Straight To The Point

Illusion of Free Will

2011-05-10T03:53:00.000-07:00

I've come to conculsion that there is no such thing as free will, because there is no such thing as true randomness. Even the roll of a dice could theoretically be predicited if all the variables are known. Therefore, everything from weather to human brain functions, can theoretically be predicted, meaning that everything that happens must always have been going to happen.

To put it another way, if time was re-wound back a year, exactly the same thing would happen again, since there would be nothing to cause it to be any different.

Going on Strike?

2011-02-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

If you work for the council and are going on strike, you're about a year too late. You should have been protesting when Labour gave all our money to the banks. There's no point striking now: there's no money left to pay you with.

Homophobic Games Forums

2010-08-05T03:05:00.000-07:00

I was just browsing the RPGCodex forums when I came across a thread about gay marriage being legalised in California. And, to get straight to the point, I was quite taken aback with the homophic comments I read. It's not like it's a Christian Fundamentalist website or anything where this kind of thing might be expected.

The thing that irks me most however, is that these people are arguing against a decision which doesn't affect them in any way whatsoever, but has a major impact on the lives of others.

Corrupt Benchmark Reviews vs Forces of Good

2010-07-26T04:36:00.000-07:00

Stuart Campbell, the famed games reviewer from yesteryear, continues his quest to get the truth from dishonest and corrupt product "review" site BenchmarkReviews.

In a nutshell: Don't trust anything BenchmarkReviews says (or rather, has been paid to say by the manufacturer of whatever product is being "reviewed").

The secret to a happy life

2010-06-23T05:09:00.000-07:00

Crikey, what a day today is for this blog. Not only am I giving you the reason why humans are more intelligent than animals, but now for the secret to a happy life! I should charge for this.

Anyway it is this: Do not compete or compare yourself or your circumstances to anyone else's.

This is why: The "happiness quotient" of any given situation is relative to someone else's situation. So if you don't contemplate how happy someone else is in their situation, you'll be none the wiser as to how happy you should be.

For example, take being stuck in a traffic jam, of which there are two lanes, and suddenly the other lane starts moving forward. Does this make you more peeved than when the other lane was stationary? Probably, as we're only human. But your situation hasn't changed, but the H.Q (my acronym for Happiness Quotient) has gone down relative to the other persons, since they are happier since they are moving. But if your situation hasn't changed, logically there's no reason to be unhappy. So stop it by not comparing your situations!

Why are humans more intelligent than animals?

2010-06-23T05:04:00.000-07:00

A theory to answer this popped into my head the other day, so I thought I'd better write it down before I forget:-

My theory is that it is because we are hardwired to desire social interaction almost as much as pure survivial. Animals are only hardwired to survive. The human desire for social interaction requires much more intelligence (e.g. to learn to communicate) and in turn we gravitate towards those that seem the most "social" (e.g. witiest, more friendly etc...), thus increasing social/intelligence skills in a Darwin kind of way.

(This is all coming straight from my head as I type it. One day I might re-word it to make slightly more sense).

It's Not Fair!

2010-06-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

If life was fair, we'd all be dead at 67.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy_variation_over_time)

"A Family Company"

2010-01-29T05:50:00.000-08:00

Why is the slogan "a family company" always paraded like it's a good thing? All it means is that the family gets to keep all the profit, unlike a publicly traded company where the shareholders (usually pension funds) get a share.

Blog Moved

2008-06-27T08:30:00.001-07:00

This blog has now moved to No Login Required.

Who to Blame for Smoking?

2008-05-30T02:44:00.000-07:00

As thousands of people sue the tobacco companies for their smoking illnesses, it comes as no surprise that the government is partly responsible.

In the 1950s the Chancellor of the Exchequer Harold Macmillan put the financial benefits of cigarettes over the nation's health. Mr MacMillan, who was prime minister from 1957 to 1963, said the revenue from smoking was too valuable to inform the public of the link between smoking and lung cancer.

This may have been 50 years ago, but it's a scandal that thousands of people are dying prematurely because the Government didn't want to tell them the truth.

Israel reminding us why we all hate them

2008-05-29T05:33:00.000-07:00

They're just destroying farmland for no reason whatsoever, other than they get off doing it.

I like the way they don't even hide the fact they are occupying someone else's land - they even call themselves the "Israeli Occupation Force"!

What I can't believe is how they think this will solve anything. What has a farmer - who has lost everything - got to lose? Watch him start firing rockets at Israel anytime soon. And who can blame him?

The Real Reason for the Iraq War

2008-05-28T02:44:00.001-07:00

There have been lots of theories about the real reason for the Iraq war, the main one being that it was to get the oil because we need a steady supply.

I don't believe this is true.

The real reason is the opposite - to restrict the flow of oil. Have you seen the profits that the oil companies are making, now that the price of oil has reached record highs? And the fact that the Government got to fight a war and scare us into submission with stories about terrorists was an added bonus!

You almost have to admire the genius of the plan. Make lots of money and increase their power in one foul swoop. Brilliant!

Friends Reunited - Completely Missed the Boat

2008-05-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

7 or so years ago, everyone was talking about Friends Reunited - at work, on the radio, on the TV. For a website to get that kind of exposure was unheard of, even now. Suddenly there was a way to find out what all your old schoolfriends were doing.

Where is it now? It's still going, but it's been left for dust behind Facebook and MySpace, for two simple reasons - they charged money to send messages to other users, and they didn't make it easy enough to find those other users.

They've finally seen the light and allowed free contact between users, but it's way too late. Everyone has moved onto Facebook, which is far more straightforward, and free. And worth about a trillion times more than Friends Reunited.

