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12 years 11 months

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It is still a good and workable idea to segregate boys from girls during education.

That really wouldn't work these days. Some of my 'best times' (:D) as a teenager were spent meeting up with girls from a local all girls private secondary school, they were far more promiscuous than the girls at my mixed school. And with social networking, it is next to impossible.

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12 years 11 months

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Tory MP asks watchdog to probe Oxfam food bank campaign


The Charity Commission is assessing whether an advertising campaign by Oxfam broke its rules by criticising the government's austerity programme.

The charity put out a tweet speaking of a "perfect storm" caused by "zero hours contracts, high prices, benefit cuts, unemployment and childcare costs".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27783331

Is it just me, or does this campaign have the foul stench of the Labour party all over it? :confused:

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12 years 11 months

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The literally minded thrill me to bits ! Edgar, for your benefit, let me tighten it up slightly. Like you, I was educated during the time you mention. I attended both boys only and co-ed. The expansion of co-ed became fashionable and rapidly became the majority system during the 60s.

I well remember the scale of the arguments for and against, that were aired by educationalsts. Or, perhaps I dreamt it.

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12 years 11 months

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My newspaper confirms unwelcome news; I am delusional. I thought I remembered some short while ago, that Britain and America plus a few others took military action in Iraq, the purpose of which was to depose a rather rancid dictator and his equally rancid family and usher in a new beginning of genuine democracy plus a bounty in oil with most of it going to the Yanks.

Seems it never happened. Iraq is currently in turmoil with open warfare involving Islamic jihadists and their threatened take over of the country with their Islamic neighbour Iran holding out the prospect of joining forces with the Americans to throttle the jihadists in their tracks.

Now let me see (strokes chin) how much exactly in blood and tribute did that last little exercise cost the British taxpayer - for what exactly ?

Will we ever learn ?

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12 years 11 months

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News to give some cheer !

England beat a watered down version of the Alll Blacks. England 38 - Crusaders (topical name) 7. Let us hope for more 'cheer' next Saturday.

Beats watching all the 'nancies' in something called the 'World Cup'.

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11 years 5 months

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Some cheer, yes and good to see some of the support squad given an airing. But it's the Tests which matter and although we have performed well there is still some distance between us and NZ. Another close loss on Saturday will not be good enough. We need a win to be confident of a win at Twickenham in November. And then we are set up nicely for 2015.

Sorry, I thought the World Cup was next year.....!!

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12 years 11 months

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Every newspaper I pick up is full of comment about the England manager Roy Hodgson's future prospects. I admit that I'm not a fan of soccer. The mendacity, greed and duplicity that is so much a part of this game, starting with those who run FIFA, downwards to the players, present as repellant a picture as is possible to imagine.

As the chief architect of an underperforming national side Hodgson has to resign, there is no alternative. What incentive is there for a player receiving two or so million pounds per year, whose heritage connection with England is slight, to perform to a level that demonstrates excellence ?

Things might change if pay was related to performance.

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11 years 5 months

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I know little and care less about soccer. However a simple statistic belies any theory about today's players and today's management. Apart from an aberration when England won at home in 1966, the national team has rarely reached the last games of the tournament since our first appearance.

Year Round
- - - - - - -
Brazil 1950 Group Stages
Switzerland 1954 Quarter-finals
Sweden 1958 Group Stages
Chile 1962 Quarter-finals
England 1966 Champions
Mexico 1970 Quarter-finals
West Germany 1974 Did not Qualify
Argentina 1978 Did not Qualify
Spain 1982 Round 2 6
Mexico 1986 Quarter-Finals
Italy 1990 Semi-Finals
United States 1994 Did not Qualify - - - - - - -
France 1998 Round 2 9
South KoreaJapan 2002 Quarter-finals
Germany 2006 Quarter-finals
South Africa 2010 Round 2
Brazil 2014 Group Stages

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12 years 11 months

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A report in yesterday's news, features a person named as Abu Waleed. He is described as a 'jihadist' which term implies an enthusiasm and support for Islamix revolutionary zeal.

Mr. Waleed - evidently speaking in this country; from Cardiff no less, is an ardent advocate for the establishment of an Islamic government in this country, otherwise known as a Caliphate. Mr. Waleed enthuses about the time, not so far in the future when a black Islamic flag is flying over 10, Downing St. and the Palace of Westminster and all the people enjoy the benefits of Sharia governance.

He makes plain and in some detail exactly what the imposition od Sharia will entail. It is not all good news. Reading the report put me in mind of a similar situation back in the early part of the last century. Then a certain Adolf Hitler made no secret of his political ambitions for the rest of the world revealing all in his tome; Mein Kampf. Not much notice was taken at the time or subsequently. Which was a pity.

