage to stay for two rounds I will be lucky. Ah well.

    Also raising a small glass of brandy to the memory of the Divine Miss Diesel. Cheers

    And I know he's only a rat, but Cory Burnout had to go to the vets today cos he has a very nasty respiratory infection and has hardly eaten over the past few days. The vet very kindly pointed out how "rubbish" it was that they have such a short life-span as she gave him some anti-biotics, which I hope wasn't vet-speak for "he's about to pop his clogs". Sigh. I never thought I would get so attached to a rodent.

    ReplyDelete
  120. Deano - had not heard of Covonia, so assumed it was booze! Cough medicine is next best thing.

    Think I will take a slug of Night Nurse and head upstairs myself shortly.

    ReplyDelete
  121. Night nurse. Good stuff. NN thaum xx

    ReplyDelete
  122. Evening all.

    Just crawling in for a quick visit before bedtime.

    This Christmas business is exhausting, in physical/mental and financial sense. Wouldn't mind feeling so knackered if I'd been partying .. now wondering if I've caught the lurgy from one of you lot!

    Sorry to hear about CoryB, BB. hope he perks up soon.

    ReplyDelete
  123. MsChin

    Thanks!

    Yes, this Christmas business is exhausting! I used to take it all so much for granted when my mother was alive and did the whole thing. All we had to do was turn up on Christmas Eve with a box of pressies and eat and drink to our hearts' content while she had clearly been going bananas behind the scenes.

    I have everything now except for one pressie that I haven't been able to find yet, and some brandy butter that I can make with brandy, icing sugar and butter if I don't find it anyhoo.

    ReplyDelete
  124. BB

    I now have to take someone else shopping, but I believe we'll be mostly in toy shops so I may just about survive.

    And yes, never realised till I took on the Xmas dinner bit myself how much effort my mom put into it. Here's to Mothers - some of whom are much missed at this time of year.

    On a cheerier note, sheff sent me a text from Marrakesh whilst it was snowing today. At least one of us escaped!

    ReplyDelete
  125. I could be getting myself in a snit over something that is not an issue but from what I've gathered there seem to be certain "riders" which have to be complied with should we make the switch to "Wordpress".

    Let's face it the whole "raison d'etre" of this UT blog is that it is un-moderated; if that status is undermined by jumping ship then I would have to re-think if it is a good idea, regardless of all the baubles on offer at "Wordpress"

    ReplyDelete
  126. *raises glass to absent mums*

    (Purely medicinal, for the cough, you understand. :p )

    Actually, I decreed that Christmas had officially started today as I only have half a day's work to do, which is nice. Still got some wrapping to do, some sausage rolls and a trifle to make, but more or less organised apart from that. Managed to find some nice vegan chocs and sweeties for the lad's stocking, too.

    Hope Sheff's having a lovely time.

    ReplyDelete
  127. Deano
    Bless Miss D - whenever she heard carols on the radio she used start licking her lips in anticipation of her Christmas chicken.
    Ha! - Minty (of blessed memory) used to get very excited when the tree went up (usually only a week before the big day) and once all the bauble were on would follow any one of us leaving the lounge on the off-chance we would be heading for the kitchen. If anyone was in the kitchen, they had a footwarming friend for the duration.

    And I swear he knew when it was the 27th, when the turkey had been picked over for meal 4 (usually curried for lunch, after boxing day coldcuts and B&S and then sandwiches in the evening), and he would get his paws on the remaining shreds...once walked into the kitchen and he was lying there, alone, next to the fridge. his bed was only a matter of feet away, so I'm sure he was actually guarding the turkey...

    a wonderful dog, easily pleased!

    ReplyDelete
  128. Chekhov

    I don't think anyone is proposing to change the nature of UT are they? "Mods" has his two penn'orth to say same as everyone, but I don't think we are suddenly going to start banning people and shit are we? I don't think I would like that either, tbh. No matter how irritating some might be. (Mentioning no names, follow my eyes...)

    ReplyDelete
  129. BB - hope Cory gets over it in time for Christmas treats. i know from bitter experience that getting antibiotics down a narked rat is not a simple task...

