pap

In my experience, stupidity isn't geographically constrained. Didn't really post that link so that you could have a go at my neighbours, but hey, at least you're not parroting the claims of your former employers and accusing them of stealing from and p*ssing on the corpses of their fellow fans during a football tragedy. Remains to be seen, really. The polls are telling a different story, and when the election rolls around, the opposition are going to have a laundry list of bad leadership and/or bad decisions to pull up.

Spot on. And let's face it, if the club were to be sold, how good does that look on Cortese's CV? As I've said before, he has done a tremendous job from a business investment point of view. Not only has he improved the club's stature, it looks like he may reach the five year plan target with a couple of years to spare.

As others have said, think an open mind is probably the best policy. FWIW, I thought the article was fairly well argued, but little that someone couldn't have come up with using a bit of common sense and deduction. Guess time will tell.

Many of the petrol stations in Liverpool are now closed.

Interesting. I wonder where they are getting their info from.

I take it you haven't heard of these new underground free schools. I thought you kept up, Jonnyboy. Disappointed now.

We owe a massive debt. When you look at the SISU crowd we could have got, we were amazingly fortunate to get the owners we did. Last three years have been my best as a Saints fan. Probably the highest compliment I can pay them.

I'm filing this firmly in the rumour category, but I don't share the view that the club will never be sold. Cortese has done very well in appointing the right people to change the direction of the club. If we do reach the Premiership this season, the club will be worth orders of magnitude more than it is now and we'll attract more suitors. My personal view is that we have done very well under Cortese's stewardship, but if you view the purchase of the club as a business investment, promotion to the Premiership constitutes a massive return on that investment. I'd like to see Cortese and the Liebherrs stick around but if the day ever comes, I just don't want a Man Utd never-never job. Change is always possible, and although the content of the OP is probably a sexy rumour, I think this possibility is still a worthy topic for discussion.

That is a pretty good shout, Johnny. With the supply dried up though, will the Fire Brigade have enough fuel to get their engines to those jerrycan-sparked conflagrations?

Which is all the more reason to stop burning oil when it has so many applications. I have little doubt that reliance on oil for automotive purposes could be eliminated in the next 20 years if there was the political will to do it. As I've almost certainly remarked before, oil is attractive to big business because there is money to be made at every step of its journey from the well to the pump.

I put Ubuntu onto all the machines in our house. I'm a fan of open source too, but within six months, everyone was begging me to reinstall Windows, partly because of familiarity, but mostly because of a lack of the software they want to use. Don't get me wrong - I personally love it, but I find it difficult to recommend to long-term Windows users for the reasons above, plus the fact that 90% of Linux-related content from users is "how do I do this thing I used to do easily in Windows in Linux".

Not only that, but he was refusing to directly withdraw his 'advice'. These boys do like to shoot from the hip.

I was planning on filling my car up this morning, but the Shell I would have used was coned off. Nipped out at around lunchtime, and though there weren't any queues, the place was full and the attendant told me they'd been like that all day. It really isn't nice paying 90 quid to fill up your car, and I suspect, not remotely sustainable. I expect we'll see food go up further (if it hasn't already). What's the situation with Iran at the moment? Sanctions fully applied? Be cheaper and a lot f**king easier if they sorted this Middle East lark out.

George Osborne famously said that the 2011 budget would put "fuel in the tank of the British economy". Spin on a year, and people are having trouble getting fuel into their own cars. There are reports from all over the country about people queuing for petrol. I'm going to Blackpool on Saturday, and was running on fumes today so took my car. Cost me 90 quid to fill up a 5-series. Francis Maude ( a destitute man's Mandelson, imo ) blundered into the story today when he suggested that people fill up a couple of jerry cans, presumably because he thinks we all live in places where such stuff can be safely stored. The PM has advised people to top up ahead of the strike. So, is the Government handling this correctly or triggering panic buying? If I were putting my conspiratorial head on, it is rather handy that we've got massive demand for fuel shortly after a rise in fuel duty

On another (related) note, I put 90 quid in the motor today. Tension over Iran is a factor.

Quite true. Massive difference between Judaism and Zionism ( there are many Jewish groups who actively rail against Zionism ). This little demo was staged three weeks ago.

Alps - what do you think would happen if Iran nuked another country? Would it work out well for them, do you think?

Sat and watched the Panorama documentary on Sky's relationship with NDS ( makers of TV encryption system ) and THOIC ( pirate website - The House of Ill-Compute ). Weirdly enough, remember this the first time it came up. It sounded dodgy then, and with the new revelations that Panorama uncovered, looks even dodgier now. If these allegations are proven, results could be disasterous for Murdoch's "fit and proper person" test.

Dude, most of them are 13 or 14!

BBC article from a while back. Gerald Howarth would like to see Gurkhas dispersed around the country in the manner of asylum seekers. I'd guess that this is just another broadside in that direction.

It is a bit highbrow, but I believe you will enjoy it. Ms pap sat and watched the whole thing in considerable discomfort ( the viewing took place in the pap-cave, which is not generously apportioned with furniture ), and she watches some right tawdry twaddle. Give it a go. PS - Subtitles are ace. Would much rather hear an actor who got an actual job rather than one relegated to bored translation, largely for the benefit of word-dodging ursine delinquents!

Always happy to learn something new, people! As a matter of interest, does the political levy always go to the same political party?

One of the compromises that is being floated is that individual union members will have the right to withdraw themselves from funding the Labour Party, or indeed - assign it to another. This would be a positive move. No-one can then say that the funding is being provided to the Labour Party in an undemocratic way. A good move, in my opinion.

Very pleased to hear it! It is a pretty smart film, which ekes out quite a bit of suspense when you have the clusters of kids littered about the place. Are these fellows really friends, or is your man on the left going to pull a chainsaw through the girl with the pigtails? Seeing as you've proven to be a cultured little bear, I shall recommend another Japanese film. Confessions. It's a revenge story concerning a teacher who suffered the death of her child. Authorities pin it down as an accident, but she believes her daughter was murdered, and that the perpetrator(s) is/re in her classroom Film plays out like a whodunnit with flashbacks, each one giving you a better understanding of what has really gone on. Awesome film. Really. Ahem. Are the SaintIcons©® inspired by our friends on the UI? They really like icons. Sometimes, the entire post is icons, and not SaintIcons©® either!

The problem of uncontrolled immigration is hardly a new one, but in this instance, it is especially visible due to the uniformity of ethnicity of those involved. Given time, these things sort themselves out. Hell, if the immigrants from former colonies were able to make a go of it then, when we were considerably more xenophobic, we should have no problem now. I'm not really sure that the MPs comments are helpful if he has no clear plan to address them. What's his endgame here?