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.

Stop swearing Fred!

Tab,

Sorry.

It is your round and I need a bad drink badly.

Fredthere is no such thing as a bad drinkI nearly fell of my Chez Lounge

Know anyone who doesn't shave too frequently?
Do they look a bit scruffy?
Is their appearance significant of something else?

Hmmm? Well, how about "Do they wash their sheets and if so, how often can they be bothered to do it?"

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/....

Britain's dirty bedrooms: some people 'wash their sheets three times a year'
17 Feb 2010

Half a million dirty Britons wash their bed sheets only three times a year, a survey discloses laying bare the disgusting bedroom habits of the nation.

One in six people also admitted waiting at least a month before washing their bed sheets.

Experts say up to ten per cent of the weight of an unwashed pillow can be made up of dead skin and mites, with a dirty bed having about ten million bedbugs.

It would come as no surprise to most mothers but under 25s were found to have the dirtiest bed sheets with one in 10 admitting to washing theirs only six times a year.

In contrast, house-proud over 55s air their dirty laundry on average three times a month.

Londoners were the worst culprits when it comes to unwashed bedding, the survey of 1,029 men and women from across the UK, found.

The capital was closely followed by Brits in the North East, and the South West, also keeping dirty sheets on their bed for more than a month.

Dr Lisa Ackerley, Environmental Health Practitioner, said unwashed sheets were a breeding ground of disease.

"An unsavoury (amount) of the British population regularly enjoy a bite to eat in bed... with over 500,000 Brits washing their bedding just three times a year.

"It's estimated that 10 per cent of the weight of a two year pillow is comprised of dead skin and dust mites - so it's no surprise that your bed can become a minefield of bacteria, viruses, sweat and hair which can cause or exacerbate asthma.

"Beds are a prime habitat for dust mites."

She said America's Environment Health and Safety Online found a typical used mattress had anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside.

"Washing your bedding takes time and effort but to reduce levels of unwanted organisms and mites, you need to wash your bed linen at least once a fortnight - preferably once a week," she said.

Jacky Brown, of Sheilas' Wheels home insurance, which conducted the study, said: "With the cold weather making our beds more irresistible than ever, Brits are currently spending more than 49 hours a week sleeping in.

"The bed is one of the most used and expensive items in the home - so it's astonishing that more Brits aren't keeping it clean.

"With many beds being used as an alternative to the kitchen table for a place to breakfast or snack, it is crucial homeowners have accidental damage cover in the event of a major spillage."

She added: "The average person forking out up to 1,020 on their beds, an unpleasant 10 million(4) bed bugs and dust mites sleep alongside you every night."

Regions with the dirtiest bed sheets:

1. London (24 per cent)

2. North East (22 per cent)

3. South West (21 per cent)

4. East Midlands (19 per cent)

= 4. South East (19 per cent)

6. North West (18 per cent)

= 6. West Midlands (18 per cent)

8. Wales (17 per cent)

9. Eastern England (16 per cent)

10. Scotland (15 per cent)

11. Yorkshire (13 per cent)

12. Northern Ireland (8 per cent)

Note: per cent based on those washing their bedding just once a month or less frequently.

Source: Sheilas' Wheels Home Insurance

Exec ,after reading that i'm just putting mine in the machine :-(

We change ours twice per week and, since there are an odd number of days in the week, do it regularly and habitually on Mondays and Fridays.

We use a Washer-Drier, but for the bedding, which is polycotton (in W-D Machine language this is called 'Synthetic'), we rarely use the Drier facility. When the cycle has finished it is removed from the washer and draped over a chrome John Lewis clothes airer sited in the en-suite bathroom of our second bedroom. Within three hours it is dry. It is then 'expertly' folded, without ironing (it doesn't need it, being polycotton) and goes onto its own neat stack (at the bottom) in the airing cupboard ready for use. On a fine day, the bedding will go outside onto the clothes line to be freshened and aired. When it is fully dry and ready to be brought in, well, if you bury your face into it and breathe in deeply through it, it smells absolutely fantastic.

I married a wife, you see, not a mistress (*). I could be wrong, but I think she's a sort of 'Tess Daly lady' not a 'Posh Spice lady', IYSWIM?

