New traffic law

Causing Death by Driving Definitive Guideline

The Sentencing Guidelines Council has published a definitive sentence guideline on to be used in matters of causing death by driving:

Judges and magistrates are given a clear message that driving offences that result in death are serious offences and should receive appropriate sentences in a definitive guideline.

Lengthy custodial sentences are recommended by the Sentencing Guidelines Council for cases involving prolonged, persistent and deliberate bad driving or where drivers are intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

The use of mobile phones is also treated robustly with the Council advising that if an offender was distracted by a hand-held mobile phone when the offence was committed the offence will be treated as particularly serious.

The Guidelines state that reading or composing text messages over a period of time whilst at the wheel will be likely to result in an offence being in the higher level of seriousness and offenders should serve up to seven years in prison.

Clear advice on driving bans is also given. Magistrates and judges are reminded that disqualifications are effective from the day that they are imposed and will only be of practical effect if they extend beyond the period that will be served in prison.

The definitive guideline covers four offences: causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by careless driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, causing death by careless driving and causing death by driving: unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers. The latter two offences were introduced by the Road Safety Act 2006 and will come into force on a date to be announced.

For the first three offences, judges and magistrates are advised they will need to assess how bad the driving was and the degree of danger that it created in deciding the level of seriousness. Other issues " largely related to the offenders behaviour " are treated as aggravating factors.

The Sentencing Guidelines Council recommends that prolonged, persistent and deliberate bad driving and consumption of substantial amounts of drugs or alcohol should put offenders into the most serious category of causing death by dangerous driving and be given jail terms of at least seven years.

A combination of these features of dangerous driving " particularly if accompanied by aggravating factors, failing to stop or a very bad driving record - should attract sentences towards the maximum of 14 years.

In dealing with cases of causing death by careless driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs the guideline provides for longer sentences as the degree of intoxication increases, so that sentence levels equate to those for causing death by dangerous driving.

The Council recommends that where death follows careless driving, a custodial sentence of up to 3 years is likely, with higher sentences where there is a combination of aggravating factors. However, where the driving involved momentary inattention? and there were no aggravating factors, an offender should be given a community sentence, which could include a curfew requirement.

Where death results from an offence involving driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured, the maximum sentence possible is two years. The level of seriousness will be based on why the offender should not have been on the road, with driving while disqualified being the most serious when the starting point is set at 12 months imprisonment.

In all cases fines are not likely to be appropriate and where non-custodial sentences are considered appropriate, a community order should be used.

Chairman of the Council Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers said: Sentencing in cases where death results from the misuse of a car on the road are among the most difficult for judges and magistrates.

The harm is the greatest anyone can inflict - the death of a victim - but the level of culpability can range from a flagrant disregard of the safety of other road users to a terrible moment of inattention. This guideline is designed to support sentencers in making the very difficult decisions that face them in these cases.

Fellow Council member Chief Constable Peter Neyroud added: This guideline complements a whole raft of changes in the way death on the road is dealt with from police investigation to prosecution and finally to sentencing.

The new offence of causing death by careless driving recognises the enormous level of harm caused by the offence. This has been welcomed by those representing the families and friends of victims.

The impact of the guideline we have drawn up is that there will be more custodial sentences and community sentences where in the past offenders would almost certainly have received a fine for the same driving behaviour.

This guideline applies to the sentencing of offenders convicted and who are sentenced on or after 4 August 2008 of any of the offences of:

• causing death by dangerous driving
• causing death by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• causing death by careless driving
• causing death by driving: unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers

To see further information on this news item follow this link.

Zimbabweewee - pissed upon?

We should all welcome the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai in Harare.
This is the first sign of progress in Zimbabwe in eight years of unrelenting political, economic and humanitarian turmoil, and represents hope for that country's future. While this is an important and welcome development, it is however crucial that we do not lose track of the fact that this alone does not automatically put Zimbabwe on the road to recovery.
The signing of this agreement should not be seen to excuse or condone the fact that Robert Mugabe's regime has stolen 4 elections in the last eight years; that it has enforced the systematic and violent repression of its own people, leading to the displacement of at least 200 000 Zimbabweans; and that it has destroyed the Zimbabwean economy, which is currently is teetering on the brink of total collapse on the back of inflation which is running at an unfathomable rate of 2.2 million percent.
As bitter experience has shown, a commitment from Robert Mugabe to take steps to resolve the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe must be treated very carefully; he has a history of breaking agreements and undertakings, and has in the past shown complete disdain for democratic norms and procedures.
For the sake of the people of Zimbabwe and the region as a whole,it can only be hoped that yesterday's transaction will translate into genuine change in Zimbabwe. Attention must now begin so that the hopes of the people of Zimbabwe will be respected and upheld. No one should be under any illusions about just how difficult this process will be, or about the level of vigilance that will be required in order to ensure that Mugabe does not once again frustrate the hope - however small - that this process will lead to real change for the better.
That is the world view of the agreement. Our problem now will be to identify what is a genuine area of change. Plans that will translate into action. The boy Milliband will be faced with giving support to Tsvangirai but ensuring that Mugabe does not hi-jack things and thus attain changes and support that he would never have achieved had he remained isolated. How do we support 50% of a leadership but still control the other 50%?

Obama's Berlin Rally

Nice to see a Berlin rally with a very charismatic speaker where there are no flaming torches and military bands.

They used to do them so well.

A bike, a bike. My Kingdom etc. etc.

Suppose it had to happen really when it is so often in the news. Dear Dave (Tory leader bloke) has had his pedal cycle stolen. Seems he nipped into some fashionable retailer to get the salad bits. On his return with the sun dried and a selection of organics, his trusty steed was gone.
Had he secured it will be asked? Well, sort of. Chain and padlock - best that considerable money could buy, were deployed. He used a bollard. His education in the ways of the great unwashed did not include any lecture or demonstration of just how bike and chain can be lifted to separate goodies from security. We do not know just how hard he would like to hug a hoodie at that exact moment.
Theories as to the identity of the offender are varied. His chauffeur pished at having to motor along behind him? Press minder hoping to keep him out of one way streets and red traffic light signals. The theorising has not included the Opposition. Maybe Gordon wanting to ride about at night to check how many of his subjects recognised him? Little bit of low key electioneering in Glasgow?
Other hotties will intervene before we get the next PMQ after the break or the theft might have been the subject of some cut and thrust banter. We will never know if he loses any part of his no claim bonus or just what the John Lewis price is for a push bike, PM, for use of, suitable.

Country-wide searches are being carried out.

My name is John. I am a racist.

When only just out of my teens, I was in Malaya. This was in the early 1950s. It was still a colonial sort of place. The white man's word was law and all that. I enjoyed a status far above my value. I think that even if I had realised this was wrong, the subject people would not understand any missionary zeal. They accepted status quo. In time, I married and was allocated a house amah (a woman servant) who looked after the housekeeping in our quarter. Later, we recruited a baby amah to be responsible for the day to day care of my infant daughter. We paid them extra so live in so both were available 24/7. As a further example of colonial ways; the house amah was a Chinese woman of about 60 and had been a servant since she was around 12. She it was who explained to my wife - aged 24 - that she should keep the pantry locked and only open it to supervise the withdrawal of stuff needed for housekeeping and meal preparation. Servant born and bred. I cannot think of any relationship in over three years with the indigenous people on a social footing. The rubber planters and tin tappers ran an even more rigorous form of White Man's Word. Ah Chun who found himself dismissed in one end of Malaya would find his cards marked all the way in the other direction.

