Bag's Rants: December 2005

They will soon get their noses in the trough.

To quote what new MPs say in this article on working hours as an MP. They work seven days a week and up to 18 hours a day.

Well, I do believe that, what I don't believe is that they do it for long. Like everyone else they are new at the job and don't know where the sow's teats are. Won't be long before they have directorship in some big companies and voting along the party lines without caring what their constituents want.

Two thirds agree that they want to reform parliament. Is it not amazing how once they find their places at the trough they then seem to want to keep it the same.

Maybe I am being cynical. There are probably one or two MPs that still have the view of what the constituents want and changing parliament for the better but I won't be holding my breath.

Who get's the woman's share?

Since the same sex marriages have been legal one thing has been going round in my mind. If they get divorced then who get's the bulk of the assets? Are they shared equally or split in the same uneven way as current 'real' marriages? Does the dominant partner in these cases lose out as well?

Now it appears that this has been an area of interest to some think tanks as you can read here.

Having been through the fair process where everything I had was removed and spread evenly to my ex-wife and her new boyfriend whilst my future earnings were also earmarked for her use I find it extremely interesting that this concept of same sex divorce, where clearly assets could be more logically divided may be the catalyst for fairer treatment to males in divorce cases.

And there was me thinking that this same sex marriage would not change anything at all. Here is hoping...

Actions speak louder than words.

Just reading this article and thought Wow! Things must be worse in the US than we first thought. Seems that Condoleezza Rice has won praise from Americans for her handling of foreign affairs during her first year. Now clearly I know naff all about politics but I did have a view that diplomacy was more to do with discussions and give and take than just a straight back off and application of threats which is all we have seen so far.

Could I be being too harsh? Maybe this is a vast improvement over US diplomacy since 2000 and she deserves the praise. If so, I still think we still have a long way to go and actions speak louder than words. Let's see some action from the US and not a military one for a change.

Natural Selection or Intelligent Design?

Seems like Africa's woes are getting worse rather than better despite how much money we have been throwing at them. Read more here. After years of western governments throwing our money at something that given the politicians good PR and a general feel good factor the natural order has started to return to African politics. The powerful are picking on the weak. To be honest pretty much the same as over here. The rich and powerful are introducing legislation to protect themselves and to the rest of us it gets worse year after year. Sound familiar?

Our response to this is, sadly, predictable. We, yet again, threaten to cut off aid to Ethiopia the next country to be punished. What use is that going to be?

Like most things our Politicians put their fingers on it all turns to crap. Why can't we do anything right? Why does everything have to be poorly thought out and never, ever, taken as part of a longer plan? Why can't politicians look any further forward than their next election? And some not even that far.

Typical bureaucracy.

I was not going to be putting anything serious in over the holiday period but then I came across this article about the aid that was sent out last year.

At first I didn't believe it then I thought why don't I believe it? Then I thought 'f2c&1ng politicians. Read more about how no matter where you are a politician you are a useless b4$^4&d here.

Oh dear. I need to reconsider a few things.

Just as a bit of fun I went around just reading some blogs and looking at some of the festive items on the web.

One item was Dante's Inferno Test which can be found here.

I clearly have a long way to go as you can see below.

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Very High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very High
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Moderate

I also had a go at the Seven Deadly Sins Test. It being Christmas time and all I was expecting Gluttony but it appears that Sloth is my sin. Take the Test here.

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Low
Wrath:	Low
Sloth:	Very High
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	High
Pride:	Medium

I'm clearly needing a good talking to to get myself in order or I need to get asbestos underpants. If I can be bothered.

Forecast of quiet day with more relaxing days ahead.

Well just had my first five minutes since I went to bed early yesterday morning. Between Christmas itself and all the associated merriment, which mainly means food and drink, I have been pottering about all day either feeding my face, giving the kids a lift, playing with the baby or building things bought for Christmas.

Today we were all too full to do much eating so it's mainly been spent building more things or playing games. Computer and board games. Just got my ass whupped at Warhammer 40K. My Necrons were blown out of existence by my sons Black Templar army which he built yesterday. He still has to paint them and I'm starting that tomorrow by spraying the undercoat for him weather permitting.

I'm still off for another week so I'm intending to catch up on finishing off the little chores I have outstanding in the games room. I've promised to build him a tabletop area and some other bits of scenery and terrain for playing with. We have all the bits but I've not put them together yet. Now is the time to start.

Not done any browsing or anything, bar this, computer related since Christmas Eve. I'm getting slight withdrawal symptoms. Curiosity is building but I'll leave that till after my birthday.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all.

Have a good time.

Posted under TB's standard caveat.

Absolutely brilliant.

I wish I had a mind that could think of really funny things like this.

It's well worth a visit to this link if you want a laugh.

Could 2006 be Charles year?

Interesting this should pop into the news just before Christmas.

Charles is considering changing his name when, not if, he becomes King. Read more here.

Now it doesn't seem that long ago when the Queen was considering skipping Charles and letting William be next on the throne. Camilla would never be Queen as the people didn't want it. Now Charles is married again, official Christmas cards have gone out with him and Camilla on. People seem to have accepted Camilla and now it is when he becomes King. Mmmm.

Could there be some news on the Royal front next year? That would take some of the heat away from Bliar and his plans while all the newspapers report on the coronation and what is going on over the new name and Camilla's dress whilst he pushes through his terror proposals and ID cards. Could this be a deal between Bliar and the Queen to leave the monarchy untouched?

Jeez, I need a rest. It's Christmas tomorrow so that will do.

Why are we not hearing anything from the UK?

Yet another revelation from the US. Seems that they are monitoring the level of radiation at mosques as well as illegally taping phones. Read more here. Although to be honest I just don't see this in the same light as it is not specific to individuals and does not impinge on any rights. Unless 2A covers nukes of course.

My only question on this is what is the situation in the UK?

I have no doubt we are doing exactly the same things. My concerns are that as we are not talking about it nor has it been made public knowledge. That must mean that MI5 must be a more secure facility than the US equivalents probably due to scale more than anything else.

