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Gluestick

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Everything posted by Gluestick

  1. "The facts are that the planet produces around 800 billion tonnes of CO2 a year. Made up of 330 billion tonnes of net CO2 from the oceans, 220 billion tonnes of CO2 from plants and animals, 220 billion tonnes from soil respiration and decomposition, less than 1 billion tonnes from volcanoes and 38 billion tonnes of CO2 from human activity (fossil fuels, heating, industrial production etc)". Food for consideration, perhaps?
  2. Reference climate change crazies and loons, look here and have a good larf! https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/11/06/exclusive-video-cop26-crazies-climate-activists-call-end-capitalism-black-liberation-abolition-police/
  3. Quite right, Woolly! Anyone with any experience of major programme management and strategic analysis, knows that Paradigm Shift (Quantum Leap) Changes, rarely if ever work. What is required is Step Change, leading to the desired outcome/s. Idiot politicians Chris Huhne, (the felon, if your remember he committed perjury to try and avoid losing his license) had enjoyed power, when Call Me Dave did a deal with the Lib-Dems in order Dave could become PM and compelled the Government into whacking a huge penalty charge upon nasty industrial polluters, such as steel manufacturers. Which emasculated what was left of UK industry's competitive advantage. The fools gathered in Glasgow are/were not scientists; they lacked the ability to truly understand the guff being fed into them by geriatrics such as Attenborough (whose degree was in Zoology and Geology with no subsequent Masters or Doctorate!) and the rest of the Climate Change fearmongers. Amusing, to me, how some 300 hundred polluting private jets zoomed into Glasgow and environs: and how the organisers of the COP26 jolly, opted to demonstrate their greeny credentials by buying 100 EVs; only to discover there were almost no suitable charging points locally and so had to rush out and hire rafts of diesel-powered generators instead! Couldn't run a bath...
  4. Couldn't agree more Woolly! There is no such prescription in the Quoran and neither is there any such stricture in any of the Hadiths. It is subjugation of women, pure and simple. What utterly amazes me, is how the very same Liberal-Lefties who demand women's rights etc, support Islam and immigrant's rights to try and impose their lifestyles on the host countries.
  5. Consider and evaluate a transfer to a foreign pension provider. Please see: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/overseas-pensions-pension-transfers#when-transfers-are-taxed https://www.gov.uk/transferring-your-pension/transferring-to-an-overseas-pension-scheme Also, before you pay any supposed pensions advisers those thousands of quids, then, see below. https://nationalpensionadvisors.co.uk/v1/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgLa3l8758wIVhulRCh0eMgTREAAYAyAAEgIHbvD_BwE
  6. In order: 1. Oh I wish we did! Bozo is a cross between a Greenie and a Socialist: 2. I wish I could agree: sadly, I cannot, as I am looking ahead to the unavoidable and incipient disasters ahead...
  7. I always say that there is nothing like a well balanced, carefully considered and intelligent response. And, that is nothing like a well balanced, carefully considered and intelligent response!
  8. A book very much worth reading, Wools, is "An officer- and a spy" by Richard Harris. A very concise analysis, later made into a film. Emile Zola, another Jew, was a great supporter of Dreyfus and it is probably likely, he was murdered by blocking up his chimney so he was asphyxiated by carbon monoxide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Officer_and_a_Spy_(film) Zola's books about France provide excellent historical knowledge about the socio-economy; in particular Germinal which is about coal mining. Of course, not far from you in France (And us when we are there) are old coal mining areas which are still very much deprived, gloomy places. Much of this new wave of appalling antisemitism has, of course, been driven by Islam, I'm afraid.
  9. I believe France as we know and love it, has a last chance to survive as it is. If a majority of French voters do not cast their lot for Marine Le Pen, then France will be finished. Already, the political elite have ganged up on Marine (As they did when her father Jean Marie came a close second to Chirrac in 2002) and have boosted a Straw Man into the electoral race; the odious Michel Barnier: who has proceeded to try and eat Marine's lunch by waxing lyrical about mass immigration etc. Hopefully, this topic will continue to wake up this forum! ??
