Malcolm Robinson

This is hilarious..............

'Informed sources party to talks taking place in Washington have confirmed in the last hour that big players Google and Verizon are about to announce an agreement to effectively end free information flow on the Internet. It seems that the pair are close to an agreement whereby 'premium' services will be available to those who pay and/or pay more; basically, it would allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content's creators were willing to pay for the privilege.' This ain't Rupert trying to make us pay to see a daily newspaper!

What are Vegemite, Promite, Bovril and Yeast Extract? Answer: They are not Marmite in any way, shape or form. Vegemite, is an Australian product, manufactured by Kraft Foods Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and is generally described by Marmite fans as a weaker version spread than British-produced Marmite. Vegemite fans have claimed that it is stronger than some non-British-produced Marmite, but that doesn't say much for that "Marmite". Its ingredients are: Yeast Extract Salt Caramel Malt Extract Natural Flavor

Ah yes the infamous Marmite…………. Yeast Extract Salt Vegetable Extract Vitamin: Niacin Spices Vitamins: B1, B2, Folic Acid, B12 'It is a natural by-product from brewer's yeast. The by-products of fermentation—yeast, barm, or leaven—had long since been known about, but it was not until Louis Pasteur's time that the secrets of living yeast were unlocked. A German chemist named Liebig discovered that the waste of yeast used in brewing beer could be self-digested and made into a concentrate, resulting in a protein-rich paste (some would say "sludge") with a more or less meaty flavour. (So Marmite is actually a Continental, not a British, invention! But the Brits were the first to make it commercially viable.)' I thought it was just reduced ear wax!

There is a new council tax evaluation policy which wants to charge more for those who live in a nice area. That ought to mean discounts for those of us who live in a rough area. There is a huge council house in our street. The extended family is run by a grumpy old woman with a pack of fierce dogs. Her car isn't taxed or insured and doesn't even have a number plate, but the police do nothing. Her bad tempered old man is notorious for racist comments. A shopkeeper blames him for ordering the murder of his son and his son's girlfriend but nothing has been proved yet. All the kids have broken marriages except the youngest, who everyone thought was gay. Two grandsons are meant to be in the Army but are always out partying in nightclubs. They are out of control. I hate living near Windsor Castle !

LOL.............

Unlikely as it might seem we are now probably going to see a massive rise in staple food inflation owing to shortages because of spoilt harvests. Watch the prices of wheat and soya based foodstuffs. This could easily knock everyone's economic theories into a cocked hat. I know but be aware.

Close enough......

This will get you the clerks telephone number and e-mail, just scroll down the list......... http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=387

Bernard, The councillors Cympil mentions are Northumberland County Councillors not Parish ones. East Bedlington parish council meets in the office next to Keenlysides once a month. Chair now is Alex Wallace. I know there are people on this site who can fill you in with full contact details etc……….

It would seem certain that we are seeing a change in the climate of the planet. Why, might be a far more difficult question to answer and might hinge on a personal belief as there would seem a dearth of unambiguous empirical evidence. However without knowing the 'Why' can we really make the changes needed to alter the situation? We can make an educated guess of course and proceed with changes along those lines. The path to hell is paved with good intentions! Put two people in a room and measure the temperature. Now fill the same room with 50 people and measure the same ambient temperature. This is what we have done with the planet. Interaction between these people will have an effect, individually quite small but cumulative never-the-less. Now get everyone to light a cigarette and switch on an overhead bank of 500w halogen lights……. As for solar flares we are supposed to be in a time of 'Maunder minimum', irrespective of a single huge event. What we cannot dismiss is the albedo effect and our impact onto that.

Ok Denzel tell you what………..I'll wager a pint of their finest that within 6 months of opening we see a reaction. At the mo we have one pub in the town up for lease. As I said we want the upgrade but……… it's the Catch 22 Bedlington has always been in. Personally I would rather have seen the multi-use plans the old owner had in mind for the building....

Teacher…….Geordie, give me a sentence beginning with I. Geordie……..'I is……….' Teacher………No, no, you know you should always start…….'I am'……… Geordie……..OK then Miss, 'I am' the 9th letter of the alphabet!

Teacher………..Geordie, what's the chemical composition of water? Geordie…………H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O. Teacher……….Don't be stupid what's that all about? Geordie……….Well yesterday you said it was H to O!

Looks to be far more interesting 'going's on' behind the scenes! Harriet might not be on the ballots but she is making herself a force to be reckoned with and trying to shape the party to her own style.

Well Mr D thanks very much for that! I do actually write the stuff up using Word and using spacing's, it's just I use the quick editor to post and that seems to squash it all up together. It's more to do with the time I have rather than a deliberate measure……………

Ah.......em,

Yep, either that or we start to use the system to our advantage for a change!

