Although I remain politically non-aligned.
I really think the time has come to say enough.

See you on the barricades.

This is Osborne’s comment on the situation.
Would Osborne and Cameron be able to defend us against a compulsory raid on our accounts by the EU?

I’m mildly surprised they haven’t already done this.
Let’s face they’re without any form form of scruples.

Re 7
That’s a shame ! I had you marked as a UKIP activist of merit.

Sorry John, that’s a no can do.
I’m not saying my loyalty couldn’t be bought (every man has a price) but I doubt your old mucker Farage (or any other politician) would be willing to pay it.
Not when so many of the gullible willingly follow them in droves for nothing.

The trouble with the EU seems simple to me.
How are you going to couple together economies like Germany. France, and Britain (which even in themselves have glaring mismatches) with economies like Portugal, Spain and Greece?

I would have thought it’d be easier trying to mix oil and water.

Plus, in my own case with a personal loathing of authority, bureaucracy, power structures and authority figures in general (politicians, police, the judiciary, banks, the inland revenue, traffic wardens, the military–please note this list is by no means exhaustive) I see the EU as just another excuse to employ a load of otherwise unemployables and exert power on the small people–and whatever any self delusions that any of you here may have–that’s mostly us.

And no, before you mention it, I won’t be voting UKIP.
I will never vote again–that’s one promise to myself I intend to keep.
They are all w*nkers. The lot of them.

That’s nothing.
Try The Boulevard Périphérique on two wheels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unvJpxJ0if4

I think this film is of the current record set in 1990. Sadly, since then speed cameras have effectively stopped more modern attempts.

A.

Over here we still had old technology which i would guess the austerity period after the war didn’t help.

Gary.
Being an old biker at heart, I’m often reminded of Lord and Lady Docker riding around in their gold plated Daimler while BSA churned out the same old leaky singles and twins.
Meanwhile in Japan………..

Laughable really.

A.

I’ve watched it, enjoyed the funny bits, shed a tear or two and donated some money. Anyone who remained unmoved by some of the stories related both at home and abroad must have hearts of stone. Those who have watched and think it is all about the BBC or celebrities have totally and utterly missed the point.

Some of the comments above are frankly shameful.

Derek.
I’m happy (seriously–not with irony) that you feel this way.
Maybe cynicism has overtaken the rest of us.
However, I can’t help but find myself contrasting the great wealth of these celebrities, who no doubt employ banks of accountants to minimise their tax burden and the stark poverty of the children in Africa.
I think the film makers the other night missed the irony (sadly I didn’t) when some Irish git was hanging on to a tree branch in a river with a back up team the size of a small army trying to rescue him with the statement which followed a few minutes later about how many children from a local village had drowned in the same river on the way to school or collecting water etc.
I would think that the cost of sending a film crew, medics, hangers on and providing insurance, comforts and much else for the so called celebs might have nearly provided for a bridge over the river for that village.
I might be wrong and actually look forward to your thoughts.

Andy

Please don’t be a cretin and resort to petty toilet insults, we’re supposed to be grown ups on here.

Chronic underinvestment in a state owned company is still the responsibility of the state. But if you knew anything about cars from the British Leyland era, you’d know that many of the faults were not with investment, they were with poor quality checks and standards.

Who says we’re supposed to be adults here? I certainly have no intention of behaving like an adult to the likes of the sort people who congregate here.
Furthermore, much of what I see writtten on here (you can include yourself in that too) mitigates against pretty much everyone here being an adult, and if you insist on talking cr*p, then I’ll make toilet references and call you out on it.
And maybe I am a cretin but as the man once said: it takes one to know one.

Going on to British Leyland, which with dull predicability you did, the problem was underinvestment. Has it ever occured to anyone that the original owners of Austin and Morris and all the other constituent companies that made up what was initially BMC, couldn’t get out and get their fat rewards for being nationalised quick enough..?
And British Leyland wasn’t actually nationalised until 1975, so I suggest their problems might have started much earlier than that.
They wanted out because they woke up to the knowledge that they weren’t going to be able to compete in World markets in a post war, post empire World–well not without sticking their hands in their pockets and investing. So it was easier to run with a handout and go.
The same with aviation–in fact run by an even bigger group of spivs if that was possible, and the railways, three out of the four constiuent companies who made up British Railways asked to be nationalised (The Great Western didn’t). That’s why we don’t make motorbikes here anymore because the Government were not interested in bailing them out and quite rightly because they were even more crappily built than the cars.

In other countries of course, governments very wisely assisted their manufacturing industries through the bad times, knowing that happy workers pay tax and don’t sponge off the system.
So, when last year, despite a World recession (well we’re told there’s one by our masters because the British economy is actually f*cked but no one dare admit because it doesn’t win votes) happy German BMW workers were on seven day shifts and full overtime trying to fill all the orders for the far east.
Just imagine what ‘Just Call Me Dave’ and that other other mindless t**t from The Meaningless Party’ who keeps him in the job would make of that. I bet they’d nearly p*ss themselves with glee if we were ever in that fortunate position. But then again of course, the krauts always did take a long term view of investment over the spiv-ism of this miserable little pellet of land.

And as I remain non-aligned, yes before with further dull predictability you raise it, the unions at places like Longbridge were a spanner in the works, and the work force were certainly very poor in productivity terms. Labour relations in this unhappy country were certainly a problem in the post war period. Sadly I think further self interest was at work here too, with senior union people doing quite nicely thank you off the backs of the people they were meant to represent–very sad.

In closing, up until very recently, I owned and drove a product of British Leyland.
Much of the design ethos which went into their vehicles was actually sound.
Dead easy to spanner too, parts were cheap and spares lived throughout so many models that it was easy to find them.
Surprisingly rugged too.