    ReplyDelete
  130. .

    Boudican said...

    Bitey--Is that post meant to incriminate or inform? I'll wait to see if or when he is charged to help make up my mind. And no, I do not excuse rape of any kind, but who knows if it was?

    Accurately reporting the charges against Assange is being portrayed as some sort of militant feminist conspiracy and sadly the UT has so far failed to distance itself from such reporting. Indeed some here think it more important to trash the easily trashable John Humphreys. Because of the irresponsible reporting the truth has been muddied and even lost; even worse, women who may be rape victims have been lied about, smeared and trashed the world over.

    Suggest you have a look at articles

    here and here

    and here

    ReplyDelete
  131. There are no charges against Assange. There have been some accusations made, although frankly they have been so infected by a plethora of contradictory internet versions that it is difficult to know what the hell is going on. I am getting a bit tired of it all now.

    You have chosen your camp, Bitey. Well done you. I am awaiting 1) the outcome of the extradition proceedings and 2) if he is extradited, the official charges, if they transpire at all

    ReplyDelete
  132. Thanks Phil

    He was actually quite sweet - we did it with a tiny syringe in the vets, and he put his little paw on it like he does with his drinking bottle and didn't struggle at all.

    But he is a crafty rat, no doubt intent on charming the lovely woman vet, who is already all gooey-eyed about him and told him he was the nicest rat she had ever met... he will probably give me hell when I try later. :o)

    ReplyDelete
  133. BB

    *Raises cup of coffee, in absence of alcohol-primed glass*.

    I have to work tomorrow and then that's it for a week or so, mercifully.

    We have noticed that the baubles are still on the Xmas tree, now we no longer have our dog to side-swipe them with his tail. He would guard the oven when the turkey & ham were cooking, wouldn't move out of the bloody way unless you were opening the oven door.

    ReplyDelete
  134. Did I just imagine Bitey's most recent post on the assange affair, or has it gone in the spam bin? Better check it out...

    ReplyDelete
  135. wear gardening gloves, BB, I still have a scar from the puncture wound Regan gave me - ironically she had a tooth infection that made it too painful to eat, but she seemed able to stand the pain when burying her incisors into my left thumb...

    ReplyDelete
  136. BB, the bhangra xmas made me laugh and dance. Paul, aye money is too tight to mention, dancing is better, nice one.

    ReplyDelete
  137. mschin - feel slightly better that Minty wasn't the only dog to take it upon himself to guard kitchen appliances when interesting food was within...

    ReplyDelete
  138. .
    Boudican said...

    Bitey--Is that post meant to incriminate or inform? I'll wait to see if or when he is charged to help make up my mind. And no, I do not excuse rape of any kind, but who knows if it was?

    Accurately reporting the charges against Assange is being portrayed as some sort of militant feminist conspiracy and sadly the UT has so far failed to distance itself from such reporting. Indeed some here think it more important to trash the easily trashable John Humphreys. Because of the irresponsible reporting the truth has been muddied and even lost; even worse, women who may be rape victims have been lied about, smeared and trashed the world over.

    Suggest you have a look at articles

    here and here

    and here

    ReplyDelete
  139. Oh by the way, if Bitey ever says anything interesting I hope one of the weird people who read him, will have the decency to point it out.

    ReplyDelete
  140. LOL Habib. I'll keep you posted. Probably likely to happen at about the same time I see a pig take off from Gatwick in Virgin Atlantic livery, but there you go...

    Loving the idea of dogs guarding the christmas turkey as it cooks, Phil and MsChin :o)

    ReplyDelete
  141. Just asked my other half if his dog used to guard the turkey while it was cooking, and apparently Trooper used to use the culinary distraction as a means of nicking the chocolate santas off the tree...

    ReplyDelete
  142. BeautifulBurnout said...

    Did I just imagine Bitey's most recent post on the assange affair, or has it gone in the spam bin? Better check it out...

    No you didn't but Gmail needed to me to confirm my identity, input a code it sent to my mobile and then tried to post mine under the name TC and then Anon.