  10. I agree, Wools. Perhaps one of the most useful disciplines I studied at Management School, all those years ago - sigh -was motivational psychology: I became so intrigued I went on to study Freudian psychology and the works of Jung and Adler, too and so on. It is pretty inescapable, that humans can and do have addictive personalities, all too often. It can manifest itself in food addiction for example: plus as you say, gambling. Unfortunately, the Liberal-Left for too many years, have continued to trot out the concept that society ills are due to deprivation, low income, single parent families and so on. Apologism has filtered through into the legal system and lower courts. "It's not his fault he was drunk at the time etc..." A very useful book to read is "Mind Change", written by Baroness Susan Greenfield, one of the top Neuro-Scientists in the World. It explains and warns why and how people's brains have been re-wired by constant indoctrination by media, advertising and the new technologies. Clearly, a deluge of junk about media darlings and "Celebs" and their life styles, causes both jealousy and a sense of lack of personal worth. Now, I do accept how and why Thatcher's destruction of the industrial Midlands and North, created sink estates, where there is little hope of meaningful employment and this has led to drugs abuse as a means of emotional escape. That said and however, acceptance of drugs abuse, is no solution, in the longer term.
  11. Ah, the Richard Branson "solution": except all he sees is more profit. Governments and police authorities have lost control; and prisons are jammed full: thus the easy option would seem to be to legalise what are at present proscribed (i.e. illegal) drugs and substances. But... I am going to evaluate this from a UK perspective: other nation states's laws would be similar. In order for any business to supply drugs, legally, then they must be able to guarantee purity: then they would also have to be licensed by NICE (The National Institute for Clinical Excellence). The processing company would also have to try and buy indemnity for Manufacturer's Liability: good luck with that! Which underwriter in their right mind is going to take on the risk that a user could die? Remember, we live in a very litigious society, now. No Win-No Fee would be queuing up. Moving on, wholesalers would distribute product to retailers: each of the three steps adding on costs. Naturally, a greedy Chancellor would seek to impose Excise Duty; and on top of retail cost, Excise Duty etc would be VAT @ 20%, or more. Now let's consider cocaine, since this is the scourge of Europe. The European trade is mainly controlled by the Ndrangheta crime family, based in Calabria. They are the most vicious and violent of all Italian "Mafia": and the European cocaine trade is worth circa 9 Billion Euros at street value each year. The Ndrangheta control Milan, a major distribution point. So naturally, if cocaine (A Class A Drug in the UK) were to be legalised, the Ndrangheta would give up drugs and open sweetie shops instead! As with tobacco and booze smugglers, the higher the duties and thus cost, then the more attractive is smuggling. Clearly, if presently proscribed drugs were legalised, then since the cost would rise, enormously, the illegal dealers would simply carry on as before! Now I feel very strongly about this: why? Well my lovely niece, a lass who should have made a great success of her life, was drawn into smoking Pot at about 14. You know, Pot, the harmless "Recreational " drug. Harmless mon cul! I gather the lass smoked skunk which is far stronger. She eventually developed schizophrenia, which progressed, rapidly; she is now a wreck of a human being. having caused her Mum and Dad huge problems and sadness. Pot smokers often progress to other drugs, for greater highs. Using drugs is a societal problem and indicative of mental disorder: I become angry when I hear or read the expression "Recreational Drugs": what's next, pray? Recreational rape, murder, whatever? Simply a vapid excuse for aberrational behaviour. People who take drugs are, IMHO, sociopaths and need serious attention and should be kept away from the rest of society until treatment restores balance: otherwise, past a certain point they are forced to commit crimes to feed their habit; all too often. Users become dealers, too, invariably. Even if drugs were de-criminalised how would the hopheads buy their fix? At higher prices? So, I'm with Ken, on this.
