dronskisaint

Oh dear - way, way too simplistic a view and too obviously gleaned from the pages of both the Mail and Sun but let's try and debunk the myth and try to lift the intellectual level of the discussion and add in a few non headline grabbing historical and philosophical truths? The most basic premise of socialism is not wealth distribution or lifting the poorest people up...even if you were trying to make the point valid surely you would have thrown in the word 'equal'? It's easy and cheap to trot out individual anecdotes of excess and I would not defend an MP from any party who abused their position yet one of your core arguments seem to be that it is expected of the Tories to cheat, rip-off and pillage both the parliamentary system and by logical thought process everything within their remit including the public purse and that's what a Tory voter should applaud?! I digress - basic difference is that socialism is about for the good of the people whereas conservatism is about for the good of the person - ergo...if a system benefits society on an equal basis or on the basis of equal opportunity then the likelihood is that it has Socialist foundations...let me offer the NHS and the State schooling system as examples. If the system is geared to making an individual better off in preference to the good of society in general then the odds are it has Conservative beliefs behind it...I give you the banking sector and the stock market as examples. Now - there has never been a fully Socialist nor a fully Capitalist based system in the history of politics that has worked...they have evolved, they have tried to have been put in place via revolutions but the only thing that history has proven is that neither can work on it's own and 'human nature' or 'natural progression' will always play a part and that there will always be strong leaders and greedy, power hungry exponents of both beliefs and the ebb and flow of this will lead the voting patterns of a country to the 'right' or 'left' but the reality will always be the blurred centre. Does anyone honestly believe that Blair was left wing? The difference in the philosophies however and the fact that he was a charismatic leader (coupled with the wide open own goals left in successive elections by the Tories as represented by Neil Hamilton, Jonathan Aitken and Harvey Proctor whilst your kicking anecdotal examples around) meant that employment went down, spending on the police, NHS and public services went up because that was the cornerstone of the Labour belief. Had Blair not taken the barely comprehensible decision to go to Iraq I suspect he would be viewed as a prime minister who achieved. It's difficult to make a comparison with the current coalition as they don't actually have a party mandate to govern so let the philosophical comparison be made with the Thatcher/Major governments whose majority was used to privatise the nationalised companies, sell council housing and steer the economy base toward a service and finance based model...all of which have massively benefited the shareholders who, coincidentally, are often their backers. Once again history has proven that this wasn't a great platform to build from and it could rightly be levelled that the unions had way too much power and influence in the seventies in particular but, philosophically, they were electedly representing a body of people not the wealth of an individual. I'm trying to keep this simple so let me make two points - one indisputable and one anecdotal. Indisputably the Tory of 100, 50, 20 years ago would view Cameron as a raving Bolshevik, Communist or whatever the jargon of the day would have been so the tide is only flowing one way...we no longer put kids up chimneys nor have workhouses - there is a safety net (granted abused by some) so the path towards greater care of the people has rightly, in terms of basic humanity, taken it's course and will continue to do so...this is the real baseis of socialist beliefs. The anecdotal example would be that I do now and have run a number of companies yet would consider my beliefs to be socialist - the two are no more incompatible than the Victorian Tory philanthropists (two words not often seen together!) that recognised the obscenity of their own system and set about changing it. Regardless of the hiccups on the way - the socialist path is the one that has been proven to be favoured over the past two centuries because it's about people not individuals. Here endeth my only slightly hungover New Year lesson.

Weird comment...assuming that you do mean Martin? Have you seen him play?

This - plus the fact he has the killer ball ability that Holmes, Harding or Fox can't provide so, if fit, always worth persevering with.

The tw* with 17299 posts has more to do than involve himself with internet one upmanship with an internet happy clappy. Aside from your terminal negativity the fact is that over the past two seasons your interpretations and predictions have been utterly discredited - this is largely why you irritate nearly everyone on this board. Insulting you is just a venting mechanism...nobody gives what you say any credibility.

Good article but...Just tell him we only lost 1-0 at Doncaster:(

:facepalm:The title is a contradiction of terms

Correct!

Were you f*cking there wrist slasher? Then shut the f*ck up - the run had to end sometime and we are top of the league at the turn of the year. Bristol City played far better than their league position suggests and the ball didn't run for us tonight - end of discussion...because it soesn't suit your doom-laden agenda to see that this can happen it doesn't mean that you have the right to sit on your fat a*se up a mountain and make a judgement. I was there, I'm disappointed but I watched my team play their guts out and they deserve to be where they are. Please just jump off a mountain and give us all a break from your turgid, gloom ridden trashing! I feel better now

Urgent message to all gingers considering a Brazilian Don't Too much like a fish-finger!

Fantastic news - real statement of intent and vote of confidence, loyalty and belief for all the players who have been signed on to long contracts - happy to be a Saints fan and how!!

I share many of the sentiments and events listed above but for me Ipswich was a milestone, an exorcism too. I went to see Saints v Ipswich at Portman Road with a beautiful but Ipswich-supporting girlfriend in the seventies when they were at their best and we were humiliated 7-0. Killed the relationship and left a scar that was finally erased by the football that we played that night. Of course all the fears came flooding back when they pulled back those two goals but we were just magic...I'll never forget the Morgan 'dink' that put Lallana in for the 4th, the 5th was exorcism over. I echo ColinJBs comments..sad though it may come across but my whole daily life is a cheerier place when we're doing well - long may it continue!

That's what I thought you said...

Organic dental floss!!

4 months and 3 days too early:p

Or very nearly twice as many watched the South Coast's most attractive club in a quality surrounding as opposed to the drab one that plays in a sh*thole.

Awesome signing (and I don't use the word as a teenager does) - should we maintain this season's good form to it's conclusion I'd have no qualms about his ability to cut it in the PL. He has vision, ability in the air and on the ground and can read situations coming at him and spreading out in front of him when attacking..cultured left foot for a CB and a good on and off field with his team mates and fans. What's not to rate?

About half way through Monday's match I was thinking that we sing the same (Na na hey hey) song for SDR that we sang for Tommy Jenkins...just an idle thought..

Scary...that's almost word for word what I was going to post! No great faith that it will be so though...and that's a dig at the comic not at the footballer!

Mine's cr*p - I claim last place. I do, however, have an enormous schlong

A commercial decision only...if people continue to make it worth their while to open they'll keep on doing it.

'Trollsers'?

And the fact that Moneyfields were prepared to do it for nothing demonstrates a greater understanding of both PR and the local feeling...but I assume they'll get it back in Blue Square pitch rental fees so better at understanding PR, local mood and business...AFC Disgracedpompey raise your head...!

For these things in life - tradesmen - were invented! Hope it feels better soon...you've got sh*t loads of clapping to do in the next half of the season

Zero would be good - the amount you're allowed to drink isn't exactly night out changing so why even risk it?

In denial...classic case..