Iran

I'm baffled by the rumours coming out of the USA regarding the possibility of military action against Iran. OK, so Iran is developing nuclear capabilities. So what?! For forty years of "Cold War" the USSR was the biggest nuclear threat the "West" had ever faced, but that didn't lead us to pre-emptive military action against Moscow. Have we forgotten the meaning of the term "nuclear deterrent"? Don't we still have that capability?

I understand that a raft of senior military men in the USA have stated they would resign if such a mad policy was pursued. No doubt George W Bush could rustle up enough gung-ho cronies to put in their place. The next Presidential election can't come soon enough for me. There is no doubt in my own mind who the most dangerous man in the world is.

Choking on Gas

A year ago I signed up to a deal with British Gas that would protect me from price increases for three years. As the price of gas, electricity and oil all seemed to be on a never-ending upward spiral this seemed to be a good deal. I agreed to a small price increase for gas and this would be fixed until 2009.

Guess what - this month British Gas introduced significant price cuts, but they don't apply to me.

It turns out that not only am I protected against price increases, but I am equally well protected against price cuts!

Achieving Sainthood by the Back Door

The other day, in my capacity as a part-time taxi driver, I brought an elderly couple home from church. When we arrived at their house, the lady asked if I would mind going inside to help free their back door. She explained that it had been jammed shut for days and she and her husband were not strong enough to shift it. Naturally I volunteered to throw my shoulder against it.

She forged on ahead up the front drive, with me in close pursuit, leaving her husband behind to struggle as best he could on his two sticks. I expressed concern about his well-being, but she said, "Oh, he'll be OK.." and then as a kind of afterthought, "...unless he falls over."

Fortunately we all made it safely to the front door and went inside. I was taken through to the kitchen, and shown the offending back door. I tested it, and sure enough, it was stuck fast. I spied a key sitting on the adjacent window sill, picked it up and unlocked the door.

That did the trick!

Quality not Quantity

I return to the Blogosphere after an absence caused in part by idleness and in part by illness. My recovery has been aided by the comments of two of my readers who have indeed been kind enough to leave comments confirming quality is more important than quantity. Actually I received a further boost from a THIRD reader (and regular internet friend) who sent me an e-mail to let me know she dips in from time to time. Modesty prevents me from revealing one of the reasons she does so, and in any case I didn't think my photograph was that good!

My wife and I have been on a spending spree, emptying the contents of our bank accounts in pursuit of a new 3-piece lounge suite, a dining room table and chairs, and a 37-inch plasma flat-screen digital TV. I think the greatest pleasure to be had from buying the furniture was the somewhat unusual degree of high-quality customer service we received in the show room, to the extent that I am happy to give a worldwide "plug" to Sinclairs of Scarborough.

http://www.firstforfurniture.com/

As soon as we entered we were greeted with a big smile by a smartly suited jolly gentleman (no other way to describe him) who asked about our requirements and proceeded to show us personally every item of furniture on the two floors of the showrooms, with a full description and demonstration of all the features. (I was sorely tempted by a motorised reclining chair but I managed to restrain myself.) He was pleased to discuss our colour schemes and show us the items most likely to fit in. Strangely, although we looked at and sat in pretty well everything on display, we finished up buying the very first items he had shown us. How cool is that? Size up your customers' requirements, take them straight to what they need, then show them everything else to confirm that none of the other stuff is for them. We spent an hour in that shop, and I'd only paid for an hour's parking on a meter just up the road. Our salesman told us not to worry - he didn't think we'd have received a penalty ticket, but if we had, then they would "pick up the tab".

The TV is a major improvement on our previous model, and I'm still trying to get my head round how "thin" it is from front to back. I watched Prime Minister Tony Blair being interviewed this morning on Andrew Marr's Sunday AM and he was so much in the room with me that I was convinced he could hear me shouting abuse at him as he once again tried to justify the Iraq debacle. Marr's earlier interview with Art Garfunkel was far more pleasing.

Well, I may surface again in a week; remember, quality not quantity. (I think there's more of the latter than the former in the above!)

Good Morning Ladies!

