ABER-RANT

ER WHAT ?

2011-11-25T10:37:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine had to see a neurologist.....I report the gist of the consultation

Consultant: you mustn't be around smokers

Patient: I don't allow smoking in my house

Consultant: Just being around smokers would be dangerous for you

Patient: Well, as I said no one smokes in my house, or work, or car

Consultant: SMOKERS ARE BAD FOR YOU WHETHER THEY'RE SMOKING or NOT !!!

I kid you not...this is the sort of mediaeval superstition we are all up against .

2011-07-09T07:03:00.001-07:00

The world financial crisis made a dent in sales of premium goods as Cuban cigars, while such smoking bans that each day are more and more spread worldwide are a real bane of the cigar industry.

Habanos is trying to oppose the action by offering various lines of small cigars that can be smoked during a work break and also produce cigars specially created for women smokers.

It was found that Cuba’s premium cigars dominate the world cigar market with 70% of all sales.

However that market share excludes the United States as Cuba’s cigars are prohibited there in accordance with a decades-old trade embargo against the Communist island.

The great domestic demand for lower-quality cigars, which are sold at very low price and are made from tobacco leaves grown elsewhere in the country, haven’t demonstrated the sign of slowing in spite of local smoking bans, which like many other laws, are not fully respected.

2010-12-10T00:38:00.000-08:00

Bertrand Russell On Smoking

The London Hospitals study was the first British study to investigate possible causes of the growing epidemic of lung cancer. It was published by Richard Doll and Bradford Hill in 1950. Bradford Hill was a statistician, and Richard Doll was a young doctor. In the study, several hundred lung cancer patients in London hospitals were questioned about their past smoking habits and other behaviours, to see whether any pattern emerged.

Many years later, Sir Richard Doll wrote:

By the time we had data on several hundred patients it was obvious that the principal difference between the patients with and without lung cancer was their smoking habits, and we had to make up our minds whether the association was due to chance, bias, confounding, or to cause and effect. The evidence that led us to conclude that it was due to the last (and which led me to give up smoking in 1949) is described in our first paper... (source)

In fact, the results eventually showed that in 649 cases of lung cancer, 647 were among smokers. . . .

. . . It certainly looked like a very strong case had been made. The lung cancer patients were almost all smokers. It very much looked as if it was smoking that was causing lung cancer. Richard Doll clearly thought so, since he promptly gave up smoking. It also appeared to have convinced Sir George Godber:

Almost half a century ago we learned that smoking was the main cause of lung cancer. Albeit our knowledge in 1950 was so limited,... (source)

Godber was later to become one of the principal instigators of the notion of passive smoking - the idea that smokers not only harmed themselves, but also the people around them. . . .

. . . we ought to ask of the London Hospitals study what fraction of its overall sample population were smokers, for this would give the fraction of lung cancer patients that might be expected to be smokers, if smoking carried no risk.

And this figure is available in Table 4 of the study. There were 2 non-smokers and 647 smokers in the lung cancer study group. And there were 27 non-smokers and 622 smokers in the non-lung-cancer control group. So that, in the study as a whole, 97.7% of patients were smokers. This being so, we would expect that 97.7% of lung cancer patients would also be smokers, if smoking was unconnected to lung cancer. Instead we find that 99.7% of them were smokers. Is that particularly alarming? All we have discovered is that in a population in which nearly everybody smoked, nearly everybody with lung cancer also smoked: which is precisely what would be expected. Just as if nearly all the patients in the London Hospitals study were Londoners, it would be expected that nearly all the lung cancer patients would be Londoners as well.

Looked at this way, the London Hospitals study tells us nothing. If anything, it might even be said to give smoking a clean bill of health.

Nevertheless, when Doll and Hill commenced their next study, the much more well known British Doctors study, the focus was entirely upon smoking. The doctors were only asked about their smoking habits, and about nothing else at all. . . .

bacteria

2010-12-09T01:35:00.000-08:00

A few scientists have long held the belief that human cancers might well be caused by bacteria. Not that many years ago doctors were surprised to learn that peptic ulcers and cancers of the gut might actually be caused by acid-resistant bacteria. Why were they surprised? TB a precursor to lung cancer used to be mainly a disease of non-smokers, the tobacco smoke having antiseptic properties, was thought to inhibit susceptibility to TB. In the 60's doctors became alarmed that, with the immense reduction in TB, lung cancer was on the increase in the smoking population. They jumped to the conclusion that cancer was caused by smoking.
How they must be dismayed by recent studies that show that aspirin, another chemical which has bacteria-resistant properties, has been shown to inhibit human cancers.The evidence is there for all to see, bacteria cause a range of diseases in human-beings which lead to cancers.
An aspirin a day, or 5 Player's Weights? Your choice, but I'm waiting for the ban on using aspirin in public places myself.

Smoking

2010-05-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

His baton was a Malboro Red.......He'd hold an unlit cigarette an exceedingly long time, until it became fixed in the minds of his audience like a handgun. Then he'd make a grand production of striking a match and bring the flame to the cigarette tip. The next rounded phrase that fell from his mouth would be encased within a dollop of smoke. Then, when he flicked his ash---tap, tap--- everyone leaned forward and watched closely, as if Willie Mays were tapping his bat on the home plate. Something interesting was about to happen. At last, he dropped the burned match into the glass ashtray with a light plink, he delivered the punchline or came to the crucial point, and I was tempted to yell, "Bravo!"

J.R.Moehringer

The Living Longer Myth

2010-05-14T01:11:00.000-07:00

We are not living longer, we are just not dying younger

Listen HERE

2010-03-05T03:44:00.000-08:00

Smoking and health

2009-10-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

postulate: Smoking is unrelated to lung cancer

Recent studies suggest that lung cancer may be a genetic disease

There are no studies showing that nicotine is a carcinogen.

August 1, 1990 edition of the Wall Street Journal. A Study was conducted by researchers at Louisiana State University Medical Centre (New Orleans): Albert Einstein College (NY). The researchers studied 300 families in Southern Louisiana, who had a history of lung cancer, and compared them with 300 controls. The researchers concluded lung cancer is an inherited disease. Based upon retrospective studies 35 the researchers concluded that if a person had two copies of the lung cancer gene, his chances of getting lung cancer by the age of 50 would be 14% if he did not smoke, increasing to 27% if he were a heavy smoker. In the more likely case of an individual having only one copy of the gene, the researchers concluded that a non-smoker would have practically no risk of getting lung cancer by age 50, but for a heavy smoker the risk increased to 5% by age 50, 16% by age 60, and 25% by age 75.These figures remain highly contentious. There is an interesting quote from Neil E. Caporaso, a researcher at the US government-owned National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD. one out of eight smokers will be stricken with lung cancer (which is another way of saying that seven out of eight will not). Considering the fact that one out of every five Americans dies from some form of cancer, and that lung cancer is the most common form of cancer in persons between the ages of 45 and 74, and the second commonest form in persons over that age, Mr. Caporaso's estimate of the risk seems very modest and wholly at variance with the position taken by most government scientists, who shriek hysterically that smoking "causes" lung cancer.

a very interesting study was recently reported, which confirms that if there is a risk involved in smoking, it has been grossly exaggerated . On May 23, 1995, the Associated Press(US) reported on a study made by Dr. Gary Strauss. Strauss analysed 685 lung cancer patients seen at Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston(Mass) between 1988 and 1994. He found that 59% of the patients were non-smokers at the time their cancers were diagnosed. Of these, 8% of the entire sample had never smoked; 51% had smoked at one time but had given it up. Of the 51% who had quit, nearly one fourth had been off cigarettes for more than 20 years. On average, the former smokers had been off cigarettes for six years. Lung cancer is not always diagnosed in non-smokers, because doctors aren't necessarily looking for it. Currently, according to the CDC, 25% of the (US)population are smokers. In the study years (1988-1994), the percentage was as high as 30%. Thus, purely on the basis of demography, we would expect between 25 and 30% of the sufferers from lung cancer, or for that matter, hangnails or acne, to be current smokers. 41% of the cases studied by Strauss were current smokers. Given the role of detection bias (doctors more likely to diagnose lung cancer in smokers than non-smokers), the 41% figure suggests that the lung cancer risk for current smokers may be little or no greater than for non-smokers. In the article, Dr. David Burns of the University of California, seems to support the view that giving up smoking is not the "cure" for lung cancer. He is quoted as saying, "These folks have done what we told them to do, yet they are still at substantially increased risk. What can we do for them? We owe these people an answer." Burns suggested that it may be possible to device a genetic test to spot lung cancer. I would go further and suggest a genetic test to spot the likelihood that somebody will get lung cancer. Whether, in such an individual, giving up smoking would do any good, I don't know, but such individuals probably would choose not to smoke, just as I choose not to eat starches and sugars. The same article also reports that deaths from lung cancer have increased by 51% between 1980 and 1994, despite a drop in the percentage of adults who smoke from 42% in 1965, to 25% in 1993. Isn't it about time to stop blindly adhering to the notion that lung cancer will disappear if people simply give up smoking?

Actually, Dr. Burns is not the only medical doctor who has begun to question that simplistic notion. Julian Whitaker, MD( October 1995) "Since 1950, the incidence of all cancers in people between the ages of 50 and 60 years has increased by 44%, with even higher increases in some of the more deadly forms of cancer. Breast and colon cancer went up 60%, prostate up 100% and testicular cancer for men between the ages of 28 and 35 went up 300%. Lung cancer has gone up 262%, an increase that is obviously not related to cigarette smoking, because over the same period the number of people smoking cigarettes dropped from 50% to 25%..." Doctor Whitaker expresses no opinion as to the reasons for the startling increases in cancer in recent years.

A-levels

2009-08-17T01:18:00.000-07:00

In 1965, when grades were first awarded, 10% of places were to be allocated for As and 20% for Es. In other words you were assessed against your peers, thus sorting out the best candidates for higher education, which was then free.

Open europe

2009-05-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

1. Lisbon Treaty: 82% want referendum in UK, even if all other countries ratify

A new Populus poll for the Times has found overwhelming support for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, even in a situation where it has already been ratified by Ireland and the rest of the EU. 82% of people agreed with the statement, "If Ireland and other countries ratify the Lisbon Treaty on the future of the European Union, Britain should hold its own referendum on the issue", with 52% strongly agreeing and only 14% disagreeing. 92% of Conservative voters, 76% of Labour voters and 85% of Liberal Democrats voters agreed that Britain should have a referendum on the Treaty. (Times, 13 May)

The poll also showed that 58% of voters believe that the balance of powers between Britain and the EU gives too much power to the EU, including a clear majority of supporters of all the main parties. 28% say the balance is about right and 6% say too little power has been given to the EU. In response to the question, "If the Lisbon Treaty goes through and the new post of President of the EU is established, the job should go to Tony Blair", only 34% of people agreed, and 63% disagreed. 51% felt that Britain benefits from its membership of the EU.

