If I'd been sent an email... (Oct 28, 2011)
...logged in and been confronted with the bollocks that's been swamping h2g2 for the last few days I'd have buggered off again.

Have a word with yourselves.
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(No replies)

I wrote a song (Oct 27, 2011)
It contains swearing and references to violence and is about this evening's Question Time panel.

http://primevalmudd.com/bbcqt-27102011/
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(3 replies, Latest reply: Oct 27, 2011)

Duck! Trade Union Bullshit Imminent! (Oct 27, 2011)
I popped this on my blog yesterday and thought I'd pop it here too:

Duck! Trade Union Bullshit Imminent!

That’s bullshit about, not from, trade unions. It would of course be disingenuous to suggest that there’s never any bullshit from trade unions. There is. It’s good bullshit though. Well intentioned bullshit. The bullshit of the righteous. To say trade union bullshit smells of roses would be pushing it but it smells a lot less rancid than the bullshit about trade unions.

The bullshit predominantly flies at us from three main classes of bovine bottom: the mainstream media, Government representatives/employers and folk who choose to believe the mainstream media and Government representatives/employers. This is an attempt to explain to the latter the failings with the arguments of the former two.

Unions threaten to bring London/Airports/Britain to a halt:
This displays a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of industrial action. Industrial action is a reaction to an intransigent employer and is a means of encouraging said employer to start negotiating again. If anywhere is actually brought to a halt it is the fault of the employer, not the union members. Would you blame the bath water for emptying after the plug’s been pulled out?

Negotiations are ongoing:
Maybe, but are they meaningful? If we’re negotiating to keep the shoes on our feet we don’t expect to end up in meetings negotiating which colour socks we’ll be allowed to wear after they’ve been taken.

Strikes aren’t well supported:
If that’s the case (it’s not) why the panic about unions threatening to bring London/Airports/Britain to a halt?

They’re trying to fight our democratically elected Government:
Disregarding the dubious use of ‘democratically’ it should be remembered that governments aren’t always right. That’s right with a small ‘r’. They’re usually Right with a big ‘R’. That’s largely why they’re so rarely right.

All they’re bothered about is supporting their members:
Well, yes and no. That is what members pay their subscriptions for. However, when you consider that union members work in pretty much every industry, provide your public services and have families to support, and that non-members also benefit from the things unions win, I think you’ll find that by supporting their members unions are actually supporting pretty much everybody. Part of that is supporting members in the workplace but another part of it is supporting them by fighting to save public services, campaigning for more equal distribution of wealth and influencing policies which benefit all employees (parental leave, sick pay, paid holidays…) If that doesn’t sway you, bear in mind that trade unions save employers many millions of pounds a year (source).*

Whether representing members in the public or private sectors, small businesses or multinationals, trade unions help make things better, or at least help stop them getting worse.

If you’re not a member yet you should probably pop by this site** and find one you can join.

*http://strongerunions.org/2010/09/0...eological-antipathy-towards-unions/

**http://www.worksmart.org.uk/unionfinder/

On the blog: http://primevalmudd.com/duck-trade-union-bullshit-imminent/

(Beware if wandering around the blog, there is some proper swearing therein.)

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(6 replies, Latest reply: Oct 30, 2011)

It's all a bit uppity (Oct 26, 2011)
Isn't it?
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(3 replies, Latest reply: Oct 26, 2011)

Michael Gove (Oct 25, 2011)
What a ghastly individual.

That is all.
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(3 replies, Latest reply: Oct 25, 2011)

I've had (May 23, 2010)
... a brilliant week.
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(10 replies, Latest reply: May 24, 2010)

Does this mean... (May 11, 2010)
...Phil Collins will be coming back?
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(3 replies, Latest reply: May 11, 2010)

Me, on telly, briefly (Apr 29, 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrGtcFY2XHY

We seem to have won the Whittington campaign. I am, however, no believer of pre-election promises.
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(22 replies, Latest reply: May 1, 2010)

Stuff and things. (Mar 17, 2010)
I'm possibly more fulfilled than I've ever been but am also far from happy. Between the Whittington Hospital campaign, the PCS action, assorted UAF stuff and general activism I've never felt so worthwhile but also rarely been so frazzled. The more I'm getting involved, and (to my surprise) respected, the more I want to step back. I'm not used to it. I think it's probably just a phase. I'll grow out of it.

I need summer, fields, music, mates and campfires and I need them NOW!

A nice chap to return to the tent with wouldn't go amiss either.

Anyway, I've finally started using the blog I set up about six months ago. There is as yet but one entry. It's about a heavy subject but isn't a heavy post, and it's brief: http://primevalmudd.wordpress.com/2...-cognitive-dissonance-of-the-bnp-2/

Manflu. I am afflicted with manflu. The timing is bad but it's probably a result of the stuff I related above. Standing on a picket line at seven in the morning two days running last week probably didn't help.

Regrets, I have a few, but then again, I'm not from Belgium.

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(5 replies, Latest reply: Apr 5, 2010)

Keep us from... (Feb 11, 2010)
..TEMPTATION!