Ok guys I get it! Having now been berated by Monsta, Merlin and Mr D for my verbosity please indulge me one last time in a swansong! Let me try and explain some of the reasons and ramifications behind this thread. First of all I used 'Chat' deliberately because it is an open forum within our web site in an attempt to show anyone surfing into the site, for a look, there is more to it than the normal small town gossiping and back biting. It might just pique their interest enough to join up and explore the other member areas. While I don't assume any kudos for it really a 50% jump in our membership over the last few months has to mean something. It certainly gives a different dimension to our site and so differentiates it from others. The page view and user stats go up monthly so there would seem a certain amount of readership? Or maybe a few closet masochists wanting the beat themselves with a literary whip as you suggest! The information presented is complicated and I have trouble digesting it but I find writing it down is cathartic and clarifying in my mind. Having to work it out and then write a sentence is helpful in understanding the complex intricacies at play. I realise it is a subject most people only give a cursory glance to but a bit like politics it touches everyone. I would say if you guys have read it through and understood it you would know why your car insurances have gone up! The fact that you find it too arduous is down to me and I apologise for the presentation style, I just don't know how else to do it! I hope at the very least you have seen some of the moves behind the financial headlines of late and understand the degenerate relationship between our governments and the financial sector. In the flower power 1960s' parlance, the Man is sticking it to you! And with that I will retire my quill…………………………

Jim, I really get what you are saying overall and heartedly agree, I just don't understand the 'available parking as a reason to limit investment in the town' bit? Were/are NCC investing in the Town, have they even got any plans to? I know there is a group trying to make that happen but it's a bit like moving a sand dune with a fork! Are you having a go at possible parking charges in the Town? I have a bet on with several people that we will see that re-emerge before we take our next sup to Auld Lang Syne! There is one area which always gets in the way of possible developments in the Town and that's the conservation tag the Front Street, and now surrounding area, has. Good thing…….bad thing…….I dunno. Without it we wouldn't have had the Market Place regeneration, and even if some people don't like what it turned out to be it does represent a million squid inward investment.

Whoever is still reading this stuff might like to see one of the latest ECB documents about imbalances and sustainability within the Eurozone. http://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2010/html/sp100709_2.en.pdf?d4726975fcbf52956e1d112928b71dcb There are several observations I would make but perhaps the issues regarding currency devaluations by way of increasing exports, AKA the UK solution, would seem worthy of mention. It would seem quite clear the required result in terms of export driven sales and increased employment is anything but certain. In fact letting a currency devalue will have a less than desired effect on factory gate prices because costing's will go up. If a company maintains it's 'spreads' it can easily run the risk of losing out on any benefits from a currency devaluation. Not quite the easy fix the politicos thought! If we look at the reasons behind the current rise in euro value what can be seen? Err, nowt really! It looks more likely we will see this sort of thing applied to all 'world' currencies in a sort of 'your turn next' scenario. It is bad news for Eurozone exporters though as looking at one of the graphs above we see the need for Eurozone 'external' export growth. No doubt the safe haven of the Dollar will come under pressure soon and a reversal of the Euro/Dollar value ensue! Hungary has booted the IMF into touch, well almost; they have walked away from the table just as they were negotiating a new loan package. Hungary has implemented its own austerity package since about 2005 and now realises just what a drag on its economy that has been. With no realistic hopes of economic growth allowing the (now cash strapped) IMF to demand further cuts is a bridge too far! Worth watching the Canadians at the moment. Having already 'fixed' their domestic economy before the world went mad they now seem intent on picking up foreign cash generative safe companies who are somewhat insulated from the worst effects of recession.

In the best traditions of that late Max Bygraves, 'I wanna tell you a story'. If anyone is wondering why interest rates are being held at zero percent penalising savers and you still cannot get a loan or sensible mortgage the answer is somewhat shocking. We have to look across the Pond and peer into the murky world of American finance and Government. First up we saw American banks, and some UK ones, begin unqualified lending practices then packaging these debts up into units which took quantum physics mathematicians to value and selling them on. These were made up of, or at least large parts of them were, what became known as toxic debts, so radioactive they could burn through titanium! As more and more banks jumped onto the bandwagon the appetite for these debts started waning and they were now being passed around in something resembling pass the parcel. Bit like the old Lloyd's asbestos insurance scam and where they stopped no one knew! The big players then just stopped all and any activities and in so doing brought the while rotten house of cards down. Did the big boys suffer, not really because they invested in government bonds instead. While the politicos were running around with their heads up their arses the banks sat back, did nothing and made a good return! What an obnoxious relationship! Before anyone is taken in by utterings about bashing the banks just remember who is bankrolling a lot of governments at the moment! Could our political class not see what was happening? Again looking across the Atlantic let's see what happened to all that $700B Hank Paulson bailout money. It was supposed to buy up these bad debts and save homeowners etc. As soon as Congress authorised it Paulson used it to buy banking equity. Now why should they take this approach? Because it immediately came back as punters for government bonds! The banks cannot foreclose on the government, they would lose everything but they can foreclose on Joe Soap and his overdue mortgage, they can offer punitive loan rates to small businesses and they can load up credit cards and other small loans for us mere mortals! Ah, but that's America, well no the same sort of thing happened here! Conspiracy theory? I don't think it is…………… Anyone wanting the full SP try reading John R. Talbott.

:lol:

Jim, Where did you get the information from?

Nice one......... :lol: