Zero tolerance as a cash cow.
I wonder how many of these zero tolerance schemes actual really work the way they are sold.
Here is a schoolteacher punishing a boy that didn't do his schoolwork, memorizing the Koran. He ended up killing him and was himself arrested and will be punished. Probably a smacked bottom because the kid was clearly insulting Islam or something. OK, OK. It's not here but made me think if a society like that with it's OTT punishments and little regard for human life has it's non conformists then what hope have we.
It made me think though how much deterrent we can put in place for crimes. Here is way over the top punishment for failing a school test and yet the little guy didn't manage to memorise what he had to in the same way the teacher was not stopped from killing him, albeit accidentally.
So, bearing this in mind how does a society such as ours where nobody is ever at fault expect to reduce crime in any way. Punishment doesn't happen and it won't be long before this drops down to the bin brigade and thus the only people that will be getting any form of punishment for anything will be middle class with some spare cash. Therefore increasing the number of people in that bracket with criminal records and for things as serious as mixing cabbage stalks in the green waste recycling bin. Of course the CRB checks won't identify what the heinous crime is so they will lose their jobs, perhaps their livelihoods, over potentially trivial offences. Pre-school teachers don't exactly have transferable skills for example.
So it seems to me that these zero tolerance tactics are actually not zero tolerance at all. They are targeted fairly and squarely on those with some spare cash, the middle class who have to put their own bins out, who have to travel to work and who, in their lifetimes, make enough mistakes so the law of averages ensures that they get caught out for something. Thus dragging down the middle class and under the guise of law and order getting some desperately needed funds into the coffers of the government.
It seems, only seems though, that this sort of thing may be coming to an end. We are starting to rebel against the system that allows this. Still, having our stiff upper lip means that we don't really do it well. Instead of mounting a raiding party and stringing them up we write harshly about them in blogs. At least it is a start.
Any way, zero tolerance is now a class war tool used for gathering funds. Nothing else and it's is being wielded against us because we have some money we are no volunteering to give to the state. They can't have that and they are not at the stage where they can just call around and collect it either. Thus our million and one new laws and all with the benefit of fines.
An interesting new concept.
It seems that the government is suggesting the data on poorer people is shared with energy suppliers which the government will then provide with funds to go towards their bills in an attempt to ward off fuel poverty. Read
here.
Now they estimate that 2.4 million are in fuel poverty. Personally, due to the high costs of fuel I suspect that most of us actually spend more than 10% of our income on fuel. Of course 90% of us are in tax poverty. Those on the dole are the only ones immune to that.
So, if this takes off can we expect to see the data shared with Asda, Aldi, Lidl etc. so that they can help with food poverty. If so then we can expect some stores to be missed out. They are rarely used by the poor or will be too small to process the new systems required for this new facet of the turkey empire.
So, just a thought, what about some sort of id card system. Finally a real use for them. Keeping the plebs in line. Or perhaps we could put a yellow star of the cards of all those eligible for any poverty stream.
Hey, bread is now £1 a loaf. We need to help the poor as much as we can and we can even get a new branch of the turkey army out of it as well. All paid for by rich people. Well, rich as in those who do not spend more than 10% of their income on fuel or food.
I'm sure that they won't mind ensuring the whole of the UK knows their status by having an id card. Well, maybe to save plastic they could put a cloth yellow star on their clothes. That must be better for the environment.
Hey, here is an idea. Why don't they reduce taxes all around and let us all benefit? Oh, they can't can they. So yet again more people will find it's cost effective not to work and more are dragged down the social ladder.
An interesting social concept.
It seems that the government is suggesting the data on poorer people is shared with energy suppliers which the government will then provide with funds to go towards their bills in an attempt to ward off fuel poverty. Read
here.
Now they estimate that 2.4 million are in fuel poverty. Personally, due to the high costs of fuel I suspect that most of us actually spend more than 10% of our income on fuel. Of course 90% of us are in tax poverty. Those on the dole are the only ones immune to that.
So, if this takes off can we expect to see the data shared with Asda, Aldi, Lidl etc. so that they can help with food poverty. If so then we can expect some stores to be missed out. They are rarely used by the poor or will be too small to process the new systems required for this new facet of the turkey empire.
So, just a thought, what about some sort of id card system. Finally a real use for them. Keeping the plebs in line. Or perhaps we could put a yellow star of the cards of all those eligible for any poverty stream.
Hey, bread is now £1 a loaf. We need to help the poor as much as we can and we can even get a new branch of the turkey army out of it as well. All paid for by rich people. Well, rich as in those who do not spend more than 10% of their income on fuel or food.
I'm sure that they won't mind ensuring the whole of the UK knows their status by having an id card. Well, maybe to save plastic they could put a cloth yellow star on their clothes. That must be better for the environment.
Why is the US hated all over the world?
Well it's things like this for
one where the US is creating legislation against foreign states and companies. Via the ASI again. Just confirms the US is the bully of the world. Do it our way or else.
Now I love the US and it's people but the politicians over there are as useless as politicians the world over. Not only hypocritical but downright dangerous. The difference of course is that nowhere else has armed forces like the US and as we know that is what it all comes down to in the end. Perhaps it's things like this that cause the EU to look at joining up with Russia.
