I’ve watched the first two episodes of the BBC’s Survivors series and what a revelation it’s been.
I’m not talking about the strange continuity episodes - cars abandoned all over towns and cities but not a single one abandoned on the motorways... where you might find yourself if trying to escape something.
No - it’s the composition of the survivors. It’s all very politically correct; a mosque-going muslim, a black, female health minister, a lapsed muslim, a strong, mysterious black bloke, a female doctor with (I think) an eastern European name, the working class scouser with a dodgy past who will probably come good in the end (but maybe not)...
But no berths for the white middle class blokes (WMCB), it seems.
Not strictly true, actually - they do make an appearance, as the shotgun-wielding Dexter (strange name) - a Daily Mail reader if ever there was one; as the Claret-buried supermarket manager; as the government press officers telling huge porkies to the public; and, of course, as the sinister bloke who’s obviously up to something nasty in the lab.
The only vaguely positive WMCB is an outdoor activities centre manager who (briefly) makes the grade because he’s got good green credentials. And he, like John Prescott, is probably working class in origin...
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
The great pension scandal
Great to see Channel 4 news getting the bit between its teeth about one of the biggest scandals in Britain today.
I'm (and they’re) talking public sector pensions – especially at a time when many workers are looking at cutting any pension contributions they may have to make ends meet.
A whopping 90 per cent of state employees will enjoy a final salary pension. If you’re in the private sector, then that figure is just 15 per cent (and falling).
It used to be that a generous pension was seen as recompense for years of average salaries. That’s not true now, though, with many public sector workers doing very well thank you very much - and probably not for working all that hard, either.
Bigger public sector wages equal a bigger bill for public sector pensions. Who’s paying for that? The good old taxpayer - who cannot afford to put money into their own pensions because they are paying so much tax to finance the pen pushers of the town hall.
And... while the rest of us are being encouraged to work to 65 and beyond, the public sector brigade all get to call it a day at 60.
I'm (and they’re) talking public sector pensions – especially at a time when many workers are looking at cutting any pension contributions they may have to make ends meet.
A whopping 90 per cent of state employees will enjoy a final salary pension. If you’re in the private sector, then that figure is just 15 per cent (and falling).
It used to be that a generous pension was seen as recompense for years of average salaries. That’s not true now, though, with many public sector workers doing very well thank you very much - and probably not for working all that hard, either.
Bigger public sector wages equal a bigger bill for public sector pensions. Who’s paying for that? The good old taxpayer - who cannot afford to put money into their own pensions because they are paying so much tax to finance the pen pushers of the town hall.
And... while the rest of us are being encouraged to work to 65 and beyond, the public sector brigade all get to call it a day at 60.
Betting on airlines
With the doom and gloom still as thick as a 1950s London smog, it is at least one thing that no more airlines have gone bust in recent weeks.
Paddy Power ran a book on which one would be next (now closed).
Sky Europe topped the at risk list at 5-2 with Alitalia in contention at 4-1. Both Spanair and Click looked worthy of a fiver at 10-1 the pair.
Paddy Power ran a book on which one would be next (now closed).
Sky Europe topped the at risk list at 5-2 with Alitalia in contention at 4-1. Both Spanair and Click looked worthy of a fiver at 10-1 the pair.
Monday, 20 October 2008
Pigeons in the guano
The Telegraph reports that a number of pigeons have been arrested for spying on Iran’s nuclear sites... (and quite right too, the filthy infidel flying rats).
One of the pigeons was caught near a rose water production plant in the city of Kashan in Isfahan province, the Etemad Melli newspaper reported. It said that some metal rings and "invisible" strings were attached to the bird, suggesting that it might have been somehow communicating what it had seen with the equipment it was carrying.
"Early this month, a black pigeon was caught bearing a blue-coated metal ring, with invisible strings," a source told the newspaper.
The source gave no further description of the pigeons, nor what their fate might be.
Natanz is home to Iran's heavily-bunkered underground uranium enrichment plant, which is also not far from Kashan.
The activity at Iran's controversial uranium enrichment facility is the focus of Iran's five-year standoff with the West, which fears it aims to develop nuclear weapons. The Tehran government insists its programme is intended to generate power for civilian use only.
Last year, Iran issued a formal protest over the use of espionage by the United States to produce a key intelligence report on the country's controversial nuclear programme.
It is also highly suspicious of Israel, whose extensive intelligence activities are not known to include the use of pigeons.
One of the pigeons was caught near a rose water production plant in the city of Kashan in Isfahan province, the Etemad Melli newspaper reported. It said that some metal rings and "invisible" strings were attached to the bird, suggesting that it might have been somehow communicating what it had seen with the equipment it was carrying.
"Early this month, a black pigeon was caught bearing a blue-coated metal ring, with invisible strings," a source told the newspaper.
The source gave no further description of the pigeons, nor what their fate might be.
Natanz is home to Iran's heavily-bunkered underground uranium enrichment plant, which is also not far from Kashan.
The activity at Iran's controversial uranium enrichment facility is the focus of Iran's five-year standoff with the West, which fears it aims to develop nuclear weapons. The Tehran government insists its programme is intended to generate power for civilian use only.
Last year, Iran issued a formal protest over the use of espionage by the United States to produce a key intelligence report on the country's controversial nuclear programme.
It is also highly suspicious of Israel, whose extensive intelligence activities are not known to include the use of pigeons.
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down...