Police Taser Boyfriend of Girl After Police Kill Her

2008-05-22T04:41:00.000-07:00

Naturally distraught at just seeing his girlfriend killed by a speeding policecar, the police obviously saw fit to taser him.

How come we have all the CCTV cameras in this country, but there's never one pointing at the action?

And thanks to the police's amazing investigative powers (the kind that means they can't even identify which policeman is driving which speeding police car), they also can't tell if the sirens were on or not, or even whether it was responding to an emergency!

Job Creation Scheme

2008-05-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

The Ministry of Defence is set to sign a £4bn deal to build two aircraft carriers in the UK in a move expected to provide 10,000 jobs at its peak.

That's another of the annoying things about the MoD - it's just a job creation scheme, where the Government gets to spend billions of pounds creating jobs purely for jobs sake whilst trumpeting that they're increasing the size of the army, as if that's a good thing.

Why not just simplify things and divide the 4 billion pounds between all the workers? This newaircraft carrier will float about for a few decades before being decommisioned, after which the taxpayer is 4 billion pounds down with nothing to show for it.

London Police Infiltrated by Scientologists

2008-05-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

You can understand how the police might be understaffed these days - they have to police our language as well as our actions.

Don't get caught using the word "cult" otherwise they'll summon you to court.

Or could it be because the Church of Scientology has infiltrated the police? From the article:

The City of London Chief Superintendent, Kevin Hurley, praised Scientology for "raising the spiritual wealth of society" during the opening of its headquarters in 2006.

WTF? The police praising Scientology, and charging people who call it a cult?

The Fight on Terror Continues

2008-05-14T04:29:00.000-07:00

As I've always said, actions speak louder than words. That's why I hate speeches by politicians - they can say whatever they like, usually what the populous want to hear. But their actions are the only thing that's importants.

So, take the War on Terror(tm). Despite all the rhetoric, our leaders are again failing - now they've dropped charges against a Saudi citizen alleged to have been the "20th hijacker" in the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, because they tortured him.

Great going!

One Rule for Celebs

2008-05-06T02:41:00.000-07:00

Pete Doherty has been released from prison after serving 29 days of a 14-week sentence stemming from drug and driving offences. He must have been extremely well behaved.

The message for the kids is: it's not that wrong to drive while uninsured with no MoT while in possession of crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis - as long as your a celebrity!

Cover-ups by the Authorities

2008-04-18T01:10:00.000-07:00

It seems that the authorities either have no inclination or no ability to account for their own actions. Any time a policeman is caught speeding, they are usually let off because the police force is unable to determine who was driving the vehicle (!), and now Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has said "..it has not been possible to provide a totally satisfactory explanation for the fractures which Mrs McGinley sustained after her death."

The background to the story is that a post-mortem examination on a 78-year-old Strabane woman revealed 34 bones were broken after her death. And no-one knows why, and no-one is to be held accountable.

"The Surge Has Worked"

2008-04-11T00:26:00.000-07:00

The surge was like a raindance - it was bound to work at some point, since eventually there would be some statistic somewhere that proved that "it had worked".

But was does "it worked" mean anyway? Iraq is still in turmoil, soldiers and civilians are still being killed on a daily basis. If the surge worked, then it obviously wasn't designed to solve the Iraq problem. So if it has worked, so what?

BT Installs Spyware

2008-04-05T00:15:00.000-07:00

It seems we're now in less control of our own computers. Now BT had admitted installing spyware on customer's PCs.

Whenever I hear about police seizing computers, it almost makes me laugh except it's so serious. Just because something is on someone's computer, it doesn't prove a thing. Companies like Sony and BT (and those are just the ones we know of) are installing software on our computers that could be doing absolutely anything.

There is a petition that you can sign to ask the Government to investigate this kind of activity. Until then I'd play safe and install Linux at the very least.

Botox

2008-04-03T04:26:00.000-07:00

Remember, the word "botox" comes from "botulism toxin" and is one of the most poisonous naturally occurring substances in the world. And it may be bad for you! Honest!

Speeding

2008-04-01T03:12:00.000-07:00

I've been caught speeding, like most people. It's hard to garner any sympathy, even from other people who have also been caught. However, there is still something very annoying at being caught doing, say, 37mph in a 30mph zone. However, I think I've discovered what it is that makes it so galling, even when your own conscience says "well, you shouldn't have been speeding!".

The problem is that speeding is not enforced consistently. If you do 70mph (the maximum legal speed) on a motorway, you are guaranteed to be in the slow lane being overtaken by everyone else. So here, speeding is the norm. But that's okay? The police are giving the drivers the benefit of their own judgement as to what the best speed is to go, and assuming you don't go excessively fast (say, 90mph or more) and don't drive dangerously, you're allowed to go at 80mph or so.

So why don't they apply the same criteria to all driving? That's what is annoying: sometimes you are allowed to make your own judgement at the best speed to go, based on driving conditions, and then on another bit of road - Bam! - 7mph over the limit and you're fined, regardless of the driving conditions.

Mortgage Companies Cause House Price Rises?

2008-03-31T04:28:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Radio 4 the other day, to some political gameshow, and managed to catch this bit of Wisdom from Gryff Rhys-Jones (sp?). Basically, his theory is that the rocketting of house prices over the last few years is because of the mortgage have been so willing to lend money, and that is also the very same reason why we now have the "credit crunch".

The thinking goes like this: people will generally pay whatever they can to get their own decent home; if they can get a mortgage for the amount, they will do, and until recently mortgage companies have been more than willing to lend.