Makes you wonder what else is illegally going on under the umbrella of national security. Or maybe it is all legal now. I just can't keep up with all the changes.

Not just introducing democracy then. But, our democracy.

Why is the US sticking it's nose into another countries politics again? This time it is a democracy they want to interfere with, Nigeria. It seems that they want to stop President Olusegun Obasanjo running for a third term by changing his countries laws. Read more here.

I can only assume that he has a case of 'If I can't do it. No one can.' as Bush would never get this past his colleagues.

If they really want to help they could try and stop Bliar going on and on. After all, we mistakenly don't have limits.

I'm lost for words.

Make a note. It is unusual that I don't have anything to say about this guy. Read more here.

I have so many things running around in my head about this I don't know where to start and to be honest it isn't really that important.

Good luck to him. I hope his girlfriend thinks that moving into a council house is a good idea.

Based on these pictures if she doesn't like it she can spend some time with me. On a trial basis. I've got my own place. Not a millionaire though. Kate looks like she sorted herself out so there is still room.

Got

the pictures from Mr Skin through Jeeves so I hope it is the right one. Knowing my luck it will be the wrong one and she will look like Ann Widdecombe. In which case the offer is off.

A law unto yourselves.

I was reading this article about a Lebanese man jailed in Germany for killing a US soldier. He has done his prison time and been released back to Lebanon and the US is now applying for his extradition from Lebanon.

Although I personally think the guy should not be out at all for a murder he has served his time according to German law. Why should he be punished twice just because his victim was an American? Will he get the Death penalty in the US?

I know we in the UK prosecute for offences abroad. I've not heard of someone being tried for an offence abroad which they have served time on.

Now that I think about it when I was in the US, before the KGB style security went in, I was ripped off by someone who would have been prosecuted in the UK under the Trades Descriptions Act. Can we extradite them here so I can get my money back? Nope! Why not? Oh! The extradition from the UK only works one way. What bright spark capitulated to..... Oh! I think I know.... Bliar. He really is a useless b4$^4&d.

Crime and Punishment. Moved to the Humour section.

Found this article last night but when I went back now to get it I couldn't find it. It had been moved off the UK front page after less than 24 hours and was not even available on any sub pages. I had to search for it.

Anyway, this article is saying that the current system is not working. Just under 60% of the criminals are reoffending. Of this 60%, 89% are for drug offences. Explain to me again why personal use drugs are a criminal offence? Looking at the figures in 2000 reoffending was 57.6% and in 2002 58.5%. Less that one percent increase and that was two years ago. Wasn't 2002 about the time they said that first time burglars shouldn't go to prison. That means a lot of new people went on community service and it would interesting seeing the figures for 2005.

The bit I liked was that the Home Office said that 'the figures actually meant there had been an "improvement" because the number of new crimes was 0.2% below predictions.' They are touching a part of me that they shouldn't be. It feels naughty but nice. Anyway enough of that. Point two of a single percent and it is an improvement. Boy! We are really grasping at straws.

Plus, and this is the worse bit. This must mean that contrary to popular opinion our soaring crime rate is due to new offenders. Those that are now thinking the risk of punishment has reduced to a level where they think it is worth it.

It used to be 'Don't do the crime if you can't to the time'. Now it appears that the statement 'It's worth the risk' is more appropriate.

Busy, busy day today.

Not had much chance to look at any news or anything today. I got my gun safe delivered and installed it this morning. My sons presents arrived as promised so I had to sort them out as well. That is everything now sorted for XMas. Cards all written and delivered. Final card last night on my last yearly visit to an old friend. Presents, now, all collected and will be finished the wrapping later tonight. Get it out of the way.

So, going to have my tea now then I will wrap the last of the presents followed by a bit of TV, Stargate Atlantis and Threshold. Then depending on how I feel I will either relax by browsing the web, blogs, news or just general wandering or I might even watch a film.

I should really just look at the news. You never know Bliar might have snuffed it.

...................Just checked. No such luck although I did see an article on criminals reoffending that I'll have a good look at.

Off for some food.

At last, some common sense.

Seems like there are limits to what creationists can push through in the US. A US court has ruled that teaching intelligent design in schools was effectively teaching creationism, which is banned. Read more here.

Of course that does not mean it is over yet but at least some people in the US are putting up a fight.

After all, everybody knows that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster and they were all going to teach another crackpot religion.

Read more about the Flying Spaghetti Monster here.

Does this make any sense to you?

I just don't get these sort of decisions. £19M in aid to Uganda is being withheld because of Ugandas slow move to democracy. Read more here.

Now if I remember correctly this is similar to what happened in Iraq. We were upset with Saddam so we put sanctions on Iraq. This lead to millions of civilians dying whilst Saddam and his cronies suffered not one bit. And we patted ourselves on the back and congratulated ourselves. In the meantime we built up thousands of people who hate our guts.

Why should Uganda be any different?

Insufficient evidence. Is that a real excuse?

I've read lately a couple of times about their being insufficient evidence to prosecute when we know one person did it but not which one. Very rarely is it a member of the public that gets this decision in a similar situation. It's much more often a member of our Police or armed forces who get that pleasure. When this sort of thing is raised as a real excuse for no prosecutions in cases like this I just can't believe they will get away with it.

We, the general public get prosecuted all the time with hardly any evidence. We pass wind somewhere and the residue is detected analysed and a DNA sample leads to us and we are prosecuted with no other evidence. Here we have a prison full of people someone on duty must have done it and yet there is no case to bring.

Must remember to get ten of my mates, who can all lie together, and we can bump off anyone. After all, it must be one of us but insufficient evidence to tie any one to the crime so we get off with it. Somehow I don't think we would get away with it. Why should they? b4$^4&ds.

I think the Police take this target setting too seriously.

