Blah Blah

But co-ordination can sometimes just be a group of regular posters 'in joking'. And if those in jokes are targetting someone then depending on the tone of ridicule, can sometimes be seen as a kind of bullying. That's just from my experience of other forums (and I DO think all forums are the same in that respect). Just because people are anonymous and don't know each other in the flesh does not mean some kind of relationship of familiarity hasn't formed over time. That could be seen as a clique I think. I think James barbers comments reflect my own impression, in that most of the people I know, who are aware of this forum, warn about what they call the nastiness of certain sections. It's great for buying and selling they say, or for finding out what's on. But don't get involved in the debates. There are some not very nice people in there.

Sadly Kroll the site is full of miss marples like Loz who now thinks I am you and also a recurring troll??!!!??? And yes it does put new people off. Mocking people seems to be the sport of a small group. It's there for everyone to see but those people are so blinded by their own self importance they can't see how nasty they really appear. All forums have them. Sad really that they have nothing better to do in their lives than wrongly accuse people they know didley squat about.

Actually fuck it. How do I delete my account? I can't seem to do it. My friends did warn me about this forum - it has a shit reputation for smug cliquey bullying by the way. Don't kid yourselves that decent people don't see it for what it is. Two days have been long enough to find out what a bunch of smug tossers some of you are. I've far better things to do with my time than waste it trying to reason with paranoid anonymous bullies. Have a nice little life Aquarius Moon.

What are you talking about Aquarius Moon? Is this what happens to anyone who joins this forum and engages in a few threads of particular interest to them? To be honest you sound like a bunch of five year olds.

No aquarius moon, I have not been here before, but I do have a particular interest in welfare and mental health issues.

We'll have to agree to disagree, and I'm ok with that.

Yes but you are not admin are you, so why are you behaving as though you are? In what way were my questions not relevant? They relate to a very serious issue for those people in ED and West Norwood currently affected by those policies and trust me those people DO exist. It's not a world you have to deal with perhaps, but don't tell me I can't raise those questions, when the current sitting MP is dealing with such cases every week. ED is not a nice little cosy enclave, spared of such misfortune. And it's exactly the attitude of people like you trying to sweep these people under the carpet that stifles any kind of honest discussion. Is this Conservative candidate going to speak for them, as the current MP does? I think they'd like to know, don't you?

Loz, stop it.

I'm not being a meathead Loz. This women is going to stand for MP at the next General Election, and last time I checked, General Elections are fought on national issues? I disagree with Admin, which it my right to do, but I will respect the request and therefore have kept my questions relevant to local people. And btw, an MP is exactly whom a person stuggling with the above problems will turn to. I am interested to hear if a Conservative candidate will represent their interests before the party line, that's all. They are perfectly fair questions to ask of someone who is clearly thinking ahead to trying to get elected.

Oooh they might if they read her CV.

I don't disagree with you Dave. There's data supporting all sides, and we have to take into account other things such as pollution, genes and lifestyle too. All of which are increasingly difficult to measure. But we know too much sugar, fat, protein etc has impacts. Actually the most interesting research has been that into fasting! Undereating changes the way the bodies cells operate, and the thinking now is that people who undereat (not starvation of course) increase their life expectancy. When we eat enough our cells replace themselves, replicating even the damaged cells. But when we undereat, our cells go into repair mode. It's thought that repair makes the body less susceptible to cancer for example.

Ahhh, whatever happened to hemp :)

We'll just have to agree to disagree. Here are my questions to the 'candidate'. 1/ People have been threatened with eviction in Southwark and ED because of welfare reforms. What would you propose to do about that? 2/ There are several cases of people in ED currently being denied ESA because they have failed a work capability assessment. They have appealed but are only allowed to apply for JSA whilst waiting appeal, which as you know requires them to declare themselves fit for work in order to qualify for it. How do you propose to help those people whilst they wait for anything up to a year for an appeal and tribunal to be heard, and are left with no benefit they can apply for? 3/ Similarly there are several cases with people with mental health problems being sanctioned and left with no benefits (they shouldn't be on JSA of course). How do you propose to help those people?

