threegee

Ah, how soon they forget! No mention there that Scargill had already brought down the Heath government, had failed in his attempt to cause another national strike - this was his third attempt! Scargill wasn't at all interested in mine closures, else he'd have backed NACODS who insisted on doing underground maintenance to ensure that the pits weren't lost. They very sensibly argued that if they were prevented from doing their work then there was no point in protesting the closures, as the strike would bring about the very thing that Scargill was pretending to oppose. This didn't matter to Arthur; he wanted the next chapter of his Marxist revolution, at whatever cost! No one is trying to "demonise the miners" - demonisation is a socialist thing, a substitute for broadly based fact, and proper analysis. History is history, but it has to be set in historical context, and in the values of its day. That's a thing sadly lacking from socialist rhetoric. The game is to apply modern "enlightened" value to the past. If it were possible to wind the clock way back you'd find that there was fairly broad agreement on how things should and would change. There would be a few extremists on both sides, but the them-and-us thing has been manufactured to suit agendas. No one is disputing that the miners worked hard and that the conditions could and should have been much better, but by the standards of the day they were well paid. Hard economics caught up with that - nothing else! The wages, industral disruption, and social unrest caused by Scargill outran the use of the coal resource to the country. Something had to give! Many miners foresaw this, but local ones were misled and didn't. That's not their fault, but it is nervelessness lamentable. Fact is that we'd be in more or less the same state without the strike, as we now are after having suffered it. Others here have already pointed out the economic fundamentals. What is left is a badly misplaced sense of grievance. Passing that on to future generations helps no one. Yes, it's fine to recall the past in all its detail, but don't force future generations to re-live just one version of it! And... please don't bring up that lame Thatcher, Milk Snatcher nonsense. At every school I went to most of the milk went down the drain because kids wouldn't touch it! When originally introduced it was a vital measure to ensure children's health. And, surprise, free milk was introduced by Lord Butler in the Education Act of 1944 - a Tory minister in a Tory led government! Wartime rationing had long ended, but even in 1971 there was still some marginal benefit in giving it to under 7's, so she did! MT was a scientist, and carefully considered all the scientific and economic advice she was given. No blame on Harold though, he did the right thing to protect national resources. But, Labour conveniently fail to mention their major part in ending free milk, and hope their supporters are as dumb as they believe. They then magnify MT's part out of all proportion. This suits their agenda of demonising her to their supporters (who they actually despise), whist claiming to be her heir within their own elitist circles. It seems that to be a good Labour supporter you need a mighty short memory; no appreciation of simple economics, and absolutely no interest in historical fact (or even current affairs)! It also helps if you are young, impressionable, and clueless as to how the world actually works (a point not lost on Alex Salmond)!

...well... apparently computer forensics did discover this some months ago. It's just that emphasis has shifted back to Zaharie Shah's strange flight simulator quite recently. The island is (did you guess?) Diego Garcia. So, months old conspiracy theories have been refuelled, and so also may have been the 777. Why aren't the newspapers saying he was practising landing on the runway on Diego Garcia? Perhaps because that would throw up too many awkward questions that can't presently be answered - if ever! Anyway, don't you think that it's an interesting time for our MPs to be getting all concerned about exactly what goes/went on there? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/19/cia-diego-garcia-chagos-control-combat-detainee-commons

Dr Trotter's Memorial has always been pretty iconic for me. That was until the ido.. err.. "planners" decided to - quite literally - marginalise it. When you glimpsed it you always knew you were back. Something of the character of The Albert Memorial don't you think? Bet those metro's copied it - along with our other innovations! That everyone chipped in to fund it in those austere times says something about the sense of community then. Try getting up a public sub today - oh, we did?! That it couldn't have been readily incorporated in the roundabout scheme as-is was pretty much of a farce. Come to think of it all the mass council vandalism of the 1960's was all pretty much of a farce. You could say the Dr Pit Head and winding gear, but it was indistinct from other places nearby. The ironworks would have nailed it of course, but there we are back to state-sponsored farces again.

MH370 captain plotted route to southern Indian Ocean on home simulator They don't say which island. Computer forensics should have discovered this inside three days not three months!

It seems like Twitter is far too verbose for many netizens. Enter Yo, an app that messages only those two fixed characters. What I find incredible about Yo is that it has reportedly attracted $1 Million in investment! No, it's not April 1st. It has, of course, "security issues": http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/20/5827014/yo-app-hack-security-issues#240849669 What can you say to that but yee? I claim my £600K.

Assad is only playing the survival game as played in the Middle East. It's do or be done to there. The Ruskies understand this and we don't. They've explained this to us several times and we simply haven't been listening! Ditto the Iranians. They too understand the alternatives to Assad. However many "nice" Syrians claim they want their freedom there is a large quasi-religious fundamentalist element who will step in and fill any power vacuum we help create. Our aim should be to tame Assad's excesses and not to remove him. He's listening, but he's not hearing anything from the West that will help him cling on. He's there because a very substantial element in his country know that it's the only way to stability. Our aim should be to make sure that that stability is an inclusive stability, and not stability at the expense of an oppressed minority. UK type democracy is not one-size-fits-all, and what we call democracy isn't anything the tired old power brokers of Europe understand as democracy Mr Clegg! Once we understood the power game better than any nation in history. We've unlearned everything we knew, and are verging on being as dumb as our transatlantic cousins in this respect. Even more importantly we are also on the verge of throwing away sovereignty over our own country. Wake up England (and the rest of the UK)! The penny is dropping though, even in the London-centric liberal elites; but is it dropping too late? The rise of UKIP and "The People's Army" has been a huge influence here (just listen to the other party leaders these days). And no - you stupid little establishment court-jester - Ian Hislop, UKIP hasn't peaked yet - by a long way!

