spongebob toonpants

I think we are going to enter a market planned recession followed by an asset grab by the financial institutions that caused the problem in the first place. People are being suckered in by low interest rates, there is going to be carnage as the Europe wide age of austerity takes hold, savings are spent, pensions devalued and then interest rates start to rise. Many years of horror for millions, followed by the institutions starting to mortgage everything back to the working/middle class again. I'm fortunate, I should be debt and mortgage free by the end of the year - I fear for those who are struggling to make ends meet at the moment

I quite like the Leo the Cap these days, but his accent in Blood Diamond ws something to behold

Inception is getting mixed reviews. Lot's of people salivating over the complexity of it. Lot's of people aying it's only complex if you're 12. Toy Story 3 is getting raves across the board as far as I've seen. No-one has a bad word for it. I have a bit of a problem with "which is better" they're just about as different as its possible for two maor releases to be, no reason you wouldnt enjoy both without preferring either seen inception and loved it, not for its complexity (didnt think it was over the top complex for sci fi, no time travel for a start) but because its actually a good film, good characters well acted, pretty basic story behind the dream stuff but its still enjoyable and some absolutely awesome scenes throughout

I, for one salute our new ambitious overlords

Inception - enjoyed it - Nolan can certainly hold together a tight plot

Man - that's a depressing read

Not really I just don't have time to pick through Matts point. Which really isn't a point, more of a rant based on the idea that the Tories have ignored all sound economic advise to put into place a nefarious plan to dismantle this countries public sector at the detriment of the country as a whole....which is of course as ridiculous as it sounds. Like it or not a downgrade would have been a disaster because: A. The countries exchange rate would have been smashed meaning we would have had to pay back much more on our EUR and USD denominated debt B. The rate we borrow at would make interest cost a real burden on future spending Who cares if you can get a bond out if you are paying a 1000+bp spread on it? Of course the accumulated minds of Toontastic have got it right and the government working on the advice of some of the countries finest economists have it all wrong. Clearly a conspiracy against the north *scousetastic* Tories have not ignored sound economic advice, they have acted on one facet of it. You can't claim all the world's top economists say one thing because clearly there is massive division amongst economists themselves. There have been plenty of voices warning not to cut too deep too soon, but you have chosen to ignore the existence of these voices. I assume they received their qualifications after replying to an ad in the back of Razzle and therefore do not meet your standards. Only time will tell whether the course of action is the right one. I don't argue that government was bloated, that those in power were as smarmy and arrogant as the horrible bunch under Major in 1992, that considerable savings can be made across the board and that the UK needs considerable deficit reduction. Labour would have had to accept a retrenchment of state boundaries as part of a natural shift in political and economic reality, just as Cameron had to paint himself as a 'moderate conservative'. I simply don't agree that we should be swinging the axe left right and centre so quickly. The government have decided to act while still in the honeymoon period because it will prove less politically damaging first and foremost. I don't agree with the severity of what they are doing but it is their right as the government to act in this way. However I feel they are being duplicitous and making cuts beyond the levels truly necessary in order to satiate the small state zeal of many party members under the guise of unavoidable budgetary repair. The govt misleading the country is nothing new (the last lot did plenty of it) but I don't think that's any excuse just to accept it at face value. Going to AA would not end the nation, but it is a very serious event and we should be taking all reasonable measures to avoid it. However it should not be used as the ultimate trump card for every government intervention. Investors look at fundamentals as well as the label and will have priced the risks in accordgly already. However you must also recognise that economic growth prospects are as central to the ratings assigned to the UK as deficit repair. If we cut too far and growth is halted, we'll lose on both counts. I wasn't aware that the UK had significant issue in anything other than sterling, but would love to see the composition. And now onto a rant. What annoys me is so much of the country now thinks its OK that we can just slashing at education. It's the one thing that I personally believe should not be messed with. It is more important than any other function of the state. Education is pivotal to economic growth. I reject that it must suffer as everyone else should. BSF was not perfect and it may have been laden with red tape (what large financings, state or private are straightforward?) but the process was improving and ultimately, it delivered new schools which can teach the right skills in a modern environment. This government has accepted that teaching kids in blocks of shoddy prefabs is OK. It's not. Nor is this a northern issue- BSF has already benefited many inner-city Labour heartlands. It is hitting Tory regions and has quite rightly provoked a response from MPs in that area. Now we are likely to see the effective privatisation of university education via an arms-length funding vehicle charging commercial rates. I'm not fussed that the Food Standards Agency has closed. I am more concerned that cameron has barely made a dint on Brown's sizable arseprint in the No 10 hotseat and already we're seeing education under fire and seemingly, a lot of people think that it is OK and hark back to 'their day' when their school was a bit ramshackle and it didn't do them any harm. Well if we want to teach 20-th century skills we'll have a 20th century economy. Good post, good rant

how much are rental values in london Meenz? How long is a piece of string? It varies from street to street here, never mind neighbourhood to neighbourhood or borough to borough... Thats quite a range

Not really I just don't have time to pick through Matts point. Which really isn't a point, more of a rant based on the idea that the Tories have ignored all sound economic advise to put into place a nefarious plan to dismantle this countries public sector at the detriment of the country as a whole....which is of course as ridiculous as it sounds. Like it or not a downgrade would have been a disaster because: A. The countries exchange rate would have been smashed meaning we would have had to pay back much more on our EUR and USD denominated debt B. The rate we borrow at would make interest cost a real burden on future spending Who cares if you can get a bond out if you are paying a 1000+bp spread on it? Of course the accumulated minds of Toontastic have got it right and the government working on the advice of some of the countries finest economists have it all wrong. Clearly a conspiracy against the north *scousetastic* You are out of your depth son, give it up

To be honest Alex, I'm losing the will to live on this one. I find it staggering that people want to continue building an economy on unsustainable debt levels after a crisis caused by.....unsustainable debt levels nutters Nice analysis - so much wrong in so few words. The irony levels itt are ots coming from STP the king of the soundbite. Why don't you tell me where you think that is wrong and I will pick it to bits for you. Your claim that people want to build an economy built on unsustainable debt is unttrue. Your claim that the crisis was caused by unsustainable debt is wrong What are we going to pay for government spending in a recession with? Magic beans? What do you think started the credit crisis? Toxic debt. Nice forensic analysis again. You actally have less idea than I thought.

