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PB NightHawks time with news from Boris

March 1st, 2012

Is he planning to leave politics if defeated. It sounds like it?

@MikeSmithsonOGH




  • old_labour

    The rainbow alliance is sounding a bit divided

    SCOTTISH Labour leader Johann Lamont has ruled out supporting
    “devo-max” and the transfer of all economic powers to Holyrood,
    insisting it was independence in all but name.

    Speaking on the eve of the Labour
    conference in Dundee, she said she wanted a devolution settlement that
    saw resources “redistributed from the south-east of England to
    Scotland”, along the lines of the existing arrangement of the annual
    block grant from the UK.

    Ms Lamont also hinted that Scottish
    Labour would not back the “devo-plus” campaign, which has been supported
    by some senior figures from opposition parties, including Tory former
    Holyrood presiding officer Alex Fergusson and the Scottish Liberal
    Democrats’ former finance spokesman Jeremy Purvis, who has talked about
    the need to “end the dependency” on the Westminster block grant.

    However,
    Ms Lamont was urged last night by former Labour First Minister Henry
    McLeish to “embrace” much stronger economic powers for Holyrood and to
    back a referendum option that is “neither independence nor the status
    quo”.

    There was also a stark warning from Labour-supporting think
    tank the Fabian Society that it would be a “mistake” not to back the
    devo-plus option, under which Holyrood would be handed control of most
    taxes, including income and corporation tax.

    http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/politics/scottish_labour_johann_lamont_rejects_devo_max_option_1_2149370

  • Anonymous

    redcliffe62, have a look at the seat and you will see that the SNP were simple not in this race in the 2010 GE. I think that we have to remember that while Scottish Labour take the Westminster Parliament more seriously, and we see all their campaign funding and talent heading that direction. Equally, all the SNP talent and money went in the other direction towards the Holyrood elections, and their result there last year reflected this.

    But while the SNP bask in the glow of that Holyrood result that saw their main rivals take an absolute drubbing against Salmond and his team. Just 12 months before this, Labour achieved just as impressive a result at the Westminster GE in Scotland by directing the same amount of effort and money in their campaign using their most talented and effective media performer. Basically, Salmond was extremely popular and effective as FM in a Scottish election, but he was crap as SNP Leader in a Westminster GE, that really does put it into context.

  • Norm

    Starkey also made the point our GPs are paid twice as much as those in France and Labour ever since the sainted Bevan have stuffed doctors mouths with gold in order to buy them off. The remuneration package Blair’s government agreed with the BMA was grossly overgenerous and in fact the quality of the service provided since has arguably got less user friendly. Fitalass is correct if the NHS reform means GPs do more to earn their inflated crust then at least they will have achieved something. 

  • MickP0rk

    And yet your hero Cammie Blair who stood MPs in every part of the U.K. at the G.E. was not only crap in scotland at the G.E. his SCON clowns were crap in scotland at the scottish election.

    “Drubbing” would be far too kind a word for a laughable one MP and SCONs worst result ever.

    At least Cammie managed to win a majority against someone as hopeless as Brown.

    No, wait, he couldn’t even manage that. :-)

  • MickP0rk

    “insisting it was independence in all but name.

    Superb. She just keeps digging.

  • Anonymous

     I was watching some programme about boy bands a few days ago, and had to admit to being a Bay City Rollers fan to much laughter. Anyhoos, it was an interesting programme and delved back as far as the Monkees etc on the subject of boybands. I feel a bit guilty after remarking just how well Davey Jones had aged when he was interviewed.

  • MickP0rk

    “she said she wanted a devolution settlement that saw resources “redistributed from the south-east of England to Scotland”, along the lines of the existing arrangement of the annual block grant from the UK.

    Far be it for me to question Lamont but what on earth is she blithering on about? This makes Cammie’s secret mystery DevoTory option look well thought through.

  • Plato

    In Porridge, there was a black character called Jock who spoke with a  strong Scots accent – that was 40yrs ago.

  • Sunil McPrasannan

    Plato, saw your post on FPT re. Happiest towns list – must be Ilford South, as Ilford North is still Tory!

  • MickP0rk

    “Starkey eloquently put forward the best argument yet for why the current NHS reforms are so desperately needed, and I am sad to see the current SNP administration in Scotland cannot see this.”