Meanwhile, a poll in Germany found that 70% of people want the Lisbon Treaty to be re-negotiated, and a separate poll found that 73% of Germans agree that "the EU takes too many powers from Germany". (Neues Deutschland, 15 May)

Germany is one of four countries that has yet to complete ratification of the Treaty - in addition to Ireland, the Czech Republic and Poland. German President Horst Köhler has said that he will not sign the Treaty into law until after the German Constitutional Court has given its opinion on whether the Treaty is compatible with the German Constitution, which it is expected to do after the European elections in June. (Focus, 5 May; European Voice, 6 May)

In Poland, President Lech Kaczynski is still to sign. Likewise, in the Czech Republic, the Treaty is awaiting the signature of President Vaclav Klaus, following the Senate's approval of the text by 54 votes to 20 on 6 May. (FT, Irish Times, 7 May) President Klaus has said that his signature is "not on the cards" until after Ireland holds a second referendum on the Treaty, expected in the autumn. The leader of the Liberals in the European Parliament, Lib Dem MEP Graham Watson, has attempted to pressure the Czech leader, saying, "Václav Klaus should now sign the document in blood - ahead of the EU summit in June." (WSJ, 7 May; Aktualne, 12 May)

Meanwhile, the Irish government is trying to fast-track work on the so-called 'guarantees' it plans to offer to Ireland in exchange for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, reportedly in an effort to stop Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who is against the Treaty, from 'wrecking' an EU leaders' summit in June. Ireland hopes to persuade the other 26 member states to agree to the wording at a foreign ministers' meeting on 15 June, so that EU leaders meeting later in the same week can merely rubber-stamp the deal, without debate. In order to sideline President Klaus, the Czech government has decided that the EU leaders' summit will be chaired by the Prime Minister instead. (Irish Times, 14 May)

Irish Europe Minister Dick Roche has promised that the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland will not be on the same text, saying "we cannot and will not put the same package to our people later this year." (Irish Times, 5 May) However, in reality, it is extremely unlikely that Ireland will be able to make any actual changes to the Treaty, since any change to the text at all will require re-ratification of the text by every EU member state - including the UK.

2. Lib Dems row back from 'in or out' referendum

Labour yesterday launched their European election campaign in Derbyshire with Gordon Brown suggesting that Britain risks becoming isolated in Europe if 'eurosceptic' parties succeed in the June elections. Brown said "I believe as we consider our future at these elections on 4 June it's also important to remember that we must work within the European Union, not be isolated in Europe." He added that "being outside Europe is a threat to jobs in this country." (El Pais, Reuters, BBC,15 May)

In response to the launch Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois alluded to Labour's broken promise on holding a referendum on the renamed EU Constitution. He said, "What is the point of Gordon Brown launching a European election manifesto when he broke his main promise on Europe in his General Election manifesto? Labour's EU promises cannot be taken seriously while they are denying people their say on the renamed EU Constitution." (PA, 14 May)

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats launched their campaign on 12 May with the slogan "Stronger together, poorer apart." Leader Nick Clegg said: "We are stronger together and poorer apart, it's as simple as that." Asked whether the manifesto contained a commitment to hold a referendum on British membership of the EU - an idea the party has much vaunted over the past year in response to criticism that they went back on their promise to hold a referendum on the EU Treaty - Nick Clegg told a press conference, "Yes, it's in the manifesto."

However, in fact the manifesto contains no clear commitment to a referendum, stating only that the Lib Dems "have argued" for one. It says: "Liberal Democrats have argued for a referendum on whether Britain stays in or leaves the EU. We are the only party confident enough to put the pro-European case to the British people on the big issue facing us - and let the people decide. Britain will only win the case for a flexible, democratic Europe in Brussels if we settle our arguments at home on whether we should be part of the EU or not." (Lib Dem Manifesto, 12 May)

This represents yet another U-turn for the Lib Dems on Europe . At the last election, the Lib Dems joined Labour and the Conservatives in promising a referendum on the EU's Constitutional Treaty - which was later rejected by the French and the Dutch in referendums in 2005, and eventually renamed the Lisbon Treaty. However, instead of honouring that manifesto promise when the Treaty came up for ratification in the UK , Nick Clegg instructed his MPs to abstain from a vote on whether or not there should be a national referendum. He even sacked from his frontbench the handful of Lib Dem MPs who voted with their conscience in favour of the promised referendum.

When the vote moved to the House of Lords, Lib Dem Peers changed tack yet again, choosing not to stick to the line taken in the Commons and abstain, which would have helped the motion for a referendum succeed, and instead voting against a national referendum.

Throughout this episode, in an effort to pretend they were not going back on their promise, the Lib Dems claimed - and continue to claim - that they were instead in favour of a wider referendum on Britain 's membership of the EU. Nick Clegg said: "The EU could be a lot more liberal and democratic, and the Lisbon treaty would help it to do both. So let's trust the people with the real question: in or out?" (Guardian, 25 February 2008)

However, the failure to include a clear and undisputable commitment to such a referendum in the new manifesto proves that this was just a cynical ploy by the Lib Dems to distract attention from their decision to renege on the original manifesto pledge for a referendum on the Treaty.

3. News in brief

Italian bank receives more than €180 million in EU farm subsidies. A list has been published which discloses the largest beneficiaries of EU farm subsidies. These include an Italian bank in Milan, a French chicken farming giant and an Irish producer of Weight Watchers meals and Yorkshire puddings. The largest single payment, €140 million, went to the Italian sugar company Italia Zuccheri. The Italian bank ICBPI, received more than €180 million in five payments. EU member states were required to publish the recipients of subsidies on 30 April, although Germany has so far refused to do so on the grounds of privacy. (NY Times, EUobserver, Debate Farmsubsidy.org Materials Farmsubsidy.org, EU Farm subsidy millionaires 2008, Farmsubsidy, 8 May)

EU working rules mean Ministers need two limousine chauffeurs. The Government Car Service is to double the number of official drivers who act as chauffeurs for Ministers' limousines. This is because of European regulations on working hours, which mean that Ministerial drivers cannot drop a Minister off after a late Commons vote at 11pm, and pick them up at 9am the next morning. The Working Time Directive requires professional drivers have breaks of at least 11 hours between shifts. The rules mean that approximately 80 new drivers will need to be employed and existing drivers will not be able to boost their wages by doing overtime. (Sun, 12 May)

EU civil servants under investigation for benefit fraud awarded money from EU due to mishandling of investigation. 14 EU civil servants investigated for suspected benefit fraud have each been awarded €3,000 from the EU, after it transpired the EU's fraud watchdog, OLAF, failed to tell them that they were to face criminal proceedings in Italy. In a 2002 audit, 230 officials at the Joint Research Centre in Italy - one fifth of the total number of employees there - were found to be claiming a disability benefit. €5.7m was disbursed to staff between 1996 and 2002, an average of €25,000 each.

OLAF said that this "could appear, at first sight, suspect, and should be the object of an in depth review". However, on referring the case to the Italian judiciary to conduct an investigation, OLAF neglected to inform the civil servants. The EU's court for civil service employment disputes then ruled that this was in breach of their rights of defence, and awarded the 14 who brought a complaint €3,000 each in damages. (England Expects, Berlaymonster, 6 May)

French Finance Minister touted as new Commissioner. Speculation has been mounting over who could fill the available posts in the new Commission, due to installed in the autumn. There are rumours suggesting that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Commission President José Manuel Barroso agreed at the end of April that French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde could become the next EU Competition Commissioner. Some reports also suggest that Lagarde could also be in line for Internal Markets Commissioner, as well as French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier. Spanish PM José Luis Zapatero reportedly agreed to support Barroso for another term as Commission President, in exchange for an important economic portfolio for the Spanish Commissioner, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also insisting that Barroso give Germany a top Commission portfolio. (Die Welt, Le Figaro, 13 May; Le Monde, FTD 14 May)

British family arrested over £1m EU regional funds scam. Five members of a Durham family have been charged with offences relating to a scam involving nearly £1m of European grants. Money paid from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund through the UK Government to companies based in County Durham, was supposed to be passed on to help people find work through various initiatives and training courses. It is alleged that the money was used by the family to buy land, houses, a vehicle and to finance building work, while large amounts of cash were also transferred abroad. (Newcastle Journal, Open Europe research, 11 May)

EP approves proposals for 'burden sharing' of asylum seekers in EU. The proposals introduced a 'solidarity clause' in order to assist member states that claim to be overburdened by asylum seeker demands. This provision foresees member states accepting a percentage of asylum applicants - possibly in accordance with their population size. (European Parliament, CDU/CSU, SPD, Die Presse, EUobserver, 8 May)

Proposed EU hedge fund regulations may lead to mass migration from the City. Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has threatened to move his business out of Britain because of the EU's proposed directive to regulate hedge funds and the Government's new tax rate on high earners. Charles Price, founder of hedge fund business Palmer Capital, also admitted that he was weighing up his options, saying "firms have no choice but to consider moving given the lack of clarity about the regulatory environment." Kinetic Partners, which helps relocate hedge funds to Switzerland, have said they are advising 15 hedge funds that are actively considering leaving. (Sunday Times, 11 May)

4. Open Europe Brussels office

Open Europe has recently opened an office in Brussels, near the seat of the EU institutions, at 115 Rue du Trone, Brussels 1000. Journalists can contact Pieter Cleppe, Head of the Brussels office, on 0032 2 540 86 25 or 00 32 477 68 46 08.

5. Open Europe Events

Westminster or Brussels: Who rules Britain?

On 11 May, Open Europe held a debate in London, looking at the impact of EU legislation in the UK and how scrutiny of EU legislation works in Westminster.

The panelists included Gisela Stuart MP; Lord Trimble; Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP; and David Heathcoat-Amory MP.

To read a summary of the event, please visit our events page:

http://www.openeurope.org.uk/events/

6. Open Europe in the news

Allegations raise concern over Eurojust's impartiality

14 May EUobserver 15 May Diario de Noticias

EUobserver reported on allegations that the head of the EU's judicial co-operation body Eurojust, Jose da Mota, put pressure on prosecutors in Portugal in order to stop a corruption investigation involving Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates. EUobserver quoted Open Europe's Stephen Booth saying, "These allegations are incredibly serious and, if proved, call into question the political independence and credibility of Eurojust".

Stephen was also quoted by Portuguese daily Diario de Noticias saying "If it is proven that Eurojust is not politically independent, then what is the system for...it is a bad sign for citizens, which diminishes their faith in justice".

Lisbon Treaty being forced through Europe

11 May American Spectator: Bandow

Open Europe's Mats Persson was quoted in the American Spectator in an article looking at the future of the Lisbon Treaty. He said, "Ever since the Irish voted No to the Lisbon Treaty in June, politicians in Ireland and across Europe have tried to find ways to force this unwanted document through - against the clear will of the people."

Enough bureaucrats to fill a town

11 May De Pers

Following EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes' claim that the EU has no more bureaucrats than an "average town in the Netherlands", Dutch Socialist Party MEP candidate Dennis de Jong refuted the claim, and cited Open Europe's research, which found that the EU employs 170,000 people.

The cost of EU regulation to the UK

8 May Solihull News

The Solihull News cited Open Europe's research on the cost of EU regulation.

MEPs pass amendment to telecoms package

7 May WSJ

Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe was quoted in the WSJ following the European Parliament's vote to pass an amendment to the telecoms package, which would make it illegal for countries to disconnect people from the internet without a judicial decision. Pieter said that several members of Parliament "wanted to make a statement on upholding these rights" ahead of the European elections.

The cost of the EU's climate package

7 May Salon24

Open Europe's research on the cost of the EU's climate package was covered by Polish news site Salon24.

Coca Cola and EU propaganda

7 May Dagbladet Arbeideren

Denmark's Dagbladet Arbeideren cited Open Europe's research on EU communication policy, which showed that the EU was spending more on propaganda than Coca Cola spends on advertising each year.