I've just been watching a discussion on TV about blogging. It is the new craze. It is the democratization of news presentation and analysis. It gives the ordinary person the opportunity to react with others on the issues of the day, whether they be big international events or something small in the blogger's personal life. It is so big that the "establishment" is now well into it, with TV presenters, newpaper journalists, and politicians producing their own professional blogs. It is said that the ordinary British blogger can attract an audience of up to 35,000 which is bigger than the circulation of some weekly political magazines. E-mails, site comments, and discussion threads are feeding the frenzy of debate amongst Joe Public. I reckon 90% of it is probably inconsequential rubbish (like this Blog) and a platform for the exchange of insults which you would probably not make to someone's face.

Still - the thought of attracting an audience of up to 35,000 is heady stuff, and with that in mine I'd like to say Good Morning to my own readers ... which, by reference to the regular comments this Blog receives, totals TWO. Good Morning Ladies! I hope you'll be the first to tell me that size doesn't matter - it's quality not quantity that counts.

Onwards and upwards.

With Allies like these ...

L/Cpl Matty Hull of the Household Cavalry Regiment was killed in Iraq on 28th March 2003 by "friendly" fire from a US anti-tank aircraft. Last week the Oxford Coroner conducting the inquest into his death had seen a cockpit video recording from the offending aircraft. He was prevented from showing it in open court because the US military authorities would not allow it. He therefore, in some obvious anger, adjourned the hearing until or unless permission could be obtained through the Ministry of Defence. Such permission, however, could not be obtained because of US objections.

This is rare for me, but today I salute the investigative journalists of The Sun newspaper for getting hold of a copy of the video recording and publishing the full transcript in today's paper. I am pleased this has happened, not because I want to take a dig at the US pilots involved (it is clear from the transcript that they were horrified by what they had done ... "I feel sick" ... "We're in jail, dude" ...) but because the Pentagon has tried to cover up the evidence. The British convoy were displaying the internationally agreed orange panels on their tanks, indicating they were Coalition forces, and in addition to this, when firing started they released emergency flares indicating the same information.

One might understand the mistakes that can be made in the heat of battle, but surely somewhere in the command structure there must have been information concerning the whereabouts of friendly troops, and so the directive that the pilots were within a designated "kill box" is deeply troubling; so also is the apparent lack of recognition skills of the US military. There have been quite a few occurrences of Americans killing British forces, though not, I am pleased to note, any incidents of British forces killing Americans.

My criticism is principally against the US Military Authorities who have tried to keep the relevant information from coming into the public domain, much to the obvious distress of L/Cpl Hull's widow. One is tempted to say With Allies like these, who needs enemies?"

The Price of Divided Loyalties

In the British Army there about 350 soldiers who happen to be Muslims. The shock news this week is the arrest, in Birmingham, of several young Muslims who, it is alleged, were planning the kidnap and execution of a Muslim soldier who has served time in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is said that a video of the execution would have been posted on the worldwide web. If all this turns out to be substantiated, leading to charges being made under anti-terrorism legislation it will mark a disturbing variation in the tactics of these religious and political perverts. The soldier under threat has been taken to a safe house under police protection.

It's a sad state of affairs when a group of your own countrymen threaten your life because you chose to serve in the Army of the country in which you were born and raised.

Where's the Money?

I have noticed that whenever a government minister is taken to task over the neglect of some important public service, the response usually includes this kind of thing ... "There's only a finite amount of money; the important thing is to spend it wisely and efficiently".

And I've noticed that this argument never seems to apply to military adventures in other people's countries. When the idiots who proposed the illegal and unnecessary pre-emptive invasion of Iraq nobody said "There's only a finite amount of money." In fact there appears to be an endless supply of money to be spent year after year after year in pursuit of absolutely nothing but death, destruction and chaos. The money will always be there for as long as it is deemed necessary, but as soon as you mention health, transport, welfare or education it will suddently become a finite amount.

Stopping a Run on Benefits

Nobody likes a benefits cheat, so my day made a bright start when I saw the news that one Paul Appleby - a 47 year old ex-miner - was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to ten months in prison for illegally claiming and receiving over £22,000 in disability benefits in the past four years. Apparently he had asserted that he was unable to walk without the aid of two walking sticks or a frame. During this period, however, he managed to run in several marathons, including the London Marathon. The least he could have done was to carry his walking frame with him, but sadly (for him) he was filmed by the Department of Work and Pensions, cheerfully running exclusively on his own two legs with a broad smile on his face, completing the course in just over three and a half hours.