So people have been taking out the biggest mortgages they can in order to get a nice house. And so the sellers have been increasing their prices, because people are paying those prices. No-one in their right mind would sell a house for the price it was 5 years ago - that would be like half-price! And so prices have been going up.

Now things are different, and people who took mortgages they could just afford are realising that interest rates go up as well as down.

Food for Thought

2008-03-28T05:44:00.001-07:00

Bailing out the Banks

2008-03-20T01:39:00.000-07:00

The banks seem to think that it is up to the Bank of England to bail them out of their credit problems. Prior to their meeting today with Mervyn King, they say that he needs to do more.

Why? Their gaul is incredible. This is a problem of the banks own making. They've lent out more money than they can cover, to people who can't afford to pay the money back.

It would be exactly the same principle if you or I were to take out a large mortgage, then lose our job, and so go to the the Bank of England asking it to lend us some more money until we get another job.

We would expect to be laughed out the door, but for some reason, the banks seem to think that they have the right to expect special treatment - and all at the taxpayers expense!

Becoming a Police State, Again

2008-03-17T02:33:00.000-07:00

Primary school children should be eligible for the DNA database if they exhibit behaviour indicating they may become criminals in later life, according to Britain's most senior police forensics expert.

Woe betide any child that does something naughty, indicating that they may be a potential criminal!

Israel will still attend peace talks

2008-03-07T00:12:00.000-08:00

..after the attack by a Palestinian gunman.

Of course they will, cos frankly even after the incident, they've hardly got the moral high-ground after spending a week killing 140 Palestinians. This, strangely enough, doesn't seem to qualify as terrorism. Apparently if you've got a well-financed army, you can do anything and it doesn't qualify as terrorism.

Council Tax - Where does it go? Pensions mainly

2008-02-29T00:35:00.000-08:00

For every £5 in revenue raised by local authorities, more than £1 now goes to fund staff retirement!

Can you believe that?

In addition, spending on local government pensions rose 13% last year to £4.6bn.

Brown Leads from Behind

2008-02-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

Now that M&S has made the leap of charging for carrier bags (though years after Kwik Save had already started doing it) he now feels it's safe enough for him to "get tough" on other supermarkets.

Well done Gordon for leading from behind!

Supersized Asda

2008-02-28T04:55:00.000-08:00

Has anyone tried to buy an "average sized" pack of anything from Asda lately? You can't seem to buy a single packet of biscuits, or a normal packet of crisps (among most other items). You either have to buy a multi-pack or a jumbo sized one.

Tell me, why are we become more obese again?

Creating Terrorists in One Easy Step

2008-02-28T04:45:00.000-08:00

Just do stuff like this in places like Abu Graib.

The rest of the pictures can be found here. Yehaa! Aren't we the heroes of the free world! They hate us cos of our freedom (to do stuff like this)!

Democracy? What a joke

2008-02-18T00:35:00.000-08:00

The BBC has reported that "Residents in the Northumberland town of Berwick-upon-Tweed have "voted" in favour of becoming part of Scotland."

Sounds like democracy in action - until you read on that the referendum was for Monday's ITV1 Tonight programme.

What? The kind of people who have the spare time and inclination to watch this sensationalist rubbish pseudo-news programme are not the kind people who's opinions should have any merit, and to claim that this vote indicates that the residents of Berwick want to move to Scotland makes a joke of democracy.

Land of the Free

2008-02-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

Two items of news from yesterday:-

* In a victory for the Bush administration, a federal judge labels extraordinary rendition a "state secret" -- despite all evidence to the contrary.

* US President George W. Bush said Thursday he plans to veto legislation passed by the Senate to bar the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods including waterboarding.

The only link to freedom in either of these articles is the freedom of the American Government to do whatever it wants.

Caught Speeding

2008-02-07T02:48:00.000-08:00

I was caught speeding the other week, and have just received the notice through the post - £60 and 3 points for doing 37 mph in a 30 zone.

God I'm mad! If any police are wondering why people like me don't like them, it's because the only contact we have with them is when they are fining us £60 for doing 7mph over the speed limit. It's made worse by the fact that when the bumbling idiots are the ones breaking traffic laws, only 1 in 200 are pubished.

The reason they spend all their time catching speeding drivers is obvious: it's like shooting fish in a barrel, and it makes them lots of money, and it takes zero intelligence.

Fuck the police and good luck to the criminals, for I am now one of them.

United States of Advertising

2008-01-30T01:32:00.001-08:00

What is about new laws in America in that they now need to be marketed by giving them friendly sounding names - the Patriot Act and the Protect America Act. WTF?

It's all marketing to try and trick people into thinking that these new laws are all about "being patriots" or "protecting America", which is of course complete rubbish. It's all about keeping the population under control and snooping into your private lives.

Cronyism is Rife in the Government

2008-01-30T00:30:00.000-08:00

So Derek Conway has gone, and good ridance.

But one fact that it has brough up is that cronyism is rife. One "defence" giving by Derek's friends was that he only employed his sons and wife and "everyone does that".

In any other industry this would be cronyism, but for an MP it's seen as a normal option, even though the extent of the "work" carried out by the MP's family is completely unknown to anyone else, and it is all paid for by the taxpayer.

Holiday girls held in orphanage after mother fell ill

2008-01-25T04:26:00.001-08:00

A mother whose two teenage daughters were placed in an orphanage when she fell ill during a post-Christmas shopping trip to New York has been told she is under investigation because her children were taken into care.

This is scary for anyone going to the US.