Seems this copper has been told to back off after arresting too many people. Reading the article it appears that he has been arresting real criminals instead of women reading from lists and women wearing tee shirts with words on. What a tosser. How is he going to get anywhere in his chosen career arresting real criminals? No brownie points for PC work. (No pun intended) Even worse they might fight back. He could be injured. What about his H&S requirements. Much better picking on motorists and other law abiding people.

The public finally have a copper who get's stuck into his work and is arresting all these criminals in a particularly bad area of the UK, he has been commended for his work and clearly wants to keep going, he has set himself new targets, but management have told him to slow down. The same management that was second from the bottom in the league table last year.

Is it not time for a review in that area with an option of kicking these clowns out. I think we can work out why they have one of the worst areas in the UK on their patch.

I think the guidelines need to be reconsidered.

Just a guess.

Of course I'm not comparing like for like here but I think that even so it makes my point.

Case 1. Guy aged 24 in jail for attempted murder. Gets 12 years and out in 6. He has been in prison most of his life since he was 14. The risk of him reoffending was estimated to be 91% before he was released. Read more here.

Case 2. Guy aged 18 in jail for life for setting fire to two wheelie bins. Read more here.

The only difference here is that one of them said they were sorry and the other one didn't. I didn't realise that saying you were sorry, even if you don't mean it, means that you are considered less of a risk.

Silly me. I'm sorry for everything I do when I get caught. So I should be OK.

We have been fighting ourselves for decades.

Looks like we have found another Government agent in the IRA. Read more here. I just had to laugh as I thought about it a bit longer.

If we have so many spies in the IRA is there any real IRA members out there not on our Governments payroll? Could this be why Bliar wants to forgive them all? If he went to trial then it would come out they were actually on our side.

The only question is that at what point do the number of British agents in the IRA exceed the number of fanatics? Was it back in the early 90s when everything went quiet?

Makes you wonder about al-Qaeda. Funded by the US and trained by the US and the UK. What else are we involved in?

A day of Rest. That's what you thought Bliar.

I must confess I thought Bliar would give in over the EU but at the same time the Government would paint it as a common sense approach to the EU and it would soon be forgotten amidst the next crisis.

Looks like I was wrong about the being forgotten part. Read here. This has the potential to be raised for everything that goes wrong in the future. Another job screwed up beyond repair.

Ah well! Bliar will get his wish. He will go down in history. Not for what he wanted though. He will be recognised as a failure for a PM. Future PMs will have to spend decades putting his screw ups right before we can truly call ourselves free again.

Plain English. Isn't.

Read this article on text from the Plain English Campaign of examples of statements that make no sense.

I love this sort of thing. I'm surprised there are not more from the Government who love to write this sort of thing as part of their job. And, sadly, I found there were a couple I understood. What is happening to me?

I remember when I spent a large part of my work writing reports. The finished report was always rejected because it didn't read right. I fixed it by running through and changing the plain English for gobbledegook and making the structure more confusing. Worked every time. The customer? The MoD.

Speaking Foreign.

Last week I was talking to someone about learning a language. We in the UK are apparently the worst for learning other languages. Most other countries have a significant number of people that can speak other languages. Not us Brit. Of course being racist helps for a start so are we really surprised?

My view was that it depends on use. Who uses languages anyway? Certain people that travel the world on holidays. How many is that? Most resorts speak English. They need to speak to other offices in work. Again how many is that? What else is there? Better off learning first aid for all the fat splashes you get from flipping burgers and massage for relieving stress from standing all day. At least it will be used more than a foreign language. People get burnt every day and stress is growing exponentially as we realise how we are getting screwed daily.

Anyway, as another way to screw up our already suspect education system where a lot of people can't even speak or write English. We now are looking at setting targets for foreign languages. Read more here.

Now maybe it is me. You know I like to go on about things but I consider that schools are there to educate and prepare us for a working life. Why things like burger grills and standing around is not taught to prepare us for real work is beyond me. So looking at a target of 50% must mean that either our Government believes that half of us will be talking to the French or Germans as a matter of course or that it is just another arbitrary target for us to aim at.

Now, at first I did think it was an arbitrary target. Bliar and his cronies are masters of this and it seems like just another pointless move. Then I started to think a bit more, you know look at it from another angle. Then it hit home. It made perfect sense.

We need to get our young ones prepared for when Europe becomes a superpower and a force to be reckoned with in the World. For that we need to speak the language that will be used by it's leaders. We are not sure yet if it will be French or German so we need to prepare for both. Read here about a Franco-German Europe.

Justice in the UK.

I just come across this article on a guy who has just effectively got life for setting fire to two wheelie bins. I thought it was a joke at first but it is not.

Seems that there is this tool called indeterminate sentences available since the Criminal justice Act 2003 that means if someone is considered a threat they can be locked up for a minimum sentence and until the convince the authorities they are no longer a threat.

Yippee! A tool that can be used to put away some of our more difficult criminals. Those that reoffend again and again. But, wait a minute, now I think about it I remember not long ago a judge commenting on this guy that was a menace to society and yet he sentenced him to less than the maximum allowed. And here we are putting a guy away for life for setting fire to some council wheelie bins. Let's see how many real criminals get hit with this.

Jeez.... What a screwed system we have and laughingly call it a justice system!

Bent over UK. It won't hurt at all.

The UK bends over and takes it for the EU.

In a magnificent deal we give up £7B in return for a few talks in 2008 and 2009. Where of course there is no guarantee the CAP will change in the slightest. Of course we won't get our money back if it doesn't. Read more here.

At least Bliar is consistent in running us into the ground. Lucky for the EU being President doesn't mean he has any control so they are OK. Unfortunately, it is not the same for us.

Where are basic morals in our leaders?

I was reading this article and thinking to myself that it was about time someone actually came out with something positive on this situation. It is good to hear that so many people in the US Government actually feel that this is wrong and are putting pressure on Bush and his bunch of vicious lying scum followers. This article was just what we needed to show that us Westerners had some basic morals after all.

