Canny lass

Where was I? Oh yes Nationality and immigrant status of suspects: Reporting from The Spectator (TS), erring on the side of caution, would have us Believe that all suspects "appear to have been" Arab or North African, adding - as if to strengthen the hypothesis - that they "spoke neither English nor German. Only Arab/Arab looking and North African nationalities are reported on by Daily Express DE), The Observer (TO), The Guardian (TG) and Sunday People (SP) while The Independent (IND) mentions only "some Syrians". The New York Times (NYT), on the other hand, reports on eight different nationalities, including not only Arab and North African but even - wait for it - Serb, American and would you Believe it, German! The only publication to Think outside the box, as it were. On the question of immigrant status TS remains cautious, claiming that suspects are "possibly some of the 1.1 million migrants who arrived last year". In total, seven of the publications take up the question of immigrant status, with only The Guardian choosing not to report on it. The Sunday People states that the immigration status is not known. Whether this lack of knowledge applies to the police in general or merely to SP cannot be determined from the text. Of the remaining publications, DE says that 18 of their reported 32 suspects are "immigrant" and NYT seems to agree, at least as far as numbers go, specifying that 18 of 32 are assylum seekers. The Independent, which reported only two arrests, is less specific saying that the "suspects" are "mainly migrant and assylum seekers" and "some Syrian refugees". TO is also adopting a somewhat vague reporting strategy in claiming that police investigations are "focusing partly on refugees and immigrants". The International stands a little apart from the crowd, being the only publication to evoke the notion of 'illegality' among the immigrant suspects. Well done International. You've got a real scoop there! Again, I am forced to ask the question; Who should we Believe? The only conclusion that can be drawn with any degree of certainty is that seven of the eight publications (if not all) are reporting incorrect information.

Following Pete's link above to orthumberland.gov.uk you can find Spring View (not Spring Mount) on the far right of the map at 4.21 - First Edition OS map c1860. On the Third Edition OS map c 1920 4.30 you can read: 4.37 Although Spring View still survives as a reminder of the Bedlington iron and engine works, Holly Mount had gone as had workers cottages associated with both houses, to be replaced by modern housing behind Front Street East and a new retirement home on the main street itself at the entrance to the old town.

Coach Lane had a mention on this site March 13 2014 in 'Old Places in Bedlington' when it was said that "Walker Terrace was on the first left Before going down Bedlington Bank. I Think it stood next to a street called Coach Road. That old big sandstone house for retired clergymen, is it Spring Mount was at the end of the Road".

I clearly didn't see it either! That should have read "few minutes" just as Maggie has pointed out. However, I am not apportioning "blame" to anyone - merely doing as I was requested in your post of 12 January at 23.19 "if you have any problems or observations please post them on this thread". I'm sure your advice on password managers is sound but a password manager seems a bit extravagant for managing ONE password. My others, of the same type - mixture of small and capital letters combined with numbers in a random manner cause no problems. I can Always make up some kind of sentence that helps me remember the sequence, but then again - I've usually chosen the sequence myself. On this occasion I did not and fantasy eludes me. Like the new set-up, by the way!