Centralising tendency of the European Parliament

5 May BBC Today in Parliament

Open Europe Research Director Mats Persson appeared on BBC Radio 4's Today in Parliament discussing the centralising tendency of the European Parliament. Mats said, "It's very hard to find examples, and I can't think of any right now, where [MEPs] say, 'well, this is not for us, this is probably better decided on the national level'. You just hope that that will happen more often in the future because there are a lot of things that they decide on that, quite frankly, are better decided locally, regionally or nationally."

7. Support Open Europe

Open Europe is a small, lean operation which relies entirely on individual donations. We produce cutting-edge research on all aspects of EU policy, targeting both politicians and the media to campaign for radical reform of the EU. We unearth high-impact stories and hold high-profile events, and, uniquely for such a small team, we are quoted and interviewed several times a week in the media.

We believe there is a better way forward for Europe, and we need your help in trying to make our vision a reality.

If you support our work and would like to help us continue to do it, please click the link below to find out how you can donate. Anything you can give will go directly to helping us counter the spin from EU officials and EU-funded lobby groups, and allow us to make our case for a fresh approach to Europe.

Thank you for your support.

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Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.

CIDER RULES

2009-05-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

Recently there has been an annoying advert for 2Genuine Pear cider" on our tellys. Which claims that unlike other "Pear Ciders" it is made completely from pears.

well , what a bunch of Fuckwits...if it is made from pears it ain't fucking cider

Cider: A drink made from fermented apple juice

Perry; a drink made from pears

IT IS PERRY YOU HALF-BRAINED FUCKWITS

STOP ABUSING THE LANGUAGE, MORONS !

Flu bunkum

2009-05-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

On average there are 12,000 deaths per annum from FLU in England and Wales, when was the last time you saw that figure published?

That is quite a lot of people, why aren't people panicking about it ?

2.2 Excess Mortality
Excess mortality due to influenza occurs in most winter seasons but is especially marked
during epidemics. The average annual excess mortality attributable to influenza in recent
years is around 12,000 deaths per annum in England and Wales,(11) although there is
considerable yearly variation and some years are notably much higher than the average (est.
26,000 in 1989/90 epidemic). Excess mortality in England and Wales associated with the
three pandemics of the 20th century has also varied widely; this was estimated at 198,000
civilians in 1918/19, and 37,500 in 1957/58. In 1968/69 and 1969/70 (both seasons
considered to be associated with the influenza A/H3N2 pandemic) there were an estimated
31,000 and 47,000 deaths respectively.(7) Therefore the extent of mortality associated with
the next pandemic cannot be reliably predicted although it is reasonable to plan for a
scenario worse than a severe winter epidemic of normal influenza.

Read more here

So why are we getting upset about a very few cases of Flu in Mexico? It is NOT an epidemic, neither is it a pandemic.....In fact it isn't even a blip.......a barely noticeable outbreak of Flu.

I reckon the government are going to use this to impose their Nazi measures upon us still further.

Open Europe Bulletin: 1 May 2009

2009-05-01T09:56:00.001-07:00

Open Europe

Open Europe Bulletin: 1 May 2009

* Former Labour MP laments failure to hold referendum on the Lisbon Treaty; Hague will not rule out retrospective referendum
* New EU regulation "a clear and present danger to the City"
* New Open Europe briefing: What does the European Parliament do and how does it affect your everyday life?
* News in brief
* Open Europe events
* Open Europe in the news
* Support Open Europe

1. Former Labour MP laments failure to hold referendum on the Lisbon Treaty; Hague will not rule out retrospective referendum

Veteran Labour Party member and Halifax MP for 18 years Alice Mahon has quit the party and said her reasons included a failure by the Government to deliver on promises in the 2005 Labour manifesto, including a referendum on the EU constitution. She said "That [2005] manifesto promised a referendum on the European Constitution, we renamed it the Lisbon Treaty and reneged on that promise also." (Independent: Mahon, 20 April)

Meanwhile, Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague has left the door open to the possibility of the Conservatives promising a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in their general election manifesto even if the Treaty has already been ratified by the EU's 27 member states by then.

Mr Hague said that, even if the Treaty had been ratified before a Conservative victory, the party would, nevertheless, spell out in its manifesto what action it would take to reverse European integration. Pressed on whether in those circumstances a referendum could still be promised in a Conservative manifesto, he said: "We would not rule anything in or out." (Times, Spectator: Coffee House blog, 29 April)

Conservative leader David Cameron launched a campaign renewing calls for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in the run up to the European elections in June. He said, "Where you stand on the referendum says a lot about your politics. It says a lot about how much you value trust between the government and the governed. I believe that if you make a promise in your manifesto, and the country votes on that manifesto, then you are honour-bound to keep that promise". (PA, 27 April; EUobserver, Open Europe blog, Irish Times, Telegraph, 28 April)

The Czech Senate has set 6-7 May as the date to hold a vote on ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. A three-fifths majority is needed to ratify the Treaty. (Javno, 29 April)

The EU is likely to postpone key decisions on the 'guarantees' offered to Ireland in return for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty until mid-July, rather than allow Czech President Vaclav Klaus to chair the negotiations. Instead, a special summit will be held under the Swedish Presidency of the EU, due to begin on 1 July. (Waterfield blog, 27 April)

Please leave your comments on our blog:

http://openeuropeblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/high-hopes.html

2. New EU regulation "a clear and present danger to the City"

Serious concerns have been raised over an EU proposal, tabled by the European Commission this week, for tougher regulation of hedge funds and private equity groups. Critics have warned that the proposed directive could undermine the competitiveness of the City of London , slow down economic recovery and lead to job losses. The proposed regulation - which requires fund managers to seek government authorisation for the first time, while also introducing new reporting and capital requirements - will primarily affect Britain, since over 80% of Europe's alternative investment industry is based in the UK.

The proposal has also been criticised for being mistargetted. As pointed out in reports for both the Commission and the UK Government, hedge funds and private equity groups did not cause the current financial crisis.

Andrew Shrimpton, a partner at hedge fund consultancy Kinetic Partners LLP and formerly of the FSA called the proposal "a clear and present danger to the City". Florence Lombard, Executive Director of the Alternative Investment Management Association warned: "The unintended consequences of these measures may put thousands of jobs in several major European industries under threat and slow down any economic recovery." Meanwhile, Britain 's City Minister Paul Myners said that the proposal was not "as well informed as it should be."

But in Brussels MEPs have criticised the proposal for not going far enough and have vowed to insert even more stringent conditions on hedge funds and private equity. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President of the Party of European Socialists, said the proposal was so "light it was fly weight", adding "we will not accept such an ineffective regulation." Since the issue is decided by so-called co-decision, MEPs have the same powers as national ministers over the final decision. Crucially, the final decision will be taken by majority voting, meaning that the UK could be outvoted. (WSJ Telegraph Bloomberg FT FT2 FT-Lombard FT-leader Guardian EUobserver Euractiv European Socialists EPP-ED Coulisses de Bruxelles Le Monde, 30 April; Coulisses de Bruxelles Independent: Warner, 1 May)

3. New Open Europe briefing: What does the European Parliament do and how does it affect your daily life?

Looking ahead to the European Parliament elections, Open Europe has published a briefing on the European Parliament, seeking to answer basic questions voters may be asking themselves when deciding how, or if, to vote this June.

The briefing argues that the often repeated claim that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) 'lack real powers', is largely inaccurate. In fact, MEPs now effectively have a 'veto' over national governments in about 75% of all European legislation, taking decisions on everything from working time to internet use. The Parliament has grown in power with every new EU treaty. The Lisbon Treaty will be no exception. If it is ratified, the number of areas where MEPs share powers with national governments will double.

However, despite the important role of the European Parliament, voter turnout has continued to decrease since the first direct elections in 1979. The Parliament has an image of being out of touch and distant from its electorate. This has left the public asking 'why should I bother voting in the European elections?'

The briefing argues that the Parliament could improve its reputation and gain more respect from voters by adopting some very simple and common sense reforms, including a complete overhaul of the system of expenses, allowances and pensions.

To read the full briefing, please click on the link below:

http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/europeanparliament2009.pdf

4. News in brief

UK's opt-out from the EU's 48 hour week remains intact. The UK 's opt-out from the EU's 48 hour working week will remain in place after negotiations between government ministers and the European Parliament broke down. The break-down means that the opt-out remains in place until a new proposal is tabled by the Commission. However, MEPs have vowed to make a new attempt to scrap the opt-out in the autumn.

Spanish MEP Alejandro Cercas, who led the European Parliament's drive to end the opt-out said, "We have left the future open and hope to have a solution with the new Commission and the new Parliament." German MEP Mechtild Rothe warned, "The opt-out cannot be forever." (BBC Open Europe blog EP press release, 28 April; WSJ Mail Telegraph Independent EUobserver BBC, 29 April)

MEPs hold 'sham' vote on controversial second pension fund. MEPs voted against bailing out their controversial second pension fund, which is facing a shortfall of around €120 million, with taxpayer funds. However, the vote is largely symbolic because the guarantee that taxpayers make up the shortfall can only be changed by a unanimous vote by member states. (RN, 22 April; Telegraph: Waterfield blog, AP, Welt, European Voice, 23 April)

€5 million gym for MEPs could power "pro-Europe messages". The EP is reportedly building a €5 million 'aqua gym' complex which will include a 'green' sauna, powered exclusively through solar energy, but which may only reach a temperature of 14 degrees. Other facilities will include steam baths as well as exercise bikes and treadmills which could be connected to the European Parliament's power grid to generate electricity and beam "pro-Europe messages from a beacon in Place Luxembourg ", according to reports. (New Europe, 20 April; Open Europe blog, 28 April)

Controversial cross-border healthcare plans could cost NHS "hundreds of millions". MEPs voted in favour of draft legisation which would guarantee patients who seek treatment in other EU countries reimbursement of their medical costs by the health system back home. A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "There are a number of important principles that need to be got right, including ensuring that where UK patients choose to travel abroad for care, the NHS retains the ability to decide what care it will fund."

Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy said the plan "could see hundreds of millions of pounds of NHS resources diverted away from local investment to fund private health treatment in Europe". (EUobserver, European Voice, 23 April; Mail, Irish Times 24 April)

Student loses extradition battle amid concerns over misuse of European Arrest Warrant. Andrew Symeou, the 20 year old student accused of a nightclub killing in Greece , today lost an appeal in the High Court against moves to extradite him from the UK to stand trial. The European Arrest Warrant system allows deportation of a suspect once basic information about identity and the alleged offence is provided. British courts are not required to assure themselves that an adequate case has been made for the accused to answer before agreeing to extradition.

Campaigns Coordinator for Liberty , Sabina Frediani said, "This alarming case highlights the dangers of summary extradition. No one should be sent anywhere, be it Europe, the US or elsewhere, without a case being made in a local court - British justice should not be circumvented in this way." (PA, 1 May)

ECJ ruling threatens property of thousands of Britons in Cyprus . The European Court of Justice has ruled that British Courts must enforce judicial decisions made in Cyprus , which uphold the property rights of Greek Cypriots who abandoned their property when they were forced out of the northern half of the island when Turkish troops invaded in 1974. The ruling means that thousands of Britons with property in Northern Cyprus could be forced to return their properties, or pay compensation to the original Cypriot landholders. The ECJ ruled that it did not matter that EU law did not apply to the area controlled by Turkish Cypriots. (Mail, WSJ, 29 April)

EU agricultural policy causes rainforest destruction. A new report from Friends of the Earth, entitled "Feeding the Beast", details how the EU's Common Agricultural Policy has fueled demand for imported animal feed, encouraging South American ranchers to clear rainforests for plantations of soy crops. Friends of the Earth's Executive Director Andy Atkins said, "Cash-strapped families have no idea that millions of pounds of their money is being spent on an industry that contributes more to climate change than all the planes, cars and lorries on the planet." (PA, 27 April)

5. Open Europe events

"Reforming the EU for the 21st century" - 14 May

Ahead of the European elections and the upcoming Swedish Presidency of the EU, Open Europe is hosting a seminar at this year's Europaforum in Hässleholm, southern Sweden . Europaforum is a conference co-hosted by the upcoming Swedish Presidency, the current Czech Presidency, the EU Commission and the European Parliament.

