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I think I need to be reminded of why the Tories are so intrinsically bad and Labour so intrinsically good.

All I see are two different groups of wankers.

I shan't be voting for either by the way.

I had been meaning to post a response to this but hadn't got around to writing it. Then I read this article, which I think more or less sets out the massive differences between the parties. Freedland is no Labour tribalist, but he is a progressive, liberal journalist and invariably worth reading:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/05/1983-cameron-victory-kinnocks-words

^yeah, I've ruled out the cable using this method. I've also tried the suggestion of bending the spring (I've done this successfully on cantilever brakes), but that didn't seem to work. I guess it could be the pivots or something. Might just have to get a new pair, as the front does not close quite properly and the LBS said that will never be as good as new.

it's been used for a few rides now, and I can't notice anything. There's more potholes per wheel rotation than rim irregularities anyway, so it's almost impossible to tell. thanks for the advice

Sure, but it's not a bad message. stable families promote social cohesion, and statistically are more likely to raise better behaved happier children who do better in life. You can see why they'd use the tax system to promote it, as it should result in lower social costs and a net saving.
Using the tax system to tell people how to live? I'd have thought with your anti-state, anti-government viewpoint you would abhor such actions.

1991 to 1995 is only 4 years. No party in this election is talking about getting Britain's current deficit under control before 2016, and we're already a year or two into it.
You're comparing a recession with a budget deficit. They are two very different things.

My original point about John Major's government being the best because it didn't do anything was a beer-induced joke, by the way.

Shall we just save time and assume that about everything you say?

People should see Gordon's Brown's speech yesterday before making up their minds. Also illuminating to compare him to Cameron and Clegg. Cameron, in particular, delivers his speech like the paper thin, insubstantial, PR sap that he is.

YouTube- Gordon Brown Speech Citizens UK General Election Assembly
[URL="http://www.citizensukblog.org/gordon-browns-citizens-uk-assembly-speech/"][/URL]

The 'big society', their one big idea, is a cover for neo-liberal shrinking of the state. That tells you how much they've changed. They are essentially the same party as in 2005. So people should ask themselves would they vote for them if Michael Howard was still leader

^cheers, I'll give this a go.

Not sure if this has been covered before. The mavic open sport rim I'm using for my wheel build has a dip/flat point where the logo/joint is. I've spent some time loosening various spokes but so far haven't been able to get rid of it entirely, although did manage to reduce it a little. I've heard that cheap rims sometimes have this problem, but I would have thought the open sport should be solid/reliable rim. This only became noticeable after fulling lacing, truing and tensioning - so I'm really hoping I haven't just wasted hours on a bad rim. Does anyone have any experience with these kinds of rim issues? Is a small dip noticeable once the tyre's on?

just to bump this thread and say it really is important to vote on thursday. Even if you live somewhere that's solid one party or another.

I'm having problems with the spring on my shimano ultegra 6600 brakes. The brakes do not return to 'open' after being depressed. I've cleaned and relubed thoroughly the whole thing (although haven't gone so far as to take the whole thing apart). The ultegra brakes have a kind of basic spring tension adjustment by reversing the position of a 'sleeve', but I haven't managed to reverse it yet, and am doubtful it will actually work. When this has happened before I've managed to solve it by cleaning and greasing the spring a bit, but now that doesn't work.

What do people suggest? Is the brake fixable or will I need a replacement? Looks like the latest ultegra still doesn't have any proper spring adjustment so I'm doubtful whether a new version will be any better.

No, I'm talking about the early 1990s recession. Which was far worse in its effects than the recent recession. It was also a direct result of domestic policy, whereas the recent recession was caused by collapse in banking triggered by sub prime market in the US. The early 1990s recession was 'managed' under the principles of Milton Friedman, i.e. government should do nothing, the market will sort things out all by itself. The recent recession was managed (both here in the UK and in the US and in Europe) according to Keynesian principles, i.e. government should act to prevent things getting even worse or to a point where recovery is slow and people and communities are blighted by poverty. The Conservatives were the only mainstream party in the world advocating something different. The early 1990s recession really didn't stop having an effect on the country until about 1995-6. The signs of recession are nowhere near as visible now as they were in the early 1990s. The lesson to be learnt from the economic instabilities of the 20thC is that there is a role to play by governments in stimulating growth, in lessening the harsh effects of downturns and in actually allowing for greater economic growth than the market can manage on its own.

I have decided now upon a beer induced whim that my favourite government so far has been John Major's minority govt because apart from a small recession, abolishing the Poll Tax and making TV guides publish rival channel listings, I can't think of a single thing his government actually did

A small recession? Didn't seem that small to me at the time. I was at a comprehensive secondary school at the time. No one had any money. It's hard for people born, say, in the late 1980s onwards to appreciate what a recession managed under Friedmanite principles is like. Massive NHS waiting lists, derelict buildings, public services starved of money with demoralised staff. It's still an era that seems synonymous in my mind with depression.

^facile and untrue

the stuff Blair did (walking into no 10 holding a guitar to appear 'normal', holding a mug with a picture of his family on it) was kind of broad, obvious and funny. Cameron in that clip just looks irredeemably slimey.

that shot of Cameron sneakily pulling down his wristband whilst barely masking his contempt for the people he is sat opposite should be seen by all of the electorate.

I don't understand the perception that all the parties are the same. On certain issues, there tends to be a broad consensus between 2 parties, but the parties themselves are very different.

indeed. I was struck, in a way i hadn't been before, how right wing cameron was. He made some tacky comment about bulgaria having better health care than the uk (shocking! Foreigners have better services!)
When brown started talking you got the sense he would never say anything like that

Lab &lib dems have far more in common than either do with the tories. The majority favour their policies, and the tories' ideas on economics are very much a minority view internationally.

What a PR man Cameron is. And it was surprising how he played mostly to the Daily Mail tendency, that the centrist stuff he tries out from time to time was dropped. Made me pretty depressed about the prospect of a tory government again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pKy-jqg0o4

If we are going to look at it from another perspective, he had little time to react to a situation
He had enough time to pull comedy kung fu poses, which, I think, means he had enough time to realise she posed no threat.

Nodding to the judge after the hearing ended, Smellie said: "Thank you very much." The 47-year-old sergeant refused to talk to reporters outside the courtroom, saying: "I don't think so, I've got a reputation to protect."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/31/g20-police-sergeant-cleared-baton-charge

the more you hear about this guy, the more repugnant he seems