    The Cameroon spinner thinks the SNP should be taking advice for a comedy QT guest.

    Priceless.

    Just when you think they couldn’t possibly be more out of touch with the scottish public the Cameroons double down on the lunacy.

    Lansley’s NHS reforms debacle may be unpopular in England but it is as nothing to the hilarious idea that Lansley’s inept bungling  would be popular in scotland.

  • old_labour

    If she shares a platform with Mr Cameron, I will be interested in his response to her statement.

  • Anonymous

    Agreed. She seems to be arguing that Scotland is subsidised by SE England, and that should continue. In reality, the three richest parts of the UK – London, SE England, and Scotland should subsidise the poorer parts of the UK like Northern Ireland and the northern English regions in a UK.

    Unfortunately, London & the SE use “unattributable” spending to keep much of their money to themselves.

    I would have some respect for Lamont if she was arguing that Scotland’s wealth should be used to alleviate poverty in other parts of the UK, Europe and the world. That would be good socialism.

    Alas, she is simply a wee wifie putting her own earnings into the family pot, while being pathetically grateful that her man doesn’t spend all his earnings on fags and booze.

  • http://liberaltaxi.blogspot.com/ corporeal

    Don’t forget the South West. Cornwall’s one of the poorest places around.

  • Anonymous

    Or in Wales where the ICM poll showed that 77% rejected the idea that the NHS England “reforms” should be introduced in Wales.

  • MickP0rk

    If she shares a platform with little Ed I would be interested in his response never mind Cameron.

    Unbelievable she seems to be trying to pass the buck to labour in westminster asking for them to approve a new far bigger block grant.

    I doubt that’s going to fly somehow.

    This smacks of very bitter infighting to me. I suspect things have deteriorated sharply in SLAB labour westminster relations of late and it’s not as if they were on very good terms anyway.

  • Plato

    538
    Here’s a chart showing the (in)accuracy of primary polls this year; more to come later. bit.ly/Aa7wJm

  • old_labour

    Here is a Guardian article with good railway links

    Railway engineering: the nuts and bolts of hidden beauty

    From Network Rail to the National Gallery, a world of dazzling creativity eludes our attention

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/01/railway-engineering-nuts-bolts-beauty

  • MickP0rk

    It’s a tragic subservient mindset I thought SLAB might have managed to free themselves of by now but apparently not.

    Lamont’s dithering over Eric Joyces fistfight then slamming him after the schoolgirl affair story got out must have stirred up a hornets nest not only in SLAB but in westminster.

    There’s going to be a crunch point with her leadership sooner or later.
     

    I don’t know what the odds are on getting the boot at some point in the not too distant future are but they’d be worth a punt now.

  • old_labour

    Interesting that the error seems to peak about 12 days before an election.

  • old_labour

    I would have thought all that wealth trickling down from second home owners would make it wealthier. They seems to expect the same in London with all those Russians and Arabs needing a place to park their dodgy money.

  • stjohn

    ***** BETTING POST *****

    GRAND CRUS to win the CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP. 

    For Nighthawks, before the value goes. 

    Kauto Star is only 50/50 to line up for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 8 days time. Grand Crus is one of the rising stars and may now take his chance.

     ”STJOHN”, (St.John’s, The Jumps, Occasional Horseracing Nod), are backing Grand Crus to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Totesport at 6/1. Money back if the horse doesn’t contest this race, as is quite probable. He has a serious entry in another Cheltenham race. 

    Good luck!

  • Sunil McPrasannan

    Recognise the rivers?

  • old_labour

    Lamont to warn the party’s MPs and MSPs that they cannot expect a job for life. Goodness, she has taken 10 months to discover that after last year’s elections!
     
    SCOTTISH Labour leaders will issue a stark warning today that the
    party’s MPs and MSPs cannot expect a “job for life” and will have to
    “earn the right” to remain in post if Labour is ever to return to power
    north of the Border…..

    He (Alexander) will also say the party needs to “change how we identify and select our candidates”.
    The
    moves, which bring to mind similar reforms by David Cameron, who
    created an A-list of candidates to try to revive the Tories’ fortunes,
    could trigger major ructions within Labour….