Open Europe 's seminar entitled "Reforming the EU for the 21st century" will take place on 14 May and run from 14.00 until 15.00. In the seminar, Open Europe will present ideas on how the EU can be brought closer to its citizens and reformed to meet today's challenges. The seminar will also feature Bruno Waterfield, Brussels correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.

Programme Registration

European Monetary Union : Second honeymoon or pending divorce?

On 28 April, Open Europe held a panel debate in Brussels in conjunction with The Centre looking at European Monetary Union and the challenges it faces in the future.

The panellists included Ignazio Angeloni, Advisor to the Executive Board of the European Central Bank; David Marsh, author of "The Euro: The politics of the new global currency"; and Derek Scott, vice-Chairman of Open Europe and former Economic Advisor to Tony Blair.

To read a summary of the event, please visit our events page:

http://www.openeurope.org.uk/events/

6. Open Europe in the news

MEPs' lucrative second pensions

1 May Southern Star

Irish regional weekly, the Southern Star looked at the issue of MEPs' expenses and quoted Open Europe 's Pieter Cleppe on the issue of the controversial second pension scheme.

Deconstructing the EU budget

30 April Ekonom Parkiet

Open Europe 's research on the EU's budget was cited on Czech website Ekonom and Polish website Parkiet.

The EU needs reform

29 April BBC Northern Ireland

Open Europe's Mats Persson appeared on BBC Northern Ireland 's Talk Back show, discussing the need for reform of the EU.

The cost of EU regulation to the UK

28 April 2009 Mail: Synon blog

Mary Ellen Synon's Mail blog looked at the cost of EU membership to Britain and cited figures from Open Europe 's recent research on the cost of regulation.

The never ending Acquis Communautaire

22 April Derby Evening Telegraph

The Derby Evening Telegraph cited Open Europe 's research into the size of the Acquis Communautaire.

Three quarters of Irish MEPs refuse to publish expenses

20 April Mail Telegraph: Bruno Waterfield blog Finanzas ABhaber Sunday Times

Open Europe's findings about the number of MEPs signed up to the controversial second pension fund were reported on page two of the Sun, in the Mail, the Irish Sunday Times, and on Bruno Waterfield's Telegraph blog. Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally was interviewed on BBC Five Live. Open Europe 's Pieter Cleppe was quoted in an article on Spanish news site finanzas.com, saying, "The legality of this highly controversial fund has been repeatedly questioned over the last ten years by the European Court of Auditors".

7. Support Open Europe

Open Europe is a small, lean operation which relies entirely on individual donations. We produce cutting-edge research on all aspects of EU policy, targeting both politicians and the media to campaign for radical reform of the EU. We unearth high-impact stories and hold high-profile events, and, uniquely for such a small team, we are quoted and interviewed several times a week in the media.

We believe there is a better way forward for Europe , and we need your help in trying to make our vision a reality.

If you support our work and would like to help us continue to do it, please click the link below to find out how you can donate. Anything you can give will go directly to helping us counter the spin from EU officials and EU-funded lobby groups, and allow us to make our case for a fresh approach to Europe .

Thank you for your support.

http://www.openeurope.org.uk/about-us/makeadonation.aspx

Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.

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TONY BENN

2009-04-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

On the Today programme this morning, Sir Anthony Wedgewood Benn, Viscount Stansgate, squarely placed the blame for the current recession on the election of Margaret Thatcher. The fucking twat has finally gone senile.

Of course being a rich cunt (the landed gentry usually are) he is probably making shed-loads from the slump, no doubt at the expense of those he supposedly claims to support , namely "workers".

He was supposed to be eulogising Jack Jones (died aged 96) the guy that tried his best to bankrupt Britain.

2009-04-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

Open Europe

Open Europe Bulletin: 17 April 2009

* Open Europe publishes list of MEPs signed up to controversial pension fund
* News in brief
* Open Europe in the news
* Support Open Europe

1. Open Europe publishes list of MEPs signed up to controversial pension fund

A leaked decision note from European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering has revealed that taxpayers may have to foot the bill for an estimated £105 million (€120 million) shortfall in the European Parliament's controversial Additional Voluntary Pension Scheme. The scheme is facing a gap in funding due to the collapse of the stock market and investments reportedly related to the Bernie Madoff scandal in the United States . (WAZ Der Western, 14 April; Mail, 16 April)

MEPs are entitled to a standard pension from their member states, but are also able to opt in to this additional fund if they desire, as 480 currently do. Under the scheme, MEPs pay in €1194 (£1052) a month, which is matched by publicly funded payments of €2388 a month. After a five year term of service, MEPs can expect an annual pension, from the voluntary fund alone, of over €16,000. Combined with their standard MEP pension, they can expect annual payments of over €30,000 from just five years of service. (Times, 17 April)

However, with the pension fund now facing a shortfall, the leaked note asserts that the, "parliament will assume its legal responsibility to guarantee the right of members of the Voluntary Pension Scheme to the additional pension". To meet this responsibility, the taxpayer could be asked to make up the €120 million shortfall to provide the payments for MEPs' additional pensions.

This voluntary pension scheme has been repeatedly criticised by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) over the last ten years and in its latest report from November 2008, the ECA said that the Parliament should have "clear rules to define the liabilities and responsibilities" of the Parliament and members of the scheme in the case of a deficit. As a result of the mounting criticism, the scheme will not be available to new MEPs taking up their seats from June. (European Voice Telegraph, 16 April)

The European Parliament has consistently refused to name the beneficiaries of the fund, citing the privacy of the individuals, despite criticism from the European Ombudsman.

Open Europe has today published a list of MEPs signed up to the fund, obtained by German investigative journalist Hans-Martin Tillack. It reveals that 79 percent of British MEPs and 77 percent of Irish MEPs had signed up to the fund as of December 2007.

To read the full press release, click the link below:

http://www.openeurope.org.uk/media-centre/pressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=103

Meanwhile, following the European Parliament elections in June, UK MEPs are set to receive a pay rise of over £15,000. Under new rules to be introduced under the next session of Parliament, MEPs will no longer have to receive a salary equivalent to national politicians, but can opt for a salary of 38.5% of an ECJ judge's salary. This works out as €91,980 annually, which is worth over £80,000 at current exchange rates because of the collapse in the value of the pound. This is up from the £64,000 current salary, and represents a pay-rise of 22%.

The new rules have caused further controversy because it states that MEPs will now be entitled to claim compensation for business class flights, even on short-distance flights within the EU. Previously, MEPs were entitled to claim the maximum economy fare, regardless of the actual cost of their flight. (Die Welt, 8 April)

Please leave your comments on our blog: http://openeuropeblog.blogspot.com/

2. News in brief

EU to spend €2.3 million on MTV campaign. EU Communications Commissioner Margot Wallström has launched a new campaign targeting the 18-24 year old age group, to encourage participation in June's European elections. The campaign will be carried out by the MTV music channel and financed with a budget of up to €2.3 million. On 30 April at 3.30pm young people from different European cities will gather to cry out "Europe, can you hear me?" Artists backing the campaign include Depeche Mode and the Italian singer Tiziano Ferro. (Open Europe blog, De Morgen, Euronews, Telegraph: Waterfield blog, 9 April; Sun 10 April)

"Tardis" box visits Edinburgh for people to air their views about EP elections. Voters in Edinburgh are to be invited into a "Tardis-style box", costing £33,000 each, to send a message to Brussels ahead of the European elections on June 4. Several "Choiceboxes" - interactive video booths - are touring around Europe, with the first stop in the UK in Edinburgh. A Commission spokesman said, "It's like Big Brother - people can walk into the diary room and have their say. The idea is voters can air their views and express their concerns about any topic relevant to the European elections." (Scotsman, 6 April)

Disgraced MEP could get to keep £500,000 in "unjustified expenses". Den Dover, the disgraced Conservative MEP expelled from the party last year, could get to keep more than £500,000 in staff allowances paid to a family firm between 1999 and 2008. Despite the European Parliament writing to him, requesting the "unjustified expenses" be returned, no action has been taken to recover the money. Mr Dover will also be entitled to six months pay, allowances and a full pension when he retires later this year. (Telegraph, 10 April)

Royal College of Surgeons warns of fatalities from EU Working Time Directive. John Black, President of the Royal College of Surgeons, warned that "If the 48-hour week is introduced as planned on 1 August, patient safety is going to be reduced. People are going to die because of this...The vast majority of doctors think EWTD is dangerous." A confidential report prepared for the Department of Health revealed that around 80% of doctors, and up to half of medical directors believe patient safety will be jeopardised if NHS workers are ordered to work fewer hours. (Guardian, Telegraph: Wood, Telegraph, 11 April)

Lisbon diplomatic corps begins training. 530 European Commission staff have started training to build a "shared diplomatic culture and an esprit de corps" for the EU External Action Service created by the Lisbon Treaty - which is yet to be ratified by all member states. An EU official said, "We are trying to push the envelope as far as we can within the current environment." Secret minutes on the EEA negotiations recognise the need "to remain cautious in presenting these issues" ahead of the second Irish referendum on the Treaty. (Telegraph, EU Referendum blog, 12 April)

Slovakian criminal allowed into UK under EU Free Movement rules. Slovakian Marek Harcar was sentenced to life in prison for murder, having been allowed to enter the UK despite having 13 criminal convictions. Article 27 of the EU Free Movement Directive states that "previous criminal convictions shall not in themselves constitute grounds [to restrict entry]" and the UK law which implements the directive backs up this approach. A 2006 briefing by Open Europe warned the Directive would lead to less control over crime, borders and social security. (Mail, Herald, 9 April; Glasgow Evening Times, 14 April)

Data Retention Directive implemented without Parliamentary debate. The EU's Data Retention Directive came into force in the UK on 6 April, requiring internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies in the EU to store records of emails and internet phone calls for 12 months. The Directive was transposed into UK law by means of a Statutory Instrument, rather than primary legislation, which meant that there was no Parliamentary debate. A survey carried out by Politics Home revealed that 60 percent of Britons rejected the Directive, with only 23 percent approving of the rules. 33 percent said the laws would make them feel less secure against 22 percent who felt safer. (BBC, Guardian: Porter, Open Europe blog, 6 April; Metro, 14 April)

European Commission to investigate Italian dentist who used EU funds for Ferrari. The European Commission has announced that it is to investigate the case of an Italian dentist who allegedly used EU regional development funds intended to boost the use of solar panels, to buy a Ferrari. The case was highlighted in an Open Europe briefing last year. (Open Europe: Top 100 examples of EU fraud and waste, 9 November; Telegraph, 3 April)

Commission advises employees how to evade information requests. The European Commission's trade department has circulated detailed instructions to officials on how best to narrowly interpret requests for information. The internal memo also recommended keeping two sets of documents- a whitened version for public release and a separate private version. The guidance urges officials, "Don't refer to the great lunch you have had with an industry representative privately or add a PS asking if he/she would like to meet for a drink...Avoid recording statements which may turn out to be politically embarrassing for those who have made them." (EUobserver, Telegraph: Waterfield blog, 9 April; Telegraph, 10 April)

3. Open Europe in the news

The growing acquis and burden of red tape

17 April Conservative Home

Conservative Home referenced Open Europe's research into the acquis communautaire and its recent report on the costs of EU regulation.