As a few years passed and I had seen the Union flag lowered a few times in midnight Independence ceremonies, things changed. Skin colour no longer decided who was the Boss. In some places, the change was very noticeable. In Libya around the start of the '60s quite aggressively so. My wife and children were subjected to rude shouts, obscene gestures and indecent exposure. I was shouted at and stoned when walking my dog. This conduct did nothing to cause me to think of making any change in the way I regarded people other than my own race and background. There was little incentive to change; social interaction was still very limited.

In the military family, there was no prejudice. We had soldiers from all backgrounds, countries and pigmentation. These differences did not record. What might pass as insults most dire amongst civilians were traded all the time as brutal and licentious humour. I was free to joke about Abdulrahman keeping his brain in his y-fronts to protect it from the sun. He saw nothing in debating the dubious sexual proficiency of a white soldier. Occasionally, when drink had been taken, things might get a bit edgy but the groups policed themselves.

When I left the service in '74, multiculturalism and racial awareness were stirring. Words like nig*er, co*n, wo* etc. had already gone - even in our private conversations. Thinking about it, I realised I was very definitely a racist. And had been for a long time. I tried to reform but failed and was faced with some way of dealing with this. I had this problem along with adjusting to being a civilian where things all seemed to so much more serious and significant.

I had spent three days in Capetown when on a troopship going the long way round after Nasser blocked the Suez Canal. Not much time for a learning process except that as the ship's policeman I had had to negotiate the release from civil custody of two soldiers who thought that apartheid did not apply to black prostitutes. The punishment of whites under racial discrimination laws caused me to appreciate why they had been introduced. In 1974, I realised that what worked keeping blacks and coloured away from whites could help keep me away from those where confrontation would cause problems for us both. I thought of it as Reverse Apartheid.

I have been able to debate this with three people from diverse origins. Initially, it met with scorn or fierce disapproval but we all persevered and I felt it was a valid way to deal with my problem. It has been extended to include those - irrespective of colour or race - whom I might really upset or insult if I put my mind to it. I try and apply the Reverse Apartheid rule here; I will comment or remark but only in jest. If I am setting out deliberately to confront, I try to make this clear. It does not always work though. So, whilst I might make the suggestion that someone should phone home because their village is looking for it's idiot, this is meant in fun.  Please bear with me. For your part, say what you wish. Choose any word order from back ducks off water.

Glueless Gordon

This is photograph of the moment that a climate protester glued himself to Brown using superglue he had smuggled into 10 Downing Street. Either crap glue or environment protected Teflon Tony's replacement as the couple were disconnected after about 25 seconds or so.

Been nicer if someone had come in with a bucket of water and thrown it over the two as used for copulating dogs!

Wiki or knol?

Google have announced a alternative to Wiki.  They are calling it Knol. Just as I have no idea where 'Wiki' came from. I know not why Knol.

I think I prefer the layout of Knol. In this they have had the advantage of being able to see where Wiki stands and falls.

For what my wishes are worth, I hope it does well and takes off.

A deserved medal from George

A marine working in Afghanistan hears the click as the detonator fires in a hand grenade he has dislodged from a booby trap. He has about 3 seconds to do something. Running is not an option; it would not get him out for killing circle and colleagues would also get injured.

So, what to do? What he does do is thrown himself backwards so that his back-pack covers the grenade. It is all there is between the pain of a big bang and his soft skin and brittle spine. Someone up there was watching over him - maybe St. Peter was a marine.

I am uncertain whether military service attracts this sort of quick-thinking and brave individual or whether it is their training that makes them heroes.

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Take that man's name - he is a hero!!

Devil is in the detail

We expect a great deal from our Police. They already had considerable power to get into our lives; maybe at a time when all we want to do is roll up into a ball and dream of the womb. The anti-terror laws have given them greater influence.

There are times when it seems very easy to blame police officers.  Generally, any fault lies in the policies they have or the way these are administered by senior officers and supervisors. My guest blog is not a blog as such but illustrates what can develop from a seemingly straight forward course of action. A copper doing what we would want him to do I suppose.

There is another shadow over the events described. More and more, police are having to resolve confrontations by using firearms. Far greater potential for any error or excess of zeal leading to funerals. It seems that almost any shooting of recent months gets into the public domain with an impression that there was a police cock-up. 

Events like the traffic incident highlight that police can make mistakes. The average civilian will draw the conclusion that if they cannot get the easy things correct, what chance the really serious parts of their duty will be done by the book? And, can we be sure the book is properly written and read?

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It is not easy being a policeman

Every picture tells a story

These are photographs of victims of fatal knife attacks. There are rules and laws that prohibit me making any comment after viewing the main information from these images.

This gravestone Not Licensed For Dancing

This from John Hurst - a Grauniad columnist.

Simon Jenkins does not know what he is talking about in his eulogy of Thatcherism.

Among the issues that he and other approvers of the "Thatcher Revolution" seem oblivious of is the debasing of our comparatively decent pre-existing culture in politics, business and the public services. There is also the historically grave danger of taking Thatcher at her own valuation – "tough but tender", "insensitive and hard-hearted at times" but ultimately "liberating and enriching", and so on.

In the 1980s I was a senior manager at the headquarters of a (then) publicly-owned industry, British Rail, reporting to a director appointed by a Thatcherite cabinet minister. I observed and experienced deeply destructive and even pathological "leadership styles" quite openly and deliberately practised on the grounds that "empowerment of staff is stupid" and that only "disempowerment will deliver" – funk would breed compliance.

Such aphorisms as: "It doesn't matter what is true or fair, what matters is who has the power", "I don't give a shit about people's welfare or their families", and "You'd better not care if you know what's good for you". Such admonitions as: "You must learn to tell lies and destroy people if they get in the way", "Community responsibility is shit" (that word again!), "We can't afford safety", "You must break promises", "You must be prepared to breach confidentiality if business success requires it", "You must pretend to espouse good employment practice, such as having women in senior positions, but not actually do so", "You must pretend to communicate with staff but not actually do so"!

A general atmosphere of cynicism, mendacity, ruthlessness and crude assumptions regarding human motivation (certainly not borne out by research in contemporary depth psychology), which one was required to rejoice in, such as the exclusive efficacy of fear and avarice as motivators, polluted the culture. This inexorably led to the carnage of Clapham Junction, Southall, Ladbroke Grove, Hatfield and Potters Bar. It also led to the diminishing of any chance of the true aetiology of these avoidable disasters (avoidable since the equipment defects were already known of but not spoken of because of pressure from the corporate "minister of truth") or of any chance of anybody taking responsibility. "Keeping the lid on" became mandatory.

Coming to work became a miserable experience, surrounded as one was by crude self-seeking, a lack of concern for the general good, chronic fear, no solidarity, inclusiveness or fellowship and a cackling contempt for the weak.Any challenge to the notion that this was how to build business success led to obliteration, in what became a species of totalitarianism – the undeclared decree of Thatcher, as her more humane and public-spirited cabinet colleagues discovered to their serious discomfiture – many having supported her at first.

All this occurred under Jenkins' nose, since he was a board member for at least part of the time – though my attempts to speak to him about my concerns were rebuffed.

Well, if the mere Gordon Brown suggestion of a State Funeral for Lady Thatcher fetches up this much bile, it has been a good thing. My opinion - gained from a very similar background as the man Hurst is very different. We had just had the working week of this manufacturing company dictated by a mad coal-miner. Unions were running riot. Employers were seeing their rights to run their company circumscribed by those who wanted everything - not just something - for nothing. What she did was create a climate where a reversal could begin. I have no recollection of her advocating any of the things he complains of.

