chrisp65

why can't they just play one goal and someone else goes in that's the rotation we use in 5 a side

24 Apr 34 28 29 Con +5 24 Apr 34 26 30 Con +4 24 Apr 35 27 28 Con +7 23 Apr 35 26 31 Con +4 23 Apr 36 30 23 Con +6 23 Apr 34 26 29 Con +5 23 Apr 34 29 29 Con +5 22 Apr 34 29 28 Con +5 21 Apr 33 27 31 Con +2 20 Apr 35 25 27 Con +8 20 Apr 32 23 33 LD +1 20 Apr 32 28 31 Con +1 20 Apr 31 26 34 LD +3 19 Apr 31 26 30 Con +1 19 Apr 32 28 32 Tie 19 Apr 35 26 26 Con +9 19 Apr 33 27 31 Con +2 19 Apr 32 24 32 Tie 19 Apr 32 26 29 Con +3 18 Apr 33 28 30 Con +3 18 Apr 32 28 28 Con +4 18 Apr 32 26 33 LD +1 17 Apr 33 30 29 Con +3 17 Apr 31 28 32 LD +1 17 Apr 31 27 29 Con +2 list runs CON l LAB l LIB (but I just can't get it all to show up) anorakpollblog just a snapshot of the polls over the last week. Whilst no polling is spot on because of the quirks of FPTP and frankly people giving duff answers it does show a trend over the week for the tory lead to be stretching out or becoming consistent over the 'poll of polls'. Still showing a hung parliament, still close enough for a change in any direction. However it's also close enough for one dodgy stunt to lose it for any one particular party. One Elvis joke that goes wrong, one public appearance by John Redwood, who knows. What is interesting is young Gordon announcing he was going to get out and meet more people, I wouldn't have thought that was necessarily his best tactic. Interesting tactic from Clegg today, a day off to spend with the wife and kids (but with plenty of cameras to capture the day off and get some soundbites). I'm sure that will have done him more good than another speech to 10 people in a baked beans factory. I had another doorstep experience today, another party called at the door today, informed me they knew my dad and a couple of my mates (it didn't come over in a sinister way!) and then quickly asked if they could put up a banner in my garden. Nice try but no thanks. Not trusting or interested enough in any of them for that sort of gesture thanks. On being very politely refused there was no attempt to engage in conversation it was turn and jog away consulting a clipboard. just on a little side piece, loved some of the right of centre chat a couple of pages ago, probably summed up as 'loony left spread unfair slurs and stereotypes, I demand a fair debate, if I don't get my way I'm taking my ball off to Belize'. Good to see the selfish right can enjoy a drink just as much as the beautiful left.

I'll probably pick up a copy tomorrow. Rarely by a 'paper anymore, but if I do it's the Indie. Not necessarily my views throughout, but that's a good thing. I find individual contributions can have different opinions whereas with so many papers there is a wiff of towing a party line.

the revelations from previous governments can be fascinating (anorak alert!), I'm currently reading 'Downing Street Diary' by Bernard Donoughue. Briefly, he was part of Wilson's inner circle in 1974 / 1975 and suggests strongly in the book that Labour had soft peddaled that election campaign because they knew what a train wreck the economy was. Somehow the conservatives managed to pedal even softer and Labour won. I'll condense the first 93 pages down: don't really want to win this, the place is a mess..... it's looking closer than we thought..... we've won!!! bugger, now what? ...and now the press are printing stories about us doing dodgy land deals, avoiding tax and cosying up to those that make big donations to the party. could be an interesting reflection on the current bunch

