text:
Here is a commentary on the Prime Minsters speech yesterday about Brokeback Britain, that highlights the flaws in the PM's vision and why we are in for worse to come. Take a deep breath and use the toilet before reading this…
I can see no better advocacy for urgent political and economic reform.
I give you David Cameron, PM:
This week, in Manchester, this party has shown the discipline, the unity, and the purpose that is the mark of a party of government. I'm proud of my team, I'm proud of our members, I'm proud to lead this party – but most of all, I'm proud of you.
People have very clear instructions for this government:
What people?
"Lead us out of this economic mess."
"Do it in a way that's fair and right."
"And as you do it, make sure you build something worthwhile for us and our children."
No-one said these things, this political hokey. Politicians always use the name of 'the people' to legitimise their hollow claims.
Clear instructions. Clear objectives. And from me: a clear understanding that in these difficult times, it is leadership we need. To get our economy moving. To get our society working, and in a year – the Olympics year – when the world will be watching us, to show everyone what Great Britain really means.
Isn't this what a Prime Minister is supposed to do anyway?
Who cares about the Olympics beyond it being a prestigious sporting event? It is mainly an inconvenience to millions of Londoners, despite the overdue regeneration of Stratford.
But first I want to say something to you in this hall. Thank you. Despite the predictions we won elections all over the country this May, so let's hear it for those great campaigns you fought and the great results you achieved.
Party politics are slowly dying as we move to more enlightened political agendas.
And thank you for something else. In the AV referendum, you did Britain a service and kicked that useless voting system off the political agenda for decades to come.
Neither option allowed the public a fair choice and we still do not have proper representation. It was a waste of public money and a Hobson's choice.
And next year let's make sure we back Boris, beat Ken and keep London Conservative. You're not just winners – you're doers.
Waffle and speculation.
This summer, as before, Conservatives went to Rwanda to build classrooms, teach children and help grow businesses. Social action: that is the spirit of the modern Conservative Party.
Shame they can't do this in Britain, create overseas jobs in this sector or tie foreign aid to business deals to boost the economy.
This is a party – ours is a country – that never walks on by.
Cliché. We're sleep walking through the recession.
Earlier this year some people said to me: "Libya's not our concern", "don't start what you can't finish", and even – "Arabs don't do democracy."
What 'people'? How naïve is this statement. Are these 'people in Government? If so, they shouldn't be.
But if we had stood aside this spring, people in Benghazi would have been massacred.
People in Misrata were, while we prevaricated and faffed about, flip-flopping over whether or not to intervene until the 11th hour. Benghazi was saved but not without embarrassment to the British special forces and diplomatic bungling.
And don't let anyone say this wasn't in our national interest. Remember what Gaddafi did.
British foreign policy has been disgraceful, supporting the Libyan regime and countenancing abuses and extraordinary rendition. Playing oil against morals and ethics and compromising British integrity.
He's the man who gave Semtex to the IRA, who was behind the shooting of a police officer in a London square, who was responsible for the bombing of a plane in the skies over Lockerbie.
Even more reason NEVER to do business with him.
Let's be proud of the part we played in giving the Libyan people the chance to take back their country.
Britain allowed France to take the lead.
In Afghanistan today, there are men and women fighting for Britain as bravely as any in our history.
They are not 'fighting for Britain', they are fighting the Taliban for Afghan nationalism. This is not the same thing. They are fighting to support an economy that doesn't exist and a country that will eventually fall back into chaos and it is costing us lives and billions of pounds at a time when we cannot afford the cost.
They come from across our country: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. They now have the equipment they need. And we're on target to bring them home by the end of 2014.
This will not be the end of it.
Theirs has been a campaign of incredible courage and sacrifice, and I know everyone in this hall will want to send a message to everyone who serves and who have served.
Agreed sentiment.
Those in uniform in our armed forces and in our police. And those not in uniform, keeping us safe from terrorism on our streets.
Part of this problem lies with poor immigration and foreign policy, cultural abuse and religious sanction. It is self-inflicted.
We're proud of you. We salute you. Thank you.
But leadership in the world is about moral strength as much as military might.
Morals and ethics are essential but we demonstrate none of these qualities.
A few months ago I was in Nigeria, on a trade mission. While I was there, I visited a vaccination clinic. It was very hot, pretty basic and the lights kept going off.
It's Nigeria, David.
But to the rows of women, cuddling their babies, this place was a godsend. One of the nurses told me that if it wasn't for British aid, many of those beautiful babies would be dead.
So we are responsible for exporting social services abroad now as part of our World Charity status?
In four years' time, this country will have helped vaccinate more of the world's poorest children than there are people in the whole of England.
That's nice, but it doesn't solve our problems at home, those of the very constituents that you are there to represent.
Of course, we'll make sure your money goes to the people who need it most, and we'll do it in a way that's transparent and accountable. But I really believe, despite all our difficulties, that this is the right thing to do.
Why is it difficult to be transparent and do the right thing? What about the homeless, the jobless and those whose pensions you are cutting to pay for all this gift aid? It is not Britain's job to look after the world.
That it's a mark of our country, and our people, that we never turn our backs on the world's poorest, and everyone in Britain can be incredibly proud of it.
Why not? Do you really think others would do the same for us. The most sensible position to be in when being benevolent is that of a financially sound and affluent economy. Putting our own accounts in order will enable us to do MORE for others AND benefit our own people too.
Leadership in fighting poverty. Leadership in fighting tyranny. But when it came to that decision to help the Libyan people, there was something dispiriting about the debate here at home.
We might fight poverty with our hands tied behind our backs economically. We currently do not fight tyranny. We tolerate regimes around the world all the time; Zimbabwe, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Burma, Sri Lanka and many more.
It wasn't that some people thought we shouldn't do what we did – of course it's everyone's right to disagree.
Tosh, the majority of decent people back liberation of oppressed people in many countries, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi, Yemen, Palestine and so on, but it seems strange we only look at one example to act upon and that happens to be one strategically important the Britain – that is not moral or ethical.
It was that too many thought Britain actually couldn't do something like that any more.
Rubbish, this is political manipulation. No-one believes Britain isn't capable, despite our lack of operational aircraft carriers and overstretched military.
And you hear that kind of pessimism about our economic future, our social problems, our political system. That our best days are behind us. That we're on a path of certain decline.
Most people don't believe this. We simply despair about the manner of politicians and how badly our country is continuously led. There is still hope but it is rapidly fading with each month of inaction, indecision and prevarication; due to lack of political and economic reform and the necessary changes we must take now to void future crashes.
Well I'm here to tell you that it isn't true. Of course, if we sit around and hope for the best, the rest will leave us behind.
Evidence? Hollow words.
If we fool ourselves that we can grow our economy, mend our society, give our children the future we want them to have.
If we fool ourselves that we can do these things without effort, without correcting past mistakes, without confronting vested interests and failed ideas, then no, we're not going to get anywhere.
But if we put in the effort, correct those mistakes, confront those vested interests and take on the failed ideas of the past, then I know we can turn this ship around.
So what are you proposing? You are just spouting public sentiment. This is not leading from the front.
Nobody wants false optimism. And I will never pretend there are short cuts to success.
Not when we have the problems politicians have created.
But success will come: with the right ideas, the right approach, the right leadership. Leadership from government: to set out the direction we must take, and the choices we must make. But leadership also from you.
So, this is essentially a delegation of responsibility, meaning you don't have a clue what to do.
Because the things that will really deliver success are not politicians or government. It's the people of Britain, and the spirit of Britain.
Wrong. Lions led by donkey's won't fix the business of good government, regulation and fiscal control essential to the UK economy.
Some say that to succeed in this world, we need to become more like India, or China, or Brazil. I say: we need to become more like us.
We probably are more like them… third world – but we should not be.
The real us. Hard-working, pioneering, independent, creative, adaptable, optimistic, can-do. That's the spirit that has made this United Kingdom what it is: a small country that does great things; one of the most incredible success stories in the history of the world.
That's what you THINK the majority of people are, but this is a distortion of the facts. 80% are not this way inclined and 15% believe arrogantly that they know what is going on and what they are about – mostly self-interest and greed and probably less than 5% are in the category described. Most of them are under-utiltise and ignored, or simply crushed by the system.
And it's a spirit that's alive and well today. I see it in Tania Sidney-Roberts, the head teacher I met in Norwich who started a free school from scratch, now four times over-subscribed. Her ambition? To set up another school and do it all over again. That's leadership.
Free-schools are a distraction, they are a sound-bite that does nothing to tackle headline economic issues.
I see it in the group of GPs in Bexley who have taken more control of their budgets, and got their patients – some of the poorest in the country – free care on Harley Street. Their ambition? To cut waiting times, cut costs and improve care – all in one go. That's leadership.
NHS improvements have cost billions of pounds, so health reform is hardly a feather in the cap of economic achievement.
And we all saw it this summer. Dan Thompson watched the riots unfold on television. But he didn't sit there and say 'the council will clean it up.' He got on the internet. He sent out a call. And with others, he started a social movement.
So we can still organise community projects, that is hardly recession proofing. It only shows we have a caring community.
People picked up their brooms and reclaimed their streets. So the argument I want to make today is simple: leadership works. I know how tough things are.
They didn't 'reclaim the streets' they tidied up because local authorities were unable to cope. Addressing the underlying causes of youth frustration, dysfunctional families and outrage at lack of future prospects should be the aim while also being tough on opportunist crime.
I don't for one minute underestimate how worried people feel, whether about making ends meet, or the state of the world economy. But the truth is, right now we need to be energised, not paralysed by gloom and fear.
True but nothing tangible is being done.
Half the world is booming – let's go and sell to them. So many of our communities are thriving – let's make the rest like them. There's so much that's great about our country. We don't have to accept that success in this century automatically belongs to someone else.
Agreed, but we still have to fix the causes and not just the symptoms of the current crisis in Britain (not just the economic one).
We just have to remember the origin of our achievements: the people of Britain, taking a lead. That's why so much of my leadership is about unleashing your leadership.
I think we have to be careful here making veiled references to Empire. Our leadership is littered with exploitation and heavy handed gun-boat politics. A lot of the 'Victorian myth of invincibility' is based upon arrogance and disregard for others, which is mirrored in the class society of England. It is less about leadership today than true equality, enlightenment planning and purpose.
Giving everyone who wants to seize it the opportunity, the support and above all the freedom to get things done. Giving everyone who wants to believe it the confidence that working hard and taking responsibility will be rewarded not punished.
Myth. Opportunity isn't open to anyone. Support isn't readily available. Confidence can't be given only engendered. Working hard must result in a reward but also improvement. Who works to be punished, this is an idiom.
So let's reject the pessimism. Let's bring on the can-do optimism. Let's summon the energy and the appetite to fight for a better future for our country, Great Britain.
Rousing, now direct that energy somewhere useful.
Of course that starts with our economy. As we meet here in Manchester, the threat to the world economy – and to Britain – is as serious today as it was in 2008 when world recession loomed. The Eurozone is in crisis, the French and German economies have slowed to a standstill; even mighty America is being questioned about her debts.
Ah now were getting somewhere, the economy… The situation is WORSE than in 2008. In 2008 we had the funding to bail out the banks, to fix the financial crisis now we don't have the funds to bailout Greece, Italy, Portugal and Ireland to fund another recession and so on, we are at a critical point with the markets and the banks about to break and nothing has been done. Rome has burned as politicians have fiddled.
It is an anxious time. Prices and bills keep going up – petrol, the weekly shop, electricity. On the news it's job losses, cutbacks, closures. You think about tuition fees, and house prices, the cost of a deposit, and wonder how our children will cope. Of course, government can help – and this one is.
Price inflation is driven by profiteering and shareholder value. These need to be controlled to get a handle on the economy, which is why fundamental reform is necessary.
We have cut petrol duty, kept the winter fuel allowance and kept cold weather payments. We froze council tax this year, and as George announced in that great speech on Monday, we're going to freeze it again next year too.
You raised petrol duty to much higher levels that you cut them. Freezing council taxes are simply a sign of how desperately dire the economy is. Recognising that people don't have the means and that revolts would break out in many places if prices increase again at this time. People have been taxed and exploited to breaking point and household budgets cannot support higher taxation (direct and indirect) and the pressure for economic growth that is categorised by capitalist consumer economics where we simply treat our own people as a cash-cow to be milked for ever higher returns. Something has to give and it is the econmy that will collapse if it doesn't change.
But we need to tell the truth about the overall economic situation. People understand that when the economy goes into recession, times get tough. But normally, after a while, things pick up. Strong growth returns. People get back into work. This time, it's not like that. And people want to know why the good times are so long coming.
You are still not even admitting that we are still in recession. Denial won't fix the problem, only urgent reform can. There is no 'good time to come' unless we fix things now and keep working to keep them fixed.
The answer is straightforward, but uncomfortable. This was no normal recession; we're in a debt crisis. It was caused by too much borrowing, by individuals, businesses, banks, and most of all, governments. When you're in a debt crisis, some of the normal things that government can do, to deal with a normal recession, like borrowing to cut taxes or increase spending – these things won't work because they lead to more debt, which would make the crisis worse.
There is no such thing as a 'normal recession', to say it is 'straight forward is naieve beyond belief, there is only a fundamentally flawed economic system that gives rise to recessionary effects; waves if you like, of misery that break businesses, destroy jobs and bring woe. The usual tweaks won't work because only reform can save us.
Why? Because it risks higher interest rates, less confidence and the threat of even higher taxes in future. The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with your debts. That's why households are paying down their credit card and store card bills. It means banks getting their books in order. And it means governments – all over the world – cutting spending and living within their means.
Ha, ha! This doesn't work since the economy is so tied to growth it will create a downturn. Instead we have to set new rules and values; we have to move from consumer driven and speculative economics to fundamental economics. Making a profit is okay, so long as we make a profit, it doesn't need to be excessive. Qualitative rather than Quantitative economics are essential to improving our financial prospects. And yes, we do need to address debt, tax credit and promote prudent wealth accumulation and inward investment.
This coalition government, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg and I – we've led the way here in Britain. Our plan is right. And our plan will work. I know you can't see it or feel it yet. But think of it like this.
Wrong, we can see it and it isn't working. Why should our generation suffer for others benefit?
The new economy we're building: it's like building a house. The most important part is the part you can't see – the foundations that make it stable. Slowly, but surely, we're laying the foundations for a better future. But this is the crucial point: it will only work if we stick with it.
But without reform you are simply resetting the clock and waiting for another cycle of 'boom & bust' recessionary adjustment.
And there's something else we've got to stick to. Because we're not in the Euro, we can lay these foundations ourselves: on our own terms; in our own way. So let me say this: as long as I'm Prime Minister, we will never join the Euro.
Jingoism, we were never likely to join the Euro at this time in this climate, so this is saying nothing other than the bleedin' obvious.
And I won't let us be sucked into endless bail-outs of countries that are in the Euro either. Yes, we're leading members of the IMF and have our responsibilities there.
But we already are contributing to EU bailouts and levies.
But when it comes to any Euro bail-out mechanism, my approach is simple: Labour got us into it and I've made sure we're getting out of it.
So much so that we have been given a referendum on something relevant like membership of the EU?
Of course, our deficit reduction programme is just one big bail-out of the last Labour government.
Deficit reduction? But the amount owed has gone up not down?
This past year we've been subjected to a sort of national apology tour by Labour. Sorry for sucking up to Gaddafi. For not regulating the banks properly. For crushing civil liberties. For failing to go green. For not building enough homes. For the infighting that made them the most dysfunctional government ever.
