meregreen

Weird set of things to make your point with! - Retirement age increased to 67 - Plans to increase retirement age announced by former Labour government. - Privatization of the NHS - NHS spending doubled under Labour government with no notable improvement in standard of care, is it wrong to try a different approach? - University fees increasing from 3k to 10k. - University tuition fees introduced by Labour government, did they think they would never go up? - Tax breaks for the richest 0.5%. - Not sure which piece of legislation you're referring to? - pensions decreases. - This one is the most laughable point to make after Mr Brown's record on pensions. - unemployment 2.5 million - Unemployment has been trending upwards since 1992 - double dip recession - Under which government did the economic crisis and first dip of the recession start? Do you remember who stood before parliament and proclaimed 'Gone are the days of boom and bust'? Not weird at all. Retirement age increase accelerated. Massive improvements WERE seen in the NHS.Length of waiting lists were at an all time low, they are now rising rapidly. University fees were trebled within one year. Tax breaks for the richest 0.5% were on Osbornes wish list, only the possibility of a Lib Dem revolt prevented this. Brown demanded that pension funds carried enough funds to cover their future liabilities and set up a funded reserve to protect the pensions of workers whos employers go bust. Something no Tory government would ever do. Expect this protection to be removed if Georgie Porgy has anything to do with it. Unemployment, particularly youth unemployment dropped drastically after 1997. It hasn't taken the Tories long to start making our young people pay that "price worth paying" Still trying to blame Brown for the world banking crisis. That crisis is still with us. The only difference is we have a fiscal idiot with his hand on the tiller now, so things are rapidly deterioating.Incidentally, Brown may not have achieved an end to boom and bust, but he did preside over the longest period of sustained growth in our economy in recent times. History I think will be a kinder judge of him than those with a vested interest in denigrating the man.

why is the hasbeen even playing.

Great strike for his goal. But that simply doesn't make up for his very average performances over the last two years. Other than Bannan, I thought our midfield was pretty awful.

Weve played much MUCH worse than this in the past 5 years Petrov is absolutely woeful. And has been for some time.

It isn't all we've got. Good or bad, we have a season of Premiership football to look forward to. And they haven't. It will be a pleasure to be deprived of their deluded ramblings about being Birminghams top club. They are where they belong, long may they stay there.

This whole drawn out saga is becoming yet another embarrassing example of our clubs inability to close a simple transfer deal. Are we really talking about a measly million quid. I hoped I'd seen the last of this type of thing. Ellis F***d up over Robbie Keane. please Randy, don't do the same over N'Zogbia. We should close this deal now, or find ourselves being classed as penny pinching also rans.

For some of us it will ALWAYS be their name.

And the Tories are about to give him total control of Sky. I don't think he's a fit and proper person to run a public lavatory, never mind the largest chunk of our media.

Have to say , people from the sub continent are amongst the most racist in the world. If your story was reversed and a white family were treating the relationship of an Asian man and white woman in such a way, people would be horrified. Yet amongst Asian communities, such attitudes are widely held. Very sad.

Petrov and Reo in Midfield. Not too many forward balls there then. Hopefully Makoun will get on at some stage.

If thats the case then why are the BNP against AV and in favour of FPTP ?

Their club does not deserve shit support like that. They really are a most ungrateful bunch of chavs :oops: I cup in 137 years, absolutely their club deserves support like that.

The Birmingham Mail refer to the players emerging to a "sea of Blue"!!!!!!!!Where are they then ....the friggin Mediteranean. Appallingly contrived dishonest reporting. Tell it like it was, absolutely pathetic turnout. I've seen more people turn up to a barbeque

Get real Gabby is crap.

And why not. If you want to go and be stupid out at sea and not know what you're doing and get in trouble - pay the cost or take out insurance against it. Same for mountain rescue and potholers.Are you for real. Insure my lilo!!!! Not everything should have a price attached to it. Saving lives should be our duty as decent human beings, not a commercial business. Presumably if a ship finds itself in trouble you would only rescue those who are insured, the rest are fish bait.Are you for real? How many lilo users get rescued by the "coast guard helicopter service" I was being sarcastic. There are many people who are rescued by helicopter though. If you wish to bill them for it fine. It would probably come at a great cost to their purse. The cost to our sense of humanity however , would I think be far greater. The world would be a far sadder place if every act of mercy carried a bill.

