NJS

A complete cut in the defence budget is unfeasible, but I'd withdraw from all Afghanistan and not get involved in any future conflicts wherever possible immediately. That, or education and health. Not a difficult decision for me. I probably agree a total cut is not on but the thrust of the argument that if every other government department has to justify every penny they spend then the armed forces shouldn't be exempt from that is a good one. Of course it would take balls the size of Buster Gonad to stand up to the generals and the ensuing shit storm but vague enemies and threats should be explained and justified.

Being offered £150 quid without naming your price and being tempted to take it is one thing (though still dodgy), setting your price at that in the first place is another and a cunt's trick imo.

Theres an article in the Guardian this morning which I agree with which would give LM an instant stroke - a suggestion that if Osbourne want's to talk about "once in a lifetime" changes then why not completely cut the defence budget - ie to zero. £45bn per year.

That game wasn't even sold out though I can't remember tbh - note it was the one the year after (when Gillespie got fucked) when the building work meant even fewer tickets but at least then they did base it on the points.

Don't horses have an annual breeding cycle which means the mares are only in heat for a month or so? If I'm right I guess that excuses walking round with a hard on just in case.

I'm not sure what it's like now that they have 75k but I went to Old Trafford on spec in 94 when the allocation was reduced and Fletcher gave all the tickets to his mates. The car park outside the Munich clock became a feeding frenzy akin to those scenes with crocs where someone hoys meat in among a few when someone announced they had a ticket and were surrounded by people bidding for it. There were of course packs of touts hunting for people with spares while this was going on. I had to leave - it was fucking sickening. (BTW I'd guess 90% of the bidders were Irish)

One of the first times I went to London for a match when I was about 17 I ended up walking from Regent St and towards the Palace and I couldn't help thinking how good it would be to go back in time and ship the workers who paid for it all down there to see the wealth so we could have a French style revolution. Trouble is the peasants in this country have been too beaten down by the whole monarchy/aristocracy bullshit (which is of course is its entire purpose). ;) Fuck me you must be a right trotsky or summit 17 in London for your first toon match and your thinking about the down trodden workers from up north. One of the first - it was an overnight job, wandering the streets after the market pubs shut and before the normal ones opened. Have I not mentioned my desire to see the first one thousand people in line to the throne executed before? (Now a named list of 1454 thanks to Wikipedia).

One of the first times I went to London for a match when I was about 17 I ended up walking from Regent St and towards the Palace and I couldn't help thinking how good it would be to go back in time and ship the workers who paid for it all down there to see the wealth so we could have a French style revolution. Trouble is the peasants in this country have been too beaten down by the whole monarchy/aristocracy bullshit (which is of course is its entire purpose).

NUFC Box Office fuck up? Inevitably. Most of the old codgers with enough points for a derby ticket haven't been to another away game in 10 year. They should base it on the preceding season points total rather than an ongoing accumulated total. As one of those codgers (formerly) I think it should be a mix

Fitch are trying to regain their reputation after quite rightly being called to book for being full of shit during the crunch - I wouldn't trust them to count to 10.

Yep - if the Jews really want to use history to establish so called rights of occupation then why have a cut-off date which suits them? - it reminds me of Griffin's convenient use of 1948 as his "perfect" ethnic make up of Britain. A Failure to recognise ethnic migrations as part of human history needs the ultimate stupidity of religion to make it work - as well as Holocaust sympathy of course.

As Renton said there is a good possibility that its a "simple" matter of Cameron et al being fuckwits. On the other hand maybe they want to proceed with cutting government spending even knowing it will "come good" as you put it as that means more money in tax cuts later. As I've said before that's certainly what Major would have done if he'd won in 97.

I think in general doing someone you don't know a favour as a one-off and charging a few quid isn't that bad in the scheme of things despite what I've said though I wouldn't do it myself. What I don't like is people (including some pretty good friends of mine as it happens) who have such a thing about making a few quid on everything they do that they constantly charge mates £2 or £3 every time they get them a ticket for run of the mill away games. One of my mates is constantly reminded by the rest of us about a £4 quid "booking fee" he once charged someone to swap tickets so the bloke could go in the same section together with his lass.

I think all parties were/are running scared of the markets and almost asking what's okay with them to do - none have/had the courage to suggest anything different. Wanting a "boom" is a bit of a misnomer but even with my very limited economic knowledge I recognise that growth seems to have been "easy" to come by for most of the time that I can remember. Parky and the complete collapse of the system aside, I don't think a defeatist acceptance that any kind of good days can never be achieved again is realistic.

I agree its a strange one considering most of us are only occasional buyers as opposed to the regulars who probably don't pay - you could argue if you only get one twice a year you may as well make it £20 or even £50 - maybe the Irish use the frequency argument to justify charging for GP appointments - something that wouldn't surprise me if the Tories considered it. Another factor is the honesty of pharmacists (and indeed GPs themselves) - I've been given stuff in the past and been told its cheaper than the prescription cost so bought it that way.

Means testing child benefit sounds like a good idea (and I would welcome the exposure of the Mail twats who call anyone on benefits scum but don't mind pocketing it) but I've read that the cost of means testing would be greater than the money saved.

About 6 years ago I sold my ticket foe the whole season (except the derby) to a mate for his kid because he explicitly asked/offered- I think we settled on £20 a game. Apart from that I never charged - including the season before last when I only went to 5 games.

I'd give it to the first face I recognised that didn't have one. I once sold a spare U2 ticket for face value to a fan (and nearly got lynched off the the touts for it) and I even felt guilty about that.

I'd love to see someone have the guts to show this shit up by demanding the US and the rest of the Americas be handed back to the Natives. I also have a nasty streak which would like to see that Spokesbitch who denies torture be waterboarded.

The Wolfman: When I was a kid I remember one xmas BBC2 showed all the Universal monster flicks with Lon Chaney etc and I really enjoyed them (though realise how dated they would look now) and in a way this reminded me of them - overall not bad.

CT while YOU'RE googling grammar, please try "double dip" as well.

RIP Loved the first two albums but the rest were stale - saw them when they were just breaking at an NME tour the night we played Stevenage - a good end to a shit day. Always thought it was harsh they sacked him and when I saw the headline thought it would be a leftover depression job from that but the new band thing suggests something else.

I don't trust them but that doesn't mean I would relish their failure. Of course I would measure their success by the effects rather than the bare numbers.

Yes but surely the aftermath of Canada's cuts coincided with worldwide growth. It reminds me of blinkered Tories who think Thatcher's policies made Britain the only country to "boom" in the 80s when Germany and France did as well without the pain she inflicted. Making savings with efficiency drives sounds good in theory but as the bit about waiting times and infection rates show, you need to be careful you don't go too far. Obviously the question is do we trust the Tories, even with Liberal shackles, to not be over harsh?

2012 - usual Emmerich brain dead enjoyable destruction - spoiled by the happy ending.