Why should we Believe this anymore than we should Believe anything else that's been written on the subject of New Year's Eve in Cologne? The reports in the English speaking press have been as varied as they have been many. Let's take a look eight publications and compare their content, 5 - 11 January, in relation to New Year's Eve in Cologne. For the purpose of the excercise I've chosen: The Spectator (TS), The Daily Express (DE), The Observer (TO), The Independent (IND), The Guardian (TG), The International (INT) Sunday People (SP) and The New York Times (NYT). Together they represent a cross-section of news publications both in type - quality press or tabloid press - and political affiliation: left, right or centre. It could have been many others but choice is limited by the possibility of access to archived information via Internet and the cost of accessing it. I've taken a look at the reporting of: the number of filed complaints, the type of offence, the number of offences of a sexual nature, the number of suspects and their nationality and immigrant status. Number of complaints filed: Reporting on filed complaints varies from 60 (TG) just five days after the event, through "dozens" (TS) and 150 (also TS, same article) nine days after the event to 516 eleven days after the event. Some, but by no means all, of these differences can be attributed to the fact that complaints have continued to be filed several days after the event. The differences in reporting can clearly be seen in the editions of January 8 when DE reported on 106 filed complaints (made by 90 people), IND reported on 120 complaints and SP reported on: "60", "at least 90" and "more than 90" - all in the same article! Moving on to January 11, The Observer (TO) reported the number of filed complaints as being 516 (of which 395 are reported to have occurred during the week-end of 9-10 January). This enables the reader to deduce that the total number of complaints filed as per January 8 must have been 121 and, just to add to the confusion, the same article reports on the police giving their account of filed complaints as being 133! Who should we Believe? Proportion of filed complaints related to sexual offences: Again, the reports are varied. The Guardian reports on both "a huge amount" and "1/3" (read 20) of the 60 filed complaints as being of a sexual nature. This was however in the early stages of the reporting. Three days later, January 8, IND is reporting both a vague "more than 100" and a very specific "120" cases - both in the same article! But, one day later, The Spectator gives is a lower figure, 112 (of the 150 filed complaints), as being sexual in nature. Meanwhile, back at the NYT, only three offences related to sex are being reported on. January 11, TO will have us Believe that 40% (206) of it's 516 reported cases are sex related, which equates to 48 cases if we, for ease of comparison, use the deduced figure of 121 from January 8. Even INT is now reporting that 40% (151) of its 379 filed complaints relate to sexual offences. Both Sunday People and Daily Express aren't speculating on the number of sex crimes. Who should we Believe? Types of offences reported: All eight publications reported on the varying types of crime committed. These covered a wide range of offences from the more generic and evocative "massed sex attacks" and "vicious attacks", reported on by - you guessed it - The Spectator - to the somewhat milder "mugging" and "harassment" reported on by The Guardian. In between there are reports of theft, assault, sexual assault, pick-pocketing, robbery, sexual abuse, rape (INT and TS reported on 2 cases and TG on one case),sexual molestation and fighting. IND also reported on "pushing around" - if that's now a crime in a 2 000 man strong crowd on a New Years Eve in Germany! The Daily Express, bless its cotton socks, actually reported that there were no sexual offences among the 18 immigrant suspects! Who should we Believe? This is what journalism (I'm almost ashamed to use the word in this context) will have us believe about the offences comitted on New Year's Eve in Cologne. I'll come back later and tell you what they want us to believe about the "alleged" - innocent until proved guilty and all that - perpetrators of these offences - but only if you behave yourselves!

Good Points Mercuryg! Myself, I wondered about the impact on Britain's roads of all those people who, like Mr. Edmonds, are "fortunate to have more than one home" but return to visit family at Christmas or return to live in their 'second' home during the summer months when their host country gets too hot. Ironically, that second home is standing empty for up to ten months a year when it could house a family, or be pulled down to create building space, thereby alleviating some of the 'fullness' they complain about. However, you don't need to own two homes to add to the congestion on Britain's roads. You can equally well be just a UK emigrant - that's to say, an immigrant in some other patriots country - a bit like myself and a few others on this forum, together with millions of others dotted around the World. For this Group of immigrants, seeing family usually involves the use of a hire car (Mr. Edmonds has no doubt a second car standing in the second garage of his second home) and I must admit to having driven from Heathrow to Bristol, thereby adding to the congestion, on numerous occasions. Perhaps it was Little old me who held up Mr. Edmonds! A personal apology will be winging its way to him within the hour.

That goes for me too, HPW but keep your rest periods to the minimum or your pay will be docked!

I forgot to mention - I've been waiting for an hour for the e-mail that was to be delivered within Three minutes to enable me to reset my pass Word. I've found the old one now but would still llike to change it as it''s long and cumbersome to remember. It therefore requires my being permanently logged in or scraps of paper cluttering up my desk and a great deal of effort on my part to see that these don't end up in the waste paper basket. Can I change my password - please?

