What grinds my gears...

[Guest MattP]

Don't understand the connection, Hitler and James Gandolfini?

 

+1

[Beliall]

what's stopping you ? I bet 21stC fox will knock summat up for you

hitler actually looks uncomfortable in that picture

[orangecity23]

Traffic census around Lutterworth. Took me 25 mins to get from Rugby to Lutterworth, then coming out the other side there was another one! Didn't get home until 7pm. All that gridlock so a bunch of muppets can ask people a survey about how often they drive down the road. If they're collecting data about traffic congestion here's a suggestion - if you didn't stop an entire A-Roads worth of traffic for a questionnaire, then congestion wouldn't be so bloody bad!

 

With this and the continuing nightmare of those pissing Fosse Park roadworks, it's a wonder I get any free time at all! It's OK though, the Fosse Park roadworks are only going to be there until the Spring. SPRING!!! ARGHHHHH!! :@ :@

[Finnegan]

Don't understand the connection, Hitler and James Gandolfini?

 

Oh don't do that.

 

Do you have any idea how happy that will make him?

[MooseBreath]

Traffic census around Lutterworth. Took me 25 mins to get from Rugby to Lutterworth, then coming out the other side there was another one! Didn't get home until 7pm. All that gridlock so a bunch of muppets can ask people a survey about how often they drive down the road. If they're collecting data about traffic congestion here's a suggestion - if you didn't stop an entire A-Roads worth of traffic for a questionnaire, then congestion wouldn't be so bloody bad!

With this and the continuing nightmare of those pissing Fosse Park roadworks, it's a wonder I get any free time at all! It's OK though, the Fosse Park roadworks are only going to be there until the Spring. SPRING!!! ARGHHHHH!! :@ :@

What the hell. I've never heard of or seen a traffic census before. I thought if they wanted to survey the traffic levels they just put those wires down and the data fed into a computer somewhere.

[Rincewind]

I don't know who he is (James Gandolfini not Hitler)

[orangecity23]

What the hell. I've never heard of or seen a traffic census before. I thought if they wanted to survey the traffic levels they just put those wires down and the data fed into a computer somewhere.

They had the wires as well, but they were actually stopping traffic using coppers. Did some googling, looks like it has happened quite a bit around the country, and the normal response is for people to go online and question why the fook they are doing it!

[Finnaldo]

School pissing me around. When I was about 4/5 I had to see a specialist when I'd been reported for some type of learning disorder (forget which one now). I was cleared but 12 years on I still struggle on my pace of writing. Did well in coursework at GCSE (B/A/A*) but I was so slow in timed exams I ended up with mostly Cs. Managed to get into Sixth Form and enquired about it, otherwise I'll get absolutely annihilated in tests. My younger half-brother got diagnosed with Dyspraxia the other year. Have a feeling it might be related to that. Asked the school for advice, and they told me to visit a doctor. I go doctor's, and I need an education psychologist at school. Just want to get it sorted and its going round in circles.

[Guest MattP]

A much better write up in the Telegraph regarding Ralph Miliband. Not so personal about how he hated Britain but bout his politics were certainly "anti British".

 

The reaction to the Daily Mail's attack on Ralph Miliband tells us how remote the Cold War has become in British politics. Nearly 25 years have passed since Mikhail Gorbachev threw in the towel and gave up on the USSR's dreams of Soviet world domination. The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of superpower confrontation and the threat of nuclear conflagration. It also marked the beginning of what has become a form of social and political amnesia. Until that point the struggle between freedom and communism defined the world my generation grew up in. Our view was shaped by a deadly struggle to see off the threat of red tyranny. It was a world far removed from the more consensual politics we enjoy now. Before 1989 the divide between the good guys and bad guys was clear, because the bad guys were out to do us in. At its most extreme, the Cold War was about fear, about nuclear brinkmanship, fallout shelters, cruise missiles, five minutes to midnight and The Day After. And the Cold War filtered through to everyday politics. Labour wanted unilateral disarmament, and some of its members were all too willing to excuse communism and play the role of useful idiot for the tyrants of Moscow. By the time Labour came to power in 1997, the Cold War was already fading from memory and no one was interested in whether a Cabinet minister had thought it acceptable years before to take Communist money for a jolly to Cuba, or had dabbled with political groups whose directing strands could be followed to the other side of the Iron Curtain. Now it has all but disappeared from common memory: while the Second World War still dominates the collective consciousness, the Cold War, which posed the same existential threat to Britain as a nation, is all but forgotten.