(*)IMHO, there are only two sorts of women: Wives and Mistresses.

Oh dear! I'm in big trouble! Apparently, the duvet cover and the fitted sheet are not ironed, but the pillow cases definitely are.

I must make a note to buy some more flowers. ;-)

Just seen an advert for a Crematorium in the Yellow Pages.

The first line reads, 'Our warm sympathetic assistance is assured'.
Still I suppose it could have been even more apt. They could have put, 'You are sure of a warm welcome'.

Well it made me smile.

Confirmed Suicide Letter Written By Joe Stack Austin Plane Crash Pilot

Prison Planet.com
Thursday, February 18, 2010

This is the now confirmed letter written by Austin plane crash pilot Joseph Andrew Stack, who is being named by officials as the perpetrator of a deliberate attack on a building in Austin which houses IRS offices. Stack was having problems with the IRS and in his letter writes about totalitarian regimes and taking on Big Brother.

This letter will undoubtedly by exploited by the establishment media and authorities to demonize Alex Jones, Ron Paul and his supporters, as well as Tea Party activists and 9/11 truthers.

The letter is reprinted in full below.

CNN: 1:47 p.m.: A message on a Web site registered to Stack appears to be a suicide note: If youre reading this, youre no doubt asking yourself, Why did this have to happen? the message says. The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. In the long message, the writer rails against the government and, particularly, the Internal Revenue Service.

-

If youre reading this, youre no doubt asking yourself, Why did this have to happen? The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isnt enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken. Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it. I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head. Exactly what is therapeutic about that Im not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy. Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all. We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers. Remember? One of these was no taxation without representation. I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood. These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a crackpot, traitor and worse.

While very few working people would say they havent had their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say.

Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when its time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this countrys leaders dont see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies. Yet, the political representatives (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the terrible health care problem. Its clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people dont get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.

And justice? Youve got to be kidding!

How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system? Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand. Yet, it mercilessly holds accountable its victims, claiming that theyre responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand. The law requires a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if thats not duress than what is. If this is not the measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is.

How did I get here?

My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early 80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having tax code readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful exemptions that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the best, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the big boys were doing (except that we werent steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.

The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where I learned that there are two interpretations for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.

That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their freedom and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.

Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of paying my dues), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.

On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I should digress somewhat to say that Im sure that I inherited the fascination for creative problem solving from my father. I realized this at a very young age.

The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker. Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement. All she had was social security to live on.

In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time. When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me). I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be healthier eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread. I couldnt quite go there, but the impression was made. I decided that I didnt trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.

Return to the early 80s, and here I was off to a terrifying start as a wet-behind-the-ears contract software engineer and two years later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.

For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section 1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax purposes. Visit this link for a conference committee report (http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommitteeReport) regarding the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section 530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services workers and their clients, read our discussion here (http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml).

SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.

(a) IN GENERAL Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

(d) EXCEPTION. This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.

Note:

another person is the client in the traditional job-shop relationship.
taxpayer is the recruiter, broker, agency, or job shop.
individual, employee, or worker is you.
Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but its not very complicated. The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d). Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave. Twenty years later, I still cant believe my eyes.

During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my pocket change, and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time. I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways driving to meetings and any and all of the disorganized professional groups who were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity. This, only to discover that our efforts were being easily derailed by a few moles from the brokers who were just beginning to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their freedom. Oh, and dont forget, for all of the time I was spending on this, I was loosing income that I couldnt bill clients.

After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a futile exercise. The best we could get for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they werent going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists). This immediately proved to be a lie, and the mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line; this, of course, was the intended effect.

Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle. If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.

Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks. Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s. Our leaders decided that they didnt need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that. The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco. However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to shore up their windfall. Again, I lost my retirement.

Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed. Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare. Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, special facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months. This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive. Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY! After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.

By this time, Im thinking that it might be good for a change. Bye to California, Ill try Austin for a while. So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done. Ive never experienced such a hard time finding work. The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages and this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesnt give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.

To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA. This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income. I filed no return that year thinking that because I didnt have any income there was no need. The sleazy government decided that they disagreed. But they didnt notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out. Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice.