But, Wait! Reading some of the other blogs with people that seem to have a greater understanding of some things It appears that there were some things not mentioned in the article I read and so I have misinterpreted what is being said. In all the small print it's all to do with the definitions around who does the torturing and who ordered it. Also 'If someone gets accidentally tortured they can still use the information.' WTF! Read more here. Did nobody learn from Nuremberg? Is it not the case that following orders is not an excuse? Unless you are American! Of course, Nobody prosecutes an American except other Americans. It's about time we stopped extradition to the US until they joined in on the same terms as the rest of us.

In the meanwhile the US are probably the worst for this 'at arms length torturing' and are getting the whipping for it. We must not forget our Government are certainly not innocent in this matter. They should not get away with it either.

Politicians! No wonder we hate them. And they seem to have gotten a lot worse over the last few years. Maybe it is just me.

What is the difference between a rat run over on the road and a politician run over on the road?

There are skid marks in front of the rat.

Well, well, at least they were direct this time.

I had to laugh when I was reading this article on Bush spying on his own people. Shock, Horror! What an ado.

In the meantime the British have been spying on the US for decades and giving the US anything interesting. GCHQ do this service for the US because, until the Patriot Act, it was illegal for the US to do it to themselves without all that legal baloney that gets in the way.

As a reward to GCHQ the US spied on us without due process and supplied our Government with anything interesting.

Fair exchange is no robbery and no laws have been broken by the incumbent Governments.

With a bit of luck this issue could blow things wide open and something is done. It'll take a lot of luck and is unlikely but you never know. After all the US population will be happy that the US spies on everybody else and of course their Government doesn't do the spying on them via this method.

Our Government of course wouldn't spy on us without the proper process. 'Jack, put a tap on this phone number and just keep it between us.' 'OK, Ton.'

New Passports

Just got the passports back for my daughter and myself. My sons will have to wait until he is 16, as I've applied for an adult one for him, so he won't get his until January. All will last until 2015 where we will then have to apply for the new KGB style although I'm not sure if it will be covered by the new ID cards. Anyway won't have to worry about that for a decade. By then there may be less of an issue. Although once something is put in place by a Government, especially a repressive one, it never seems to go away.

Just finished updating my links.

While I have spent today looking on the web to see what new jobs are out there, catching up on blogs and news plus catching up on sorting out XMas. I've now bought all my presents and the special cards for close family. Just waiting for delivery for one of my sons presents, ordered last week on a weeks delivery, which I've now been told will now be next week as they have a supplier problem which they assure me will be fixed this week. The blurb does say 14 days delivery so I can't complain and they upgraded my postage to Special Delivery FOC. However, I've used this firm before and so far, fingers crossed, they have not let me down. I do have his birthday in January as well and already got the presents for that so if the worst comes to the worst he will just get the presents swapped. And people go on about me planning contingency for everything. Works for me.

Anyway all three of you, an increase of 50% I might add, will notice an increased list of linked blogs. I spent today adding the blogs I visit regularly which all have interesting points of view put a lot more eloquently than I can and even some things I have never even thought about. How they get the time is beyond me. Enjoy!

I've just got my license approved.

Well, just had a visit from the firearms section of our local police. That happened really quick. It seems that, on paper, I'm not such a bad guy after all so they come round for an interview as the next stage in the application. Just asked me a few questions and had a general chat. Took about an hour and the guy was very helpful. He concluded with telling me that I'm going to be issued my license which just needs to be processed and sent out to me. Yippee! I'm not going to be buying a gun at the moment though. I'll just give it a go with the club guns and see what happens. You never know the noise and the fact it all happens outside might make me hate it.

Oh! To show my support.

I think I'll send them a letter of support.

Read this article on Gun Culture about The League Against Cruel Sports looking for some money.

I hate this as a policy. How is it Justice?

This GP has been cleared of murder in a court judged by his peers. The prosecution explained what they thought he explained what he did and the jury believed him. Read more here.

Now, clearly frustrated that they think he is guilty, they are resurrecting more cases covering different periods. Why were these cases not put forward before? It seems there was insufficient evidence. Read more here.

This must be a travesty of justice. They must be putting so much stress on this guy that he could pop his clogs. Maybe that is what they want. No defence means that the cases would be clear cut and he would be found guilty. That would justify their jobs.

Or, they may have found new evidence. You know, wink wink, Sgt Smith-Jones, lately of the West Midland Serious Crimes Unit (retired) did a little looking and came across this new bit of evidence. Honest. Here it is and it clearly proves our cases.

And they call this Justice.

Now this seems worth something.

Well I don't know about you but I was fairly confident that women with HIV that were pregnant were almost certain that HIV would be passed on and there was very little we could do.

Imagine my surprise reading this article when I discovered that it was in fact the other way round and we could be fairly confident that HIV is not transmitted but that funding for baby food seemed the weak point that increases the risk.

Now, I'm still all for there being a coherent policy around this. Regardless of it's all being done for the right reasons. No point in saving them from one thing at great expense only for them to succumb to plain old starvation because they can't feed themselves. We of the West seem to have this thing about children. Must protect the children, what about the children, but then when they are sixteen, or whatever, it's now OK for them to die. I just don't understand that.

Anyway, this article makes it seem like there is something positive we can do and, to me, has the feeling that it is the right thing to do. It's a basis for a policy. Now if only Anita Roddick would spend her funds on this, read about her giving away £51M here, and make sure that a policy was put in place around it. That would make a difference. Or, am I being to simplistic? Is £51M enough to kick start this?

I probably thought the same thing about aid to the third world twenty years ago and little was done, then ten years ago and now, still no change. Will it be the same in another twenty years?

How appropriate.

This guy, who was an ex copper, should have known better than to brag about his crimes to his colleagues. After all a copper is never off duty.

Anyway she was done for immoral earnings and fined lots with a suspended sentence and he got a suspended sentence for deception. As an afterthought he has since left the police force. No surprise there.

