I had no problems filling up this evening. Virtually all petrol stations I passed today between Coventry and Llangollen had petrol and diesel. Seems there were extra deliveries over night and most people now have probably got a full tank of fuel.
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Fuel Strikes?
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The Government does seem to have made a bit of a mess about the possible strike, but I am amazed how many people are blaming the Government for the stupidity of that woman! There's also the story of the OAP that was filling jars with fuel, although luckily she was stopped on the forecourt before driving home with them in the boot.
Isn't this where society is today though? Always blame someone else? That's part of the reason we're in the mess we are. Labour was of course in power when the recession hit, and Labour happily spent money on the never never - but it doesn't mean the general public shouldn't have shouldered a significant percentage of the blame. We were happily borrowing way beyond our means, enjoying supposedly limitless credit and getting ourselves hugely into debt. It's too easy to just blame the Government, whether it's because you borrowed too much or thought that playing with petrol in a kitchen with a gas oven/hob on was safe.
Isn't this where society is today though? Always blame someone else? That's part of the reason we're in the mess we are. Labour was of course in power when the recession hit, and Labour happily spent money on the never never - but it doesn't mean the general public shouldn't have shouldered a significant percentage of the blame. We were happily borrowing way beyond our means, enjoying supposedly limitless credit and getting ourselves hugely into debt. It's too easy to just blame the Government, whether it's because you borrowed too much or thought that playing with petrol in a kitchen with a gas oven/hob on was safe.
Butts
Veteran Member
Agreed - as I mentioned earlier the women was obviously cranially challenged to be conducting a chemistry lesson in her kitchen, if she had a petrol can it should have had a nozzle for dispensing fuel. Failing that a funnel could have been made from a squash bottle or the like.
With regard to jam jars they used to be for tadpoles when I was a lad
With regard to jam jars they used to be for tadpoles when I was a lad
I always found them to be good for Jam
I always found them to be good for Jam
Whoever told you that? Surely that's an old wives tale?
Minilad
Established Member
In cock-er-ney slang a jam jar is something you should put petrol in
Indeed, but I think the 75 year old lady didn't realise it was slang and took it literally!
(Seriously though; they were apparently 1 gallon jars - so they weren't actually jam jars. Not sure what they could be for?)
SS4
Established Member
I thought she was caught filling 1 gallon paint cans AND jam jars?
Yes, and how did they react differently? As the MP on last night's news said, the Government in such situations is damned either way. The real problem is that this is a "dispute" between employers and employees that is turned into something that affects everyone when a strike is called. The Government has no place in the original dispute, but it is hellishly hard to remain above the squabbles.
Serious question: does anyone know what the dispute is actually about, and what has changed to make the situation unacceptable to the drivers?
I have no idea what the exact reasons for a strike are. They've mentioned safety issues, so it's either to do with changing business practices (less safe trucks, streamlining processes that might cause problems or perhaps being made to work more hours?)
Nobody in the media seems to be that bothered about finding out and telling us either.
Nobody in the media seems to be that bothered about finding out and telling us either.
SS4
Established Member
The government cannot be blamed for the woman decanting petrol in her home (she's lucky there is an NHS for her to go to of course - I wonder how many private insurers would have paid out?).
What they can and should be blamed for is inducing panic and very successfully diverting attention from awkward questions about Cameron's dinner donors which has been very well forgotten :roll:
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Nor do they seem that bothered about finding out and telling us who it was who paid megabucks for dinner with Cameron and what policy changes were made as a result of this.
What they can and should be blamed for is inducing panic and very successfully diverting attention from awkward questions about Cameron's dinner donors which has been very well forgotten :roll:
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Nor do they seem that bothered about finding out and telling us who it was who paid megabucks for dinner with Cameron and what policy changes were made as a result of this.
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There's a bit more detail from Unite:
http://www.unitetheunion.org/news__events/latest_news/tanker_drivers_say__enough_is.aspx?lang=en-gb
That's an interesting document - and if it is the basis for the proposed strike it is quite disturbing. There are no concrete proposals that have been rejected, and no changes to the safety regime that have made things worse. Why on earth did union members vote to strike? It is very, very vague.
Can anyone expect a final salary pension these days?
As for David Cameron inviting donors for dinner.. I personally can't see the problem, as long as it's all recorded. I can't see the problem with Labour doing it either, or any other party. In fact, they all do it - and we can see that Labour IS doing it too. So what's the story?
The scandal is when a donor gives money and secures a new law, policy change or whatever - and that has also been going on since the dawn of time (give or take!). Let's get some evidence before we consider that we've got the 'smoking gun'.
I'm friends with my local MP on Facebook and I've spoken to him a few times by email. Should that be declared in case something I told him happens and it looks like corruption? Not that I've given any money to him at all, but still. He's invited me (and others) to visit the Houses of Parliament for a tour. Is that corruption? He also has regular meetings with other constituents and I'm sure it wouldn't be impossible to get to go somewhere where the PM is if I really pushed.
