MrBen

An oldie but a goldie. Mick - I was clearly exaggerating on him taking the blame for Ireland. My point is that despite being a twat and dabbling in politics he's a soft, lazy target when there are other more worthy ones out there (if that's their beef). And as Art Uncuts argument is about rightful financial contributions (and not who is the biggest knobhead) I just don't see how the Stones are any better. Surely they'd also be worthy of equal wrath? As anyone who's been will know, each Glasto needs a public villain to fuel the fires of the right on massive. It's either Jay-Z, George Bush or anyone who pees in the stream. They'll all still get off their tits and enjoy it all the same.

Mickster - you're correct in that the Irish tax exemption was (and still is) intended to benefit and support smaller artists with average incomes i.e. < 25,000 Euros and not corporate behemoths like U2. However the 250k limit you refer to was only introduced in 2007...for 30 odd years before that it was zero. U2 would have benefited from that when they started out back in the 80's. Perhaps when they got their success (insert arbitrary number here) they should have stuck their hand up and offered to exempt themselves from the artists exemption and pay the government more tax - but who has ever done that? If they were truly a band of conscience, then perhaps they could have taxed themselves in kind, by setting up some kind of visible charitable foundation but the press would have panned them for that too. Their regular donations like the 5Million euros this year to Music Generation (Irish charity to help Musicians) go largely unnoticed. In many ways they can't win. I don't doubt for a second that Bono's a twat and guilty of rank hypocrisy. Didn't he fly his hat half way around the world by private jet? Surely the mark of a man lost in his own rectum. But the average man on the street in Ireland is struggling because of property greed, corruption and ill monetary policy throughout the system. From the politicians to your average Joe who took a massive remortgage to fund some nice holidays and new car or whatever. Laying the financial woes of Ireland on Bono just seems a bit harsh and misguided. The Art uncut protest at Glasto is a protest at the use of what is legal off shore financial planning to be tax efficient. It's what every incorporated entity has been doing for the last century; banks, insurance companies, telecos, rock stars, children's novelists. They're entitled to their view but I'd rather Art had a pop at the politicians, legislators and regulators instead. Mick - My Rolling Stones example was based on their use of Netherlands holding company structure similar to that of U2 and run by the same people (Promogroup). Between 1986 and 2006 the Stones paid less than ?5M tax on earnings of approx ?235 Million. Granted, Jagger steers clear of the Mandela/Geldof political posturing but when it comes to the cash he's just as guilty. Yet because Brown Sugar's better than "When Love comes to Town" we kind of let them off don't we?

Worth noting that until 2006, artists in Ireland were tax exempt. You can't really blame Bono for the fact that the celtic tiger is now whimpering. And anyway the Stones have long had the same arrangement with a Netherlands domicile, ltd co and low corporation tax but they don't get any stick because they are cool. Granted he can be a bit of a %$?& but there are more deserving targets for this type of protest than Bono.

Just a tinkle on Masked Marvel as longshot in the Derby. I've done my pud though thanks to lousy Man United and a lousier bet on my part.

I should like to meet Ted Max. Preferably in Capri on a terrace somewhere. In whites and with a cold drink. And *Bob*. Everyone would like to meet him (some have - see next CPC pub opening) but the old adage of never meeting your heroes holds more true than ever in this strange online world. I have met a few of you and you are all as mad as a box of frogs.

The ninth being fresh mangoes sent from india, served with Coconut ice cream from Scoop. (Tonights pudding)

Hendricks and Fever Tree tonic, perfectly mixed with some ice and cold glass is quite possibly the eighth wonder of the world.

So we have a "democratic" FIFA election today that has just one candidate. Vote Blatter and you help keep the whole cosy club ticking over for another 4 years. Abstain and you'll be marked as a reformist, miss your next Christmas card and damage your nations chances for the foreseeable future. The whole thing is an embarrassment to football. It would take only four or five leading football nations to break away and force change but it's all too ingrained. The FA have already screwed up and shot their bolt so whilst hardly crowned in glory have nothing to lose. But I can't see anyone joining them (Scots aside!).

