pap

Suppose it depends on whether you take people at face value or not. Before the election, Cameron tried to portray himself as a compassionate tree-hugging cyclist. Post election reality a bit different, isn't it?

He wasn't one of them:-

I dunno Hypo, there's a comment on the Guardian piece listing all the dictators who started out as funny chaps. Long list, which does give me a little bit of pause. Apparently a lot less jolly when he does his mayoral question time too. There are large suspicions that the fella might be a wolf in the attire of a buffoon.

Boris for PM stories all over the media at the moment:- Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/03/long-shot-boris-johnson-going-gold Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9449612/Is-Boris-Johnson-serious-When-it-comes-to-No-10-the-answer-is-deadly-so.html Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/andrew-grice/andrew-grice-does-boris-want-to-be-the-pm-yes-and-his-team-is-already-trying-to-make-it-happen-8005960.html The FT is also running something, but it's behind a paywall. I think we can interpret this sudden rash of Boris for PM stories as a sign that Johnson's people are actually going for it.

Seconded. Let's hear the hypo hits.

Disappointed that you were not performing in a Dougie Howser MD-type role.

Chatted to my granddad about this last night. He's from Karachi and is a bit of a poster boy for integration. He occasionally likes to pretend he holds extreme views and/or blame all the world's ills on liberalism, especially if there is a fair chance it'll wind me up. Anyway, I asked him where the pressure comes from in situations like this. Why is it that people are prepared to kill their kids in order to save honour? A lot of it is rooted in the culture of arranged marriage. Pakistani families place great stock in their children ( I did try to suggest it was only girls - but was quickly shot down on that ) not being "damaged goods" in these arrangements. Consequently, girls who adopt Western ways of thinking are big problems to the honour of traditional Pakistani families. When a girl from a Western background sleeps around, yeah, some people will probably gossip about it. There may even be some fallout if she's cheating on a partner, etc. However, unless her family have had a long history of being wrong'uns, any stigma, whether you think that correct or not, falls only on her. If a Pakistani girl does the same thing, she turns her family into contract-breakers and the sort of people who can't raise a child in the traditional way. Traditional communities are pretty tight-knit, and in some cases, can account for the vast majority of social contact. The Ahmeds obviously thought that remaining unblemished and within their community was worth more than the life of their daughter. I should point out that I don't agree with any of the reasoning here - just passing on information from someone closer to the issue. My view? Logically, this is something that can only really happen in the hardcore traditional community. I think it's slightly cynical that news of the sentencing has been folded into the general chaos of the Olympics. This won't get much air-time, and that's a shame - it's an issue that needs to be prominent. This will be big news in the Asian community whenever it lands, so I'm very pleased with the minimum 25 year sentences. Eyebrows have been raised over the sentencing of the mother, but it does send out a powerful message to any mothers who may be keeping silent - if you let this happen you're as culpable as if you made this happen.

How have you found getting parts for Alfas? Mate of mine spent three months chasing a turbo.

Never used to post much in S4E. I don't actually think a 12 year old nipper reading a footy forum is all that weird. Most nippers I knew at that age were interested in footy, and twelve years olds of today use stuff like Tumblr and Facebook all the time. Twelve year old nipper posting on a footy forum isn't actually that weird either. We all think we know everything at that age. Once again, I am both amused and disappointed to see two thirty-somethings bullying someone who is still in his teens, but hey, it's Friday night and there's a recession on. What else are you going to do? ( Apart from knock one off, obviously ).

Definitely agree on the low cost, not so sure about the 'free'. If they did a family ticket at £20, that'd be a good day or night out. Even if they gave away tickets to schools, etc - would be a good thing. Really though, it'll get as much respect as the media are prepared to give it, or to quote Phoneshop - "man say he's a ting, he's a ting". Not necessarily saying that it should be front page news, but I really hope they make a big thing of the later stages, particularly any final.

That's a good shout, gaz. I'm not really a car person, but have just had a look. That is a very tidy car for the money. What sort of lifespan do they have, mileage wise?

