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The programme that starts with its listeners. Join daily discussions online and contribute ideas for a weekly programme presented by Eddie Mair and Jennifer Tracey.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I am in general pro-Europe because it offers a further level of protection to EU citizens who may suffer abuses because of particular political influences in their own state, I do get frustrated however that all the good things they suggest and promote rarely have the required results in the member states. Countries often ignore their regulations, standards, judicial decisions etc. preferring to pay,very belatedly if at all, a fine and carry on with their abuses. It has not been successful even in keeping the basic levels of Human Rights as laid down in the EU Convention. Now the Lisbon Treaty is putting these down on paper again and the states will still ignore them too often to be healthy for the European citizens. I live in Spain and have seen regular and multiple abuses of Human and Civil Rights by the state ( denial of rights to self-defence, denial of presumption of innocence, invocation of their Presumption of Truth law by any Police agent, state expropriation of private land for personal gain, invasion of home-privacy, impossibility to challenge authority legally, denial of freedom of expression,etc. 18 embassies and Amnisty International have complained to the EU about abuses in Spain over the past 2-3 years and even they were unable to get satisfaction) and the EU so far has proved to be a largely powerless talking-shop. Yes, it sends edicts to the Spanish government, who promptly ignore them. I guess other countries do the same but I have no recent experience of that. The question is should the EU become akin to a federal government authority capable of controlling wayward states like Spain with more powers and force or is it our lot as EU citizens to just maintain a very expensive talking shop?
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Something to take your minds off the pettiness of UK Politicians...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-white-house-birthday-03-jul03,0,7370155.story
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I am home for the weekend and my dogs have made an enormous fuss of me
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Like the sound of a dream.
The splendour
of the laughing
clouds appears
in the calm
of a quietness,
with delicate
breaths and a
restless seaside.
Francesco Sinibaldi
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I understand that the BBC 'found' and saved the 1939 Will Hay film, 'Where's that fire?'. I further understand that this is not available on either VHS or DVD. Could I therefore make a request on behalf of all Will Hay fans for the film to be either screened on television or BBC Iplayer or made available on VHS or DVD.
Perhaps a Will Hay season would be in order!
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Thesaurus: English or French? I was pleased to hear on the radio 4 news at 6pm on monday 6-07-2009 that the historical Thesaurus worked on by Glasgow University for decades was completed. However, during the news item the announcer following a great many people, referred to Roget's Thesaurus - pronouncing it Row-jay's.
I recall hearing a programme a few decades ago now on radio 4 - probably brian johnson doing 'down your way' - visiting the place where Dr Roget had lived after his time in London. The locals were clear that Roget pronounced his name in English - Raw-jet. Also, that he would be turning in his grave at its modern mis-pronounciation. He was English.
This makes me think that we are a peculiar set of people in the UK when a distinguished Englishman writing an internationally recognised work on the English language is condemned by posterity to a mistaken Frenchified pronounciation.
That is nearly as unfortunate as the self-imposed fate of that much less distinguished Englishman, the leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, Farage, who hates any foreign influence on our lives, seeking to pronounce his English name - which should rhyme with that fine word for plant material: Forage, as if it was French! A bit of a farrago! A total mix up but pronounce that far-a-joe and we sum the problem up nicely.
Hamishblog
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article6675966.ece
That looks like an interesting story ...
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My friend has just started work on a short, temporary contract (with the very real prospect of re-entry to the labour market) after over six months of unemployment.
He qualifies for a modest amount of extra help: £100 grant (to enable survival to his first payday), plus four weeks of housingbenefit/council tax benefit relief (amounting to £400).
He is working away in a demanding, professional job so this assistance will really help.
Only trouble is: the jobcentre have not released his final jobseekers allowance payment. And they have not (as yet, viz. four days later, including the weekend) replied to his urgent phone calls. He has no income but has incurred the costs of setting up and working away in a demanding, professional job.
He has run out of money and it looks like he will be unable to continue to work. He will also incur bank charges and credit card penalty charges (as he will be unable to meet budgeted monthly outgoings).
He cannot physically go to the Jobcentre to collect an emergency payment (he is working over 100 miles away). It will be at least six days from now before he can receive (and cash) any Giro or bank transfer
Who has benefitted?
Not my friend (he will lose his job and probably his re-entry to permanent work), not the employer (who will be faced with the costs and stress of changing employees), not the taxpayer (who will see his tax evaporate into thin air), not the politicians (who will sustain further criticisms mounting unemployment, failure of New Deal, etc).
Who then?
The civil servants, perhaps? After all, it is they who are paid they who do not face re-election they who do not have businesses to run and they who do not face dismissal...
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I was horrified to learn that the MOD had purchased the vunerable
Husky Armoured Car. For three years I have been advocating the V
Hull Cougar and Buffalo. Which not only deflects the blast sideways ,
but has shock absorbing floors , and seats , and is described as
the vehicle which has brought many US soldiers back to the safety of
their families.I sent details to the Defence Minister , with no reply
I had the letter of the week in the Mail on Sunday in June 2008.On the subject Does nobody in the Government care about the lives of our soldiers The people responsible for the purchase of the Husky should be sent on a work experience patrol in Afganistan !
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