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.

Maria Miller resigns as culture secretary over expenses row


Miller said the controversy over her expenses 'has become a distraction from the vital work this government is doing'



Jonathan Haynes


theguardian.com, Wednesday 9 April 2014 07.24 BST





Maria Miller's letter of resignation

9 April 2014

Dear Prime Minister,

It is with great regret that I have decided that I should tender my resignation as a member of the Cabinet.


I am very grateful to you for your personal support but it has become clear to me that the present situation has become a distraction from the vital work this Government is doing to turn our country around.


I have been a member of the Conservative Party for more than 30 years. As a working mother, educated at a South Wales comprehensive school, I know that it is our party that understands the importance of giving everyone the opportunity to succeed regardless of where they come from.


I am immensely proud of what my team have been able to achieve during my time in Government: ensuring that our arts and cultural institutions receive the rightful recognition that they deserve in making Britain Great; putting women front and centre of every aspect of DCMS's work; putting in place the legislation to enable all couples to have the opportunity to marry regardless of their sexuality.


Of course, implementing the recommendations made by Lord Justice Leveson on the future of media regulation, following the phone hacking scandals, would always be controversial for the press. Working together with you, I believe we struck the right balance between protecting the freedom of the press and ensuring fairness, particularly for victims of press intrusion to have a clear right of redress.


I will continue to support you and the work of the Government as you move forward. Ensuring the best future for the people of Basingstoke has been my priority throughout the last nine years. Whether on the front or back benches of the House of Commons I will continue this work.


The only reason I was able to become an MP and indeed a government minister and cabinet minister is because of the unstinting support of my husband, my mother, my father and my three children. I owe them all a great deal.


Maria Miller




http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/apr/09/maria-miller-resigns-as-culture-secretary-over-expenses-row

bloody good job ...... a totally disgraceful episode that has been appallingly handled by all sorts of people who should know better

Yep but what about the paying back of this £40 grand that she got away with.

Its not over yet for the government.

Indeed gf, and where is Inspector Knacker of the yard?


fraud is fraud, or at least it is in the outside world.

Yes well said.

We want our money back as tax payers.

And thats the VERY LEAST............................

anyone hear on SKY NEWS last night how Camorons own web site that receives these 100,000 signed petitions that have to be heard in the House of commons kept deleting the one I put up here on this thread yesterday with well over 100,000 signatures.

Is Camoron playing God now??????????????

Milliband should attack him immediatly on this alone in PMQs today.

Its a farce if he gets away with it, dont forget the petition called for her to be prosecuted.

GF

You say : "anyone hear on SKY NEWS last night how Camorons own web site that receives these 100,000 signed petitions that have to be heard in the House of commons kept deleting the one I put up here on this thread yesterday with well over 100,000 signatures."

Sorry, what do you mean? Can you please explain this again?

Right a job is done, but if she has "fiddle" the books, the money should be paid back and allow her to move on.

I think she price paid the price of her vanity!

--------


Are any of you fed up with the BBC coverage of th Pistoriius Trial.

I have never watched so much Aljaserra and RT.


Interessting contrast though.


GF,

Better luck in the market today.

-------

Cynic,

Are you advertising a tight arse?

--------

only when picking up the soap when in the company of some :-)

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

maria miller
what natural justice dictates and what is set by her peers are clearly at more than at considerable variance
it highlights why MPs are clearly incapable of policing themselves, not least because I gather that the lay members of the committee aren't even allowed to vote

Good luck with that one Exec!

Update - Labour lead at 4
by YouGov in Politics
Wed April 9, 2014 6 a.m. BST

Latest YouGov / The Sun results 8th April - Con 33%, Lab 37%, LD 10%, UKIP 13%;

The prosecuting attorney has shown the court a video of Pistorius shooting at and completely explosively blowing up a melon at a shooting range.

In the video clip, Pistorius also explodes, with utter delight at his achievement.

Then to the total amazement of everyone, the attorney also shows a picture on the monitor of Reeva's head, the top of which has also been blown to bits during the shooting in the flat. The image is gross! It is utterly shocking! The attorney then asks Pistorius to look at it and admit and accept responsibility for what he has done.