Bullsh*t – Labour are dysfunctional and out of touch. They are leading the way to the extinction of political parties but alarmingly the masses still believe in 19th century working class values and forget this created the very crisis we now face (or at least accelerated us towards it).
But you know what? Nothing – not a peep – on the thing they really need to say sorry for. Wasting billions and billions of your money. No apology for that.
Government continues to waste Billions. Why no accountability?
You know what the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls claimed last week? That Labour didn't spend more money than they had "available".
Another idiom given that you can't spend more than is available (whether by debt or capital). We need to pass a law making it illegal for the nation to borrow.
Hello? Ed – you spent £428 billion more than you had "available". There is only one conclusion you can rationally draw. We must never let these Labour politicians anywhere near our economy again.
This is symptomatic of the availability of credit at national level and must be curtailed. Perhaps we should say simply, we should never let politicians near our money ever again? If not the UK, then simply take a look at Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland.
As before, it falls to us to clear up after the Labour Party. I have insisted that we do it in a way that is fair. You can't cut a deficit the size of ours without everyone making a sacrifice. But those with the most money are bearing the biggest burden.
Why should taxpayers pay for others mistakes? We should recover from those responsible for the wastage including the banks. Those who can't pay should go to jail. We are not the bank of last resort and any further burden will cause civil unrest.
We've imposed a permanent levy on the banks, getting them to pay more every year than Labour did in one year.
Not something to be proud of. We urgently need an independent banking system so that individual banks can be allowed to fail. The model for this would be Xchanging paralleling the Insurance market solution.
We've raised taxes on people who make their money overseas but live here. At the same time we've given real help to the poorest and most vulnerable. We're taking over a million of the lowest-paid people out of tax altogether.
A million? What percentages are below the poverty line? What about taxing those from the UK who are tax-exiles resident abroad?
And after the scandal of the 75p pension rise under Labour, we're linking pensions to earnings so elderly people will be £10,000 better off in their retirement.
Er, how about the tax on pensions imposed by Brown, the lack of ring-fencing state pension funds and the total incompetence of the pension system in allowing annual management fees to be siphoned off reducing the pot available to a pittance. We should follow the Dutch pension system.
Yes, this is a one-nation deficit reduction plan – from a one-nation party. And here's something else that we – yes we – have done.
What the hell does this mean? One nation deficit reduction plan? Do me a favour! Clearly this is the speech of a delusional person with a bad script writer.
The NHS is the most precious institution in our country – to my family, to your family. At the last election, it was Labour policy to cut the NHS. It was Liberal Democrat policy to cut the NHS.
It was our policy – Conservative policy – to protect the NHS and spend more on it this year, next year and the year after that because we are the party of the NHS, and as long as I'm here we always will be.
Spending what we can't afford isn't prudent.
But real fairness isn't just about what the state spends. It's about the link between what you put in and what you get out. As we debate what people get from the state, let's remember how we generate taxes.
The state is not a bank account and we should not treat it as such. The state should have a duty not to take taxes that are unnecessary and an obligation to reduce taxation at every opportunity. As a necessity, we should have a welfare system to protect the vulnerable and sick but not to substitute jobs or encourage benefit tourism.
So to the unions planning to strike over public sector pensions I say this. You have every right to protest. But our population is ageing. Our public sector pensions system is unaffordable.
Pension contracts should be honoured for the duration of the contract. Changes should not be retroactive. People are right to protest at changes to contracts that are in effect a breach of contract by the employer.
The only way to give public sector workers a decent, sustainable pensions system, and do right by the taxpayer, is to ask public servants to work a little longer and contribute a little more. That is fair. What is not fair, what is not right, is going on strikes that will hurt the very people who help pay for your pensions.
Seeking to drive public sector benefits down the same hole as private ones is morally wrong. Instead efforts should be made to fix the pension system not apply lowest common denominator. If we didn't fund unnecessary wars, a nuclear deterent and other expensive and wasteful projects (aircraft carriers, central fire brigade control system, NHS computer system, etc, etc) we could well afford to property fund public pensions.
Dealing with our debts is line one, clause one of our plan for growth. But it is just the start. We need jobs – and we won't get jobs by growing government, we need to grow our businesses. So here's our growth plan: doing everything we can to help businesses start, grow, thrive, succeed.
This is too simplistic, there is no acceptance of the view that big business is driving the causes of the recession and that the only way to improve things is not to seek to promote this approach but to change it with reforms. To force franchise on large businesses, to promote competition and growth, to train more overseas and create development jobs in emerging countries. To stop treating the public as a cash-cow and rely on consumerism for growth.
Where that means backing off, cutting regulation – back off, cut regulation. Where that means intervention, investment – intervene, invest. Whatever it takes to help our businesses take on the world – we'll do it.
Regulation is one arm but business principles and practices is another. Allowing M&As to destroy UK businesses with debt funded foreign take-overs are clearly killing the UK ability to generate its own economic growth. For too long we have allowed foreign intervention to drive our economy.
The global economy has transformed in recent years. It used to take companies decades to become global giants: now it can take a couple of years. When you step off the plane in Delhi or Shanghai or Lagos, you can feel the energy, the hunger, the drive to succeed. We need that here.
This is because of debt finance. We need to end the process of growth based upon debt and focus on generic growth and stability. 'People' might be quite pleased for David to be in Lagos but we need to export and trade. The EU has made us lazy and dependent instead of promoting sales and trading skills abroad.
Frankly, there's too much 'can't do' sogginess around. We need to be a sharp, focused, can-do country.
It's not 'can't do' as much as frustrated with all the 'cock-ups' and poor management.
But as we go for growth, the last thing I want is to pump the old economy back up, with a banking sector out of control, manufacturing squeezed, and prosperity confined to a few parts of the country and a select few industries. Our plan is to build something new and to build something better. We can do it.
So what is it?
Look what's happening in East London. Europe's financial capital is now matched by Europe's technology capital in Tech City. Facebook, Intel, Google, Cisco – even Silicon Valley Bank – seeing our potential and investing here. Look what's happening across our country. The wings of the world's biggest jumbo jet – built in Wales.
These are all foreign companies doing business in Britain, not British companies doing business overseas. It is symptomatic of the woolly thinking that is destroying this country.
The world's most famous digger – the JCB – made in Staffordshire.
How many factories do they have overseas? – 18. How many British jobs have they created abroad? What portion of the UK economy does this represent?
Do you watch Formula One? Well whether it's the German Michael Schumacher, the Australian Mark Webber or the Brazilian Reubens Barrichello, they all have one thing in common – they drive cars built right here in Britain.
Racing is hardly the domain of your mainstream trading company; this is more of a hobby than a commercial enterprise. What percentage of the world automotive industry does this represent? How many overseas jobs? What portion of the UK economy does this represent?
This is the new economy we're building: leading in advanced manufacturing, technology, life sciences, green engineering. Inventing, creating, exporting.
Sounds good but we are not 'exporting', growth has slowed. Again, Jingoism.
Of course, it's easy to talk about these things: harder to deliver it. For a start, you won't deliver it just by dividing industries into saints and sinners.
Completely off-message, no-one is trying to.
That's not just an insult to the financial and insurance companies, accountancy firms and professional services that make us billions of pounds and create millions of jobs – it's much too simplistic.
So is this speech.
As I've always argued, we need businesses to be more socially responsible. But to get proper growth, to rebalance our economy, we've got to put some important new pieces into place.
Social responsibility starts with protecting jobs by diversifying, investing in talent and promoting it. Not in down-sizing, cost cutting and cheapening the end product, albeit that public sector jobs are too many.
Taking action now to get credit flowing to the small businesses that are the engine of the economy. And ring-fencing the banks so they fulfil their role of lending safely to the real economy. Setting up Technology and Innovation Centres where scientists and academics can work with entrepreneurs to turn brilliant inventions into successful products.
Credit isn't as important as capital investment. We need real capital investment. If stock market returns were not so speculative and spectacular then perhaps there would be a better inward investment process. Making it tax efficient and challenging companies to invest rather than dividend shareholders would attract better inward investment. Shareholders have to be last in the food chain and aware that their investment is riskier short-term and consistent long-term.
Reforming taxation to encourage enterprise and investment in high growth firms. And sometimes that means taking controversial decisions; challenging vested interests.
No, not in high-growth firms, but in low growth firms. Those with good potential. Big business is the problem not the answer it has brought us to this point. We need more localism and generic growth.
When firms need to adapt quickly to win orders and contracts, we can't go on with rigid, outdated employment regulations. The critics may say: what about workers' rights? But the most important worker's right of all is having a job in the first place.
Again, woolly thinking. Pushing people in to low quality jobs isn't the answer, rather we must be focusing on emphasising an Employee first attitude to workers. They are businesses most important assets, nurturing them. This is simply the thinking of a scrupulous tax collector.
When in modern business you're either quick or you're dead, it's hopeless that our transport infrastructure lags so far behind Europe's. That's why we need to build high speed rail and why we'll get the best super-fast broadband network in Europe too.
Far too simplistic. Yes, keeping Britain moving is essential but so is understanding that it isn't about importing more into our crowded country and crowded infrastructure but in exporting more of our people, assets and trade infrastructure abroad. This is a mixed metaphor. Faster business doesn't mean faster roads or more air traffic, it means faster pace of business, something that is detrimental to the economy. Making business more value based and less speculative and media influenced has to be the key to rationalising the economy, making it harder for others to exploit us too.
When a balanced economy needs workers with skills, we need to end the old snobbery about vocational education and training. We've provided funding for 250,000 extra apprenticeships – but not enough big companies are delivering.
There is no substitute for experience, the same in politics. Politicians should do a minimum of 25 years in the public sector before they can qualify for politics. Jobs should be better managed with better hand-over and training of the next generation. Progression should be more age and experience based with progression and reintroduction of career paths.
So here's a direct appeal: If you want skilled employees, we'll provide the funding, we'll cut the red tape. But you've got to show more leadership and give us the apprenticeships we need.
Throwing money at companies to employ people ad-hoc isn't the answer. Leadership requires a re-evaluation of business ethics and management philosophy the current approach is entirely wrong.
Unlocking growth and rebalancing our economy also requires change in Brussels. The EU is the biggest single market in the world – but it's not working properly. Almost every day, I see pointless new regulation coming our way.
Correct, which is why we are better trading from outside the EU rather than promoting a cartel. We should lead the way on global free trade.
A couple of weeks ago I was up in the flat, going through some work before the start of the day and I saw this EU directive. Do you know what it was about? Whether people with diabetes should be allowed to drive. What's that got to do with the single market?
About as much as straight bananas but there are positive aspects too.
Do you suppose anyone in China is thinking: I know how we'll grow our economy – let's get those diabetics off our roads. Europe has to wake up – and the EU growth plan we've published, backed by eight countries, which I want us to push at every meeting, every council, every summit, is the alarm call that Brussels needs.
Why spend time of EU growth plans when you just said you want to be out of the EU? We'd appreciate more time on OUR economy thank you.
There's one more thing. Our businesses need the space to grow – literally. That's one of the reasons we're reforming our planning system. It's hard to blame local people for opposing developments when they get none of the benefits. We're changing that.
Building all over the place isn't the answer either. People have the right to be respected. Investing and developing business abroad would be preferential to concreting over England.
If a new manufacturing plant is built in your area – your community keeps the business rates. If new homes get built – you keep the council tax. This is a localist plan from a localist party.
Building here in the UK only increases emissions and generates more consumerism. We want less consumerism in the UK and more export. Investing abroad makes more sense. Encouraging more Brits to work abroad makes more sense. Intrusive development and exploitative builders are not the answer to job creation in the UK economy.
Now I know people are worried about what this means for conservation. Let me tell you: I love our countryside and there's nothing I would do to put it at risk. But let's get the balance right. The proportion of land in England that is currently built up is 9 per cent. Yes, 9 per cent.
What did you have in mind 50%? Most of the country is owned by HM or wealthy MPs, tax-exiles and foreigners, so that doesn't leave much for the rest of us.
There are businesses out there desperate to expand, to hire thousands of people – but they're stuck in the mud of our planning system. Of course we're open to constructive ideas about how to get this right.
Why not encourage more rural urbanisation (using existing farms) and then converting existing sites into business parks/centres? No-one wants massed developments anymore.
But to those who just oppose everything we're doing, my message is this: Take your arguments down to the job centre. We've got to get Britain back to work.
It is no answer rubbishing constructive criticism when you demonstrate such woolly thinking. Solutions have to be effective, not just about being busy and optimistic.
The new economy we're building must work for everyone. You know the real tragedy of New Labour's economy? Not just that it was unsustainable, unbalanced, overwhelmed with debt. But that it left so many behind.
What new economy? Political backbiting is pointless and political rhetoric isn't any more than self-promoting.
Labour talked opportunity but ripped the ladders of opportunity away. We had an education system that left hundreds of thousands unprepared for work. A welfare system that trapped millions in dependency. An immigration system that brought in migrant workers to do the jobs that those on welfare were being paid not to do.
No, this has taken decades of abuse by all parties. It is nearly time for the process of political affiliation to end in favour of more enlightened representative politics. What I call genuine social democracy. It is no longer acceptable for MPs to rubbish the opposition like some 'Punch & Judy' show and to then continue doing the same old things the same old way – inefficiently and unaware of the pitfalls.
We had a housing system that failed to meet demand, so prices shot up and fuelled an unsustainable boom. And we had a government that creamed the taxes off the boom to splurge back into benefits – redoubling the failure all over again.
The Conservatives sold off Council housing stock on the cheap but failed to invest in replacing it. Government should have a legal obligation to reduce the burden on taxpayers not increase it.
Labour: who tell us they care so much about fairness, about justice, who say they want to hit the rich and help the poor – it was Labour gave us the casino economy and the welfare society.
Labour have proven they are unfit to run the country, but they are MPs the same as all others, so this is an indictment of all MPs not just Labour ones. It just happened that this occurred on their watch. The underlying causes are still the same – decades of poor management culminating in riots.
So who's going to lift the poorest up? Who's going to get our young people back to work? Who's going to create a more equal society? No, not you, the self-righteous Labour Party. It will be us, the Conservatives who finally build an economy that works for everyone and gives hope to everyone in our country.
More 'Punch & Judy' for the public…
That starts with a good education – for everyone. It sounds so simple: proper teaching, good discipline, rigorous exams. But it's hard.
Rigorous exams should be hard. Seriously though, education is only part of the process. We now have low standards in society driven in part by massed immigration the adoption of street culture, lower standards of ethics and morals and a breakdown of moral authority, as typified by state activities and the recent expenses scandal. We have reached an all-time low at national level. Some people just don't recognise it yet. Yet, to fix the problem we must face the reality and stop deluding ourselves about how everything is okay. It's a bl**dy disaster and we have to work hard to fix it.
It's hard because our education system has been infected by an ideology that instead of insisting on every child's success has too often made excuses for failure. They said: "poor kids can't learn." "Black boys can't do well." "In this community we really mustn't expect too much – don't you understand?"
How can you expect schools to cope with multitudes of languages and cultural diversities, the watering down of the standards and the indoctrinal approach to education rather than the promotion of opportunity and skills?
Oh yes, I do understand. Believe me I do understand and I am disgusted by the idea that we should aim for any less for a child from a poor background than a rich one.