It will be interesting seeing if anything ever happens about this. I would like to see what would happen if the OPEC countries decided to just sell their oil to Russia, the EU and China. I'm sure that the costs and demand would be there.
Every little thing you do makes a difference.
I read this
article via the
ASI update which talks about Senator Kennedy's tumour and his potential treatment. Now, I have nothing against the guy personally, from my understanding he seems very popular having served in place (if served is the right word for a politician) for nearly five decades. Despite his history it seems that those in a better position to judge have given their verdict. Plus, I really don't wish death on anyone. (UK politicians excluded)
The article points out that because of policy put in place by US politicians may not have helped his own chances of survival. By setting large bureaucratic costs on the development of new drugs making drug manufacturers very careful about what new drugs they invest in so as to maximise profit but leave many potential cures unapproved because there are few sufferers and thus making it uneconomical.
Of course as he has so much money he can buy the best treatments which are unavailable to the general public due to the policies put in place by the politicians. Of course, some treatments are unavailable to anyone no matter how much money they have due to the fact that early advances or theories were dropped due to financial reasons.
I don't really know what I'm trying to say here besides that no matter how rich you are decisions you make can come back and bite you many many years later so you need to be careful throughout your life with every choice you make. In the end we are all the same.
Politicians and honour.
Well it seems that some politicians still have a sense of honour. Sadly, it is not a UK one. Despite the UK being known as having a stiff upper lip and a sense of honour the facts show that we may have a stiff upper lip, shown by the fact we put up with so much without exploding in fury, but we certainly have no sense of honour.
We just have to look at the state of the place where we see crime rampant, liars are never challenged and even when discovered just a little apology, if that, and then they carry on as if nothing happened. Fingers in the till and when caught, it's within the rules, and then they cry about how they were only found out because of invasion of privacy. What an example they are setting everyone. Lying and theft seem to be the norm and will continue to be until our stiff upper lip quivers and we snap. Hang them high.
So here is a politician in Canada, the foreign minister Maxime Bernier, resigning over leaving a classified document in an unsecure location. Read
here. If our politicians fell on their swords over their errors then we would have none of the current bunch in power.
The politicians go on about the moral fabric of the country without even considering that their moral fibre is actually less that the vast majority of the public in the UK. If we looked at it percentage wise there are more crooks and immoral people in the house of commons than there is on the streets of even the worse areas of the UK. The UK as a whole is in a much better situation despite the small percentage of criminals in our midst. It's not perfect but most people still have their morals intact. That's why unlike many other countries our bunch of immoral leaders are not tapdancing in midair and we are ineffectually objecting and voting. It's democracy you see and things have to be done the right way.
Representatives of the people they are not and it's about time they took responsibility for their actions before the pot boils over and they are made to. Of course I don't condone violence as it is against the law but when it is legal to hunt down and torture politicians then I for one will be sharpening the sporks, which is all we will have, and going on a quest. I just hope there is enough left for a trophy on my wall. Of course unlike the head of a great man eating tiger I will have a small body part from a dishonourable person but I'll be proud of it. It'll be a talking point and a reminder to all would be politicians. Funny I feel all cheered up now.
Miliband does Poliics.
It seems to me the David Miliband is being sensible when he said preparing to throw his hat into the ring in a leadership contest to “save new Labour". Read
here.
It is win win win for him and, despite him being a Labour MP, he has used his few brain cells since the by-election and come up with a plan.
There are four outcomes available here from this;
1) It goes nowhere. There is no support.
Gordo can't afford to do anything to Miliband. He won't want someone going behind his back and making little cuts with all the concerned MPs. Death by a thousand cuts. He is more likely to give him more power in a attempt to appease him and hope to get him back later. He is too vindictive not too.
2) Gordo is ousted but Milibands leadership bid goes nowhere.
However replaces him, unlikely as there is no one out there, will face the same issues as Gordo and have to keep him in the circle of power. So he has shown ambition which will come in handy later when he explains how he was going to fix the Labour party but was prevented by shortsighted MPs voting for someone else.
3) Gordo is ousted and Miliband is in.
He gets to be PM for the next few years. OK he won't get a waxwork at Tussuads but he gets the pension and the kudos that goes with it plus whatever he can milk over the next two years. The UK will put up with another unelected PM after all what can we do? We are unarmed and a bunch of pussies. OK it's changing but slowly and the next two years will have taken place before anyone does anything despite all the ill feeling. After two years we will have forgotten about it.
Now at the next general election Labour will have a PM explaining how it is turning around (Even if it is not), the recession could very well be weakening and he will explain he has more plans to fix it. If they get trounced Miliband will have his pension, his memoirs and a peerage or something at the very least. More than he will get if he sits still while Gordo steers us to disaster. The state of the IQs in the UK could very well have Labour holding on to power with a good salesman at the helm against that useless Cameron. The UKIP and the Libertarian Party are nowhere near ready yet and as for the Lib Dems, don't make me laugh.
However, the last option is;
4) Gordo decides to preempt any leadership bid and dissolves the cabinet and go for an early election. Gordo gets to keep his pension but Miliband won't get his PM one. It's too soon for people to have forgotten the state of the nation so Labour will get trounced. Labour could very well disappear forever.
