Pshaw, hardly. There will never be revolution in England – things have been much worse in the last 300 years than they are now and yet it never took place. Compare that to almost everywhere else in Europe.

“In what way is a considerable contingent of the governing house being shown to be corrupt, with the attendant public outrage, and the systemic inability to act upon it not a constituional crisis?”

Because it’s not a dispute over power/authority/legitimacy between different parts of the state that ought to be brokered by the constitution (or, perhaps, law) but isn’t, either because the constitution isn’t clear or is being ignored.

“proper debate to convince people that the law is right, just and worthwhile implementing.”

Politics isn’t really about law being right (just), though, is it? Legislation is just a tool for political change.

Dealt with loads of people over the years but forgotten all names! No disasters yet (apart from self-inflicted unncessary purchases).

Just bought a bunch of great lights from fennerhorne so another testimonial for him.

“dragged to Britney next month, though we are seeing take that as well which i’m chuffed with. Audience = 5 men, 25000 females. Oh yeah”

LOL – you’re in for a shock. More like 10,000 14 year old screaming girls, 5,000 non-plussed drink-driving parents, 8,000 happy campers and 2,000 grown up women with poor taste in music. And you.

(I say this as someone that went to the legendarily awful Britney Hotel tour. I’ll leave it up to you to guess which category I fell into).

I think it is also somewhat ironic – the furthest most buyers are going to take this camera is to Jemima’s Wine Bar. (Do wine bars still exist?)

Take Jeremy Corbyn for example, he hasn’t claimed anything in the seven years to 2007-8 for the additional costs allowance. But that’s hardly headline grabbing news is it ?

Not surprising that, though, is it? He’s the MP for Islington North, which is an Inner London constituency, which means he is not entitled to claim it!
http://www.parliament.uk/about_commons/hocallowances/hocallowances06.cfm

never, ever get rid of an old kona

I’m with mogrim, I like the federal idea. Why not come up with our version of the American political model? Several things I would change, but in essence two tier government with the state level retaining a considerable wedge of legislative freedom. Makes total sense to me. Failure to do that will actually lead to more centralised bureacracy not less.

But the American model is bottom up and has the reverse assumption: that as much land tax/education/criminal law/legislation etc should be at the town or county level as possible, and that as little power should be given to the federation as possible.

also, the “folding” part is confusing, because the ex-cop’s article in the Law Gazette sounds like he’s referring to Stanley knives, but they don’t fold.

:confused:

letting the Home secretary and her advisers know that they don’t understand the legislation they wrote and put in place..

TBF, it wouldn’t be the first time that the government writes a law which has consequences it didn’t intend or understand…

That article is confusingly written. It says:

“A while back I asked the Home Office to clarify any ambiguity arising from whether or not a lock knife was illegal under this statute and it replied: ‘It is an offence to possess “lock knives” in a public place, irrespective of whether the blade is actually locked open at the time.’ “

but then right after it says:

“There are few ways to explain yourself out of lock knife possession in a public place. Unlike ‘reasonable excuse’ in the Prevention Of Crimes Act 1953, you have to show ‘good reason’ (section 139 of the 1988 act), which has a much tighter interpretation.”

So actually by his own words the first statement by the Home Office is wrong: it’s not that it’s illegal to carry one, it’s illegal to carry a locking knife unless you have “good reason” to carry one (whatever good reason is, that’s a different discussion).

But afaics, if what he is saying is right, it does mean the “blanket OK” for 3 inch knives wouldn’t apply to a 3 inch locking knife.

I would have made you drive there too! You obviously want it enough, so pay the extra 30 – that’s another two hours work for me. If 30 quid is not a big deal, then give me 60 – the thirty you owe, and then another thirty for the hell of it.

“What do people have against Scottish notes, it still says sterling on the side.”

There was a point a few years ago when tons of fake jock notes were being dumped around London – they were easier to pass because English people don’t know what to look for. Now it’s just hard to spend them anywhere.

Yes, people show up with cash. Don’t take the cash after the banks have closed for the day/week so that you can bank it straight after.

Money laundering is not a problem. You can just fill out a form that says “I sold a car”. I don’t think the threshhold is that low anyway.

When I lived under a London council, they had the legal right to enter and turn off an alarm after X number of hours (and maybe get some sort of court order? not sure). They actually showed up very quickly (within an hour?) to listen for themselves, and guy arrived back after six hours.

Keep calling the council, keep your neighbours calling.

“No criminal damage as you haven’t damaged it “

Ooh, I don’t know about that – if it’s not criminal damage (which is pretty broad e.g. chalking on public road has been found to be criminal damage :( ), I bet it’s something else. Trespass too?

forget tiles – use plastic membranes

+1.

Well, actually, our place was converted into a flat about 12 years ago. They just put up tiles on the wall – which, as everyone said, inevitably failed. The whole lot had to be ripped out.

Replacement had mega-heavy-duty plastic membrane (swimming pool membrane?) under normal tiling for decorative reasons. No problems since then. Love it.

