Well they have been for quite a while now, regardless of all the ministerial disasters over the past few weeks and the humbling local election results, but there was a nice example of it on Question Time last night where a few Labour activists stated they would refuse to vote for the party again while Blair was still in charge.
Hazel Blears, Labour Chairman, had a new one ripped as well. Good.
Friday, May 12
Thursday, May 11
The Apprentice
Last night saw the conclusion of The Apprentice and former check-out girl Michelle Dewberry winning the opportunity to work for Sir Alan Sugar .
There have been plenty of snotty comments regarding the show from those who find business and profit-making an unseamly occupation or the brutality of the, "You're Fired!" method a bad way to manage, but they all miss one of the underlying positives to come from this great show.
Namely, showing would be entrepeneurs and everyone in general that it can be quite easy to make money. The apprentices had to go out into areas of business they had no or little experience of and work hard to sell....yet they invariably came back to Sir Alan's boardroom with a profit.
That's a lesson that we should all take note of, especially in a long-standing trading nation like Britain, and even act upon. If the apprentices could go out, create and sell calendars for example, then what is there to stop the rest of us from doing so. Ok we're not going to create multi-million pound businesses overnight from a standing start, no one does, but we can certainly create the foundations of one and hopefully have a lot of enjoyment in doing so.
I think The Apprentice (And the first series shown last year) also show us that business isn't a closed shop, prices are up for negotiation and if you have a good product, or can convince others you have, then you'll be given the opportunity somewhere to sell it and make a profit.
Another of the positive messages to emerge from the show is that those with management and/or consultant backgrounds are quite often full of shit, making it up as they go along and utterly clueless. If The Apprentice in anyway goes toward knocking down the high and influential pedestal that such 'professions' have built for themselves, then i'm sure Sir Alan and many others would be more than pleased.
Ebay and car boot sales have already led thedacs to make our first forays into the world of commerce and come out with a profit (Not to mention a great sense of accomplishment and enjoyment), now we need to build upon the lessons observed from The Apprentice and see if we can actually create something to sell and make a profit on.
There have been plenty of snotty comments regarding the show from those who find business and profit-making an unseamly occupation or the brutality of the, "You're Fired!" method a bad way to manage, but they all miss one of the underlying positives to come from this great show.
Namely, showing would be entrepeneurs and everyone in general that it can be quite easy to make money. The apprentices had to go out into areas of business they had no or little experience of and work hard to sell....yet they invariably came back to Sir Alan's boardroom with a profit.
That's a lesson that we should all take note of, especially in a long-standing trading nation like Britain, and even act upon. If the apprentices could go out, create and sell calendars for example, then what is there to stop the rest of us from doing so. Ok we're not going to create multi-million pound businesses overnight from a standing start, no one does, but we can certainly create the foundations of one and hopefully have a lot of enjoyment in doing so.
I think The Apprentice (And the first series shown last year) also show us that business isn't a closed shop, prices are up for negotiation and if you have a good product, or can convince others you have, then you'll be given the opportunity somewhere to sell it and make a profit.
Another of the positive messages to emerge from the show is that those with management and/or consultant backgrounds are quite often full of shit, making it up as they go along and utterly clueless. If The Apprentice in anyway goes toward knocking down the high and influential pedestal that such 'professions' have built for themselves, then i'm sure Sir Alan and many others would be more than pleased.
Ebay and car boot sales have already led thedacs to make our first forays into the world of commerce and come out with a profit (Not to mention a great sense of accomplishment and enjoyment), now we need to build upon the lessons observed from The Apprentice and see if we can actually create something to sell and make a profit on.
Wednesday, May 10
Drowning
Haha drown evil slugs, drown!
Serves them right for trying to eat my vegetables.
I chose Newcastle Brown Ale to get them so hammered they drowned.
Tuesday, May 9
Weighing the waste
Bin bags. Great eh?
Anyway, since D is turning into a bit of a sad bastard and has far too much time on his hands, he's taken to weighing the waste we put out for collection.
The pink sack is full of waste for recycling and the black bags are for landfill.
Milton Keynes Councilare trying their utmost to cut down on waste for landfill due to the Government slapping a fine of £150 per tonne of landfill waste over a certain set limit. Whether the Government have taken into consideration the fact that Milton Keynes is expanding rapidly and adjusted the limits accordingly is another matter. They don't provide funding for the Council on up to dte population figures so it's unlikely.