    I said when Montana first suggested a move to WordPress that it would open UT to 1.3 million Chinese whose government blocks Google Blogs. And if UT really wants to be an uncensored version of WDYWTTA, that might be worthwhile.

    ReplyDelete
  143. Bitey

    I'd prefer to know something about Swedish law on this issue before making comment. What I do know is that Sweden has similar rates of domestic and sexual violence as here, coupled with poor criminal justice outcomes, and has looked to UK practice in developing better support for those at risk to reduce these types of crime.

    ReplyDelete
  144. Bb

    Agree about Assange - I will wait to see if there are any charges. If he raped or in any way assaulted the women then he should be prosecuted. One of the women has gone off to the WB - will presumably return if required as witness.

    Rats are very friendly and intelligent critturs - make good pets.

    I am rereading Dostoevsky for Christmas - clever, funny guy. I had forgotten how much I love him.

    I will be partying too of course.

    ReplyDelete
  145. BeautifulBurnout said...

    You have chosen your camp, Bitey. Well done you. I am awaiting 1) the outcome of the extradition proceedings and 2) if he is extradited, the official charges, if they transpire at all

    Me too, but when Amnesty says this, I don't hold put much hope:

    Case closed: Rape and human rights in the Nordic countries:

    This report shows that women who report rape to the police in the Nordic countries have only a small chance of having their cases tried by a court of law. The result is that many perpetrators are never held to account for their crimes. Amnesty International examines the gaps in laws, procedures and practices and calls on the governments of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to take steps to ensure justice for all victims and survivors of sexual crimes.

    ReplyDelete
  146. .

    heyhabib said...
    Oh by the way, if Bitey ever says anything interesting I hope one of the weird people who read him, will have the decency to point it out.


    I've searched my extensive file of memorable UT posts, heyhabib, but sadly you don't appear there.

    But quite a few posters have taken time to abuse you. Sad really as you're clearly quite a sociable person.

    On the other hand, just to correct you, here I am on The art of Cif etiquette: Bitethehand 20 Aug 09, 1:14am

    LordSummerisle and heyhabib were kind enough to praise it (my post) in quite lavish terms.

    So you see you can find my pearls of wisdom if you pay attention.

    ReplyDelete
  147. Yes, I've seen the amnesty report, thanks, Bitey. In fact, as a member of Amnesty (and part of their Urgent Action group) I saw it when it first came out.

    What was interesting the other night was that Dave posted a link to another compelling document about just how crap defence counsel are in Sweden too.

    So, all in all, the whole legal process seems like a complete waste of time out there, and nowhere near as interesting as portrayed on Wallander. :p

    ReplyDelete
  148. Bitey

    Recommended reading about AIs VAW campaign:
    http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ACT77/008/2010/en/45ae58e4-b836-44ac-a4d4-4cb226c67791/act770082010en.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  149. don't worry habib, he stil hasn't said anything interesting...

    ReplyDelete
  150. LOL Phil!

    Well, we have just managed to administer the meds with no biting from CoryB, so I am more confident that he might live long enough to open his presents on christmas morning now. Especially as he ate a little square of soft white bread and butter about half an hour ago. (Well, he licked all the butter off it and nibble a bit off the rest) \o/

    ReplyDelete
  151. Good news then, BB.

    Off to bed now, see y'all later.

    ReplyDelete
  152. Fingers crossed for CoryB, BB...

    ReplyDelete
  153. nice one BB!

    am now recalling a later incident when, after surgery, she had a 'bucket' for her head mocked up by the vet (out of a bit of plastic file covering and some elastoplast) to stop her chewing her stitches and i ended up feeding her ready brek off a spoon...

    if it gets to that stage, don't wear smart trousers, that's another piece of advice from 'rat owning - the practical guide'...

    ReplyDelete
  154. .

    Leni said...
    Bb

    Agree about Assange - I will wait to see if there are any charges. If he raped or in any way assaulted the women then he should be prosecuted.


    But this is not primarily about Assange's behaviour in Sweden, but about the way he has joined the tidal wave of media reporting that invariably portrays the victims of rape and sexual assault as being responsible, for all manner of reasons which we all know only too well.