But why are these people doing getting them confiscated? Where are they and what are they doing with them to bring their use to the attention of the police?

Aha, but that’s exactly the point – it’s a vicarious use of discretion over whether to enforce the law. You’re probably right to say that *you* would reasonably expect to be treated reasonably.

But some people who the cops don’t like (youths, non-whites, stroppy people) would not be treated reasonably even if they were in the same situation as you, and could be prosecuted. So if they get done for it, they’re not really being done for the knife, they’re getting done for failing the “attitude test”.

“I think they make many themselves and just make up the prices. “

I believe they’re mostly made to order in a factory in Wales (or maybe that’s their competitor).

sweeping generalisations about its bad food, bad riding, bad politics ( see a pattern developing ?), beliefs that conform to stereotyping of the worst possible kind.

Really? Someone said British food is rubbish and that’s stereotyping of the worst possible kind? Like, Der Stürmer bad?

I do not understand the position of, say, British and american civilian contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan under this definition though. Although motivated by finaincial gain and paid 10 times as much as regular troops they are nationals of countires involved.

Employees of Private Military Contractors/Private Security Companies don’t get Geneva Convention rights – Geneva binds states only.

kona bunny, i think its pretty obvious that squadies cannot be mercenaries for their own country

Yeah, I know – that’s why I described the whole idea as “arseburgers”. :roll: :roll:

“i don’t think i will be able to get a visa, but having spoken to a few people, i’ve been told its probably worth the risk/expense…”

Consular officers have a lot of discretion. If you actually manage to sit down in front of someone, you may be pleasantly surprised (especially if it’s quiet).

“anyone who is prepared to fight in wars for purely financial reward is in essence, a ‘mercenary’.”

This is just arseburgers: by the same argument, UK recruits are mercenaries in the UK army because they only do it for money. And that means either the Gurkhas aren’t mercenaries because other squaddies aren’t, or that both Gurkhas and squaddies are mercenaries, which dilutes the meaning of the word “mercenary” to the point where it’s meaningless.

“yeah but 4 of them in the space of 400 yards to do people not wearing seat belts. Is that not a bit extreme. All for the police patroling but why not use them to stop real criminals? “

I believe the point isn’t particularly to hand out seatbelt tickets (although that’s a good thing) but also it gives them an excuse to have a look at the car, run it through computer, sniff for alcohol/drugs etc.

“it seems little sense for Britain, being a superpower…”

The UK is not a Superpower (and perhaps the era of Superpowers is over).

“Instead of legislations being made locally, or at least nationally, around 80% of them are decided in Brussels by some bureaucrats??”

That’s possibly true by sheer numbers – but it may be that 90% of that is incredibly tedious regulatory stuff, like standard size for fire exit signs (or something). Most likely most law in the UK is made by regulatory bodies rather than Parliament too.

In other words, the statistic alone doesn’t worry me, but the underlying issue might.

you’re not going to call the police on me, are you? :twisted:

i) yeah, conscription went in 2001, but that’s not when the Foreign Legion came into existence! if military service and citizenship were such great bedfellows, then you wouldn’t need to recruit foreigners because there would be so many locals wanting to go professional and the civilian population would be incredibly civic-minded and cohesive – which isn’t (and wasn’t) France as she is.

ii) I would say that Gurkha history more than proves the substance that they accept their oath of allegiance as something deeper than a “few words”.

Well, that’s precisely my point – the difference between mercenaries and Gurkhas isn’t mumbling a few words, it’s substance and law and a bunch of other things.

This thread is useless without pictures. :twisted:

Oh, God, not Heinlein! Doesn’t the existence of the French Foreign Legion alongside a compulsory military force somewhat undermine your argument?

the essential difference between a Mercenary and a Gurkha, both morally and legally, is that they have sworn an oath of allegiance to the country for which they are fighting.

Oh that’s hardly the essential difference – anyone can say a few words. Surely actions should be more important – isn’t that what you’re saying about the Foreign Legion – that it’s the sange verse that gets you the papers and not the singing of the Marseillaise?

(Terrible French spelling all over the magasin here)

access to the Europan Court of Human Rights has been the saving of many a downtrodden uk citizen

Much as I love the ECHR, it’s actually part of the Council of Europe, not the European Union, and you don’t have to be in the EU to be in the C of E. The Human Rights Act incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into the various UK laws.

“Why aren’t they just mercenaries?”

Well, I am not unsympathetic to them, and think that there are many more important things (better and worse) going on in the UK right now, and wouldn’t ever be bothered enough to do anything against them settling in the UK, but I do agree with some of your argument: afaics they were never promised residency or citizenship so why ask afterward for it? (In fact, I vaguely remember hearing that the obligation to go back to Nepal was part of the agreement with the Nepalese state but that might just be man in the pub nonsense).

However, they’re not really mercenaries in the classic sense because they’re state-sponsored (by Nepal), they can’t go to the highest bidder and they’re employed by a state (the UK). You wouldn’t call Aussies who join the UK military mercenaries, for instance.