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(7 replies, Latest reply: Feb 11, 2010)

I was going to say... (Jan 16, 2010)
...something heartfelt but I though better of it.

Would you like a jelly baby?
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(29 replies, Latest reply: Jan 17, 2010)

Defend the Whittington Coalition (Jan 9, 2010)
I accidentally volunteered to be joint-secretary for this campaign at a meeting on Thursday.

Please have a look at our blog and sign the petition, should you be so minded: http://tinyurl.com/dwhcoalition

For those reading this on a BBC only work PC, here's the 'About' blurb from the blog:

"Defend the Whittington Hospital Coalition was set up to build a united opposition to the proposals to close the Accident and Emergency Department at the Whittington Hospital and to stop the closure, privatisation and run-down of NHS services in our area. We are opposed to any loss of service in any hospital in North London.

Please join our campaign."

(We really could do with quote tags...)


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(22 replies, Latest reply: Jan 18, 2010)

Gah! (Nov 19, 2009)
Just saying, like.
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(45 replies, Latest reply: Nov 24, 2009)

Freedom of speech? (Nov 13, 2009)
Thanks very much, Straw and the House of Lords.

Who'd have thought you'd be in to promoting teen suicide?

Rarely have I been so disgusted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8356093.stm

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(4 replies, Latest reply: Nov 13, 2009)

Embedded sunglasses (Nov 8, 2009)
2legs just told me that my bottom laughed at him.
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(14 replies, Latest reply: Nov 10, 2009)

Royal Mail: write to your MP (Oct 28, 2009)
Do you want to have a British postal system that is based on service rather than profit?

Would you like to keep the Royal Mail?

If so, write to your MP.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/
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(11 replies, Latest reply: Oct 29, 2009)

Orbital (Sep 20, 2009)
They're a bit good.
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(5 replies, Latest reply: Sep 27, 2009)

These things come in threes. (Jul 1, 2009)
Jackson, Fawcett, Sugden, Malden.

That would be four.

Now please shut up, go away and never say anything as arse clenchingly dim as 'these things come in threes' again.

Ta.
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(3 replies, Latest reply: Jul 1, 2009)

A sad day to be British (Jun 8, 2009)
So, enough people voted BNP for them to get two seats in Europe. Shameful.

There's a petition: http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/page/s/notinmyname

There are protests: http://www.uaf.org.uk/news.asp?choice=90610

There are British fascists in European politics.


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(11 replies, Latest reply: Jun 11, 2009)

Vote! (Jun 3, 2009)
With one exception (who shall remain nameless) it doesn't matter who for, just please make sure that, if you can, you vote tomorrow.

Remember, under PR a low turnout increases the relative strength of the lesser parties. Decide who you *don't* want representing us in Europe and get yourself off to the polling station to vote against them.

I'm not trying to tell you how to vote, just asking you to make sure that you do vote.

Thanks.
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(18 replies, Latest reply: Jun 4, 2009)

RIP Creepy Uncle Paul. (Apr 17, 2009)
Most of you didn't know him but many of you knew of the legendary Creepy Uncle Paul, formerly my flatmate and the inspiration for much late night ranting.

He died last night. He'd had throat cancer, a series of pretty hardcore operations (including having his tongue removed) and had been in and out of hospital with various complications for months.

He'd been pretty weak for ages and this hasn't come as a surprise but is still pretty bloody final.

One sweet thing: my Mum painted possibly her best painting for him last summer and he reciprocated by sending her some plants for the garden. The rose is going great guns but my Mum thought the fuschias were a lost cause until, one morning three days ago, they sprang in to life.

Anyway, I thought I should mention this here as he was a large part of my life (and journal!) for a couple of years.

RIP dude. I'll drink a glass of the 'Bow to ya'.
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(11 replies, Latest reply: May 6, 2009)

A Journal entry from Roymondo (Feb 25, 2009)
1) Divs vs. tables. I know the former are better but I'm used to the latter dammit!

2) God. There isn't one. The only reason people believe in a god is because other people believe in a god. That isn't a valid reason. Until you find a valid reason please STFU.

3) The Prodigy's new album is a stonker.

4) I need a haircut. Actually, I need most of them cut.

5) Anybody else going to Glasto?

6) No AV, no pictures, limited formatting in posts, no private messaging: h2g2 is a 20th century site a decade(ish) in to the 21stcentury.

7) Omelettes are better than pancakes.

8) I feel sorry for people that can't play guitar. Playing guitar is great.

9) My keyboard is sticky. It's irking me.

10) The Labour Party appear to be campaigning for the Conservative Party. A combination of this and the editorial stance of the Daily Mail and The Express will only lead to votes for the BNP. Sort it out FFS.

11) The fun starts when the cuffs fall off your spacer bar.
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(25 replies, Latest reply: May 10, 2009)

Russell Tovey (Feb 8, 2009)
He don't half look lovely without his kit on.
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(8 replies, Latest reply: Feb 9, 2009)


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