    It is his attitude - so accurately summed up in his description of the women being 'in a tizzy', that were such a comment posted on CiF by the likes of MAM or LenFirewood, you would I hope be ready to condemn.

    ReplyDelete
  155. .

    BeautifulBurnout said...
    So, all in all, the whole legal process seems like a complete waste of time out there, and nowhere near as interesting as portrayed on Wallander. :p.


    But probebly quite accurately portrayed in Larsson's Tattoo trilogy.

    ReplyDelete
  156. Remember when we had to take hamster to vet - vet not stupid - got me to hold it whilst he administered meds - ended up with hamster hanging off my finger with its teeth meeting in my flesh... but he had to clean my blood off his floor... :o)

    ReplyDelete
  157. D'you know, Bitey, I still haven't got round to reading the Larsson trilogy, for my sins. Perhaps the Christmas hols will be a time to do that.

    ReplyDelete
  158. I haven't either, BB - on my To Read list ( to the extent that I have the first one in a stack of books somewhere ). If I go to the airport on the 24th, I'll take it with me...

    ReplyDelete
  159. Distinct lack of music tonight, maybe I'm just paranoid?

    ReplyDelete
  160. Re the Larsson trilogy:

    Larsson was a rare example of a male feminist and Lisbeth Salander is an even rarer example of a popular feminist heroine, who doesn't hate men, "just men who hate women".

    She was also seriously sexually and physically abused as a child. Caroline Flint comes to mind, although the male chauvinists who inhabit CiF and are occasional visitors here, will scoff at this comparison.

    ReplyDelete
  161. .

    "Salander had gone home and licked her wounds. (after being beaten up by the male school bully) Two days later she came back carrying a baseball bat. In the middle of the playground she slugged Gustavsson in the ear.... When teachers had discovered what had happened, Gustavasson was taken to the school nurse while Salander was sent to the school headmaster for punishment, for further comments on her record and for more social welfare reports."

    You won'r regret missing Morecambe and Wise or whatever other rubbish we're being served up.

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  162. "The night she turned thirteen..... Her resistance was so strong that the staff had to hold her down by force, prise open her mouth, and then force her to swallow. The first time Salander immediately stuck her fingers down her throat and vomited her lunch over the nearest orderly. After that she was given the tablets while she was strapped down, so she learned to throw up without having to stick her fingers down her throat. Her obstinate resistance and the extra work this made for the staff led to a suspension of the medication. "

    ReplyDelete
  163. Well, I got an amazon voucher as a chrissy present. I know this because my sister scanned it and emailed it to me rather than trusting the post with all the snow, so perhaps I could use it to buy the trilogy.

    Holidays are the only times I get round to reading fiction, really.

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  164. And it is far later than I thought! Time for bed.

    NN all x

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  165. Bitey

    I do not know the truth about the Assange story.

    If he is totally innocent his 'tizzy' remark could reflect his confusion - if guilty it is indeed dismissive and suggests he does not see sexual assault as particularly serious.

    I think I clearly stated that if he assaulted these 2 women in any way he should be prosecuted.The women should be protected despite their having 'gone public' on social networking sites.

    The difficulty is that this incident and the Wikileaks have become intertwined - in some cases those who support the release of this material support Assange the man and deny any wrong doing - others use the allegations as further proof of his general immorality and treacherous nature.

    In fact the two things are completely seperate.

    I approve the release of the information . I roundly condemn any man who assaults women - and indeed any woman who assaults men.

    Confusion reigns Bitey; it suits many to further obfuscate and deepen this confusion.

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  166. I thought you were a barrister, BB xxx

    ReplyDelete
  167. Oops, sorry BB, I mean regarding "Holidays are the only times I get round to reading fiction, really."

    ReplyDelete
  168. BB / shaz - I would very much recommend them - difficult reading - very difficult at times - and the second is probably the 'darkest' - but you will be punching the air at a certain point in book three, and going yesssssss...

