THE BRITISH THREAD II

Idon't know if I could describe Mr. Cable as the 'man.' He was a lot more impressive when in opposition, he's been a bit bumbling since taking office. Tom Watson has done more to stymie Murdoch than anyone.

On the subject of that derelict satellite which came down today: before it came down, we were informed on TV news that the chance of someone being hit by a bit of it was 3500 to 1.

And to be honest, that looked unlikely in the extreme, and despite that, a little bit worrying.

Early today, that figure had mysteriously been changed (without any apology so far as I am aware) to several trillions to one.

So don't accept the first offer you get. Things may improve.

Well, the first one was re hitting anyone at all, and the other was re hitting you in particular.

Now the papers relating to the Hillsborough Disaster are going to be aired again.
I don't know what further information can be expected to come out of this.
I think the facts are pretty well known. The Police failed to control the crowd, and failed to realise what effect opening the main gate was going to have on the crowded terraces.

The one thing that the people of Liverpool really want to know is why did The Sun print such disgusting lies about the Liverpool supporters. What was the source? Was it a policeman? Was there deliberate collusion between the police and the gutter press to pin the blame on innocent supporters and distract from police incompetance?

I don't think the Liverpool supporters are all innocent. The innocent died, for sure. They arrived early.
The rabble at the back, arriving late, should have been better controlled but are not innocent to my mind.

Alright, not all football fans are sweet innocents, but what The Sun printed was inexcusable.

It was. But the burghers of Liverpool, or their spokespersons, seem to want The Sun to be the main story, and that the fans travelling from Liverpool be exonerated of all blame.

I think they have little chance of that.

The fact is, when coaches pick up their customers at pubs, and arrive late at the venue, and not all the scallies have got tickets and are therefore hoping for a bit of mayhem so they can sneak into the ground for free, under circumstance like these (i.e. at most cup finals, not necessarily only those involving Liverpudlians) then the police have got to be up for it, well managed and well led.

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that crowds can get trampled to death at all sorts of venues, as we have seen quite recently.
But add in the anti-police ethos of those attending, the drink consumed, the partisan rivalry, and a creaky old stadium, the recipe for a big disaster is there.

So what am I saying? 40% fans, 60% police blame.

Zoe Williams, who is, astonishingly, a Grauniad correspondent, was made to look a serious empty vessel making a lot of noise on the Sky News Press Review tonight.

And Mr Milliband says that we are "rewarding the wrong people". I hope he had Grauniad correspondents in mind. Zoe should be washing the pots in McDonald's.

Wouldn't know, I don't watch Sky News. I have seen Zoe Williams on Newsnight though, she seemed to be fine, so it's probably your misogyny mate.

Did you see that complaint about teletext on the BBC? Typists are making mistakes, but there's a strong sense that these are deliberate. Ed Milliband is often described as 'The Ed Miller Band.'

Sheesh!! These Grauniad women get about don't they? Is it infiltration or entryism? Atheist, Marxist, feminist, single, ugly, neurotic and uppity. And, it goes without saying, elitist.

I take it you're a regular Adonis?

In ye olden days. I'm retired.

Isn't that mainly done by automatic translation? I mean, electronic sound-recognition? You can get voice-actuated typing programmes now. Same thing?

""Send reinforcements. We're going to advance."
-"Send three and fourpence. We're going to a dance".

Hey, what about Judge Popplewell's letter?

"Sir Oliver Popplewell, a retired judge who chaired the public inquiry into the 1985 Bradford City stadium disaster, has called on the relatives of the victims of Hillsborough to stop their "conspiracy theories" and urged them to move on.

Popplewell's comments, made in a letter to the Times, have sparked an angry reaction after the British Parliament voted on Monday night to release previously unseen documents surrounding the 1989 disaster to the public following an e-petition.

He wrote: "The citizens of Bradford behaved with quiet dignity and great courage. They did not harbour conspiracy theories. They did not seek endless further inquiries. They buried their dead, comforted the bereaved and succoured the injured. They organised a sensible compensation scheme and moved on. Is there, perhaps, a lesson there for the Hillsborough campaigners?" "

Well once everything is out in the open there shouldn't be any more conspiracy theories.

I'd really would like to watch the match. But since I'll have to make hospital visits this afternoon ...

... but have been back in time to watch the last three goals.

Are you a United or City man?

Well, I'm Catholic, you know ...
(I'm pro-United since 1960, since the Munich crash.)