  12. Oh I do realise this, ALBF: and as the Muslim population grows in France this will be its death knell; since the grand plan is to establish the European Caliphate which was beaten back a few hundred years ago. It was most interesting to learn, earlier today, that the highest Greek court has now outlawed Ha Al slaughter of animals: and this also applies to the orthodox Jewish community, too.
  13. I have travelled and stayed in quite a bit of France, ALBF and I wrote in appreciation of la France Profond; not dire cities such as Paris. For example, I would not live in London or its suburbs if you paid me! Clearly, it is now cynically referred to as "Londinstan" for good reasons. What I have surmised, over the years, is that most of the French, are not to interested in national politics; rather they are more concerned with their Commune, Canton and Departement. Obviously. idiocy from the French National government is little different from the idiocy from no 10 Downing street, or Washington DC. Certain decisions which have pan-national effects (taxation e.g,) affect all residents of a nation: no matter where one lives. However, it would seem as the French have created their own local cultures, in various regions, these are far more immune from forced and imposed change than others. Perhaps, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, ne c'est pas? "The future does not look good does it ? ". Far from it, I'm afraid...
  14. I am glad my OP seems to have enlivened a forum which was, sorry to say, all but dead! Simply put: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Personally (and my darling wife agrees, thank goodness! ?) I very much love la belle France; or perhaps what it was 20 years ago. In the early 1950s, I was proud and grateful to be British and to live in a nation state, where policemen carried truncheons not guns, addressed me as "Sir!" when I started driving in 1959; when murders were few and horrifying events, when we adored our Queen and showed her much respect. As British society progressed (Backwards IMHO) Anti Social Behaviour and youth crime increased: the police went backwards and the left wing changed magistrate's courts and JPs increasingly handed down sentences based upon apologism, rather than acts: "It isn't his fault; he came from a deprived family; was drunk at the time; was high on illegal drugs etc". Politicians increasingly believed their lofty position was above the electors and that they had every right to enrich themselves through their position, yet constantly trot out the tired mantras of integrity, playing with a straight back and zero corruption 'cos we are British, you know!" etc. I hate people such as postmen calling me "Mate"; I very much like being addressed, in France as M. I much appreciate day-to-day French manners and politeness. Sadly, amongst the young in particular, the English language has been Balkanised with American slang; as one example, my wife and I were kept waiting in a bank main branch and after some time, a spotty-faced kid came out and said “Hi Guys...” I said “Goodbye!” Obviously, it all depends on where one lives in both the UK and France. Our close friends of some years, our vicar and his lovely wife, moved to the edge of Cambridge and Essex to a small place called Castle Camps, where he is now in charge of five churches. It is a sort of time warp to an earlier era when agriculture was dominant. Same in France: our house is in the Pas de Calais, in a small commune (Pop, circa 130) which itself, is a sort of time warp; as is our nearby Canton town. The area has no real industry and is focused on agriculture. Now, why do my wife and I like France? 1. The nation state was sensible enough to early on invest in electricity generation by nuclear power: 2. Despite being FIVE TIMES the geographical land mass than England ( And England is the largest part and has the majority of the total population), Metropolitan France developed excellent road systems and above all else, keeps them maintained: 3. Ditto with railways: and still, thank goodness canals and traffic-bearing river systems: 4. The French health service is far superior to the UK’s. At this point, people always say “But look how much it costs!” Well, so does the UK’s NHS. Last time I checked, delivery of services to the patient in France was far cheaper than the UK. Plus, in France, the ratio of qualified medical staff to patients is far higher; and, France has no equivalent of HCAs (Health Care Assistants, un- qualified, taking on the role of nurses as in UK). Rather France enjoys two levels of Infirmières (Nurses): Let me provide a small example; my wife fell over and badly twisted her ankle: our local GP believed it could be broken and sent her to a local imaging clinique for X Ray. We arrived ten minutes before the booked appointment, were seen time. Four X Rays were taken and then immediately emailed to an orthopaedic consultant, who reviewed the pictures and came straight back with the opinion that it was a serious sprain. Cost of the X Rays? At that time circa £30. In the UK, a recent ECG at our local Spire-Wellesley private hospital cost me £75; and it was clumsily carried out by a supposed nurse. If the NHS were to be used, then first one must see/ask one’s GP: he refers you to a consultant; he refers you for X Ray: and then you have to return to see the consultant again! With elongated waits in between. 5. France has prevented foreign companies from acquiring critical national assets: in the UK most have been flogged off with zero thought or control: 6. Food quality is far higher in France and unlike Britain France is very much self-sufficient. Local markets are alive and well, too: 7. Wine: drinkable wine in the UK will now cost around £10 bottle... 8. France has a huge area, in which different gastronomy exists, different climate and culture; and thus far, its cultural heritage is still very much intact. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the majority of Britain as Wokeism attacks cultural heritage almost each and every day. Yes of course, as with all countries, France has its problems; however, I would suggest that the UK has far more and many will be rearing their head over the next few years or so.