I'm sure someone predicted this thread way back in 2007?!

All of my PC laptops after heavy use (MS Office, Web work) slow down noticeably after 2-3 years. The only one that hasn't to the same degree is my Macbook, which I bought in Jan 2009 and is still performing well. Back to PC's, you can defrag the hard disk (which basically gets jumbled and slows with time) and add some extra memory but often thats not enough. If by "dead" you mean it's just deathly slow then I would try backing up all your files and reinstalling Windows to squeeze another year or two out of it. There are some local peeps advertising on this forum who can do that if you're not confident enough to do it yourself. Or bite the bullet and just accept its a 3 yearly spend. They're all pretty much a commodity nowadays but go for the best CPU you can afford and decent memory rather than a cheaper processor and you'll find it lasts longer.

Man U are up to 4/3-1 for tomorrow....surely some value there given we're talking Wembley?

Theoretically, if evidence of skullduggery is found then surely there is recourse for a rerun, as in any other fair democratic election. Perhaps, logistically that's too late for WC 2018 in Russia but certainly for 2022? The FA are sore not out of basic bitterness as Blatter has claimed, but because they know what's really going on.

Blatter now facing an ethics enquiry. The whole shop stinks like a kipper. A cosy old boys club that is now falling apart like a house of cards in the face of a challenge to Blatter's presidency. I'm amazed they've last this long given all the smoke - it needs a clear out and world football would be all the better (Qatari world cup anyone?)

Also The Actress. Depending on whether you want a "proper" football pub or more refined surroundings.... I reckon the CPT and EDT are more old school. The Vale still seems to have a habit of charging people to get in?! It's like a throw back to the 1970's....

I wasn't really called Donkey. I just wanted to be.

"Donkey".

Love - Going on holiday Hate - Ash clouds

Did anyone watch his pub visit live on Sky yesterday afternoon? I couldn't work out if it was manufactured craic or the real thing with real regulars. It being Ireland I think it was indeed the real thing. Although even the oldest grizzled regular was wearing a new tie for the occasion. It was hilarious.

They featured the Stonner on BBC Scotland News some time ago. The shop owner that invented it in Glasgow was asked by the reporter if it was responsible behavior given Scotland's high rate of heart disease. He responded that they had a sign in the window limiting one Stonner per customer per day and also that he had "plans for a deep fried rocket salad" in future.

They featured the Stonner on BBC Scotland News some time ago. The shop owner that invented it in Glasgow was asked by the reporter if it was responsible behavior given Scotland's high rate of heart disease. He responded that they had a sign in the window limiting 1 stonner to 1 customer per day and also that he had "plans for a deep fried rocket salad" in future.

They featured the Stonner on BBC Scotland News some time ago. The shop owner that invented it in Glasgow was asked by the reporter if it was responsible behaviour given Scotland's high rate of heart disease. He responded that they had a sign in the window limiting 1 stonner to 1 customer per day and also that he had "plans for a deep fried rocket salad" in future.

On 6 music recently they were talking about Fanta being invented by Nazi's for the Hitler Youth. Without googling....true or urban myth?

From Wiki: The ingredients in Irn-Bru are a secret, and the recipe is known only to Robin Barr, the Chairman - who announced his retirement in May 2009,and one unnamed person (who are not allowed to travel on the same plane together). A copy of the recipe is kept in a bank vault in Scotland. Robin Barr himself mixes the essences of the drink in a sealed room at their headquarters in Cumbernauld once a month. Once Robin Barr steps down as Chairman, he will continue to be the company mixer, but will eventually pass on the recipe to his daughter.

And 7up is a synthetic mutation of good old Lemonade. It's exactly what would happen if you left a traditional, natural, citrus based soft drink in the hands of American capitalists. Irn Bru however is organic. It's made from girders (Fe)..

Or a King Rib supper from The Frying Scotsman