The all important figures:
Recycling 3.2 kg
Landfill 6.7 kg
Waste that we put out for composting probably amounts, at the lower estimate, to 1.5 kg.
Not bad, but could be better.
Monday, May 8
England squad for World Cup announced
Does anything stand out as anything particuarly controversial in this selection?
Well yeah, just a few. for varying reasons though..
Theo Walcott
An outstanding prospect he may be, but the 17 year-old hasn't even played a single minute of the Premiership, let alone European or tournament level football. That may work to his advantage and he'll burst onto the biggest stage of all to announce his presence as a new superstar of football. It worked for others like Michael Owen in '98....except he already had plenty of first-team experience for Liverpool. Odds are the inclusion of Walcott into the squad during the tournament will amount to nothing more than watching from the sidelines, although the opportunity is there if injuries and the like open the way into the team for him. What does Sven say?
"I decided to take Theo this morning," Eriksson explained. "I am taking 23 players so I thought why not gamble with one of them? I know it is a gamble but he is a big talent. Pace in football is worth a lot. I'm excited by him, I can't wait to work with him." Maybe it's not logic, but sometimes things work out very well."
Fair enough I suppose.
Aaron Lennon
Sven says, "He has pace, he beats people and he's a good crosser. In the last two or three months he's really started to play good football. I've had good reports about him. He's in very good shape."
The Tottenham midfielder has seized his chance at the club this season and probably deserves his place in the squad, although it would have been advantageous to have seen Lennon in an international to see how readily (Or not) he would take to the bigger stage.
If anyone has the ability to make a mark at the World Cup from a completely standing start, then Lennon seems to have the most in his favour, followed by Stewart Downing, who has at least been capped for England previously and is due to play in this week's UEFA Cup final.
But onto the most controversial selection of all...
Owen Hargreaves
He's absolutely shit! How he has managed to gain the number of England caps he has is beyond the understanding of most England fans. Must be something Sven see's in the Bayern player, as past experience tells the fan that Hargreaves, although full of running, doesn't appear to contribute much. Not even in that understated Makalale way of shielding the defence. Hargreaves just tends to run around a lot aimlessly. It probably doesn't help that Sven likes to use him as an all-purpose utility player to bring on when England are chasing a lead, as anyone but the Swede could tell you hargreaves won't score or create chances.
Baffling.
Looks like England will be playing for one-nil victories all the way up until the final, when wonderboy Rooney may be fit enough to make an appearance.
1 hour & 45 minutes
That's how long it took to go and sign a bit of paper today.
Hardly surprising when you're reliant on the buses to get you to and from this bit of paper.
Nor when his bit of paper is at the dole office.
Hardly surprising when you're reliant on the buses to get you to and from this bit of paper.
Nor when his bit of paper is at the dole office.
Friday, May 5
The BNP (Again)
I think what is most concerning regarding the growth in electoral support for the BNP is that it's coming at a time when Britain is enjoying a decade of economic growth and general prosperity.
Support for the far-Right usually grows when times are hard and unemployment is rife (The high percentage that Le Pen gained in the French Presidential elections while the country suffered from high unemployment is a recent example) so a rather large question mark hangs over the support for the BNP.
It's possible that people have simply become more racist, or that they simply don't care anymore (In much the same way that being branded an Anti-Semite is losing it's authority). It's possible too that concerns over the largest influx of immigrants in history is genuinely causing friction and tensions, or it's possible that the tabloid attacks on immigrants are influencing the way people vote.
Either way, it's a (Slight) cause for concern that during a period when the economy has been stable and beneficial to most, many former Labour voters have felt the need to vote for the BNP.
Support for the far-Right usually grows when times are hard and unemployment is rife (The high percentage that Le Pen gained in the French Presidential elections while the country suffered from high unemployment is a recent example) so a rather large question mark hangs over the support for the BNP.
It's possible that people have simply become more racist, or that they simply don't care anymore (In much the same way that being branded an Anti-Semite is losing it's authority). It's possible too that concerns over the largest influx of immigrants in history is genuinely causing friction and tensions, or it's possible that the tabloid attacks on immigrants are influencing the way people vote.
Either way, it's a (Slight) cause for concern that during a period when the economy has been stable and beneficial to most, many former Labour voters have felt the need to vote for the BNP.
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