It's very unlikely but one cannot underestimate our Socialist leader. Stalin trained him well.
So from the odds what has Miliband to lose? He has it all to gain. I think he has done the right thing. Fingers crossed that Gordo decides to preempt him and go for an early election in spite.
OK. You selfish lot need to listen.
It seems that users on the web have become selfish. You go to web sites read what you want and only what you want and then leave. Read
here. How selfish is that?
Personally when I go to web sites I read what I want and then, just not to be selfish, I then spend just as much time reading all the rubbish in people personal profiles and the 2000 links they all have to other sites no matter how boring they are. I'm clearly not one of these selfish browsers you see.
What a load of rubbish. Is there any other way of doing it? I want to read an article so I go and read it but the rest of it looks boring so I don't bother. The author then feels put out that he has spent time writing drivel and nobody reads it so we are classed as selfish. It's now our fault. How very modern. I have this vision of it being made a law that we must read at least two rubbish posts if we read one good one. Personally, I write about what I want to and yet my visitors seem to find the stuff I feel particularly proud of to be the least interesting. It's a fact of life. Live with it and get a life.
Bunch of whiners.
A new hope.
Well it seems that the Labour stronghold of Crewe & Nantwich has fallen. Read
here. This must mean that Labours hold over the electorate has been weakened.
The people were not fooled by the political rhetoric and for the vote to change by 17.6%, turning a 7000 Labour majority into a 7800 Tory majority, must mean that Labour supporters also made a stand rather than just not voting in protest. That says a lot about the public.
Now, after the people have made their voices heard and, theoretically, Labour is listening when can we expect Gordo to announce a general election?
Oh wait! They are already making excuses and giving speeches on what it means. Seems those ticks in a box tell many stories depending on who is reading them. To Labour they are telling them to continue but concentrate on the economy (Don't remember hearing about that box), and to the Tories it is a sign they are back in favour (Didn't hear about that box either). Politicians really are scum of the earth.
Now this is collatoral damage we could live with.
Seems Israeli fighters were targeting a plane Blair was on. Read
here. What happened to the twitchy trigger fingers when we need them?
So close but no cigar.
How ironic is this for Blair?
It seems Tony Blair has been presented with an honorary doctorate from Queen's University, Belfast. Read
here.
How ironic is this? Blair gets the same sort of recognition that is given to any school child nowadays. He does no studying, a dead easy test, if any, and a certificate is presented to him as a reward. How very much like our current educational system.
Of course this one will be just as useless as the ones presented to the kids after Blair has finished with our educational system but unlike Blair the kids won't have people pushing money into their hands just for smiling and saying a few words. Sadly these kids will have a bit more of a struggle for the rest of their lives.
I would have hoped that with all the weapons in Northern Ireland Blair could have had a more suitable reward. Although that is probably why he didn't go in person to collect it. I can't think of any other reason for him to keep away from a free meal.
A tried and tested fund raising technique.
The war on drugs is feeling a bit jaded. Like all our other wars it doesn't seem to be going well. Street prices for drugs are low showing how useless our policies actually are.
So one of our brightest in the drugs war decides it's time to jump on the latest craze sweeping our planet and try and get some funds and support from the environmental loonies. So it is announced that 'Cocaine use 'destroys rainforest''. Read
here.
Now I'm a bit of a cynic and I actually wonder if it is the growth of the plant that is destroying the rainforest or the lengths the drugs lords have to go to to hide the drug from the authorities because it is illegal. I understand that when a crop is found it is chemically nuked so that it can't be harvested. Of course that has no impact on the rainforest at all. Personally I don't see the growth of the plant to be any more detrimental to the rainforest than the growth of wheat, barley or rice but having a former bassist saying it is so must be right as he clearly has all the qualifications you need to ensure the facts are correct.
I particularly liked the phrase 'I don't know why we care more about monkeys dying than people dying but we do. So this is a really intelligent way of going about it'. Mmmmm. I think not. This has been done to death by the Global Warming nutters and people are getting so fed up of environmental issues so this may backfire. Sure there will be plenty who will cry and wail about the monkeys but those taking drugs will accept the sacrifice to get what little pleasure there is left in this miserable country. We still whinge and whine about tigers and other animals for aphrodisiacs but they still die. Few legal highs are left and they are under attack from the whingy whiney brigade soon that will only leave illegal things. No wonder we are all turning to criminals. 'Buy your heroin, cocaine, cannabis, ciggys and booze here' will soon be the cry of every corner street dealer. Those not interested in drugs will be too battered by everything else we have to fund on to care about monkeys and the rainforest.
But on the bright side they might get some funding redirected from the Global Warning pot however what is more likely is that they will put up the taxes on cocaine to pay for it's environmental impact. Wait! I think I see a flaw in this plan. So more taxes on tobacco to pay for it. A new black market beckons.
Russians clamp down on BP.
The headline said '
Russia police raid BP Moscow base' I thought Tom Paine must be in trouble now as he had just got back from his tour of
Europe in his new motor and wham. Nicked. BlogPower must be a cover for something. Mmmm.
What a disappointment I got when I read that little bit further and found BP was the oil giant British Petroleum and not BlogPower. Of course I was a bit more pleased for Tom knowing he wasn't at that moment in cuffs and facing waterboarding as Russia does it's bit to drive investment away from it's shores.