Private Prisons - Terrible Idea

2008-01-24T04:52:00.001-08:00

Whoever decided that private prisons were in any way a good idea needs a brain scan. How can it be a good idea? Just like everything "private", a company's objective is to make as much money as possible. Hang the consequences. A long time ago, someone told me something that is very true: IBM doesn't make computers, Microsoft don't make software. They both make money.

The main problem is this conflict of interest. A private prison makes money, so obviously, the more prisoners they have, the more money they make. So where is their incentive to prevent re-offending? That would lose them money! And why should they spend any more than the bare minimum at keeping the prisoners alive? That would eat directly into their profits!

It's no surprise that private prisons come bottom of the league table. I just hope that if I, as an innocent person, get locked away for 28 days without trial, that it's not one of these hell-holes.

The Terrorists Have Beaten Hull

2008-01-23T00:43:00.000-08:00

An amateur photographer has told how police seized his film as he was out taking snaps in a Hull shopping centre.

This is the result of the Governments efforts at tackling terrorism - creating such distrust and fear that taking a photograph is now deemed serious enough that the public feel the need to report it to the police, and the police feel the need to confiscate the film.

To all those striking over pay

2008-01-23T00:38:00.000-08:00

If you don't like your wages, get another job. And if you can't get another job, maybe you don't even deserve the wages you get with the one you've got. You knew what you were going to get paid when you took the job on. Why complain now, just cos you didn't get the increase you were hoping for? It's called greed.

Canada Loses it's Bottle

2008-01-20T04:06:00.000-08:00

The Canadian foreign minister has apologised for including the US and Israel on a list of states where prisoners are at risk of torture.

What, like the US and Israel don't torture?

UK's First Tazer Death?

2008-01-20T03:51:00.000-08:00

So much for being "non-lethal". A man has died after he was shot with a police stun gun in Bedford.

PFI Black Hole

2008-01-17T03:55:00.000-08:00

Wonder where you taxpayers money is going to? The majority seems to be going to private companies via the PFI scheme for schools and hospitals:-

Notice board: £149.71
Installing plug socket: £302.30
Lock: £486.54
Desk: £1,000
Supplying and fitting a data point: £398.30

Once the company owns the facility, the school or hospital have no choice but to pay them. Did no-one see this coming?

Europe Now Biggest Threat to US Security

2008-01-16T00:33:00.000-08:00

(From the BBC). Just a few days ago it was Iran. Make your mind up!

Owning what you pay for

2008-01-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

It's a fading concept, and these days do you rarely "own" what you actually pay for. When you buy software, you'll find you're not buying the software, but rather buying a licence to use the software.

It seems that tickets (to, say, concerts) are going a similar way. MPs have said that "Artists and sports bodies should share profits from tickets resold". Why are these special?

If I buy a car, and then want to sell it on, Nissan don't get any of the money. The same goes for almost everything else I own. What's the difference with tickets? If I was to buy one, and wanted to sell it on, why shouldn't I be able to? I own it! The band who are putting on the show already have their money at the price they wanted, but it seems they want more. Why didn't they just sell the ticket for a higher price?

Iraq - Apathy Sets In

2008-01-10T05:13:00.000-08:00

It seems that people are getting bored with being reminded that there is a war going on Iraq, and that's why it's not making the front-page news any more.

However, let's not forget that we did go to war (to find WMDs that didn't exist) and the latest count puts it that approx 151,000 Iraqis have died as a result between March 2003 and June 2006.

The problem is, when talking about figures like that, it's just a statistic to people. Without witnessing the deaths, it's just a number. It might as well be 15 million. Maybe putting it other ways would be better: it's approximately 50 September 11th's.

"Administrative Failings"

2008-01-08T01:53:00.000-08:00

Cabinet minister Peter Hain has apologised for failing to register some of the donations given to his Labour deputy leadership campaign. Although he declared donations of £82,000, the Guardian newspaper claims the real figure may be over £100,000.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said he blamed "administrative failings".

So if I don't pay my car tax on time, can I use the excuse of "it was an administrative failing"?

Which is the more serious? Not paying car tax on time, or a politician accepting money and not revealing it? I don't see Peter Hain being fined. Is it just me, but when politicans suddenly "discover" that they've not registered a donation, all tyey do is then register it, and that's all. What about fining them? And what about all the undiscovered donations?

Arguing with the Halifax

2008-01-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

I'll get straight to the point: I moved house recently, and increased the mortgage in the process to cover the extra cost. A few days after moving, I received a letter from the Halifax stating that I owed about £2,000 in early repayment fee, which was a surprise to me. I phoned them up, and it turned out that I didn't have to pay it, because I was staying with the same company for my mortgage.

However, I wanted to know why I had been sent it in the first place. It had been sent to me before we actually moved (i.e. before the new mortgage came into effect) but due to moving house and slow mail over Xmas, I only received it after we'd moved. Anyway, the man at the Halifax said it was because at the time it was sent, there was no link between the old mortgage and the new mortgage (because they never exist at the same time - one ends, the next one starts immediately), so there was no way for "the computer" to know that I was staying with the same company for my new mortgage.

However, the Halifax must have know that it was me with the old mortgage and me that's getting a new mortgage, otherwise how else would they know to give me the money? Surely the fact that the name is the same on both mortgages, as is most of the other details (apart from the address).

The trouble with these arguments is that they get tedious very quickly, and even if I did convince the man on the end of the phone that their computer system could be better, it's not like the Halifax is going to suddenly mobilise an army of programmers to make it better.

