Every Contribution Counts.

That’s you.
All of you.

Listen, I hear the sounds of my approaching thirties (over a year off yet) and I can’t help feeling that not just me, but all of us, are sleepwalking.

Sleepwalking on a treadmill whilst we’re ripped off.

It’s the energy of all of you that keeps all the wonders of modern life going.
And we could have far more wonders yet.
And a lot more fun.
If so many of us did not waste our lives in completely pointless occupations.

Time I think, we all started to think a little.
Because our children are going to live here. And their children.
And we want a humanity that, literally reaches for the stars, not settles for the Earth.
And we ALL have a responsibility to safeguard that.

So, time to stand up and be counted.
It’s YOUR world.

Some of You Will Love This, Others Not so Much.

New Order fans will like this. Footie fans will love this.
Ubermouth will hate it.

Slight Apprehension.

My best mate has taken a sudden interest in my flatmate.

This creates somewhat of a moral dilemma.

I love my mate to bits, but I would advise my sister (if I had one) to stay well clear.

He rang last night to ask if I had a problem with him coming over for the weekend to make a move. Obviously, I gave my permission (He did offer some bribes.)

I have told her that he is coming and that he is interested.
She asked my advice.
I have told her she can surely understand why I can not comment at all.

I have a distinct sense that this may lead to a situation that is downright messy and to be honest, I want nothing to with it.

But you see there is always the possibility it is for the best.
Maybe she is the one he is looking for.
And vice versa.

Maybe I should trust in the good sense of two people who matter to me very much in different ways.

Quite Possibly, the Worst Country in the World. Apart from All those Other Ones.

I confess, this is a pretty lousy country in many ways.
And getting lousier by the day.

Life in the UK is not quite as fun as the TV tells you.

Sure, a lot of people must be able to spend quite a bit of money. Hence all those programmes about buying houses, or interior decoration.

But in reality, we work long hours at pointless jobs, aspiring to rent our homes from the building society, rather than a landlord.

We don’t even really have much of a culture any more.

But aside from the fact that we don’t live in a polarised, anger filled, failing economy like France, or a society of self-loathing, like the Germans, or worse, any one of those hundred or so other nations where everyday life is so miserable, you or I can not even consider it, there are things about this country that make it home.

Like it or not, whatever we might think, we don’t really yearn for open spaces.

We are used to a land of Housing estates, Out of town shopping centres, Business Parks, Heritage sights, Power stations, Inner city ghettoes, Areas of outstanding natural beauty and Victorian Architecture.

We are used to a culture of Beer, Football, Soap Operas, Shakespeare, Tabloid journalism, Indian food and Hooliganism.

Where people never say what they are thinking, are cultured in small talk, where office politics are more complex than national politics, where the girls are loose and the lads are drunk. These people you understand.

So yes, it’s no Paradise.
But it’s home.

It’s About the Passion

Not everybody understands how important the beautiful game is.

It is important.

The love a man feels for his football team, is one of the driving passions of his life.

Born Blue, Live Blue, Die Blue.

And I don’t apologise for it.

Which do You Want? Political Parties? Or Democracy?

I was debating over the weekend with a friend on the incompatibility of the party system with true democracy, or even what we theoretically have, representative democracy. On the basis of the poll I ran on this site, many of you feel that way.
Sadly, 45% of you still think your crosses on your ballot paper are more than just an endorsement.

The party system means, by and large, Members of Parliament, are accountable to their whips, not their constituents.

Put bluntly, The Labour Member for Rhondda is unlikely to lose the Rhondda because he votes for a goverment measure which cripples the local economy.

He is more likely to lose his seat, because he is disowned by the Labour Party for voting with his conscience, by voting against the government too much.

And those of you who incline to the other side need not nod so wisely either, the same goes for the Tory member for Chelsea, when the Tories are in.

The party system streamlines voters to vote in blocks. People do not vote for the best person to represent them in the debating chamber of the nation, they endorse an organisation to rule them.

If MPs were reliant on their constituents for the livelihoods and not a party machine, much sinister legislation in recent years could not have been passed.

The latest Criminal Justice Act is a prime example. It is an APPALLING piece of Fascism. It introduces ‘indeterminate’ sentences, which means life sentences they don’t want to call life sentences because it would horrify people to find out that these sentences can now be imposed for such a range of offences.
And that’s just the start of it.

The Right to Silence. Double Jeopardy.
Things that appear in the MAGNA CARTA.
Things even medieval barons thought were basic rights.
Abolished by a democratic legislature?

Would a democratic legislature endorse the expanse in bureacracy, the waste of GNP in increased regulation, the ban on smoking?

Would it have accepted the Weapons of Mass Destruction tales so lightly?

It is right that an Executive should propose and initiate legislation.

It is undemocratic that an organisation of any kind can co-ordinate both the executive, and the supposed representatives of the people who debate such things.

Of course, getting rid of parties would mean people actually had to THINK a bit more about the INDIVIDUAL they voted for, and not just look for the picture on the ballot paper.

How a Conversation Ended

Reading some of your comments earlier on the the troubles of The Chimney Sweep, reminded me that the conversation held at the weekend which led to the post in question, had later moved on to how some of his musical tastes were better than others.