As for David Cameron inviting donors for dinner.. I personally can't see the problem, as long as it's all recorded. I can't see the problem with Labour doing it either, or any other party. In fact, they all do it - and we can see that Labour IS doing it too. So what's the story?
The scandal is when a donor gives money and secures a new law, policy change or whatever - and that has also been going on since the dawn of time (give or take!). Let's get some evidence before we consider that we've got the 'smoking gun'.
I'm friends with my local MP on Facebook and I've spoken to him a few times by email. Should that be declared in case something I told him happens and it looks like corruption? Not that I've given any money to him at all, but still. He's invited me (and others) to visit the Houses of Parliament for a tour. Is that corruption? He also has regular meetings with other constituents and I'm sure it wouldn't be impossible to get to go somewhere where the PM is if I really pushed.
Nym
Established Member
Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
There is one railway company in London which still offers a final salary scheme in job adverts...
Schnellzug
Established Member
Well, i suppose Mr. "Cameron" can be well satisfied with this experiment. He must be very pleased with how many people complied when the "Government" told them to go out & do something. This must augur well for the next time the Government wants to spread a mood of hysteria among the Public, such as (for example) next time they want to contrive a new Terror Threat, or they want to create some diversion to distract the Public's attention.
table38
Established Member
Something which of course, the previous government never did :roll:
ZZZzzzz.
ZZZzzzz.
Schnellzug
Established Member
of course they did. But no one ever takes any notice, do they. Governments can get away with doing whatever they like all the time, and treat the people who "elected" them with utter contempt, because (perhaps) they know that actually, only a small minority of the people did actually vote for them. And so it goes on endlessly. But because our system calls itself "Democratic", then people just smugly sit back and say "democracy is the worst system there is, apart from all the others", and similar smug quotes from great leaders down the ages.
Butts
Veteran Member
Blimey your on a bit of a downer......
Which system would you suggest instead of a Democracy ?
table38
Established Member
Well, you could argue that's because we don't have a democracy, we have a elective oligarchy instead 
The same thing happens at a local level. Our council does what it wants because it knows people around here will vote for anything with a red rosette on it and they will get back in next time regardess.
More perversely, we spent a lot of time helping a local independent councillor get elected because of a planning issue, she even got her photo in the local rag stood in front of the proposed development.
Then when she got in, she said she couldn't actually do anything about it because she lived locally and therefore was deemed to have a vested interest
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I favour this idea
The same thing happens at a local level. Our council does what it wants because it knows people around here will vote for anything with a red rosette on it and they will get back in next time regardess.
More perversely, we spent a lot of time helping a local independent councillor get elected because of a planning issue, she even got her photo in the local rag stood in front of the proposed development.
Then when she got in, she said she couldn't actually do anything about it because she lived locally and therefore was deemed to have a vested interest
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I favour this idea
SS4
Established Member
Blimey your on a bit of a downer......
Which system would you suggest instead of a Democracy ?
It's stretching it to call our system a democracy when one can win without getting more than 50% of the vote and when comparatively few seats [swing seats] actually matter.
I've called for it before and I'll do so again: proportional representation from a massive pool of candidates. Let's face it few MPs care about their constituents anyway and toe the party line.
Marxism would be nice and the suggestion would be interesting to see Cameron's rich buddies quaking in their boots as the proletariat rise to take what's theirs
. Of course in reality it'd be too open to abuse as we saw in the Soviet Union.--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Such as to pass through the snooping bill? If I were a betting man my money would be on generating nationalistic fervour over the Falkland Islands. (i.e if you don't support this then you'll be helping Argentina seize the Falklands).
That and there's always good old fashioned anti-EU sentiment. The EU is an essential bulwark against aggressive policies of the right.
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table38
Established Member
The snooping bill seems odd, because anyone with a modicum of technical ability will know how to circumvent it.
It'll be interesting to see if it applies to private companies as well as ISPs, seeing as everything about 2,000 employees in our company in the UK do is already routed through a single proxy in another country.
Perhaps it's another case of "being seen to do something" rather than actually doing something useful.
It'll be interesting to see if it applies to private companies as well as ISPs, seeing as everything about 2,000 employees in our company in the UK do is already routed through a single proxy in another country.
Perhaps it's another case of "being seen to do something" rather than actually doing something useful.
Schnellzug
Established Member
On this subject.. All three party leaders given worst poll ratings in History
it's in the Daily Mail, so it can't be biased!
it's in the Daily Mail, so it can't be biased!
Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
I thought all e-mails and web access were routinely monitored unofficially anyway - the bill would simply formalise it!
Agreed there. Even 'phonecalls are the same, either temporary SIM cards (Lebara get used quite a lot) or the good old-fashioned deserted 'phone box. Just for a laugh, if I ever have to disappear, my mobile will go in a bin on the Highland Chieftain, so anyone looking for it goes all the way to Inverness!
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