Mortgage comnpanies seem to expect you to have a degree in Mortgage-ology. When I moved, all I wanted to do was increase my mortgage. Simple as that. But their process is paying off the original mortgage, starting a new mortage for the same amount at the same interest rate, and starting another new mortgage for the difference between the previous two, but at the current going interest rate.

Moving house, and in particular, getting a mortgage, is one of the most deliberately over-complicated and expensive things (where they add various miscellaneous charges - £50 to post you the deeds for example), and the sooner I can pay mine of the better. In this world though, we have no choice.

Protecting People From Themselves

2007-12-18T03:41:00.000-08:00

A study by the Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems Group (SHAAP) calls on the Scottish Government to introduce minimum prices for alcoholic drinks. It said a 10% rise in drink prices would save an estimated 479 Scottish men and 265 women every year.

So, because some people need protecting from themselves, because otherwise they drink to excess, everyone has to pay more for their alcohol? I say that a low drink price is just evolutions way of weeding out the weak. These days, because we are protected from so much, it's making us all weaker.

Post Office Closures

2007-12-17T06:56:00.000-08:00

Does anyone reading this blog have a nearby post office which doesn't always have a long queue?

Bush Puts the World at Risk Again (Part 23,456)

2007-12-14T00:41:00.000-08:00

From the climate talks in Bali

* The US favours allowing governments to set voluntary targets.
* Mr Gore: "My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress in Bali."
* The US is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases

At least he finally acknowledges climate change. It's a start.

"News" Channels

2007-12-07T04:41:00.000-08:00

The fact that Iran *doesn't* have Nuclear Weapons has forced the "news" channel CNN to cancel it's "speculative documentary" called ""We Were Warned -- Iran Goes Nuclear".

What?? How can a supposed "news" channel show a programme (that it has the gall to call a "documentary") which is so blatantly emotive and flies in the face of the facts?

Terrorists aren't the biggest threat to democracy - the media and politicians are.

Government Time Wasting

2007-12-07T02:15:00.001-08:00

The government is wasting people's time - not only their own by again attempting to increase the length of time that people can be held without charge, but also the poor innocent sods who might find themselves locked up.

Why do they spend so much time on this? On average 10 people die a day on Britains roads. Anyone who drives to work knows of the congestion problem, and now congestion charging. Do "terrorists" affect people's lives this much? No.

Here's an idea for the government: solve the big issues that affect everyone first, before trying to create new laws (when there are already adequate laws anyway) to make it look like you are doing something and detracting people from the real problems.

British Gas Etc..

2007-12-07T02:11:00.000-08:00

I was just listening to the radio this morning. A caller was lamenting the cost of gas - and they are with British Gas. Some people just can't see the wood for the trees! If you don't like how much you are paying for gas (or water or electricity) just change supplier! It's not hard! On the same show, the representative from Energy Watch stated that British Gas accounted for about a third of all complaints. Why do people still use them?

Deja-Vu: American Intelligence Wrong Again

2007-12-04T00:49:00.000-08:00

After threatening war against Iran and parking aircraft carriers off its coast, America has admitted that it has got it wrong. Tehran stopped its nuclear weapons program back in 2003. Oh well, everyone makes mistakes, but not all of them have the potential to start World War 3. And let's not forget that Bush actually knew this while he was claiming that they were the biggest threat to the world.

It's a pity they didn't realise they'd got it wrong in Iraq before thousands of people were killed. But, hey-ho, lots of money was to be made.

Wanted for Crimes Against Humanity

2007-11-30T02:08:00.000-08:00

Hide your eyes from their evil non-existentness!

They are charged with:-

* Restricting the advancement of science.
* Inciting the creation of ridiculous laws.
* Conspiring to start wars for no good reason
* Brainwashing generations of people into thinking that they exist
* Forcing children to waste their time learning fairy-stories
* Failing to prevent their name be used in the name of criminal acts

* Restricting human rights, especially women and homosexuals
* Inciting followers to give money to bogus causes
* Promoting the ridiculous theory of intelligent design

Putting on the Spin

2007-11-29T03:18:00.000-08:00

I've heard the two latest disasters for the Labour party both spun in ways that argues for the party's policies:

* On the fact that 25 million personal records were lost: We should have ID cards!

* On the fact that Labour received donations illegally: Political parties should be funded by the taxpayer!

And I thought that spin had gone away with Blair. No such luck.

Ignorance is no Excuse

2007-11-26T08:29:00.000-08:00

Another case of "one rule for them and one for us". The government has failed to follow the rules for donations. Igorance of the law is no excuse. I'm waiting to see who will appear in court...

Justice by and for a Joke

2007-11-26T08:23:00.000-08:00

Two stories today caught my eye:

A British schoolteacher has been arrested in Sudan accused of insulting Islam's Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

A gang-rape victim in Saudi Arabia who was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail.

It's no surprise that these things have happened when you think that these countries are obsessed with upholding the name of some fictional character called Mohammad, but to take it to the point of making naming a teddy-bear and and being gang-raped a crime beggars belief.

How come we're wasting our time in Iraq when it's Saudi that "supplied" most of the 9/11 terrorists and is the country most in need of regime change?

Won't Someone Think of the Children?

2007-11-20T04:26:00.000-08:00

The United States has 2,387 juveniles imprisoned for life. Only one other country in the world, Israel, imprisons juveniles for life.

Do As We Say, Not As We Do

2007-11-16T02:30:00.000-08:00

The US has vowed to push for further UN sanctions against Iran, despite a report from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency on Thursday finding Iran to be generally truthful about key aspects of its nuclear history.