And why not. If you want to go and be stupid out at sea and not know what you're doing and get in trouble - pay the cost or take out insurance against it. Same for mountain rescue and potholers. Are you for real. Insure my lilo!!!! Not everything should have a price attached to it. Saving lives should be our duty as decent human beings, not a commercial business. Presumably if a ship finds itself in trouble you would only rescue those who are insured, the rest are fish bait.

See the Tories tried to privatise the coast guard helicopter service . Only the fact some corrupt government bastard was discovered to be "advising" the potential bidder, caused the plan to be scuppered. Expect the Tories to try again in the future. Better not take my lilo out to sea then, might not be able to afford the rescue bill.

How wrong is that statement? The policies encouraged and steamrollered through by the Tory Gvmt are nothing like what Labour previously were doing. This is another attempt to justify their attacks by trying to deflect from the idea that this Tory Gvmt despite their lies is built on an ideology of far right thinking. It has always been a long held thinking within the Tory party to reduce (and ultimately kill off) the NHS. They are afraid to come out with it but their policies have always shown that and this Gvmt are attacking them at break neck speed using the world economic crisis as some sort of justification. Attacks on public services, VAT rises, supporting their backers were dismissed pre election as scare tactics. It gives many no satisfaction to be proven 100% correct on them as this country now is and will continue to suffer. Agree with this 100%. They will eventually pay the price at the ballot box. One can only hope they don't do too much damage to the NHS before then. They're a bunch of opportunists using the current economic difficulties to advance their own nasty little agenda. They'll never change. How sad that the Lib Dems in their grubby pursuit of power are prepared to go along with so much they are ideologically opposed to. The Tories will take a drubbing at the polls over this, the Lib Dems could disappear altogether.

So we should keep a monarch to keep foreigners happy, and make a few quid. If its about money lets make Bill Gates King. Money has nothing to do with it. My pride in my countrys history has everything to do with the people of this island and nothing to do with the largely foreign monarchs who have ruled us ,and at times butchered us, in large numbers. Nothing personal against the old German currently lording it over us. But I do not regard her children as better than mine. You see it is, or should be a moral question not a fiscal one. If her children wish to be head of state, fine, let them stand for election. Now that would be interesting.

No head of state should be appointed through birth. All the children of this country should be able to aspire to its highest office. They represent everything which is wrong about the class system. They are a mediaeval throwback. Most countries have moved on from such an antiquated and discredited form of inherited power. I have no doubt that eventually, if not in my lifetime, they will be consigned to the dustbin of history. The sooner the better.

The difference is Richard Branson EARNED his money. He takes risks and stands or falls by his decisions. The greedy F****ers who are in charge of the banks recieve barrow loads of cash regardless of their performance. The whole thing reeks of greed and sheer avarice. If these bastards were paid by performance they would be paid nowt. Rant over.

And a Happy New year to you too. Stan was suffering from clinical depression while at the Villa. He's certainly not, as you so eloquently put it a "****". If this is the best you can contribute to this subject then I think it says far more about you than it does about one of the few real friends we have in the media. Way to go Stan.

Fantastic that I can go out for a drink without coming home with my clothes reeking of smoke. By all means if people want to smoke, then go outside and inhale to your hearts content. Those of us who are not addicted to Nicotine couldn't be happier.

Most of this team were signed by that quiter. A lot of money wasted . Whatever the future holds, I'm glad he's gone.

Having worked full time since I left school in 1972, I have been lucky enough to have been in full time employment for my entire working life. During those 38 years I have paid National Insurance to the tune of thousands of pounds, this on the understanding that if I ever was unfortunate enough to lose my job, I would be entitled to what used to be called unemployment benefit and which is now rather pathetically labeled job seekers allowance. Now, some Tory gobshite, who has probably been too busy screwing the taxpayer with his expenses for the last 20 years to have any comprehension of what a real days work is, is telling me that if I am unfortunate enough to lose my job, the benefits for which I have contributed so many thousands of pounds towardsi, will only be paid out if I agree to do his bidding with regards to so called voluntary work ie "do it or else". If I pay my house insurance and my house is damaged , I would not expect the insurance company to demand I clean the streets before my insurance is paid out. The principle is the same. Shame on them.