And, tell me, why did Hurst stay in a position that caused him all this pain and anguish. When did he say, to the despots who made him such a nasty person, "up with this I shall not put"? There was no Nurnberg defence of being made to do it.

Those who try and make things work in the Middle East have a hard lesson to swallow.

In the face of this sort of thing, even "The Great Northern Ireland Peacemaker" has little chance. Maybe he needs to recruit Leo?

Newspaper reports tucked away below the fish and chip prices reveal that when horse riders are looking for a good show-jumping mount, they check the amount by which a horse can tuck-up the front legs.

"Just like some people can do the splits and others can't, so some horses are very flexible and can bring their back legs up much higher than others.

"Conversely, the front leg was not thought to be genetically linked and is very trainable. This means most horses can be trained to develop a good 'forelimb tuck'. What this research has shown is that the trainer is as important as the horse," she said.

The horses used in the study, which was presented at the Sixth International Conference on Equine Locomotion in Cabourg, were all aged between three and five years old and had sold for between 5,000 euro (£3,969) and 60,000 euro (£47,633)"

Research? That means they spent good money and time checking something. Am I the only one to remember when a famous trainer and rider was castigated for training his mounts by getting them to jump a bar to which hedgehog skins had been nailed?

Don't know much about training horses but what I know about training dogs is that it is really very simple if one reinforces natural actions and instincts.

Israeli Government can see through Bullshit

Why bother with the monkey when you’ve got a direct line to the organ grinder?’

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New legacy looks as if it will be one of cutting and running?

Corporative corruption.

This comes from the Grauniad. Not my paper of choice but I dip in now and again when some big shark cruises close to my interest. I was looking for their - and their correspondents' - take on the murderer with the Grock The Clown hairdo and unspeakable name. I came across this - no point in linking as it comes from their signed-in subscriber area.

This is penned by a Tory MEP politician so just make sure you have a modicum of salt nearby. 

"In the current climate, MPs can do nothing right. So it is perhaps inevitable that there should be complaints about the fact that they are rising today for an eleven-week recess.
I wish critics would make their minds up. If MPs are as hopeless as their detractors keep claiming, surely it's in the national interest that they be kept away from Westminster.

I mean this quite seriously. I am hugely attracted to the idea that sessions should be kept short to discourage unnecessary legislation. It happens in Switzerland and in several US states. For a long time, Texas operated an ingenious system where its state congressmen could sit for longer if they chose, but could not claim their modest attendance allowances after 60 days. The European Parliament has also risen. But, unlike virtually every national assembly, it'll be back before August is out. Why? For the allowances of course!"

Going deeper, I found this by the same columnist. Dog does eat dog it seems. Maybe if there is a journalistic bone they are after?

"Especially popular at this time of year are the Euro-MPs who represent the Riviera, Tuscany or the Spanish littoral. You see, if you can get another MEP to invite you somewhere on "official" parliamentary business, you can bill the European Parliament (at least up to a limit of €3,600 a year). So widespread is this practice that simply mentioning that you're going somewhere is taken as a coded pitch for an invitation. 

I happened to tell a French colleague that I was going to be in his home region in August. "Splendid," he said, "just let me know the dates and I'll sort you out with a letter." No, no, I said: I mean, I'm going there on holiday. "Oui, tout à fait. I'll get one of my mayors to invite you."

Business will resume with debates on the wickedness of commerce.

Ill met by moonlight

Maybe this explains why the burglary rate in America is so much lower per thousand that it is here in UK.

Not a lot of need to call for police assistance seems to be the answer?

I'm free

Well, I've been free for almost 24 hours and no sign of pursuit from the Aged Ladies Club.  I've been playing my Leonard Cohen tracks - he normally winds them up quite a bit. His attitude to love is deprecated it seems.

Well, that is how it was in the '60s when sex precautions solely consisted of not telling her your right name.

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What really concerns me is how did this guy get inside my head - he knows exactly what I think and feel on this topic. See if it works for you.

The wanderer returns

After much trial and experiment with rival blogging machines, I am back here. Much of the charm of the application lies in those who use it. Many programming frustrations, slow running of servers and changes can be borne if the quality of the material is good enough. Conversely, rubbish posts will annoy regardless of the machine that drives things. I have just walked away from a good site because of the quality of the members. To summarise, it was like working with few posters who were frightened of any intrusion of the real world into their Victorian salon lest it disturb the covering on the table legs. Any small announcement - "my cat has just had six kittens" - would draw traffic of congratulations one might expect had a mouse given birth to an elephant. 'Ohhs' and 'aahs' would be scattered like church precinct confetti. Smileys were there in scores together with what - to me - must be the most inane set of letters on the surface of this earth - lol. Nothing more - just bloody lol. What sort of comment is that? I tried - I really did. Making a comment in jest about a member so as to drawn them out failed when they called for explanations or debated the joke as if it were a serious contribution. Loss of sense of humour on Hanoverian proportions.

So, here I am safe in the arms of Blogger. No one reads what I write. No one comments on anything. Safe as houses.

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As I see my return as a significant occasion, I have selected a guest blogger of standing. Fred Reed. Not afraid to stick his neck out as we see today

I correspond with a friend that I have never met face to face. She is an outed Lesbian. Ordained some three years ago. Our main topics are that I will suggest the foundation for a sermon or she will ask for Devils Advocate services on something she has written.
I was replying to something yesterday that involved use of the word 'busy'. Some five or six times in about 100 words. Spell-checked it all OK but gave it a final read-through before pressing the Send button.
In every case where I meant 'busy', I had typed 'bust'. Obviously Freud and his mistakes are still with us. Whilst she is very good and understands and accepts my forthright views, I cannot help but think that this would have been a step too far.
I thought that my standard reverse-apartheid protection was all powerful but my proof-reading will have to move up a notch or two.

Album

Dont know if this works.
Find more photos like this on philosophers on ice

Additional old age benefits

Or dispossed kids!

Old age benefits

At least, I will not have aged parents coming to my door demanding that I take them in and look after them.

Free range?

Off to one of our local(ish) farm shops today. About 90% of what they sell is from their own crops and animals and the rest is all local - by local I mean ten miles or so. The producers are all identified on the packing.
The eggs we buy here are really large - they even offer guaranteed double yolkers. Omlettes made with their eggs look like custard in colour.
I reckon I can reassure Jamie and Hugh FW that we get free range eggs with no cruelty. They also do the chickens. And no monster add on in terms of price. I don't think I've had supermarket eggs or chickens for a hell of a long time.
They do about eight varieties of potatoes - some general use but mostly recommended as special purpose - chippers, roasters, boilers etc.

Who luvs yer Baby?