That explains, I think, the strength of reaction to the Daily Mail's hammering of Ralph Miliband. In the terms of the 2013 debate, to those racing to his defence on Twitter, he is the Labour leader's inspirational late father, a gentle academic frequently cited by his son in his speeches. But back then, he was one of the bad guys. To say that is not the same as to say, as the Mail does, that he hated Britain. But in a world of more anaemic politics, when the debates are no longer about matters of life or death, freedom or tyranny, we should not lose the ability to recognise that whatever his merits as a father or Royal Navy veteran, the professor of Marxism was on the wrong side of the only argument that mattered. His son has commendably risen to his father's defence. He is better placed than the rest of us to judge whether Ralph Miliband hated Britain. But the key point surely is that Marxism hated – hates – Britain. It hates our institutions, our economic model, our democracy, our independent media and our freedoms. And before the Marxists and their chums lost the argument, it wasn't just some academic debate played out around the dining tables in well-heeled north London neighbourhoods: it was deadly serious. Yes, there is something distasteful about trashing a dead man's reputation, and by the same token something noble about the way Mr Miliband and other politicians have risen to his defence. But Ralph Miliband, however well intentioned, was on the side of those who wanted to turn Britain into something dreadful. It is a testament to how comprehensive the defeat of Marxism has proved to be that the Cold War is all but forgotten, and our politics are repulsed by its harsh truths.

 

[AoWW]

School pissing me around. When I was about 4/5 I had to see a specialist when I'd been reported for some type of learning disorder (forget which one now). I was cleared but 12 years on I still struggle on my pace of writing. Did well in coursework at GCSE (B/A/A*) but I was so slow in timed exams I ended up with mostly Cs. Managed to get into Sixth Form and enquired about it, otherwise I'll get absolutely annihilated in tests. My younger half-brother got diagnosed with Dyspraxia the other year. Have a feeling it might be related to that. Asked the school for advice, and they told me to visit a doctor. I go doctor's, and I need an education psychologist at school. Just want to get it sorted and its going round in circles.

 

Have you spoken direct to your school's SENCo? If not, do so and discuss the possibility of a referral to an Educational Psychologist. As far as I'm aware your school cannot allow you extra time in exams without a clear diagnosis, and even then they'll have to put forward a strong case on your behalf. 

 

If it's the speed of your writing that's the problem try 'free-flowing writing' just to develop speed and focus. (Not formally in school, of course, as it might look at tad odd!). Basically you just write, about anything that you want, Set yourself a target that you'll write for x amount of time and if you get 'stuck' just write whatever comes into your head until you get back on track. The idea is nobody else will see it, so the drivel in the middle won't matter, but it will get you into the habit of just focussing on continuous writing for an extended period of time. Gradually increase the length of time you write for... you'll soon find you're more able to stay on track with fewer 'stuck moments'.

Edited 2 October 2013 by AoWW

[Rincewind]

Watched a programme tonight and an author was talking about famous people with dyslexia. He said some do better because they compensate. The make friends with the brightest kid so the can cheat. They get others to do their work Not advocating all this but if you look at successful businessmen the delegate and are good team leaders  So if you are determined enough you will get through this and be a better person for it. Don't be afraid to ask for help. It is your future.

 

Sorry I misread the word. Ignore the above if its not relevant.

Edited 2 October 2013 by Rincewind

[Alf Bentley]

A much better write up in the Telegraph regarding Ralph Miliband. Not so personal about how he hated Britain but bout his politics were certainly "anti British".

 

Garbage and lies, Matt, garbage and lies.

 

I thought that you claimed that the Times/Telegraph offered a superior right-wing analysis to the Mail?