Surfer's Soliloquy

To BLOG or not to BLOG, that is the question —
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous comments,
Or to take arms against a sea of e-mails,
And by opposing, end them. To cry, DELETE —
No more; and by deletion say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to — 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. CTRL, then ALT —
DELETE, perchance to live! Ay, there's the ESC,
For in that real life what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this “virtual” coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of “virtual” life,
For who can bear the dark blue screens of death,
The spammer’s songs, the offers of viagra,
The pangs of “virtual” love, the law's delay,
The insolence of chat rooms, and the loans
That have no merit and the gullible takes,
When he himself can’t clear his overdraft
With a bare cheque book? who would be a bear
Of little brain in this computer’d life,
But that the dread of something after DEL,
The real-life country from whose bourn
No surfer returns, puzzles us still,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the hue of pixel resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And variations of dot pitch and R G B
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And so I stay confused .. F1 for help.

William Spokeshave

Global Warming Warning

It's January, and the sun is shining in a clear blue sky. The outside temperature is 7 degrees C.

When I first moved to North Yorkshire in 1966 it was a fairly safe assumption that within a day or two of Christmas it would be difficult to get out of the front door because of snow drifts. Snow and ice would be on the ground for weeks on end, and journeys across the North York Moors would only be possible after the snow ploughs had cut their way through, leaving 10 ft high walls of snow on either side of the road.

There's a sledge hanging up in my garage for my grandson to use when he visits during the winter. It has been used about three times in as many years.

Ten years ago my normal winter working clothes invariably included thick shirts, thick polo-necked military-style jumpers, and thick top coat. I am now going out in the winter wearing short-sleeved T-shirts and a light casual jacket.

It's all very pleasant, of course, but the downside is the increasing frequency of freak weather incidents causing damage, injury and death. We can argue until the cows stop farting about whether or not mankind's activities are causing the climate change. It could be part of the normal long-term cyclical changes that have always occurred. I suspect, however, that we have a great deal to do with what is going on. Even if we take the official American government line that our energy use has nothing to do with it we still have to recognise that the change is happening, and we had better damned well be prepared for the consequences.

My grandson is upset about not being able to use his sledge. My biggest worry is how upset he and all of our grandchildren (and their children) will be when flooding, shortage of drinking water, crop changes, intolerable temperatures, economic downturns, mass migration and consequent conflict and war become an everyday part of their lives.

...

Talking of hot spots, I see that the Venuzuelan President is threatening to nationalise a number of major industries, including some in American ownership. No prizes for guessing who the next South American President to meet with a mysterious accident might be!

New Year Resolutions I'm confident of keeping in 2007

I will not take up smoking. (I gave it up 40 years ago)

I will not have an extra-marital affair. (Haven’t had one in 44 years of marriage)

I will continue to drive on the left. (Always a good idea in Britain)

I will continue to be about 20 pounds over-weight. (It’s best to acknowledge when one is beaten)

I will continue to despise racists and religious fanatics. (There’ll be plenty of opportunities)

I will not vote again for a Tony Blair government. (He’s going to resign before the next Election)

I will continue to be sceptical of David Cameron’s Conservative Party. (He’s all froth & bubble)

I will never again be a member of a Political Party. (Unless it’s my own)

I will attend Church regularly (just as soon as there is only one Christian Church)

I will take the religion of Islam seriously (just as soon as there is only one version of it)

I will not take my car to the local shops when I can walk or ride a bike.

I will continue to dislike George Bush (but promise to hug at least two Americans)

I will maintain my Blog irregularly and unreliably.

I will maintain contact with my friends on the same basis.

I will feel bad about my irregularities and unreliability.

I think that’s enough to be going on with.

Happy New Year!

Farewell to the Tyrant

It was difficult to know how to react to the news this morning that Saddam Hussein had been executed, and it was even more difficult to absorb the video footage of him being led to the gallows, watching him refuse a blindfold, then having black cloth tied around his neck. There was a brief view of the trapdoor through which he would fall, but the BBC decided to spare us the final footage of the execution itself.

