[dave]

"What I'd like to ask politicians is what harm am I doing by staying in, rolling a few spliffs [joints] and watching television?"

if he can guarantee that the money he paid for it is just going to some rattly old puffin growing it to ease her arthritis and any extra money just to supplement her meagre state pension to keep the heating on in winter, rather than that money going to dealers/suppliers who are also pushing skag, crack, whatever, people trafficing, gunrunning, extorsion, murder etc.

[slackline]

"What I'd like to ask politicians is what harm am I doing by staying in, rolling a few spliffs [joints] and watching television?"

if he can guarantee that the money he paid for it is just going to some rattly old puffin growing it to ease her arthritis and any extra money just to supplement her meagre state pension to keep the heating on in winter, rather than that money going to dealers/suppliers who are also pushing skag, crack, whatever, people trafficing, gunrunning, extorsion, murder etc.

Of course this is in and of itself a symptom of the supply of drugs being illegal, and is the perfect reasoning for legalising all drugs...quality control (less ODs), removal of criminal element, increase in revenue for Government through taxation etc. etc.

Prohibition doesn't work.

Look at the statistics for Holland where they decriminalised weed and started treating heroin addiction as a medical problem.  Net result, no increase in the uptake of dope smoking by youngsters, a slight increase in the overall mean age of dope smokers, and perhaps most significant/important a dramatic increase in the mean age of heroin users, i.e. massive reduction in uptake by youngsters.<sup>1

1</sup> Can't be arsed to dig out the references at the moment but think I have copies at home if anyone is interested in details

[dave]

Indeed, and I hear those murder cafes in amsterdam have litterally halved the homicide rate, enabling police to concentrate their resources on more serious crimes.

[tommytwotone]

Bit of a general one this, so apologies for not sourcing a suitable article.

I'm getting more and more annoyed with the politician's lexicon expanding to include 'hardworkingfamilies' as opposed to 'the british public' or whatever. I'm not sure if it's coming up more because of the increase in stories about recession, but it's getting on my wick.

It seems to be primarily applied in situations where help or assistance to HWF are being discussed, and in this context in particular there are a couple sides to the subtext of this phrase that trouble me.

Firstly, that if you're not hard working this is some way means you're not contributing to society - in one level I guess this is fair enough, but with the amount of redundancies on the rise I'm sure there will be a lot of hard working members of the public (myself possibly included) that will no longer be able to do this.

Secondly, what about hardworkingsinglepeople - I pay the same amout of tax to the exchequer, but don't (yet) require that much support from the state.

I'm well aware this could just be my personal bugbear, but I reckon if you had a drinking game where you watched Question Time and swigged your drink every time HWF was mentioned, you'd be lashed by the end of it!

[slackline]

Firstly, that if you're not hard working this is some way means you're not contributing to society - in one level I guess this is fair enough, but with the amount of redundancies on the rise I'm sure there will be a lot of hard working members of the public (myself possibly included) that will no longer be able to do this.

Secondly, what about hardworkingsinglepeople - I pay the same amout of tax to the exchequer, but don't (yet) require that much support from the state.

Its no doubt bullshit spin from Labour trying to appeal to their core electorate 'cause they know their up shit creek come the next election.

Remember seeing something on TV a while back about how single people don't get the same treatment as families but wasn't paying too much attention.

[butters]

Couple of beauties for you today: Gordon Ramsay is UK's Prime Minister and Japanese men get ill after eating puffer fish bollox.

bluebrad

[tomtom]

Having just depressed myself by reading posts about burglarys and redundancies, I thought I'd turn to the benign clould world of the Cambrian News (Aberystwyths local tome) and was gratifyingly amused by whats topping the headlines there 

Nearly as good as the 'Mayor rescues dog from roof' shocker a few years back...

[slackline]

Some very strange use of hypenations in that report!

More dumb americans, this time with police badges I guess all he wanted to do was go for a ride in a police car.

[butters]

Think that report was formatted for printing in the newspaper and then copied and pasted for the web edition.

Anyway here we have a couple of really dumb kiwi criminals and keeping with the theme here is yet another idiot breaking into a car.

bluebrad

[slackline]

Anyway here we have a couple of really dumb kiwi criminals and keeping with the theme here is yet another idiot breaking into a car.

bluebrad

That New Zealand one is funny.

The twat with the tattoo is funnier though.  Shame he only got 7 months

[slackline]

Dope (fiend) gets busted in Swizz by  (Earth)

[tomtom]

Busted for Sex with goat
Its an oldy (2002) but still a classic.. the best part was being caught by a train full of people when the train stopped at a signal right next to where the ahem 'deed' was being carried out..
Maybe we need a 'Da old news' thread..?

[tomtom]

Apparently the 'best complaint letter ever written - ever'

[slackline]

Apparently the 'best complaint letter ever written - ever'

  Not sure if its the best ever but pretty damn funny

[tomtom]

Apparently the 'best complaint letter ever written - ever'

  Not sure if its the best ever but pretty damn funny

Whats possibly funnier is that two collegues came into my office shortly after I had posted the goat article, and saw 'hull goat sex' in the google search window in the top RH side of my browser... 

[Bubba]

Uber Climber of the future?

[tomtom]

super wankbowl

[slackline]

super wankbowl

My friend watches some football matches using myp2p and says this happens regularly (basically when whoever the seed is originating from fancies cranking one out in the break and changes channels).

[slackline]

Too little, too late should have got far more than that.  Just turn phones off or ignore them when you're in the car, if its that important whoever it is will call back, or you can pull over at the next safe spot and return the call.

[GCW]

Ha ha.

[slackline]

Ha ha.

 

[butters]

For who the cell tolls!

Wish I had made up that strap line but I am not that clever...  

bluebrad

[tomtom]

For who the cell tolls!

Wish I had made up that strap line but I am not that clever...  

Shame the battery wasn't in his hat, then 'all the power would have gone to his head'...
Cheesy drum roll and groan..

[Houdini]

Winter blues

[magpie]

That's incredibly sad.