    Bitey - I don't really want to engage, but...
    But this is not primarily about Assange's behaviour in Sweden, but about the way he has joined the tidal wave of media reporting that invariably portrays the victims of rape and sexual assault as being responsible, for all manner of reasons which we all know only too well.
    Well, for all right-thinking people, it is primarily about whether or not he raped someone. If he has beeen the victim of false allegations then one can fully understand why he might be more than a little pissed off about that, particularly if being harangued in an interview. I may not like what he says, I make not like what he does, but until there is a finding of a court one way or the other, despite my usual bias towards the accuser, it's 'open mind' time.

    You'd be better off wondering why the media "that invariably portrays the victims of rape and sexual assault as being responsible" seems only to make an exception when the accused involved is some form of hate figure. They're using these women, because they serve their purpose. They have no real interest in the veracity of the allegations. Only in what the allegations can get them.

    Back to Millenium, I am not sure that Larsson was a 'male feminist' - the abuse of Salander is so hideous, so far-fetched, so out-there, that it is difficult to draw it back to reality, and so difficult to draw parallels. Similarly, not sure she is a feminist heroine (firstly, not sure the it would be in character for the character to accept that) - she's a thug. A righteousthug, indeed - but still a thug. She seemed to me more a fantasy figure, what you wish you would have the moxy to do , rather than being dull and sensible.

    Brilliantly written, of course. But not politically important, I don't think.

    ReplyDelete
  169. Philippa:
    Well, for all right-thinking people, it is primarily about whether or not he raped someone.
    Yes. And
    You'd be better off wondering why the media "that invariably portrays the victims of rape and sexual assault as being responsible" seems only to make an exception when the accused involved is some form of hate figure.

    definitely yes.

    ReplyDelete
  170. ...because, when one reads or hears of a person being in, say, a DV situation, there's a small, often unspoken part of one that thinks "well, why didn't they just leave?"

    because while we can try to think ourself into the 'instant' situation, it is much more difficult to think oneself into the years of abuse and soul-sapping, will-breaking oppression that comes before - which is often the reason "why they don't just leave", for example.

    Salander bucks the trend for the abused. I do not know if, psychologically, her reaction is realistic - it doesn't seem so. It seems like Larsson has done what many of us do, and thinks "what would I do - or wish I would do - in that situation?", rather than constructing a character realistically reflecting the impact of having had that whole life.

    ReplyDelete
  171. .

    Leni:

    I approve the release of the information. I roundly condemn any man who assaults women - and indeed any woman who assaults men.


    Me too.

    But Wikileaks is far bigger and far more important than Assange, and had he and his supporters not been so ensnared by today's celebrity culture, he might have stepped down and saved us from this diversion.

    But he hasn't and whatever happens in the Swedish legal system, he's proved himself to be a thoroughly objectionable sexist male.

    The first commandment for leakers is retain anonymity. That he failed to do and has paid the price.

    ReplyDelete
  172. @Shaz and Phlippa

    I have the first volume of Larsson's trilogy somewhere too, after Amazon had spent months recommending it for me no matter what else I bought. And I haven't read it yet, for one reason or another.

    But I've been put off it somewhat by opinions from feminist critics, like this and this.

    I suppose I'll make up my own mind in due course.

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  173. peterJ - interesting reviews. not quite how I saw it...did like them a lot - thought they were well written (banalities in conversation perhaps a reflection of real life, rather than - say, by Dan Brown - lack of talent - the rest of the writing suggests that) and that the characterisation was, with the exception of Salandar who is something of a special case, as above, of flawed but realistic people. the male lead, for example, you can see as the kind of chap who thinks of himself as really right on but can't resist getting laid. that rang rather true...

    (hehehehehehehhe)

    dig it out and give it a whirl, my recommendation. not saying necessarily that you'll love it, but it's worth a try!

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  174. James

    If you're still around thanks for your posts.Have managed to sort the bloody thing out...somehow!

    @ For people still up here's a classic fromMiles Davis

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  175. Peter - pretty damning stuff, and yes, as you say, off-putting. Will still give it a go, since I've bought it - and then either progress to the 2nd and 3rd, or to the charity shop...

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  176. .