They should market this league in a similar way to College Sports in the US. I wouldn't mind watching it; up and coming players. The trick is convincing people its worth their time by telling them they're seeing the stars of the future.

Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed will both serve a minimum of 25 years for the murder of their daughter Shafilea. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/03/shafilea-ahmed-parents-guilty-murder Shocking business; tragic case of culture clash and people having their priorities set so very wrong.

Was reading the comments page on the Guardian's piece on Gabrielle Douglas. In the original article, the author used the word "niggardly" in the correct context. Small crapstorm happened on the comments page. One of the commentators mentioned that US broadcasters don't use the word anymore because most people who hear it out loud aren't educated enough to know what it means, and think it's something else. That's a bit annoying.

Nope, I'd probably glare at them. I've actually sat in a restaurant though, when two parents were obviously keen on "explaining" stuff to their kids. Biggest pair of numpties I've ever seen in my life. For a start, their kids didn't even need disciplining - yet they brayed through the entire breakfast explaining why "something was wrong" or telling them that they were being "very naughty". It's good to know that in a similar situation, you'd have the courtesy to walk out and spare people your technique. I feel more confident about eating in restaurants, for one.

I just wanted to know if you did, to be honest. So do you do all of that if your child is misbehaving in a restaurant?

I went to school with Kurlie. True story.

Name one, then.

The problem with evidence from other countries is not the evidence itself, Frank's Cousin, but its applicability here. From your post, you seem to be correlating the no smacking laws in Germany with their lower rates of youth crime. If I wanted to play the data from other countries game, I'd point you in the direction of Singapore, which still has corporal punishment in schools, has a punitive approach to violent crimes and one of the lowest crime rates in the world. There are a number of reasons for higher incidences of youth crime here. I doubt it's because some parents smack their kids.

It's a good post, but it doesn't really answer my question. You keep saying that there are plenty of ways and that people manage to raise their children perfectly well without having to slap them. I know this from my own experience. As I have been at pains to point out, it has been an extremely infrequently used sanction. The vast majority of the time, it just isn't necessary. Your continued point about the legality of smacking in other countries is a little naive, in that your points seem to presume that because it's illegal, it doesn't go on. Chances are that there are parents still hit their kids, only now they get to dovetail it with a bit of emotional blackmail ( "don't tell anyone" ). I think that's a potentially worse recipe for trouble. Our laws, clearly delineating the difference between discipline and assault, are better in that respect, unless you want to put people in jail for slapping their kid's arses when they've been naughty. That's the problem with your position, if I'm completely honest. There's no room for discretion. You're also so entrenched in your position that you're probably missing the fact that your personal morals aside, physical sensation is something we all learn from. Unless you're a complete idiot, you'll only burn yourself on a hot pan once in your life. That pan won't take you aside and explain that touching it is a bad idea, but you will learn from the pain and hopefully emerge a wiser person. I'm not really going to launch into a passionate defence of smacking, hitting, or whatever you want to call it - because I'm not a believer in it as a matter of course. But I have no regrets about slapping my kids at the times I have. They have never been beaten, and I've never been personal about it. In my opinion, what it achieved was an immediate cessation to the events going on at the time, plus gave them something to think about if they ever tried something similar again. Once again, still waiting for the norwaysaint school of parenting, with specifics.

I recognise this reference. Patrick Marber's security guard in The Day Today

Like many others, I learned to swim in Southampton Central baths. Used to go before and after the revamp. The biggest changes were probably them halving the large pool and putting the flumes in. During school holidays, would often spend the entire day there. Seemed to be no end of stuff to keep you busy ( basically because bombing never gets old ). Oddly enough, don't think I've ever been to the Quays.

Pretty much every footy website is busy. I refer sir to the earlier post about footy websites being little more than a home for ads. Now, that being the case, it looks good for a football site.

Tons better than the last one. That's from a professional, as well