BORIS Johnson, London's mayor is set to go into battle with President Obama – demanding he pays back £5.2MILLION in congestion charge fines owed by the US Embassy in London. It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it!
Good!! Good!! Eric Arthur Blair, known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist and journalist. There can be no substitute for original thought Ob.. and your comments in context are accepted on this thread.
It is the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic’s maiden voyage. This famous liner was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The city will throw the Titanic Belfast Festival running through April and May this year. Cheers!
@Scon, Well the idea underpinning this support is "It’s not about supporting wars; it’s actually about supporting freedom." but you have made some valid points which reflect some other people's views of course……Cheers!
Did you know Ray Winstone supports ARMED FORCES DAY?
"A big thanks to actor Ray Winstone and Guardsman Nixon Muga of the Grenadier Guards, who recently helped update our Armed Forces Day television and radio free to air promotional broadcasts, aka ‘fillers’.
Whilst the fillers we have used in the past have been very successful they needed updating to reflect Army uniform design changes and the date of this year’s event on Saturday 29 June.
Ray has been the voice of the fillers for three years and was happy to come back to re-record his dialogue, while Guardsman Muga valiantly volunteered to be filmed changing in and out of his uniform.
London born Ray, who starred in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Sweeny, is a big supporter of the Armed Forces, and has visited troops in Afghanistan as well as injured personnel in Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
He said “I sometimes ask myself ‘what have I done for my Country?’ By visiting troops and supporting Armed Forces Day I feel like I am doing something, that I am a small cog in a very big wheel.”
The old TV fillers include a sequence with serving personnel putting on their uniforms. But with the green Combat 95 uniform previously worn by soldiers having since been replaced by the Multi Terrain Pattern (MTP), which offers better camouflage in different environments, a change was needed.
The fillers ask members of the public to show their support and are starting to appear on TV and radio as we build up to 29 June, and can also be accessed on the official Armed Forces Day website. Have you seen them yet?
Ray Winstone said “Armed Forces Day is a nice gentle nudge for us all to be thankful for the freedom we now enjoy, which the Armed Forces have protected from time immemorial. I am very proud of them and I think this day is something that the country should share in.
There was a time where we got embarrassed about things like that and that’s wrong. We should be thankful for the people that serve our country in many ways, and in many parts of the world.
It’s not about supporting wars; it’s actually about supporting freedom. I’ve got three daughters who are able to get an education and travel the world and be safer than many other people around the world because of the sacrifices our Armed Forces have made. I am hugely thankful to them.”
I don't know the US system, but a work programme was mentioned. Also, we don't have a drug testing policy for job seekers (maybe that is a British thing). The UK adopted the work programme and from all the things I see reported about it, it is not helping people out of work as initially planned. It left many staff at job centres, (don't know what you call them in the US), worried for their own jobs. The job centre roles have changed to a system where staff don't have the time to talk to job seekers because the appointments are timed although people's experience may vary. The WP has been punitive and demoralising for many job seekers and restrictive in the type of help available. The WP is administered by the Department of Work and Pensions and the companies that run the WP are contracted. These companies act like sales, that is they have targets each month and each advisor has targets each month. Ultimately, they don't care what type of job someone takes or whether it is suitable to the person's needs. That said, many job seekers want employment and are willing to take whatever job they can. There are some people who misuse benefits no doubt about that and within that group, some have fallen into what I would call a rut. They are not helped to improve their education or skills and may have poor levels of both. Some of the work programme advisors may be sympathetic but believe or not some of them although long term unemployed themselves at one point are not empathetic treating all job seekers like criminals and drug testing I would think would be seen as assuming all job seekers are drug takers. How demoralising that may be for someone who has been in a profession with years of experience. On top of that, we have a bad economic situation and the fact is there are few jobs and too many people looking for jobs. Unemployed people's job search just became harder as disability groups and young people under 35 years old are penalised by further restrictions due to government policy under the current government. Many people have now the additional threat of homelessness or made homeless. How to explain to a mentally ill person who has always lived in their parents home after their parents death, they are going to be kicked out and moved to where? Students are another group targeted. One student was receiving a bursary from the National Health Service only for this to be taken away due to cuts so they have to apply for a hardship allowance and there is increasing numbers of students needing that help not getting it. Then there is the doctor who cannot afford his rent, sleeping on a friend's couch and having to give up his training. So many people now are unemployed, the question is when will I be next because it could happen to anyone. I see people including pensioners and families struggling to make ends meet and with a high cost of living, it is near impossible on benefits. I don't see people living the high life and those who are benefit cheats usually get caught eventually. In terms of housing, half of the households helped by the local council were single parent families and yes there is a culture of young single unmarried mums on the dole but from what I see the current benefit cuts encourage people to do whatever they can to survive. It's not about prevention of unemployment here. It's a case of claim what you can, tick all the boxes and hope you can get by. A huge problem that is not going to go away.
That's a good question kibaluv. I know several women who have only been friendly to a man, not flirty but when the man is rejected, his response has been to send nasty messages and photos to purposely try to humiliate them. I was amazed, really when I saw the content. I mean truthfully what woman wants to see a man considerably older in all his glory, rolls of fat on his stomach and something surrounded by a mass of grey hairs through lack of grooming, enough to turn your stomach. These types don't even bother to take care of their looks as they get older. All I can say is not all men are like that but sometimes the older ones are the worse especially the ones frustrated by the fact they cannot meet a woman and someone here has hit the nail on the head, these types are not looking for love just a fb if you get my drift..........A holes!!
check_mate Forum Posts (968)
Made in Britain
Sounds like the Welsh Women's Institute bake off going on in your kitchen!