Examples of fraud and waste

15 April Expressen

In an op-ed in Swedish daily Expressen, Swedish MEP Eva-Britt Svensson looked at the problems with waste and fraud involving EU funds, and cited several examples from Open Europe's top 100 list of EU fraud and waste.

Open Europe: The EU must listen to its critics

14 April Yorkshire Post

In response to an article in the Yorkshire Post by Richard Corbett MEP, Open Europe's Sarah Gaskell wrote to the paper arguing, "Despite claims to the contrary by Richard Corbett MEP ('Why EU rules can be a good thing for Britain', Yorkshire Post, April 8), Open Europe is not an 'anti-Europe campaign group', but very much in favour of the Single Market and the benefits it offers businesses and consumers, not just in Yorkshire...If we want the EU to survive and to work well for Europe's citizens, then politicians like Mr Corbett must sit up and listen to the critics - not dismiss them as 'anti-Europeans' and carry on legislating with their fingers in their ears."

EU free movement regulations enable convicted criminals to enter the UK

9 April Herald 14 April Glasgow Evening Times

Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe was quoted in the Herald warning that the lack of clarity over EU free movement rules means that the Government lacks power over the entry of convicted criminals into the UK. Pieter argued "European laws are not clear, as they say that convicted criminals have to present a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat in order to be refused access. This leaves room for European judges to transfer power away from the UK so that these issues are decided at EU level. This is dangerous because there are no sufficient guarantees."

EU Commissioners receive lucrative pensions and pay-offs

14 April Malta Independent 6 April Euronews 3 April Pardon Politique

Open Europe's findings on European Commissioners' pay-off packages continued to receive coverage on French and Polish news sites Politique and Pardon, and in the Malta Independent. Euronews cited Open Europe in a discussion piece on excessive pensions for EU Commissioners.

Construction industry awaits outcome of EU negotiations on working time

9 April Construction News

Construction News reported on the ongoing negotiations in Brussels on the UK's opt-out from the EU's 48-hour week, noting that a decision could be reached at the end of the month. Open Europe Director Lorraine Mullally was quoted saying: "It's really hard to call. On the one hand, the Council has the upper hand as the Parliament wants a deal rather than for the talks to fail. But on the other hand, some members will be willing to trade-off the opt-out in order to sort out issues with on-call time."

MEP Jim Nicholson criticised for luxurious travels at taxpayer expense

6 April Belfast Telegraph

The Belfast Telegraph reported that MEP Jim Nicholson has been criticised for his globe-hopping trips and wrote, "Information published by Open Europe, an independent think-tank, says that on a recent trip to Australia, Mr Nicholson enjoyed La Traviata at the Sydney Opera House followed by a cruise around Sydney Bay on a luxury catamaran to watch the sun go down over dinner."

Wallstrom claims Open Europe's findings on Commission payouts and pensions are "twisted and exaggerated data"

6 April Focus

In an interview with Focus Information Agency, EU Communications Commissioner Margot Wallstrom responded to research published by Open Europe which found that Commissioners leaving office this year will earn over £1 million in pensions and payoffs, claiming the figures were "twisted and exaggerated".

Open Europe Director responds to Caroline Flint's admission that she has not read the Lisbon Treaty

6 April Conservative Home

On Conservative Home, Open Europe Director Lorraine Mullally argued that Europe Minister Caroline Flint's recent admission that she had not ready the Lisbon Treaty in full made a referendum all the more urgent.

Lorraine said, "For a Minister paid to discuss EU issues, it's unbelievable and unacceptable that she hasn't read - let alone tried to understand - the most important document to come out of the EU in years, and one which will have profound consequences for Europe and the UK's place in it."

"Flint's admission betrays an alarming complacency. Having so far got away with forcing the Treaty through Parliament, despite polls suggesting that as many as 88% of people wanted a referendum, and wanted to vote no, the Government wants to quietly bury the issue and move on."

4. Open Europe round-up of EU news

Every morning Open Europe produces a round-up of news from all around Europe, looking at the French, Spanish, Belgian, German and Scandinavian press as well as UK coverage of EU issues. If you would like to receive the press summary by email, please sign up on the home page of our website - http://www.openeurope.org.uk/

Open Europe also runs a blog on all EU-related issues which is updated regularly, and where you can post your comments. To read our blog, click here: http://openeuropeblog.blogspot.com/

5. Support Open Europe

Open Europe is a small, lean operation which relies entirely on individual donations. We produce cutting-edge research on all aspects of EU policy, targeting both politicians and the media to campaign for radical reform of the EU. We unearth high-impact stories and hold high-profile events, and, uniquely for such a small team, we are quoted and interviewed several times a week in the media.

We believe there is a better way forward for Europe, and we need your help in trying to make our vision a reality.

Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.

2009-04-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

L. Essen who built the first caesium clock (later used to define the second) wrote - Wireless World 1978 - Relativity and time signals. "the continued acceptance and teaching of relativity hinders the development of electromagnetic theory". "The theory is so rigidly held that young scientists dare not openly express their doubts".

Recession, What Recession?

2009-04-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

New research from Open Europe has found that European Commissioners leaving office later this year will receive more than £1 million each in pension payments and so-called 'transitional' and 'resettlement' allowances.

Long-serving Communications Commissioner Margot Wallstrom - whose main job has been to promote the EU - will receive almost £1.8 million if she leaves the Commission this year.

Meanwhile, UK Commissioner Catherine Ashton, who replaced Lord Mandelson and who has been in the job for less than a year, will qualify for an ample pension of £9,600 a year, in addition to three years of 'transition' payments, valued at over £89,000 a year. On top of this, she will receive a £18,700 'resettlement' allowance.

This is in addition to the salaries and perks that Commissioners are entitled to during their term of service. Commissioners receive basic salaries of at least £220,000 a year (more for Vice-Presidents and the President) - meaning that in one five-year term alone, a Commissioner earns in excess of £1 million.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso receives an annual salary of over £275,000, which is almost exactly equivalent to US President Barack Obama's salary ($400,000). This is in addition to a host of other perks, which include residence allowances of 15% of their salary (£40,000) and monthly 'entertainment allowances'.

Reacting to the news, European Commission spokesperson Valerie Rampi justified the pay-outs, saying, "Open Europe didn't discover anything new, it's all public and online... Everyone who has worked as a commissioner is entitled to pension rights, like you and me". She said the money was to help Commissioners with their "re-entry" into the non-EU world. (EUobserver, 24 March)

She also denied that Commissioners received "golden one-off payments", despite the fact that all will receive £18,700 in 'resettlement' allowances. Chief Spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said the payments system helped Commissioners "to preserve their independence". (AFP , 30 March)

Meanwhile, Danish Commissioner Mariann Fischer-Boel told newspaper Politiken "I'm worth all the millions", while Belgian Commissioner Louis Michel denied the figures, and told newspaper De Standaard: "if that's true, I'll retire immediately". The paper reported: "After consulting an assistant, the report seems to be accurate. This was followed by Louis Michel suddenly changing his tune, saying the compensation is completely justified. "We are being well paid, that is. But every morning getting up at 5 o'clock, lots of travelling, heavy files... This is a parachute, but not a golden one'". (Politiken, 25 March; Standaard, 27 March)

French daily Le Monde noted that Commission salaries are "historically high" in order to be competitive with the salaries in the steel-manufacturing industry, which prospered in the 1950s when the European Community was first conceived. The Malta Today reported that Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg is " Malta 's highest paid pensioner". (Malta Today, 29 March; Le Monde, 1 April)

TAKE NOTE GORDY

2009-03-28T03:54:00.000-07:00

"...We abide by the Common Laws of this Land and never knowingly cause loss, harm or injury to another fellow being. These are the only Laws by which we need to be governed..."

"The worst thing in this world, next to anarchy, is government."
--Henry Ward Beecher

Even the sodding Yanks think the EU is dodgy

2009-03-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU

Invite you to an evening debate:

EU regulation: Getting better, or out of control?

Monday 30 March 2009

Debate from 6.15 until 7.45pm

Followed by a drinks reception

American Chamber of Commerce to the EU,

Kunstlaan 53 Avenue des Arts, B-1000, Brussels

Travian browser Game

2009-03-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

This game is highly addictive, I highly recommend it....LINK

A stark Health Warning from the spactator

2009-03-21T03:44:00.000-07:00

Rod Liddle
Wednesday, 18th March 2009

Rod Liddle is appalled by Sir Liam Donaldson’s deployment of statistics in the hope of making it harder to have a drink. A surrealist would struggle to keep up with such campaigns against our human pleasures

Iatrogenesis accounts for the deaths of an estimated 72,000 British people every year — or slightly more than the combined numbers of those feckless people dying from smoking, drinking and being very fat. I suppose you could call it the silent killer; there are no government campaigns to educate the public about its lethality. When lists are published showing the top killer diseases it is never present, although it is the third most common cause of death. The Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, is not forever haranguing us about how we should avoid causes of iatrogenesis. I know of no medical pressure groups staffed by starch-shirted harridans screeching at us about the problem, nor taxes designed to prevent us from contracting it. And yet it is very easy to avoid iatrogenesis; all you need to do is never visit a hospital or a doctor, and indeed, if a doctor should approach you in a public place, then roll up your newspaper and swat him away, much as if he were a malarial mosquito, while holding your other hand tightly over your nose. Iatrogenesis is the proper name for death by doctors. The latest figures I’ve seen, through the conduit of the Royal College of Physicians, is the one quoted above — a quite remarkable 72,000 deaths per year. Not all of them are the result of premeditated murder, of course; the overwhelming majority of victims are dispatched through pure incompetence or negligence. I am not sure if the figure includes those who die from infections generated in hospitals — my suspicion is, it does not. In which case you can add another 8,000 to the total, making a nice round figure of 80,000. Astonishing really, isn’t it?

You can't make this up

2009-03-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

EU Single Farm Payment Scheme costs £742 to administer every claim. The Government has revealed in a written Parliamentary Answer that the average administrative cost of processing an individual Single Farm Payment Scheme claim in 2007-08 is estimated at £742. The same Answer revealed that 14,645 claims were for subsidies under £400 in value.

What a bunch of fuckwits

Public Order

2009-03-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

I live opposite a pub. before the liberalization of the licensing laws, I only really noticed much ructions at closing time. Now It's pretty much all night long. On mentioning this to the Police, the official attitude seems to be "Well, it makes our job easier, rather than having to deal with lots of problems all at once.....". So in other words, "Fuck the public, anything that makes our job easier is good!" What a bunch of CUNTS

2009-03-02T08:47:00.001-08:00

Just not cricket

2009-02-27T03:20:00.001-08:00

THIS CUNT SHOULD BE SACKED

EU Community

2009-02-24T04:47:00.001-08:00

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we fight a long and protracted war (1939-45), so that we wouldn't be ruled by a European dictatorship?