My own view is that the man should have been kept in solitary confinement for the rest of his life because I am - and have always been - an avowed opponent of Capital Punishment. Even the official view of the UK government, and all governments of the European Union, is similarly equivocal, since all of us have long since abandoned the concept of State Executions, and yet in these particular circumstances we find ourselves as official Allies of the USA, a country that still carries out judicial executions at a rate that outstrips (almost) every other country in the world.

It was of course politically wise of the USA and the UK to distance themselves from this particular judicial process so it could be said that Saddam was tried and executed by his own countrymen. I have little doubt about the man's guilt but have been less than impressed by the farce that passed for a trial. I wonder how many murder trials in the US or the UK would have continued uninterrupted under a succession of three different judges, and how many Appeals against conviction would have been dealt with in such short shrift?

My Goose was Well and Truly Cooked

It’s the day after Christmas, and I’ve been reflecting on the day before Christmas and Christmas Day itself. Responding to a widespread rumour that Christmas was a religious festival I went to Church on Christmas Eve for the Midnight Eucharist – my first time in Church for ten years (apart from the increasingly frequent funerals of friends). As always, I was able to feel some connection with God, though not on account of the fancy dress or the liturgy or the singing of carols. Indeed at one point I nearly lost all sense of connection – ironically in the process leading up to the taking of Holy Communion. As I read the words on the service sheet my brain was forced to ponder that part of the Christian message that appears to have more to do with cannibalism than remembering Jesus Christ. I balked at the words leaping out at me from the page as I was exhorted to “partake of the flesh” and “drink the blood”. Whoa! Hold up a minute!

My take on the Last Supper is that the bread and wine are wholly symbolic of the person of Christ, i.e., his body and blood, and the exhortation to partake of the bread and wine is to remember Him. We are most certainly not eating His flesh nor drinking His blood. Well, that’s my considered opinion after much thought and prayer with the brain God gave me, and if any person or persons try to convince me otherwise I regret to inform them that they are wasting their time.

I had other problems that night in Church. I noticed that the choir included a man, engaged as a Church Warden, whom I know personally to have acted in a wholly unpleasant (not to say un-Christian) way towards his neighbour over a long period of time.

All these thoughts occupied my mind as I walked back home in the light drizzle of the first hour Christmas Day and retired to bed.

The first half of Christmas Day saw me and wife at the home of our son, his wife, and our delightful 4-year old grandson for an exchange of gifts. The joy on the face of our grandson as he played with his new toys and opened yet more presents was the best Christmas gift that we could have hoped for, and the realisation that we were in the presence of the most special people in our lives was a more spiritually uplifting experience than my Church visit had been some hours earlier.

When we returned home a goose that had been cooking in the oven for some hours had spilled fat over the surface of the oven; the smoke alarms were audible outside the house, and when we entered the house we found every room filled with smoke. We opened windows, turned on extractor fans, and lit scented candles. Our goose was well and truly cooked.

A memorable and stimulating Christmas!

We are still lighting scented candles. The atmosphere in the house should be back to normal by next Christmas. Happy New Year! (And by that I mean a year free from any more mad adventures by the idiots Bush and Blair)

Ethical Foreign Policy?

A few days ago (5th December) I posted a note about the British Serious Fraud Office investigation into bribery and corruption on an arms deal between British Aerospace and Saudi Arabia. The Saudis wanted the investigation stopped (which in my book meant they were as guilty as hell) or else they would cancel the contract and go to the French.

Surprise, surprise! Tony Blair has cancelled the investigation ("in the national interest").

I'm sick to the back teeth with this Government. It is a government in which I and thousands of others had invested so much faith and hope. In the early days I was grateful for the declarations of high standards, ethical foreign policies, removal of interest rate control from the politicians' hands, the national minimum wage, Scottish and Welsh devolution (unfortunately nothing done for the English), winter fuel payments and free local bus travel for pensioners, and so on, but then we had the illegal Iraq fiasco, Blair in bed with Bush, political donations and loans in exchange for honours and peerages, the removal of the married persons' tax allowance, the Pensions crisis, increasing taxation by the back door, and now political interference in international fraud investigations. We are not even going to have the pleasure of kicking out the badly tarnished Blair (Bliar) since he's announced his intention to resign next year and pass on the baton to someone else. For the first time in my life I have no idea how I'm going to vote at the next General Election, and the more I talk to friends and acquaintences about it the more I realise they all feel the same way. Indeed more and more people cannot be bothered to vote at all. It's no surprise.