So now we come to the present. After my experience with the CPA world, following the business crash I swore that Id never enter another accountants office again. But here I am with a new marriage and a boatload of undocumented income, not to mention an expensive new business asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle. After considerable thought I decided that it would be irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.

When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order. I had taken all of the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting. Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryls unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I didnt have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit. By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me.

This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented). Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone. The end result is well, just look around.

I remember reading about the stock market crash before the great depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything. Isnt it ironic how far weve come in 60 years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesnt have any say in it, elections are a joke) to cover their asses and its business-as-usual. Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get to die for the mistakes isnt that a clever, tidy solution.

As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone. The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this criticism rings equally true for all of the government. Nothing changes unless there is a body count (unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough). In a government full of hypocrites from top to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws.

I know Im hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand. It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isnt limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants. I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as many after. But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change. I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at big brother while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual wont continue; I have just had enough.

I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less. I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are. Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasnt so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.

I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, lets try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Joe Stack (1956-2010)

02/18/2010

Amities ? This most sad article echoes , or rather, reflects, many sentiments of mine own regarding those genocidal, rogue empire builders, called the USA . Most empires, as u all will know, go through 3 starkly different distinct stages ...( i ) War -a period in which savagery ,barbarism, and sheer naked cruelty prevail in subjugating the peoples of the soon to be empire ( II ) Civilization - an epoch period in which Trade and commerce flourish thearby releasing monies to promote both the sciences and the arts. During this time all the great works of literature,Philosopy, art, music,architecture,are written /painted /composed/ built thearby enriching the mind Likewise the Sciences,--Physics,chemistry,biology and engineering make giant strides. Technology and medicine makes equally massive strides thearby enriching life itself. ,,,( III ) Finally decadence- an age of rapid decline in which the state drowns in an orgy of luxury seeking ,bestial ,self forfillment,and and in doing so rips itself to shreds. The USA is the ONLY empire builder not to pass through those 3 stages .lt passed straight from barbarism where the gun made the law, to decadence ,and missed out the period of civilization. For the most part the USA is an utterly corrupt , $sick, decadent, hedonistic, self obcessed,self serving, arrogant police state where the money bags run the show by proxy while the congress and Senate dance all over what few rights one has remaining. ,..lt is a warmonger state. The worlds current policeman . A country utterly bereft of freedom {try and be different and you will pay dearly} , justice {witness the draconian 3 strike ruling, the death penalty and those langyuishing for many years on death row coupled with the crazy % of its citizens in clink.l pro the population } or EVEN simple common decency{ Healthcare - Most Americans reg.it as perfectly reasonable to allow 40 million of their fellow citizens to remain without access to health care- How can this be !!!!!! HOW ??? } .Now democracy, of course, is a hoary fable. A myth. Mere dogma that allows terrible attrocities to be commited in YOUR name.The stupid leading the even more stupid We must be stupid to put up with it all. ,lt is a mere word.Nothing more ;and nothing less .Ambigous at best; and at worst quite irrelavent and meaningless. A political abhoration to the proffesional bearocracy such as top civil servants such as Pernament secretaries ,, Privy cousellors, and their ilk , . Be it in Athens or Rome, London or Paris ,democracy has never existed .All exploited slavery you know .The only reason slavery in Britain, and later in the USA , was abolished was bcus all concerned saw the advantages of the slaves being free in that they could now be turned into consumers with both their paid labour and newly earnt capital being ruthlesly exploited- a double whammey , l believe..millions more wage slaves paying taxes and no longer housed, fed and watered by former owners .......Aww - The Americas . . But in the USA the word democracy has been taken to new lows - Richard Nixon was right .What man isnt corrupt? What man hasnt got his price.? Thats the American way ,,To win at all costs , The American dream The right to do juste what you want; and no matter how illegal or vile or both if you have the money you get away with it.........l detest the place . l dont understand the peoples way of thinking ,,,,,,,corruption,,guns,booze, drugs coupled with the dollar make for a heady brew ..,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,sssshheeeesh if i dont stop now ill get quite annoyed so ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but i juste HAD to get that out of my system !!!!!!!!! ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The article reg. the habits of Brits changing bed linen a mere twice a year made my skin crawl /. the very thought is quite disgusting. My g/f not only changes the linen and quilt tackle every day but then hoovers -on both wash and hoover mode - the matress itself. But one thing about you brits that really makes me feel sick is your use of lavatory paper-and not having a bidet to wash your bum after emptying your guts ...The real irony being that u quite rightly wash your hands after the fact but not your arses !!!! .....thas bizzarre to me !!. Admittedly the bidet is more apparent in Brit households nowadays but 20 years ago that was not the case. i even caught someone washing their feet in one. ...................