Bepe - Italy's second largest political party - joins UKIP! 17 more MEPs to strengthen the hand of the sane people in the UK who want to leave the EU. Why do so many in Italy - one of the EU's principal founders - now want to leave the EU? Well, it's bleeding the country dry, and it has completely killed democracy. Italians no longer have any say in who runs their country - Brussels appoints their PM! Berlusconi decided that Italy would be better off out of the EMU (Euro), so Brussels decided that he had to be removed and replaced by a EU puppet. They are now onto their third puppet!

Tim) Why are the streets in this city blocked by taxis? Bob) They are on strike because new technology is threatening their monopoly. Tim thinks... Tim) What new technology would that be? Bob) Oh, smartphone apps which can get you a much cheaper ride much faster. Tim pulls out shiny new droid... selects the Google Play app. Tim) What is this app called? Bob) Well, there are a few, but flavour of the month is called Uber. Tim types U-B-E-R... [install] <downloading...> Tim) Wow! If it hadn't been for all the protests I might not have heard of this for months! Think I will give it a try right away. Bob) <Laughs> Yes, that's called the Streisand Effect - you make a big fuss and everyone gets to know about the very thing you want kept under wraps - I guess all these taxi people never heard of it! http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/barbra-sues-over-aerial-photos

Careful, there's a vacancy in Hogwarts' dungeon! Absolutely, but shouldn't the bottom arrow be pointing at Watford Gap? http://www.amazon.com/dp/1906236313/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

Like err.. like! There's a single-word essential reason for 14. I think it possibly begins with a W.

I'm not so sure, but I think there's growing evidence from the US that the economic benefits are illusory. It appears to be the case that after initial quick returns the flow rate drops off and you are left throwing more and more money at ever-diminishing production. This is evidenced by the fact that many developers sell out completely after first production. The old stock market addage that a mine is a hole in the ground with a liar standing beside it could apply. Whatever government we get is going to go for it because it offers quick budget fixes on a politician's time scale. So, there's little point in opposing it, as you are only inviting being lied to.

LOL - always takes a complete stranger to point out what's been staring the locals in the face for decades: I didn't write that - honest! If it had been moi the words self-impoverishment would have featured.

Not heard of Coffee Republic? Also part of the plot. Anyway, it's the new cool: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-27760927

Because the hardware is much better - four times better! And because I've now got a significant collection of initially promising media boxes where the hardware doesn't quite make it. Amazon will kill it for me if the software is too proprietary; that remains to be seen.

Good on you! Screw Murdoch, and ickle Bernie too!

More on the BBC colouring the news to suit their lefty-liberal agenda: http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/rod-liddle/2014/05/farzana-iqbal-was-murdered-by-muslims-applying-sharia-why-does-the-bbc-not-report-these-facts/ We pay for this service, we shouldn't tolerate this overt censorship! It's all part of the disdain the London-based elites hold the rest of the UK in. I no longer think the BBC capable of reform; the licence fee should be abolished by any government worthy of a single provincial vote. Wise up people, we are being taken for fools - not just by the London-based politicos either!

What has Sky got that you can't watch elsewhere and, as a whole, pay a lot less for? Should I have said that subscription broadcasting is dead? Sky is predicated on making you pay for 99.9% content you will never watch, at times that are rarely convenient.

Nope! Spelling checker mis-substitution whilst balancing a coup of coffee in one hand and a lappy on knees, whilst unstably seated. Yet another unforeseen consequence of excessive automation! incident - well spotted! Thinks: that could add to the story-line, but if I point that out he'll want a royalty cut!

Having given it a second look-over it's actually an article about a guy losing his job as a consequence of reporting whatever. That's their get out clause for not reporting properly on whatever (=MH370). I think that there's a term for articles which get your attention by feeding on interest on one thing, but in fact are about something completely different - a sort of parasitic journalism. If there isn't then there certainly should be!

It sort of looks like they haven't bothered to acquire a copy themselves! Though they seem to dangle the prospect that they might if there is enough interest. I like the hot link on Northumberland and not Stakeford. Just in case Journal readers don't know where Northumberland is? Increasing automation in news gathering is producing a lot of crud these days. I have an idea for a book where web-scraping, and repeated computer re-interpretation of it by AI engines, produces a major and unstoppable international indecent with crazy consequences. There you are authors; the idea is for free, but you'll owe me a from-an-idea-by credit - we'll talk about the film rights later.

Yes, but lazy journalism. Nothing done to join the dots in order to add further information. Nothing done to provide others with the information to do that for themselves. They've filtered out the essential facts! I've never rated the Indy, and this does nothing to change my mind.

A2Zee is on a name-and-shame list of 25 employers just issued. Under new legislation employers could be liable for up to a £20,000 fine per employee. That's a potential £280,000 - gasp - if it were to fall under the new rules! A2Zee also falls into the top twelve under-payers on the government's list, by exceeding the four-figure mark. However they fail to name a football club and other high-profile employers underpaying quite substantial amounts, explaining "we would only name businesses in exceptional circumstances". Quite how this squares with naming some small firms for very modest underpayments is yet to be explained. The company - which appears to be being operated from a private terraced house - has very little presence on the internet, until now! http://www.192.com/atoz/business/cramlington-ne23/sc/a2zee-construction-ltd/f77b72077258987d59c2e8ac003704e2064d81f7/comp/ It was incorporated on the 18th July 2012 as a joinery installation business, and its accounts appear to be current. Unfortunately bright Beeb journos seem to have renamed it A2ZEE Constriction - a Freudian slip, or just more social engineering? Despite the American-sounding name there appears to be no connection with a US outfit using the same moniker.

https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromecast The new Amazon box looks a lot lot better - when it has UK availability. Also search on Roku. Sky is toast!