You are about one of the only people who DOESN'T understand. Blood blooded public school boys have no idea how hard it is to survive the education system and develop as a well-rounded individual. There's the class system, the cultural system, the old-boys network, the prejudice and insecurity and small mindedness and the greed of those who have and the disrespect for those who have not.
I have contempt for the notion that we should accept narrower horizons for a black child than a white one. Yes it's the age-old irony of the liberal left: they practice oppression and call it equality.
I have contempt for the fact you are even bringing up race as an issue. It is not relevant to where we are today, so get over it.
So we are fighting back. And something massive is happening. There is now irrefutable proof that the right schools, with the right freedoms and the right leadership, can transform the education of the most deprived children.
Free-schools drain resources from state schools, therefore creating a further divide in education standards.
You heard yesterday from that inspirational student from Burlington Danes Academy in Hammersmith. Inner city school. Deprived area. Nearly half the pupils on free school meals.
Free school meals are just another form of benefit.
But this year, three-quarters got five good GCSEs including English and maths. That's way better than what the majority of the state schools in Sussex, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire got last year – some of the most affluent counties in the country.
But the standards are lower.
Why? Because the head teacher, her staff, the parents – rose up and said: "We are as good as anyone. Our children can achieve anything."
Leadership works. So we're backing more head teachers to turn schools into Academies. And we want more parents, teachers, charities, businesses, entrepreneurs, to come in to our education system and set up Academies and Free Schools.
Of course leadership works, but many do not know or have the skills to lead. Often natural leaders are overlooked in favour of non-managerial material – people who are good at and enjoy engaging in the detail.
Change really is underway. For the first time in a long time, the numbers studying those core and vital subjects history, geography, languages are going up. Pupils' exams will be marked on their punctuation and grammar.
What about science, maths and finance, morals and ethics, the things that matter most.
And teachers are going to be able to search pupils' bags for anything banned in school – mobile phones, alcohol, weapons, anything. It's a long, hard road back to rigour, but we're well and truly on our way.
Why not already? Taking action would also be a good idea.
And here's something else we're going to do. In Britain today, we have schools that are intolerant of failure, where ninety percent of pupils get five good GCSEs. Yes: private schools. You've heard me talk about social responsibility so let me say this.
I want to see private schools start Academies, and sponsor Academies in the state system. Wellington College does it, Dulwich does it – others can too.
The apartheid between our private and state schools is one of the biggest wasted opportunities in our country today. So let it be this party that helps tear it down.
Well, it is also arguably the grooming ground of the elite in society, those who have proven they don't know best and haven't a clue how to run the country, although I suppose they know how to drink Pimms and tie a bow tie. Thanks for admitting that it IS a virtual apartheid.
Rigour back in learning. Standards back in schools. Teachers back in control. Yes – the Conservatives are back in government.
So, back to where we should have been 30 years ago then? That's not much 'progress' is it?
An economy that works for everyone means sorting out welfare and immigration too. Welfare began as a life-line. For too many it's become a way of life. Generation after generation in the cycle of dependency – and we are determined to break it.
True. State encouraged.
Part of our answer is controlling immigration. So we've put a cap on the numbers of non-EU immigrants allowed to come into our country to work. We mustn't lock out talent – I want the best and brightest entrepreneurs, scientists and students from around the world to get the red carpet treatment.
So, the cap has exceptions then… so it isn't a cap is it?
But the bogus colleges, the fake marriages, the people arriving for a month and staying for years, the criminals who use the Human Rights Act to try and stay in the country – we are clamping down on all of them.
Glad to hear it. Why not make it compulsory for someone coming from abroad to paying full national insurance contributions and prove they have a job, that way we don't need an immigration policy, anyone can come so long as they fund the benefit, pension and health system and are not entitled to claim for 3 years.
We've got to get some sense back into our labour market and get British people back into work. For years you've been conned by governments. To keep the unemployment figures down, they've parked as many people as possible on the sick. Two and a half million, to be exact. Not officially unemployed, but claiming welfare, no questions asked. Now we're asking those questions.
Interesting, an admission we've been conned by Governments – do we all get compensation? We all know this anyway, it is called politicians lying, they do it all the time, which is why they have absolutely no respect any more.
It turns out that of the 1.3 million people who have put in a claim for the new sickness benefit in recent years. One million are either able to work, or stopped their claim before their medical assessment had been completed.
Under Labour they got something for nothing. With us they'll only get something, if they give something. If they are prepared to work, we're going to help them – and I mean really help them.
If you've been out of work and on benefits for five years, a quick session down the job centre and a new CV just isn't going to cut it. You need to get your self-esteem and confidence back; you need training and skills; intensive personal support.
Previous governments were never willing to make a proper commitment to this, but we have – investing now, so we don't pay later. We're going to spend up to £14,000 on some people just to get them trained and back into work.
This isn't practical. Honestly you have no idea, David.
Yes, I know that's a lot of money – but it's worth it. Let it be us, let it be this government that finally builds an economy where no one is left behind.
What does that mean? We are already behind by about 30 years and those without pensions and those without jobs or the prospect of housing or a future are getting even further behind. More political spin.
And for most people that includes a home of their own: not just any old home but a decent one: light and spacious, a place with a proper front door and room for the kids to play in. But the percentage of British people who own their home is going down.
Self-evident twaddle. So you are going to guarantee 'decent homes' not just any old homes, ones that are light and spacious. Can you define that for us? Thought not. Home ownership has suffered because of high inflation and profiteering by builders and a general fall in earnings to expenses.
Unless they get help from their parents, do you know the average age of a first-time buyer in our country today? Thirty seven. You hear people say: "why can't people just rent like in Europe?" or "there's nothing we can do because we don't have the money."
I disagree. The failure of the housing market is bound up in the debt crisis. Because lenders won't lend, builders won't build and buyers can't buy.
Wrong – see above. It has nothing to do with lenders. The credit default risk is something else entirely, based upon badly sold junk loans in the USA and speculative use of credit capital for mortgage lending as witnessed by the Northern Rock scandal. Prices simply outstripped earning and mortgage companies tightened their lending requirements as a result of the former, market generated crash.
We're sorting this out, bringing back the Right to Buy and using the money to build new homes. Macmillan made us the party of the property-owning democracy. Margaret Thatcher gave people the Right to Buy. Now let us, in this generation, inspire a new Tory housing revolution.
New generation, same defective policies – ONLY circumstances aren't the same David, you said so earlier.
While I'm on the subject of those great Conservative figures, let me say this. I'm incredibly fortunate to have such strong support from our previous leaders. Michael Howard. Iain Duncan Smith. William Hague. Sir John Major. And of course, Lady Thatcher. You know what? We don't boo our leaders. We're proud of our past and what those people did for our country.
A few months ago, we were shocked by the scenes on our streets in London and other parts of the country. But perhaps the most shocking thing is that people weren't that surprised. There was no great call for a public enquiry to find out what had gone wrong.
We know what went wrong, deprivation, massed migration, lack of jobs, street culture, lack of morals and ethics, poor housing, no prospects. Crime was simple opportunism.
Instead the sound you could hear was the angry, insistent, overwhelming cry of a country shouting to its leaders: We know. We know why this happened. We know what's gone wrong. We know that if the system keeps fudging the difference between right and wrong, we'll never improve behaviour.
No idea, again demonstrating out of touch.
We know that as long as the police go round with one hand tied behind their back, we'll never make our streets truly safe. And more than anything we know that if parents don't meet their responsibilities, kids will get out of control. Yes, people said: we know what's gone wrong: and we want you to put it right.
Crime is a different matter. Law and order is weak because of the failings of the justice system, the failure of the social system and the poor leadership provided by generations of politicians too interested in each other rather than the country.
One thing people want is speedy justice. After the riots those responsible were put straight in the courts and tough sentences were quickly handed out. And I've made it clear to the police, to the prosecution services, to the Ministry of Justice, to the Attorney-General, if we could do that then, let's make sure we do it all the time. But the problems go deeper. That's why my driving mission in politics is to build a Big Society, a stronger society.
Crime is the symptom not the cause. It is inevitable that politicians will reach for the easiest solution, which is why the country is in the state it is in.
It starts with families. I want to make this the most family-friendly government the country has ever seen. More childcare. More health visitors. More relationship support. More help with parenting. And for the 120,000 families that are most troubled – and causing the most trouble – a commitment to turn their lives around by the end of this Parliament.
Look to Sweden.
Today I can announce this: a new focus on the 65,000 children in care. Do you know how many children there are in care under the age of one? 3,660. And how many children under the age of one were adopted in our country last year? Sixty.
This may not seem like the biggest issue facing our country, but it is the biggest issue for these children. How can we have let this happen: we've got people flying all over the world to adopt babies, while the care system at home agonises about placing black children with white families.
With the right values and the right effort, let's end this scandal and help these, the most vulnerable children of all. But for me, leadership on families also means speaking out on marriage. Marriage is not just a piece of paper. It pulls couples together through the ebb and flow of life. It gives children stability. And it says powerful things about what we should value. So yes, we will recognise marriage in the tax system.
As I've said before, marriage is not a 'default' status, single is. You cannot and should not legislate against single people. Unmarried families may be different but there is a distinction. Ending child benefit would encourage only those able to afford a family to have one.
But we're also doing something else. I once stood before a Conservative conference and said it shouldn't matter whether commitment was between a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, or a man and another man. You applauded me for that. Five years on, we're consulting on legalising gay marriage.
What's the big deal? Isn't this the case anyway?
And to anyone who has reservations, I say: Yes, it's about equality, but it's also about something else: commitment. Conservatives believe in the ties that bind us; that society is stronger when we make vows to each other and support each other. So I don't support gay marriage despite being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I'm a Conservative.
This is rather irrelevant to the financial crisis; it shows a real lack of direction and priority.
We value community spirit and social action too. We see it everyday in our own lives, it's one of the great things about Britain, and do you know what? Over the last five years of the Labour government, the number of people volunteering went down. Last year, the decline was halted.
We're all too busy working to pay higher taxes, in fear of losing jobs and being sold down the river without a pension. No time for volunteering. If you want people, pay them. This culture of something for nothing is endemic in society and it is a disease that is contributing to the financial crisis.
And now the proportion of people saying they feel they belong strongly to their neighbourhood is the highest for a decade. If you're cynical, go to Wythenshawe, a few miles from here. It used to be ravaged by crime and drugs and graffiti. But local people opened a community hall and a gym. They got the kids off the streets. They cleaned up graffiti and kicked out the drug dealers. Of course, government can't legislate for this. But we can support the leadership that makes it happen.
Standing up to kids and setting higher standards are needed across society.
That's why we're giving neighbourhoods new powers to take over the running of parks, playgrounds and pubs. It's why we're making it easier for people to give their time and money to good causes. It's why we want elected mayors in our great cities, and it's why right now we're drawing up plans to really open up public services and give more power to people.
All sounds rather good.
But one of the biggest things holding people back is the shadow of health and safety. I was told recently about a school that wanted to buy a set of highlighter pens. But with the pens came a warning. Not so fast – make sure you comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. Including plenty of fresh air and hand and eye protection. Try highlighting in all that.
There is a fine line between hazardous and ridiculous.
This isn't how a great nation was built. Britannia didn't rule the waves with arm-bands on. So the vetting and barring scheme – we're scaling it back. CRB checks – we're cutting them back. At long last common sense is coming back to our country.
Building stronger communities is why we've introduced National Citizen Service. You saw it for yourself at the start of this afternoon's session. One of the people who took part this year, Owen Carter, wrote to me and said:
"[This] has changed my perspective of life – you can do anything if you work hard and have a supportive team around you. You can do anything'.
That's the spirit I'm talking about. That's why we're tripling the scale of National Citizen Service. That's how we'll build our Big Society. That is leadership.
Another cheap labour concept.
Next year, we welcome the world for the Olympics – and of course the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. These two events say a lot about Britain. Tradition. Modernity. All in one.
The two are not compatible. Tradition in politics and society hold us back. We have to continuously evolve or become extinct. Same with politics, same with economics. The current systems are broken.
And today, we can choose to be a country that's back on its feet and striding forward. Paying down our debt and earning a living. Getting people off welfare and into work. Breaking new ground in education, with excellence for everyone not a privileged few.
There is no 'choose'. For those of us born here, we have no choice unless we are sufficiently wealthy to go where we please, essentially a class divide. Some of us don't have debts and are financially prudent. There are a lot of confused incompatible statements in this bit. What has 'welfare' got to do with 'breaking new ground in education'?
We can be a country where people look back on their life and say: I've worked hard, I've raised a family, I'm part of a community and all along it was worth my while. We're too far away from that today but we can get there.
All this is true but it doesn't say, I had a good quality of life, a good job, time to enjoy it and the ability to afford it all with low taxation and no interference from the state.
It's not complicated, but not easy either – because nothing worthwhile is easily won. But you know, we've been told we were finished before.
Yes it is complicated. It gets more complicated every day and people have had enough of it being too complicated. Define worthwhile? I don't want a hard life, neither do most people. Making things easy means simplifying them, making them more effective and putting qualitative aspects back in the mix.
They said when we lost an Empire that we couldn't find a role. But we found a role, took on communism and helped bring down the Berlin Wall.
Oh please! How Jingoistic can a man out of ideas get? We don't care about Communism or Capitalism or any other failed political or ideological doctrine, we believe in social democracy. Representing people with a small government that is light touch and non-interventional but that sets direction and long-term strategic thinking (next 50 years) and isn't mired in tittle tattle political in-fighting. Yes, we won the war, yes we survived the cold war but we lost the economic war and now we have to rebuild like Germany in 1945 and start a new ear of Britain before we can talk about achievements.
They called our economy the sick man of Europe. But we came back and turned this country into a beacon of enterprise.
No, we are still sick. Our economy is in tatters, we are having too cut benefits, wages, jobs and pensions – hardly Utopia. That includes the State Pension contributions and financial deficit. We should pass a law preventing any future government from borrowing, except in time of war. We should never again allow this country to live outside its means.
No, Britain never had the biggest population, the largest land mass, the richest resources, but we had the spirit. Remember: it's not the size of the dog in the fight – it's the size of the fight in the dog. Overcoming challenge, confounding the sceptics, reinventing ourselves, this is what we do. It's called leadership.
What a load of rubbish. We had slavery, conquest and Empire. We did have the largest land mass in terms of Empire than any other in history. Who came up with this baloney about dogs? Do us all a favour – fire them for the good of the country.
Let's turn this time of challenge into a time of opportunity. Not sitting around, watching things happen and wondering why. But standing up, making things happen and asking why not.
Which is why you're doing exactly the opposite, right? Leading from behind. Why not? I'm doing my bit holding you accountable and suggesting improvements that are largely ignored.
We have the people, we have the ideas, and now we have a government that's freeing those people, backing those ideas.
Who? How? What do you mean freeing, do you mean like Nelson Mandela?
So let's see an optimistic future. Let's show the world some fight. Let's pull together, work together. And together lead Britain to better days.
Clueless rhetoric, lacking substance; totally out of kilter with the needs of the country and the challenge in hand.
Hardly a Churchillian call to arms. Rather evidence of the poorer standards in all tiers of our society, even the very top.


