Wes Tender

About time that we left this competition, either that or there is a rule that apart from not being able to vote for their own countries, neither are they allowed to vote for any country that they share a border with. As usual, the whole thing was utterly farcical.

Didn't I hear Cameron stating as Conservative policy, during the election debates, that the electorate of any constituency would have the right to vote out their MP if he was guilty of just this sort of misdemeanour? I wonder whether the Lib/Dems are in accord with that policy? It is a bit of a shame that this didn't come out before the election, as the good people of Yeovil might feel cheated not being able to make a proper judgement on the integrity of their MP.

So no chance then for Italy, Germany or Portugal?

The Android is fooling nobody. The agents clearly are not fooled and will be advising their players there to desert the sinking ship and other agents will be telling their players not to go there.

Reminds me of the old joke. What's 6 inches long and full of arrows? Custer's last stand. I'll get my coat.

So Tories are fools, Labour or Lib/Dems clever. How simple it all is. And how clever you really are for pointing this out. There really is no point in debating it further, now that you have uttered forth on it, as I kow-tow to your indisputable superior intellect. Close the thread, Mods, VFTT has spoken.

The linkage was in response to comments that the monarchy was an anachronism in a modern day society. Therefore it follows logically that all of the other pomp and outdated uniforms are also an anchronism too. Or don't you wish to be consistent in your views? You get places around the World where there are particular events that tourists go to especially, like the bull-running in Pamplona, or the Palio in Sienna. Undoubtedly there are many tourists who come over here to coincide with those events where the Queen is featured in some ceremonial capacity too. And they don't wish to see her in some ordinary Mercedes or Rolls Royce limousine wearing her pearls and twin-set either. They want to see the ornately gilded State Coach with liveried footmen and Liz wearing her bling jewellery. And just to counter your argument that plenty of Republics manage their ceremonies quite well, which ones come anywhere near ours?

A very good point.

Which is it? The closing Olympic ceremony, the start of the grouse shooting season, or the predicted end of the World?

Precisely my point. It is all part of the pomp and ceremony, purely for show to the tourists. The truth of the matter is that those historic uniforms have a lot more glamour to them than the modern equivalents.

Quite right. We should have stayed there on merit and to relegate us from it just because we were relegated was a farcical situation. These two initiatives, the appointment of David Burke from Manchester City's scouting organisation and the opportunity of our reserves to play matches arranged to suit us at home and abroad, is a clear statement of intent of the club's ambitions. I think that we are in for an exciting summer with some more good news to come if we are able to sign players of the calibre of those touted on here, but the infrastructure of the actual club, with improvements to the training ground, catering and hospitality and now further tweaking of the backroom staff is symptomatic of Cortese putting into place pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. When that is complete, we ought to have everything in place to get to the Premiership and to stay there.

They wouldn't stop coming, but undoubtedly their numbers would decline if we did away with all of those quaint customs that are associated with the pomp and ceremony that is rooted in our history. If the monarchy is an irelevance to modern Britain, then you might as well do away with the trooping of the colour, horseguards parade, those archaic Hussars and Lancers uniforms circa the Crimea War, Busbies, judges and barristers wearing horsehair wigs, etc. So who wants President Blair as an alternative? The monarchy is largely titular, with little real power. Liz does a good job of flying the flag for Britain around the World, for comparatively little cost. Phil would too, if he could be told to keep his mouth shut.

I have strong grounds to suspect that my local MP, who is now a cabinet minister in the new coalition and who was also a candidate for the leadership of the Lib/Dems, would fail the citizens' test if he took it. He couldn't name the 4 British Saints dates for example, not even our own St George on 23rd April.

No, of course not. But the way that he words it makes him look ridiculous. There can't be one executive of a football club anywhere in the World who does not realise that the cretin is talking out of his posterior orifice. So why bother with the flannel?

Quote from the Android: You're fooling nobody, you cretinous oaf. Of course you have to sell players. Of course there are bargains to be had. Of course it is a buyers' market. You are a club in administration for crissakes. The very first Premiership club to go into administration. You have massive debts and no firm offers on the table to buy you apart from Chainrai. Because of your predicament, this poxy, scabby little club has made waves right up to FIFA level. There is nobody in World football who does not realise that Portsmouth is a rotting carcass just waiting for the vultures circling above to pick over its carcass. So don't pretend, Android, that you have any aces up your sleeve that will prevent other clubs making derisory offers for your players. You go naked into any negotiations over player sales. Not a pretty sight, but fully deserved.