Anyway, this is the reason I wrote this. Prostitution, brothels and, now, married to a madam. Nice job for a guy called John Thomas. No kidding! Read the story here.

It could have been worse.

Reading this article about homicides being at a ten year high. How long have Nu Nazi's been in?

It's nice to see we are all that little bit safer now we have banned guns, knifes with sharp bits and everything else that has been used to kill people or even look or sound like they might.

Politicians will read this and think. 'Lucky we banned all these things. What would it have been like if they were all still legal. The people should be thanking us for our quick actions that have saved many, many lives.'

No public enquiry. Why not?

Seems that we won't be having a public enquiry into the 7th July bombings. Bliar has confirmed it. Read here. Even the Yanks had one for their attack. But, wait a minute didn't it bring up some scathing comments about the US Government cocking up. Mmmm. I wonder why we are not having one. Let me think.... Nope, I have no idea.

Read more here at TalkPolitics. Who has a lot more details than I managed to find. I don't know how these guys get the time.

Interesting Blog I found on my travels.

As I've mentioned before I've been working with NPfIT and the DH for my current employer. It just raises your awareness of thinks that, frankly, sometimes you would rather not know.

I come across this blog on my travels. Another blog, whom I have forgotten, Sorry, had an article linking to it which I followed.

Anyway, it's a blog from an NHS Doctor. The link, which I've also added to the sidebar, is here.

Well worth a read.

Makes you think about your role in Justice.

I was reading this article about a witness who was murdered by the person he was giving evidence against. Now, in most cases, the defendant won't go to these extremes and so this is not normally an issue. However, in some cases the defendant is prepared to go the whole hog to keep out of the nick. In this case even warning the guy off. Which is what you would expect as a first contact. This warning was ignored by the Police. The same Police that enforce your inability to defend yourself. What can you do?

I must confess if I was in this situation and the Police were not going to protect me or allow me to protect myself then I would not be a witness. Say to the guy. 'You won. I'm not going to be a witness. Call off your dogs.' Then, as you can't tell the Police you are withdrawing your statement without going to jail yourself you just screw it up in court by contradicting yourself or saying I'm not sure. That way I would get to live a little longer and let's face it if the evidence is there he will still go down. Everyone is a winner. Except Justice. But, there is so little of it in the UK today a little less won't hurt.

What a disappointment.

Read the headlines where it said the Police in Oz getting 'new powers'. I though Wow!. I thought they were going to be mind readers and could detect liars or have premonitions of crimes so they could stop them. Something useful. Reading the article made me realise that it was just more state power against citizens. An, almost, daily occurrence in the UK. What a disappointment.

Life is full of disappointments.

Stolen IDs from DWP used in benefit fraud.

Of course the new proposed ID database won't be open to this sort of abuse. Never mind the impact on fraud on the benefits system. Read here about how DWP staff had their IDs stolen and used in fraud on our benefits system. Presumably the IDs were gleaned from a work related DB. It's like a comedy film.

The ID database will be secure said David Blunkett.

Sorry, but somehow I just don't have that warm tingly feeling.

More money we can steal. Yippee.

Reading this article about annual bonuses paid to staff on performance. Not much really in the article but one bit stuck in my throat.

' annual bonuses to City staff should be subject to a windfall tax to fund the NHS, say MPs.'

Remember that these bonuses are taxed at the normal rate and subject to the tax bands which covers NI so they are already paying into the NHS fund with this money. Additionally, most are in stressful jobs and probably smoke and drink. So will get lower levels of care proportional to what they are paying. The firms pay these to get the best from people and this is the way they chose to reward them. It's still a salary but dependent on performance.

What a bunch of thieving b4%^4&ds.

A business decision made by the managers.

Just been reading Americablog and their campaign against Ford for their perceived bigotry. It seems to be a common theme in America lately with Microsoft being caught as well as a couple of others.

It made me think that we don't get much of that over here. The biggest thing that seems similar, in context rather than size, is the DVD's which were banned by Sainsbury's and Woolworths due to roughly ten complains from people.

My original thoughts on the DVD's were that as independent companies they can sell, or not sell, what they want providing that it is legal. We all go on about freedom of choice and shout about perceived censorship when they are doing it. I must admit I was surprised how quick they bent over and took it but that is a sign of the management strength and their opinion on marketing. Now that significantly more than ten have written in to complain will they have an about face? As independent companies they will stick to the line they think will make them more profits in the future and good luck to them. I don't buy DVD's from either of them anyway.

Meanwhile, in America, Ford seems to be doing exactly the same thing but the stakes are more likely higher. Nobody in the UK is going to do anything bar whine. It's what we do. People rely on it. You don't think Bliar would do what he does without that as a basic understanding. Americans on the other hand are more active. A few years ago it was all fellow man and it didn't matter if he was singing a different tune. Now, with the fundamentalists gaining power, it's all backing away from that sort of thing and I don't blame them. Again, a few bloggers shouting about it is not the same thing as a bunch of Christians, some in power, who can have a major influence on your business. Again, they need to make a call for what is best for their business.

That's one of the problems with putting stakes in the ground. They are there for people to see and some people won't like where they are and some people won't like them being moved and if you are a big enough company people don't like not knowing where the stake is either. They can't win and the funny part is you don't feel sorry for them in the slightest.

How did I misunderstand this?

I come across discussions on the plight of the Chagossians on my travels and remember reading about them in the past but never really understanding what the issue was. I must confess I originally thought it was about a small group, which it is, being relocated due to the expansion of a military base, which it is. Little did I understand the full details behind it nor the processes used in the evictions. I'm probably not the only one to misunderstand this.

Read about how due process has been abused, and continues to be, by starting here.

Funny how it is the US doing the moving in and, by special arrangement, the UK doing the evicting. Why does that, sadly, not sound surprising?

Torture or not to torture. That is the question.

Found this article on my round of the Blogs. A very interesting article on Government sanctioned torture abroad. Read it now and consider it is based on our Ambassador to the Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan, Craig Murrays musings on the subject. Read more about Craig on his blog here.