text:
Recently, we wanted to put 5 & 1/4 base molding in a room that currently has 4 & 1/4 base molding w/ wainscoating. We thought the original molding was put in over the wainscoating, but it turns out that the wainscoating was cut to meet up w/ the 4 & 1/4 molding. Now it we put larger molding in, part of it will be on the wainscoating and the other part will be on the drywall, which would not work, because we'd be installing molding on an uneven surface. We thought about putting a shim under the wainscoating (where the current molding is) and putting the new molding on top of that, but now we're thinking that the new molding will stick out ****her than the door trim, which might look funny. Any ideas? Also, we thought about leaving the room as is, but we put the larger molding in the next room and now we need to line up the larger molding w/ the shorter molding when there is a peice of corner wall molding between the rooms. Could we cut the corner molding shorter on one wall to go over the higher base molding? Any ideas would be appreciated.
- Forum >
- Tools & Workshop >
- Installing Base Molding
Perhaps you can use a 45 return cut on the higher base to transition to the lower existing base...
If you want you can post a picture on my web sites forum and link it here so we can see what you talking about...
Alter Eagle Construction & Design
okay, cut a 45 in the end, (the run would come to a point) cut another 45 opposite to that, that is a typical return... you would use that cut to step down similar to a crafstman stye to got to the height of the existing base... then again it's hard to figure you exact situation out too, so that may not work for you.
If you want you can post a picture on my web sites forum and link it here so we can see what you talking about...
Can you describe it better Mark? (If you know what I mean that is? )
Alter Eagle Construction & Design
Which way is up for installing crown molding?
Nail size
crown molding
Installing MDF baseboards
- 15 Old House Features We Shouldn't Abandon
- 13 Lazy Cleaning Tricks for a Spotless Home
- Laundry Room Ideas to Knock Your Socks Off
- Insanely Easy 60-Minute Home Improvements
- 12 Sheds You Could Live (or Work) In
- Assembly Required: 15 DIY Kit Homes
- 7 House Sounds You Never Want to Ignore
- 10 Surprisingly Simple Woodworking Projects
- Worth It: 8 Renovations That Pay You Back
- Organize Your Life with 12 Dollar-Store Buys
- 9 Totally Amazing Mobile Home Makeovers
- Don't Make These 7 Mistakes in Small Spaces
- 20 Sneaky Storage Ideas
- 15 Totally Unexpected DIY Flooring Alternatives
- 7 Easy Budget-Friendly Backyard Makeovers
- 10 Closet Cures That Cost Less Than $100
- 11 Easy DIY Projects to Declutter Your Home
- 10 "Zero Dollar" Garden Hacks
- 10 Killproof Plants for a No-Effort Landscape
- 9 Insanely Easy 1-Hour Backyard Projects