  15. About the only thing you would catch at present, Teapot, would be either a dead rat or a life threatening disease! https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/southend-sea-beach-closed-after-6109689
  16. Westcliff is now called Milton Ward and it is the epicentre for HOMOs (Houses In Multiple Occupation), as big old houses have been broken up into semi-derelict slums. Hamlet Court Road was once (in the 1950s) the poshest shopping centre for the well to do. I remember it well. Now a tip.
  17. I fear you have that backwards, Ken! Southend was the cheap bit: the "Golden Mile", famed as a day out on their "Beanos" by Cockneys and South Londoners, was a dreadful place in the season. Years back I wrote an historical note about this for a magazine, much information culled from an elderly relative of my maternal grandmother, called Moses Abbott, who was a sergeant in Southend Constabulary in the 1920s... Mo used to tell me how his coppers sorted out the horribly drunk Londoners and took them in black marias to the local nick. I grew up (9 to 22) living in Chalkwell along the estuary. After Southend cam Westcliff and then Chalkwell and Leigh is next to Chalkwell. Chalkwell was the posh bit; with a large avenue leading down to the "Sea Front" (Except it was never sea per se, it was and is the Thames Estuary): the avenue had tall plane trees and alternate pink and white paving stones, with large imposing mansions most of the way down. That was where my parents and indeed I, lived. Leigh was (It is not now, sadly), also a very posh place and reveled in its history: St Clement's Church graveyards has tombstones of naval officers serving with Lord Nelson: and the Pilgrim Fathers Mayflower, called at Old Leigh, briefly, to stock up on comestibles. What is called The Old Town (What's left of it!), was a centre for fisherman and particularly sea food; old foundries, potteries and a wharf where sand and gravel was barged in and collected by horse drawn drays. Indeed, my wife's family owned the main pottery and we have a number of old jugs etc from that age.
  18. Well put. Healthcare in the UK is fine; all provided one can afford the outrageous costs of private insurance or can self-fund. "All I see at the moment is a bunch of spivs running the UK who wouldn't know the truth if it smacked them in the face. " Sums them up pretty well! ?
  19. It was intended to be bone-breakingly amusing...? In my defence, I am writing on the fly, when I ought to be working; well not much more as I have just realised it is nearly 7.00 pm in blighty and almost time for some food! Cor! Don't time go quick when you are having fun!
  20. Now this is plain silly! Marseilles Population 2021 1,500,000 est. (Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Population just 23,000.) It is the HQ of the Union Corse, a major port with links to Africa, a main point of import for the European proscribed drugs crime gangs etc. Not a sensible exemplar, therefore. Paris is now a tip in parts; with much to still commend it outside the problem Arrondisements. London more of a tip with little to commend itself, thanks to its Muslim mayor, wokeness and determination to destroy London's earlier cultural heritage. Only a few years back, Leigh-on-Sea was tipped as a most wonderful and peaceful place to live... https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/property-news/where-to-move-in-2019-leighonsea-named-as-the-happiest-place-to-live-in-britain-a126741.html Before he was so sadly murdered, Sir David Amess made the following comments: https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/19352480.sir-david-amess-says-war-crime-isnt-working-stabbing/ Stabbings (Please note plural) and recently, a young man was murdered by stabbing. A wee bit unusual I would suggest in a population of just 23,000: no?