Meatloaf- bad.
This- absolutely brilliant.

This is Systems Of A Down

Not Born Yesterday, Scam Merchants

I get sick of this junk. These scummy scams are so obvious, they might as well be an ITV quiz show.

In my inbox this morning.

The British National Lottery
P O Box 1010
3b Olympic Way, Sefton Business Park,
Aintree, Liverpool , L30 1RD
(Customer Services)

Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Batch: 074/05/ZY369
Ticket number:56475600545 188
Lucky Numbers: 05,06,17,20,28,42(Bonus33)

Dear Winner

We wish to congratulate and inform you on the selection of cash prize of £ 1000,000.00 (British Pounds) held on the 1st March 2007 in London Uk.The selection process was carried out through random selection in Our computerized email selection system (ess) from a database of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from which you were selected. And Your e-mail address attached to ticket number:56475600545 188 with Serial number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers: 05, 06, 17, 20, 28, 42 ( Bonus 33) , which subsequently won you the lottery in the 1st category i.e match 5
plus bonus.

You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of 1 Million Pounds,(One Million Pounds) in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03. This is from a total cash prize of £ 1000,000 Million Pounds , shared amongst the(4)lucky winners in this category i.e Match 6 plus bonus.

For due processing of your winning claim, please contact the FIDUCIARY AGENT Information Officer Mr. Roy Phil who has been assigned to assist you. You are to contact him with the following details for the release of your winnings.
==============================================
Agent Name: Mr. Roy Phil,
Tel: +44 70457 10544
Email: britishlottery_claimdept07@yahoo.co.uk
==============================================
contact him, please provide him with the following Requirements below:

Claims Requirements:
1.Name in full——————————
2.Address———————————
3.Nationality——————————-
4.Age————————————-
5.Occupation——————————
6.Phone/Fax——————————
7.Present Country————————
=============================================

If you do not contact your claims agent within 5 working days of this Notification, your winnings would be revoked. Winners are advised to keep their winning details/information from the public to avoid Fraudulent claim (IMPORTANT) pending the prize claim by Winner.

*Winner under the age of 18 are automatically disqualified. *Staff of the British Lottery are not to partake in this Lottery.

Accept my hearty congratulations once again!

Regards
Mrs. Stella Ellis
(Group Coordinator

Note that you are not to reply to this E-mail,please contact your claims officer directly to start the processing of your claims application form.

Great. I’m rich. But- er – why do I have to ring some dodgy dude on a mobile to claim? Why can’t I ring your customer service department, British Lottery?

And if you are dividing a prize fund of one million betwen four winners, how is my share STILL A Million?

And how do you make a profit? Where does this prize money come from?

I would e mail to ask these questions, but apparently they don’t want me to.

Anyway, if you fancy claiming my million quid for me, or even just want to set up an internet scam of your own and need advice, why not ring Roy on the number he kindly gave me?

That’s 07045 710544

Concern For a Friend

Myself and The Baker had a long talk this weekend regarding The Chimney Sweep.

We are a little worried for him.

His girlfriend has started to talk about marriage increasingly seriously, and certain remarks of hers could be interpreted as veiled threats.

There are a number of problems here.
Firstly, The Chimney Sweep is not famed for his decisiveness. Nor his resistance to pressure.
He could well be steamrollered into this.
He loves her in the sense that he’s now hit thirty and believes his options are running out, so he settles for comfort and calls it love.

Both myself and The Baker have suspicions regarding her motives.
The reasons are simple.

She is a nurse from Zimbabwe and it would be very convenient for her to marry a British Citizen.
Neither myself or The Baker have been satisfied in our conversations with her, that even if this is not her sole motivation, it does not play some part.
Especially when she lets slip the high lifestyle she thinks should be hers by right.
I have actually spoken to her directly about her plans. I said that I was sure she understood why I was concerned.
I still was not happy after our discussion.

Myself and The Baker agree we are right to be concerned.
What is more, we both know from conversations with The Chimney Sweep, that he hestitates precisely because he sometimes worries about her motivation too.
What is also clear is that if we make it too obvious that we are suspicious, The Chimney Sweep may well be put under curfew and we will be unable to help him when he needs us.

We watch with interest and some anxiety.

Your chance to Deliver your Verdict on Blair

Direct Democracy- Isn’t it great?

Results of the Poll on the question ‘Is this really a dictatorship, where all we do is choose the winning teams?’

Total votes cast 22

Yes 12 (55%)
No 10 (45%)

Now admittedly, our poll here possibly lacks the accuracy of a YouGov or ICM Poll, due to the size of the sample, but I would hazard a guess that it is the most accurate poll asking this particular question.

So there you have it.
55% of you think this democracy business is a bit of a lie.

New question.
Poor Tony is handing over to Gordon now.
As we all know, his legacy is very important to him.

Now we all know that Blair’s real aim was to excell Thatcher. He’s done quite well at this in some ways. Certainly I find that after ten years of Blair, Thatcher seems to have become better thought of.
Now Thatcher definitely polarised the nation. She was loved and loathed in equal measure. With Blair, I think opinion may be more uniform.

Anyway, let’s judge Tony the way he’d want to be judged.

Have your say.