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Dates of Required Attendance for 2014-15
Dates for clerkship orientation, the day back and NBME test dates for 14-15. Pre-scheduled TBL dates are also included on this chart. There is required attendance on these days unless an administrative excuse is presented.
2014-2015 MS3 Psychiatry Important Dates (revised 09.05.2014).xlsx — application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet, 14 KB (14444 bytes)


text:
Oct. 13, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The second-ranked Alabama football team wrapped up the biggest portion of its preparations for a road trip to Mississippi on Thursday with a 90-minute workout in shells inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility.
The Crimson Tide focused on special teams while putting the finishing touches on the game plan for the Rebels, who enter the game with a 2-3 overall record and a 0-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
"We are preparing for Mississippi just like any other team, like any other week," Alabama wide receiver Darius Hanks said. "They are a very mixed team. They play a lot of man and a lot of zone, just like any other team. We just have to come out and take what's given to us."
The Crimson Tide has won seven straight in the series and three in a row in Oxford dating back to a 42-28 loss in 2003. UA leads the series 44-9-2 overall and 6-3 in Oxford.
Alabama will have a short walk-through in Tuscaloosa on Friday before departing for the game, which is scheduled for a 5 p.m. kickoff on ESPN2 from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mark Jones will handle the play-by-play duties while Ed Cunningham will be the color analyst and Jeannine Edwards is on the sidelines.
Also follow breaking news on the Crimson Tide on Facebook at Alabama-Football and on Twitter at @AlabamaFTBL.