Modern day fairy tales.
Olden day fairy tales begin with the words 'Once upon a time....'
Modern day fairy tales begin with the words 'If elected I promise....'
Banning new toys.
It seems that the UK is going to request exemptions from the cluster bomb ban being proposed. Read
here.
Cluster bombs are being looked at because of the way they work. Effectively they come in one big bomb which when at an optimum height disgorges it's payload, several smaller bombs, over a wider area. in effective making a much wider area a target. For example it can be used as a runway denial weapons where one big hole might leave enough runway for smaller planes to use. Hundred of little pockmarks across the entire runway make it unusable. When the bombs turn into landmines it is an area denial weapon.
They are looking at banning the use of the landmine part to fit in with the landmine ban. It does make sense otherwise you are allowing landmines to be distributed via this method. For some reason our government seems to think it is acceptable. I wonder why? They are even looking at reclassifying weapons that were labelled cluster bombs to something different to avoid the potential ban. That sound more like our government.
I would imagine that a clear definition could be agreed. Something along the lines that after a certain time after deployment then the bombs must become inactive or just explode with a size of less than six inches and a payload of more than ten or something. Of course whatever it is we will make them to just fit in that spec so we will need to be very careful. Otherwise we could end up classifying the MIRVs from our nuclear deterrent as cluster mines. It might even cover bombers and drones. That won't be good. Of course no specification will never be 100% effective as there will always be a percentage of any weapon that fails to function as expected but such is war. The failure rate will need to be agreed and independently tested. After all in this day and age why would we want to leave landmines around for years to maim and kill civilians?
It's about time we brought our munitions into the 21st century. Although they will always be dangerous. That is what they were designed for.
Another puzzle for today.
Seems this guy has made a complaint to police that a royal convoy was driving at dangerous speeds on the M4. Read
here.
To be honest it doesn't surprise me. I bet all the royals and our new 'royals', the politicians, get driven all over the place by Police escort and ignore the speed limits because, well, their drivers are special and can handle it.
However the bit I liked was that he said he was forced to drive at dangerous speeds to get out the way. Well, speed is subjective. Some people think 60 is dangerous but it is up to drivers to drive at their own speed within their limits and within the law. He has admitted to driving dangerously. I bet the other guy will not as he will say he was driving safely and have several people backing his claims. Our complainant won't but if he feels he was driving dangerously why did he do so? How did he know it was an unmarked Police car anyway?
But the real telling part was that after he pulled over to let the convoy get on it's way he managed to keep up with it enough through London so that when it reached it's destination and before it's passenger could disembark he managed to see him putting on shades and covering his face. Doesn't sound like he was going much less than the convoy especially as they were driving so fast it was dangerous and he was not. Bit of a puzzler that for such a careful driver.
So won't be a lot happening here then. Just another blot on Harry's book and he wasn't even driving. Got to laugh.
A difficult journey requires a good guide.
Imagine you are on tour holiday. You don't really know what is going on, where to go or even the best places to go so you hire a tour guide. At the end of the week you are ready to move on to your next destination. You know it will be a difficult journey over rough roads with many mountainous roads with sheer drops just feet away and much of it uncharted with many unknown challenges. The tour guide you hired for the last week is saying he is up to the job but you remember the time he led you into dangerous situations, he has clearly not been maintaining his transport and owes a lot of money to unsavoury characters. Would you hire him for this difficult journey?
So is Gordo the right man to steer the country through difficult economic times as he
suggests? Personally when he says again I wonder what difficult times he is thinking of as the first time. The Great Pocket Money depression of the 1960s perhaps?
Luckily in the first case you can just fire him. In the second case we are not so lucky.
Avoid Epson printers.
Almost a year ago I bought a Epsom Stylus DX5000 and a very good specification it had too. Everything I needed and at a good price. I usually buy HP printers as my main one is still a HP LaserJet 4 and it's going fine. Must be nearly 15 years now.
Today I just went to get some new cartridges and have found that I can't get replacement cartridges only Epsom branded ones. The price is about average for branded but few people hold them. It seems that the cartridges are specially made to be non functional if an attempt is made to refill them. The refill shop owner says that this model is one of a few that the manufacturers are doing this too lately. He told me a story about one brand that when the ink runs out it burns the heads so it can never be refilled.
When I'm looking for a replacement printer again I'll be checking and avoiding any super dooper printers that can't be refilled. I've never had a problem with refilled ink, it's cheaper and lasts longer. I think the filled cartridges are only three quarters filled anyway. By volume petrol is cheaper than ink and probably costs less to create.
So, when the ink runs out again I'm going to buy a new printer instead. Anyone know where I can find out which models can be refilled or not? I'm thinking it is just better to visit a refilling web site or shop and choose one of those that refills are available for. Why go for a latest technology printer that you only use basic printing and scanning from the functions available anyway?
Rip off companies. I hope their market share falls. Epsom was such a good supplier when I first started. Obviously they see this as their way to bigger profits. I hope it backfires on them.
Sometimes things are too funny for words.
Remember how Madame Tussauds had decided not to automatically make a wax model of Gordo in their exhibition because he was not elected. They obviously know the way the wind is blowing. They put up a poll to see what the public though and it seems the vote is in. No place for Gordo at Madame Tussauds. Read
here about how 84% of the public voted against Gordo.
