@SuperCrap
I think you're wrong. My intention wasn't to rebut the article; it was to show how the source being used is poor. I myself have heard this from some friends before reading the article. We all had a good laugh, because of course it's ridiculous. Everything the Daily Mail writes is BLACK OR WHITE, and they invariably fall on the white side. There is no compromise. Whereas in reality, in the EU and GB, that is pretty much all there is, compromise.

Whether you're from the Daily Mail or not, I still think you're a regular reader of some tory/ regal/ way-it-used-to-be rag. Which is fair enough, just don't expect me to treat your argument as I'd treat one from a reader of a proper paper.

I don't presume any of this is "elevated" debate. After all, the responses are hours apart and I can't see the reaction in your face when I say we won't have a monarchy for much longer...

Britain is messed up. The EU is messed up. There you go, I've admitted it. Now can you:
A- Stop posting Daily Mail articles
B- Stop posting articles that aren’t really "neat" but are intended to berate my country/ area I live in.

It's all become rather sinister. "EU/ GB is stupid etc come and stare in awe at their silliness", god knows how they had the biggest empire the world has ever seen...

We can't all be perfect. An ultimatum arises; I'm leaving this site if you continue to post non- "neat"/ derogatory articles.

@neilo- I'm tired of reading derogatory comments (especially on this site which is supposed to be a cut above the rest) about other countries, especially my own. It's become a trend on the internet, is becoming a trend on this site and it's bloody annoying. What's the point of taking the piss (NOT friendly teasing) out of another country? To make yourself feel better? Can't we all just get along?

@Binc- but Robin Williams forgot to mention that they say this whilst chasing after the crook. Whereas I'm presuming the American policeman/ woman would just shoot them?

@MadMolecule- But there is no department of surveillance. I should know, I live there. Quoting Wikipedia for something of this magnitude has no substance whatsoever and even they don't say anything about such a department.

Maybe just stick to the posted article and stop having a go at other countries (I'm assuming you don't live in the UK). I haven't said anything about the country you live in, as I don't pretend to know anything about how it works. Maybe you (and everyone else commenting about "state surveillance") are compensating for something about your own situation by belittling my country?

How's the patriot act going?

They make me do a double take every time I see them, as if there's something I'm missing...

@Finagle- You make it sound like the UK has a government department of surveillance.

But in all seriousness, if you pay for some professional firm to create some cartoon characters, they'll come up with some stupid crap, ESPECIALLY if you pay them to do it. They should have just asked some primary school to come up with designs. Would have saved money and would actually be nice to look at.

@Frau- if it was a BLT they probably wouldn't have hesistated to KILL IT WITH FIRE! Until they read the guidelines on the use of fire indoors for cleansing purposes, then they would have said, "take the bacon and cheese off and you're ok" ;)

Frau, are you from America? If so, how many obese children are there in your country as a percentage of children, say under 12?

I can see the UK desperately trying to avoid catching up with you, or if we already have, trying very hard to let you guys win :P

April, I beg to differ. Do you really think a cheese sandwich is a good meal for the day? Aren't we supposed to be teaching our children to eat more healthily?

It also doesn't say whether or not that was the same lunch the child had been given for 2 months straight. Or whether or not the 2 year old weighed 6 stone. Or that The Times is in support of the opposition to Labour (although they always were considering their owner). I ignored the telegraph as they are not a quote worthy newspaper in my eyes.

Whilst it sounds stupid, if anyone here has ever worked in a school in the UK (or any other Western country) you should know how terrible some parents are at providing their children with a "proper" meal(s). Maybe if you've worked in a "posh" school you have never seen this. But when you've worked in a primary school in a fairly poor city for 20 years and seen an increasing trend of a mars bar and coke for breakfast and lunch, you'll see the importance of intervention from this "nanny state". If protecting children from a life of poor health is a bad thing, then so be it.

There is the occasional article that pops up here that really makes me doubt the "neatness" of this site. Unfortunately you clearly have no intelligent people from the UK working on your site, or you would know never to quote the bloody Sun or Telegraph for anything, except maybe "immigrant invasion" articles or "celebrity" stories. They are both sh*t newspapers and authorities on nothing.