 

I've got to go to bed now, but very quickly....

- The whole of the first half of the Telegraph's shamefully deceitful article relates to the Cold War/USSR, yet no connection is made to Miliband Sr. He is not quoted as having been a Communist or supporter of the USSR. How come? Surely they'd tell us if he was? A quick Google search reveals that Miliband joined the Labour Party in 1951, a few years after his navy service and well before even the Soviet invasion of Hungary which led so many misguided lefties to realise the true nature of the Soviet Union.

- After spending half the article describing the Cold War/USSR, the writer then states "But back then, [Miliband] was one of the bad guys.....[who] was on the wrong side of the only argument that mattered [regarding] matters of life or death, freedom or tyranny". The Telegraph doesn't explain why he is a "bad guy" or what "the only argument that mattered" was, but by placing their comments after a diatribe about the USSR, the clear implication is that he was a Commie Soviet sympathiser - blatant lies, unless you can produce some evidence, Matt....

- The article states that he "wanted to turn Britain into something dreadful", but doesn't say what - not a single quote, despite the bloke having published numerous books about his lefty ideas....because this irresponsible, lying article wishes to paint him as a Soviet sympathiser.

- "The key point is that Marxists hate Britain"?!....I bet that comes as a surprise to the Marxist groups that operate at British level

- Oh, I see! Britain = "our institutions, our economic model etc.", which can presumably never be changed in any way, even by persuasion or democratic vote?! Wouldn't "our wealthy vested interests" have been more concise? "Our democracy", no problem, but "our independent media and our freedoms"?! Freedom to be trashed by insinuated lies without the presentation of evidence by media owners so independent that, to avoid tax, they live in Monaco and a Channel Island (which they own) - now the Telegraph's owners clearly are people who hate Britain (unlike the Milibands, who chose to live here)!!!

 

Time for bed....with a pastiche of Telegraph journalism:

"The Nazi era was a truly black period in history. Countless millions died as the mass slaughter of racial minorities, sexual minorities and political dissenters was industrialised. Countless more millions died in battle or in bombing raids in the hellish war unleashed by those with evil views, who pursued them with targeted violence. Today, again, there are those who espouse intolerant nationalistic views. They hate our tradition of democratic dissent, they hate our institutions, the welfare state, NHS, BBC - they are anti-British! There is something distasteful about trashing the reputation of a well-heeled, well-intentioned poster like MattP, but he is on the side of those who want to turn Britain into something dreadful...."

 

Fortunately, just as the Telegraph cites no evidence against Miliband, there are no incriminating photos to support this false and irresponsible attack on MattP.....or are there?!   

 

A more sensible article from the Indie: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/ralph-miliband-and-why-the-love-of-britain-comes-in-more-than-just-one-form-8852110.html

[Zingari]

You don't half come out with some good stuff Sir Alf 

I love the last paragraph to demonstrate how the trick works , thanks ,  It looks so easy when it's pointed out 

[Dan LCFC]

The standard of driving in this country is appalling.

 

I'm a learner, sat in the passenger seat, and I can still pick out the amount of ridiculous faults people are making.

 

They get their priorities wrong - I'm sorry, but you're not telling me someone driving at 50 in a 40 road (like the B4114 in Narborough which was fine when it was a 50) is a bigger danger on the road than people who pick the wrong lane and change at the last minute? Causing danger and confusion.

 

It astounds me how some of these morons have passed their test. It happens every now and then but it happened three times at the same turning earlier. It fills me with confidence that I'll pass my test if some of these morons can manage it.

[purpleronnie]

The standard of driving in this country is appalling.

 

I'm a learner, sat in the passenger seat, and I can still pick out the amount of ridiculous faults people are making.

 

They get their priorities wrong - I'm sorry, but you're not telling me someone driving at 50 in a 40 road (like the B4114 in Narborough which was fine when it was a 50) is a bigger danger on the road than people who pick the wrong lane and change at the last minute? Causing danger and confusion.

 

It astounds me how some of these morons have passed their test. It happens every now and then but it happened three times at the same turning earlier. It fills me with confidence that I'll pass my test if some of these morons can manage it.