Sometimes things are just too funny for words.
Word verification
I've just turned off the word verification. Last week I got a word that was unbelievable, it went something like this ljikmmnljp. All the letters were stuck together and , of course, I failed it and the following two as well. I've also make it so anyone can comment as well. Let's see how it goes.
Nothing for this year then?
It seems Gordo has spoken about plans for next year. Read
here.
He must be trying to make the point that he will be here next year. The only way that is happening is he isn't going for an election and he still needs to be keeping his guys down and in front of him so he doesn't get a Julius performed on him. Pity.
Why can't we have some good news this year. Gordo committing suicide, being assassinated or something. hell, I would even settle for him resigning although that would be a bit of a let down.
Desperate measures.
The Government has turned to desperate measures now. The Crewe and Nantwich by election must be really important for them. Barely a few months since the budget and a few weeks after the disastrous local elections they have announced a
bribecompensation package for all basic rate tax payers. Read
here.
Of course having no money means that they have had to borrow money to make they payment but the payments will be after the by election so it won't hurt anyone during that critical time.
The only question is will it be enough? Will be British electorate, in Crewe and Nantwich anyway, be so stupid as to fall for it? One thing to be considered is that Crewe and Nantwich is a Labour stronghold and that this
bribecompensation package will have been targeted at getting to most of the people there. Will that fact coupled with their natural tendency to vote Labour anyway make the difference?
I certainly hope not. Fingers crossed.
I wonder what plan Boris has for this?
It seems that yet another
person has been murdered in London. Bearing in mind that the first thing Boris did was
ban booze on public transport I would envisage that he will probably continue on the tried, and failed, banning things path. It just seems to be the fate of the UK to be managed by people who make great PR but crap policies.
Obviously this is a foretaste of what will happen if Cameron comes to power. Hopefully Gordo will hold out long enough for the Libertarian Party to build up enough support that they will make a difference. Sadly I just don't see the British public being ready for being able to look after themselves so they will still mainly vote for the three same nanny state parties and therefore it will be a while before our society will change.
In the meantime we should buy shares in metal detector and CCTV manufacturers and installers. Looks like those and private security are going to be the only things making money in this mickey mouse country.
What is going on here?
First of all it's Brown is getting
advice from Blair. Then it's Blair is
scared of Brown. Now it appears that Brown is not '
prickly' despite the last eleven years we have of watching the guy in action. What is going on? Labour must be desperate and is trying to make him look tougher than he is in real life. A real go getter and his own boss.
His new
image required him talking about his kids on prime time TV and from the sounds of it it was not what was agreed so it wasn't a conscious decision to give Gordo a heart.
Despite the latest
rebellion in the ranks it seems that Gordo is determined to hang on to the power as long as possible and actually intends to go for a new term.
I wouldn't mind some of the stuff he is obviously on. I don't know about you but I get the opposite view from all this media coverage. It shows Gordo for the tyrant he is and whoever is organising it should get their money back. Labour need it for their finances.
With friends like this.
Who needs enemies? It seems that Blair is giving Gordo some advice. Read
here. Personally I doubt it. Just because the Blair Witch says so does not make it so but you never know. Gordo screws up enough on his own so I doubt he needs someone else to help by undermining him. Surely by the law of averages he would get something right if Blair was helping. But advising Labour on how to win the next election. Surely the cure for cancer will be here before that.
One sure way to tell though. Check (sic) Gordo's, sorry our, cheque book. Blair doesn't do anything unless some pennies flow his way from it.
Prepare for a new class of unemployed.
If this
database takes off there will soon be another class of people who will never be able to get a job in the UK. If everyone uses it, and who wouldn't or they would think they would end up with all the bad uns because they won't be able to get a job elsewhere. Will these people get special treatment on the unemployment register and not be expected to even try for a job?
It's an Orwellian nightmare. To never be able to get a job and, let's face it, there will be many people falsely accused. Who will not know they are on this database and continually be turned down for no apparent reason. Even if you have been working for someone for a while I can see them checking up on their employees and taking preemptive action to reduce risk.
On the more +ve side, I don't see this taking off as I can't see many employers putting names onto this database. There is nothing more likely to get them sued than putting unproven allegations out into the marketplace. At the moment some employers will not even provide references in case they are sued and most will not provide a reference that is not from HR using a template pre approved by a lawyer which gives basic minimal information.
What is it that every man and his dog and it's fleas seems to have a hard on for an obtrusive database at the moment?
Justice must be done.
It seems we have a rapist seal out there on the ice pack. After reading this
article on a seal 'raping' a penguin two hundred social workers from all over the UK flew out to rectify the situation.
The penguin, although it looked uninjured, was clearly in shock and was in desperate need of counseling. Unfortunately as we approached it raced away across the ice into the sea and was eaten by a killer whale. One social worker said that it was clear from it's suicidal dash that it was more traumatised than it appeared. The social worker who was closest said 'All I said was 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help you' when it jumped up squawking and wobbled it's way across the ice directly away from us as fast as it could hop from one little leg to the other'.