sad really.. but I think it reflects more on the people that post this sort of thing though tbh ..not saying people have to be hypocrites and mourn her but they could at least have the dignity to say nothing Difficult call. I've lived through quite a few PMs and experienced many reactions to them from family, friends and work colleagues. Reactions have ranged from the apathetic feelings towards Major to the "I really can't stand that man" feelings towards Blair. I've never, and hope I won't again, heard such hatred towards a PM, expressed by such as cross-section of people, as that shown to Margret Thatcher. It wasn't meant to goad or upset anyone (believe it or not), I was simply trying in a flippant and evidently tasteless way to encapsulate my wife's views. She didn't post it up, I did. But I do believe it is a view held by a significant number of people around me. Not the majority, not millions, but a large number. This may be because I live in a relatively poor town that used to have a thriving dock reliant on coal and manufacturing export. It also had a significant chemical industries sector, a massive timber yard, flour mill, two hospitals etc etc.. By the end of the Thatcher era all these were closed, shrunk, disappearing and the redundant workers told they were worthless spongers. And she took the milk off my brother. I'm not saying she was personally responsible for the structural changes that had to be made, I'm just saying she didn't have to enjoy it. It will be interesting to see if there are still people 30 years from now that utterly hate Gordon Brown or Tony Blair and would let it influence their voting in a year 2040 election. I personally would certainly find it nigh on impossible to consider voting Labour until they clearly said that following George Bush into Iraq without a plan was a bit of a **** up and they'd do it differently next time. I'm not sure people will have a 30 year hate for any of the current breed of politico.

got home from work to find out that earlier today we had received a house call from the tories oh dear, they obviously didn't realise that my part time local government working aggressively left wing missus was home alone - but at least they now know where to go to party when Thatcher finally dies. the debate looks to have been a pretty close affair, which is probably the best result Labour could have dreamed of for the last 12 months. Interesting that the tory threat of meltdown if there is a hung parliament doesn't appear to have caught the public imagination. Libs must be dead chuffed with appearing to be in with a shout of having some power. If they can get to be kingmakers and tie down a decent deal on changing the way our first past the post system is set up then they really could be about to change the left right red blue landscape. Doubtless every paper tomorrow will be claiming their boy won it (whichever one of the three they support). Having previously helped out with local Labour campaigning in the 80's (in a very small and insignificant way) I still couldn't bring myself to vote Labour at present and probably not for a good long time into the future. Probably still Plaid for me (which will be a wasted vote here but hey ho, moral high ground and all that). Plaid's poster boy on Question Time at the moment, this could change me to a spoilt ballot!

I'm guessing from your belief that 13 years of Labour would leave people disillusioned that you are 13 and have never considered what went before, and before that, and before that. They are all self serving liars. You just have to decide whether you have a preference for any of the potential spin off from any particular bunch of self serving liars being in power.

Even better, I don't have a landline (I have a non-registered mobile 'phone).

early Villa goal they, with nothing to lose, push forward we get a result that puts to bed the Chelsea thing MOTD2 worth watching for a change

Are they UK wide? Even the greens have 300+ candidates. The poll says "who gets your vote". SNP are a major player up here. Some Scottish Villans might vote that way. Same for the Welshies and the Ulstermen - they have viable alternatives as well. Might be interesting to add them to the poll. agree, it's a skewed poll. The UUP get put up as an option, yet they currently have 1 MP (I say 'currently' knowing that actually there are currently no MP's for anyone as parliament is dissolved). However, Sinn Fein, SNP and Plaid aren't up there as an option, yet have around 13 or 14 MP's between them and are not represented. With the current potential for a hung parliameent surely 14 broadly nationalist broadly left wing seats are a considerable block of influence? Certainly more so than BNP and UUP and Greens et al. If I wasn't a lazy i.t. illiterate little oaf I'd do something about it!

mass male infertility brought on by wanking in close proximity to hot laptop batteries

