Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

From Nazi to Terminator, Europe's media target Merkel


Demonised in Europe's media as a red-eyed Terminator robot, a flabby centre-fold pinup and a fleshy Roman god eating Greeks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has become the subject of a new wave of vitriol for her tough stance on the euro zone crisis.

Already a figure of hate in Greece for insisting on austerity in exchange for aid, Merkel has long endured montages of herself in a Nazi uniform, but the runup to this week's EU summit has unleashed particularly savage images and headlines.

Turkey has deployed troops and anti-aircraft rocket launchers to the Syrian border.

A first substantial convoy of about 30 military vehicles, including trucks loaded with anti-aircraft missile batteries dispatched from Turkey's coastal town of Iskenderun, was moving slowly towards the Syrian border 50 km (30 miles) away.

A Reuters reporter near the town of Antakya saw the convoy moving out of the hills and through small towns on a narrow highway escorted by police.

Early on Thursday, another convoy left a base at Gaziantep and headed for Kilis province, the site of a large camp for Syrian refugees. Video from the DHA agency showed the convoy, of about 12 trucks and transporters, filing through the gates of the base past the hanging Turkish red flag with white crescent moon and star.

Tanker, post 17209 - sometimes our words come back to haunt us! "Buy bank shares" = I don't think so and certainly not until they appoint people to manage banks who have some modicum of integrity. And certainly not until banks have some form of effective regulatory body in place. What has happened over the last few days with Barclays & RBS is just the tip of an iceberg.

Nice to hear responsibilities in Barclay's should go all the way to the top.

Pity the same principles don't apply in certain areas of this government.

Nice to see a tribute to very brave airmen of the second world war but the royal artillery have been sadly forgotten : they put in more hours and shot down far more enemy aircraft that the royal air force and never make the headlines : they also did not get bacon and eggs at the end of a shift....sorry, but the RAF are getting far too much credit !.

RF.
How much of the German military machine did
they destroy(apart from the planes they sent against us)
and what was their casualty numbers?(as a percentage))

RF The casualty list for Bomber Command was horrendous, they were exceptionally brave men as were the royal artillery I'm sure. Bomber Harris was cruelly ignored by Churchill and villified re Dresden, even though he sanctioned those raids but chose to disassociate himself from them. If Hitler had been succesful in building rockets ie Peenymundie (apologise for the spelling) our island would have been obliterated. It was shameful that those airmen were ignored for a very large part of the victory over Nazi Germany, and quite rightly has been recognised today.

Plan for on-court ‘grunt-o-meter' a scream

Maria Sharapova might look like a great tennis player to you.

Now go stand in front of a TV. Crank the volume all the way up. Listen for the “yowl” just before she hits the ball.

Typical UK re-action.

This was war and although its a childish re-action, but true, 'They started it'.
The bombing of civilians was started by the Germans and the only reason it stopped was because we gave better than we got.

I'm sure no tears were shed by Hitler for all the thousands that died in the bombing of UK citizens.
I live near Hull, which was the heaviest bombed city in the country per head of population.

Wars are never won by softly, softly approach.

Well done Bomber Command!

I respect the desires of those individuals and members of the families who died, or were maimed in conflicts and wars in the name of their country to have memorials to them.

It seems necessary, to have public and private recognition of the costs to those who have been, or are affected by such actions.

But, I would also like to see “memorials” to the “stupidity” of “wars” and the “reasons” given for failing to resolve ”problems”, without resorting to violence and bloody conflicts.

.

"But, I would also like to see “memorials” to the “stupidity” of “wars” and the “reasons” given for failing to resolve ”problems”, without resorting to violence and bloody conflicts."

Good luck with that! You have more chance of striking a match on a rice pudding whilst walking on water.

Yeah brilliant, not sure Hitler subscribed to the 'I'ts good to talk' rhetoric. Chamberlain did try!

.

Skinny.

I live in hope.

Without hope one dies.


-

Fred - my sentence should have contained 'the proverbial', but I wasn't too sure which bit was. :-)

I should send a copy of that post to Blair , Fred. You remember Tony Blair he who said that Gordon Brown was the best Chancer , sorry The best Chancellor this country as every had. Now also a peace envoy, multi millionaire spiv.

Ald,

I don't understand the point you are trying to make.

-------

But would suggest Cameron, Tanker and yourself could consider what is implied in the below.

(Not sure where I cut and pasted this from initially. It might have been from this thread.)

---------

"A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door.. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I don't understand."

It is simple," said the Lord. "It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.""

PS.

I am glad Cameron has solved the Eurozone problems.

The other leaders must be glad to have his counselling.

But I do wish he would scratch his nose so frequently when answering questions.