Marmora Man

I also thought Ed Balls on QT came over as quite the rudest guest they've had for a long while. He seemed intent on making everything very personal between him & Vince Cable - he certainly failed, in my view, to present himself as a credible senior politician let alone an international statesman which is part of the Prime Minister's job description. I wouldn't trust him.

We beat the Aussies at Old Trafford today - in a more elegant and nuanced game.

And today - one ENgland team did dish the "old enemy". A close match but we just squeaked in.

That old "precautionary principle" again. I hate it. Do you really believe that the average journeyman brickie, UK born or foreign born, cannot build a decent wall for a customer without Government or local government oversight?

This crosses over between the "irrational joy" thread and the Cricket thread. I decided this was the better place. Two You Tube clips that make me smile.

Flooding is a bit rough on your lawn, but part of Peckham Rye turning into a mini marsh should be good for wildlife and bio diversity. Parks can be too tidy - I'd advise just letting the Peckham Rye pool be.

According to a recent text we've here before. The French gave in. The Americans were late. We have to beat the Germans

I rather like the idea that this government doesn't think it has to something about everything. Less micro management - more responsibility. A good thing.

I applaud much of hat is in the budget. Not quite so happy to see the NHS and overseas aid protected. From personal experience I know that there is much wasted spending in the NHS. Equally, much of our overseas aid appears poorly targeted allowing room for sensible cuts.

Surely part of the problem (and I'm no football fan or pundit) is that football, for some reason, is played better at club level than at international level. So Chelsea / Arsenal / Liverpool would, 8 times out of 10, beat the England team. Whereas in other sports - cricket and rugby seem good examples, the national side is better than the best club side. No county side would expect to beat England at any form of cricket, nor would I fancy many club sides (Barbarians excepted) to regularly beat England at rugby football.

Now if only these lessons could be applied to Israel / Palestine may be, just maybe, we could see peace of a sorts emerge there also. A good start would be to apply economic, educational, housing and other stimuli rather than economic sanctions to Palestine - ideally Israeli led unilateral stimuli supported by other countries.

We had had that conversation with son no 2. He has since graduated to a car but we still have a redundant hasp secured to the paving in front of the house. Some lessons get learnt the hard way.

MY son's scooter was stolen a few months back from corner of Scutari & Marmora. Police recovered it by accident 6 hours later when pinching a white transit van for minor traffic offence - in the back it had two stolen scooters. They had lifted the locked bike from the front of the house - and only later broken the locks. The culprits were charged with theft - never heard the outcome, but if they were not too clever maybe it's the same gang at it again? Police should be aware of the previous theft(s) I referred to.

Tarot said If it were run like a business they might, just, recognise that their patients are their customers / clients and therefore need careful, effective and sympathetic treatment. To me it sounds as if they are running it like an inefficient, semi stalinist, monopoly.

Mick Mac - I agree the apology is absolutely the right thing for David Cameron to offer on behalf of our government. I hope others are as generous as you in accepting it, moving on and not dwelling on the past. I still fear this may not be the case.

Mick Mac - I believe you are wrong. To my mind the report has the potential to open up many wounds that were, almost, healed by time and the peace process that commenced in 1995. Judging from pre report discussions on Newsnight yesterday and the Today programme this morning there will be some that wish to see paratroopers prosecuted by the CPS, others that will bring private prosecutions if the CPS does not take action and others from all sides, altho' unfortunately their voices seem muted, that recognise life is now different and wish simply for acknowledgement of errors (on all sides) and to move on. I fear the Saville report will be picked over for selective quotes and points to support various views and factions and that this action will not heal or help the majority. 14 people died as a result of Bloody Sunday - a total of over 3,000 died in the "Troubles". Violence, on all sides was already an established tactic before that day, so Bloody Sunday did not precipitate the three decades of violence. It was merely another bloody, tragic and early milestone on the path that had so many similar events. All para military offenders and perpetrators have been given pardons or early release - to bring prosecutions against the soldiers now, for one specific tragedy among so many, would be counter productive. Martin McGuiness has said that he would have been content with an acknowledgement of fault, an apology and some compensation. To say, as Brendan has, that the victims and their relatives must decide is naive. The greater good is served by the Northern Ireland community, the British government and the Army taking a responsible view, acknowledging the errors of the past and making amends but not seeking to punish or single out individual soldiers - who were the most junior people placed, by their peculiar role, into a difficult, frightening and confused position over 30 years ago with insufficient training and skills to deal with the situation.

I hope, but fear otherwise, that all commentators will remember the L P Hartley quote "the past is a different country, they do things differently there".

