Pondering, and while slightly more optimistic than we once were, still really quite unhappy Lefty thread

[Hassled]

Where had we got to? We'd agreed that we all love Cameron, right?

The good thing on MN is you can guarantee 90% of other posters are reading the worst posts open-mouthed too.

In a weird kind of way, I think hateful homophobic/racist/whateverist posts can actually be politically quite good for people.

It's easy to live in a polite modern bubble and lose touch with the reality of what a certain % of people are saying. It's when I read posts like Daftpunk's that I feel at my reddest and most liberal. If outrage at her posts persuades just two people to get off their sofa and vote against the BNP then she's done good - cancelled out her vote and one more to boot

Not that that makes the posts acceptable or nice reading. I just think she probably does more for the left in one single thread than 5000 depressed lefty posts.

Andrew Marr - would you?
Helena Kennedy (ace), Rory Bremner and Matthew Parris (grating voice) doing the papers.

BTW I would defend the unions (as per OrangePip's earlier post).

Are you still interested Orange?

love Helena Kennedy.

I'd like to Andrew Marr over for dinner, but I think nothing more, at least not on the first date

"TDiddy's profligate use of exclamation marks and optimism: on the sauce last night, mate?"

yes DavidHameron, but i woke up with same level of optimism. Will go for a jog again today so that i can have more Mandelson-like thoughts.

I avoided DP as much as possible. It left a nasty taste in my mouth even conversing with her. She revelled in her extreme views and enjoyed the attention and notoriety it brought her. I do admire those of you like Lenin who tried to reason with her and stayed polite and respectful throughout, I just couldn't do it. I fear I would have worn out the F button on my computer.

Funny, this discussion about where on the political spectrum one is. DH and I have always maintained that we are more centre. DH till he met me voted for the German Conservatives and said he was right of centre. In the past 18 years he has realised that he is more left of centre, I think as a 20yo he was very influenced by his rather dominating father and voted as his father had always done.

During the whole election run up I find that my political stance has become clearer and I can say that I am a proud Lefty now. Not sure if I would join the party. Is there any need to?

MmeLindt good that you influenced your DH's voting; often the other way around.

5 Oranges..on unions. I line manage in a union environment...and I would say that poor performance management by line managers is usually what "protects" the incompetent. Line managers simply need the competence and support to launch and sustain the right management tools to either help staff improve their performance or prove their incompetence.

So with your school teacher issue...look at the Heads competence because they are failing to manage the staff member properly.

And 5 Pips is that a Sherlock Holmes reference?

We had ham and eggs and hash browns for breakfast! Not sure where that leaves us in socio demographic terms. Well apart from full.

Morning all, can't think of anything to say

Apart from nice to see people with green leanings

And andrew marr, yikes, nope.

There is a meeting this morning isn't there - when do people reckon we might hear something - mon? before?

i wish they'd get on with it now tbh

Bzw (by the way said with a French accent - joke in DH's office) any iPhone users - have you tried the BBC news app? Free use of website based news and for 1.50eu / 30 days TV news. Very handy at the moment so I can check out what is happening when out of the house.

Catching up while dd builds tall lego towers with MIL, and ds sleeps. I think I want to be a lefty, with a strong pragmatic streak - want to do what's actually possible, rather than what's ideal. But I realise through these discussions that this is another area about which I really, really don't know enough.

DH proper left - his dad stood as a labour candidate in the 70s. He still has a copy of a letter from Tony Benn congratulating him on DH's birth - he was showing him round the constituency (or something) when MIL went into labour, and had to dash off.

Think DH would love these threads - he bickers on the CiF pages on the guardian, which is a hiding to nothing is even I saw one. Don't think I could convince him to join in, though.

Hello MrJusta, btw!

Hamshine tell your DH that a few of us blokes have usurped DPs as MN users.

I joined when DP showed me an education debate when Xenia was the protagonist and I haven't left since.

Like you I think that I am a prgramtic centre-leftie

'Morning. I've only just got up - that's what happens when you don't have the kids for the weekend

There's a high-level LibCon meeting taking place right now.

I read something interesting y'day about immigration: that the middle classes experience it as a race issue, and so try desperately not to talk about it; but the worlking classes (of all ethnicities) experience it as a competition for resources. (of course IMO the answer is to throw more resources at those on lower incomes.)

My background is solid left but never of a particular party. Neil Kinnock asked my mother to stand as a Labour candidate in 1987 but she said she could never adhere to a party whip, and I'm the same - quite happy to vote Labour, LibDem or Green, so long as they're talking about redistribution and equality. Don't care much about civil liberty issues - don't have a big problem with ID cards in principle. And big on internationalism, sustainable development, global redistribution etc.

lol at DS1 Justa

lol justabout

Marking place.
Had 24 hrs offline in darkened room, but am back now.
I'm still valiant and proud btw.

PMSL justa. TDiddy you're a man? Oh, I surprised myself by being surprised, there.

justabout

You will never be able to show your face again

's globalisation innit Len - always a Thatcherite philosophy designed to disempower the workers and enrich the managerial classes. Labour is much easier to control across national borders, especially in countries with low wage levels and barely any protection of workers.