spinac

I won't pretend I've read all this thread, but I have attempted 3 times to make contact with Occupy Sheffield, 'cos I believe that this country is far from being on track - or even has the beginning of a credible plan for getting back on track (either those in power or opposition) Q. Do Occupy's "GA"s really happen? Is there any attempt to engage the public? (me?). I've been twice at 6.30pm and haven't seen any sign of life let alone an active protest movement. And nobody has replied to my email sent over a week ago ... Has Occupy Sheffield lost it's focus? (Did it have any) Have you read their Facebook page and the daily mailings? The vast majority has naff all to do with protest about failed capitalism. I'm off to form The Judaen People's Popular Front. I've not decided yet whether to engage with anyone ... I am the 0.000...0001%!

Painfully true ... he talks about values - but exactly what values does he stand for? He declares he has a strategy ... OK, but Ed you gotta tell us what it is ... please! Otherwise you're just a nutter on the bus claiming to have an atom bomb in your pocket. Where's the meat, the substance, the conviction, the communication, the connection with the electorate? There is none. Yep, a schoolboy in a suit about sums him up. [unimpressed Labour Party member]

My cat is an atheist. I'm an atheist too (and a protheist) not an antitheist. "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” Buddha (er no I'm not a Bhuddhist, but I do believe the above should be central to any teaching, philosophy or religion. The search for truth should be a personal journey not an indoctrination)

Concord reception is not very big - nothing like Pond's Forge. We're usually the only ones holding badminton raquets. Just introduce yourself to any likely suspect and ask for Alex!

Yes we've been playing every week (well almost) since 2004. The emphasis is on improvers and intermediates though. Unfortunately we've never attracted enough novices to allow others to learn from scratch. If you can keep a rally going and won't be embarassed by "air" shots, you'll not be out of your depth and will be very welcome. If you'd like to call for a chat, the number is on the website - http://www.SteelCityBadminton.co.uk

Wow - didn't know such old threads could be resurrected! But seeing as it has, the invite for improvers and intermediate players to join us at Concord on Wednesday nights still stands (8pm £4 for 90 mins social in bar after) Alex - http://www.SteelCityBadminton.co.uk

Have you had the call yet? I've had at least 6! Cold call, Indian accent, my PC has a virus! Really? How do ya know? And how did you relate that to my phone number? My mate at work has been getting these calls too. How does he deal with them? He says he doesn't have a computer ... or electricity ... in fact "we don't even have a phone" Oh go on please, let's start saying that when we get these calls. I can't wait for the next one ...

Yes, yes, yes (is this a "When Harry met Sally" moment? No - I'm not faking it) It's the leaves on the trees for me - green is a beautiful colour, especially when the sun is out. It wasn't an especially warm day today but I saw someone laying out in the sun at 6 o' clock on my way home from work. (Fully clothed bloke - daft git) Why would anyone do that? Well, May is a time of hope and promise. It's like being 21 again. You just know things are gonna get even better ... but then maybe it is something to do with when you were born (yes May) or that the girls start to wear less (nice short skirt on Div St on the way in to work) Ah bless the girls who show more leg, shoulder and er berdoing, a bit of cleavage. Yes May is a wonderful month, with June, July and August to come

Er yes, I do disagree! Have you watched a talk in particular that led you to think that it's all over-hyped gibberish? Did you follow any of the links I posted? I know TED will not be for everyone, but I kinda thought there'd be a few people on this forum who would be into them. .. but then again I could be the weird one who's posting to the wrong forum?

Jan - Feb - now March Many TED talks Try this - if you haven't had the TED experience

"Shock poll shows rising tide of right-wing nationalism" I'm as moderate as they come and the last thing I'd want is to be associated with right wing nationalism. In the interests of fairness to all, we cannot have an open door policy. As in all things balance is required. We need to maintain a sense of fairness for all. To redress the balance we do need to look at immigration controls quite carefully. Immigration Minister Damian Green said the government remained "absolutely committed" to reducing net migration "from the hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands within the lifetime of this Parliament". Some will view the current governement's policy as brave and ambitious, others will say they don't go far enough. My guess is that they'd probably like to go further but are setting a realistic target over the coming years However, I suspect they are not appearing to be tough enough to satisfy the "nationalists".

Governement spending on our behalf has meant that we have all benefited in the past. (Schools, Hospitals etc and in Sheffield, Crayfish Conservation Officers @ £24k p.a. pro rata) The cuts mean that we will have to forego some of those benefits. Surely you're not advocating that we continue to borrow and spend on the the current scale? But bringing this back to volunteering ... I have to admit that I do feel a bit jaded. The program I volunteered for has already been cut. It's a response to this ... http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/photobylines/2011/2/22/1298400212637/Budget-deficits-graphic-008.jpg Will I find another project to volunteer for? Maybe. But it certainly won't be in response to Cameron's Big Society nonsense.

By volunteers in the workplace, do you mean interns? Unpaid work in order to gain experience?

The problem started when collectively, governments, banks, individuals, (and not just in the UK) we all decided we could spend more than we earned (and banks invented ways to lend to previously uncreditworthy individuals). Well the chickens have come home to roost. Ain't no getting round it, it's payback time. And if we don't start paying back, then our credit rating falls, interest rates rise and we're in even deeper doodoo. Or we could default on our debts and lose everything ... I'm up for that, I don't have savings or a pension to lose. Let's wipe the slate clean and start again

I was thinking the same. There isn't a direct link between losing benefits if you don't accept reasonable work offer/doing community work and volunteering for the benefit of others. It's a pity that volunteering has become a political issue. For me volunteering is about helping others, it has nothing to do with my political beliefs. In fact my political beliefs are shifting but I feel the same way about volunteering.