2009-02-24T04:47:00.000-08:00

Hitler a view from 21C Britain

2009-02-24T04:04:00.000-08:00

I am beginning to think that Adolph Hitler was just this mixed-up guy, a little mis-understood perhaps, because even he wasn't as morally bankrupt as NuLabour. Mind you Hitler was an anti-smoking Faschist, now remind me was it the clean living Hitler cowering in the bunker, or the chain-smoking Churchill?

Anyway; Brown& Blair are cunts , their fathers should have shot into handkerchiefs and done the world a favour.

Europe_Get Stuffed

2009-02-24T02:51:00.001-08:00

What distinguished the 20th century from all the others of the last millennium ? Answer: The 20th century was the only century in which we were not at war with France. Small wonder it was such a fuck-up. What this country needs is a good war with those fucking frog-bastards NOW!.

Sean Lock on the Smoking ban

2009-02-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

Smoking and the Pub

Smoking the facts

2009-02-13T15:24:00.000-08:00

Twat

2009-02-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

A Smoking Gun

2009-02-06T08:13:00.001-08:00

1. Why does smoking prevalence increase wherever smoker bans are enacted?

2. Why do heart attacks increase wherever smoker bans are enacted?

3. Why do we only ever see increases in asthma rates despite the massively reduced exposure to SHS worldwide?

4. The phenomenon known as "Air rage" kicked in right after smoking was banned on airplanes. Is there a connection?

5. Contagious diseases became much more prevalent in aircraft when smoking was banned on airplanes. Is there a connection?

6. As more and more people are coerced into quitting smoking, obesity rates shoot through the roof. Why is that?

7. Smoking had declined dramatically over the last fifteen years, but dementia cases grew exponentially. Why is that?

8. The hospitality industry suffers from mass closures whenever and wherever smoker bans are enacted. Why would that be?

9. Politicians go blind, deaf and dumb when we ask them if they are aware of the carnage. Can they genuinely NOT see what is happening?

10. SHS has a Relative Risk (RR) of 1.19 but only when the Confidence Interval (CI) is reduced to 90%. SHS is considered deadly. Cheese has an RR of 2.4 with a CI of 95% and is statistically more likely to give us lung cancer than SHS. Why have we not banned cheese?

11. A single glass of tap water contains more arsenic than 200 cigarettes. Should we not warn people of this danger?

12. Smoker prevalence was declining year on year, and it stagnated, then rose for the first time in decades when the smoker ban was introduced, who among you is going to claim responsibility for this unbelievably stupid idea?

2008-11-05T17:49:00.000-08:00

Smoking Olympics

Apparently seven out of ten athletes at the recent Peking olympic Games enjoyed a ciggie
they seem to have set a few records tho ! Another smoking myth dispelled !

Reading

I haven't blogged for a while as I've been catching up on my reading

Here follows a list of books that i've read over the past month or so, yes i am a bit of an insomniac
Thomas,the other gospel..............N.Perrin

A review of present thomas scholarship. a stimulating read 9/10
Hiawatha.............LONGFELLOW

epic poetry by a master craftsman 10/10
Cider with Rosie..............laurie lee

a truly wonderful story of a childhood, perfectly realised in beautiful prose 10/10
Evening in the Palace of Reason....james Gaines

this book is shite 0/10
surfeit of lampreys.........Ngaio Marsh

surprisingly good whodunnit 7/10
39 steps......John Buchan

cracking yarn 7/10
Tropic of Ruislip......Leslie Thomas

well crafted nonsense 6/10
The adventures of Goodnight and loving......Leslie Thomas

superior crap 6/10
Coral Island.......RM Ballantyne

good stuff 7/10
Alfie...Bill Naughten

dated and depressing but an outstanding example of its genre 7/10
Zimmermen.....Marcus Berkman

top-rate book about grown men's obsession with playing cricket badly. 8/10
All About Anthrax...Ross Fitzgerald

this book is well weird 10/10
lord Jim...Conrad

this bloke can write 10/10
Continental Drifter.....Tim Moore

well written travelogue 9/10
Seven Pillars of Wisdom.....TE Lawrence

this is a classic...worth reading for chapter 100 alone 10/10
The man who would be King

a tad old fashioned.. ripping yarn 5/10
The Rainbow...DH Lawrence

tedious 5/10

mmmm

2008-09-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

The golden ratio, represented by the Greek letter, φ (phi), is equal to (sqrt(5)+1)/2. This number makes a very interesting base because of this special property:

φ2 = φ + 1, which means 100φ = 011φ and 0200φ = 1001φ. These two rules can be applied in either direction against any sequence of consecutive digits in a base-φ number to put it in "standard form", which means no digits other than 0 or 1, and no two 1's in a row. In addition, the repeating decimal 0.101010... is equal to 1.

100φ = 011φ

This relation can be applied anywhere in a base-φ number to handle most "carries" when adding. So, for example,

111.111
+111.111
--------
222.222

is the result after doing the addition, but the "2" digits in the result aren't considered "normal form", so they must be reorganized into zeros and ones by "carrying" the digits to the left. Unlike integer base arithmetic, in which digits need to be carried only to the next column, in base-φ, we have to carry two non-zero digits two places to the left using the identity 100φ = 011φ. Here's how that looks:

111.111
+111.111
--------
222.222, and then process the "carries" this way:
222.311
223.201
232.101
321.101
1211.101
10111.101

0200φ = 1001φ

Does this always work? No, we have a problem if we encounter an "02" pattern. One way to handle it is to carry one digit to the left, and one digit two places to the right, so 02.00 becomes 10.01. Then we might have another problem if the "rightbound carry" lands on a digit that's already one, because we might have to carry a digit two more places to the right. Here's an example where this comes up:

10100
+10101
--------
20201, and then process the "carries" this way:
21002
21010.01
110010.01

Monday

2008-09-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

Blog for 8th September 2008

Television

The television licence costs just under £12 per month and give us the benefit of BBC televison
programmes sans advertisements.

ITV has advertising revenue and is therefore free-to-air

Why then, do Sky and Virgin expect us to pay a monthly fee for 2nd rate repeats with advertising?
Are they nuts?

Why do the "5" channels not allow the aspect ratio to be adjusted on their broadcasts?

FAMILY GUY:
What is it about this programme?

I've seen most of the episodes, and even with the ones that I haven't seen, it feels like I've seen them before

THE RICHES

Perhaps Minnie Driver should take up comedy, as she is being acted off the screen by Edie Izzard

There is a new series on the BBC; It is called GLADIATRESS

I expect better from the BBC

It should of course be GLADIATRIX

FREE INTERNET

I have joined various internet survey sites, the
revenue from which, exactly pays my monthly internet bill

Karma

the last week I earned £1 of Argos vouchers and 3 credited me with £20
of free internet, this is balanced by my bank chrging me £70 for going 35 overdrawn.

since coming off the university network, I have realised that the web is not
so much an information super highway, as an over-crowded pavement.

Education

An undergraduate course can only provide a glimpse into a subject; a snapshot , if you like
. Formerly undergraduates "read" a subject [They were not taught]; The keen student read around his (or her)
subject, and had a great enthusiasm for his chosen field. Today's student expects to be spoon-fed, and acquires
only that which is necessary in order to pass his course.
This is for some reason considered progress.

TAXIS

Apart from the odd git, the taxi issue seems to be resolved

American Politics

A Dzimbabwean friend summed it up thus:- that Obama..he's not even black !

Rainy Sunday Blog

2008-09-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

Blog for 7th September 2008

Shopping Delights

Somerfield, as always , never fails to offer tremendous savings

this week's amazing offer ..Kebabs two for £1 or £3:50 each....Uh?????

Sport

As I write this Andrew Murray is two sets up against Nadal

Altrincham 0-0 Salisbury AFC

and the "Stupid advert of the Year" award goes to ..Scotland...,THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON....

Don't people go to Scotland to get away from all that crap?

Tesco.com........................Is there anything more annoying on our screens at the moment?

The nearest Tesco to me is at least one hour's drive and is the size of a small corner shop

State of the nation

last year 100 britons a day migrated to Australia; since immigrants have to be under 45 with a trade...
.this says something very profound about the state of Britain

Alma Mater

to my great surprise my old school finished 3rd in the co-ed section of the Times Public School league tables

The rainy season has begun

September arrives, and with it the rain. if past years are any guide to the future, then it shall rain until christmas

What's in a name?

Surely Paris is a boy's name ? Or perhaps there was a defect in my [classical] education?

Impure Thoughts

The other day, walking through town, I followed a young lady with an extemely
well-proportioned derriere. To my great shame, all I could think about was sheathing my sword within her ample scabbard !

Reading

I have been reading :

The Story of English,p>
for a full review visit my BOOK GROUP

FILMS

I have been watching GODFATHER & GODFATHER II

for a full review visit my FILM CLUB

Projects

plans for an electonic banking system based on a penut economy move forward

I shall continue this blog in more depth during the week

regards

John

2008-08-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

MORNING PAPERS

the sky was a deep indigo as i walked to the paper-shop (at 6 am !);
I was convinced that today was Saturday,
which is why I was buying the paper {free TV guide, magazine etc.}
in the first place. The Good News my paper cost only 70p rather than £1:40,
so I appear to have saved 70p; the bad news is that in reality I spent 70p
that I should not normally have done.
I could have saved 50p
by walking up to campus, but

a). the union shop isn't open
that early [change of tense ?] and

b). it is deeply
uncool to be seen on campus out of term time, people will
assume that I actually work !

c) I don't normally buy Newspapers Tues-Friday

All this means that I am probably, on a subconcious basis,
eagerly expecting/ anticipating
( you decide)the new term.
I'm not; I don't have any lectures, because

a) I haven't been offered the work

b) I am not taking any courses

c) I am still officially on the sick

[ the nice new labour government removed my disabled living allowance,
so now I have to claim the sick, and stop working when my condition
flares up or I have an episode,
instead of working around it, and people
question why I never have and never shall vote for the unmentionable little shits ! ]

Still on health; the low-fibre diet seems to be helping with my weight; i have definitely put on weight and appear to be retaing the same. however my skin and joints are not so good as a consequence
; that said it is probably preferable to th cortico-steroids....Hmm..must go and see the quack before the start of term..whoops! starting to go round in circles...time for breakfast!

: Made by John : Web Design :::

2008-08-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

gilliam.meghan: qlxmp?
john holmes: fuck off!
gilliam.meghan: ò×¥«whats up,æÌíùýaberjedÆäËÏâ
john holmes: fuck off spammer
gilliam.meghan: ñ¯ãéI'm Erika ã»çÔ
john holmes: who the fuck is erika?
gilliam.meghan: Ashlee Óý£¥ògave me ur info hope that was okåÁ¡Û
john holmes: no i dont know any ashee...which part of fuck & off do you not understand ?

Why i shall not mourn the demise of y360

i now blog on Ning & Blogge

The berlin Wall falls...and we end up with communism...WTF is going on ?

2008-08-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

When the Berlin wall came down; Communism didn't die it simply transferred its base of operations to the EU and the present new labour Government

Miserable Monday

2008-08-25T07:04:00.001-07:00

another rainy Bank Holiday

cheer up and visit my new homepage

2008-08-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday Bloggy Sunday

Digital media

So yesterday, I decided to spin a cd that I had bought about 3 or 4 years ago, 5 at the outside, and had played a mere handul of times.
.
..it is so knacked as to be unplayable;and yet I bought it to ease wear & tear on my 45 year old vinyl recording..
.
.so CD is less durable, It's digital, which is a less than perfect representation
of the analogue ( even infinite word length & infinite oversampling only gets
you back to the analogue)BRING BACK VINYL...
.ahh but there is a snag isn't there CD was supposed to be cheap and nasty as people couldn't
afford decent record players [then or now ]..
.
.OK so it seems that cheap and nasty digital media have their place....