To be honest Alex, I'm losing the will to live on this one. I find it staggering that people want to continue building an economy on unsustainable debt levels after a crisis caused by.....unsustainable debt levels nutters Nice analysis - so much wrong in so few words. The irony levels itt are ots coming from STP the king of the soundbite. Why don't you tell me where you think that is wrong and I will pick it to bits for you. Your claim that people want to build an economy built on unsustainable debt is unttrue. Your claim that the crisis was caused by unsustainable debt is wrong Obviously we have to keep it simple because you have the economic intelligence of a pre-schooler

To be honest Alex, I'm losing the will to live on this one. I find it staggering that people want to continue building an economy on unsustainable debt levels after a crisis caused by.....unsustainable debt levels nutters Nice analysis - so much wrong in so few words. The irony levels itt are ots

The thing that makes me laugh HF is that you are prepared to believe the idiotic fantasies of internet conspiracy theorists whilst calling into question the motivations / accuracy of the Financial Times. Typical loony lefty I guess. That's a bit of an about turn isn't it? Just a couple of posts ago you said that social welfare spending and market welfare were inextricably linked. When i say the same thing it's a loony lefty conspiracy. Get your story straight. Are they linked or not? Does the market improve with austerity measures or not? Does the FT prefer immediate austerity measures to improve the market while the public take the burden or an extended stimulus that lessens the public burden but slows market growth? I should imagine they have weighed up the threat of credit rating downgrade against the threat to growth from austerity. I think its probably about time to bring Greece into your argument now, just to keep your level of ignorance topped up

Adjustment for economic growth. As the economy grows (which it did massively under NL), of course we spend more on public services. Inflation is not the same as growth is it? Cant you see that growth was artificially caused by overspending? There fore adjusting for that growth is a totally artificial thing to do. If your quality of life is adjusted by how much you've f**ked onto a credit card the graph would be pretty flat, don't you agree? Marvelous - about 5 minutes in and your comparing one of the biggest economies of the world to somebody using a credit card/ The same principles apply. Every analyst you talk to will tell you the same. Every analyst you talk to. You really are a dope You know what, I cant be bothered.

Adjustment for economic growth. As the economy grows (which it did massively under NL), of course we spend more on public services. Inflation is not the same as growth is it? Cant you see that growth was artificially caused by overspending? There fore adjusting for that growth is a totally artificial thing to do. If your quality of life is adjusted by how much you've f**ked onto a credit card the graph would be pretty flat, don't you agree? Marvelous - about 5 minutes in and your comparing one of the biggest economies of the world to somebody using a credit card/

This overspend has been going on for years. Even in the good times. The public sector was bloated long before the credit crisis. The crisis was no fault of labour, that is clear but the inability to get their house in order during the good times has certainly made the situation much worse for us. The Tories were promising to match Labour spending commitments unitl 2008, you ignorant cockney cunt

So was he any relation to Barry?

take the fking change out of that

Ive only just stating watching this game 5 mins ago-bloody hell!

Ive said it before and I'll say it again Chez4Prez

what the fuck is that about?

What do you reckon Capello did wrong though? He had very limited options in too many areas. Getting rid of the manager is just papering over the cracks imo. I think he might walk anyway like. Exactly. Is a different manager not just going to pick the same old underachievers a Fabio did, as Mclaren did, as Sven did. Surely now it's time for a rethink... Was talking to my friend last night about this and we both think now is a good time to bring in new blood. Personally I cannot stand Gerard, he is far too greedy, playing the whole solo man on a mission role & trying to be a hero and as mentioned earlier does not produce his club form at this level (be that as a result of positioning or the players around him, or he simply isn't good enough) but realistically who have we got coming through in central midfield (that has either the ability or the potential to play at this level)??? It is impossible to create english footballers with a good pitch brain and technical ability (time on the ball) in the PL. End of story. At international level where there is more space and variations of tempo our players look panicked and confused. Capello is a good manager, he has the trophies and track record to prove it. Sacking him is def just papering over the cracks. He might resign anyway, because of the way we went out and performed and if he recognises the longer term problems and figures out he is on a hiding to nothing with the press. He will get another club job. Aye

We played the tournament without the spine of the team. Ferdinand/Barry/Rooney. Without Ferdinand the defence fell apart, Ledley if he had been fit may have helped, but even then your defence needs to have played together and developed some sort of understanding and relationship to stand a chance. Barry when fit and playing well meant that the Gerard'Lampard thing worked. He wasnt match fit he didnt play well, dooming the Gerard Lampard partnership to the old frustrating pattern of failure. Rooney was on the pitch in name only - Hesckey was a reasonable pick, the commonly held beleif was Rooney loved playing off him and the key to Englands success was Rooney having a good tournament. You cant blame Heskey for Rooney being crap, and Heskey at least had an assist for Gerards goal. I had no idea Rooney could actually play so badly and look so disinterested. If those three had been fit and playing on form it may have lifted the rest of the team, and we might have had a decent tournament. As it was they didnt and the rest of them were never going to good enough to succeed without them.