you are all co-workers in the volunteer state now. by mandate.
tell us about it. we don't hear much about it on this side of the pond....

huh???

yeah, come again?

thanks for the link,,,unfortunately,,,it is something i have not really heard too much about...

you might have to contact someone in one of the following areas to get some feedback:::

"Four initial 'vanguard areas' were selected:

* Liverpool, Merseyside
* Eden, Cumbria[8]
* Sutton, Greater London[9]
* Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire[10]"

to my knowledge,,,only one person on the board (parka) lives in one of those areas & he doesn't seem to be around much these days...

it is a very small localised program at this point only active in a few specific communities...maybe if David Cameron has his way,,,it will be become more widespread...

i assume alot of people might be skeptical,,,thinking that it is the government trying to wash it's hands of responsibility for community based programs before the big cuts & tax rises that are about to take place in january...

it is going to be an interesting time to say the least...VAT taxes are being raised considerably (3.5%)...services getting cut & lots of public jobs lost....i foresee lots of social unrest a'comin!!!!

strikes & heavy protests are becoming more & more common these days,,,atleast in london...

really? there's no public vibe about it?
The New Yorker had a big article on it in the Oct 25th issue and it seemed very Big Grandma (as opposed to brother). the article made it seem like this was a phenomenon going on, but i suppose it was just propaganda journalism.

thanks for the further info...i will have to check it out on monday,,,i actually work at the uk office for the new yorker's publisher,,i am suppose to be aware of current articles

i take reporting of overseas political happenings with a grain of salt,,,it is so easy to take things out of context or make them seem much more severe/prevalent...

Don't believe the hype!

Yeah, I'm finding that what the US papers say about the UK is sometimes not quite accurate.

Cameron has been banging on about the Big Society thing, but I know almost nothing about it.
I am wondering at what point the Con-Dems will capitulate and back down on their increasingly unpopular ideas.
And more fucking power to the kids on the streets (oi! oi! oi!) running the riot cops ragged and taking over the schools.
One of the great things about the UK is while a lot is taken on the chin and rolled with, there's an underlying sense of what's right and what's wrong and when pushed to far people stand up.

I'm guessing that the Big Society thing would get attention over there because it can be painted red quite easily, like the proverbial rag to the American bull.