I know this took place in Italy but, Lord Almighty, it is seriously bad thinking and maybe even bad law.
A 34-year old Italian man who had sex with a 13-year-old girl has had his sentence cut by a third because a court decided there was "real love" between the pair.
Antonio de Pascale, a butcher from Vicenza, admitted that he had a four-month long relationship with the girl, who sent him a stream of torrid text messages on his mobile phone.
His lawyers argued, however, that there was a "deep tenderness" between him and the girl and that he had "fallen head over heels in love" after a sexual encounter in his car. They said the girl had consented to every action.
I stand firm that any male of 34 will have sufficient worldy experience to groom any 13 year old female. He has the ability to make her believe that black is white such that she would consent to anything. I can remember a number of occasions in my late teens where I talked my way into such relationships with girls of my own age. It was not very difficult. Any stubborness was inevitably overcome with a visit to the theatre to see Carousel.
Where I feel the law has been directly thwarted comes from "deep tenderness" between him and the girl and that he had "fallen head over heels in love" after a sexual encounter in his car. So, he did not have the in love excuse until after the first offence. He should have been charged with that. His style and morality is really summed up there; a sexual act with a underage child in the back of a car. The locals knew what to do with Mussolini - why cannot this guy, rope, and lamp post all meet in the one place at the one time?

My honourable friend

Day by day it seems we read and hear more about the life and work style or the mass of walking excreta that is our government. We started off with them wanting to award themselves pay rises well above any known criteria of inflation. This whilst pushing the agenda of minimal rises for all others. Then came Rent A Relative stories. The leader who made much of his condemnation then had to admit he was personally employing a relative by marriage. Not paid from his allowances said he but by Tory central office. What an amazing coincidence that the best woman for the job turned out as his sister-in-law. A party that makes much of giving 'right images' and politically correct action is unable to see just how the rest of us turned away from the trough would see such a happenstance.
Then it came out that it was considered infra-dig for them to support expense claims with any form of receipt or other documentation. Add on that many of them claimed up to within a pound or two or the maximum allowed amount. Those of us who had faced the modern day Spanish Inquisition of internal audit departments felt that almost superhuman integrity was required to claim - let us say correctly -in the absence of proof of expenditure. What more sewage would float to the top?
Well, how about bugging of MPs. Leave aside just for now whether or not it did or did not occur. What was interesting was the use of a long ago ruling called The Wilson Doctrine. Yes - named after yer dear 'Arold. Remember his swift and relatively poorly explained decision to get out of the heat of the kitchen. Bugs in those days worked much hotter when switched on. The slugs claimed this gave them an immunity. At a time when the man who controls legal interception disclosed he was handling about 1,000 new requests each week. So, that is a 1,000 this week, add 1,000 the week before and so on back a few months. Cut 25% for tappings withdrawn. We get - say - 20,000 of us under close observation. And MPs isolated from such things. Ah yes say the slimeys, we have more integrity and can be better trusted than you lot. This in the face of the expenses and family employment revelations. This really demonstrates just how far up their own ar*es they are.
We saw the sentencing yesterday of those who assisted the 21 July bombers. All nice clean looking boys if you like that sort iof thing. Who - meeting them face on in the street - would imagine they held any sort of secret. Just like any MP or any one of us. People do hold important positions do work against the interests of their employers. Blunt, Kilby, Blake and that lot come to mind. The guy who blew the whistle was a activist before he was selected. Does the leopard change it's spots overnight? How are we to know? I'll hint at how to know - see what he gets up to. If bugging someone I regard as an ordinary citizen leads to a terrorist - even one sleeping until he is activated - I'm perfectly happy about this intrusion into what some think of as his private life. He is a pretty poor solicitor if he does not anticipate what resources will be deployed. My only problem would be trying to detect what was MP telling porkies and what was accurate.
Of course, we now have the policeman who claims he was Mr Bugger and acted under duress. Not a great deal of duress one would have thought. He had rank that comes from service and could have resigned. Or gone sick. He chooses to come forward now there is press interest. Journalists often write requests for interviews on 20 quid notes and post these through letter boxes.
His revelation suggests more to come. The talk is of a bugged table. Table singular. So just how did Mr Bugger ensure that his target sat at just the very talking table in a room full of tables?
So, other than the flimsy claim for Not Me Chum exemption from the rest of the human race, what has the police operation to do with the rest of my opus on MP sleaze? Well - two high mucky mucks agree they knew of the bugging last year. Where and who was being targeted. The claim is that they did not take Ministers into their confidence. So we have the situation where it is feasible that politicians are enjoying ill gotten gains and not even bothering to be on top of their jobs but leave it all to Sir Humphrey. They are in denial of just how much they are now despised. Good are classified along with bad. Straw institutes a prompt inquiry into the bugging whilst the other matters of malfeasance bounce about like balls in a pachinko board.
We are not just fighting to get the Thames Barrier raised against the incoming flood of corruption and fraud. The financial system in London makes vast profits and only occasionally are we granted an insight as to what goes on where the Soc General surfaced. They are doubtless setting up bets on Northern Rock which will create vast 'profits' to individuals and their masters. When the politics are a rerun of the Rakes Progress and the financial markets are run by latter day Fagins, what hope have we of a land fit for heroes?If you have read this far, here is another little nugget. This might also be of interest in clarifying that 1,000 bugging requests a day. There must be more buggers than gays?

Vivid demonstration

I'm sure that a lot of people looked away or shut their eyes at the televised end of a suicide bomber in Israel. Some of those who did watch will question the police interpretation that he was, although injured, trying to reach the detonation switch for the explosive belt. Extreme Thomas' will query that it was explosive - might it have been a money belt?

Those who saw it or looked back later can no longer doubt the Israeli method of instant execution is part of their anti-terrorist policy. This tracks back to the shooting in London of the Brazilian police were convinced was a bomber going about his business. The man yesterday was badly injured but was still trying for his home run - until that first shot. The officer emptied his weapon and we saw fresh head injuries. The bomber was no further risk. It put a lot of civilians into the position of anti-terrorist forces and might cause a few to reconsider their objections.

"Monkey see - monkey learn" is a security mans' adage. It will not take long before we see the self-detonating terrorist bomber backed up with a remote-controlling colleague. They know this technology well and demonstrated it with the use of the two mentally handicapped women in Iraq. This also encapsulated the terrorists position vis a vis their religious claims. My understanding was that Allah had a special place in his heart for the mentally confused. Were I religious, I would hope there is a special hell reserved for such puppet masters..

New wall of China.

I'd been thinking how a massive influx of Olympic games visitors and associated media would impact upon China. Whilst there has been almost unimaginable growth and modernisation there, I suppose that there must still be Chinese who have avoided all this. Not for much longer I think. Television reaches some very isolated areas in the rest of the world and this will be happening there.

China seems keen to limit the spread of Internet such as we have here. This seems to have started by controlling the porn and general spamming email traffic but is now much more comprehensive and targetted. China's Internet filtering regime is the most sophisticated effort of its kind in the world. Compared to similar efforts in other states, China's filtering regime is pervasive, sophisticated, and effective. It comprises multiple levels of legal regulation and technical control. It involves numerous state agencies and thousands of public and private personnel. It censors content transmitted through multiple methods, including Web pages, Web logs, on-line discussion forums, university bulletin board systems, and e-mail messages. Our testing found efforts to prevent access to a wide range of sensitive materials, from pornography to religious material to political dissent. Chinese citizens seeking access to Web sites containing content related to Taiwanese and Tibetan independence, Falun Gong, the Dalai Lama, the Tiananmen Square incident, opposition political parties, or a variety of anti-Communist movements will frequently find themselves blocked. While it is difficult to describe this widespread filtering with precision, our research documents a system that imposes strong controls on its citizens' ability to view Internet content. Whilst this is a report from just one agency and may not reflect the actual situation, there is much concern from other sources.

These measures will come under great pressure when visitors come with their vast array of communication equipment. Mobile phones will be abundant. Those who attend the games will either get connections or will not. If they are denied, their experiences will come out when they get back home. Live television reporting from games events will allow an opportunity for placard waving and demonstrations - not every agitator can be traced and arrested as the first visitors fly in.

