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.

Congratulations to the EU for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

A little more political acumen and a little more fiscal integration is desirable over the coming years.

Also, increased European regulation of the banks.

(Also, a little less enthusiasm by Cameron for risk takers. That is partially what was responsible for the present economic chaos.)

fred I would love to meet your 4 daughters I have 2 and two grand girls and love them and spoil them

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=wq_lhlIn1e0

Spoof


A Canadian female libertarian wrote a lot of letters to the Canadian government, complaining about the treatment of captive insurgents(terrorists) being held in Afghanistan National Correctional System facilities. She demanded a response to her letter correspondence.

She received back the following reply:


National Defense Headquarters

M Gen George R. Pearkes Bldg., 15 NT

101 Colonel By Drive

Ottawa , ON K1A 0K2

Canada

Dear Concerned Citizen,

Thank you for your recent letter expressing your profound concern of treatment of the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists captured by Canadian Forces who were subsequently transferred to the Afghanistan Government and are currently being held by Afghan officials in Afghanistan National Correctional System facilities.

Our administration takes these matters seriously and your opinions were heard loud and clear here in Ottawa. You will be pleased to learn, thanks to the concerns of citizens like yourself, we are creating a new department here at the Department of National Defense,to be called 'Liberals Accept Responsibility for Killers' program, or L.A.R.K. for short.

In accordance with the guidelines of this new program, we have decided to divert one terrorist and place him in your personal care.
Your personal detainee has been selected and is scheduled for transportation under heavily armed guard to your residence in Toronto next Monday.

Ali Mohammed Ahmed bin Mahmud (you can just call him Ahmed) is to be cared for pursuant to the standards you personally demanded in your letter of complaint!

It will likely be necessary for you to hire some assistant caretakers. We will conduct weekly inspections to ensure that your standards of care for Ahmed are commensurate with those you so strongly recommended in your letter. Although Ahmed is a sociopath and extremely violent, we hope that your sensitivity to what you described as his 'attitudinal problem' will help him overcome these character flaws. Perhaps you are correct in describing these problems as mere cultural differences.

We understand that you plan to offer counseling and home schooling. Your adopted terrorist is extremely proficient in hand-to-hand combat and can extinguish human life with such simple items as a pencil or nail clippers. We advise that you do not ask him to demonstrate these skills at your next yoga group. Please advise any Jewish friends, neighbors or relatives about your house guest, as he might get agitated or even violent, but we are sure you can reason with him.

He is also expert at making a wide variety of explosive devices from common household products, so you may wish to keep those items locked up, unless (in your opinion) this might offend him.

Ahmed will not wish to interact with you or your daughters (except sexually) since he views females as a subhuman form of property thereby having no rights, including refusal of his sexual demands. This is a particularly sensitive subject for him and he has been known to show violent tendencies around women who fail to comply with the new dress code that he will "recommend" as more appropriate attire.

I'm sure you will come to enjoy the anonymity offered by the burka over time. Just remember that it is all part of 'respecting his culture and religious beliefs' as described in your letter.

Thanks again for your concern.
We truly appreciate it when folks like you keep us informed of the proper way to do our job and care for our fellow man. You take good care of Ahmed and remember we'll be watching.

Good luck and God bless you.
Cordially,

Gordon O'Connor

Minister of National Defense

Somali pirates captured

http://true-turtle.livejournal.com/85315.html

I feel sick watching such film, with killing etc. How can they be so sure that these guys are not really fisherman? They might be as worried as we are about pirates, so carry short range guns in case of attacks.

It's amazing to think this was 25 years ago.

Great Storm: The healing power of nature

After wreaking havoc throughout the night of Thursday 15 October 1987, it was at first light the following morning that the damage caused by hurricane-force winds across southern and south-eastern parts of the UK could be truly assessed.

One for the autograph book (not).

Surprised Alex Salmond has the time to sign anything except his golf scorecard these days, he must spend more time on golf courses than Tiger Woods.

A side effect of an independent Scotland would be the loss of Scottish labour MPs. This would mean that there would be little chance of Labour ever getting an outright majority in a UK election.

I think someone told him it was a book signing.

This is me.

Shame its a spoof as I think it would do the 'Do Gooding Liberal' minded lot a great deal of good if they got what they wished for, personally of course.

Re the Scottish referendum.

According to figures, 9 out of 10 Scots take more out of the economy than they put in.

Perhaps we should have a referendum asking us if we want them or not, deficit cleared in one simple solution.

Another problem is what currency would they use. Would they stay in a Sterling Zone? They would not meet the convergence criteria for joining the Euro.

Hays,

I think it may be a sacrifice of not have Labour MPs in the remnants of a UK government, many Scots would be happy to put up with. Possibly, more than is expected at the moment.

If it happened and Wales were left with a tory monopoly then I would think many would advocate going for an opt out also.

Again I think that many Scots would go for full integration into the EU and prepared to accept the Euro with increased financial regulation.

The Scots and Welsh are not as Xenophobic as the English.

==============

Cameron, at present is trying to appeal to the fragmenting right wing of his party in an attempt to hold on to his own position. Simple self interested political gesturing.


Maybe interesting to see how many policies he can get through in the next 2-3 years.

ahoj - 15 Oct 2012 11:43 - 18653 of 18662

I feel sick watching such film, with killing etc. How can they be so sure that these guys are not really fisherman? They might be as worried as we are about pirates, so carry short range guns in case of attacks.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Probably because they didn't have any fishing gear but had plenty of piracy equipment. What do you think they use the ladders for? So in answer to your question, yes, they were sure.

How Starbucks avoids UK taxes

(Reuters) - Starbucks' coffee menu famously baffles some people. In Britain, it's their accounts that are confusing. Starbucks has been telling investors the business was profitable, even as it consistently reported losses.

This apparent contradiction arises from tax avoidance, and sheds light on perfectly legal tactics used by multinationals the world over. Starbucks stands out because it has told investors one thing and the taxman another.

I've never really understood why people and companies would want to pay tax if they don't need to. The moral argument holds no water imo.

Good reading on tax avoidance planning

Why not go offshore?

I don't use them as they refuse to support 'Help for Heroes'
2517

I once was told by a person on benefits that it was the easiest way to avoid paying tax.
He was always complaining about the low level of benefits available, and yet you could usually find him down the pub or betting shop.

He had about 12 kids (that he knew about) with about 5 different women.
Of course, he was one of those, don't work, won't work brigade, who readily admitted he was far better off on benefits, enhanced by the odd bit of crime of course.