The only certainty with this election is that once it’s over the winner is going to tell us they’ve had a chance to look more closely at the books and there’s sour news to suck up. At present the various teams are only driven by a desire to achieve power. As such they need to say as little as possible about their own ideas whilst ridiculing the ideas of the others as being poorly thought out. The argument over whether we should increase vat and / or national insurance and / or income tax and / or dream up new taxes will be of little actual consequence to me personally. I’m that middle ground guy with a middling salary and a middling lifestyle. I’m about to get wacked by the winner of the 2010 general election. They just can’t bring themselves to properly tell me that yet. My lifestyle is about to suffer because as we all know, the last thing this country needs is a reduction in its nuclear weapon capability, the scrapping of i.d. cards, banks paying a bit back, a reduction in the cost of the political classes and so on. What I need to assess is how and why I believe the various parties will manage the rest of the economy and the people around me. Luckily, I have previous experience of how the Tory Party will deal with the situation. They will slash and burn anything that doesn’t turn a profit for business. John Redwood will re appear from the shadows and delight in cutting services with one hand whilst touching himself with the other. Tax relief will be announced that will help ‘over 2 million people’. What most people don’t understand is that this tax relief therefore doesn’t help 63 million people. As such there is very little chance it was a policy to help you. But don’t worry, if you already had a decent house, some flat rental income and a Range Rover, the holiday in Madeira is now safe. For the majority, the Tory’s will be genuinely wilfully nasty. But now with added airbrushing. As for Labour, well hopefully in the unlikely event of being re elected they would show a little more restraint before jumping into any new illegal wars. You’d also hope that the very fact they’ve plainly run out of ideas after a decade or so in power would limit their ability to tinker and change schools and hospitals. Perhaps what our nationalised ‘services’ actually need is a breather, a rest from any more initiatives and revised targets. I fear I’m being a little naïve there. I do suspect we would get significantly more industrial action over the next few years if Labour manage to keep power. Just remember, regardless of who wins, all governments are liars and murderers. I do want to vote, I suspect this time around its a 'minority' party that hasn't proven itself deceitful as it hasn't yet had power to abuse, or, it's a scribbled 'none of the above' at the bottom of the ballot.

Which is why the present government have removed democracy from our society. Scots, Welsh and N.Irish vote for their own government, and then vote for ours as well. Out of curiosity, was that a genuine thought or a little bit of provocation or an alchohol induced over reaction by me ? I think you are confusing England with the UK. I've got no issue at all with England having an Assembly or a Regional Government or whatever if you/they want one. Fill yer boots. What can upset some people is the confusion between Britain and England that sometimes accidentally creeps into our daily lives. It would surely be equally 'fair' for someone to ask why, if they vote for a Welsh Assembly member and an MEP that its the parliament in England that decides how much tax is paid and whether I should be compelled to carry i.d..

possibly Plaid save billions by cancelling the new trident scrap i.d. cards charge Bliar for going to war on made up evidence put on balaclava's, pile into Cameron's office and kick seven shades of shit out of him invest more in green technologies be nice where possible except Plaid aren't an option on the poll

they say being a full time mum is the hardest thing in the world Yeah? you try wanking with a laptop on your knees

ah we've all been there! if I had 50p for every time I've nearly run off the road shaving around me nudger

.....though it might soon be time to move on?

What I thought was particularly gauling was that self proven idiot Graham Pole announcing on 5Live this morning that Dowd was absolutely right to leave Vidic on 'as it was early in a cup final so you've got to interpret the rules differently so as not to spoil it'.

yeah, the officials didn't cover themselves in glory. It's done now, we lost, boo hoo, next game. but.... if the officials make it clear they are playing different rules for different teams over the majority of the first half it's bound to influence your style of play. They are allowed to tackle, we aren't. They should have 10 players, they have 11. Ah well, MON's clever enough to use that to our advantage at the next Final.

just saw Mourinho's agent in a pub in Manchester came in just like a normal bloke but produced his own can from a carrier bag and drunk that

bought one of the Alexander McQueen shirts today neck's a bit tight but it hangs well

If that was what I'd said, then I'd agree with you. But sadly for you I didn't say that it should be forgotten about. Instead I said that the motivation for Harry to dupe the taxman of 40k is pretty hard to fathom when the guy is a multi-millionare and earns 40k every 3 or 4 days. In other words, I'm suggesting that the charge may a face-saving crock of shit to try and justify months of investigation, and I won't be surprised if Harry wins the case. PS. 40k is 5 figures, not 6 It's not that hard to fathom, some people are crooked and some ain't. Not everyone that shoplifts does it to put bread on the table. Some people do it because they are little shits. I would suggest Harry could fall into the 'little shit' category.