Now I don't know about you but I remember back in Gulf Invasion I when our tornado guys got shot down. The screams about how they were mistreated and the breaches of the Geneva Convention. We were all talking about those b4$^4&ds and why they were animals but we held the moral high ground. Here we are in Gulf Invasion II and it's us that has the moral low ground. What happened to Flight Lt. John Nichols and Flight Lt. John Peters would still be classed as breaches of the convention but if it was Iraqi Flight Lt. Omar Sandsi and Flight Lt. Abdul Rocksi it would now be classed as part of our war strategy.

What immoral hypocritical b4$^4&ds we have become.

I wonder why?

Looks like the sell done by the RIAA and the MPAA is failing to keep the hearts and minds of Joe Public. Read more here. Seems like more and more people don't believe that buying a basic DVD is helping terrorists. Bummer.

Plus with most of these copies you just get a basic film. No forced menues or adverts you can't skip. In many respects they are better than the original. OK the creator doesn't get anything from it but he would if he produced a cut down version for people. Imagine if every film had two versions. The basic version, no trailers, forced scenes etc. for £5 and then a better version for £10 with the extras for the fanatics. The pirates would not be able to make copying viable. Especially as the quality would still be down.

Same with CDs. The general public is getting fed up with being ripped off. We have the technology now to mix and match tracks on our MP3 players and iPods but again the music companies screw us by stopping fair use. Pirate copies allow us to mix and match as we want. Again the creator doesn't get anything but at this point who cares.

I for one wouldn't report anyone selling these sort of goods although I do believe that it should not happen. I won't help or buy from them but at the same time I'll turn a blind eye. I think they make enough with the rip offs to compensate. After all how much does Ozzy make a minute? How much profit do the music companies make every year? How much is a CD with two or three good songs cost? Do the maths.

We are condoning this activity.

Maybe it is just me but I've never been one for continuing down a path that looks like it was a wrong choice. I was reading this article about Zimbabwe in meltdown where the author talks about the aid being offered is not acceptable and we need to do more. In the meantime their leader, who is very fortunate to run a country that does not have oil, is living in a nice lifestyle while his countrymen starve.

A government spokesman goes on to say 'it is in no way punishing the government, to not help women and children in great need' and it was agreed, between the spokesman and the author, that the international community should do more to meet humanitarian needs in Zimbabwe. What a surprise.

Well, my view is much simpler. We don't provide any aid to them at all and make it plain that we won't do so while the current Government is in place. Let the country vote and if they vote these guys back in then fine they have made their choice. At the moment by aiding this Government we are in fact supporting this activity of oppression. We have it in our power to tip the balance. We need to use that power to send a signal to the world that this sort of oppression will not be aided by us. We will put up with it under certain circumstances. For example. An oppressive Government can exist when the have the power to start WWIII, The US, China and NK for example. We will whine and complain but no action. Or, if the country has no value, either literally or strategically, such as Zimbabwe again we will whine but let's not spend any money sorting it out.

Perhaps if we supplied them with weapons instead. You know, for hunting, wink wink. They may be able to sort out their own troubles.

They think compulsion will fix it.

Sadly, the traffic policy of the Government continues to fail. Read the latest on buses here. They fail to realise that people need to get about and when there is no viable public transport system they have to travel in their own cars. Our Government believes that they can tax and toll their way into forcing people to give up their cars. Unfortunately, as with all things our Government will continue along the road of increasing the tolls and charges until they push a lot of people into the situation where the costs of getting to work outweigh the benefits of working when you can be on the social. OK, few luxuries bit they can't afford them working anyway. Luckily for me, I get expenses for my car. I work from home which means that most of my travel is paid for by my company. And as I work mainly on Government projects it is them that pay it. Got to laugh. In the meantime more and more councils will put up tolls and more and more firms will be driven out of city centres to get employees at a reasonable rate.

All because nobody wants to spend our road tax and tolls on actual roads. Something will have to give, and soon.

Even the Government is not immune to the copyright laws.

Read this article about the Government being sued.

I have sometimes had to reread these to work out if it is true or not. In some cases, sadly, no matter how you read it there is no joke.

Is the message getting through?

Not long ago a lot of people were talking about Afghanistan and Iraq regarding the similarity with Vietnam. The politicians were explaining how different it would be but here we are writing articles like this about rebels disappearing when the military gets there and reappearing after they go. With the invaders, us, not being able to tell the difference between a freedom fighter, or terrorist as we like to call them, and civilians so we destroy civilians homes and their livelihoods and in the process convert them into freedom fighters/terrorists. At the time losing few soldiers against the enemies hundred but they still never seem to stop until in the end we get fed up with losing our soldiers.

Now we have a new article talking about it like it is a new thing. Just invented by the bogey men and how this is so difficult for us but we won't give up. At least not until every terrorist is killed. The rate we are going on we might be finished in 2106. Somehow I think politics will set in again. The freedom fighters, sorry terrorists, will win again and confirm the tactics they are using on us work.

Will we ever learn?

A matter of opinion.

Reading this article about the guy shot in the US with a suspected bomb. Read more here. It's beginning to sound like he may have had a mental problem but why did he miss his meds if they were so important? It appears he died for nothing. I'm sure it will all come out in the investigation. Although so far I'm leaning towards an unfortunate series of events leading to a sad conclusion.

In the meantime I had a bit of a smile with these statements.

From a passenger; 'They (The Air marshals) put a gun to the back of my head...'

From the Airline 'none of the other passengers were affected or were ever in danger'

Well, I would certainly not have put money on any passengers not being in danger. A nervous twitch of the head or a slow response and bam! Maybe he meant danger from terrorists.

Puts you right off air travel. I wonder what the numbers are like now. If it wasn't for all the military flights I bet the US would be in a better position regarding Kyoto.

Makes a frightening scenario.

Just browsing the web because it's a bit quiet today in work and come across a link to a site I have not seen before called AntiWar.com.