...BUT WHY OH WHY SWITCH OFF FM RADIO ??? FUCKING IIDJITS !

Olympian Coverage

Is it me or have the recent games been and gone without anybody noticing ?
There seems to have been little or no coverage......perhaps it is only my perception, as at the last games I didn't have multi channel TV , and therefor had little choice but to follow the games. Speaking of little choice;
Has any one else noticed that Sunday's viewing on Free-view is mostly a repeat of Sunday ?
In fact I reckon that there now exists absolutely NO REASON for possessing any
tele-visual recording device, as most programmes are repeated several times per diem/mens/annum ...thus rendering even archiving unecessary...Not so much Tele-vision on demand as, we bought this crap and are now going to ram it down your screech non-stop for
the rest of your natural....GGRRRRRRR

Pointless Movie remakes

I noticed that Ch5 were showing HARVEY today; unfortunately it was a crappy remake..WHY? WHAT IS THE FUCKIN POINT of re-making these films.?..You cannot improve on them...C'mon Hollywood...MAKE SUMMAT ORIGINAL AND EARN THOSE PAY-CHEQUES

Tasteless Euro Beer

The other day I thought that I shoud try a few glasses of the much-vaunted Carlsberg Export; Perrier has more flavour...Why do people waste their money on this shite?....Odd as Special Brew DOES have flavour; over-brewed tea flavour, BUT nonetheless it does taste of something !

So a big thank-you to those unbearable bearded twats fromCAMRA

more anon

Just one more thing

the other day I went accidently over-drawn by £4-70 ...yes LESS THAN A FIVER...bank charge item fee £35 plus £28 unauthorized o/d fee......yes that's right £63 charge representing a interest rate of nearly 1500% , I thought that there were laws against usury..well HBOS I NAME & SHAME YOU

To Hell in a handcart

2008-08-17T01:02:00.000-07:00

Mega-Blog Sunday 17 August

this blog entry might be somewhat dis-jointed , and make little sense. I am very good at verbal ranting, sermonizing etc., but when it comes to putting pen to paper I am lacking, which since I am in the middle of writing two books is a bit of a problem!

When JFK said NO to Russian missiles in Cuba, the World gave a sharp intake of breath. Kennedy was right, and Kruchyev wrong. Now, the situation is reversed, and America wants to erect a "defensive" shield in Poland. This is the biggest dumbfuck of an idea that I have ever heard; there are pieces of dead wood that have more awareness than Bush. He makes Hitler seem like a reasonable guy who was just a little bit confused over the Jewish issue.The sooner somebody assassinates this guy, the safer will be this planet!

Now the snivelling shits want to take over Afghanistan...as NATO isn't kicking enough butts...well now George old bean, let me tell you this; even Alexander the great got his ass kicked in Afghanistan, as did the Russian regular army...so how the fuck are you American softies going to achieve anything ? FUCK OFF trying to run the world you tyrants. This planet doesn't need you!

And you can stuff McDonalds & Bill Gates up your big fat smelly arses

On another topic entirely , a woman got shoved off a railway pltform for telling two men not to smoke....now then, this should be an Olympic sport. Why stop at the anti-smokers? perhaps we could defenestrate the ant-hunt brigade, or the badgers-are-more-important-than-humans nutters could be hunted with dogs.

According to Persian mythology, Mithras was born of a virgin given the title 'Mother of God'.He was born in a cave, where,as a babe-in-arms, he was visited by three kings.

The god remained chaste throughout his life, and valued self-control, renunciation and resistance to sensuality among his worshippers. Mithras represented a system of ethics in which brotherhood was encouraged in order to unify against the forces of evil. The worshippers of Mithras held strong beliefs in a celestial heaven and an infernal hell.

They believed that the benevolent powers of the god would sympathize with their suffering and grant them the final justice of immortality and eternal salvation in the world to come. They looked forward to a final day of Judgement in which the dead would be resurrected, and to a final conflict that would destroy the existing order of all things to bring about the triumph of light over darkness.

Purification through a ritualistic baptism was required of the faithful, who also took part in a ceremony in which they drank wine and ate bread to symbolize the body and blood of the god. Sundays were held sacred, and the birth of the god was celebrated annually on December the 25th. After the earthly mission of this god had been accomplished, he took part in a Last Supper with his companions before ascending to heaven, to forever protect the faithful from above.

Sound familiar ?????

Veggie-Nite

2008-08-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Night

Tuesday is my "Telly night"....I'm not really a telly person , especially in Prom season, BUT once a week i

like to vegetate in front of the idiot box

6pm .....Home improvement

7pm......BBC World News

7.30pm ..Batman

8pm.......STNG

9pm......Doc Martin

10pm....Smallville

11pm....Family Guy

& so to bed with the intellect completely untaxed

Post to:

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flickr

2008-08-04T04:57:00.000-07:00

personality

2008-08-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

Your result for The LONG Scientific Personality Test...

ENTP - The Inventor

You scored 82% I to E, 16% N to S, 67% F to T, and 58% J to P!

The single word that describes your type is "inventor", and you belong to the larger group called rationals. You love to tinker with things and come up with new ideas. You are outgoing and curious with an insatiable appetite for knowledge. You have no real desire to lead, only doing so if there is no other way. 2% of the population share your personality type.

You are a flirtateous and energetic romantic partner, fun and engaging, always looking for something unusual to try. In your enthusiam, you may make promises you can't keep. Your competitive nature and need to be perceived as an expert can be daunting to a romantic partner at times. You so enjoy the tug of a good debate that sometimes you act as if you don't take anything seriously. You are usually very supportive and helpful to your mate, but somewhat scattered and unable to devote your full attention there. You feel most appreciated for your great ideas, unusual perceptiveness, and ability to understand and communicate with people. You feel most appreciated when your partner understands your need for lots of social contact and your need to live life as spontaneously as possible.

Your group summary: rationals (NT)

Your type summary: ENTP

Take The LONG Scientific Personality Test at HelloQuizzy

2008-08-01T01:48:00.000-07:00

: m0rE2 via kwout

The truth is out there.

2008-08-01T01:46:00.000-07:00

: Musings via kwout

My latest website

2008-07-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Holmes family history via kwout

2008-07-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

2008-07-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

Taking Liberties - Simon Clark - Taking Liberties - Health and hyperbole via kwout

2008-07-29T15:48:00.000-07:00

Taking Liberties - Simon Clark - Taking Liberties via kwout

I HATE OXFAM

2008-07-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

Walking through town today , I have been accosted by several of OXFAM's offensive young CHUGGERS

OXFAM:
A society formed by left-wing middle-class twats to assuage their feelings of guilt as they swig their Mouton-Cadet

KWOUT

2008-07-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

KWOUT is a well cool add-on for firefox, performing cut & paste scaleable screen grabs

TRY IT!

Doesn't it annoy you when.....

2008-07-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

when Alan Hanson...when advertising for "Morrissons" can't actually say "Morrissons" but says " Moor Suns".. I ask you, can anyone understand a word ?

People say Kilometres thus KEEL-OH-MEETERS rather than KILL-OM-ITERS...I should prefers it if they said MILES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOVERNMENT

2008-07-22T04:04:00.001-07:00

The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.
--Thomas Jefferson

2008-07-18T18:00:00.001-07:00

Sir,
Since your newspaper made the reckless decision to become a tabloid, I have noticed with horror the very poor standard of grammar by your columnists. There seems to be littl or no editorial supervision.

Opinion:July 18
The headline reads " Is the greatest Russian Stalin or Nicholas ?"

It should, of course, read " Is the greater Russian, Stalin or [ is it]Nicholas?"

I should have thought that the average nine-year old would know better! This just one example of many. On a daily basis , I notice on average 100 "Illiteracies" in your newspaper. The Times used to be a flagship, particularly noted for both good usage and style. I now use your newspaper in key skills & basic skills classes to point out the infelicities of poor and often confusing grammar; whereas a few years ago I used it to illustrate good usage.

I remain,

John Holmes

Sleepless in Aberystwyth

2008-07-17T12:17:00.001-07:00

Blog for 4th July

Where has the year gone?
trouble in the

colonies?..Damned Yankies!

more to the point; where is summer?

I

finally topped-up my internet account yesterday, after being locked out owing to

password problems......now that I have data/ air-time , the network is

down...DOH!EDIT......The Network IS NOT DOWN..THE STUPID CUNTS HAVE GIVEN ME MOBILE PHONE MINUTES.....PLUS THEY WON@T COVERT THEM>>>STUPID CUNTS WANT ME TO PAY TWICE>>I SHALL TAKE THE BASTARDS TO COURT AND BAD MOUTH THEM OVER THE NET>>>>>THEIR MARKETING NOUS SEEMS TO BE NON_EXISTANT...I've written to the MD suggesting they dont site their call-centre in the sub-continent...and give them authority to rfund....HOW DO THESE STUPID BASTARDS STAY IN FUCKING BUSINESS?
am i a real-life Arthur Dent_________pay your bill and get cut off!!!!!

Science faction(sic)

It is 4:45

a.m. , I shall go for a walk assuming that most of the drunks are either in bed or in

the gutter

why does the network always crash, when I can't sleep?

consider a number N, such that N=N for all values of

N.....No, consider STAR TREK....or cowboys in space....Saturday

morning kid's show at the local bug-hutch........If it is "Cowboys & Indians" , ,

Who should have played the parts in the hay-days of kinema?

Take the classic

series.......

Bones.....got to be Noah Beery

Kirk...Mmmm..a

little trickier, but John wayne gets my vote

Spock... is a bit of a bugger, i thought of Robert Mitchum...but that's just plain wrong!......Jimmy Stewart could be Scotty...but who is Spock?........I shall ponder this whilst i take my very early morning constitutional along the prom..BRRRRRRRR....cold, but clear...i shall have earned my bacon & eggs this morning!
Moving on to STNG...Picard is so obviously NOT John Wayne...Henry Fonda , perhaps?
Riker is ??????.......Data must be Clint Eastwood!!!!!!!!!!!....Geordie is Olly Hardy (Yes he was in westerns!)...got it! Riker is Alan ladd on stilts!..troy is so annoying I am tempted to fill her role with Angela Lansbury (yes , she was in westerns too!)....funny how so many screen-actors got their breaks in westerns....I shan't mention DS9 or Enterprise; i am getting weary of this...but please fire back your classic western-actors for Star Trek; I shall be most intreagued.

Film Night

Thursday is "Film Night" chez-moiBUT I decided Not to watch a film; rather I viewed a surprizingly interesting documentary on the history of the Sunday-School...these rare treats do crop up from time-to-time! I had my usual bottle of red, a rather over-flavoured sicilian number, accompanied by a Bolivar Royal Corona; i should like to say it was an excellent smoke, but alas it was rather ordinary and never really developed, it stayed well and had a good construction, the draw being a little on the easy-side of ideal, earthy but shallow taste, even burn with no touch-ups required 1hr20m, I shall put the rest of the box in the bottom of the large humi on cedar for a year or two, although I don't think that they will improve as the box is 2003. next week i think I'll spark up a saint-luis-rey corona...there are about half-a-dozen lurking in the humi.

