Huguenot

A little rain here today. We had some sun. Only three claps of thunder I heard, but just the one shook the house. The wind has blown one of my polo shirts off the rail in the back yard.

Inane.

I don't really understand the differentiation? A successful big business in its prime is indistinguishable from a totalitarian state - with centralised economic control, personality cults, workforce regimentation, control of media and so on. A big business past its prime is indistinguishable from a bureaucracy - with factionalisation, productivity issues, poor internal communication and all the rest that goes with it. Most states function on a dynamic equilibrium between the social and corporate elements. It's notable that in some contexts if the social safety net of the 'state' is taken away, effective companies may take on the role of providing a conducive working environment - for example at Cadbury's, Bourneville, pensions, education and healthcare came part and parcel with the corporate offering. This seems more likely to take place in companies that have a long term vision - executives with short term objectives are more likely to asset strip today's infrastructure to generate immediate cash returns at the cost of long term growth. It wasn't democratic though, it was more of a Platonic construct. I guess there isn't any particular evidence that Democracies are the most effective form of government.

There's a lot of people looking for car washes for ?20. Why don't you ask them if you can do it?

Bizarre.

Ah, West Ham one up and in the Premiership - all is good in the world.

Had a bit of rain here today, but of sun too. Much like any other day to be honest.

That's not the media centre then is it? You're just adding in bits and bobs until it gets to the figure that you like. You don't know why the cost went up do you? Instead of finding out you've just christened them all liars and thieves. Bollocks. Go and break that down and you'll discover that it all makes sense. Just as you've discovered with everything else. The Emirates stadium bollocks, the Shard bollocks, it's all pointless bollocks.

Do Cornish Pasties smell? I don't remember this.

I think a more cynical approach to Indian aid would be to describe it as enlightened self interest. Sometimes we 'give' a little because we get so much more in return. If you don't think that retaining political influence and trade relations in the second largest nation in the world is in Britain's best interest then you're a little bit dumb. India is the UK's biggest export market outside of the EU (yes bigger than the US), with around $30 billion dollars a year. The aim is to make this $60 billion dollars a year within 3 years. India is the biggest external investor in the UK even compared with the EU. UK aid to India is a piss in the ocean compared with this, and to be honest marketing costs at a fraction of 1% of the overall income would be celebrated by every CEO in the world. The newspapers are simply trying to sell copies, and appealing to simplistic thickos is a pretty good way of doing this. But small brained right wing pillocks don't get any of this. They just go 'space travellers don't need poverty reduction'. Mainly because they haven't thought it through. There is a substantial number of Indian MPs who want British aid to India to stop. If it was just free money they wouldn't care. They care because with that cash comes influence and conditions. If you don't understand that then go back to criticising your neighbours.

Michellelille, are you a fake? 1 post trashing a competitor and a link to another company?

I've just had a look at the figures, and guess what - fazer is wrong again. The Shard cost around ?450m for 1,200,000 square feet. That's around ?375 per square foot. The Olympic Media Centre cost ?350m for 900,000 square feet. That's around ?388 per square foot. There's nothing in it, the slight additional cost is easily justified by the huge technical demands of outfitting communications technology for 20,000 journalists. The hourly rate of a lawyer is irrelevant. The claim that fazer made is that the Olympics infrastructure was subject to to price gouging and over charging (and now the accusation of fraud)on behalf of contractors. In fact we are discovering that the prices, whether compared with the Shard or the Emirate stadium, are nothing of the sort. What's that smell?

'The Other Guys' is a really poor film.

Fazer won't look at the spending breakdown because it will tell him what he's probably beginning to suspect - that he's talking out of his behind. I'm particularly impressed by the 'common knowledge' argument - ever the domain of the charlatan. What it actually means is 'me and my mates have started a rumour and if we repeat it enough that makes it true'.

Anyway, isn't being a complete cock a perfectly valid reason to be kept out of teams? I suffered from this for years :)

Anyone tried chips from the Philips Air Fryer? Tempted to get one of these.

I don't think this was about the texts or the IPL in isolation, it's just that these issues get blown up by the way he approaches them, they're symptoms rather than the cause. It's clear he doesn't buy in to the England team ethic, and his complaint that 'it's hard being me' is the whine of self appointed deities everywhere. Lords is still a bastion of Empire - where players put Queen and country first - and Pietersen is much more of a mercenary. Like Achilles at Troy he needs a little bit of arrogance to ply his trade, but if the aggrandisement Pietersen needs to be successful is costing the team harmony then it's the total outcome that needs to be judged when Pietersen is whining like a 6 year old spoilt brat.

You're being completely inconsistent - if your claim that the Olympics was at 2.5 times the going rate, then the point about your last flat shows that it wasn't. See what you did there? Duh, oh yeah. Really you're just moaning for the hell of it. It is delightful to see that you are being proved consistently wrong by the facts - especially the discovery that the Stadium was actually cheaper than the Emirates. So much for your balls that the Olympics were getting gouged by contractors. The impetus is really on you to either put up or shut up on the figures - because you're the one making abusive and incorrect claims about others. I share your surprise about the costs of some contracting works, but experience has told me that fag packet calculations that your mate down the pub could do it cheaper are more often than not the vain boast of meatheads. Go and find some facts to back up your Olympics claims, and stop making claims that even the Daily Mail would struggle to justify.

You've just made a series of statements completely uncorroborated and unsupported by evidence. You have no idea. I'm irritated by proxy for the vast numbers of people that you insult and abuse with your baseless accusations.

What an idiot. Tell you what fazer, yes, it's likely that some money in a public exercise of that scale was bungled. That's what you're gambling on aren't you? But you're the kind of bloke that makes sweeping generalisations like 'it always rains in Britain' and then scrambles to find a brief mist in a North Yorkshire fishing village to prove your point. Was it expensive? Yes. Was it a massive multi billion dollar rip off? No. Shut up.

I can't make up my mind what's bugging you NN. Do you think that all of the popular uprisings were terrorists? Or just this one? Or do you think anything at all? Do you just go 'hur hur hur' when you think someone says something anti-government and then copy and paste it on here because you think it'll increase your opportunities of getting laid?

If you can get out to say Suffolk or South Downs tonight and there's a clear sky (looks like there will be) you really should. The Perseids will be big and bright, about one shooting star a minute, best just before dawn, but should be visible all night :)

Yes AM, it'll take a little while to work. Knowing you as well as I do, I reckon you'll have just about got the hang of it by December the 21st or 22nd. Think of it as a Christmas wish. Wish and wish and wish, and it'll achieve wonders. Most people get bored of this by June, and then look what happens!

It's something you buy in a shop and get this.... http://vitotechnology.com/star-walk.html

Something to do with ice cream?