China is a sovereign country and it is not for me to criticise. I have lived in places where education from outside was deemed a bad thing and most often it made sense to me. It can be very unsettling to go from candles to computer controlled low energy lighting in one bound and this applies to many things we in the modern world take for granted. However, China is very innovative and will soon - if not already - be a major influence on world economy but it will be interesting to see what happens when the circus leaves town. How many Nellies will pack their trunks and creep away?

Target for today

I'm going to be my own guest today. What is below is a post I have just made to another blog site. It is a members only thing and that is why publication is doubled up.

I do not doubt that, if anyone comments at all, there will be those who use it to go off on a rant about 'them muslims'. All very gratifying for them but, I suspect, boring to most others. I hope my bit is not a rant. So far as I am concerned, anyone who wishes can come to this country. Just so long as they do not come near me or my way of life. So, give it up with a warm welcome for our esteemed guest ..........

TODAY'S GUEST BLOG
Just a quick skim through the morning papers adds to concern at the way Great Britian is becoming us and them land. Sharia courts are operating here and their 'judges' are seeking to add to their influence and powers. Sure - this will (so far and at least initially) not effect non-Muslims), but it willidentify part of the community as different. Non-muslims will feel that their laws are not good enough for the man alongside them on the street or in the workshop and this will ad to the divide.

Elsewhere I read that we now recognise polygamy. Whilst I might see it as a suitable punishment for many English men, it is - or was - contrary to the law of the land. Seems that if multiple wives were OK in one's land of origin, it will be recognised here. Whilst I see it as contrary to the vows of what is the established religion here, I could live with it. But, recognition is not enough. We will pay the allowances for these buckshee women. The result of this change might seem to be connected with wives but it is really much more basic. The immigrants will be able to claim that we recognised the law of another country here in respect of wives. Why do we resist the laws regarding female circumcision, stoning of adulterers or surgical removal of left hands? Foreign ways are creeping in all along the line. Worse, there is no line. Changes are being sought by wile but there is a strong militant strain. Our churchmen are being threatened with death by those who interpret their teachings as anti-Islamic. Even here we see another path of influence. That daft doris Home Secretary buggered about with our language such that the threateners of death are anti-Islamic by her definition and are threatening those they consider to be anti-Islamic.

I am as political as I am religious but were I active I would find myself leaning towards the National Party. It appears to me that the other parties are reluctant to give a positive lead in immigration. We get sound bites and photo opportunities but no sign of a policy that covers immigration from A to Z. I think a good start would be to end the situation why someone can flee from claimed persecution and travel through or overfly several countries to claim sanctuary here in the UK. Pakistani refugees could escape to Afghanistan and the atlas shows many places considered as civilised nearer than we are. We also harbour people who brought upon themselves the claimed persecution. They made a bloody nuisance of themselves in their home countries and then come here and hide behind our skirts.

Some will no doubt chide me for not showing what is understood to be Christian charity. Love thy neighbour. Faith, hope and charity - of these three the greatest is charity I will hear. In this case, showing Christian charity is well on the way to overpowering Christianity here and replacing charity with sharia. Having spent some time out of the country and experienced life under different ideologies, I adhere to the tag that strong walls good neighbours make.

Comfort typing

There is something very relaxing about this blog site. I can just sit down and type. No worries about upsetting people or with political correctness. No searching for a topic. No buzz words to attract the search engines. Just me, the study and this machine. On line radio in the background. Coffee on the desktop.

The fact that no one seems to come here and read things means that I can write it straight as it comes into my mind. The real moving finger syndrome. No editing involved: this can often end up looking better but having changed the whole message of what one meant in the unedited original. One minor aggrevation comes from my impaired short term memory. I have a line in my head and start tapping the keys. I then get to a word that is on the tip of my tongue but is stuck there like a piece of toffee in a hollow tooth. I search and probe around and around but that which was in my head is playing phantoms. Now, I just hit two or three 'x' and go on. The mind then relaxes and releases the word. Just a delay of a couple of minutes and I can clear the 'x' bit.

The other thing newly discovered is day dreaming. I slip into that bit between awake and asleep and immediately have the most vivid and realistic dreams. I think these are known as 'lucid dreams' (Lucid dreams are dreams in which you know at the time that you are dreaming. That they are different from ordinary dreams is obvious as soon as you have one. The experience is something like waking up in your dreams. It is as though you "come to" and find you are dreaming) Initially disc0ncerting but I've learnt to relax and enjoy them. At the moment, it is most often just me and my dog so I am happy to be able to reconnect in this way. We go on walks untroubled by gamekeepers or 'on the leash' limitations. The birds seem to have suicidal tendencies and that is good for both of us.

Old age is something I never expected to see. Total honesty? - I never wanted to see it. I do get annoyed at the problems doing now what was no hinderance at all 15 or 20 years ago. This is just a pride thing I suppose. My reduction in things I do causes no practical problem. What was the point in going straight up steep inclines instead of traversing them in zig zag fashion? Walking 25 or so miles in a day - just an hour's drive. I think I am adjusting to it. Must be - cannot see I would ever have sat down and set down this sort of thing back then.

Hero today. Tomorrow?

A 9 year old boy took prompt action when his mother collapsed at the wheel of her car. Not too far as to say he saved both their lives. He has Asperger's syndrome.

It is very likely that his medical condition will limit the education he will receive. Strange old world isn't it?

Going going 'gan

I wrote the other day that the operation in Afghanistan was buggered.

That are more dignified ways of saying that same thing.

Thinking of moving?

From the Estate Times:

Horelma Peramam has bought the Toprak Mansion in London for £50 million, that’s $97.8 million. According to the Sunday Times who cited real estate broker Glentree Estates, Peramam’s purchase makes Toprak Mansion the most expensive newly built property in the UK.
Horelma Peramam is a Kazakh billionaire, according to a London newspaper. Peramam plans on spending an additional £30 million on renovations for the home.
Toprak is on Bishops Avenue in Barnet. The house was built by Turkish business man, Halis Toprak.

This place was on the market for a very short time. It was described then as very much 'over the top'. However, having paid the 50 million, the new owner plans to spend another 30 million fitting it out to her taste.

Just remind me - was not Kazakhstan described as a very poor country? Instead of pouring money into the place, maybe they would be better off setting up a Revenue system to tax their rich people. I'm not one for the overall redistribution of wealth but this seems to call out for some sort of social justice.

Verily I vow

This came onto some radio programme I have in the background when I am at this machine. It is one we used to bellow out at school on the last day of each term and the first day of the following term.

Reason for putting it here is that I like it. Surely that is enough? However, it seem that I may be furthering some grossly racist hymn. In August 2004, the Rt Revd Stephen Lowe, Bishop of Hulme, called for the first verse of the hymn to be removed from Church of England services, calling it "totally heretical". He believed it placed national loyalties above religious ones and encouraged racism and an unquestioning support of governments. His words sparked a debate on the wider implications of the hymn. All the more reason for reproducing it then. To cull such a wonderful poem at a time when we are facing the situation when calls to Islamic prayer will ring out over the morning calm makes it all the more important to make our position clear.

