saintbletch

Darth Maul is bad at golf.

Mr Bump giving a statement to a police officer following a multi-car pile up on the M4

Did you realise that Dubai_Phil is an anagram of "I phail, bud"? BTW I did reply to one your interesting and teasing golf posts, asking you to dish the dirt on some golfing matter or other, but you ignored me (Although I can't find the post in question at the moment, so maybe I dreamt it.) You were going through a "head canted at a funny angle with back of hand pressed to forehead whilst muttering 'nobody loves me anymore' " period at the time. We love you Phil, but, and I think I speak for TMS as a whole here, we just hate golf.

Shut it, "Licks a hot man"! BTW Nobody will beat Owl Flyd's Balti Stench.

Thanks for taking the time to express your opinions in a bit more detail, trousers. It's so much better than reading glib and provocative posts on what are complex and sensitive issues. I stopped posting in here a while back simply because I see so much grey where others see white or black, and it therefore takes me a long time to properly articulate my thoughts. I've been reading a lot of political theory in recent months, and so I've been drawn back in... I also follow your logic, and feel that I would be in the same boat regarding wanting to do something of value. I volunteer to help teachers and kids learn how to code with my spare time, and I'm finding my choice very rewarding. However, as verbal mentioned below, I struggle to see how you, as someone who I don't think would mind being described as a pragmatist on the right of the political spectrum, cannot see that the impact of such a policy is economic intervention in the employment market with indirect financial support for business. In the case of the bloke in pap's article, this doesn't appear to be the sort of intervention that is designed to fix a broken market (quantitative easing, etc.), but instead it looks like intervention to help a broken company to limp on when market forces would otherwise dictate its death. And when the bloke uses the only leverage he has to point out this ugly contradiction - the withdrawal of his labour, he is sanctioned. Such a policy must also surely alter the dynamic* in the job market for minimum wage workers? Work effort, supplied by the state without cost, can now be turned directly into profit by the company without any obligation to use that increased profit to provide real, paid, full-time employment. That just sounds wrong, to me. Apart from an increased corporation tax yield, that profit finds its way into the pockets of the owners of the business; be they individuals, shareholders, etc. So that's government money, ultimately being paid to (presumably) already relatively wealthy people, whilst at the same time ensuring that there are fewer paid jobs in the market. That just sounds wrong to me. I'd likely support such a system that was a proven conveyor belt for taking those that had found themselves out of work for some time, through this sort of scheme and into the bountiful lands of full-time employment, whilst at the same time ensuring that those businesses that had been suckling at the government profit-nipple, were weaned off. But that is not the case here. *I'd acknowledge that I don't know how much impact this policy is having on the job market. **I'm assuming that the bloke in the article is otherwise genuinely looking for work, and is protesting on a point of principle. You can be sure that when verbal and pap join forces (pap and verbal sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G...), then you're on the wrong side of some supreme, elemental force. My advice would be to back down. But I'm not sure that your Mum is right, trousers. I do think posting in here requires that you've got to spend the time to flesh out your nuanced, multi-layered and sometimes contradictory thoughts on a subject, or you risk being christened the nasty poster.

I don't know mon petit "La Shitcok Man", but I did hear that Porsche is looking to grab Volkswagen Bora hole in her. If you know what I mean! *If you do, please tell me as I don't. I am going to stop now.

Dodge Viper. I will, don't you worry. I've never liked snakes.

That's rich coming from you - anal shit mock. I will stop now, as I'm off to the cinema with "Volk" and his bird. When I get back I'll tell you all about Volkswagen Up!

Apparently "Volk's" bird had a limb wasting disease when she was young. Please keep that to yourself, don't tell anyone about Volkswagen Polo.

I've just had my footballer mate "Volk" on the phone in tears, telling me that his bird has run off with a guitar legend. So it's true about Volkswagen Santana then... [Did I tell you the one about the Volkswagen Tenuous?]

I'm mates with that footballer "Volk", and the other day he and I, his daughter and his bird all went for a drink. Volk and I had a beer, and Volkswagen Sharan each had a Coke. I think I'm going to stop now.

Unfortunately we found that we were sexually incompatible because she's got a Mini Hatch.

Would Mitsubishi? I guess it depends what bishi had done.

Triumph Dolomite, but I wouldn't count on it.

Dumb Bear. That makes no sense. 308 5 doors. Did he? Must have been hungry.

Daihatsu, die! *Toke will no doubt pop-up and correct my pronunciation. Undousuru, Toke-Kun.

That's surely not the right answer, but I'm glad to hear it. I was just surprised at how quickly pragmatism overcame your sadness to suggest... Perhaps you've read more about him than I? Perhaps you know that he isn't actively looking for work, but is instead happy to stay at home and watch daytime TV? If so, then I can understand your comment. If not, then you might look like you were dismissing the sad situation a fellow human being finds himself in, just so you could trot out a popular pejorative.

Serious questions, and I promise not to judge you by your answer - well perhaps a little bit, but when you read comrade pap's posts, what emotion did you feel toward the man in article? Surely the crazed dogs of capitalism come in the night to take down and devour the carcases of the slow and weak? It just goes out of business, doesn't it? I'm not sure that it's completely on to have Marie Antoinette's cake and eat it.

A Ford Probe? Well, it depends how much it is.

Maybach? If you want.

The Renault 4? They're innocent!

Cortina! Agreed. She's hot.

General Motors! Does he?

Audi! Well hello to you too.

Toyota? I'd prefer a real one.