text:
LeMieux To Endorse Rubio?
Now wouldn't this just make my day (via Hot Air): LeMieux, who ran Crist's past campaigns, served as his chief of staff at one point and has largely been seen as Crist's top political advisor, now has his own political career to consider. Appointed to replace ex-Sen. Mel Martinez (R) last year, LeMieux is said to be taking a serious look at challenging Sen. Bill | Read More »


text:
Results tagged ' Hit-It-A-Ton '
Butler and Crow distribute food at St. James Place
Royals designated hitter Billy Butler and his wife Katie have been involved in work at St. James Place Food Pantry and the Bishop Sullivan Center since 2008. On Thursday, pitcher Aaron Crow joined Billy and Katie at St. James Place, where they packaged and distributed food, including Billy's barbecue sauce. Billy and Katie's "Hit-It-A-Ton" program has raised over a quarter of a million dollars to help local families.
Vote Butler: Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service
Here's another interactive opportunity for fans to vote for a Royal…for the second-straight year, first baseman Billy Butler is a candidate for the Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service by an Athlete.
The award is presented in partnership with All Stars Helping Kids, a national nonprofit founded by NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. Butler joins a list of other impressive nominees from across the sports world, including C.C. Sabathia, Paul Pierce and Drew Brees. Past recipients of Jefferson Awards for Public Service include Oprah Winfrey, Colin Powell, Lance Armstrong and Bill Gates.
The Royals are calling on fans to vote for Butler for this prestigious honor. Fans may text Butler's Jefferson Award number – 05 – to 99158 or vote online at www.allstarshelpingkids.org/teammates/index.html. Voting ends December 31, but there is no limit to the number of votes per individual.
Butler is one of the club's community leaders and works extensively with the Bishop Sullivan Center, one of the largest providers of emergency assistance in the Kansas City area. The 24-year-old just completed the third season of his Hit-It-A-Ton campaign, a matching program in which fans and area companies can join the Butlers in donating food to the center for each of his home runs.
Sporting Generosity names Billy Butler the October 2010 Player of the Month
Sporting Generosity, an organization designed to identify the contributions to the community made by professional athletes and organizations alike, has named Billy Butler the October 2010 Player of the Month.
Butler joins a list of honorees that includes NFL Hall of Famer Art Monk and NBA All-Star Al Horford.
Butler, Kansas City's 2010 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, has been involved in community events since his debut with the club in 2007. Billy and his wife Katie lead the "Hit-It-A-Ton" program, which helps feed the hungry in the Kansas City area. The couple donates money for each of Billy's home runs. Donating fans have the opportunity to earn tickets to a Royals home game and autographed memorabilia, as well as attend a picnic event with the Butlers. For more information on the Hit-It-A-Ton program, visit www.bishopsullivan.org/hit-it-a-ton.aspx.
For more information on Billy's honor from Sporting Generosity, please visit www.sportinggenerosity.com/butler.html .


text:
Maori Art Market/News/Blog/Newsletter subscription/Member Login
Te Atinga Statement
Mission: To provide a platform and give access to aspiring artists involved in contemporary visual arts.
Vision: Te Atinga aspires to be at the forefront of the contemporary maori visual arts movements
Strategic Objectives:
Te Atinga develops projects to develop and promote contemporary Maori art through exhibitions, wananga (symposia), publications and artist networks operating within regional to international tribal or urban centres.
Te Atinga fosters the development of emerging and established painters, sculptors, clay-workers, print-makers, digital and multi-media artists.


text:
Fortescue Implodes As Company Requests Debt Waiver: 2007 Deja Vu Liquidity Fears Send Stock Plunging
Two weeks ago when we posted "The Kangaroo In The Metals Mine: Fortescue Trying To Raise $1.5 Billion From 20 Banks As Iron Prices Implode" we observed several developments in the bond prices of Australian mega iron miner, and fourth largest in the world, Fortescue, which suddenly found itself in dire need of cash which is always a first step to insolvency, which made us comment that just "like that we are back to those days of 2008 when the Chinese demand collapse meant any day could be FMG's last. Happy days are back again." Not really. We added that "as usual, the bond market is the first to get the memo that the landing is going to be a hard one. We give the farce that is known as equities about 4-6 weeks before they too get the memo." We were actually wrong: it took just two weeks for equities to finally figure out what we were warning about. From Reuters: "The world's no.4 iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group Ltd has asked lenders to waive debt covenants if iron ore prices remain under pressure, the firm said on Thursday, after its shares suffered their worst loss in almost four years. Like other Australian miners, Fortescue's earnings have come under pressure from a plunge in commodity prices caused by weak demand in top consumer China. This has squeezed its ability to service its long-term debt, which stands at $11.3 billion." Of course, those who read our August 31 report, and were positioned accordingly and ahead of the market, made 20% in two weeks.
From Reuters:
On Thursday, Fortescue shares sank on a report by the Australian Financial Review that said it had asked its lenders to waive all its debt covenants for the next 12 months, citing unidentified sources.
In response, the company said it was in full compliance with all of its banking covenants, which are next due to be reviewed by December 31, and continues to have full access to all of its funding facilities.
"Fortescue is in the process of talking to its lenders about potential waivers in the event that covenants are put under pressure by extended volatility in the iron ore market," the company said in a statement released to the Australian stock exchange after the market closed.
Fortescue is particularly exposed to the Chinese iron ore market because its sole product is the steelmaking material - the worst performing major mineral in the past year - and it sells the vast majority of its output to China.
The bottom line:
Since early September, it has shed 12 percent of its value on concerns that it will have to raise equity to shore up its funding, a move that its founder and one-third shareholder, Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, has resisted.
"This is a big deal because Fortescue is in a position where in order to actually invest more for the business and to grow the business they actually need to raise capital," said Damien Boey, equity strategist at Credit Suisse.
"But the thing is Andrew Forrest doesn't want to dilute himself by raising equity capital. He's kind of been hoping that commodity prices might rise so that maybe his profits would grow and that he wouldn't have to worry about it. But that hasn't happened."
Were Fortescue to obtain covenant waivers it would ease the pressure on its debt rating outlook, said Standard & Poor's analytical manager Suzanne Smith, but the company remains vulnerable as long as iron ore prices stay below $110.
"It's not only about covenant pressure. They're so exposed to the level of iron ore prices. That's also important," she said.
Naturally, the question remains - why should the stock market worry about anything: dont the central planners have everything under control? Turns out, no. And in fact, not even Bernanke could help here, as printing of more Iron Ore is precisely what the doctor did not order in a world rife with capital misallocation courtesy of free money, and in which oversupply is the primary culprit to serial defaults when suddenly the overdemand curtain is pulled back and it is all revealed to be a sham perpetuated by none other than the ZIRP/NIRP money spewing forth from the central printers.
- advertisements -
Seems like we've seen this movie before.....
Drop rates to zero, commodities skyrocket, poverty ensues, demand crashes, prices fall. Not too hard to fortell.
It's all in the manual somewhere.
If you see me comin' better step aside
A lot of men didn't, a lot of men died.
One fist of iron and the other of steel,
If the right one don't getcha than the left one will.
You load sixteen tons, and whaddya get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
St. Peter don't ya call me 'cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the company store...
-Tennessee Ernie Ford, Sixteen Tons
Hmmm now how bout that Aussie housing bubble....
Aus has quite abit of air before that jagged edged floor.
Also FMG hasn't fallen that far.. wow got alot to go aussie boys get on it. I'm sure socialist-in-chief there has it all under control, don't you Mr Gillard.
Mr??? Shit, I know she's butt ugly but still pretty sure she's a female.
Welsh, though. Big problem. Sheep shagger.
You only have to worry about the ones with wellys on cause they have somewhere to put the back legs to stop them running away, I also hear if you take them to a cliff edge they push back harder.
I'll get me coat.
She'll never be the man her mother was.......
gm volt does not use iron they have a hopium body and balsa wood beams. no wonder there is no demand for iron.
Rumor: Peter Stark and Gina Rinehart had a lovechild and it's name was Snookie...Discuss
but, but China's growing...all the "market masters" on CNBS said so!
Looks like Jim Chanos kicked another goal. He was short this piece of shit in April. As for the suckers that bought the junk bond issue a couple of months ago, I hope they lose their shirts.
When this is all over the RBA will wipe the dust of the printing press and launch some sort of LTRO especially considering our biggest banks huge dependence on foreign funding.
Iron, bitchez! Oh, wait...
What the Market needs right now...
Maybe Fortescue can sell some of their oversupply to the Fed or ECB.
You know, to get a FAIR price
We just need paper.....and some crayons.
Good to go!!!
I've made over 30% in a week in Alpha Natural Resources. Going long. And 14% in Vale going long in two weeks.
Tell your mama....
How about Iron Federal Reserve Notes instead of paper? Seems like that would kill a bunch of birds with one stone.
> increased demand for iron
> make it easier for airport scanners to find out who has the most cash in their suitcase
> increased sales of rust-oleum
> a body shot to the counterfeiting industry (particularly the Fed)
LULZ from down under.
Stupid fucks... always export the crap while keeping the good stuff for themselves and then complaining about cash inflows.
Reminds me of this drug dealer, who would sell the crappy stuff while keeping the "boom" stuff for himself to smoke. Did'nt have much customers as one could guess.
Next month we'll read: "China Purchases Fortescue."
Andrew Forrest deserves what he gets. He's been loading up debt for years while the big boys got cashed-up and built-in efficiency margins to be ready for this price fall. Rio learned its lesson with debt in 2008, so Forrest should have taken the hint, but has been gambling on an unrealistically high price remaining high. It was never going to happen. Rio and BHP will be salivating.
Every single Fortescue executive is a massive iron ore/China bull. Anyone in their management ranks that has even raised the possibility that iron ore prices would not be $150-$200+ per tonne over the long term, has been shown the door in short order. Now that the unthinkable (for them) has happened, I can't wait to see the humble pie being served in that boardroom... Of course, the dip in iron ore is only temporary...