  21. Which was rather the idea, Wools. I just wanted to check if it had all but died, or like the Phoenix was waiting to arise from the ashes... My OP was made very much tongue in cheek and was intended to be quasi-humerous.
  22. So if life in France is so awful, then move back to the supposed utopia of Britain! Which was the core ethos of my first post.
  23. If I take Leigh-on-Sea as an example, Wools, what ruined it was a rush of Londoners with high disposable money, who sold their houses top of the market and migrated to Leigh, as the train service puts them in the dreaded City within 35 minutes. Temporarily, capital rich, they hoovered up houses and spent large amounts of dough, turning them into monstrosities. The wonderful old shops have all gone and now it is endless bars and trendy eateries; but worst of all, drugs! Plus oiks who travel down at weekends for the evening and create mayhem: the stabbings and gang fights are endless; plus of course they terrorise local residents, smash up peoples property, leave rubbish everywhere, urinate in front gardens and etc, etc. County Lines drugs dealer are an increasing menace, too. The police are pretty hopeless, too: more concerned with being woke and chasing imaginary "Hate Crimes". Quote: "If you have a decent disposable income, no debts, home in a decent area and, if appropriate, kids in a good school, then you are doin’ fine. Many folks are not like that though." Few "nice areas" left: Sunak is now going to attack the savings and pensions of those nice disposable incomes! A majority are far from well off. Except HGV drivers it would seem!!? For most average Brits, until and unless the rapidly collapsing society touches them, then they are as happy as pigs in a mud bath. They accord to the Roman model: Pannem et circenses: (Bread and Circuses: keep the proles happy). In this case it is mindless TV and soaps, football and etc, plus endless take away food; well, if it can be called food... However, their wake up smell the coffee moment will be Winter: heating bills, awesome rises in the cost of everything, plus increased taxes to try to regain the chancellor's reckless spending. Plus increasing shortages, particularly of food, as the supply chains have all but broken. For the record, I do not read newspapers and never listen to the radio (Except Nick Ferrari on LBC via Youtube when he is ripping idiots into little abject bits! Now that's fun!): my research is based upon talking to people and from selective news aggregators online. Bear in mind I am a writer on socio-economies.
  24. Many ex pat Brits, I'm sure, over the years have asked themselves if they did the right thing by shaking the dust of merry England (And , of course, Scotland, Wales and Ireland) off their boots and relocating to la belle France? As things are now, well I can assure you that yes indeedy, you did the right thing! Britain sadly, is in a right old two and eight: the once great NHS has all but collapsed, whereas from my own experience, the French system is alive and well. Education...Hm what "Education"? OK, I guess, if you want your little darling to grow up as a Mad Marxist and decide he is a she and alternatively she is a he; it is all very confusing. The UK is on the path for a Winter of Discontent, with no son of York to bring bright summer. Indeed, the only sort of son of York we have is a duke headed for clink! OK, in France, you have to suffer the idiocy of the little Rothschild shill, M. Le President Macaroni and his delightful grannie, however you do still have the food and the wine and the wonderful space: plus the right to boot your maire out if he is useless and not doing his best for your commune. (Naturally or her best; goes without saying). On a more serious note, the state of the land was brought home to us and my wife and I, particularly, with the heinous murder of Sir David Amess, the MP for the constituency of Southend West which includes the historic old fishing village of Leigh-on-Sea, where my wife's late Dad's family were based; and where she and I lived for a number of years when we were first married. Whilst in 2002 we had every intention of relocating to France, family health problems and then the effects of 2007-08 on the financial prevented such a move.
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