Definitely different! I must just have a Little experiment here to find out if I now can cut and paste quote post a picture Experiment 1) If you hit the Discussion Tab you'll get things in the familiar forums format Cut and paste seems to be working nicely now, thank you. Experiment 2) Quote seems to be working nicely too, Halleluja for that! Experiment 3) post a Picture Yes! that's the first time I've been able to do that! I'm sure my posts will be much more interesting now - and possibly longer. I'll try to contain myself! Now, if you could just sort out my wayward Capitals I'd be delighted.

Thank you all for your very kind thoughts! I had a pleasant day wallpapering the guest room. I got some nice presents too, including - 12 mosquito nets, 90 doses of tetanus vaccine, 90 doses of measles vaccine, 90 doses of polio vaccine and 150 packets of nut Cream to combat malnutrition and all have been sent to Children who need them most! And - perhaps my favourite - a new knitted hat. It's purple. PURPLE I tell you!! Eggy, I'm well impressed with your language skills! Most people write 'gratis', using only one T, making me 'free' on my birthday instead of congratulating me! And Foxy, I hope your not being 'impittent'!

Nothing new there, I'm afraid Pilgrim. Swathes of hot air, vast rippling belches, falling into black holes and causing outbursts - not to mention the Deep red light or things being clinched as a belch rather than a gulp - together with the Close proximity of a super massive black hole ( I read something completely different there! I must have been distracted by that AAS meeting directly above) are what my day, and that of several others, is made of!

I'm afraid you've lost me on the second paragraph, 3g. La-la lands, Babies and Red Arthur? However, moving on, I fail to understand why you've bothered to canvass votes for the proposal if half a million is as good as it gets on gov.uk. The required amount to get this off the mat and onto the table is one million - not a lot in a country withover sixty-three million inhabitants. I'm almost lost on the third as well as I don't actually recall saying that you know of anyone who is anti-immigrant. We would appear to have differing views on the meaning of anti-immigration. For me the Word 'immigration' holds no notion of time (other than permanency of Residence). The same can be said of Anti-immigration - it holds no notion of time. You can be anti immigrant for one day, one week, five years or throughout your Life.

"now silver is an interesting thing ... a very effective thing for bacterial issues" and yet silver coins were one of the greatest sources of infection for Babies. Says Worlds about the actual silver content in British coins, don't you Think? Pot. permang! Now there's a name that conjures up memories of scrubbing Purple fingers till they almost bled. Used in medicinal baths, among other things, during my time. Gave the patients a rather nice, rosy sort of glow. Oh, happy Days!

Now that's what I call class as well! Oh to have the Power to be able to do that! I can't agree with you about the bus ticket though, I'm sure the research you suggest would reveal many interesting things. My daughter almost died at the age of 3 months due to the widespread custom of pressing a silver - bacteria covered - coin into the hands of new Babies. However, the text on a bus ticket can reveal all sorts of things about the bus Company!

Wholeheartedly agree, Pilgrim but the study of linguistics does not recognise a literary masterpiece as anything other than a peice of text. We even analysed the text on bus tickets for some professors! True!

Robert Frost, Maggie! One of my favourites. Love the open ending of The Road not Travelled. Pilgrim, if you but knew the hours I'd spent labouring over various interpretations of sections of TDC you wouldn't be surprised at my recognising it. Because they are so numerous the many and diverse interpretations provide what linguistics professors deem to be an unending source of material for probing the depths of syntactical influence on semantic content. There was a time when I could recite passages in my sleep! Not any more but odd lines can ring a bell.