    The party conference
    will be addressed today by UK leader Ed Miliband, who is expected to set
    limits on the extent of devolution within the United Kingdom.

    He
    will argue that the tax system should continue to be pooled across the
    UK, saying “a successful Scottish entrepreneur owes obligations to the
    child born into poverty in London, and the pensioner in Wales”….

    It has been said that the party is lacking a “big hitter” such as Alistair Darling or Gordon Brown at the parliament….

    http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/politics/labour_set_to_impose_control_checks_on_election_candidates_1_2149211
     

  • old_labour

     Forth, Tweed(?) and Tyne.

  • MickP0rk

    “The party conference will be addressed today by UK leader Ed Miliband, who is expected to set limits on the extent of devolution within the United Kingdom.

    This just gets better and better. Little Ed lays down the law to limit further Devolution. If that isn’t a winner in scotland what is?

    “He will argue that the tax system should continue to be pooled across the UK, saying “a successful Scottish entrepreneur owes obligations to the child born into poverty in London, and the pensioner in Wales”….

    Like we saw under Blair & Brown when poverty inequality skyrocketed?
    Does he seriously think we’ve forgotten?

    We shall be taking no lessons from little Ed in how to address poverty inequality and how he squares that with his and Balls “keep the cuts” policy.

  • Plato

    “A Spanish village has voted to rent out land to grow marijuana as a source of desperately needed revenue.
    Rasquera, a hamlet of 900 in Catalonia, said its councillors approved the plan by a 4-3 vote, despite the fact that it is not legal.

    Councillors took the decision because of the high unemployment, which stands at over 20 per cent.
    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2108888/Spanish-village-leases-land-grow-marijuana-high-unemployment.html#ixzz1nvCfZcQl

  • Plato

    Paywall

    Almost half of the working-age population is barely numerate and the situation
    is becoming worse, according to figures published today.

    National Numeracy, a new charity that wants to improve maths skills and
    awareness, said that 17 million adults in England had the mathematical
    ability of a primary school child. This is 49 per cent of the working-age
    population, and an increase of two million since the last research in 2003.

    Experts say that being poor at maths is seen as a badge of honour in Britain.
    The charity wants to tackle this attitude, as well as the belief among
    people that they “genetically can’t do maths”.

    Chris Humphries, chairman of National Numeracy, said: “It is simply
    inexcusable for anyone to say, ‘I can’t do maths’. It doesn’t happen in
    other parts of the world and it’s hitting our international competitiveness.

    “At best, these people have the maths ability of an 11-year-old, but for many
    it’s more like a 9-year-old. They can’t understand deductions on their
    payslips; they can’t calculate the change they give and receive. It’s a very
    basic weakness that can impact on normal family life and employment.”

     

  • MickP0rk

     “Lamont to warn the party’s MPs and MSPs that they cannot expect a job for life.”

    Ask not for whom the bell tolls Lamont, it might just be tolling for you too. ;^)

  • Sunil McPrasannan

     Yes that’s right! Took those photos on Wednesday afternoon on the way up to St Andrews.

  • Anonymous

     ’SCOTTISH Labour leader Johann Lamont has ruled out supporting
    “devo-max” and the transfer of all economic powers to Holyrood,
    insisting it was independence in all but name’

    Mick, sounds to me like the wimmin in charge of the rainbow alliance are speaking from the same hymn sheet. And to be honest, even Blair at the height of his political dominance in Westminster and the media had his critics. The SNP are just plain weird at the moment because they are so utterly focussed on Independence rather than normal issues that matter. And that might actually not be a good thing for them or their glorious leader if he becomes a joke of President, Kim Il-sung proportions. Especially with the kind of praise Rupert Murdoch is heaping on him.

  • old_labour
  • old_labour

    In Tesco today, 1 item for £1.86 or 2 for £6. I would never buy both at the same time!

  • old_labour

    The east coast line is far more scenic than the west plus there are the views of Peterborough and Durham Cathedrals.

  • Anonymous

    Mick, got a very much loved Auntie who has now spent over a month in and out of Hospital up here in Scotland. I didn’t witness it, but my Uncle did see her GP have a complete slanging match with the Hospital doctor who sent her home to her doorstep at 6pm alone and without telling him or her family, and with an ongoing infection minus her most vital medication for her diabetes.

