Saw-sick Steve

The deficit does matter, but look at what we achieved post WW2, when we were in a far worse position financially, and the Yanks had us by the balls. All this crap about the ''Magic Money Tree'' makes for a good soundbite for the economically illiterate - i.e, most of us - but if you have a fiat currency, as we do, it's bollox, we're not on the gold standard anymore! As for our credit rating, who was in charge when we lost our AAA status? Ah yes, Gideon and 'CallMe Dave''and where are they now after they crashed the joint and legged it? Labour's plan is to grow our way out of this depression - now, you might not agree with that, but can you hand on heart say that the Tories have managed the economy with any degree of competence? I see the 'Torygraph' was busy trumpeting the fact that 10 of their pet economists disagree with Labour's plans, whilst studiously ignoring the fact that ONE HUNDRED have signed a letter agreeing with Corbyn - sadly, this is par for the course for our Great British Media and I despair of anyone who can't see that the media is completely biased towards the Tories Throwing money at the problem? Back to the old ''Magic Money Tree' trope - well, it seemed to bear plenty of fruit when it came to baling the bankers out, not to mention the billions released by the BOE for quantitative easing. Only a tiny fraction of 'money' actually exists in circulation anyway, the vast majority is electronic. This election does have somewhat of the feel of a ''tallest dwarf'' competition, but I generally feel it's the most important of my lifetime. If the Tories get in, you can kiss goodbye to the NHS as we know it - if you don't believe me, talk to anyone who works for it - to be replaced by a more expensive, far less efficient US style private healthcare system. That fact alone should be enough to convince any waverers to vote Labour. The facts are out there, it's just that many of them get omitted, spun or simply ignored or labelled ''fake news'' by the MSM, hence the rise in popularity of social media for this election, and the reason why the Tories are going to clamp down hard on alternative news sources - can't have the great unwashed being informed of the truth now, can we? As Nye Bevan said; It's a whole lot easier when you've got 90% of the media onside...

Well they've certainly had the wool pulled over their eyes for long enough...

That's my point! There's no shortage of Imam's preaching the sort of fundamentalist Islamic ideals espoused by the likes of ISIS, all of which can be justified by referring to either the Koran - the literal word of God, remember - or the hadiths, thus for every Imam decrying the actions of ISIS, Al Qaeda, etc...another can be be found to support them. Welby mentions the obvious problem in that Islam has no central structure - no Pope, Bishops,etc, so regardless of who is wheeled out to condemn them, they have the ultimate counter in that it's all sanctioned by God - how do you combat that?

It is, indeed, a start - now they just need to get the other 1,900 British based Imam's on board. As for the Archbishop's comments, it's all very laudable but sadly means very little - the people who carry out these acts do so in the firm belief that their actions are fully sanctioned by their holy book, and as far as they're concerned, what business is it of Justin Welby - or any other kafir - to tell them how to interpret it?

Well that's the front page for tomorrow's ''Guardian'' sorted.

You admit that copper's right in what he says then. So, cut away then - what, in your opinion, is a 'safe' number of police, and should we then apply the same rationale to our armed forces? After all, we hardly ever need them, and as for Trident - well, same thinking applies, surely? Still, at least if they're out of work, it's a good thing we've got foodbanks for them to fall back on; [ame] [/ame] Your local MP, I believe - wonder if this'll make 'Spotlight'

Lets see what a policeman has to say about that, shall we? [ame] [/ame] Be honest, if it was a Labour government responsible for cutting police numbers by nearly 20%, you'd be falling over yourself in the rush to apportion blame.

Deport them where though? If they're born in this country, they're 'British' citizens, like it or not. Agree with you up to a point re. Western intervention, but that doesn't explain why the majority of economic migrants - they're not 'refugees' - are coming from places like Eritrea, Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries - when did we intervene there? Just look at the enormous population growth predicted for Africa; by 2050, Africa's population is projected to increase by 1.3 BILLION, and Asia's by 0.9 BILLION. What we're seeing now is just the beginning, if firm action isn't taken now, you can kiss goodbye to our nice,safe, comfortable Western lifestyle, as it'll cease to exist.

