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That's a bit simplistic Alan, but even there, terrorism didn't achieve what it set out to do. Ultimately opposing sides have to talk to each other and find a middle ground they can both live with.

I think that is the local average min price Sue for any journey. I seem to pay on average ?10 for short local journeys. Those private cabs have to pay huge amounts to the companies they work for as well - even though they are using their own cars. They don't make a very big income at the end of the day sadly.

'why are the RAF men who fire bombed Dresden and Hamburg considered heroes while the 7/7 bombers are considered terrorists?' You are not comparing like for like there. The contexts are entirely different and context is extremely important. The former an act of all out war between nations throwing everything at each other. The latter, an act in isolation. A better comparison would be with any battle in Vietnam. Terrorism is so called because it's the method of groups without armies, designed to strike disproportionate fear, hence the term, and also hence why it never succeeds as a method in itself. So an appropriate use of the word for the 7/7 bombers.

A lot of people begging have drug and/or alcohol problems. But begging is better than stealing. When I see someone begging I always ask what they need the money for. If it's food or electric for example (so necessities) then I offer to buy them some food or put electric on their key for them. If they won't accept that help the chances are it is for alcohol and/ or drugs.

That's definitely not good. You can't be the only person he talks to like that.

Even I'm a little suspicous now Davis, and I have lost my temper at people accusing new posters of being fake. But no way would it bother me so much that I would feel the need to absolutely prove those people wrong. It's just a forum. Who cares what anyone thinks about who is who? And if some people choose to be rude to, or suspicious of new posters, then that's their problem. It's not worth wasting any time bothering with it.

Yes it's something that mystifies me too. That all kinds of excuses are given to justify what is essentially just another blood 'sport'....as though class and tradition make it somehow more civilised than dog or cockeral fighting etc. People don't oppose fox hunting because it's the upper classes wot do it! They oppose it because it's inhumane and pointless.

Quite Loz, and many of the most ingenius inventers were also complete eccentrics. There's lot's of evidence that genius, and esp academic or scientific genius, and disconnect from the masses, go hand in hand.

Hmmm but fox hunting on horses with hounds is not 'natural law' tho is it Robert. It's a man made construct for a thrill and/or sport. It is true that animals are guided by natural instinct, but human beings are not on that level. We do have a moral compass and the ability to be fair and compassionate if we want to be. The hounds are trained to hunt foxes. The horses trained to be ridden. Neither would do that without human intervention.

Maybe the Police had a word with him John? Glen stop being a knob :D

Fox hunting may well be predominently the perserve of the upper classes historically but that's doesn't take anything away from the issue of cruelty. Many country people do see foxes as pests, but there are humane ways to deals with pests and fox hunting isn't one of them. Robert, even if the first dog does kill the fox instantly, you take no account of the stress and panic endured by that fox leading up to that kill. Running at full pelt from a pack of hounds doesn't seem to be a painless act to me.

Yep, couldn't be more condascending if you tried AM. Missteak, it IS the same people spewing the same 'we know better than everyone else' crap. Banter? Nah, just the ramblings of a very small number of people who actually think someone gives a hoot what they think.

Oh here we go again. Aquarius Moon accusing people of being trolls and fake. This was also MY first experience of the Aquarius Loon Davis. And then there's this ???? person who thinks everyone that disagrees with him is a left wing loony. The only people who think fox hunting is a class war issue are it's supporters, who like to label opposers as townies and plebs, if they are upper class, and townies as having no understanding of the countryside, if they are the countryside aliance, and loony lefties if they are ????. Any idea that dogs ripping a living thing apart, after chasing it to exhaustion, is cruel, is an alien concept to those who support fox hunting. So it just has to be an 'us and them' class thing right? And I don't even know who appointed AM as an authority on who genuinely cares about animals and who is only 'ptretendin'. Contemptuous indeed. Fox hunting and dog fighting. What is the difference? Both are banned for the same reasons and rightly so.

Glen, you know nothing about the persoal circumstances of that guy apart from his ASBO for nuisance begging. Newspapers always get the facts right obviously? He may well have/ had drug or alcohol problems. He may also have mental health issues. ASBO's are served as a last resort, when other efforts to mediate haven't worked. The article implies greed - earning 50k a year, living in a 300k smart pad etc. Well he doesn't own the flat, so what does it matter what it's worth? I doubt the 50k a year is accurate either, I'm sure he doesn't keep written accounts of his proceeds from begging. I've seen a few people begging in Rye Lane that clearly have mental health problems. Finding a solution to the behaviour of those people is not going to be easy. Arrest and fines are least likely to have an effect. A fine just means you have to beg more to pay it right?

Yeah really misleading headline there, conveniently overlooking that the flat is owned by a housing association!

How very noble of you. Let's arrest and fine the poor guy who probably already has nothing anyway.

BT are a major ISP, so it needs to be sorted.

Apart from those in essential services. No time off for them.

Yep BT here too. And my connection is fine now.

Yep same here fox. Have had to use a proxy IP to get connected. Same other issues last week for me too. Could it be cloudfare? seems to have been a problem since that was added.

I had the problem a few days ago and I go through a BT router.

I was blocked last night too, same as above, but seems fine now.

Like I said, I found it no inconveniece at all to get off my cycle and walk along the pavement for all of 40 seconds. I don't see why other cyclists could not do the same.

The best moment is watching the kids go to bed excited on Xmas Eve, and then munching all the stuff we leave for Santa (which of course includes Jack Daniels for medicinal purposes). That guarantees a hazy hungover fog by the time the in-laws arrive for dinner!

Yeah cyclists should get off and walk along the pavement. I do that and it takes me all of 40 seconds to do so. Just selfish people at the end of the day.