Michael Palaeologus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Laithwaites always have good deals and deliver > within a few days. The wine is good quality (i.e. > tastes nice) and isnt found in the supeys so is a > bit unusual. There's a branch at Borough Market.

Fairport Convention - Much Hadham - 1968

Go Apple!

SteveT - Britain cannot and is unlikely ever to produce the goods that China and India make for the same cost and same quality. Those countries have comparative advantages in terms of units costs (labour, exchange rates, access to raw materials) that UK cannot match - and probably (I hope) wouldn't want to match given Ghina's current stance on civil liberties. However, UK does have comparative advantages in other areas - innovation, inventions, scientific research, brokering trade, economic ingenuity and so on. The whole concept of economic globalism depends upon countries recognising this and producing and selling their own goods and services in areas where they have the edge and buying in goods and services from other countries that have different skills and advantages. Politicians do have a role - to manage the country efficiently while maximising the country's ability to optimise its comparative advantages by not fettering it with high costs, unnecessary bureaucracy and inefficient public services.

Tokenism and a bid by D Miliband for the "oh isn't he fair - letting his supporters nominate Diane" vote.

Husband, father, sailor, NHS manager, Company director, Interim Manager (specialising in turnaround projects). Happy in all roles - always prepared to consider something new, fulfilling and rewarding. Probably not a bank manager tho.

PR ? indeed we have met, enjoyed drinks together and found that despite different experiences and lives we have similar tastes and thoughts. I have equal respect for you too. However, I think you are compounding too many strands of thought into a simplistic argument. 1. It is illogical to blame the current coalition gov?t for current failures in service delivery or indeed for any cuts. While they have started to identify areas to cut no actual reductions in spending have yet occurred. They have also had the grace to attempt to give us a voice in the discussion about the future necessary cuts and decisions. That some part of this is spin ? I don?t doubt. That some part of it is real ? I do believe. 2. Your argument that the bottom big percentage of the population is supporting the top few percent is also misleading. The top 10% of earners in UK pay maybe 20% - 25% of the total tax take from income tax (I can?t, at the moment, find the source for that statement but the principle is correct). That the major part of the total income tax take is paid by the majority that are not higher rate tax payers is also understandable ? there are many many more standard rate tax payers. 3. I would agree that a lot of people are suffering ? from poor mental health care, from poor medical care, from being unemployed, from poor housing, from life as a single mum on a sink estate, from bring an unloved child of dissolute parents, from being a wounded soldier ex-Afganistan, from being a refugee in a lousy accommodation unable to work, from being homeless and the list goes on. ? How do you want to prioritise these issues? ? Where should the current government start? Given that this government has inherited a situation where 25% of all government spending is funded by borrowing is it right to expect the government to carry on in the same fashion with no change? ? That wasn?t working before the election ? why should it now? ? Isn?t it their duty to question, on behalf of everyone, the cost of government, the way in which the various services are managed, delivered and used? ? Is it rational to expect the government to solve everyone?s problem ? is, sometimes, government the problem not the solution? 4. The tax payers who fear facing a cut of a ?few thou? of their income, as you put it, are real and will have to adjust their lifestyle because those extra taxes, reduced benefits are coming and coming soon. This coalition gov?t has signed up to a ?10K tax allowance that will take a significant number of people out of paying tax ? increasing their real income by 7% ? 10%; this is a genuinely positive and progressive step. On benefits - this has got out of hand and needs tpo be reigned back, I personally find it hard to justify receiving child benefit when my income, now I?m back in work, is sufficient to feed and clothe my family and I?ll happily forego it if it is removed from families earning above ?35K pa as predicted. 5. The fact that are 17 millionaires in the cabinet should be a matter of pride ? individuals that are comfortably off they could have retired to the country and lived a comfortable and unchallenged life ? but they have chosen politics as a way of giving something back. I won?t dispute the fact that politicians do not have a good reputation at present but I will reiterate that, on the whole, the majority of them ? left / right / rich / poor / male / female are involved in order to changes things for the better. 6. Finally ? I know you have exercised your voice by becoming a member of the local health Trust, the Conservative?s ?big idea? is that others should take similar actions and by their combined voices make changes that government alone cannot achieve.

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Without wanting to sound too much like SteveT... > an overhaul of the MPs second home expenses would > be a strong symbolic gesture, even if it is a drop > in the ocean. A cap of something like ?1200 pcm > would seem sensible. Already done - tho' the cap is slightly higher than you propose. See Parliamentary Standards - Accommodation