Author: Mike
Justice catching up at last!
Interesting article in the Los Angeles Times last week, it seems that the CIA kidnappers of German citizens will at last face justice for their involvment in CIA sponsored rendition activities.
Lets hope they get better treatment than they probably gave out to their victims.
Who’s in Charge?
I do wonder about this country and where it is going. Just look at the images yesterday of the looting on Branscombe Beach, I expect that many of those taking part would be the first to criticise such actions when seeing them on TV reports from other parts of the world! So what makes this different? Nothing, it’s plain and simple looting and stealing!
However, some of these problems must stem from a complete lack of control over the disaster shown by the local authorities including the local police. It seems very strange to me that the local police we’re not able to close access to the beech by putting up a exclusion zone, they seem to be very keen when other gatherings suddenly start collecting together such as protests in Parliament Square etc. Mind you the ‘glorification’ of the ‘wreckers’ by the media has not helped, not has eBay’s refusal to delete any ‘booty’ sales from its site.
The press conference that has just taken place – watched via the BBC site – just shows that whilst each of the individuals seemed to have all the right points of view and gave very plausible responses, no one person seemed to be in charge! I was a left with feeling of lack of confidence in the overall ability of those present to really tackle this massive diaster; that, according to one panel member, will take at least a YEAR to clear up.
I still don’t fully understand why the ship had to be beached in such a sensitive World Heritage Site?
Another sad example of what is happening to the UK.
How long is that rope?
I read an interesting article last week in the Times about Albert Pierrepoint, the last UK Government Hangman. Although I had read a book about him some time ago, I can’t remember reading about the 1913 Official Government Table of Drops – used to calculate the length of rope required – dependant on the weight of the condemned to ensure an efficient death.
With today’s Internet providing such easy access to information I soon found the relevant information. This led me on to a huge array of related information, some of which I have to warn you, might be upsetting to view. It certainly does add to the argument of for and against capital punisment.
What’s happened to Blogger.com
It seems that some technical issues are besetting Blogger.com. After moving my blog to the ‘NEW’ blogger I’m no longer able to use my third party (Qumana.com) blog editing software (or others that I have tried) to post to Blogger.com.
It doesn’t help that I also can’t get any feedback from Blogger.com or Qumana.com for any pointers as to how to solve this! Still I suppose that’s technical support for you!
The future of flying!
Taking surveillance to the next level, recent design plans have been released for the ultimate ‘terrorist proof plane’! Fitted with all the latest audio-visual spying equipment will ensure that any threat to the flight can be captured for the authorities to deal with.
One question I have, with so many listening devices on board the plane, if airline authorities do allow mobile phones to be used after take off, how will the listening device be able to listen for all those threats?
Passenger Name Records (PNR) issues continue
As I have mentioned a number of times in this blog, the US Governments insistence on spying on every visitor to the USA continues to cause increasing furore in Europe. As was predicted, the US have acknowledged that the PNR information will (and probably already is according to some sources) be used by other US agencies outside of the originally intended agencies.
Whilst it is right that measures have to be put in place to combat terrorism, that fact that European authorities have allowed the setting up of such a one-sided agreement driven by the threat of US flying embargo has set a precedent that will be hard to correct. It’s strange that on the one hand European politician shout loudly about freedom of speech and information and protection of privacy, but then work to give away so much information about our private lives.
I expect that if Europe demanded the PNR information of every US citizen travelling to this side of the ‘pond’ there would have been an outcry and it would never have been agreed to by the US.
It’s amazing to me just how many people still don’t know how much information is being given to the US before ‘allowing’ you to fly to the US, check out the current list of 34 pieces of information that is reviewed by US authorities. Did you know that they will have access to your credit card transaction history? Did you know that they will have access to your email history?
British Airways still don’t have a comprehensive list on it’s web site about the information that it supplies to the US, two friends travelling this week to the USA had no idea about the level of personal information intrusion that they will endure for their one week in Florida!
I wonder how much more information will be given up before someone says enough is enough!
Reference: EU-US Airline Passenger Data Disclosure
We were really brave, weren’t we?
I had this sent to me over the Xmas break, I had not seen it before and though it quiet funny when you make a comparison with today’s overly risk-assessed, nanny-state controlled and politically-correct cosseted world!
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE….
1930’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s & 70’s !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They ate salad dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking .
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
We drank water from the garden hose, and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with at least 4 friends, from one bottle, and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate white bread and real butter, and drank soft drink with sugar in it, but we weren’t overweight because….
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as
we were back home when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were OK.
We would spend hours building our wooden go-carts out of scrap wood, and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no text messaging, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms……….WE HAD FRIENDS, and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents .
We played with worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house, and knocked on the door, or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
In football we had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned….
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And -YOU- are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers, and the government regulated our lives for our own good!
And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn’t it?!
PS – The big type is because your eyes are probably shot at your age !
Does make you wonder doesn’t it!!!
Tags: Nanny State, Risk Assessment
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A debt finallly paid.
I saw this clip today about the final loan repayments being made to the USA and Canada for their World War II Lend-Lease loans. That took a long time!
But that’s only the money that’s getting paid back. What about all the technology that went that way over the years following the end of WW II – Radar, Jet Engine, Sonar, Computing – who knows what else?
Perhaps in another 50 years, we’ll get to really know when those cabinet papers are released and we find out something better that how that nice man Harold Wilson organised his resignation!
Tags: Lend-Lease, Cabinet Papers, Harold Wilson, WW II
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Another tragic death!
I watched a TV program over the holiday period about the increasing number of deaths of young women involved in car accidents as passengers being driven by young uninsured and disqualified male drivers!
It was chilling to watch and clearly something needs to be done to curb this rising menace of boy racers, trying no doubt to show off their driving prowess (or lack it) to what must be terrified female passengers.
Unfortunately, any action taken will be too late for the latest addition to those horrible statistics, as can be seen in this report of the death of 16 year old Samantha Clarke who died at 2.00am this morning after the car she was a passenger in, hit a tree! The car she was in was been driven by a 27 year old Darren Byrne! At the time of the accident Darren Byrne was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee and was being pursued by an unmarked police car (with blue lights & sirens) full on.
I expect that there will now be huge amount of shouting against the police for chasing Dareen! I wonder why, if Darren had nothing to hide, did he run from the police? Perhaps it was because the Jeep Grand Cherokee he was driving, was suspected as being stolen and when apprehended by the police after the accident, he was found to have been driving with no insurance and whilst being disqualified!
Perhaps Darren should have been made to go around to Samantha’s parents and explain what he had done to their family. No, of course that’s not his job is it; that’s what the police have to do – pick up the pieces – after idiots like Darren devastate a whole family.
Of course, I’m sure that Darren will blame it all on the Police, who not only have deal with the aftermath of this tragedy, the police drivers now face an investigation by the over zealous politically correct Independent Police Complaints Commission – who knows who they will blame! Finally, the end of this vary dark tunnel will be the verdict of the courts, probably handing out to Darren yet another inadequate sentence, probably of community service, following again, along the lines of this countries’ persistent inability to deal with the grass roots of crime.
I didn’t know Samantha Clarke, her family, or any of the other people involved in this unnecessary tragedy. It just seems to me to be such a waste of the life of someone so young, at the hands of what seems to be a growing band of idiotic young male drivers with egos obviously bigger than their brains! Sadly, I’m sure it won’t be the last time we here of similar tragedies.
Tags: Bad Drivers, Death on the Road
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