text:
Celebs Vs. The Paps
Posted on Tue Oct 14th, 2008 4:45pm PDT By X17 Staff
Ok, we get that no one likes getting their picture taken all the time, but it does kind of come with the territory, right?
Well, in honor of recent celeb/pap scuffles, like the one Johnny Depp found himself (or his bodyguard) in earlier today, and the recent Kanye West case, we've put together a gallery of celebs striking out at photogs.
Water seems to be a popular weapon, as does a finger, but in one case, we had to take cover from a hamburger and in another -- probably the most famous celeb vs. paparazzi moment of all -- an umbrella!
Links: Britney Spears • Cameron Diaz • Justin Timberlake • Kirstie Alley • Nicole Richie • Paps on Film
SEE THE GALLERY Celebs Vs. The Paps
Stories from around the Web


text:
By: Will Peters
Number of Reviews: 1384
Average Score: 65
Visit HM Boys
Heads Up!
This review is outdated. Information may be inaccurate.
This review is outdated. Information may be inaccurate.
HM Boys, does it stand for hot male boys, which would be redundant? Perhaps it's short for Her Majesty's boys, since these lads are fit for any queen or manly teen-loving gay stud. The "HM" in fact means homemade. To be honest, that can put me off a site since amateur would imply that the models weren't professionals while homemade makes it sound as if the camerawork is unprofessional. You shouldn't worry. Even though the site isn't overproduced, the quality is quite up-to-snuff. The site has also been redesigned so it's more user-friendly than it was before.
HMBoys has 99 videos. The site looks so much better, so it's a bit surprising that this section of the site hasn't improved much. The vids still only come in RealPlayer format. They give you mediocre playback. They have increased the screen size on some of the clips, so they look a bit better on screen than you might expect. The fact of the matter is that older updates look worse than the most recent ones. Somehow, though, they manage not to be so bad that you would enjoy watching them at all. You see solo stuff and hardcore sex. You'll even catch some bareback action.
Where the site has really grown is in the photo section. There are 486 galleries. The last time while visiting the site, there were only regular-res or smaller photos. Now, you will find some sets with high-res still pics. Ideally, the photo sets would consistently have the larger framed images. However, the clarity and crispness of each remains great. You will see solo lads. Horny couples sucking and fucking fill some of the sets. There are also some hormonally charged three-ways and some groupsex.
Extras include a couple live links. There is a section of reviews written by one of the site's former models. He gives you his critiques of adult websites, DVDs and books. There's an ongoing contest to win a DVD or a subscription to another gay porn site. You have to indentify a model solely by a single close up picture of his dick. If you send in the right guy's name, you could win one of the two prizes. There is a small section of stories. You can also check out some gay toons created for the site. HM Boys could still use better videos, but its new sleek design is easier to navigate.
* Please include a pro and a con about the site. Balance is essential in making a comment worthwhile. Scores without comments will be deleted.
* Watch out for ratings of zero and 100. In our opinion, there is no such thing as a site that is absolutely perfect or completely worthless.


text:
Desperate Housewives filmed their final ever episode this week as production on the series finally came to an end after eight years.
Eva Longoria, who plays Gabrielle Solis, tweeted pictures from the cast and crew's last day on Wisteria Lane.
Images include Eva posing alongside camera crew members and inside her empty on-set trailer.
Emotions were clearly running high, with Eva tightly hugging Felicity Huffman (Lynette Scavo) and crying with Marcia Cross (Bree Van de Kamp), who also revealed her feelings on Twitter:
Marcia Cross
Desperate Housewives, or DH as fans affectionately call it, is a comedy-drama series charting the mysteries just beneath the surface of a seemingly genteel suburban neighbourhood.
Marcia Cross
The show has enjoyed an impressive run, winning Golden Globes and Emmy awards, with viewers numbering as high as 120 million worldwide during its peak in 2007.
It was fun ladies, but in the words of Eva: "That's a wrap!"
See the images in the gallery below, tissues at the ready...
"Bye bye trailer! All cleared out and empty! Ready for another actor to move in!"
"Me and the beautiful Marcia Cross! Crying our eyes out!"
"Me and @FelicityHuffman holding each other so tight! She kept me standing for the last 8 years! I love u Flicka!"
"Me and the greatest tv husband anyone could have Ricardo Chavira!"
"That's a wrap! End of an era! #desperatehousewives"
"Me and our amazing camera crew!"


text:
no subjectDate: 2009-08-15 06:49 am (UTC)
That 'I have always liked Cowabunga' scene makes no damn sense, either in the movie or here. 'Cowabunga' ain't a descriptive term; it's something you yell when charging into action. What Splinter is basically suggesting that they say is 'we were Cowabunga', which is like saying 'damn, we were Geronimo back there', or 'dudes, we were totally Banzai'. It's a shame, too, because otherwise, the ending sequence is pretty effective.


text: Yes, wages are stagnant and yes, the cost of living keeps getting higher. It hardly seems fair to your wallet. However, a new analysis determined that in 17 of the nation's 18 largest metropolitan areas, there's no need to spend more than you make just to cover your essential expenses – that when annual median after-tax incomes are stacked against annual median spending statistics, the net difference isn't just more than zero, it's sometimes as high as $24,000. Here's a look at the best cities for savers.


text:
Postgame Notes: UMass 80, Richmond 71
Feb. 4, 2009
Chris Lowe scored his 1,000th career point on a driving, spinning lay-up at 14:29. He became the 41st player in UMass history to break the barrier. He joins Ricky Harris for a 1,000-point backcourt. Lowe now has 1,012 points in his career after scoring 13 in the game. He is now 40th in career scoring, passing Stephane Lasme (1,011) on the all-time list. It was Lowe's 11th game this season with double-figures.
Lowe also had 10 assists for the seventh time this season and 13th time in his career, all in his last 33 games.
Ricky Harris (21) and Tony Gaffney (12) nearly combined to outscore 39-33 Richmond in the second half by themselves. Harris (3) and Gaffney combined (0) three first half points and went for 33 in the second half.
Ricky Harris has scored in double-figures in 18 of 20 games this season with 24. Harris moved to 24th in career scoring as he now has 1,182. He passed Rafer Giles (1,163).
Harris had his ninth game of the season with 20 or more points and 27th of his career with 24.
Harris moved to fifth in made 3-pointers with five in the game, giving him 182. He passed Lorenzo Sutton (178).
Harris had four steals, one off his career-high of five.
Tony Gaffney had his 10th game this season and 14th in his career with 10 or more points as he had 12.
Luke Bonner drew three charges, giving him 19 draws in just 13 games.
Matt Glass had just his third-ever 2-point field goal on a tip-in at 9:05 of the first half. Of his first 33 career field goals, 31 were 3-pointers.
Featured Links
More Headlines


text:
Hire or Outsource Technical Experts
June 10, 1999
You find yourself spending more and more money on computer networking experts to "put out fires" with the computer system in the office. Thinking the expense may be penny wise and pound foolish, you're considering hiring a dedicated computer specialist. Here are some issues to consider when making the decision:
- How much "down time" will the employee have? What other skills of that employee can you take advantage of during such down time? Can the employee use down time to upgrade other employees' skills--for example, by teaching them time-saving word processing, spreadsheet, or database skills? Is there a need for such training in your organization?
- Are your technical problems, questions and challenges the result of outdated systems and equipment, or the result of a lack of anyone keeping an eye on things? Have you had a consultant do an independent evaluation of your organization's technology and knowledge management practices?
- Are there employees in your organization who have technical skills that are not being tapped? Are there employees who are especially adept at learning new technical skills and could be trained?
- Have you explored the possibility of a permanent, part-time network specialist? Sometimes, it helps to hire an employee to work a certain number of hours per week, regardless of whether the system is in need of repair. He or she can handle maintenance that can prevent costly breakdowns from occurring.
SOURCE: Todd Raphael, Workforce Online, May 15, 1999.