  • Anonymous

    Agreed. I couldn’t be bothered to list all the regions of england who are screwed by London & the the SE!

  • Sunil McPrasannan

     That beats the 1 item for 1 pound or 2 for 2 pounds!

  • old_labour

    So, you made it to Leuchars. The excitement! I believe there is a campaign to restore the railway line to St Andrews.

  • Anonymous

    I’m sure that you are wholly aware that comparing the leader of any party in the UK (with the possible exception of the BNP) to a totalitarian dictator is utterly offensive, as well as being very childish. 

    I’m sure that’s why you do it, but it does demean you to a great extent.

  • MickP0rk

    ” Mick, sounds to me like the wimmin in charge of the rainbow alliance are speaking from the same hymn sheet.”

    By which you mean they are both mired in bitter infighting in their own party. Or are you so trapped in your bubble you didn’t notice?

    All we know about Ruth’s position is that whatever Cameron says she is fine with even if she had previously said something different. So it’s understandable why you feel affinity for her since she mirrors your own Cameroonian position.

    “The SNP are just plain weird at the moment because they are so utterly
    focussed on Independence rather than normal issues that matter.”

    So according to you whenever Cammie blurts out laughable counterproductive posturing on the referendum that’s leadership, whereas the party with an overwhelming mandate by a landslide must be weird if they talk about their main policy? Sure they are.

    And there’s nothing “weird” about Cammie’s laughable Morrisons photo-op or riding with Rebekah Brooks on a police horse is there?

    “Especially with the kind of praise Rupert Murdoch is heaping on him.”

    Salmond didn’t employ Coulson as his spin doctor like Cammie nor was he godfather to one of Rupert’s own children like Blair or have Brooks for pyjama parties like Brown.

    Now if you want to talk about “weird” then I think that beats a few twitter lines hands down. :-)

  • Sunil McPrasannan

     I walked along the old trackbed between St Andrews bus station (itself the site of the closed railway station) and the new University science buildings on the western edge of the town.

  • Anonymous

     Yes, I was in Tesco recently and saw a great big sign for a bargain multi buy. Only one problem, next to it was a far cheaper individual price that was a real steal. Result, I ignore the multibuy spin and took the real bargain. And my impression of this cynical supermarket ploy saw my trust levels on this brand plummet.

  • old_labour

    Here is some footage of a train going through St Andrews in 1964 about 3 minutes in. Turn off the volume on your computer if you watch it though.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=9LrZxjdgrIg

  • Anonymous

    Mick, only dyed in the wool partisan posters here have a problem with Cameron’s Morrison’s photo op after attending a high profile military engagement on his way to his constituency. Not once have you or any of them highlighted where he was before that Morrison’s visit, and where he was heading afterwards…….

  • Sunil McPrasannan

     I saw Durham Cathedral going up, but didn’t see Peterbrough until tonight, all lit up. I was sitting facing backwards on the outbound journey you see! Here’s Durham:

  • old_labour

    Beeching has a lot to answer for.

  • Anonymous

    Doesn’t demean me at all. Just shows that you would rather spend time here on this site accusing others of being ignorant rather than watching our arrogant glorious leader try to dominant all strands of news information.

  • old_labour

    One of the worst guided tours in my life was at Durham Cathedral. The guide was a young woman dressed in medieval costume. She started with ‘there was a guy called,….’ and it all went downhill from there. 

  • Sunil McPrasannan

     Wonderful! Not sure how much of that I actually recognised but I guess a lot of redevelopment has ocurred since the 1960s.

  • Anonymous

    I presume you are using the additional Scots usage of “ignorant” – lacking the social skills to behave reasonably, as opposed to the Standard English usage of lacking in knowledge. Incidentally, that Scots usage is quite common in various US dialects as well.

    That you don’t see yourself demeaned by such behaviour is somewhat revealing.

  • MickP0rk

     “only dyed in the wool partisan posters here have a problem with Cameron’s Morrison’s photo op”

    Even Richard Nabavi admitted it was a photo-op or is he labour or SNP now?
    The only dyed in the wool partisan poster is yourself who wouldn’t even concede that obvious truth till now.

