buctootim

The current system of funding political parties encourages cash for questions, access, honours and a degree of influence in policy shaping. Its always been tacitly understood inside Westminster (and by those making the payments). The only difference now is that Murdoch has shone a light to it in revenge for the loss of his own influence and the public have decided it stinks

Because the alternative is worse imo. Better that the taxpayer pays a relatively small amount (a few 10s of millions pa) than having a government which is in hock to special interests, trade unions, businesses with an agenda or rich people after a knighthood.

People do care DD - but its not just a Tory party thing, it applies to all parties equally. What Cruddas said is true, and all parties know it. The really worrying thing is Cameron lied, saying it wasnt party policy to let people buy access. Thats not true and everyone knows it not true. People buy knighthoods and honours and access and contribute to policy development, either with money or 'loyal party service' in some other way. Business people pay for access. Indeed if a company didnt get something in return for its donation the CEO would be under fire by shareholders. The whole issue of honours, access and party funding stinks. The electorate should bite the bullet and introduce state funding.

I thought this was a thread about the players, honourable exception for Morgan.

Phil's Maryland Chicken Other people's Maryland chicken

Reckon we are as good as promoted now. Just bashing it out for 1st or 2nd.

Some games its great to go a goal behind, but not this one

means you've been in the shed with the nuns and the fags (English ones, not American)

Beautiful day. Wish I was there. Going to switch off the pc, get and the stream on the phone and listen to the game in the garden.

Would you take a Saints win today or an hour upstairs with the fit neighbour? Bye Saints. Hope you go up anyway.

You could run Pompey with an outlook like that.

Thats what CPR is designed to do - stop brain and tissue damage until they can be revived - but its not normally as effective as a proper heart beat and drawing breaths. The guys who did the CPR on Muamba must have been top notch. Normally if someone had been 'dead' for that long they would be unrevivable. One very lucky guy.

Isnt the minimum price per unit aimed at supermarkets? It would be no bad thing imo to raise the price and effectively narrow the price differential between drinking tescos white cider in a park and drinking with friends in a bar.

I dont know what system of allowances, offsets etc were available back then so its impossible to compare. I dont think anyone seriously advocates going back to those punitive tax rates. Im happy with a top rate of 40% if all the dodges, employee benefit trusts, discretionary blind trusts, taking income as dividends, offshoring, non dom, Cayman islands accounts and general cheating were dealt with.

Interesting. Two different ways you can interpret that. 1. When the top rate was 98% the wealthy hid, offshored income or physically moved overseas to avoid paying 2. Britain is now a much more unequal society where the top 1% are far richer than they were 40 years ago. I suspect its a bit of both. Most interesting aspect of taxation is how corporation taxes have declined over the years as a percentage of total tax take and personal income taxes have risen. Corporation tax now makes up only around 8.5% of tax take compared with around 20% historically. Some reasonably interesting tax date here .http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/apr/25/tax-receipts-1963#data

Meaning he is looking for responses to give his life purpose and you should stop feeding him.

Have you seen this new film? Cracking story about a Swedish woman who drank a bottle of wine, smoked two joints, snorted two lines of speed and then went for a kebab.

I dont know whether he can become faster / more agile / hold up better / score more goals. I'd be happy if he made the effort to smile occasionally in OS interviews.

I guess Saint Scooby fixes them http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?35825-Wanted-damaged-screen-devices&p=1272682#post1272682

I blame the weather. Binge drinking tends to be associated with northern climes where people have a more indoor existance. Alaska, Finland, Russia, small town Sweden isnt really any different to here - except people tend to drink at home more rather than go out and drink.

As in 'Birch said there was nothing happening on the buyer front' or as in 'Birch didnt mention anything about a buyer for Pompey during their chat about something else'?

Exactly. Great writer, very creative but poor at socialising with her peers and could never hold down a full time job.

Third hand mostly. My ex and a very good friend since university are both teachers in the state system. They have taught kids whose parents who brought them into the state system after time in Montessori (or vice versa). I know this because a few years ago we discussed options for educating our so and daughter. She was pretty down on Montessori and friend backed it up - despite them both being arty creative types and not rule bound. Consensus was they're not bad schools, just not really equipping kids for reality of the qualifications then get a good job model we all (mostly) work to.

Are you fit and available

Its cheaper than Andrex.