Forewarned is still forearmed. We ignore Mr. Waleed at our future peril. His prophecies are not the ravings of some demented lunatic but rather more a sign post, clearly marked: 'To the future'. If we connect all that is currently happening around the world; the political turmoil and upheaval in almost too many countries to list, then, we are left with a clear and unequivocal picture of fundamentalist Islam on the march.

The potency of the threat is enhanced by the mythology or perhaps it was the reality of the 'Trojan horse' concept. Much of Europe is home to large populations of Muslims, some pacific, some not so pacific. How radicalised they are or, how radicalised they will become is not known, although there are suspicions, based on recent terrorist attacks in London.

Was there ever; has there ever been, a more significantly compulsive law than; "The Law of Unintended Consequences" ?

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12 years 11 months

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With regards to the above, I would say that the UK is already an Islamic state. From my travels around the country, I would suspect that there are a greater number of practicing Muslims in the UK than there are Christians now.

Perhaps our saving grace will be the LBGT community, as it is completely incompatible with Islam.

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11 years 5 months

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Hardly with about 11% of the population being Muslim numbers of whom, like my newsagent, do not practice in the conventional sense. About 65% count themselves Christian although large numbers do not practice in the conventional sense.

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12 years 11 months

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A Press report to-day commented that there was an estimated 40,000 tons of plastic floating in the world's oceans, primarily in the Pacific. What makes this statistic so terrifying, is that most of it has been broken down to a size of particle that makes it easily available as an accidental food source for fish.

Pathological analysis of fish taken in various areas of ocean are believed to show that these tiny particles of plastic are readily mixed with a major food source; plankton.

Have we so poisoned the oceans that we really should not be eating anything that comes from it ?

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11 years 5 months

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It sounds a huge amount but against the total mass of the oceans of 1,400,000,000,000,000,000 metric tons it is a miniscule percentage. I believe that these small particles of polymerised material are unlikely to be poisonous in themselves. If you accidentally swallow a small piece of milk bottle or plastic pot it will pass through you and come out the other end.

So I don't think it is correct to say the oceans are poisoned, but I if we have any polymer scientists in our midst they can perhaps corroborate or dispute my contention.

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12 years 11 months

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Hitler Youth tweet Labour candidate resigns

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28106688

A Labour parliamentary candidate has resigned after tweeting an image of the Hitler Youth in relation to a protest outside BBC Scotland's HQ.

Now, to start with it seems odd that a Labour Candidate of all people should be so concerned. I guess it highlights the unholy alliance that is the Labour party and the BBC.

Ms Wiles has apologised and resigned as a candidate for the seat of Angus.
The Labour Party said it would swiftly get a replacement.

Ironic that the above quote sounds exactly like something the Nazi party would have done. :D I'm sure an apology for inappropriate humor would have sufficed.

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It has long seemed to me that the Left - that includes the BBC, is largely humourless, especially when it comes to political humour.

It is that lack of earthy humour that is really one of the most intimidating features of left wing socialist philosophy.

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12 years 11 months

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FGM Failure a national scandal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28127678

It seems to me that we're not going to get a grip on this issue until our politicians have the balls (no pun intended) to actually say which group in our society this practice is accepted in. Sadly, as with other issues such as ritual slaughter and certain facial garments, the politicians are too afraid of speaking up.

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Re 137

FGM is one of the entirely predictable outcomes resulting from the constant promotion of multiculturalism. When other ethnic identities are encouraged to maintain their way of life this, then, is what happens.

As you correctly identify, it is the politicians who caused the problems in the first place who are now so reluctant to take action.

But, strangely enough, not French politicians.

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12 years 11 months

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News from America. The D. Tel. &th July, reports that the state of Georgia has announced a new weapons law called bizarrely; the 'Safe Carry Protection Act' !

This law allows weapons to be carried openly almost everywhere: Churches, airports, bars and the classroom. It strengthens the rights of gun owners and prevents the Police from making random 'stops' to check for valid permits.

You can imagine that this Act has raised a bit of a storm.

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12 years 11 months

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Today's news reports that if you try to board your flight with an uncharged cell phone you'll be redirected to rhe bus or railway station instead. This is the latest anti terrorist, flight safety precaution emanating from America.

Is taking a flight these days worth all the accumulatedl safety hassle ? I think I'll stay at home and save some money. Now, if 'they' adopted some ethnic profiling, that would begin to make sense. Most of us would be a bit more tolerant to the idea of standing in a mile long queue for what seems like eternity.