    “Not once have you or any of them highlighted where he was before that
    Morrison’s visit, and where he was heading afterwards…….”

    On the contrary the fact that he went to look at a nuclear submarine was highlighted by me as it only emphasises just what a laughably obvious and desperate photo-op the Morrisons “drop in” was.

    Care to explain where all the hilarious photos of “ordinary bloke” Cammie looking at some cabbages and buying a fish while holding a basket like it was going to attack him came from ?

  • Sunil McPrasannan

    Of course St Andrews is famous for the old cathedral and castle

  • MickP0rk

     

    Cameron at Morrisons: proof that Downing Street is missing Andy Coulson

    Late on Friday evening, just as the weekend newspapers were being
    finalised, the Press Association sent round a striking set of photos.
    They showed David Cameron doing an “impromptu” shop at Morrisons, where
    he bought fish and vegetables for a family dinner. Sea bass was on the
    menu chez Cameron, we learned.

    Such occasions are never impromptu, of course. The award-winning PA photographer Stefan Rousseau was presumably given fair warning of this 15-minute photo op. So I wonder: did Cameron’s team really think it through?

    Not to be rude, but the Prime Minister sticks out like a sore thumb.
    He’s massively overdressed – the doorman at his old club White’s would
    approve of that outfit – and looks awkward on his own. He may as well be
    wearing a t-shirt that says: “Sorry about the aloofness, I usually shop
    at Waitrose.” Somehow, I can’t imagine Tony Blair having the same
    problem.

    How many Sun readers
    were convinced by the pictures in their Saturday morning paper? Here’s a
    guess: probably about the same number that ate sea bass the night
    before. No doubt about it, Andy Coulson would have vetoed this little
    outing.

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/willheaven/100135375/cameron-at-morrisons-proof-that-downing-street-is-missing-andy-coulson/

    But Cammie’s number one fan fitalass was convinced and isn’t that all that matters in the end? ;^)

  • Sunil McPrasannan

     I think the interview went well, touch wood, probably my best performance out of the three I had so far this year – they’ll let me know early next week.

  • Plato

    Mine was a trip on the Tyne ferry as was.

    It was blowing a gale and raining sideways – the wind carried the overwhelming smell of the glue factory and the guide wibbled about local heroes I’d never heard of or of micro family details of one’s I had as if anyone cared.

  • old_labour

    Maybe it followed this route up the Fife Coast where it would stop first at St Andrews then continue to Leuchars.

    http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Anstruther_and_St_Andrews_Railway/frame.htm

  • Anonymous

    However, that doesn’t seem as bad as Sarcozy, who has obviously been taking lessons from Iain Gray.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17227438 

  • Anonymous

    No Mick, I posted the local press report of the Cameron Morrison’s visit after a day long engagement at a military base in the area ages ago. The fact it was Friday and Cameron then went straight from his military engagements to his Constituency home passed you and others by on here.

  • Anonymous

    Nytol

  • old_labour

    To my shame, I have only been driven through it. I went there with a friend of mine 30 years ago, but it coincided with a big golf tournament and no place to park a vehicle because you can no longer get a train there thanks to you-know-who.

    I intend going and see it properly one day.

  • old_labour

    At least you got a free high by the sound of it.

  • old_labour

    It’s an omen!

  • http://edmundintokyo.wordpress.com/ Edmund in Tokyo

    The widget still works in Firefox with GreaseMonkey, although I never quite perfected it for Disqus, so there are things that break, like clicking “more comments” at the bottom failing to apply the favourite and ignore stuff.

    IIUC the situation with current versions of Chrome is that you don’t actually need to install TamperMonkey any more – for a while it Just Worked on Chrome. But one of the upgrades to Chrome has broken it, and I haven’t got around to fixing it yet.

    Sorry to take so long on this – I’ve been busy with some other (very interesting) projects, and mostly use the site on Android myself where my widget doesn’t work for me either.

  • Anonymous

     I enjoyed reading the comments of another Nationalist supporter on another blog recently. He pointedly criticised his own side for this very type of reaction and posting towards those that didn’t share the Nationalist views on Independence. Got to say that my views on the political situation in Scotland and on Independence have got rarer on here as the behaviour of the Cybernat team has got nastier in an attempt to stifle debate. Just how many times can you accuse other posters of being ignorant because they disagree with you before the whole insult loses all meaning?