Pistorius screams back that he doesn't have to look at the picture. He says, "I was there! I know what it looked like!"

I guess we all know that the prosecuting attorney is going to try to make Pistorius lose his temper or his cool. This was an illustration of just how far he is going to go in order to do just that.

Will Oscar Pistorius manage to maintain his discipline? I wonder.

The court was temporarily adjourned to allow Pistorius to regain his composure. There are numerous breaks and pauses in this case to do just that. The time wasted doing this, is beginning to be well past a joke and a phenomenal waste of the court's resources.

Wonga payday loan ad banned for implying 5853% rate was 'irrelevant'






Rob Williams Author Biography


Wednesday 09 April 2014


A television advert for the payday loans company Wonga has been banned for implying the 5853% interest rate was "irrelevant".



The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) agreed with 31 complainants who claimed the ad confused viewers about the applicable interest rate on a Wonga loan, implied that the representative APR was irrelevant to a short-term loan and was irresponsible because it encouraged consumers to disregard the representative APR and thereby trivialised the decision to take out a short-term loan.

The advert featured a conversation between two puppets, who said: "Right, we're going to explain the costs of a Wonga short-term loan.

"Some people think they will pay thousands of per cent of interest. They won't of course - that's just the way annual rates are calculated. Say you borrowed £150 for 18 days, it would cost you £33.49."


more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/wonga-payday-loan-ad-banned-for-implying-5853-rate-was-irrelevant-9247960.html

Reeva's mother was warned about the picture and evidently wanted it to be shown so that Pistorius had to look at it. I agree with you ExecLine about all the time wasting going on so that Pistorius can regain his composure.

Apologies,

A bit late like the PM.

But I was told by haze that all was going as planned!

Mind he was up all night!




PS.

Did you pay for that banquet?

Old News back from 2006. Is it still valid? Is it already happening on here?

Human species 'may split in two'
Different human sub-species predicted by Dr Oliver Curry
Humanity may split into an elite and an underclass, says Dr Curry
Humanity may split into two sub-species in 100,000 years' time as predicted by HG Wells, an expert has said.
Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics expects a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass to emerge.

The human race would peak in the year 3000, he said - before a decline due to dependence on technology.

People would become choosier about their sexual partners, causing humanity to divide into sub-species, he added.

The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative and a far cry from the "underclass" humans who would have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures.

Race 'ironed out'

But in the nearer future, humans will evolve in 1,000 years into giants between 6ft and 7ft tall, he predicts, while life-spans will have extended to 120 years, Dr Curry claims.

Physical appearance, driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility, will improve, he says, while men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises.

Women, on the other hand, will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features, he adds. Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people.

However, Dr Curry warns, in 10,000 years time humans may have paid a genetic price for relying on technology.

Spoiled by gadgets designed to meet their every need, they could come to resemble domesticated animals.

Receding chins

Social skills, such as communicating and interacting with others, could be lost, along with emotions such as love, sympathy, trust and respect. People would become less able to care for others, or perform in teams.

Physically, they would start to appear more juvenile. Chins would recede, as a result of having to chew less on processed food.

There could also be health problems caused by reliance on medicine, resulting in weak immune systems. Preventing deaths would also help to preserve the genetic defects that cause cancer.

Further into the future, sexual selection - being choosy about one's partner - was likely to create more and more genetic inequality, said Dr Curry.

The logical outcome would be two sub-species, "gracile" and "robust" humans similar to the Eloi and Morlocks foretold by HG Wells in his 1895 novel The Time Machine.

"While science and technology have the potential to create an ideal habitat for humanity over the next millennium, there is a possibility of a monumental genetic hangover over the subsequent millennia due to an over-reliance on technology reducing our natural capacity to resist disease, or our evolved ability to get along with each other, said Dr Curry.

He carried out the report for men's satellite TV channel Bravo.

The morlocks are here already, just look at the inmates in the house of commons.