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays 'pon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

Gis us a job

The Grauniad tells us :

The average local authority is employing over nine times as many people on £50,000-plus packages as ten years ago—66 people in 2006–07 compared with 20 people in 2001-02 and 7 people in 1996-97.
By contrast, in the economy as a whole, the number of people earning more than £50,000 has increased by less than three times over the past ten years.
The average local authority spent over £4 million employing people on £50,000-plus remuneration packages last year.
The total bill for council middle and senior managers on £50,000-plus remuneration packages was almost £2 billion last year almost £1 in every £11 of total council tax revenues.
The remuneration of local authority middle and senior management is racing past that of MPs. There were 12,600 local authority middle and senior managers being paid at least £60,000 last year—equal to or exceeding the £60,277 salary of MPs in November 2006.

As a proportion - 66 jobs from 20 - that may not seem a big hill of beans but when set against the overall, the rate of increase is high. Obviously, there would be expectations that pay will rise but this is well outside inflation. The paper also reports that they have advertisements for another 91 local authority jobs set at over 50 grand. I reckon I know where family-employer Conway will be aiming his c.v. They might even take on his self-appointed "Queen of Sloan" son as some sort of diversity leader.

What is happening to President Hamid Karzai's leadership of Afghanistan? The amount of land under opium in Afghanistan is more than under coca cultivation in Columbia, Bolivia and Peru combined. Afghan MP Malalai Joya writes in today's Independent that the government is as bad as the Taliban, with more women killing themselves in the country in 2007 than ever before. So why did President Karzai "veto" Paddy Ashdown as a "super envoy" to Afghanistan, and earlier in Davos say that the British presence in Helmand had made things worse? Is he angry that the international community has not delivered the reconstruction aid it promised, and, worried about his own re-election, trying to court votes with a more belligerent attitude to the West?

As I see it, the idea of one man in charge inAfghanistan is a non-starter. The country is a fiefdom of war lords who control areas. These areas are autonomous and neither need anything from Kabul or obey orders from Kabul. If there is anything going for free, they will hold their hands out. Otherwise they keep them on their friendly AK47. They are as likely to fight each other as incomers. Karzai got where he is by offering to organise a lot of freebies. He has not come good.

Not all raza mataz

I suppose a lot of us in UK have this idea about America. Everything bigger, faster, more sophisticated. Well, that is mostly right although there are really many areas of really deep deprivation. This is not a racial thing, there are many poor whites.

The idea I have is that the people are more ready to work. They tend to think of other folks. They are not afraid to show their religious beliefs. There is a strong work ethic. I worked for an American firm in UK and was astonished when I found out that their US employees did not have contracts of employment as we did. If the boss chooses to sack someone, it is out the door then and no notice is needed. Whilst I was greatly enamoured of the actual country and it's amazing landscapes, it was the people who made me wish I had been able to work there. I did a six week job swap and it was possibly the best employment I had. One gets some idea from the blog I have guested.

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Just saying it was cold out last night in south central Wisconsin is quite the understatement. It was beyond really f***ing cold; it was deadly f***ing cold. The base temperature was below zero, and with a 30 knot wind out of the northwest gusting to 50+, the wind chill was easily minus 30. Throw in some snow and you had one nasty night to be outside for even a few minutes. For this reason, I could hardly believe my eyes as I drove up US 12 and came upon a person walking a bicycle along the shoulder of the road.
t was about 9pm, and I was heading home from class at UW Whitewater. The roads were icy, and very few people were on them. Downtown Fort Atkinson, the small city halfway between school and home, was deserted. The McDonald's was empty. It seemed wise to take Highway 12 all the way to Cambridge rather than use the back roads, even though it was a few miles longer. It's a major road and would be in better shape, and I figured if I got into trouble I would be more likely to eventually see another car.

About four miles out of Fort, there was this poor soul, in the dark, trudging along. It took a second for me to realize that I had to stop; this person was truly in danger of either being hit or freezing to death. Except for the two of us, the road was deserted. I backed up and rolled down the window to offer a ride. The voice that responded sounded almost childlike, and I couldn't understand the words because the person was shivering so badly.

Like a dope, I asked if the bike had a flat tire or something. Right. As if the bone-chilling headwind wasn't a factor. "C'mon. I'm driving you home," I said, as I took the bike and put it in the back of the car. "Get in." There was no hesitation on either of our parts. Neither of us was worried the other was a psycho-killer. It was too cold, the need too urgent.

We got in and I cranked the heat. Only then was I able to tell that this was a woman, not too old, but not a kid either. She told me where she was heading: the trailer park off Treiloff Road. That was still at least two miles ahead. "Where were you coming from?" I asked. "The McDonald's," came the reply. That was four or five miles back in Fort Atkinson. Holy shit. She told me, in few words, that she didn't think it was really going to be this bad. Then she said she hoped I wouldn't be going out of my way to drive her home. All the while, her teeth continued to chatter.

Her home turned out to be a modest mobile home at the top of a hill at the end of a dark road... four miles from where I picked her up. I pulled her bike from the car and wished her warmth. She looked my direction, not quite in the eye, and simply said, "Thank you. Thank you very much."

This encounter left me with a mix of feelings and some unanswered questions. For a second, I thought about what a good person I was... probably saved this person's life for god's sake. That self-congratulatory award passed quickly. Then, I began to feel sort of guilty. Here was this person, who probably rode her bike to her low-paying fast food job a good eight miles away from her house several days a week. Even though the nastiness of the night's weather was well-predicted, she made this effort to get to work so as not to miss a day's pay. What might that have been worth? Fifty bucks maybe? I blew that much on the hockey tickets I bought but didn't use last week. Talk about getting myself a serving of perspective with a side order of humility. I guess that's why I bristled when the owner of the coffee place in town labelled her "an idiot" and laughed at her predicament when I related the story to him early this morning.

I have to wonder what kind of will it takes for a person to get a McJob, and then keep it by riding a bike 16 miles round trip each work day. Is this what people have to look forward to as good jobs for those with only a high school education keep being exported? Would someone else have stopped if I hadn't? Is she OK?

John Edwards announced he was pulling out of the presidential race today. I haven't made up my mind about a candidate yet, but I liked his strong position on helping that other America, the people like the woman on the bike. I hope whoever we do nominate takes to heart, and then to policy, his ideas and his values in this area.

It's really f***ing cold again today, but the wind has died down and the sun is shining. And on this day, the woman I helped last night, whose name I don't know, is my hero.

Take me back

Electrical stimulation of areas deep within the brain could improve memory, early research suggests.
A team of doctors in Canada stumbled upon the finding while attempting to treat a morbidly obese man through deep brain stimulation (DBS).
When stimulated, the man had very clear deja vu. He then had a sudden perception of being in a park with friends. He felt younger, thought he was around 20-years-old, and his girlfriend of the time was there. He was an observer, and saw the scene in colour. Whilst this was being used experimentally for obesity, it is thought it will have wider applications including Alzheimer's. With the number of people with Alzheimer's forecast to double within a generation, we urgently need to find ways to tackle this awful disease, but research is hugely under-funded.
Well, I'm all for deep stimulation - nudge nudge wink wink. Especially if it brings back former girlfriends who are rather thin on the ground right now.Actually, memories of things long past is something I'm pretty good at rather than faulty or absent short term memory. I can get colours and sounds but not smells. Given Korea and Hong Kong as they were then, this no smell might be a blessing in disguise.

Now will you believe me?

Everyone says they are a threat to the countryside. Now look what they are up to.