The Conservative Party under cuddly Dave Cameron (which recently unveiled a new Party Logo consisting of an oak tree apparently drawn by a 3-year old with a green crayon) looks less and less like a government in waiting, and Ming Cambell's Liberal Democrats cannot jump from 60 seats to a large enough number for government under the current voting system.

One British Soldier's View of Iraq

A friend has a son serving with the British Army in Iraq. Here are some of his recent comments ...

... the country is crazy, dirty and smelly. The place is disgusting and most of the people are filthy dirty and lazy. The day labourers aren't to be trusted; they listen for gossip to report back to the insurgents. In central Baghdad where scores of Iraqis were waiting for job's as day labourers today at least 57 people were wounded or killed.

Nothing is reported about all the soldiers that get injured every day. They are taken to hospitals in Cyprus then returned to England to hospitals for treatment. They are receiving treatment in N.H.S hospitals (not a Military Hospital as we expect). The Military hospitals have specialised staff trained to deal especially with war victims The N.H.S aren't equipped for this - another cut back thanks to Tony Blair. They need trained military staff who understand the nightmares.

Only yesterday one of the soldiers was shot in the eye another was injured by a blast.

Simultaneous explosions occurr daily and we hear of car bombing and trouble caused by the insurgents.

We are not wanted in the country: even the Iraqi soldiers resent our presence. We cant trust anybody. They pretend to be friendly but in the next breath they say "Go home to your own country". The interpreter is always telling us this. It's crazy us being here!

We give small children sweets and treats; they are all bedraggled and brain-washed. The minute we turn away they are throwing stones at us and calling names. It's a no-win situation.

The End of Pinochet - No Great Loss

Well, another tyrant has bitten the dust, and I'm not shedding any tears. Margaret Thatcher's frequent and public declarations of support and fondness for the old bugger was just one of very many reasons why I have always considered her to be a loathsome woman.

Iraq Study Group Report

At last! A group of Republican worthies has told President Bush some things that ordinary people with half a brain like you and me already knew: the Iraq policy is wrong and needs a radical new direction.

Tony Bliar is beating about the Bush in Washington today. If he hopes to leave office next summer with anything other than a reputation in tatters he will pull no punches and persuade the Toxic Texan to switch his brain from automatic to manual, pull the humble pie lever, then press the switch that engages constructive thinking.

Ethical Politics - an Oxymoron?

Saudia Arabia (that beacon of democracy and financial probity in the Middle East) has been putting pressure on the UK Government to put a stop to a Serious Fraud Office investigation into bribery and corruption surrounding a proposed huge weapons deal between the Saudis and British Aerospace.

The Saudis are threatening to scupper the deal and go to the French if the investigation continues. Of course, thousands of British jobs depend upon a successful outcome to this filthy trade, so will the government to the decent thing and tell the Saudis where to get off?

Don't hold your breath.

Wireless Route to Madness

The two computers in my house connect to the internet via a Belkin wireless router. In the current debate on energy efficiency and reduction of consumption I read that by not leaving the TV on standby each night this saves about £45 per year. This got me thinking about other things that are left on continuously. One of them is my wireless router. The supplier recommended leaving it on all the time, so I went to one of those technical support forums to ask whether it would really matter if I unplugged it each night and rebooted it in the morning.

I got about a dozen replies within hours; half of them said "Keep it switched on" the other half said "Switch if off". One said go into the router settings and disconnect it via the software before unplugging it otherwise it would get confused. Most of the advice came from people who wrote in computer geek speak liberally sprinkled with acronyms and initials such as MAC, SSID, DHCP, IMO AND WPA2.

I am a bear of very little brain, and what there is of it is now thoroughly confused, so I have made an executive decision to keep it switched on and stop worrying about how hot it gets.