    PhilippaB

    Well, for all right-thinking people, it is primarily about whether or not he raped someone. If he has beeen the victim of false allegations then one can fully understand why he might be more than a little pissed off about that, particularly if being harangued in an interview. I may not like what he says, I make not like what he does, but until there is a finding of a court one way or the other, despite my usual bias towards the accuser, it's 'open mind' time.


    Well as an obviously non-right thinking person, this is about sexual assault that may or may not involve rape. That is why the Swedish prosecutor wants to question Assange. And until he agrees to be questioned, my understanding is that there won't be a finding in a court of law. And that as we know is all too often the situation that women who complain to the police find themselves in.

    As for your contention about the media using the women to attack Assange - which is what I think you're claiming, it's been The Guardian and from what I can see most other papers that rightly have held up Assange as a hero of free speech and a free press and have had very little time for the women.

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  177. right - must sleep. good night all....

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  178. Are we talking Dragon Tattoo? I bought it, tried it and abandoned it. Just couldn't get into it at all.

    Waves to Paul

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  179. My thoughts too, Shaz. Have to finish (in fact, start) the Iain Banks before getting round to it though.

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  180. Hey, Leni - yes, we are. Peter and I have it, but haven't yet read it...

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  181. Sorry to keep banging on about this but are we going to have a debate about switching to "Wordpress" or will the vote swing it?
    I'm not a Luddite and I have no objection to moving on but is it unreasonable to ask what the consequences of the switch might be?

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  182. Hello Leni; what do you think about jumping ship to "Wordpress"?

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  183. Stieg Larsson had once been the editor of Fjärde Internationalen, the journal of the Swedish section of the Trotskyist Fourth International, so about as left progressive as you could get.

    Tariq Ali - a frequent visitor to CiF might not have been editor of the journal of the British section of the Fourth International, and there were always at least three competing contenders, but he came pretty close. And the late Paul Foot while no self-confessed Trot, quite the contrary, certainly had sympathies and in my mind would come very close to Larsson, and his 'autobiographical' hero Mikael Blomkvist.

    And both died young from heart failure.

    As for Salander, was she really a feminist? I'm sure she wouldn't have agreed.

    ".....she had a photographic memory and phenomenal computer skills... and .... handled computers as if she had made a compact with the Devil."

    "During the operation on her breasts at the clinic in Genoa, a ring in her nipple had to be removed. Then she had done away with a ring from her lower lip, and on Grenada she had taken the ring out of her left labium....."

    "Blonkvist said. She is the most introverted person I've ever met."

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  184. Chekhov - don't know - thought we were just playing atm. I thought that nothing was going to change except the host site - maybe I'm wrong?

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  185. @chekhov

    It's Montana's decision in the end, although I think a massive vote against might have influenced it.

    As I see it, the consequences would be these:

    Pro: Fewer annoying spam folder incidents, fewer lost comments, better management tools, more widgets, better help and support.

    Con: No ability to delete your own comments, need to link back here to access the archive (probably), the tricky task of choosing a new theme, and - for me - the fact that I've dumped Flash Player from my main machine and so have to load the page in Chrome to see things like the animated text (although YouTube and quite a few other sites are fine, since their videos are now also formatted in HTML 5-compliant H.264).

    Otherwise nothing changes unless Montana wants it to.

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  186. Damn, Paul, that Miles Davis was a bit too good.

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  187. Hi Shaz

    Perhaps it is a poor translation - I found it very pedestrian. But try it - would be interested in your opinion, you may persuade me to give it another try.

    chekhov
    As I said I have problems getting into wordpress. I can get into Golem through my google thing but some other blogs there spit me out.

    I'm happy with this one - can sign in here most times with eyes closed. Spambin is a nuisance though. Don't suppose any are perfect.

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  188. Leni - will let you know. Off to bed now - son's flight listed as 'scheduled; on time' on flightstats.com - am trying hard not to be too optimistic... night all...

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  189. Miles Davis with Charlie Parker, jazz for those who don't know the names.

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  190. Ok; if it's "Montana's" decision I'll go with that. It's her site and she can do what she bloody well likes with it!

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