A spokesman for America said: "We're allowed nukes but they're not. And please don't mention Israel."

Govt Trying to Increase Detention Time (Again)

2007-11-15T06:51:00.000-08:00

Hasn't the Government tried before to increase the length of time that innocent people can be locked up for? And now they are trying again with a different number of days. If they lose this, are they going to pick another random number and try again?

I'm glad the Government is wasting time on this. Terrorism is obviously the most important thing in ther world - it kills more people, causes the most dissatisfaction, and costs the taxpayer the most money out of any other issue in the world.

Thankfully a lot of MP's can see all the major issues with the whole argument, the main one being that there is not a shred of evidence that it is needed! As Home Secretary Jacqui Smith admits herself, "there is a weight of opinion that we may well be getting to the point where 28 days will not be long enough". That's all it is: opinion!

Tazers - Non-Lethal?

2007-11-15T06:45:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation says up to 18 people have died after being stunned by a Taser in Canada since 2003.

* Don't believe the Government when it says they are non-lethal.
* And it's only the start of guns being introduced to most police.
* If you were a criminal, and knew the police had tazers, would you think twice about not arming yourself?

What have they got to hide?

2007-11-13T02:18:00.000-08:00

One of the arguments frequently levelled against opponents of ID cards and other invasions of privacy is "if you're not doing anything illegal, what have you got to hide?". It's a ridiculous argument, and only serves to show what boring lives the people who make it must have.

To further show how ridiculous it is, look at the recent attempted blackmailing of a Royal. If they've done nothing illegal, what have they got to hide?

Barristers - A law unto themselves

2007-11-06T01:07:00.000-08:00

Geoffrey Vos QC, chairman of the Bar Council for England and Wales, has said that "barristers should be given the same recognition as teachers and nurses [..] as they play an essential role in society".

I beg to differ. Nurses and teachers work in an area that is not only far more accessible (you can just go to A&E or see a GP, and you can just take your kids to school) but is also inherintly complex because of factors outside human control - the human body is complex, and children need educating.

Now compare that with our bloated, inaccessible, over-complex (for no good reason) legal system. If I need access to a lawyer, can I just go to the lawyer equivalent of a GP or A&E? Not without a lot of money. Lawyers and barristers have a vested interest in keeping the whole process as long, drawn-out and complicated as possible, and that's why they are regarded with disdain.

Bush Plan for the Cost of the War

2007-11-05T06:46:00.000-08:00

I've discovered Bush's secret plan to reduce the cost of the war. The cost of the war is measured in dollars (in the trillions), so he's just devaluing the dollar faster than he's spending the money! Okay, the war may have cost a million dollars more today, but in real terms, the cost of the war has gone down because that "several trillion dollars" total is worth a million dollars less than it was yesterday! Genius!!

Is this where Bush is heading?

2007-11-05T01:05:00.000-08:00

If you want to see the probable end result of Bush's power grab and clampdown on freedom, take a look at Pakistan where Musharraf has declared a state of emergency for no obvious reason other than to prevent the courts from declaring his re-election illegal, but his stated reason was "to clamp down on extremism", something we've all heard Bush use as an excuse before.

America gives Pakistan billions of dollars in aid, and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the US would be "mindful not to do anything that would undermine ongoing counter-terrorism efforts...". So they're effectively supporting him.

Another Iraq Critic Comes out the Woodwork

2007-11-01T01:37:00.000-07:00

Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6 from 1999 to 2004, has said that "Government policy was too dependent on intelligence in the run-up to war with Iraq".

Thanks Richard. Why not email it back to when the war was starting, when it might have helped prevent thousands of innocent people being killed?

Democracy in Action

2007-10-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

We can't blame Americans for voting for George Bush - their opinions have been subverted by certain media organisations, who pick and choose who and what to give airtime to. For example, here's a Fox News cameraman being told not to show Ron Paul supporters. It begs the question: Why would Fox care who becomes president?

No evidence Iran is making nuclear weapons

2007-10-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

Just to ensure that there's no confusion that could lead to America (and the world) making the same mistake with Iran as it did with Iraq, allowme to emphasise this:

Chief UN atomic watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei said Sunday he had no evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons.

OMG! Minister Held at Airport!

2007-10-29T05:15:00.001-07:00

A British minister has been held at an airport! For 40 minutes!! And it's the second time in two years!!!

It seems that Shahid Malik thinks it's okay for other people the imprisoned without trial (as he voted for), but should an MP be detained for a whole 40 minutes, it's an outrage. He's above us peasants!

GM Creeping Up On Us

2007-10-29T03:06:00.000-07:00

It's not been in the news for a while, but it hasn't gone away. The area planted with genetically modified crops in Europe has grown by 77% since last year.

Christmas Time

2007-10-29T01:38:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when companies like Lynx pack a deodorant and shower gel into a "gift box" and charge you a couple of quid more than if you bought them seperately, just so people with no imagination have something to buy for presents.

Apologies - Terrorist ARE Everywhere!

2007-10-25T05:08:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what I have been saying all along, it turns out that terrorists are in fact everywhere. Fox news just reported that they even started the wildfires in California!

Why the Military Covenant is Failing

2007-10-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

The military covenant is failing because we're fighting wars that have no relation to the defence of the UK (apart from the fact that the wars have increased our chances of being attacked) , but are perceived (rightly so) as personal crusades by members of the American government, and instigated by lies and half-truths by the UK Government.

Sounds Fair to Me

2007-10-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa said Washington must let him open a military base in Miami if the United States wants to keep using an air base on Ecuador's Pacific coast.

