and all the other claptrap so beloved of the disciples of Marx?

John, you have read Marx–haven’t you??

Spot on and largely what I was trying to say . Does that mean you’re out of synch too?

Derek my boy, I’m out of sync with humanity at large. It’s been that way for a long time now….:);):)

Charlie.
I accept your point, but it’s hardly the fault of the victim/recipient that the other person is lacking in brain, education or just thick–is it??
Isn’t that slightly how the Amritsar massacre came about??
Someone with limited ability couldn’t, wouldn’t understand another group.
It’s not the fault of the victim–how can it be??

Crimea by Orlando Figes.
Quite interesting but he’s a bit fond of himself (and his knowledge) I think. So it comes across a bit wordy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crimea-Orlando-Figes/dp/0141013508/ref=la_B000APO9J8_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1363282212&sr=1-4

A.

My guess would be that you could sell it but would you want to?
You never know where it may end up.
Similarly, I always cut the straps out of a crash helmet before i dispose of it–even down the local dump.
That way no one can fish it out and E-bay it.
Just my thoughts on it.
A.

Sadly once again this thread has turned into a farcical left/right spat.
I do wish the incumbents here could think away from those tired old arguments and move into the broad sunlit uplands of being able to think for themselves and hold an independent opinion.
Surely much of this debate is just what was once described as good manners.
If you use language aimed at another which is offensive, derogatory or otherwise insulting, then political correctness doesn’t come in to it.
It’s just bad manners.
I’ll give you an example.
Many years ago when I first qualified as an electrical engineer I was sitting at my desk in the company I worked for (GEC) and the personnel secretary came into my department to speak to me.
Despite me recently being qualified after five years of study the conversation went thus.
Her:- ‘Haven’t you got a funny accent, you sound like a right bumpkin.’
Me:- I’ve got a Norfolk accent and where I come from the term ‘Bumpkin’ has an inference in which the person so named is the product of inbreeding. Are you saying that I’m inbred??
Her;- nothing but puzzled silence.

The point I’m making is that with the application of good manners, and perhaps a bit of education on her part the conversation need never have happened.
Of course, I got over it and lived, but it isn’t necessary.
Many of the people who bang on about how vile PC stuff is seem to me to want carte blanche to say what they like without fear of reproach.
They might think it’s funny to refer to a black person as a n*gger for instance–it’s only a joke after all–isn’t it..??
How about kikes, dagos, w*gs and spicks–they’re all humorous nicknames too aren’t they??

Cor, you couldn’t get his autograph could you..?
It’d mean a lot ot someone I know.
A.

Wow..!
Whatever next–talkies..?

Not sure that Patrick would take that as a compliment….!;):D

Do you know him?

I actually attended PMQ’s once.
I knew someone who worked there and he got me two tickets, not to sit in the public bit but a gallery for visiting foreign diplomats. I actually sat next to a group of ‘important’ gentlemen from the middle east.
Anyway, it’s all scripted. You get the list of questions to be asked in advance. Ten minutes before it started, John Prescott was making a grinding speech about something or other–local government I think, to a largely empty room, and then bang on the nail of noon in sweeps Blair like the entrance of the Queen of Sheba followed by the rest of the assorted hoard. Then it kicks off and then, bang on the nail of thirty minutes, Blair f*cks off and the place empties.
Then there was an endless debate (I think about 800 years) about Ulster–with the usual assorted micks in attendance–Trimble, Paisley etc.
Me and my mate endured about ten minutes of that and then went to find lunch in a pub.
Still, it was an education, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome resigned from the leadership of the Tories the following day.
The p*ssed Jock was leader of the Meaningless Party and to be honest and despite the fact I’d like to see Blair publicly crucified (yes complete with nails and the thing the Romans used to shove up the victims kazoo) he cut IBS and the jock to ribbons–quite a nasty piece of work up close and personal I would say.
Best bit of theatre I’d been to since I saw Patrick Stewart in ‘The Tempest’.
Happy days.
A.