    To be fair, I am one of very few non Nat Scots contributers to this site. We get quite a lot of abuse from our fellow Nationalist Scots here as it is, but recently even that has gone totally over the top, and yet our views are more widely held by the rest of the electorate on the issue of Independence. Message to rest of PB, beware of the SNP dominanted debate here, it doesn’t reflect either the polls or the majority views of fellow Scots living up here.

  • Plato

    Just watched QT – what a cracking edition. The best in as long as I can remember.

    And on Ms Reeves – oh dear. What has happened to her? She was super at the Labour conf – genuine, animated, fun and direct.

    Has she been on the botox? I didn’t see her expression change once, though she managed a bit of eye-rolling and sighing as she parroted SpeakYourWeight lines.

    The chap from the footballer’s union was thrice as articulate and compelling. As an aside – it was interesting that he had no idea what a Pilgrim was, and totally against the idea of tax payer funded union reps.

    Mr Redwood surprised me with much of his tax-the-rich rhetoric. An interesting angle – ‘I want to get as much from them as possible’ and using that as the case to drop 50p rate.

    For a Dewsbury audience, I thought it was very unpartisan and much more civil than usual. Ditto Mr Dimbleby’s chairmanship.

    I get the impression someone has had a word.

  • MickP0rk

    You denied Morrisons was a photo-op.

    Even your fellow members of the herd had to tell you to drop the bullshit because you were becoming so embarrassing.

    Listen to this cringeworthy out of touch hero worship from yourself.

    I see that Cameron went to Morrisons to do the shopping, and don’t
    forget, Cameron has form for doing a bit of family shopping and cooking
    in the past. But why can’t I ever imagine Gordon Brown or Ed Miliband
    carrying out such a normal mundane family tasks?

  • MickP0rk

    And right on cue after oldnat goes fitalass plays the victim again.

    Why even bother anymore? Nobody believes a word of it you aren’t even very good at it and you do it all the time.

    Message to rest of PB, beware of the SNP dominanted debate here, it doesn’t reflect either the polls or the majority views of fellow Scots living up here.

    *falls off cat crying with laughter etc*

    You are a scottish tory who thinks Cammie Blair walks on water. You couldn’t be more out of touch with scottish public opinion if you tried.

    Don’t you even have the slightest ounce of self-awareness?

  • Marquee Mark

    Just an observation: Sunil goes up to Scotland for the day, and ends up posting through the night with them.

    I fear he may have become a thistle-head too….

  • Marquee Mark

    Presumably if Portsmouth do get liquidated, then only two get relegated? Which is something of a straw to cling to if you are a Forest fan!

  • Anonymous

    Was at the Open in I think 78 which was marvellous, followed a chappie called Nicklaus who was rather good. And had a walk around Willie Auchterlonie’s which some people might know and remember. Great days. A train would have been good but the buses took us to the nearest one which seemed quite close as I recall.

    I was off 8 then, never got a lot lower  :(

  • Anonymous

    I like reading your comments, even if i do not agree with them always, and if I agree with you I have been known to comment.
    Re Jo Swinson, I think the SNP will come 2nd to labour and not win, with the libs 4th.

  • Anonymous

    Reeves was the weakest on the panel, Carlisle the most user friendly and articulate and Starkey the loudest. I found myself agreeing with John Redwood far too often.

  • Anonymous

    Sunil could become an honorary thistle head, as long as he perfects his new Scottish accent like that chap from Porridge herein mentioned.

  • http://twitter.com/JamesKelly James Kelly

    “However, that doesn’t seem as bad as Sarcozy, who has obviously been taking lessons from Iain Gray.”

    It’s worse than that – Sarkozy didn’t have the Killing Fields of Cambodia to prepare him.

  • Plato

    Bugger

    German Retail Sales m/m -1.6% v expectation of +0.5%. Previously +0.1%

  • Plato
  • Jack W

    “In Tesco today, 1 item for £1.86 or 2 for £6. I would never buy both at the same time!”

    Is Gordon Brown managing that branch. We should be told ?!?

  • Anonymous

    Eck is crap.