mockney piers

I have a crocheted Spain baby blanket (and dulwich hamlet scarf), done by an Irish friend as obviously she's got nothing better to do this summer. Very attractive colours; I suggest everyone support Spain as they should go past the quarter finals, or are the arsenal fans too bitter at the moment. Too soon? Any countries in pink and blue at all? (actually I've got Rory two England tops too, mostly to wind up his irish mum). Oh, and 0/10, poor show quids ;-P

stringback, always stringback....

Baby sick was the primary driver (badamtish) of the choice of leather, honest.....guv.

We went for a practical family car when the blighter turned up... Mrs mockney wouldn't let me have yellow sadly :(

He's sleeping right now and I'm reading a very good book...happy joy. Mind you, boiler's on the blink, anyone know a good plumber, I can't see the wood for the 'recommended' trees in the business section.

Very very good. I got Far Cry 2 in sainsbury's for 8 quid the other day. It's sort of Fallout 3 in the jungle, and a bit odd, like Fallout it has yet to hook me, mainly for most of the pitfalls so perfectly (as ever) described by ZP in the linked review.

3 episodes in and it's not really growing into itself. It's merely proving itself to be utterly cliche ridden, two-dimensional nonsense. Pity, waste of a terrific cast and, judging by the quality of the photography and just how many helicopters they must have hired, lots of money. Ditto re Saskia Reeves and the Viz annual.

given access to the database i could do that no problem. dump it into excel and make some pretty graphs to post up? Did i mention I've time on my hands?

Wot keef said. Though keef, your forked tongue flicking in and out tends to freak people out mid-converstion, so probably good you no longer attend the drinks. I've been going through an unusually prolonged period of skin shedding, hence why I'm scarce these days.

believe me i've seen it. as it happens I'm off to a stag do in Munich (oh dear god I thought I was too old for this nonsense) where we'll be wearing West Germany tops (actually aesthetically rather wonderful) and Rudi W?ller wigs...nice...ish...

All above edited for typing one handed on an iPhone in sainsburys with a child slung across my front.

Those founding fathers had a way with words....mind you, that creator bit...

As for secular rationalism, I don't buy that either. Despite explicit claims to atheism, I think all three were much more deeply rooted in the traditions and symbolism of religious eschatology than with anything to do with rationalism. But apart from the detail I too stand in yours and DC's corner.

Actually not really. The Weimar republic was not foisted on a defeated enemy, it was created politically within a militarily defeated state that didn't necessarily consider itself so, that thought its position due to an international conspiracy where it was the victim (actually partially true in both cases) and that was desperately trying to step back from the brink of revolutions and total civil war, where various warlords and political experiments were happening and generally failing and militias and criminal gangs filled the power vaccuum and formed the nucleus of future power centres, but apart from that they were different I guess.

I would certainly encourage all countries to be secular and for relogion to be a personal thing. Within a secular society we, judging by reactions to the atheist (lizard) brigade on here, should tiptoe around the personal sensibilities of the religious. We (lizard kind) tend to say to Christians 'you reserve the right to be a bit medieval' and to Muslims 'you reserve the right to be a bit errrr medieval'. Not sure how one is tiptoeing and the other not. I think this is all misinformation beloved of the daily mail keeping the myths of banned Christmases alive.

Actually no quids that's bollocks. That's exactly, exactly like saying Iraq is a liberal democracy.

Oranges are orange.

Actually that's a lie. It wasn't really a cultural thing in that sense, more a sense of ignorance. And this is the thing. If we can look at 20s Munich and say that they all believed that the majority believed house price rises and the rise in the cost of living was to do with Jewish profiteers, not simple economics in a rapidly changing world, we can say they were wrong, the consequences of course being ultimately 6 million dead jews. Now we can look at genital mutilation and say that they believed that it was probably something to with spirits or something equally bananas, the consequence being pain and suffering for millions of women, and we can say they are wrong, and we have to go...ooh, but they believe it, and they aren't privileged enough to have our western liberal values which are onanistically superior... blah blah blah, and wring our hands and fart on about relativism. No, bunch of cock. Wrong is wrong, and bad decisions are made through ignorance and stupidity and tradition and mob rule etc etc. I'm with D_C on this one. Pontificate from our ivory towers that everyone is wrong wrong wrong!!!

In a totally relativistic fashion quids, the answer is simply yes.

Steve, I'm pretty sure that Islam isn't by definition an evangelical religion*, whereas Christianity by definition is, so not sure where you're getting that from. And trust you to bring pakkies(sic) into it. *generally people who found temselves in territory conquered by Muslims enjoyed much more religious tolerance than those conquered by post enlightenment europeans. Conversion tended to happen of their own volition because Muslims were spared paying taxes!

The problem with relativism is that it undermines everything. Keef is absolutely right except insofar as very few people in the world think like him and his opinion by self-definition carries no weight or indeed truth whatsoever. I hate postmodernist relativism, it's so fucking far up it's own arse, but sadly, as an atheist who thinks that we are just a cosmic accident, I don't for a second believe in any absolutes, making righ and wrong entirely a cultural definition, meaning that for one culture to judge another cultures actions is purely that, judgemental. Having said that, the world we live in is a very much smaller place than it used to be, and we do all have to try to live together (that being a personal imperative for most non lunatic types). What do most people want? A life free of pain fear and conflict to pursue personal ambitions and perhaps progenise in safety and comfort. Healthy societies are those that pursue this and much about modern western culture typifies .......... Oh fuck it what's the point.

but does he speak for all saffas, and can it gestate in a box?

But that's exactly what my problem is. Same as when some council bigwig says Christmas is offensive to Muslims, or Allo Allo is offensive to Germans (they've finally bought it). It's telling people how to think. I was just opining (not telling) that I was unable to square the circle. Plus, I quite like cow knifing.

You've done this before. I don't think you have to be a local to a historical situation to have a monopoly on an opinion. Sian IS offended, that's fine (I don't get it but thats my problem). It's the idea that it's offensive to the Irish that I have a problem with. And just because I didn't grow up in the troubles doesn't mean I don't know lots of people who did and have read widely in the subject. Again, my family's strife through the civil war and Franco's Spain gives me a close and singular perspective on what went on, but that doesn't mean noone else is allowed to say, for instance, Franco's victory was the best thing in the long run. It might upset me (probably because there's more than a kernel of truth) but I can't say 'you're English therefore know nothing' (not to mention betrayed the legitimate goverment and millions of people to the dark forces of facism you cynical bastards). And I'll make you a brew next time you're over, or I could bring it to Surrey assuming there aren't laws against that sort of thing down there.

Semantics aside this is about whether pointing out that Sinn Fen was IRA is offensive or not. People can get all judgmental about cow knifing, Spaniards aren't offended (those that even care) they just shrug Nd wonder why people are pissing in the wind so pointlessly. If for instance I was to call Ariel Sharon a terrorist turned war criminal, an Israeli might get as offended as they want, doesn't make it any less factual, in fact the act of taking offence is both a form of denial and a ridiculous form of conflation between the actions of a few with that of millions of heterogenous people. Likewise I'm struggling to see why the mention of the IRA is somehow 'offensive to Irish people'. Forgive me but that's just bonkers. I mean, I've yet to have an Irish person in my house (and being married to one I've had quite a few) who hasn't loved my terrorist teapot!