Compared to pretty much everywhere I've been we are the best around, not that there isn't a fair share of idiot drivers around.

[Dan LCFC]

Compared to pretty much everywhere I've been we are the best around, not that there isn't a fair share of idiot drivers around.

 

I worry about humanity.

[bovril]

Compared to pretty much everywhere I've been we are the best around, not that there isn't a fair share of idiot drivers around.

Yep. If you think it's bad in the UK then you should never move abroad!

[ADK]

When I was in the USA it was far worse.

 

London is far worse than up north too.

 

You see hundreds of people doing things that would be considered major or dangerous faults on a driving test often the same driver several times and wonder how they ever passed.

[Guest MattP]

Garbage and lies, Matt, garbage and lies.

 

I thought that you claimed that the Times/Telegraph offered a superior right-wing analysis to the Mail?

 

I've got to go to bed now, but very quickly....

- The whole of the first half of the Telegraph's shamefully deceitful article relates to the Cold War/USSR, yet no connection is made to Miliband Sr. He is not quoted as having been a Communist or supporter of the USSR. How come? Surely they'd tell us if he was? A quick Google search reveals that Miliband joined the Labour Party in 1951, a few years after his navy service and well before even the Soviet invasion of Hungary which led so many misguided lefties to realise the true nature of the Soviet Union.

- After spending half the article describing the Cold War/USSR, the writer then states "But back then, [Miliband] was one of the bad guys.....[who] was on the wrong side of the only argument that mattered [regarding] matters of life or death, freedom or tyranny". The Telegraph doesn't explain why he is a "bad guy" or what "the only argument that mattered" was, but by placing their comments after a diatribe about the USSR, the clear implication is that he was a Commie Soviet sympathiser - blatant lies, unless you can produce some evidence, Matt....

- The article states that he "wanted to turn Britain into something dreadful", but doesn't say what - not a single quote, despite the bloke having published numerous books about his lefty ideas....because this irresponsible, lying article wishes to paint him as a Soviet sympathiser.

- "The key point is that Marxists hate Britain"?!....I bet that comes as a surprise to the Marxist groups that operate at British level

- Oh, I see! Britain = "our institutions, our economic model etc.", which can presumably never be changed in any way, even by persuasion or democratic vote?! Wouldn't "our wealthy vested interests" have been more concise? "Our democracy", no problem, but "our independent media and our freedoms"?! Freedom to be trashed by insinuated lies without the presentation of evidence by media owners so independent that, to avoid tax, they live in Monaco and a Channel Island (which they own) - now the Telegraph's owners clearly are people who hate Britain (unlike the Milibands, who chose to live here)!!!

 

Time for bed....with a pastiche of Telegraph journalism:

"The Nazi era was a truly black period in history. Countless millions died as the mass slaughter of racial minorities, sexual minorities and political dissenters was industrialised. Countless more millions died in battle or in bombing raids in the hellish war unleashed by those with evil views, who pursued them with targeted violence. Today, again, there are those who espouse intolerant nationalistic views. They hate our tradition of democratic dissent, they hate our institutions, the welfare state, NHS, BBC - they are anti-British! There is something distasteful about trashing the reputation of a well-heeled, well-intentioned poster like MattP, but he is on the side of those who want to turn Britain into something dreadful...."

 

Fortunately, just as the Telegraph cites no evidence against Miliband, there are no incriminating photos to support this false and irresponsible attack on MattP.....or are there?!   

 

A more sensible article from the Indie: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/ralph-miliband-and-why-the-love-of-britain-comes-in-more-than-just-one-form-8852110.html

 

Superb response Alf.

 

It was a blog post though and that means the writer is offering his interpretation of the facts that have been produced, I don't think it's that out there to put a point forward that a marxist wouldn't be too keen on British society as a whole in the same way a Conservative wouldn't be keen on Cuban society. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

As for the last paragraph of course anyone would be entitled to write that about me being a Nazi as an opinion, I'd completely deny it though, I'm not a socialist.