Sounds fair. I just hope he doesn't succumb to an "accident" before the American lease expires in 2009.

Motorists Check for DUI by drawing blood samples!?

2007-10-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

What is America coming to?

FYI: In America, certain police departments "are allowing their officers to draw blood samples from motorists under suspicion of a DUI/DWI. This takes place on the roadside as opposed to a hospital where there are trained medical professionals. And it’s the officer’s choice, not the driver’s, whether to use a breath or a blood test." Why have some officers chosen a needle over a simple breath test?

How Many "Sides" are in Iraq?

2007-10-12T04:52:00.000-07:00

I thought we just had Terrorists/Civilians-who-get-in-the-way versus the Coalition of the Mistaken. However, Now it seems we've got Terrorists/Civilians-who-get-in-the-way versus the Coalition versus Blackwater.

The Axis of Good Strikes Back!

2007-10-10T04:30:00.000-07:00

Assuming we're supposed to be the Axis of Good, today is a strange day with these two headlines:

* Israeli army orders confiscation of Palestinian land in West Bank

* Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Claims of German Man Who Says He Was Abducted, Tortured by CIA

Soon we'll kill all the vile terrorists and take over the world! And then we'll show them what being good is all about!

Warning: Do Not Feed The Homeless

2007-10-09T06:48:00.000-07:00

Is it capitalism gone even madder? An Orlando man is to face a jury for feeding the homeless.

Longer Queues at Sainsbury's

2007-10-09T04:41:00.000-07:00

Islamic workers at Sainsbury’s who object to alcohol on religious grounds are told to raise their hands when encountering any drink at their till so that a colleague can temporarily take their place or scan items for them.

This preceeds news that some Muslim medical students are refusing to attend lectures or answer exam questions on alcohol-related or sexually transmitted diseases because they claim it offends their religious beliefs.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that I'm as anti-muslim as I am any religion. In both of the above cases, Islamic scolars have condemned the action. However, it is happening.

Getting Around our own Systems

2007-10-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

What is the point of the Government having systems in place, that are so difficult or time consuming, they develop other systems to get around the original system? Then we have two systems either working against each other, or the second system providing a lower-cost alternative, but with a lower standard of result.

Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:-

* We have a justice system, but it's putting too many people in prison, so we've got another system to release people early.

* It takes too long and is too expensive to train new policemen, so a new system of Special Constables has been developed.

* It takes too long and is too expensive to train new teachers, so a new system of Teacher's Assistant has been developed.

* The legal system costs too much for all but the very rich to use, so we have to provide legal aid.

Surely, if the old system isn't working, it should be changed and improved? But the Government can't bring itself to admit that a system isn't working, so we have to go through the whole charade of adding new systems that don't produce the same standard of result.

VAT Annoyance

2007-10-08T02:46:00.000-07:00

I would hazard a guess that I am not the only person who has been caught out by companies advertising/quoting a certain price, but then when it comes to paying them, the price has increased by the VAT. Garages and estage agents are typical of this, though it happens across the board. Why do they do this? So they can advertise a lower price, obviously.

But why is VAT so special? Why don't they leave out their employees wages and business rates, and add those when presenting us with the bill? After all, just like these two examples, the customer is not liable for VAT, the supplier is. When I buy something from Tesco, the VAT man doesn't ask me if I've paid the VAT, he asks Tesco. As a customer, I've got nothing to do with paying the VAT.

Companies are being dishonest and deliberately misleading by not quoting the actual price you will pay.

Holocaust Hypocrisy

2007-10-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

There's always plenty of uproar whenever someone denies that the holocaust occurred. However, in my humble opinion, celebrating the holocaust is far worse.

A holocaust denier is (to put it bluntly) either wrong or stupid and shouldn't be taken seriously. However, someone who actively celebrates the fact that the holocaust took place can only be described as evil. So why is there never an uproar in this case? However, isn't it double-standards that we supposedly won the war to protect our freedom, but in many places it's a crime to think the holocaust never occurred?

Not entirely unrelated, you may find this interesting - a Nazi pop duo that sings songs celebrating Hitler and his ideas.

Inconvenient Parallels

2007-09-28T04:20:00.000-07:00

The Burmese Military kill a journalist.

American soldiers kill several journalists (2003).

America Late to the Party

2007-09-28T01:08:00.001-07:00

Stop press! America has now realised that global warming is a problem!

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said climate change is a real problem, and world leaders should forge a new global consensus on tackling it.

Woah! What brought about this u-turn? Someone should tell her that the rest of the world realised this a decade ago, and there was a global consenus (except for America) called the Kyoto Protocol.

Small Print

2007-09-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that small print is the spawn of the devil. Take travel insurance. When you lose your suitcase on holiday, and it has your passport inside, and it turns out that you will incur two excess charges, one for the suitcase and one for the passport, the insurance company will just point you to the small print when you complain.

So you should have read the small print. However, what if you don't like what you read (assuming you are able to understand it)? You should obviously read it before you purchase the insurance, just in case, so you can go to another company.

That means that in order to compare the policies of every insurer you might want to buy insurance from, you have to read the small print of each one!

You'll need a holiday after that.

American Cops think they are above the Law

2007-09-26T04:21:00.000-07:00

Given the current spate of videos of cop brutality, you'd be forgiven for asking if this is even news.

However, there is this website run by cops for the sole purpose of naming and shaming cops that have dared to give another cop a ticket when they break the law. They call this "professional courtesy". As the website says, Best Buy employees get a discount, why shouldn't cops get a perk?

You can't argue with logic like that.

