pap

Rickie didn't pay 2M to leave.

I've actually said the complete opposite regarding democracy on this thread. As constituted here, it's the chance to elect your dictators. Having 650 MPs each representing an area gives the enterprise a veneer of independent legitimacy, but in reality it makes no difference. The whip system keeps the ambitious in line, parties are still parachuting preferred political children into candidacy, even though the general public is dog sick with professional politicians. I'd also disagree that the monarchy does no harm. Front and centre, it says that some people are better than others. Now I'm not one of these idealistic lefties that actually believes everyone has equal potential in every area. I'm never going to be a basketball superstar; Michael Jordan probably has little interest in computer programming. I've got no problem with someone being better than anyone if it's based on merit. Can you honestly say that Prince Charles is the most meritorious candidate for head of state? The best this country has? Hardly. And that for me, is the big problem with the monarchy as a concept. One family elevated above all others for no good reason, "it is the way it is" personified. You'd never employ anyone else these days on the basis of who their parents were and nowt else. An embarrassment, imo.

Whatever your views on the monarchy, there's surely an argument to be made that GSTQ is all about submission, and has almost nothing to say on the real force behind Britain's success; its people. History shows us to be a highly inventive society, whether it's industrial practice, exploration, science or sports. In thousands of years of monarchs, how many really stand out? Contrast that to the almost innumerable stream of British commoners that have made their impact on the world. The only part of GSTQ where the common man is even mentioned is in the fourth verse, which is all about one world government through the British Empire. The vast majority of it is about venerating the monarch and keeping her out of harm's way. It's entirely dismissive of the achievements of British people.

Why should anyone waste their money on a rigged game? The idea that soldiers and babies would die were mooted by the NO2AV campaign when the revolutionary idea that a parliamentary candidate should have the support of 50% of his or her constituents.

We live in a representative democracy without any right of recall. We have the right to vote in our dictators.

Arf! Love it.

Yeah, I normally have more to work with than four words. Oddly enough, the strongest thoughts I have about the Titanic centre around the ghastly tourist industries that have sprung up in Liverpool, Belfast and Southampton. Still, I very much enjoyed seeing your invitation; provides a lot of insight into mainstream "thinking". Do you want something on interdimensional lizard people? I've expressed doubts about 9/11 y'see. That means I have to believe in them! Hope your Sunday ends with a better finale than your Saturday, Gemmel

The Other Guys. Not a huge fan of a lot of US comedies, but enjoyed this gloriously stupid buddy cop movie. The comedy here really lies between the two star vehicles, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. They have some superb and very quotable banter. A to and fro in which pits lions vs tuna stands out. Game of Thrones this ain't. The movie also services a couple of running gags. Ferrell's character is inexplicably a babe magnet while Wahlberg's can't get laid. Michael Keaton makes a welcome appearance as a Police Chief that unwittingly references TLC songs. With effects being what they are these days, the over the top set pieces in this silly film look better than those in Lethal Weapon. Not a five star film by any means, but recommended nonetheless.

Well, I've been playing guitar for two weeks and would definitely say learning an instrument is worth it. Gemmel; was kinda like you. The enormity of how much there is to learn and overcome put me off for years. However, what really spurred me on this time was foreknowledge that with enough practice, most stuff becomes automatic. I've been organically touch typing for the last ten years without any kind of formal training. I'm near a keyboard 24/7 - just got good. Same thing applies with the guitar. Day one I was all over the place. At the end of week one, was able to find most of the major chords. At the end of week two, it takes me less than a minute to switch between them So yep; I'm still an utterly shíte guitar player, but working it into most stuff I'm doing and slowly getting better. Very encouraged by how much has clicked in the first couple of weeks, and it's a decent way to spend time. P'raps it's a hallmark of being middle aged, but I'm keenly aware of how I spend my time these days. This really doesn't seem like a waste of it.

Any of the antonyms for gullible, I suppose. Have you got the old priest and the young priest yet? I've heard we need both of them.

Someone who bends the knee. A subject. A supplicant. Worse quality than the monarchy, and knows it too.

Two reasons:- 1) Much of the university is horrid sixties build. Imagine how uninspiring that'd be. Living in one of England's prettiest cities, yet trudging along every day to sit in its worst buildings. 2) Some of the staff are reported to be complete tossers that spit on the provincial dunderheads that they're supposed to serve.

Speak for yourself, kneeler. We're not all stuck in stardate -382528.58299812785, y'know.

Never pegged you for a "kneeler", whelk. You live and learn.

It's a shít national anthem if you're not particularly arsed about gods or queens.

Well, turns out that England were even shíttier than I thought. Undone by two goals from a supposedly unfit striker, that in both cases, managed to find enough space to score. Spent much of last night calling pretty much the entire team and management names. Probably fitting that Rooney scored the goal. For the most part, it was a team performance of his individual headless chicken routine. Sterling's hair-do actually makes him look a bit like a rooster, so the image was difficult to shake. Substitutes were wánk; quite why anyone thinks Barkley is the answer in a game you're losing is beyond me. Fairly clear that England could have done with Lallana a lot earlier in the game. As it was, Barkley didn't work out so Lallana and Lambert were thrown on in frustration. Didn't get any sense of a plan or a style. It was reactive, unimaginative boll*cks and if we finish the group with nil point, no-one is going to be surprised. Please get Gerrard and Rooney out of the fkn team.

Brave calls required now. Nowt to lose.

Oh FFS. Andy "Paddy" Townshend.

Yeah, I'm Paul over on the Liverpool Echo site. Most other places too.

See "Wayne Rooney".

Campus is Edgbaston, which isn't as shít as some areas you could wind up in.

The interpretation differs, but most frequently, a Chairman is a figurehead and the public face of the company.

It is a game of potential death! I'm not too worried. I've seen this loads of times before, beginning in Mexico 1986 when England were beaten 1-0 by Portugal. England normally get into their stride in the second game, something they need to do tonight. Comparisons with the Spain game are bound to be drawn pre-game, and no doubt the neutrals will be salivating at another big team chopped down to size. It could happen, but let's not forget that Spain got mullered in their first game and didn't really have an answer for Chile's pressing last night. By contrast, England came out losers in a tightly fought contest with Italy. From Uruguay's perspective, they've now got to get results against two big teams. Much will depend on their state of mind. They might have expected to come into this fixture with three points in the bag, whereas realistically, England always knew they could be coming into this game empty handed. Maybe we're better mentally prepared.

It's mostly a clash of cultures in my view. I don't think it matters that much. Power is no longer invested in one man as it was in the days of NC, which is why I'm not too worried about Ralph being about. The organisation will soon make a judgment as to the efficacy of his initiatives. The club is now structured so that it would not implode if we did lose a Chairman. In that sense, we've made quite a bit of progress

Fighting the good fight http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-hoping-third-time-lucky-7291245