 

It's about time the whole thing was stopped though as I said in my first post on the subject, that's twice in the space of a year people have seemed happy to dance on a person's grave for political purpose and it's becoming a very distatsteful side of British politics be it the Mail/Telegraph on the right or the Trade Unions/Daily Mirror on the left.

Edited 3 October 2013 by MattP

[Alf Bentley]

Superb response Alf.

 

It was a blog post though and that means the writer is offering his interpretation of the facts that have been produced, I don't think it's that out there to put a point forward that a marxist wouldn't be too keen on British society as a whole in the same way a Conservative wouldn't be keen on Cuban society. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

As for the last paragraph of course anyone would be entitled to write that about me being a Nazi as an opinion, I'd completely deny it though, I'm not a socialist.

 

It's about time the whole thing was stopped though as I said in my first post on the subject, that's twice in the space of a year people have seemed happy to dance on a person's grave for political purpose and it's becoming a very distatsteful side of British politics be it the Mail/Telegraph on the right or the Trade Unions/Daily Mirror on the left.

 

Cheers, Matt. Really can't stop long this time as I've a mound of work...

 

The problem is that the article doesn't really interpret any "facts" about Miliband Sr, beyond the fact that he was a Marxist, which it ties to the USSR in a McCarthyite smear. If he was a figure of any relevance now (he's not), surely it should quote and analyse his views/actions?

 

Like RM, Nigel Farage wants to change Britain, but that doesn't mean that he "hates Britain" or even that he's "not too keen on British society as a whole". Advocating change is a part of the democratic process, not "anti-British" politics, as you claim.

 

Ex-Thatcher minister, Lord Moore, who was taught by Miliband Sr, doesn't seem to recognise the man he knew: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/oct/02/thatcher-ally-daily-mail-ralph-miliband-lies

 

I agree that this should stop. How relevant is it that Miliband's father was a noted Marxist academic - or that Cameron's father stashed his millions in offshore accounts in Panama to avoid paying tax in Britain? It would be better if debate focussed on the parties' respective policies and their leaders' abilities....can't say I hold out much hope, though. Politics looks set to get very dirty by 2015....

Edited 3 October 2013 by Sir Alf Bentley

[Finnegan]

Why would a Marxist hate British society as a whole? We're actually quite a tolerant, fairly liberal people as a whole. Even our center-right are fairly socially left compared to, for example, the states.

Marxism can really be applied to most cultures, it's key beliefs are simply that the working majority should have the greatest influence. Maybe you'd struggle to be a Marxist Emirati but generally speaking there's a working class almost everywhere, no?

[Guest MattP]

Why would a Marxist hate British society as a whole? We're actually quite a tolerant, fairly liberal people as a whole. Even our center-right are fairly socially left compared to, for example, the states.

Marxism can really be applied to most cultures, it's key beliefs are simply that the working majority should have the greatest influence. Maybe you'd struggle to be a Marxist Emirati but generally speaking there's a working class almost everywhere, no?

 

Marxism is a very broad subject though isn't it?

 

Depends on who you speak to you could define it as being related to liberal working rights whereas some would link it to tens of millions of deaths under Marxist or Communist dictators in the last a hundred year. Same goes for any aspect of the political system.

 

"We are socialists, we are enemies of today's capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are all determined to destroy this system under all conditions."

 

Let's be honest who would associate that quote with AH if they hadn't read it before, he probably had closer views to Marxism as what today's far right parties have.

[Finnegan]

I don't think any idealist, seventeen year old, self labelled Marxist is more attracted to mass murder than wealth redistribution.

Not that Marx ever wrote "genocide for all who oppose you!"

[purpleronnie]

Mail on Sunday apology for reporter attending Miliband family memorial event

Ed Miliband said the intrusion was symptomatic of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday's culture

Continue reading the main story Related Stories

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The Mail on Sunday has "unreservedly" apologised "for a reporter intruding into a private memorial service" for Labour leader Ed Miliband's uncle.

Editor Geordie Greig's apology came after Mr Miliband wrote to the paper's owner asking him to "reflect on the culture of your newspapers".