Friends Reunited is Rubbish

2007-09-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

Every time I use the Friends Reunited website, I find more and more problems with it, from technical to the design. Images sometimes don't appear but do when you refresh the page; most people don't keep their details up to date; and they sort people people by the date they left the school (so if you left a year before everyone else, like you moved house and started a different school, you'll be listed with a load of people who you never knew, who probably graduated that year.

They hit a new low for me this time though: Being a good citizen, when I noticed that one of their links wasn't working (it was another persons photo, but the link took me to my photo) I emailed them. They did reply - by sending me the login name and password of the person who's photo link didn't work!

Here is their reply (with the email and password removed):-

--

Thank you for your email.

Your FriendsReunited membership appears to be operating correctly.

Please click on the following link;

http://www.friendsreunited.co.uk/frmain.htm

and in the 'sign in' section enter your email address - *********@hotmail.com

- and password - ******

Please let me know if you experience any problems when accessing your membership or if there is anything further that I can assist you with.

Regards

--

It's not like I didn't email them from the same email address that I'm registered with them. How could they think I was this other person? Did they even read my email?

What is the point of secure systems when useless people are part of the system? Okay, maybe I'm being a bit over the top. It's not like it's a bank's website or anything, but even a moron knows that you don't email passwords out. What if I were malicious? I could deface that person's whole profile, send out messages purporting to be from him, and add unsuitable photos.

Nuclear Double-Standards

2007-09-21T04:15:00.000-07:00

* America is threatening Iran for its uranium-enrichment work.
* Yesterday, the UN passed a resolution calling all Middle-East countries to renounce atomic weapons. Only two countries opposed it: America and Israel.
* Israel still the nation with the largest nuclear arsenal in the world that is not subject to IAEA inspections.
* America attacks the UN Watchdog for calling for caution over Iran.

Where to begin with the hypocrisy and double-standards? It's like America wants a war with Iran to divert attention away from other problems!

PS - Here's details of Isreal's nuclear weapons - see Appendix A for the juicy bits.

Blackwater Problem

2007-09-19T02:45:00.000-07:00

So the Iraq Government has banned Blackwater. All the US Govt needs to do is use troops in their place; after all, that's what they were trained for.

Why does the US Govt use Blackwater in the first place? I'm guessing they are more expensive. I think that, for some reason, the death of a Blackwater employee in Iraq is far less politically sensitive than the death of a soldier. Why is that? They both voluntarily signed up.

Aren't Tazers Great!

2007-09-18T04:20:00.001-07:00

I've just seen this video of a tazer being used on a student at a John Kerry speech, and it's pretty shocking what occurs. The camera goes a bit "wavey" for a bit halfway through, but I implore you to watch the last 20 seconds or so. The student is lying on the floor begging for help, surrounded by cops. He begs "don't tazer me" and "help" several times, and then he tazered and screams in pain. What makes it worse is that there are loads of bystanders doing nothing. And as far as I can tell, the student didn't do anything wrong, least of all when he was actually zapped.

What the hell is going on? And am I the only one worried that tazers are being introduced into the UK?

Iraq Pull Out? , Er, no.

2007-09-14T03:31:00.000-07:00

Troop numbers in Iraq are to be reduced! By 5,700! By Christmas! Oh, that's only 3.5% of the total number of troops out there. Is it worth bothering?

Oh wait! There are plans to reduce troops by 30,000! By next summer! But only if certain conditions are met...

Still, it sounds good to the sheeple. Cry it from the hilltops! We're pulling out of Iraq! Very very sloooowwwwlyyyyy. And that's until we decide to have another surge of course.

Remembering 9/11

2007-09-13T04:55:00.000-07:00

How can we properly remember 9/11 when we still don't know the facts?

And how come people don't care? Could it be because they just want an excuse to go kick some foreign ass?

For Queen and Country

2007-09-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

I have a question for all those wanting to join the army - what do you think will happen if you are injured or wounded?

Referendum

2007-09-12T06:12:00.000-07:00

It seems that the Government isn't going to have a referendum on the new European Constitution. And I can't help but agree with that decision. Only those who have actually read it could vote properly, and who's actually read it? The majority of people will base their decision purely on their opinion of Europe, which in turn will have been decided for them by the newspaper they read.

Spinning the Facts

2007-09-11T01:27:00.000-07:00

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has vowed to lead his party into this year's election, despite trailing badly in opinion polls. In a classic bit of spin, he says he had never run from a fight before "and I don't intend to do so now".

Firstly, it's good to see him so unpopular, as he could give Tony Blair a run for his money as to who is Bush's biggest poodle.

However, hasn't anyone told him that it's not a "fight" - the electorate just don't want him in charge any more. It's as simple as that. Your time has come and gone. Go away and close the door behind you.

Raising the Stakes

2007-09-11T01:22:00.001-07:00

Arming more police with tazers is a bad idea. It is simply raising the stakes in the crime arena. If you were a criminal and knew that the police now had a "ranged weapon" to use against you, it would make sense to arm yourself with some kind of "ranged weapons" as a safeguard.

It's a slippery slope, and arming all police with guns won't be far behind. That reduces crime, doesn't it?

"Human Resources"

2007-09-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

I never did like the phrase "human resources". To me it conjures up the image of Matrix-like structures where humans are farmed. However, thats in the far future...

I must admit it caught me by surprise however, that some companies are already requiring that employees have RFID tags surgically implanted. This is old news (Feb 2006), but news to me, and bordering on criminal. I think that companies that just require you to have a medical (unless your fitness is crucial to the job, like a fireman) are pushing the limits of invasion of privacy.