It's Dante, Maggie but I don't Think it's Heaney*s interpretation. Heaney interpreted "Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita" to "Half way on our life's journey" rather than "In the middle of the journey of my life". Mind you, I had to look that up as it's so long since I worked with The Divine Comedy. On the whole, Heaney's is a fantastic version. I read a Swedish version some years ago but it just didn't manage to give the same 'feel'.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear 3g happy birthday to you Hope 2016 is good to you.

voting on someone's reputation? Mm ............. He who casts the first vote? What is he voting on? Blind faith perhaps? No, I Think Malcom's idea is better. A post that exists can be voted on. A reputation that doesn't exist would present problems for the first voter. How would he know if the none existant reputation was good or bad or even what the reputation was? 3g, I Think you may have missed my point. Yes, there are going on for ½ million votes on the petition but there are going on for 63 million possible votes that are NOT on the petition. One can only speculate as to why this is. No agreement for the proposal could be one of them. I have to admit to being surprised at the low response to this petition given that the UK electorate, in numbers not insignificant , voted in parties whose policies are so clearly anti-immigrant. I would have thought they'd be knocking down our Maggie in the stampede to get to the green button.

Maggie, in your eagerness to find and press green buttons, you may perhaps stumble across an enormous example of such by following the link in the first post in Call a Temporary Halt to All Immigration (Chat Central, in case you've missed it). There doesn't seem to be much going on there but perhaps the button presser(s) is also rationed to 13 - 14 presses a day. However, should you by chance stumble across that button, I suggest that you follow the example of the 62 727 104 UK residents who have NOT pressed the button. Just saying.

It's been the same for years, Mercuryg - the supplement I mean! Right up there with the former News of the World in my opinion.

"yes I am! ... we have to go th(o)rough the pretence that this scheme applies to all religious groups. They keep it to themselves." Well, they are clearly not doing a very good job! You, to name just one, seem to know all about it. If these Groups are so closed how are YOU getting all this inside information? " The answer to that final paragraph is that the net needs to spread as wide as possible; that the Groups that you mention also include significant numbers of less extreme Muslims ... and those Groups are the people that most come into Contact with potential radicals" Firstly I would like to Point out that, I am not only 'mentioning' these Groups I am, in fact, quoting the UK Government's publication 2010 - 2015 Government Policy on Counter Terrorism of which the Prevent Project is part. That said, I again have to ask - how do you know this? What is, for example, a 'significant' number? You clearly know the number in order to be able to place this determining adjective Before it. How do you know that it's this Group of extreme radicals that "most come into Contact with potential radicals"? You clearly know who they are, both the extreme and the potentials among them. Where do you get this information? "so did we have a problem with terrorist extremists bent on bringing down our society" ... "before we had a significant adoption of Islamic beliefs in our country"? I deliberately did not cite the "replacement with a theocracy" bit as I've already demonstrated that this is not about to happen. However, I Think you may have misunderstood my comment regarding the proof of the pudding being in the eating. I was referring to the referrals being investigated and having the results to hand but yes, we have dealt with terrorism in the UK Before. Me knowingly, you are not so Young that that you did not live through the IRA terror attacks related to Northern Ireland, and neither are you so old that senility has caused you to forget them. Of course we have had terrorism - solved by dialogue and negotiation if my memory serves me right. I didn't bother to read the link. It's from The New York Times Magazine, for goodness sake! I'd rather chew off my own right leg! Are you serious! A 'Sunday supplement' ( you may as well read 'tabloid') that's been going steadily downhill for many decades. Just googled it to make sure that statement still holds and yep - it appears to. They introduced a 'funny page' a few years ago and it died the Death after a year. They couldn't even get that right and now I read that they've hired the former editor of Oprah Winfrey's Magazine to try and get it afloat again. Oh dear, oh dear! Doesn't appear to be doing the trick though. My rose-coloured spectacles? The nice thing about spectacles is that you can at least see something through them and they can be removed, if wished. The blind, on the other hand, have (someof them) never had the pleasure of seeing and will remain forever blind. And on that note I leave you to enjoy what remains of the year and wish you all the best for 2016 when we can continue our discussion. Hopefully by then you will have managed to answer some of the outstanding questions, which would make the discussion much more interesting.

That much I'd understood, Malcolm, situated as they are over the thread title, but what do they signify? What is it that's being 'rated' and more important where do they come from? Not that it's important if they are about to disappear.

Thank you Malcolm!

Thanks for sharing that bit of news Pilgrim. I'm all for speaking to people. Getting it straight from the horses mouth, so to speak and Maggie, you are so right! The propaganda war is two-sided.