Large wonga

I have been following the twists and turns of the Soc Gen guy who lost the bank a few billions. When it first broke I had two main thoughts. One - the French were jealous of our Northern Rock saga and wanted to show they were as good as us and Two, what the hell was Avec Frits going to do with the money he was dealing in if he had got it outside the bank? This latter point was made more interesting when the Kent Securicor trial finished. They had to settle with just 53 million as the truck they had was limited to a 8 ton cargo. So, just how would the French guy disappear into the mists with the bulge in his trousers that was 2 billion? Shifting that from France to Brazil would leave a trail.
Some clarification came when the police chose not to include straight theft in their charges and appear to have accepted that what was done was meant to raise the prestige of the trader. I will leave aside wondering how he thought he might maintain his winning ways through the rest of his career based as they were upon severe bending of the control systems. These must surely have led to his downfall given time.
So - reduction of interest in Soc Gen. Except - how do banks handle these profits and losses or the monies involved when company A buys company B for a couple of billion quids?. Well, there is a system but, don't worry, I'm not going to go into it here. However, have a look at what Wikipedia says about fiat money (no, not the price of a small car for the Attorney General ) and representative money. What these have to do with the price of fish is (exhaustively I warn you) dealt with by a paper considering changes.
Having read that jogged my memory of extremely smart men seen on the streets of the City of London. They wore formal morning dress and were topped of by extremely shiny silk top hats. These were bank messengers and they were the carriers of settlement notes between banks. Doubtless, it is now all done by electronic means (and open to fiddles).
Another piece of useless information that came with my inquiries was that the largest value Euro bank note (representative money now we know!) is 500 euros. So, our French friend would have had a problem ordering Le Grande Mac avec jambon and offering a whopper as payment.

Meat eaters of the world unite

From The New York Times

Growing meat (it’s hard to use the word “raising” when applied to animals in factory farms) uses so many resources that it’s a challenge to enumerate them all. But consider: an estimated 30 percent of the earth’s ice-free land is directly or indirectly involved in livestock production, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which also estimates that livestock production generates nearly a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases — more than transportation. To put the energy-using demand of meat production into easy-to-understand terms, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius. Similarly, a study last year by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days. 20 percent - suppose you ate one more pasta dinner a week, hold the meatballs. Or had a pizza with just veggies instead of pepperoni. Or at breakfast, skip the bacon and sausage. If you knew that making a simple choice like what you were having for dinner could make that much of a difference, wouldn't you do it today?

I am not a vegetarian: I used to be a very big eater of meat often to the exclusion of any vegetables. However, if this is true it is good news. Rather than have to adopt daft measures that would be inconvenient or unwanted, we could do this. I'm not quite sure how it might work. My abstaining from 2.2 pounds of beef surely would not lead to any reduction in beef overall. Sizing it up to some 60 million times 2.2 pounds is much better but which would be chicken and which would be egg? Reduction in demand or reduction in crop?

Light relief

Amidst the serious things in life, this is worth looking at

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http://www.diyjoe.com/index.php?p=dirtyvan

How to get a positive result

Murder suspect murdered during trial
Jan. 29 - A gunman has walked into a Manila court and shot dead an ex-mayor on trial for murder. A bodyguard and a civilian were wounded.
The assassin escaped after gunning down Reynaldo Yap, a former mayor of a town on the southern island of Mindanao. He was on trial for murder.
Panic spread through the area as police teams moved into the building to search for the gunmen. No weapon was found on site and the assailant remains at large.

Given the way that our judicial system seem fairly constant in their judgements as to how leniently one can be tried, this solution might become more frequent here.

What about that Bruni?

The old French smoothie is seen here without his latest lady
but I should imagine that OneI joshed him about the luck of someone like him getting alongside someone like her.
So - anyone reading this - what about a caption for this image?

Returner a les moutons (or somesuch)

Well, some sort of learned start anyway. So, why after such a long gap, am I coming back to the beginning?

Easy to know for me but maybe dificult to explain. My first away spell was with the Daily Telegraph's site. Technically, apart from one or two difficult bits, it was good. The site semed to spend rather more than average time down with server problems or quite frequent updates being installed. Somehow or other the site had gathered itself a strange membership. Apart from the usual only-slightly-mad crowd, there were some who appeared to border on the psychotic. Anything Islamic was like bull + red rag. We had a very nice Muslim lady on board who tried to correct the more outrageous postings and comments but the Islamaphobes ganged up on her as soon as her head came over the parapet. There was a system where the site posted statistics as to the most popular (i.e. most read) contributer and the post which generated the most comments.

Nice idea. However, the ratings were skewed by posters creating more than one identity and using these to read and re-read the post oneof them had written. They also commented on these contributions. Generally in scabrous style which provoked more comments. The site had the facility for anyone to complain about any post. All to get their name 'in lights'. Clever guys in the membership established and showed what was going on. There were moderators. They put into limbo any post that had drawn complaint. They would also act on their own initiative and delete posts they felt might be inappropriate. There was no swift resolution of the problems and a total lack of feed-back explaining their actions. The doppel-gangers used this to further enhance their results. The site ober-fuehrer claimed that the matter could not be solved as he lacked proof of the allegations.

The testesterone overload was more than I wanted to be on the edges of so I backed out. This led to an invitation from someone who had also removed himself from the fray and set up an closed site. I joined that. At that time there were about 13 of us. All nice, well mannered people. No one ever struck back at anything: mere posting of the day's date could well lead to a flood of comments saying what a lovely post. Not a flower died or a bird fell without being commented upon with a multitude of comments showering hugs and sympathy. We had a religious writer who went to great lengths to point out God's message in almost everything and anything that happened. As a non-believer in everything except my own multi-talents, I was itching to get in amongst him but it would have been like farting at Communion - inappropriate. So, in fear of the sweetness generating some form of mental diabetes, I let that fall away.

I do feel that I would like to have somewhere to blog. It is rather like the process of sorting out a course of action by listing on a piece of paper the 'pro' and 'con' points of the matter. Putting things down in writing itself concentrates even the most grasshopper mind. I used to review the day gone and plans for the day present whilst sitting in the smallest room in the house. I get the same relaxation here. I am not sure who - if anyone - might read this stuff. Comments are very few - but welc0me.

So, watch this space.

Still on the run.

No MyT work for a couple of days. As yet, no with-drawal symptoms. My last post there drew a response from an ex-MyT'r who had set up a small operation on a social network basis. I joined as I was aware that going cold turkey might be difficult after the high activity levels of blogging. If the new thing directs me down the paths that made me quit MyT I shall drop that as well.

What was that about 99 sheep?

I have given up my My Telegraph blog. No particular reason that I could identfy as responsible. The DT blog is quite cerebral with a lot of deep thinkers and serious commentators and that led me to explore their ideas and thoughts.

I was learning more than I wanted. Allied to this greater awareness of how this world was sliding down the stairs on a tea tray was the realisation that there was little I could ever do to ameloriate the situation still less offer any solution. I have little interest in being an onlooker; I always want to get down in the dirt with the players.

So, I came away. For a rest? Maybe. I want to continue with my steps to discovering if I can write. So here I am.

Ah! Blogging

I returned to this blog area today to find something from the archives. Awaiting me was a comment from Wireless Guy dated 9 November 2007. Due to weird persons such as him, comments are moderated. I rejected this one.

However, as he seems to wish to use this method of communication, it might help if I explain why his comments here will always be rejected and those made elsewhere reported for total removal or amendment.

The short answer is that I do not wish to communicate with him in any way, shape or form. I have made this clear to him when he was using email. I also advised him that I would not hesitate to contact his ISP if he again sent abusive or unwanted traffic. He seems to have understood that. I stand ready to issue the same warning regarding his harassment on any blog of mine.