Something off the classifieds if it’s his first bike? Then a bit more budget to spend on shoes/jackets/locks etc.

“What does the EU mean for British industry and trade- would leaving the EU disadvantage Britain in one of it’s biggest markets? The risk of that has always seemed to me to be the main reason for staying in.”

I would assume that most people advocating the UK leaving the EU would still want the UK in EFTA, like Switzerland and Norway (is that right?) – so basically all the trade aspects would remain but the social/political ones would be dumped.

“I’ve been offered a mountain bike job on Fridays (so no possible conflict of interest with current job) to make up the shortfall. I believe in the company and would love to make a commitment but understand that its cashflow situation means that it needs to reduce its immediate costs. Perhaps you could pay me in shares?”

If they’re being genuine, this is reasonable. If they’re not, **** em.

Can you look around for another job as backup?

How does this Councillor link “Muslims” to the EU, by the way?

“Seems obvious to me that a European state is a natural political progression and its aims to equalise and raise standards of living across the continent morally supplier to any silo’ed approach. “

The other way of looking at it is that the further you remove government from the people, the less democratic it becomes. Why don’t we have the US approach where it’s the other way around: all power should be as local as possible, unless there’s a bloody good reason to escalate it.

As someone that has been using bulletin boards, web fora (please use the correct plural, thank you!) and usenet for considerably longer than all of you, I think it is in no small measure my considered (and not so humble!) opinion that should be regarded as the penumbra (if not the frenulum!) of the guiding ethos of the Inter-Net (as it was properly named at the 1988 Protocol Symposium which I had the honour of chairpersoning) and the appropriate method for dialogue.

However, I do not intend to repeat (or rake over!!!) old topics, as I believed we discussed this issue in depth on 12 May 2001 and then again on 14 August 2002.

=================================================
Kona Smoke
Frame size 20″
Frame tubing Kona Cromoly Butted
Fork Kona Project Two
Headset Aheadset STS
Crankarms Suntour CW-XCC150
Chainrings 42/34/24
B/B TH M1
Pedals Kona Jackshit
Chain KMC IG-31
Freewheel Shimano CS – HG 30-8, 11-32t
F/D Shimano Tourney
R/D Shimano Altus
Shifters SRAM MRX-204-8/3
Handlebar Kona Riser
Stem Kona Control
Grips Kona Mooseknuckle
Brakes Tektro
Brake Levers Tektro
Front hub Formula
Rear hub Formula
Spokes 14G Stainless
Tires Tioga City Slicker 26 x 1.5
Rims Alex Z-1000
Saddle Velo Comfort
Seatpost Kalloy SP-242
Seat clamp Kona QR
Color Single Matte Black
Extras Smoky Mudflap Fenders & Mystery Horn

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
– Confucius

“Well done apex, finally a (potentially) legitimate reason why the Police could appear to not take it seriously and do nothing.”

1) I know this point is elusive for you but try to grasp it. THERE IS NO REASON TO STOP THE KID.

“The police can stop and search any person, vehicle, and anything in or on the vehicle for certain items. However, before they stop and search they must have reasonable grounds for suspecting that they will find:

* stolen goods, or
* drugs, or
* an offensive weapon, or
* any article made or adapted for use in certain offences, for example a burglary or theft, or
* knives, or
* items which could damage or destroy property, for example spray paint cans.”

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nm/index/your_rights/legal_system/police_powers.htm

Reasonable grounds /= “”yoof” on a spesh hardtail which looked too high spec for it to belong to him”

2) I am generally a police skeptic (as mentioned on the Glasgow thread) but anything else the cops would be doing (including have a nice cup of tea) would a better use of time when the activity you’re suggesting is actually negative.

3) I have a mental picture of you turning up at the police station with a dossier of OS maps under your arm and self-drawn photofits.

“…and then, officer, he rode down the street to the chip shop!”
” … ?”

emigration? apparently you should be considering political asylum!

Aerosol? :D

“Amazing the number of people who make it to adulthood with apparently no idea about the difference between a deodorant and and antiperspirant.

The former makes you smell nice. The latter absorbs sweat.”

I thought the latter blocks your pores.

oink oink **** oink

i don’t see any reason why MP’s expenses shouldn’t be uploaded immediately to t’internet for public inspection.

“It’s all eerily like Animal Farm, our current Communist Experiment.”

Communist???

even a police sceptic like me thinks that’s a really half-hearted rant. you didn’t even bother to mention doughnuts or tea. assuming that they’re pulling cars for a good reason, then this sounds like A Good Thing, in principle.

“when is someone going to build an alternative or widen the M6 so it can accept more traffic?”

As everyone’s already pointed out, you can’t (often) build your way out of congestion and you may actually increase the volume of traffic in the medium term:

http://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/roadbuilding-futility.html

Also – would a train station at Glasgow Airport not be extremely useful?