No, Johnny, I won't have it. Benefit cheats create numerous jobs. There has to be an army of investigators to bring them to task and work for those employed in their prosecution. Extra work also goes to the bureacrats who have to draw up the legislation to combat it and to the people in the advertising industry who air those TV ads asking for the public to shop them. And then don't forget the jobs created by the money that those cheats spend, even if much of it might be in the pubs and betting shops.

I took it ages ago just out of curiosity and just scraped through. As a matter of further interest, I too the American one and passed that too. But I reckon that if you were to stop 100 British citizens in the street and get them to take this test, only about 20% would pass. So how ridiculous would it be that 80% of the indigenous population would fail our own citizen's test? It is not a test of anything at all relevant to being a good British citizen; it is a test of somebody's ability to learn by rote. The citizens' test can be avoided by attending and passing a course at a local college that includes the elements of the citizens test. It is a typical fudge devised by bureaucrats, steeped in political correctness. We can't ask the questions that glorify our history, such as the Battles of Trafalgar, Waterloo, Agincourt, Alamein, the Battle of Britain, etc, lest we antagonise our European neighbours. What the heck is the use knowing about the immigration here during the 17th century of the Huguenots? Thank God they didn't have to sit a citizens' test, or we wouldn't have had many of them here, would we? In reality, this ridiculous test is just another barrier in the way of immigration. Visa costs have soared by percentages that make people apoplectic if they were applied to passport fees or car tax or driving licenses. For example, the Indefinite Leave to Remain visa cost nothing 5/6 years ago and is now over £800 I believe. Citizenship and a passport costs getting on the same amount again, making the cost of comin here and settling well over £2500 including the initial visitors or spouses visa. But the real scandal is that to gain citizenship and a passport, you have to have the ILR visa first. What does citizenship and a passport mean then? Surely it is a de facto indefinite right to remain in itself? Just another way that Brown's government devised to take money out of the back pockets by way of stealth taxes.

Surely you as a Doctor ought to know that the gestation period for this bastard child of the profligate parent club is 9 months.

Is this another of Tracey Emin's works?

The Monarchy is good for tourism and income from that exceeds the cost of the civil list

CMFG for me.

Agreed. But rather crass of the Android to give out all these signals isn't it? He is not there to oversee the appointment of a new manager, or indeed to appoint a Chief Executive, both of which are the domain of the new owner. His duty is to sell the club and exit administration with a CVA, that is all. Effectively he is the Chief Executive until then and if footballing matters in the interim require a manager, then surely a temporary one ought to be appointed from within the club. Anyway, unless these decisions are being ratified by the person behind Lloyd, that seems to be dead in the water, even if there was any substance behind it to begin with, that is, so increasingly it looks as if it is Chainrai's baby.

Yes, the government can attempt to close tax evasion or avoidance loopholes, but ultimately those targetted will then decide to go elsewhere, thus risking the loss of jobs and consequent taxation revenue from those employed in those businesses, as you have highlighted. There is less chance of really wealthy people evading taxation if the taxes are deemed to be fair, but when the top rate is at half of somebody's income, that is already too high. I was watching a documentary the other day about how the Rolling Stones went into exile in the South of France because Wilson's government had the top rate of tax at 86% or something equally ridiculous and that was also the reason for the Beatles' song "I'm the Taxman". When that top rate came down to 40% under Thatcher, the revenue take by the Exchequer actually increased. Why nobody can learn the lessons of history in these matters is beyond me. It is either because of dogma or stupidity, or perhaps both.

Why don't you ask Grant Thornton, seeing as they appear to know so much about it? Ask them how they calculated this figure and what their advice is to their wealthy clients when they wish to reduce their income tax bills.

The Android, commenting in the BBC article linked above, on the vacant manager situation with the Skates:- So what he is saying is that it doesn't matter that they would have to pay compensation to another club to gain a manager who is not out of contract? Anyway, although of course they need a manager, surely that decision ought to be up to the prospective new owner, or is it admitted that there will not be one and that Chainrai will definitely be continuing as the owner?