Sounds like your mouth is actually your arse, Frenchy.

Are you washing the correct item here in that bidet of yours?

:-)

FrenchDisconnection - I take it you are not on a crusade to win friends and influence people here? Nothing wrong with France, i'ts the French that's the problem springs to mind, however were 'British' and wouldn't dream of being so offensive. I heard twenty years ago that French females had hairy armpits is this still true?

French ,,i live in the USA and although i dont agree with
all their policies they are no worse than the UK ,, at least
they now have Obama ,,think Blair think Sarkosi ,,anyway
i live in SW Florida in tropical heat so i couldnt give a monkeys...

enchante de faire votre connaissance . moi c'est J...........Offensive ? Surely not. What do you mean ? When ? Was'nt intended. As reg your question . l have never met one personally but laws of averages suggest there must be one or two ( they must be hiding from me ) .l am in London so must ask ..ls it true that the only reason english girls have periods is to give other girls a chance ...hehe..?........

Frenchy :o)

What are you doing in London?

.

This could get into a heated debateso I will give my view of the Frenchand leave you all to fight it out
Parisians asidewho even the French dont likethe people of France are friendlyinterestinggeneroushelpfulintelligentand a pleasure to be around their children are well behaved and polite French do not perceive they would receive a warm welcome if they visited the UKwhich is true! I spend a lot of time in Southern France where I have many French friendswe have spoken on this very subject frequently over the years and laughed many timesI regularly see the Brits filling up their trolleys with cheap wine and Lager in the Supermarche.usually wearing a union jack football/tee-shirtthey talk extra loud.. big fat bas*ards that never say please or thank youin any language.they think it extremely clever to take the pissthen go on to blame the French for being ignorantoh dear!if us Brits tried that little bit harder to successfully master French livingyou would find a welcome with open armsand a kiss both sides of the cheek in the SudI adore their family valueseven the Scruffy charm and aroma of a French Bar-Tabac has a wonderful
Atmospheretheir sophistication is apparent at all times.the problem iswe are the ones that need educating!!!!!

BTWI am not The French Connection.that is either Euro Tunnel or another posteronce again you are wrong about me Peterask him yourself?

I have just recd this from an accountant,headed,'' another sleazy imposition temporary levy on fuel duty''.

Stealth Tax VAT on petrol

Please pass this to as many people as you think might care! ... It is just one more example of a government that appears to operate by the devious working of the convenient before ethical principle.

You may recall that when VAT was temporarily reduced to 15%, the Chancellor temporarily added a 2% duty levy to fuel to offset the reduction in tax collected on fuel sales to motorists.

Now that VAT has been returned to 17.5% this [so-called] temporary levy on fuel duty has not been removed - Surely another stealth tax, hence the recent rise in the cost of fuel at the pumps. .

Please sign the petition at the link below requesting that this stealth tax be removed without delay!

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/DutyReduction/

Please pass this message on to your friends - the more signatures the better. Incidentally, let us look enviously across the Atlantic where the cost of fuel for motoring has recently been reduced across the United States. This must seem strange when recalling that Gordie B said that the U.K. was "better placed to stand the world economic downturn than any other G20 country". A pledge that, like dry ice, vanished with a whiff of gas and no other trace.

You may wish to make a note for your diary: There will be a televised broadcast of a formal fly past of flying pigs over Whitehall immediately following Alistair Darling's Budget Day fairytales, timed to draw attention away from his tales of the improbable, the impossible and the down-right untrue.

Happy motoring!

Tabby, I'll take your word for it, can't say fairer than that :-)

Can't see a problem re the temporary fuel tax staying. How else are the fiddling gits going to fund their pensions and expenses?