Reading this article on a nuclear strike on Iran. It makes compelling reading and is a bit frightening.

I don't actually see them having the balls to do it but if anyone would it's the current bunch.

That will fix it.

Just been reading about a proposal to raise the smoking age from 16 to 18. Read more here.

I've seen so many 11, 12, 13 year olds smoking that it was about time the age was raised and..... wait a minute..... I think I see a flaw. If the 16 limit was breached, and how, then how is this going to make a difference?

I bet it took a few hundred thousand of our money to develop this highly detailed and well thought out proposal.

What has happened to our high handed morals now?

Been reading about how Condi allays our torture flight fears. How did she manage that you ask? Well, we said we don't transfer people outside our courts jurisdiction to torture them. Oh! Well, that’s OK then. Next, the Iranians only using nuclear power for peaceful purposes. We don't believe them. Why not? It's because they are part of the axis of evil. At least with the axis of evil we can monitor them but with the axis of pure evil we don't get to see anything at all. I don't believe either of them but at least we can see what the Iranians are up to.

The US then goes on to redefine what torture is. It appears that many things I would class as torture is on the list. But, on a positive note we now know what is likely be used by our own police forces is interrogating suspects for a crime. Now these people who are kidnapping and killing people need to get with the flow. They should be arresting/kidnapping them. Transferring them to another country such as Poland/Afghanistan/Iran/North Korea. Then interrogating/torturing them using waterboarding for a few days. If that does not mentally break them then I don't know what will. Get them to sign a confession and viola, jail or execution in the Western world or just execution in the Middle East. That way everyone can stay legal on the same playing field. Everyone can be 'civilised'.

Next up is the UK and the statement that we won't accept evidence produced under torture. This must stick in Bliars craw. At what level of stress do you need to get to to have your head explode like the guy in Scanners. Anyway, it appears that if the accused says he was tortured we will investigate. What does that mean? 'Hi Condi, this guy says he was tortured.' 'He's lying.' 'OK. Thought so. Thanks for your help.' Plus, if we back off from trying the guy he just gets extradited to the US under our super duper extradition treaty and he gets tried there. That will really help a lot. I assume the theory is we keep our hands clean but to hand them over surely must dirty them a bit on its own.

Oh the joys of being 'civilised' and 'moral'. I wonder what that is like.

Oh Dear. It's even hit home to Maggie.

Have you ever seen the films where at the end you realised that the wrong person had lived or been freed or whatever. You realise that although the person had been doing what they thought was right they had made a big mistake and it was now too late.

Well, I think Maggie has been reading the news and watching PMQ. She has now realised that Bliar has penetrated the bastions of the Tories as I mentioned before and it has made her 'feel faint'. Read more here. All she has worked for down the pan. Poor Maggie.

Isn't modern science wonderful. But, it can be abused.

Just been reading about David Cameron and what he has been proposing and talking about over the last day. I must confess I am a bit concerned. I think we have a Bliar clone with a face transplant.

I read this article where he seemed to agree with all bar one point on education. He even said with our support, meaning the Tories, that he, Bliar, should not have a problem getting them through. Considering that there was only difference in one area Bliar surprisingly called the Tory proposals 'regressive'. If it carries on like this they will be playfully pushing each other about as part of PMQ. So much for opposition. Although I could be unfair and just be reading too much into one item. Let's see how much they differ over the next few days.

Everyone has talked about how the Tories needed a leader like Bliar. Politics has been 'smoke and mirrors' for a long time but looks like everyone is taking this as a lead. Never mind that over the last few decades people have been feeling disenchantment by politics and party because of the way it is managed. We want less of a clone of Bliar and more of a leader to bring our once great nation together.

To show how much Bliar he is it appears that one Tory proposal is to make volunteering compulsory. Don't laugh, it says so in here as part of the parties views on volunteer work. Amazingly enough it recognises volunteers provide a useful service. What a surprise. But, surely making people do it will get rid of that useful streak and turn it into another chain gang activity.

Is this the future for us? Bliar has found a real replacement after all. Maybe they will merge the two parties and call them 'Conservatively Labour' or 'ConJob', Sorry, 'ConLAB' or 'LabCon'. Mmmm, all of which fit the party now, including the mistake :) So that means... the Tories are obsolete! Never mind David, Bliar will have a job for you.

In the meantime, seeing his future pension threatened. Read more here about Browns pension. Brown reconfirms he is a Bliarite. I hope is he is just saying that to stop Bliar handing his job to Cameron.

No wonder more and more people are disenchanted by politics. I see no progress here nor even a view of a way forward. If the Tories get in in 2008 will we see Bliar back as a Tory consultant?

Help us... Where on this planet can we move to?

Oh Dear... Don't do it.

So it's not just going to be a showdown between France and the UK on the EU budget. Look's like Bliar is going to have to do something radical. And the only thing he can do easily is cut our rebate. Read more here.

It doesn't seem to be going Bliars way. I just hope he doesn't take the easy route out.

Or what, Madam Fuhrer?

Looks like the US is unhappy about the reporting and chasing by the EU on the US torture flights as mentioned previously. Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, is going to tell the EU to back off. Read more here.

Now there are a few interesting questions this raises.

1) How much are we in the UK involved? Are we just dupes like the rest of the staging posts or are we accomplices?
2) Why is the UK quiet on this subject? Jack Straw wrote on behalf of the EU not the UK.
3) Who are we going to side with? Well, not much of an issue for our Government. I'm confident who they will stick with.
4) Can there be anything done about this legally? The US is untouchable but the rest of the EU states are not.
5) Is it going to continue?
6) What can be done about the people in the system? How many have disappeared without trace?
7) What is the US going to do if we pursue these claims?
8) What is the UK's stance on this? Are we going to support the US?

It's taken him a while but he got here eventually. But, for how long?

Browsing the news sites and reading about Bliars justifications for giving up our rebate as a sad fullstop on his time as EU president. Read more here.

