Hamilton Saint

This oft-expressed argument that 'My parents hit me and it never did me any harm is nonsense' - especially when it's followed by the statement 'So now I hit my kids, too.' The harm it did you was to persuade you that it was a legitimate and effective method of discipline. Think about it; the worst experiences you had in childhood with ineffective teaching were the ones where you were physically abused. [some of you may be too young to have had teachers who hit you, pulled your sideburns, threw chalk at you, etc.] The best discipline you received was not based on punishment and hitting at all, it was based on love, respect and knowledge. Good teaching and good parenting is based on respect, not fear and punishment. And, of course, pyschological abuse is even worse than physical abuse.

I suggest you begin and end those two paragraphs with quotation marks; that way, we know immediately that they're a quote from The Telegraph, rather than opinions of your own.

Another complaint about using a noun as a verb. "Hemingway's advice impacted on the writing of Martha Gellhorn." Impact is a noun. Write it this way: "Hemingway's advice had an impact on the writing of Martha Gellhorn."

If I may quote Monty Python: "You're a cruel man - but fair!"

"In the real world". You hear that phrase a lot in educational institutions - schools, colleges and universities. It usually accompanies a criticism or insult!

And, of course, when someone begins a statement with the phrase "to be perfectly honest", you know they're about to lie or disimmulate; and when they start an opinion with "to be perfectly frank", you know they don't actually believe a word they're saying. Honestly.

Let's face it, the rational view, in the long-term, is that dealing with environmental degradation is in humanity's self-interest. But that realisation is then trumped by the short-term self-interest of those pushing the current system - they're driven by greed and the lust for power. And the philosophy or religious view that underlies their attitude is that human-beings have dominion over the planet; they believe that humans have the right, even the duty, to exploit all other animals, and to exploit all the natural resources available - regardless whether they're renewable or not.

The least said about your language, mate, the better!

Absolutely. But at the end of the day, the bottom line is this, peeps will be effected by crappola they hear all the times in the media. Peeps brains have literally begun to rot - as the content of the media has gotten more crass and vulgar. Innit, mush?

That's a Jamaican idiom.

The word medal is a noun not a verb, as I mentioned in a different thread. What you ought to write is: "If Daley doesn't get a medal there ...".

Not relevant? I see Mitt Romney was speaking in Israel a day or two ago. He was essentially encouraging their regime to bomb the nuclear facilities in Iran.

The CND was formed in 1957. The first Aldermaston march was in 1958. So the movement pre-dates the "flower power era" by about a decade.

The CND is a "swipe against the whole armed forces"? How do you reckon that, then?

McDonalds freaks?

He was Canadian - from small-town, rural Ontario. Might be described by some as a "rube", or a "hick". He might have been unsophisticated, but he was well-read and well-travelled.

Within living memory, has to be the Tin Man. How many games did we get out of him? Four? Five?

My father-in-law (R.I.P) used to refer to women as "gals". Guys and gals. What term would you prefer? Blokes? [Which, I just discovered, thanks to the COD, is a Shelta word.]

So, are you planning to be a "nattering nabob of negativity" for the whole f*ckin' Olympics?

"pre madonnas"? Amusing! Like St. Anne? prima donnas!

The latest political cliche, here, is saying "there needs to be a conversation about this issue", as opposed to a debate, or an argument. It sounds more civilised, apparently, but I find it an irritating example of 'weasel-words'. And then there's the American habit of referring to the public as "folks". And the right-wing habit of always calling citizens "taxpayers".

basically absolutely in terms of at the end of the day at this point in time the bottom line is

Semper ubi sub ubi.

Here are a few things I hate. 1) the use of nouns as verbs: "the team expects at least three members to medal at these games"; "a committee has been tasked with the job of ..."; 2) using a reflexive verb without the required direct object (a reflexive pronoun): "I am going to commit to four hours of practice a day" (should be "I am going to commit myself to four hours ..."); 3) piling up groups of nouns (using nouns as adjectives): "England football team coach"; "sports car production line costs"; 4) police officers who talk to the media with convoluted latinate phrases, instead of using straight-forward, colloquial forms: "We entered the domicile and apprehended the individual at that point in time after we had ascertained the likelihood that he might abscond from the premises".

The sequence with Simon Rattle conducting the LSO and seguing into Rowan Atkinson and then the footage from Chariots of Fire was brilliant! And the Queen with Daniel Craig - who would have expected anything like that. Fantastic!