This site is genius...
www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com
Fantastic biscuit reviews. Might I recommend the analysis of how the Club biscuit has changed (and not for the better) and how the Lincoln is now only available in Ireland.
Ah, the Lincoln. That green packet, as I recall – Lincoln green, perhaps? A reference to Robin Hood and his Merry Men? Robbing the rich to give to the poor?
Doesn't seem more than a few months since I saw a packet of Lincoln, but I gather they went West some time ago.
www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com
Fantastic biscuit reviews. Might I recommend the analysis of how the Club biscuit has changed (and not for the better) and how the Lincoln is now only available in Ireland.
Ah, the Lincoln. That green packet, as I recall – Lincoln green, perhaps? A reference to Robin Hood and his Merry Men? Robbing the rich to give to the poor?
Doesn't seem more than a few months since I saw a packet of Lincoln, but I gather they went West some time ago.
Friday, 10 October 2008
Rickshaw bombers peddle death
What a charming eastern touch to the whole thing. Had the bombs gone off, they'd have been stuck in traffic about 20 metres away.
Two terrorists caught rickshaws to escape the scene after leaving car bombs parked in London's busy West End, a court heard.
Bilal Abdulla, 29, and Kafeel Ahmed, 28, stationed one of the vehicles outside a packed nightclub and the other in front of a bustling bus stop, Woolwich Crown Court was told.
The cars, packed with gas canisters, petrol and nails, were left in the capital on June 29 last year but failed to explode because the initiation devices did not work properly, the jury heard.
Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw QC said the two men were captured on CCTV leaving the area in the early hours of that morning.
Ahmed was seen dumping into a bin an umbrella he had apparently been carrying to shield his face from cameras.
At 1.39am he boarded a rickshaw in Piccadilly Circus and Abdulla also adopted the same mode of transport to get away from the area.
The two men met up in Edgware Road at 2.05am, just 30 minutes after they had left the bomb-rigged cars, the court heard.
Ahmed died in hospital after a second attempted terrorist attack, on Glasgow Airport, the following day.
Abdulla is standing trial with Mohammed Asha, 28, accused of conspiring to murder and to cause explosions likely to endanger life.
Abdulla, of Houston, Glasgow, and Asha, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, are both doctors who have worked in NHS hospitals around the country. They both deny the charges.
Two terrorists caught rickshaws to escape the scene after leaving car bombs parked in London's busy West End, a court heard.
Bilal Abdulla, 29, and Kafeel Ahmed, 28, stationed one of the vehicles outside a packed nightclub and the other in front of a bustling bus stop, Woolwich Crown Court was told.
The cars, packed with gas canisters, petrol and nails, were left in the capital on June 29 last year but failed to explode because the initiation devices did not work properly, the jury heard.
Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw QC said the two men were captured on CCTV leaving the area in the early hours of that morning.
Ahmed was seen dumping into a bin an umbrella he had apparently been carrying to shield his face from cameras.
At 1.39am he boarded a rickshaw in Piccadilly Circus and Abdulla also adopted the same mode of transport to get away from the area.
The two men met up in Edgware Road at 2.05am, just 30 minutes after they had left the bomb-rigged cars, the court heard.
Ahmed died in hospital after a second attempted terrorist attack, on Glasgow Airport, the following day.
Abdulla is standing trial with Mohammed Asha, 28, accused of conspiring to murder and to cause explosions likely to endanger life.
Abdulla, of Houston, Glasgow, and Asha, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, are both doctors who have worked in NHS hospitals around the country. They both deny the charges.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Story of the day
(Thanks to ITV news)
Police are investigating after a cook was found dead in a freezer at the primary school where she worked.
Officers said the body of Linda Gent, 53, was discovered at South Benfleet Primary School in Benfleet, Essex, late on a Saturday.
She had been reported missing 15 hours earlier.
Sources said detectives are not treating the incident as murder, but a report was being prepared for a coroner.
Police said a post-mortem examination had failed to reveal a cause of death and further tests were being carried out.
A source close to the inquiry added: "Her body was found in a freezer at the school."
Sources said one possibility being considered was that Mrs Gent, who lived in Benfleet, had killed herself.
Mrs Gent had worked at the school since the late 1980s and staff and children were said to be "devastated".
"Everyone connected with South Benfleet Primary School has been devastated by the sudden death of Linda Gent, our school cook," said head Dominic Carver.
"Mrs Gent was a hugely popular and highly-valued member of our catering team. Her positive contribution of about 20 years at the school has been magnificent."
Police are investigating after a cook was found dead in a freezer at the primary school where she worked.
Officers said the body of Linda Gent, 53, was discovered at South Benfleet Primary School in Benfleet, Essex, late on a Saturday.
She had been reported missing 15 hours earlier.
Sources said detectives are not treating the incident as murder, but a report was being prepared for a coroner.
Police said a post-mortem examination had failed to reveal a cause of death and further tests were being carried out.
A source close to the inquiry added: "Her body was found in a freezer at the school."
Sources said one possibility being considered was that Mrs Gent, who lived in Benfleet, had killed herself.
Mrs Gent had worked at the school since the late 1980s and staff and children were said to be "devastated".
"Everyone connected with South Benfleet Primary School has been devastated by the sudden death of Linda Gent, our school cook," said head Dominic Carver.
"Mrs Gent was a hugely popular and highly-valued member of our catering team. Her positive contribution of about 20 years at the school has been magnificent."
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