Muslim only prisons have to be a serious consideration now, given as so much radicalisation occurs behind bars - either from new converts converting for protection on the inside, or existing Muslims believing that undertaking a jihadi attack on the kufir will absolve them of all sins ans allow them to enter paradise. Better get used to increasing 'cultural enrichment', as that seems to be the not-so-hidden agenda from the UN - have a look at this; [ame] [/ame] ''migration is inevitable, necessary, and desirable''

Fortunately, we can rely on Theresa ''strong & stable'' May to stand firm against the terror threat - oh, wait.. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B_JJat8-Dxs/V3oTvMyrF9I/AAAAAAAAFc4/QaOXUzKZInYF8VsKo0AmKgiHspNjMs9WACK4B/s1600/Theresa%2BMay%2Bsupports%2Bsharia%2B2.jpg

Camp sites as a rule tend to be cheaper than here and usually well equipped, and certainly in more rural areas you may find that you can camp for free, meaning you can utilise designated camping sites when you feel the need to use a shower and other facilities. Regards distance, i'd strongly advise against trying to undertake too much along the lines of the stereotypical Yank tourist - you know, ''if it's Wednesday, it must be Belgium''. Don't spend all your time driving, kids will get bored and they won't remember much if it's experienced from the window of a passing car. If your camping,you could take the family and do some of the easier hiking trails with overnight camping stops - my kids loved that when they were of similar age. Where ever you go, do some research on the area first, 'Lonely Planet' used to be pretty good for basic info on local customs and potential pitfalls such as pickpockets, diseases, scams, etc.. but I'd imagine that's all on line now. I remember having a slight issue with packs of feral dogs in Spain hanging around our campsite, and somehow becoming convinced one was rabid! Can personally recommend Slovakia, but generally the vast majority of people are fine, very friendly, especially outside the big cities. I've experienced more warmth and friendship from people who hadn't two brass farthings to rub together than I ever have from rich city types, and many's the time I've knocked on the door of some remote rural farmhouse requesting to camp in a field, only to be invited in for a meal and to meet the family - and wake up next morning with a colossal hangover after imbibing some local spirit.

Agreed, thought the whole thing was pretty civil - you could count the people acting as knobs on the thumbs of one hand... Shame, I don't post much here now, but it's nice to get a sense of differing opinions on subjects of interest to all, outside the confines of the industry.

Depends on how long you're going for, what you want to do, your budget, and also how old and fit your kids are, but as a general rule in this day and age I'd head east. As mentioned above, Slovenia has some fantastic scenery -Triglav national park is a must - but so are the Carpathian mountains in Romania, Tatras in Poland/Slovakia, and the Bialowieza forest in Poland. Scores highly for cities as well, Budapest, Prague, Bratislava, Krakow, to name just a few, but IMO, you really get to experience a country's true character out in the sticks, If you end up in the West, Spain is vast and also has some stunning scenery like the Picos. and is relatively cheap - as is Portugal. Hoping to do some more travelling now the kids are independent, before I get too old and infirm. Whatever you do and wherever you end up, you're sure to have the trip of a lifetime and give your kids an unforgettable experience they'll never get elsewhere.

Anyone still use one, or know where to get hold of one? Used to use one ages ago to cut the orchard on the estate I worked on, and fancied cutting a small meadow with one, rather than using the tractor. IIRC, it was a 'Turk Scythe' I used before, be interesting to see if I'm still up to using one. Are they still making them?

Luckily good 'ol Mother Theresa wouldn't do anything like that - now, remind me ,which country is it again that's the major sponsor of Islamic terrorism? Home Office may not publish terrorist funding report amid claims it focuses on Saudi Arabia | The Independent Utterly hypocritical behaviour from the Tories again - oh, we'll be tough on terrorism all right, but willing to overlook it if you buy our arms and have got lots of oil. The double standards are so obvious, but - yet again - why are the BBC not covering this? Oh, yeh, that's right, they're all 'lefties'...