Although no other penguins were attacked each one was taken aside for counselling and twenty two baby penguins were removed because the parent penguins were suspected of abusing their chicks or allowing others to abuse them. 'It's a temporary measure until we can find suitable foster penguins' said one of the other social workers. 'It's for the chicks' was the response when one penguin caused a ruckus. 'I'm suspicious of that one. He clearly could not care about the chicks.' said one of the social workers carrying a day old chick. It was decided to take his chick as well.
The remainder of the social workers, escorted by armed police, went in search of the seal. 'Justice must be done and be seen to be done' said PC Plod as he prepared his HK MP5 machine gun. Several seals were shot because they appeared to be armed with something as the search went on for the suspect seal. 'It appears to be some form of cult' claimed one officer. 'You need to be very careful. Those flippers can hide an Uzi or Shotgun easily so we can't take chances'. Unfortunately things went horribly wrong when a hole where the seals and his family which was identified by a seal, 'persuaded by the new techniques available to the Police, was found to be occupied by a family of Polar bears. As ten of the social workers were ripped apart the Police were powerless as the lead bear, a powerful 10ft tall animal, identified as Fluffy the Polar bear who was returned to the wild two years ago. 'It's a protected species' shouted a Greenie as the animals gorged on social worker sushi. The three bears, nicknamed, Daddy Bear, Mummy Bear and Baby Bear after the bowls they used in the feast soon retired and could be heard being violently sick ten minutes later. The Greenie suspect that the social workers were too bitter for the palates of the bears but was pleased that Fluffy, aka Daddy Bear, was still using the bowls he was presented with as a leaving present and had passed on the skills. He explained his two friends had been eaten by the bears and seemed to be palatable enough. It shows our diet is right he claimed as he passed wind again. 'What?' he said as everyone left the warm tent to walk outside for five minutes.
The team, and the Greenie, returned to the UK vowing to track down the seal and are proposing a Seal DNA DB to help in the task. Plod of course claimed that CCTV cameras on the ice would have helped them get an arrest and it was liberals who stopped that. The RAF had to write off the C130 after the 8 hours the Greenie on board. The crew are in medical recovering' 'I've carried nuclear waste, chemical and biological weapons but nothing was close to that' said an RAF decontamination squad leader. 'The Geneva conventions stops us dropping him on Afghanistan but he could save many, many lives' claimed the MoD comparing him to the flight of the Enola Gay.
Footnote : We are sad to report that all the baby penguins died after they were released into the wild and were eaten by bears, wolves and seals. 'I don't understand' claimed one scientist 'We release all our animals here and just slide them down that little slide to the ice floe.' When the social workers were informed a spokesperson said 'Well better than living a life of fear and abuse with their families. My job is done.'
Gordo screws up again. More lives this time.
It's a gift. This time is the reclassification of Cannabis. Experts say it is one thing but our omnipotent leader says it is something else. Read
here.
So the whole world knows that he is doing it for his own ends and not because of expert advice or even a scientific basis in fact. Purely on his perception and *cough* intuition. The same intuition that has done him so well up to now.
These changes have to potential to ruin lives all because Gordo is a puritan and a dictator who can not put up with something that he personally disagrees with. If he really wants to send a good solid message he could start by sacking every one of his MPs who have used it in the past, even though for some reason it appears it was clearly much safer then as it's only recently it's evolved into the evil drug as MPs, on both sides, used it when it was safe clearly. Then as an added bonus take Jack Straws kid and lock him away as well as any other MPs kid who partakes of the evil weed. That should send a real message about the evil weed.
The war on Drugs really is another waste of time and money. As Bill Hicks said "George Bush says 'we are losing the war on drugs'. Well you know what that implies? There's a war going on, and people on drugs are winning it! Well what does that tell you about drugs? Some smart, creative motherfuckers on that side." Certainly none on the side of law and order that is certain. Hard to believe Bill Hicks died 14 years ago as his words still ring true and he is well worth listening to today as with Bush in the White House it sounds pretty much as it was then.
They just can't stop themselves.
It looks like tax changes may drive some more firms abroad. Read
here.
The bit that had me in stitches was the statement from the Treasury 'making the changes "broadly revenue neutral" overall'
Well my first thought was if it was revenue neutral yet going to drive even one more company away the why the hell are they going to do it?
The answer of course is that it won't be revenue neutral and they need every penny they can get now that doesn't seem to come from the common man. Not only have the wheels come off but the momentum is now spent and UK Ltd is grinding to a halt.
My right brain seems to be missing.
Can you see a man in this picture? Click to enlarge if you think it will help.
The blurb sent to me said:
------------------------------------
FIND THE MAN IN THE COFFEE BEANS:
This is bizarre -- after you find the guy -- it's so obvious. Once you find him -- it's embarrassing, and you think, why didn't I see him immediately?
Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute, the right half of the brain is developed normally. If you find the man between 1 minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein. If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is to look for more of this type of exercise to make that part of the brain stronger!!!
And, yes, the man is really there!!!
------------------------------------
Well, I can't see the man at all, so far well over three minutes, so I clearly need a lot of protein or I have no right brain whatsoever. Strange as I always do so well normally in these sort of tests.
This time we should plan for the future.