The part from P3te about religious doctrines running part of the state is particularly interesting. In my home town there is a whole debate on the local Roman Catholic school. They don’t currently have their own sixth form, so traditionally the pupils have got to that age and been bussed into Cardiff. The local council has always funded this. Tighter times mean the council have told the RC’s they are still welcome to travel 15 miles passed some perfectly good schools to get to one that supports their ideology, but from now on they will be paying full whack for the transport. Sounds to me like a good compromise. For me personally, I don’t want to pay tax that funds someone else’s religious schooling. State and organised religion need to be completely separated. After all this, I’m still happy to believe in God. Though I have to admit I haven’t read and researched all of the big books, from what I’ve seen many share common stories and should be used more as a guide than as a definitive list of do’s and don’ts. I don’t believe in the Father Christmas god, chair, cloud, white robe and impressive beard. I also don’t believe in the funky new American liberal god (Morgan Freeman). It’s patently obviously possible to get through life without a belief in the divine, the other worldly. Not just get through life, but contribute greatly to the greater good. You can discover a wonder drug or contribute to philosophy or philanthropy without kneeling to any god. Good and god are not mutually inclusive or exclusive. But personally I do still believe in the big divine force for good. I want my kids to learn the basics of western Christian thoughts and principles, you know, the nice modern liberal slanted bits. I believe it’s a good starting point in life. Saying that, I've ended up with one kid christened and one not. I'm fairly confident this half cocked starting point will not influence their eternal place in the universe, that's for them to determine. I want them learning to critique, to think for themselves and not just believe that the vicar always knows right from wrong, that the Church has millions of pounds locked up in land deals in New York for the greater good or that women have a fixed place in society and so on. I also want them to understand and embrace science, but again without blind faith in what scientists tell us about lard being good in the diet, space exploration being essential and cars with batteries being the future. This doesn’t make me a better person than others, doesn’t buy me any insurance. It works for me, I'm sure in my belief, to answer the original question, that’s the top middle and bottom of it I suppose.

Why? When you take away everything other than the core tenents of a religion you are taking away the religion. The idea to be good to each other is not a religious one, it is a question of morality and social survival. To say that morality has to be religiously enforced is to cheapen those who have morals. It's far better to be moral because you think it's right than because some god is telling you to. Which is the better man, he who gives to charity because he thinks he should, or he who gives to charity because he's told he should? The entire concept of be good so you go to heaven as a reward is completely out of skew with the concept of morality. It turns selfless acts into entirely selfish ones, and anyone that follows a religious moral code is surely just ensuring they go to hell because they're living their life in an entirely selfish manner, they're only being good for their own gain. Or does religion not have to comply to logic? And it's ok to be selfish if god says you should be? That'll teach me to enter a big G thread. I don't know if you have to be religious to believe in your own personal God? Genuinely not sure on that one, wouldn't personally mark myself down as religious. I think I tried to say I don't subscribe to a pre set list of mores chosen by some historic character that didn't like gayers or wanted more wives or whatever. I also don't believe in some hieronymous bosch version of hell. There is no hell for me, so I can chill out on that one. Anybody that is 'good' to ensure some insurance policy for their anticipated afterlife probably hasn't really grasped the point of the whole exercise. Each to their own and get yourself comfy in your own skin.

Fascinating that there are so many threads on and around this subject on this messageboard, for the same old group to consistently trot out all the God! Show me magic taunts and wittisisms every time it comes around. For what its worth, yeah, I believe in God. I also believe in ever developing science, I don't see them as mutually exclusive. Proof the universe is really big, the world is round, some jesuit priests are kiddy fiddlers, babboons have affairs and an octopus can learn stuff is all great. Doesn't prove or disprove anything though. For what it's worth, I don't believe in catholicism, or Greek orthodoxy, or Henry the **** eighths variation on a theme. Those tend to be self interested translations of versions of older accounts and translations and versions. Surely you just cut it down to the core message, try and be good, sometimes you **** up, try and make amends. Treat others with the respect you would wish to receive from them.