And you stopped reading at ''...in history'' https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/01/climate/us-biggest-carbon-polluter-in-history-will-it-walk-away-from-the-paris-climate-deal.html?_r=0

He admitted he didn't have the figure to hand, said he'd get the correct figure later- result, he was castigated for his honesty and pilloried by our fearless media. Meanwhile, Philip Hammond, the man allegedly in charge of Britain's economy, underestimates the cost of HS2 by £20 BILLION - result, our fearlessly impartial media and state broadcaster somehow negate to mention this economic howler.

For once, yer not wrong there.

'sigh' No, I don't suppose you would - but you're apparently quite happy for taxes to be raised in order to pay sweeteners to private companies to take possession of assets that we already own? You do realise Naylor's plan to save our NHS is for the NHS to be forced to sell all of it's land and buildings - i.e OUR land and buildings - to private enterprise. He thinks the government should invest large sums of money to make these deals more attractive to private buyers and any NHS Trust that chooses not to sell it's assets in a 2 for 1 deal to private investors should be starved of government investment until they change their minds - do you really think this is acceptable? I guess you do, as it's the same philosophy the Tories have used in disposing of all the public assets we used to own - water, gas, electricity, railways etc,etc..by flogging it all off to not even the highest bidder.

No comments on this from the Mayniacs? It's frightening stuff, if you're in the vast majority of the British public who believe in the NHS; if you've a vested interest in a private healthcare company and prefer the appallingly inefficient US system - maybe not so much. For those who either can't be bothered - or are too afraid of upsetting their confirmation bias - to watch it, the whole plan in a nutshell is to use our tax money to give sweetheart deals to private investors to buy British Land and British Hospitals all paid for by you into the private sectors, then the Trusts will have to rent that same land and those same building back from the Private sector to be able to carry on doing the job they do so well already. The 10 billion that Theresa May keeps saying they are going to put into the NHS is purely going in to sweeten the pot and ensure the NHS doesn't even get the full value of the land and buildings they are being forced to sell. I don't know anyone else feels about this but I, and many of my family who work in healthcare, am absolutely furious at the thought that this perfidious government can even consider doing this to OUR NHS Oh, and as for the refusal of the Maybot to demonstrate her ''strong and stable' leadership by refusing to debate Corbyn, I'm with Paddy Ashdown - “We are the only advanced democracy in the world in which the leader of our nation can get away with not turning up to have a proper debate with the opposition. I think it is extraordinary and we don’t seem to be kicking up a fuss about it.”

Arrested in Libya? I bet he's had a sudden change of heart about the virtues of living in a Western democracy now...

They interviewed a security expert on Radio 4 earlier who stated that the troops on the streets will be under Police control, thus freeing up armed police for deployment elsewhere. Interviewer then asks ''so this is because of a short fall in police officers?'' His answer - ''Yes''. Troops on the street is not because the threat level has been raised to critical but because the then Home Secretary, the PM who now wants your vote, has cut police numbers to a level that puts the people she wants to vote for her in danger. Strong and Stable ? ...

Why does it have to be one or the other? Malaria kills way more people than Ebola. By that reasoning, we shouldn't be doing anything to contain the spread of the latter.

I know what Halal meat - and production of - entails. You clearly, do not, but the question I wanted you to answer was why I - in your opinion - ''sum this forum up''?

That's a false analogy though - the IRA were a largely well coordinated outfit with a clear command structure fighting for a definitive set of objectives and were - ultimately - brought to the negotiating table. The same can't be said for the ever changing collection of Islamic terrorist groups and various 'lone wolves' who's sole unifying factor appears to be wanting to impose a global Islamic caliphate - regardless of the wishes of the rest of the world.