Oh dear. How sad it is that Labour have performed poorly in the local elections. Read
here. It could not have happened to a nicer bunch. The cycle is almost complete and the general election due in the next few years will bring us full circle and then we will start the whole thing again.
So after we all finish celebrating we need to ensure that this time we plan a little for the future. It's not that difficult to plan for more than four years ahead, many people, organisations and even some countries do it all the time. Although clearly not our country.
My general understanding, and this is general, is that younger people have fewer assets and lower paying jobs whilst the older ones have collected assets and experience that gives well paid jobs.
Thus the younger ones vote Labour because they believe they will take the money from the rich, not them, and pass it to them in the form of benefits and tax concessions. The older ones vote Tory because they believe that they will let them keep more of their money and give them tax concessions. This group is pretty evenly balanced with a bias towards the lower paid.
Thus the floaters are the key players. The ones in the middle who can vote either Labour or Tory depending on the current state of the nation. High taxes that encompass the lower earners or high cost of living will turn them into Tories or where their heart is really into Labour either no vote or vote for dead wood like Lib Dems. Thus the core voters are almost equally split between Labour and Tory but the floaters make the difference and always have and as there are always winners and losers under the systems we have in place now so the floaters fluctuate.
Of course Labours way of gaining larger market share is for them to import more of the lower paid with no assets and the Tory way is to change their policies to appeal more to the middle market. It's a bit like marketing but you are allowed to lie and cheat with impunity.
So now Labours time is nearly over and they will be put out to pasture for a few years, approx 20 or so from history what can we do to ensure it is longer because, selfishly, I'll be retiring about the time they will be making a comeback and I don't want my pitiful assets seized just then thank you with another Socialist experiment because they claim this time we won't repeat the same mistakes as they aim for Socialist experiment version 2028.
So how exactly do we ensure that this latest example of the results of this version of the Socialist experiment are remembered? The kids being born now will not remember the hardship we are going through the same as we didn't in the late 70s and thus this lot were voted in. So we need to make sure they are remembered.
My proposal, and it may be controversial, is that every day first thing in the morning in the formative years up till they are 10 we play them DVDs of Socialism through the ages. Whilst showing images of starving people and people without Playstations and iPods we give them painful electric shocks up the arse. Then when it comes time to vote unconsciously they will have a terrible fear of voting for any socialists. Of course socialists will not do this to their children but this will at least swing the Tory voters rebel children away from Socialism at a critical time in
my lifepolitics.
I'm sure you may have other ideas and I'm willing to listen. I can assure you my kids would appreciate it too.
Ignorance is bliss.
This picture seems to be doing the rounds which shows protesters in San Francisco protesting against the Chinese Olympics. It's all about Tibet this time as it seems Iraq is a lost cause.
The supporting documentation is that these protesters are unintelligent. Although it was funny and that was my first thought when I read this on Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe. Read
here.
Well I'm not sure it can be put down to stupidity, although it is San Francisco and it can't be discounted, I think it is more to do with ignorance. The difference being is that there may be simple facts that you are unaware of as I keep on saying when I put my foot in it over something I don't know is 'You don't know what you don't know.' I think it's more down to our current namby pamby educational system that gaffes like this are not unusual. Let's face it you would have thought that at least one of these protesters had a smidgen of history knowledge. Jeez, I hate history and just know the basics but I know all about Jesse Owens and Hitler in the late 1930 something.
Every day we get facts and opinions from one side of the story only. There are facts, opinions and logic to back it up and we believe it because we respect the person and their opinion and/or we process the facts ourselves. Yet, many times we get lied to and facts withheld so without gathering the other side of the story we pronounce judgement and act. It's puzzling in a way as people who are very intelligent and normally you would expect to be wary fall into this trap as easily as the truly unintelligent. Thus injustices are done so it's lucky for all of us that in the court systems we are able to answer our accusers and they have to make their accusations public. In our private and business lives we are not so lucky.
Today I bumped into an old acquaintance whilst out voting. I didn't like him much as I knew he beat his wife and kids and did until the kids had grown up and left home then he ended up kicked out and divorced. His ex wife was a friend of my ex wife so I got all the gossip at the time. All the emotional stuff and the innuendos and so I built up my impression of him and thus he was never invited around and when I met him it was simple politeness and no more than that for years. After the divorce he moved away but kept in touch with the kids. As his kids were just older than mine they stayed locally although I never really saw them again although my kids talk to them occasionally.
About a year later the real story came out when she was arrested and charged with assault and boy, did the truth come out, the story told by the kids was slightly different to the original stories. All the facts were there but for one teensy weensy difference as it was his wife that has been beating him and the kids. He was the protector and that was why he remained and only left when the last one had safely gone. She had of course been spreading the story about him being the wife and kid beater via the women's network, a faster and more efficient method of local data transmission will not be created in my lifetime, and he had been hated for nearly two decades by all except his kids. How devastating must that have been? I can't imagine it.
Of course then all the inconsistencies and doubts were voiced with people then saying I never believed her and they knew something was not right. The stories of the woman excessively smacking the kids was then spread around by those that thought it was OTT at the time but never mentioned it. The injustice to the poor guy was never raised and when it was mentioned by a third party it was simply brushed off with silence and shrugs. People met him when he came back to see his kids and simply avoided him, ignored him or were simply polite. Guilt meant they couldn't go further. I thought it was terrible that now that they knew the facts they just brushed them away and were now away on another subject without a care in the world. An injustice that would not be corrected even assuming of course that two decades of injustice could be corrected by a simple apology or acknowledgement.