text:
Neal Cassady's Birthday Bash
BEST BETDATE: February 4 2011, 8:00 PM to 10:00 PMCost:Free.CATEGORY: Special EventsVENUE INFORMATION:Mercury Cafe2199 California St.Denver, CO 80204
Celebrate the life of Neal Cassady, a former Denver resident and close friend of novelist Jack Kerouac. Cassady played an integral part in the California psychedelic scene of the 1960s and was a model for the fictional character Dean Moriarty in On the Road. Fri 8-10 p.m.


text:
For $1.99/month (less than the price of one cappuccino, one movie rental or a pack of gum…) or $18/year or more you'll receive unlimited access to all Improvised Life content and its vast archive.
REALLY love us? Contributions of $250/year or more will receive a 1-hour Skype or FaceTime consultation with Sally about an interior design or cooking dilemma (you can also give this as a gift!)
Help us fund (ad-free) the MANY hours of writing, research, and cold hard sweat that goes into curating and editing Improvised Life.
Im crying.
Me too…
Helping young minds and are environment as well! this video really inspired me. I am currently studying the violin in the Atlanta area. I got signed up with Encore Music Lessons and they found me a great teacher. I cant wait to show her this video!
If the Improvised Life is a source of creativity, inspiration, ideas and change in your daily life, please consider becoming a Friend with Benefits. A little bit goes a long way towards helping us publish fresh AD-FREE content each day.


text:
their tight young pussies. The problem is they don't always know how. That's where CDGirls and Barely 18 comes in, to show them how. With $60,000 worth of sex toys in our studio and a willingness to allow these barely eight teen girls to explore their sexuality at their own pace, it's easy to see that what's happening on the video is real life! Rest assured all of our models are the legal age of eight teen and no models are ever harmed during filming but they are pleasured quite often. This is our version of reality porn.
Devan may be young and eight teen, but she knows how to make herself feel good. She starts off by rubbing her tits and tight twat. She has a really big dildo that she uses to stretch out her pussy. She gets that dildo all wet when she cums.
For some reason art always makes Tabitha really horny. After slipping off her girlish overalls, she rubs her pussy and gives herself a long finger banging. Once her pussy is dripping wet, the vibrator slides in nice and easy for a thorough fucking.
Jackie has always loved playing with herself and today is no different. She puts on quite a show when she spreads her pussy lips and slides her finger up inside. She bangs herself silly with her vibrator before cumming all over it.
Pixie just turned eight teen and loves to show off her hot body while she masturbates. She brought along her favorite toy to slide in and out of her pussy. She can't contain herself and soaks the big blue vibrator.
Jade is a shy eight teen, but gets comfortable as she rubs her clit with her mini vibrator. Her juices really get flowing and she decides to go for a ride on the sybian. She was surprised at how hard she came while rubbed her pussy on the vibrating sybian.
Eight teen year old Sky brought along a couple of her favorite toys to masturbate with. She got nice and comfortable and took her pussy for a ride! She fucks herself good and keeps cumming as she switches toys.
Suzie loves showing off her eight teen year old pussy. She really gets off on spreading her lips and fingering her wet twat. She fucked herself with her fingers until she exploded.
Spending alone time is wonderful for Ariel. That's because she loves masturbating; it makes her feel sexy. The wider she can spread her pussy the better. That way, she can get her fingers in deep for a good fucking.
Jackie Ashe looks eight teen and innocent...until you give her a dildo! After playing with her tits and pussy she was really horny. That big dildo kept her cumming and her pussy was nice and wet for all the fucking.
Sweety is only eight teen, but she's a pro with her favorite toys. She makes sure she spreads everything wide open so everyone can get a good look. Her little pussy doesn't look like it can take all the fucking, but she loves it.
Alana's hot and she knows it. She turns herself on rubbing her hands all over her body and spreading her ass. You can see all her juices flowing as she slides the big dildo in and out of her pussy. It's dripping out of her twats as she cums.
Shawna always start out her masturbation session with her favorite green vibrator. It gets her pussy nice and wet. That she goes in with the big blue dildo and it always get covered in cum juices.
Natasha Nice's glass dildo is so hard she can really hit the right spots with it. She likes to rub it between her big tits. She came hard on her dildo when she rubbed it on her g-spot.
Nastya is eight teen and likes dicks and toys, but sometimes there is nothing she likes better than just rubbing her juicy pussy. She always feel better after a good clit tickling.
Grace gets bored when she's home alone, but she knows masturbating will give her some fun for awhile. She loves to rub her clit with her vibrator and slide it in and out of her little pussy. Now that her toy is wet with her juices, she likes to suck all the juices off.
About Us
Legal Info
Privacy Policy
Customer Service
Site Map


text:
|« A 21st Century LMS conceptual model
|National Curriculum Review - initial thoughts »
Why learn HTML and CSS?Not yet categorised, Technology 5745 views
Over the weekend, a couple of people in my Personal Learning Network have mentioned that they would like to learn how to use HTML and CSS.
Users of today's web-applications like Wordpress, Moodle, Google Docs etc will often never see any of the code that sits underneath what they write. These applications provide editing toolbars, not unlike any word-processor.
So why should people involved in online learning need to learn about HTML and CSS?
Here's a list of reasons, and then some places you could go for help:
As Clive Shepherd says in his most excellent book "The New Learning Architect":
There can be no such thing as a technophobic learning architect, any more than there is an architect of buildings who hasn't come to terms with the basics of plumbing and electrics."
- You'll have a far better idea of what you're seeing whenever a site like Slideshare or Youtube provides you with code to embed into your site.
- You'll understand your developers better.
- When you need to make changes to your site template you'll know what to look for and what to change.
- You'll understand the things that make a web page inaccessible to blind or partially-sighted users.
Where to go for help?
Top of the list has to be W3Schools, by far the best free tutorial and reference resource on the web.
The O'Reilly Pocket Reference guides also got a very positive mention during the conversation.
There are a whole host of other books available. Check out the reviews on Amazon, but also go and look at them in your library (if you still have one!) or your bookshop. They're all covering the same stuff, but often have very different styles of presentation.
Once you've got past the basics, most of what you'll need is available on the web, for free, in discussion forums and blogs. You just need to know what to search for...
How to get started
However, probably the best way for a novice to start is to find someone who knows your particular field (eg. training/learning) well, can spend some time working through the basics, and then coach you through those initial stages of using the language. (Yes, it really is just like learning French or English, but a lot more logical!)
If anyone's interested, I'd be happy to run something like that. We'd need to get a small group (4-5) together, so there could be some element of peer-learning too. Let me know if you'd be interested, and I'm sure we can work something out. But, please be aware that this would be done as part of my day job, so there'd be a cost involved...
5 comments
Just thought I'd mention some free online resources that – in my opinion – are much better than w3schools:
w3schools is handy as a quick reference, but these two sites will take you much more in-depth and are very up-to-date with modern browsers, best practices, and accessibility.
Thanks for those Philip. You can never have too many places to look for useful info!
I can vouch for the fact that a little bit of HTML goes a long way.
Sometimes there is something that you can't quite change or fix unless you tweak the code at its source.
Why learn CSS at all, it's very long winded untidy coding, that isn't necessary in nearly all cases for html to be displayed properly.
I disagree. Separating the way a page looks from the content of the page is just good design practice, and means that the content can be displayed in different ways depending on context (eg. print, screen, mobile).


text:
No, I didn't get a new bike or anything good like that. I got clipped on the way home this afternoon. Driver passing me got to close and hit me with rearview mirror and in my surprise I wavered and I bounced off the rest of the car as she passed. Imagine my continued surprise as she continued down the road. Well I chased her down at the next light and as I roll up next to her , she rolls down her window . I tell her she hit me and I cant believe she kept going. She says shes sorry, and she thought she hit a car. What?!!!!!
Still in shock about the whole thing I look over my bike, and my elbow that was struck by the mirror is okay. The light turns green and since I'm okay I ride off in disbelief, as I watch her drive off with her mirror still folded
back. Yeah I probably should have gotten her info just incase but I guess I was still in shock.
The road was 2 lanes either direction, with a center turning lane, 30 mph sp limit , shoulder with on street parking , strip malls and heavy traffic. My big mistake was not taking the lane, and giving the driver the ability to try and pass me too close. That will never, ever , happen again. For those in the know, this was on jamaica ave in queens village on the border with nassau county in n.y.


text:
Jeff Byce of ByceAuction and Realty moves to touch a 35-inch-diameter bronze bell that was removed from the former Immaculate Conception Church, 811 Oak St., Youngstown. Byce will auction the church and school properties Saturday. The church bell, cast in 1883, was relocated to St. Angela Merici Parish.
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.


text:
change location
THRESHOLD - "The Carolinas' Favorite Party Band"
There's something that's not tangible about what we do.
It's the creation of...
View Profile »
More than just the music... We are a full service entertainment company. Our goal is to make your wedding day your day, your way.
Please browse our user friendly website. We offer customizable, unique and affordable wedding packages.
What do we offer our clients?...
1 Photo
CC Players is all about making sure you have a great time! With an extensive list of dance-tastic music and three lead vocalists, CC Players offers groovin' (more)
Create Account
Add Listing
Plan, book and shop for your wedding with inspiration as your guide. Plus, save photos to your favorites!


text:
I have installed the Facebook comment box social plugin and it works okay, people leave comments, comments show, all good. But the Moderator view tab does not show.
- admins and app-id meta tags OK.
- Debugger does not report any problems on the page.
URL Not Safe for Work
There are many other similar questions here on stackoverflow but none answered.
Has anyone got an obvious idea of why this could happen?