I do not know what his problem is. He makes reference to events in my past but these are either founded on his misinterpretation of my actions or just sheer animus. He refers to the death of my daughter/his sister. What he does not know is that I discussed my attitude with her whilst she was still lucid. We agreed there was no good outcome for her. We also agreed other matters; these were personal her to me and I do not intend to debate them with him.

Another matter that rankles is my attitude to her husband and children. I do not know what transpired but after his intrusion at the latter stages of my daughter's resulted in her daughters feeling unable or unwilling to contact me or my wife. I associate his appearance with this situation. If they cannot discuss the problem, I cannot assist. I know not what I have done wrong. Their father has confirmed Wireless Guys part in their changed attitude but says, quite rightly, it is a matter for them and not his resolution.

On odd occasions he refers to the death of my mother. He can have no idea of that which he complains. Her consultants confirmed that there was nothing further the medical services could do and recommended I give consent to cessation of treatment. She and I discussed this when she was aware of what was going on. Anything I did after her death was agreed by and with her. I do not accept any criticism from him. His intervention and allegations are unwanted and slightly distressing. It is matters such as this that could cause me to complain to those who provide his Internet access.

He goes on to other sundry matters. These include the question "have you stopped beating your wife?" and seems to expect either a yes or no answer. Again, I see the matter as nothing to do with him. I would point out that my wife and I recently celebrated fifty years of marriage; if she is being beaten she looks well on it and is prepared for the next few years.

His own behaviour would support adverse comment.

Anything that comes from this wireless guy needs to be taken with a large dose of salt. If there is any opportunity I would add legal action to the complaint to his service provider. He may see me as his father. This is biologically true but I certainly do not see him as my son such that he may feel he has rights to speak out and be heard.

Whither now - SatNav required

So - it does seem as if the MyT blog has been cleansed. There are still a couple of things that need to be sorted out but doubtless that will follow.

Now, what happens with this blog? I resurrected it to give me the facility to get away from the over-weening MyT protection of TCP. Where I could get my opinions across without someone lodging a spoiling complaint.

I think I might try and run them both.

End of the world as we knew it!

Well, today we can well and truly claim that goodness will triumph over evil. Bit dramatic but that is how it feels. The despotic and dyspeptic Slocombe has departed from MyT. Long rambling justification which completely evaded the fact that he was almost universally reviled.

I do have a few doubts. His sudden collapse came very soon after, at long long last, we got TCS to organise a forensic analysis of activities as recorded on the server logs. My personal opinion, based upon the long leash he had enjoyed for so long, is that he was given the alternative of Go or Be Pushed. Either was he is off.

Or is he? One of the failings of the registration process is that all one requires is a valid email address. These are as scarce as gay condoms in Brighton. He could well come back. The bogeyman returns.

TODAY'S GUEST BLOG
http://my.telegraph.co.uk/phil_slocombe/september_2007/goodbye_myt.htm

Watch out - snipers!

The decay continues of what could have been a first class blogging facility run by the Daily Telegraph. Some good forensic work by outraged and disappointed members has shown very clearly that there is something untoward afoot. Shane (TCS in my Army-like nomenclature) has appointed a side kick to undertake some sort of inquiry. Doubtless, it will be just as the Dr Kelly job - your terms of reference are that if you find anything dodgy you must not publish them.

I have given up. I will post what I want in the manner I want.

Return, tail between legs, downcast

Well, I have been away some what - 4 months? Went to the blog run by the Daily Telegraph. I say 'run' - after this update you may form some other opinion.

It all started off well. Very easy site to use - this because it has limited features. Limited HTML, few formatting options. Only upload one image per post. It was a lively site with most posts getting an average of, I suppose, 20 or so comments. These were a happy mix of serious, facile, what-the-hell-is-that-about and in-jokes. They have a section which establishes the most popular post, comment, saved item and bloggers. Each post has the ability to vote Yes or No in agreement with the post and these are consolidated to an overall popularity percentage. I'll do a link with the Guest Blog and you will see what I mean.

This Top of the Pops feature is well on the way to killing the whole thing. Registration requires only that one have a email address. Canny posters looking to get themselves or their work included registered many times and this gave them the facility to manipulate the results. What they were doing was very obvious and logs were maintained of weird activity which suggested the doppelgangers. The blog moderators poo hooed the double identity creation but did not amplify how they prevented this. Some of us, to check, used multiple emails to see where any hidden check might be. There was none. We were able to make posts in more than one identity before cancelling what we saw as an abuse and loophole not closed.

Another built-in by design failure was the ability to complain about a post or comment. This was directly and all too easily available from the post. Using the Complain About feature allowed ill-minded members to stifle any comment or post that revealed their quirks or double-identities or manipulation tactics. The post and comments are then removed from general view whilst, alleged, they have been cleared by the moderators. In all the time I have been using the MyT blog, I have not seen any resurrection of a complained about post or comment. Surely, not every complaint can have been justified for cause? Feed-back from the blog fuhrers is almost non-existent giving none the ability to correct their future work to avoid it's abortion.

So, if anyone here is thinking of designing a blogging application, the MyT is a good example of what not to do.

Now, without further ado, one of my posts that was killed and an example of the writing of the person I highlight in that post. Enjoy.

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TODAY'S GUEST BLOG
Philip S. is a much talked about man at the moment. It is not just a few awkward members doing this but people one rarely reads of are commenting as well. It cannot be easy for him as he doubtless still sees himslef as a founder member. Maybe he has some idea that he is the blog. I did entertain the start of a wonderful conspiracy theory that TCP does not really exist but is someone invented by Shane or such to give the blog that appearance of success that any application initiated by a newspaper requires if it is not to be a chain around a even more seniors' neck. This conspiracy would involve under the table payments and action in manipulating statistics. I cleared Shane after finding him and TCP on site at the same time, However, we still have to wonder why such a sharp executive seems unable to comprehend the logs and information addressed for his perusal.

I used to get quite annoyed at TCP. He appeared to have his own private line when he complained about a comment or a post. I imagined a dedicated moderator alert as the HMV dog Nipper for when His Master's Voice came on - Exterminate, exterminate. He made quite immoderate and extraordinanry claims in his own work without giving any reference or other citation. All it needed was for him to say it - instant truth andconfirmation. However, as his work became even more like that of Captain Queeg and his cache of strawberries, I sensed that there could well be something like megalomania at work. The symptoms were just so accurate; "Megalomania is an unrealistic belief in one's superiority, grandiose abilities, and even omnipotence. It is characterized by a need for total power and control over others, and is marked by a lack of empathy for anything that is perceived as not feeding the self". He needs to controll everything and this to an extreme. I imagine that much of his life is now out of his control. He will be crippled and look terribly unhealthy and old beyond his actual years. As an ex-serviceman. he smokes 60 a day. He cannot sell his house and has lost so much of his limited capital. He cannot communicate or understand so much around him in China and his wife would seem poorly educated. She would be of limited support on his trips to Spain where his conquistador lifestyle delusions give him comfort unattainable in China.

So all in all, the poor chap deserves our sympathy rather than the scorn and derision that he now attracts.Were he a dog, he would need a rescue center. I think he deserves to be treated like a dog for the rest of his few years here.

Ave Atque Vale

I include an article that comments on the Nazi attitudes to racial purification by the sad old Slocombe. No action was taken to kill the original article.