Mr Miliband said relatives at the memorial event had been asked for views on "the Daily Mail's description of my father as someone who 'hated Britain'".

Two journalists have been suspended.

In his statement Mr Greig said the reporter was sent without his knowledge and an investigation was being held into "a decision which was wrong".

Mr Miliband is involved in a row with the Mail on Sunday's sister paper, the Daily Mail, after it printed a profile of his late father, Marxist academic Ralph Miliband, headlined "The man who hated Britain".

In his letter to owner Lord Rothermere, the Labour leader said the memorial event for his uncle Professor Harry Keen on Wednesday, at Guy's Hospital in London, had been attended by family, close friends and colleagues.

'Common decency'

But, he said, a reporter from the Mail on Sunday had attended the memorial uninvited with the intention of seeking information for publication this weekend: "My wider family, who are not in public life, feel understandably appalled and shocked that this can have happened.

"Sending a reporter to my late uncle's memorial crosses a line of common decency. I believe it a symptom of the culture and practices of both the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday," Mr Miliband said.

"There are many decent people working at those newspapers and I know that many of them will be disgusted by this latest episode. But they will also recognise that what has happened to my family has happened to many others."

He said he believed there was no point in complaining to the "widely discredited" Press Complaints Commission.

"Instead, I am writing to you as the owners of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday because I believe it is long overdue that you reflect on the culture of your newspapers.

"The reaction of many people to the Daily Mail's attacks on my father this week demonstrates that the way your newspapers have behaved does not reflect the real character of our country."

'Calculated hysteria'

In his statement, the Mail on Sunday editor said: "I have already spoken personally to Ed Miliband and expressed my regret that such a terrible lapse of judgement should have taken place.

"It is completely contrary to the values and editorial standards of The Mail on Sunday. I understand that Lord Rothermere is personally writing to Ed Miliband".

Earlier Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg had become the latest politician to back Mr Miliband, telling his weekly LBC radio phone-in show that "if anyone excels in... vilifying a lot about modern Britain, it's the Daily Mail - talk about kettles and pots".

 

"It seems to me that if anyone excels in denigrating and often vilifying a lot about modern Britain, it's the Daily Mail", Mr Clegg told LBC radio

The Daily Mail has stood by its reporting of the views of Ralph Miliband, who died in 1994.

In Thursday's edition, columnist Stephen Glover accuses Ed Miliband of staging a "show of calculated hysteria" for political reasons.

"On one level, Red Ed knew that, as he has bound himself to his father in a series of speeches, he could not afford to let the accusation that Miliband senior had hated Britain go unchallenged," he wrote.

"On another level, Ed Miliband realised that his diatribes against this paper would go down well with the party faithful, and possibly convince the wider electorate that he was stronger and more determined than they had thought.

"He may also hope that, by creating such an almighty hullabaloo about his supposedly traduced father 19 months before the general election, he will somehow neutralise a potentially embarrassing issue - the influence of his Marxist father on his own beliefs - and deter the press from returning to it in the near future."

Education Secretary Michael Gove has defended the Daily Mail's freedom to publish the article, saying a free press is "raucous" and would hold politicians to account and "by definition, will sometimes offend".

Ed Miliband has said he does not share his father's ideology, but the Daily Mail has maintained it was fair to scrutinise the beliefs of his father as the Labour leader has talked of him being an influence.

In a right of reply in Tuesday's Daily Mail, Mr Miliband said his father "loved" Britain.

On the same pages the paper then repeated its original article and wrote an editorial saying his father had had an "evil legacy".

The head of the Press Complaints Commission, Lord Hunt of Wirral, told the BBC it would be "inappropriate" for him to comment in response to Mr Miliband's criticism.

 

 

[Guest MattP]

People who just moan, moan, moan and moan about their lives on Twitter. We don't want to hear it!

 

It's generally women as well, got a couple on my timeline and they tweet about 100 times a day, at least 80 of those tweets will either be moaning about where they are, the job the have to do, someone who has annoyed them or some family member or ex that has made their life difficult.

 

It's painful to read, if it's that bad top yourself.