Serious question

[markosis]

Originally Posted by SoggyFox

well said.

Well you would say that. I believe Soggyfox hunting comes under the same ban.

[Tricky]

Originally Posted by markosis

Well you would say that. I believe Soggyfox hunting comes under the same ban.

But baiting is still allowed...

[SoggyFox]

Originally Posted by markosis

Well you would say that. I believe Soggyfox hunting comes under the same ban.

unfortunately when i offered to take the place of the fox at my local hunt then didn't think it sporting for me to be armed with an AK47.

so much for sportmanship.

[markosis]

Originally Posted by SoggyFox

unfortunately when i offered to take the place of the fox at my local hunt then didn't think it sporting for me to be armed with an AK47.

so much for sportmanship.

Funnily enough - I think some of the Scottish hunts employ marathon runners to act as the 'drag'. Obviously, they have to somewhat re-train the dogs!

Apparently, fox hunting has never been in better shape, the ban has really energised the sport.

[msdkeith]

Under the old 'cruel' system of fox hunting, the facts were that many hunts went the day without actually seeing a fox and on the occasions when foxes were pursued it was far from unusual for the fox to evade the hounds.

Under the new system, once a fox has been forced into the open it has to be shot.....curiously few foxes escape a bullet.

As to the cruelty argument, given the size of a foxhound compared to a fox, the dog would usually dispatch the fox on first encounter. Tearing the dead body apart might be gruesome but hardly cruel.

[Scuby]

If they've been so terrible for the last 10 years, how come a majority voted for them again (after 8 or 9 years of having done nothing... apparently) in the last election?

In reality, whichever party was in government would mismanage everything just as bad as each other. That's why I prefer to see decisions made by experts in that area, rather than just random people who happen to have a vote. Thats why the government have thousands of people advising them. And also why (as a link to another recent thread) public petitions signed by those with very little knowledge of an issue should hold very little weight with those making the decision.

David

[msdkeith]

If you want to start discussing psephology, be advised that the Conservatives received the majority of the votes cast in England, Labour got in courtesy of the Scots (so much for democracy)

As to Scuby's suggestion that decisions be made by experts and f*ck what the rest of us think. Well the Dear Leader claimed he had expert information to prove that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that could be deployed against us at 45 minutes notice. Anyone actuallly believe that?

Presumably a bunch of experts came up with the GP pay package. Anyone think it works for the rest of us.

The Dome, panel of experts..Olympic bid, panel of experts....pensions meltdown, panel of experts....Wembley, panel of experts.....anyone see a pattern of positive achievement here?

One definition of expert to bear in mind. X is an unknown quantity, spurt is a drip under pressure.

One final expert package to consider: in a few days Ken extends the congestion zone westward (in the teeth of opposition from residents and business who aren't experts, they just live there) Tonight the local news revealed that while vehicle numbers in the existing congestion charge zone have fallen, congestion has significantly increased...way to go Ken, trebles all round for the experts.

So, by all means discuss share of the vote and expert panels replacing democracy but it would be an idea to think the consequences through and be aware of the way the vote was shared.

However you toss the figures, Blair and his apes only achieved about 15-18% of the entire electorate, that is hardly an overwhelming majority. The vagaries of first past the post skew the final result and the icing on the Labour cake comes from the over-representation of the Celtic fringe.

[Janos]

Bollocks. Stesh beat me to it invoking Goodwins law.

Janos

[Scuby]

Originally Posted by msdkeith

If you want to start discussing psephology, be advised that the Conservatives received the majority of the votes cast in England, Labour got in courtesy of the Scots (so much for democracy)

If you want an English-only parliament, that's a different issue entirely.

[Jay]

Reduced cannabis to a category C drug - now f**k off and stop wasting my bandwidth. If you want to spout your Tory crap, go elsewhere.

Knob