Ancient Languages

i ran into an old friend the other day, for want of something better to do he's just taken a first-degree in physics; in his final year he learnt FORTRAN !...Okay, it's still good at number-crunching and has excellent I/O parameters; BUT , get this, the course DID NOT cover N-dimensional arrays !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
right 6:15 time for bacon and eggs, more later........

Sultry saturday in Aber

2008-06-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY IN ABERYSTWYTH

You can tell it's a summer saturday in Aber by the throb of motor-cycles arriving from all directions;
A lot of them are high-powered modern machines, but by far the majority are Classics from the 60's.
Their deep-throated roar takes me back to the days when I was an under-graduate in Hull, where Roger , a guy on my landing, had two beautiful Velocettes, which had the incredible ability to take corners at near horizontal
Quite why these motor-cyclists choose to come to Aberystwyth is beyond me; It's a dump!The beer is both dear and queer; It's full of bloody Brummies, and there is nothing to do unless you enjoy second-rate boozers.It must be the ride here that has its appeal.

Tele-visual/ Radio-phonic Blues

I am very annoyed by commentators on both the telly and the wireles continually using metric measures such as kilo-metres and metres. WE LIVE IN BRITAIN NOT EUROPE it is YARDS & MILES

POLICE CONDONE ILLEGAL PARKING IN ABERYSTWYTH

each night hackney carriage park illegally outside my house

they are on double-yellow lines

They park with-in 10 yards of a corner

their two-way radios competely block digital tele-vision reception

They are parked and touting for hire away from a licensed rank

they keep their radios on all the time

they attract drunks,

toot their horns ( an offence when stationary and betwwen the hours of 11pm - 7am)

they slam their car doors

they are of course, like all cabs, driven by complete TWATS

2008-06-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

tough on crime
the government's continued response to crime is to legislate, legislate and legislate

when will they get it through their thick heads...the perpetrators of crime are criminals; criminals have no regard for the law; ergo it is pointless to legislate against them.....laws are for people who have no need of them

Thursday June 26, 2008 - 04:09pm (BST) Edit | Delete | Permanent Link | 0 Comments
Government gets tough on Mugabe
That'll shew that Mgabe rotter who's boss.....we won't let the swine play in our game of cricket next summer..........NA NA NE NA NA
Tags: | Edit Tags
Wednesday June 25, 2008 - 02:56pm (BST) Edit | Delete | Permanent Link | 0 Comments
Government gets tough on Mugabe
or PLEASE CAN I HAVE MY BALL BACK ?

That 'll shew that evil despot Mgabe what's what !..........We won't let the rotter play cricket with us...na na ne na na
Tags: | Edit Tags
Wednesday June 25, 2008 - 02:53pm (BST) Edit | Delete | Permanent Link | 0 Comments
Entry for June 24, 2008
Just had a blazing row with a c*nt of a taxi-driver who parks on doulbe-yellows outside my house touting for trade til 4am

I have to put up with drunks

360 closing

2008-06-28T05:59:00.000-07:00

I shall move my Aber-rant blog here in the near future as Y360 is closing

न्यू |Routine

2007-11-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

Reports to follow

2007-11-09T06:30:00.001-08:00

¡ooɥɐʎ oʇ sʞɔo11oq

2007-11-08T05:14:00.000-08:00

n an interview with the Financial Times, U.S. Comptroller General David Walker stated that the United States government “is on a ‘burning platform’ of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration, and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon…”

The article added, “Mr. Walker warned that there were ‘striking similarities’ between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including ‘declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by central government.’”

He added, “I’m trying to sound an alarm and issue a wake-up call.”

History reveals that all governments, empires and kingdoms of men, no matter how grand, no matter how powerful, ultimately fall. It happened to ancient Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Even Rome was not exempt; though it dominated much of Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East and parts of the Near East, and lasted for 500 years, the Roman Empire ultimately fell.

There is an old and popular saying: “Rome was not built in a day.” Likewise, the Roman Empire did not fall in one night; its decline was gradual. Not long after it rose to world dominance, several factors were already at work contributing to the empire’s ultimate demise.

Similarly, these factors are at work among the societies of the American and British peoples—and serve as warning signs of a civilization destined to fall.

Pub landlord fined for flouting smoking ban

2007-11-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

LONDON (AFP) - A pub landlord on Monday became the first in England to be convicted of breaching new laws banning smoking in enclosed public places.
(Advertisement)

But Hamish Howett, 55, a Scot and a non-smoker, vowed to let punters carry on lighting up in the Happy Scots Bar in Blackpool.

District judge Peter Ward said he did not want to make him a martyr, but branded Howett's actions "silly" as he sentenced him at Blackpool Magistrates' Court.

Howett was fined 500 pounds and ordered to pay 2,000 pounds prosecution costs after he admitted breaching the legislation, which came into force on July 1.

The publican has set up a political party called Fight Against Government Suppression, and the court was told the campaign has left him on the verge of bankruptcy.

Owners and managers of pubs, clubs and cafes are legally bound to enforce the smoking ban and face fines of up to 2,500 pounds if they fail to do so.

Referring to the new legislation, Ward said: "That is the law and it has to be complied with.

"I suggest your campaign has been silly, pointless and misguided. It has achieved nothing. All it seems to have done is cause a great deal of problems for yourself.

Howett later said he would try to take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.

"We're all going back to the Happy Scots Bar now for a smoke," he said.

"The judge was very fair but he was preaching apathy with his words. Someone has got to stop this law, otherwise it will go through like a juggernaut.

"I was advised today I did not have a skeletal argument to plead not guilty on human rights grounds but I won't give up. I'll keep fighting to take this all the way."

औतुमं इन ceredigion

2007-11-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

Photos of an Autumnal walk along the rheidol valley

रेवोलुशन Required

2007-11-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Are you no longer a moderate?
I have always been an unassuming, moderate , conservative..

But each day's news brings more tidings of the Orwellian nature of modern Britain

Is it time for we quiet people to rise up and overthrow this shabby, immoral soviet-style Government?

Think-tank says 'downgrade Christmas'

2007-11-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

Think-tank says 'downgrade Christmas'
ITN ITN - 1 hour 16 minutes ago

Christmas should be downgraded unless other religious festivals are marked on an even footing, a Government think-tank has said.

The Institute of Public Policy Research has suggested various ideas to make the UK more multicultural.

It also wants "national culture" barriers to be torn down to help immigrants settle into the UK.

In a report due to be published in coming weeks, the organisation said: "If we are going to continue to mark Christmas - and it would be very hard to expunge it from our national life even if we wanted to - then public organisations should mark other major religious festivals too.

"Even-handedness dictates that we provide public recognition to minority cultures and traditions."

It emerged in 2006 that three out of four employers were not putting up Christmas decorations in the workplace for fear of offending staff of other cultures.

Alcohol abuse

2007-10-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

So the medicos have admitted that they made up all that naughty stuff about alcohol

perhaps they will admit that they are lying about tobacco next

naughty doctors

Super-size me !

2007-10-21T05:03:00.000-07:00

So i thought i'd see the effect of eating nothing but burgers and fries for a month...well it had a dramatic effect on my weight...I lost 3 stones!

2007-10-20T03:52:00.000-07:00

2007-10-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Alan Coren died to-day; bummer

Programmers please

2007-10-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

Why OH Why? Do people share HTML code saying feel free to adapt this code etc...and then they don't put in any comments.....consequently by the time you've figured out which bit does what you could have written the code yourself! DOH!

more smoking myths debunked

2007-10-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

During the time period from October 1959 through February 1960, the American Cancer Society enrolled men in a smoker survey, described in the Report as the "Men in 25 States" study. Female volunteers were each asked to pick ten families among their acquaintances, each with at least one person over the age of 45, and study them to find out whether they would die during the survey period and, specifically, whether they would die from lung cancer.

There were 448,000 useable replies, representing 448,000 men between the ages of 35 and 89. We don't know how many replies were rejected as unusable because each volunteer was free to use her own criteria. We also don't know how many smokers were studied as opposed to non-smokers because the results, published in the 1964 Surgeon General's Report, don't furnish that information. We do know that during the approximately 22 months that the survey lasted, there were 11,612 deaths. As the Surgeon General acknowledged, this translates to a death rate for both smokers and non-smokers, considerably below the overall death rate for white males, meaning that the participants in the survey were considerably healthier than the average person. At least, that's what the Surgeon General thought that it meant. I have other ideas.

The observed mortality ratios for different types of smokers, as opposed to non-smokers, were as follows:

Cigarettes only 1.83 Cigarettes and other 1.54 Cigars only 0.97 Pipes only 0.86

Thus, once again, as with Doll's study, it appears that cigar and pipe smokers actually lived longer than non-smokers - something that modern anti smokers would vigorously dispute.

smoking myths debunked 1

2007-10-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

There is no correlation between smoking and life expectancy
WHO and the CIA:

Top 15 Male Life Expectancies

LE (years) Smokers prevalence (%)
1. Iceland 76.6 (1994) 31.0 (1994)
2. Japan 76.5 (1994) 59.0 (1994)
3. Costa Rica 75.9 (1994) 35.0 (1988)
4. Israel 75.9 (1994) 45.0 (1990)
5. Sweden 75.5 (1994) 22.0 (1994)
6. Greece 75.2 (1994) 46.0 (1994)
7. Switzerland 74.8 (1994) 36.0 (1992)
8. Netherlands 74.7 (1994) 36.0 (1994)
9. Canada 74.7 (1994) 31.0 (1991)
10. Cuba 74.7 (1994) 49.3 (1990)
11. Australia 74.5 (1994) 29.0 (1993)
12. Spain 74.5 (1994) 48.0 (1993)
13. Malta 74.5 (1994) 40.0 (1992)
14. Italy 74.4 (1994) 38.0 (1994)
15. France 74.3 (1994) 40.0 (1993)
USA 72.6 (1994) 28.1 (1991)

If, as the anti smokers postulate, smoking is a deadly "addiction", trimming years off the life of the smoker, how do they explain such examples as Japan, Israel, Greece, Cuba, Spain, Italy and France? How can it be that people in these countries smoke far more than people in the United States, yet manage to live substantially longer?

So the moral is diet is more important than smoking habits?
By the way non-smokers actually suffer more heart disease than smokers!

Don't join the flat earth society..believe the facts, NOT your doctor!

2007-10-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

and people still say smoking isn't sexy!

2007-10-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

JustSayHi - Free Personals

Free Speech

2007-10-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

"Without free speech no search for truth is possible... no discovery of truth is useful... Better a thousandfold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech. The abuse dies in a day, but the denial slays the life of the people, and entombs the hope of the race."
-- Charles Bradlaugh

Quote

2007-10-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

: The good Christian should beware of mathematicians and all those who make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine man in the bonds of Hell.

St. Augustine

Shock Horror

2007-10-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

The BBC just used criteria as a singular noun!
This is unacceptable

25 years old!

2007-09-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Ch4 is twenty-five year's old! Surely it only started a few years ago! Perhaps it's old age creeping up on me. I got up this morning convinced that it was Monday. I planned my to-do-list for the day, made a cuppa, and turned on the wireless. "Funny", I thought, "that programme's usually on Sundays, must be a new season of repeats". It wasn't til I consulted the on-line TV schedule that I realised that it was Sunday. DOH!

managed to make a start on my church website...still need a name for it!

first post

2007-09-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

this blog will replace / compliment my 360 blog...and will synchronise with my web page