So today I made a point of being friendly and asking him how it was doing. He talked about the past and mentioned that after the court case he had returned to the area. He seemed amused that I was talking to him and in the end I just apologised to him for my thoughts with no real evidence on hearsay. He accepted it in good humour but clearly had no real interest as that time had past and he had already accepted it. He did tell me one thing though. He was not aware that he was known as a wife beater until the court case when someone had dropped it in conversation about how he must have been a saint not to tell the truth and correct the misapprehension. It's the usual case of the unfaithful husband where everyone knows except the wife as no one want to be the bringer of bad news. So not knowing meant that he was unable to defend himself until it was irrelevant. What can you do? You hear someone is a wife beater but you can't say anything to them as you cannot do anything except vent and then he would go back and beat her for talking. Or so you think. He understood all of this.
Ignorance is undoubtedly bliss. It's the transition to awareness that is the problem. You suddenly discover something that you knew to be fact is suddenly totally and utterly wrong. It's like discovering Gordo is really a financial genius or the climate change theory is true. It's a massive shock. To discover someone is unfaithful, your child/other half is a killer or rapist, you are suddenly penniless because your other half has gambled all your money away or you are falsely accused of something serious. Some of these could have been resolved if only someone had told you early enough but nobody wants to really get involved. Happy to gossip and spread the story though.
Well, I am one of those people that don't like to get involved. I still am despite what I believe because I have not yet worked out a way to broach subjects like this with others without some element of risk. How do you tell someone that their wife/husband is unfaithful unless you are really, really close to them prior to the situation? What if you are wrong? What if they don't believe you and put motives on your actions? Why should you when you really don't know the person anyway? It's just gossip so best to ignore and thus the false rumours spread further without any resistance so they must be true because, well, everyone knows, it's common knowledge. There always seems to be someone as well who is more than willing to stir the pot a little as well and encourage and enhance the rumours. It's a hobby I suppose when you get fed up being an unloved housewife. Being at the centre of a scandal is exciting and brings Jerry Springer into the real world. Talk about the audience getting into the swing of things.
One of the things I can do though is admit when I am wrong, apologise, if possible, and try to put it in the past. If they can't then I shrug and accept it. This guy had no previous relationship or bond and we parted with a simple goodbye and lets face it he was still a wife beater, oh wait he wasn't, it is difficult to forget these things you believed for so long. Anyway an injustice righted as much as I can but it will never be right. He is probably a good guy but I will never know. I do feel guilty though about it although I never spread any of the rumours myself although I will just drop it as a lesson learnt.
Now, how do I tell the recently arrived next door neighbour his wife appears to be having an affair and the single guy at the bottom of the street he is viewed as a pedophile because he smiles and says hello to the kids? Both current rumours doing the rounds in our little area. I don't know anything about the woman bar she gets a male visitor every few days when hubby is at work (fact) and the two men never meet (malicious gossip) or the single guy except he lives further down the street (fact), is late 50s (fact), looks strange (malicious gossip), chubby and bearded (fact) and is suspicious enough in attitude to be considered dangerous (malicious gossip). I don't have a problem with talking to close friends though but that is another story.
God knows what they think of me. I'm blissfully ignorant. I'd like to know, wouldn't you?
It's getting to the time to buy a pre-loved executive car.
A few years ago I had the best car I have ever had. A BMW535. Fantastic. Went really fast, no more than 70 m'lud, and was really comfortable. Sadly it took two tanks a week, £50 each and needed a remortgage to keep going. That was many moons ago. I'd hate to see what it would cost now. It was written off in a car crash and then I moved to a more sedate model that took one tank a week at £30. Mmmm. Even the kids missed the BMW though.
So now that our tax grabbing government is looking at squeezing even more out of us under the guise of 'It's for the planet' it's tax bracket would be in the highest bracket whatever that is now. If I still had it it would be yet another financial incentive to move to a more standard car but when you are paying £150 per tyre and £100 a week fuel a rise to approx £8 per week just isn't worth bothering about. Sadly for many their necessity car is also getting hammered by this tax rise. So yet again those on a tight budget and have to have one of these cars is getting screwed yet again by our caring government. You just have to laugh. The good news is these are the people who are likely to actually support these clowns so it's a bit of a good news bad news scenario. The good news is we are doing something about the rich people with their fuel inefficient cars and 4x4s. Yay! Screw those rich b45^4rds. The bad news is your estate is classed as one of those. WTF? Read
here about the bottom dropping out of these cars values.
I wonder how many just won't tax it and drive it around or will buy one, on the cheap, to do so. Luxury driving and the tax savings will pay for the extra cost of the fuel. As long as they don't go too far though because they may actually meet a police patrol around. OK, OK, I know it's unlikely but it is still a valid risk.
Well I did my bit.
I went and voted although as in my ward there were only the three main parties to vote for it was a bit of a damp squib. I've already spoken to half a dozen people who do not intend to vote and bumped into an old acquaintance who made me think. (More on this later)
Long live democracy. Can't wait till it gets brought here.
