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helrobalex

Listed below are comments made by helrobalex between Monday, 22nd September 2008 and Wednesday, 1st July 2009.

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Honesty: The new battleground 12:45pm on 01 Jul 2009 Mike Naylor,

Why shouldn't it appear in the Telegraph - if there is nothing to hide why would Herr Brown (or whoever gave the order), care where it appeared.

And how can you praise the govt record on announcing policy! It seems that every policy that is announced is unaffordable and if it's slightly controversial then it won't happen until after the election.

Does Brown really think we are stupid? Why does he refuse to mention cuts when even a 10-year old would know that the debt has to be reduced at some point. Going on and on about how spending is being brought forward just means there'll be an even bigger hole to fill post-election.

How can his cabinet colleagues sit there and listen to the man without realising their absolute ineptitude in not getting rid of him when they had the chance.

Bringing spending forward, abandoning a spending review, putting off sorting Royal Mail out, putting off putting taxes up, putting off public spending cuts - all in an effort to save his bacon. You know what - I'm going to vote Labour because whoever comes to power in 12 months time is going to have an abolsoute s-storm to deal with.
Mervyn and leverage 12:15pm on 21 Jan 2009 I don't pretend to understand the intricate details of financial shenanigans but I'm savvy enough to see that the economy as a whole and the banks in particular are waist deep in the do-do, and its still coming in!!

I'm hoping someone can help me out though. I have a (for me) fairly substantial amount of HSBC shares - ones I was left rather than bought. I've watched them take a bit of a hammering over the last few months and my inclinations are to hang on to them. HSBC have not asked for government help to my knowledge and so seem in a better position to ride out the storm than anyone. I'm not in it for a fast buck and if it takes 5 years for the shares to recover then that's fine by me.

But can those in the know (i.e. anyone not working at the treasury) tell me if this sounds logical or should I just cut and run whilst I can still get some money for my shares?
Azinger fashions US in Europe's image 12:52pm on 24 Sep 2008 Iain,

Thanks for responding to the comments - I know most people appreciate it!

Although I still disagree with your general points I accept the logic behind your arguments (it would afterall be boring if we all thought the same things!).

However, one sentence in your reply says it all to me and is unfortunately a reflection on lots of things - our media, the frenzy for 24 hr news and above all our sporting culture in this country. The sentence I refer to is "Who do we blame, the captain or the players?"

Why do we have to blame anybody. Nobody went out there to lose but someone has to. Most golf fans surely love the spirit and enthusiasm that Garcia brings to the game and whilst we're all disappointed in his performance I'm not blaming him - these things just happen in sport. I know that the blame game makes for easy journalism and endless articles and blogs but it becomes more like the playground and less like sports reporting every day - it was his fault - no it was his fault, he started it. ITS ONLY A GAME.

And anyway - it was Gordon Brown's fault - can't think why but give me five minutes.
Azinger fashions US in Europe's image 2:22pm on 23 Sep 2008 Iain, Do you ever respond to comments on your blog? I'd be very interested to hear you respond to what I have read as a generally 'pro-Faldo' response.

I know blogs are all about opinions and of course you're entitled to yours but the stats in post 20 are startling to me and just highlight the fact that the argument about whether the big guns should have gone out earlier is rendered meaningless by how they actually performed - and for the majority of their rounds the cup was still up for grabs so you can't say they would have scored better if they had needed to.

I know perfectly well that looking at scores from matchplay is dangerous as you often feed off your opponent (why I personally love the format) but can you imagine if Harrington had played Weekley? It would have made Garcia's match look like a close one!

Also - can you tell me what this sentence actually means

"It's always easier to fashion a team when your boys are made to feel up against it. Faldo didn't seem to take account of this."

Is that a criticism that Faldo should have made his team feel up against it or are you suggesting there was someway of combatting this? At least there was no way that Faldo wasn't going to feel up against it with the constant media criticism and unnecessary personal snipes. It says a lot about the man that in all his post match interviews he has been totally gracious and also not sought to pin the blame on any of his players which must be tempting as the ONLY player in the modern era who has translated success in the majors into success in the Ryder Cup. What we needed was a few more Faldo's playing and a lot less Iain Carter's peddling the same old tired journalism.
Azinger fashions US in Europe's image 4:32pm on 22 Sep 2008 As usual Carter you talk complete and utter tosh!

How can you seem to pass over the failings of so many of Europe's star players. Garcia, Jiminez, Westwood, Harrington, Stenson... What is a captain supposed to do if his players just aren't playing well.

He dropped (not rested) Garcia and Westwood because they were playing like idiots and needed a kick up the behind.

I love the way you've still managed to pin some of the blame on Poulter as well - classic! He got four points. The other 11 players couldn't manage the other ten points needed between them.

Congrats to the US - they were superb.

I'd have thought you would be calling for Faldo to stay on so you could wheel out the usual hacks diatribe about Faldo - but don't worry, I'm sure there'll be another band wagon along shortly for you to jump on.

Your colleagues blog is insightful, honest and well written - yours by comparison is a big pile of pants!

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