Notice that at the bottom Bliar says "if you govern according to the headlines that you get, what I've learned over time is that you don't govern very consistently or well."

Wow!. At least he has worked it out. This policy was OK with the Gun Ban, The Fox Hunting Ban and, probably, all his other bans. Now it is something he needs politically and the headlines are against him and we 'can't govern by headlines'

How long with the policy last? Until the next headline that fits in with his agenda most likely.

Huh! What is the problem?

Reading this article on a fraudster where it appears false details were entered on application forms which kick started a building empire. Read more here.

Maybe it's just me but I don't really see what the problem is. The form fillers were the ones at risk. But they kept the payments up. Nobody lost out and people fill these forms in incorrectly all the time, even under direction from these same financial advisors. Isn't the law something along the lines of intent to deprive someone of their money. That doesn't look like the intent. Just a way to make some money.

Sounds to me like someone was out to get this guy and this was the only thing they had.

But, it could be that I'm too thick to understand the problem.

Bet this went down well in Whitehall.

I've often wondered about how politicians can complain about Scottish MPs voting in England about something in England where it does not effect them. The arguments actually make sense to me why should they vote on something that does not effect them. Read more here. Yet, hypocritically they do the same thing to us on a regular basis. What a bunch of hypocrites.

Pensions is one such area. They have squandered our money on so many wasteful services but still have enough to ensure their pensions and salaries are covered. Our pensions and salaries on the other hand are legislated by these guys on a, almost, weekly basis. And to our detriment.

Now Lord Turner is proposing that they get the same pension rights as the rest of us. Read more here. Why are they not anyway? Why should these people get an elevated lifestyle just because they are politicians and civil servants? Are they not supposed to be working for us?

If this is acted on then I'm sure we will come across a compromise that will benefit us all. I bet there is a lot of resistance to this.

Mini Ice Age? What does that really mean?

I was reading this article on how an ocean current could lead to a new mini ice age for Europe. As usual with these things it appears that there is dispute over what the facts mean and the impact.

Anyway, the more I thought about it the more I realised I didn't really understand what a drop of 10 degrees means to us. Maybe it is a good time to get into nuclear power as a 'cheap' way of generating power to keep us all warm but what is the implication for our way of life rather than just a slight seasonal change that needs extra heating.

I've noticed that in my lifetime that winters have changed. And, before you start I'm not that old. It used to be that every XMas had snow. It usually lasted several weeks and as a kid it was one of the things XMas was all about. Now, you don't get real snow until February and it only lasts a couple of weeks. Of course, that is where I live. I live on a peninsula and that seems to keep all the bad weather out. I missed out on the snow a couple of weeks ago. Does the drop mean we can expect it to be here for longer like Scotland or for a lot longer like Denmark or Iceland?

Also will this drop be negated by Global warming? If so we need to reverse our trend for the greenhouse gases. If so, that would be typical. Those advising us with hindsight say they were wrong when it is too late.

This whole area is full of contradictions and false theories all which seem to fit into the facts so much so that we cannot all agree on the best way forward. Should we all be digging holes to move into and then build nuclear power stations to keep them warm and heated. How about making all roads underground as well. Our road tax would probably cover that if it was all spent on the roads. Plus we could expand them at the same time. Yippee!

Bottom line though. No matter how much you read about this subject there seems no clear consensus on what is likely to happen, how to control it, as much as possible, and how to deal with it long term. Is this really less important than a thesis on toast falling butter side down?

And we get fed up they break our bird feeders.

Seems like squirrels are not the lovable little creatures I thought they were. I thought their main object in life was to break our bird peanut dispensers which I could live with. I've been told they also destroy trees and other plants but I've not noticed that. Only having a few small trees means I don't have a lot to worry about.

Reading this about normally docile squirrels having a dog for lunch, read more here, made me consider them in a slightly different light having a six month old in the house.

More fun less hassle.

Just browsing around today and come across this about more men using prostitutes. It is asking the question of 'why?'. Read more here.

Well, I'm not an expert, because I've never used one. I've paid for sex though. Expensive sex. It's called marriage and divorce. I got to screw her then she got to screw me for years. Maybe if I had known what I was in for I would have thought about it a bit more and found some hassle free nookie. It may be more expensive but when put into perspective it could work out a lot cheaper. How much is a house nowadays?

Even if it's just a girlfriend. The hassle, out for drinks, pictures, a meal, flowers. Then there is no guarantee she will. Or if she does she won't cry rape or if you are a good catch she won't call you later with a 'Congratulations. Daddy'. Makes a prostitute look quite affordable. You don't even have to remember her name. Bonus!

Women have fought for years to get to the situation they are now. They can have all the benefits of marriage but without the sweaty lump as long as they have kids. They are still fighting because they see a bit more in it for them and our policy seems to be women are always in the right and the kids need protecting and financing and a father figure or money as compensation for an absent one. Blokes on the other hand are finally starting to wise up and fighting back. A prostitute is one way and not getting married is another.

What we need is a world changing invention. Something that can be internal and kills sperm automatically but completely reversible. Something that the bloke has to positively action to have kids. That would cut down on kids in the world. So much so we would need to provide financial incentives to blokes to have kids.

Someone with a bit of backbone. Sir, you have my respect.

Whilst browsing the blogs last night I came across some interesting stuff on the anti terror investigation as some call it and the torture scandal, as others call it. As usual there are people polarised at either end of the spectrum on this and being at one end, the anti torture end, I find it unbelievable that the other end is even an option. But such is the free world at this time. We of the 'enlightened world' seem to be sinking further towards evil and leaving morals far behind.

Anyway, I found this article regarding an interview that took place with Donald Rumsfield and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the JCS. Gen. Pace, in what must be a confrontational and potentially career limiting situation said that 'U.S. troops had an obligation to stop abuse and torture.' Read more here.

Gen. Pace. I salute you and you have my respects. It is people like you that will keep morals in the Western world and keep the terrorists from winning.

Bag's Rants

Saturday, December 31, 2005