LadyDeliah, most people long term end up deficient in something because we are so poorly educated about food, nutrition and are fed a diet of processed, manufactured rubbish. The whole food industry is guilty on that one. All the vegans I know are pretty well educated in maintaining the right nutritional balance. B12 is found in soy milk and fortified soy products. It is possible to get enough B12 from that. And calcium is found in all kinds of things from leafy greens to fruit. On the whole, vegetarians and vegans tend to be healthier long term than carnivores and live on average longer, and all the data supports that. But I like to think that any diet is healthy as long as the nutrient blance is right. It's not the diet that gets that wrong, but the person eating it.

That is so true Red Devil. Ours had a habit of being sabotaged a couple of nights before, so the guys always had a secret stash of wood and were always alble to rebuild it in time. Anyone remember penny for the guy as well? Remember how that guy ended up on the top of that bonfire?

Admin, there are many issues affecting local people that are nothing to do with Southwark Council. If the candidate was a coucillor candidate then fair enough. But a candidate for MP is a different proposition. The candidate should be forthcoming on how ANY issue affecting local people can be addressed, and that I'm afraid includes issues determined by government policy (policy which is set by the way our MPs vote). Politicians, prospective or not, do not get to choose which questions and issues we can press them on, and you should not be protecting them from that either. It is quite clear the candidate is attempting to ingratiate with a prosective electorate (fair enough), but the terms of that ingratiation should not bet set by either the candidate or you. Move the thread to a more appropriate place if necessary. From what I can see, there is a thread for an already serving councillor for dealing with local issues, which seems to work fine, and makes perfect sense. The candidate isn't even elected to any position yet to grant the same platform.

I remember that one too Bob.

I became a vegatarian because of sausages lol. It's each to their own isn't it? We can though all share a common interest in how our food is produced, whatever we eat. And bees are crucial to our eco system. They pollinate aomething like 70% of all plants growing on the planet. And they are in decline. So anything that helps to keep bees going is a good thing imo.

But every nutrient needed can be found in edible plants and vegetables. It's just not true to claim a vegan diet is unhealthy. In fact it is far more healthy than most other diets, just on fat/ fibre content alone. But it's not for everyone. And like every diet, you still have to work at the right balance of food stuffs to be truly healthy. Vegans though do tend to know far more about what they are eating than most people.

I also think mfcjoe's question is fair too. There are sick and vulnerable people in ED, who are being sanctioned for example, because they should be on ESA but government legislation means they can't apply for it. Will Resham be happy to speak for local people who are being unfairly treated because of welfare reforms, or to represent people threatened with eviction because of welfare reforms?

I just think it's not that big a deal StraferJack. It's not every day, all year round. And I do think some people expect too much tranquility, from what is a major urban conurbation.

You make assumptions there based on toxicology data DulvilleRes that is not really what is going on. Suicide is rarely an impulse act. It is the end of a long road of pain and depressive illness. For the depressed person, suicide is actually a moment of calm. It is the answer to everything and a decision of sanity in the mind of the person considering it. What it is true to say is that many people suffering from depression, self medicate with drugs and alcohol. Drugs and alcohol are NOT the reason why they commit suicide though. Absolutely, it is a subject that should be more openly discussed because the level of ignorance and prejudice shown towards people suffering from depressive illness in this country is shocking. I just don't know if this is the place to do that. Here's a useful link, it's a TED talk that gives some insight to the mind of a person who came to the point of suicide. And here's another that pretty much sums up the mismatch between understanding, treatment, and resources. In the UK there has been an alarming cut in resources to mental health services at a time when depressive illness is on the rise. Recent Welfare reforms have hit those with mental health conditions particularly hard and many of them are committing suicide. We should be ashamed of what is happening at the moment.

Nothing better to do with your time then Alan?

When I was a youngster, every corner shop sold fireworks. It was easy for kids to get hold of them. Hundreds of them ended up in hospitals after accidents. The government made campaign adverts on health and safety around fireworks, it was that big a problem. Every other street lit a bonfire and the fire brigade were overstretched trying to put out the ones that got out of control. So to say current laws are inadaquate is just BS. They were made in reaction to real issues with fireworks. We live in a city of 6.5 milion people. There will be NOISE. There are far more serious things to campaign for than some killjoy crusade over a few fireworks let off in the privacy of someones own garden over a few weeks of the year.

65 million people live in the UK though (I think). 24k is a non event.