Fighting Polar Bears

That's a low blow, where's the referee.

Oh, the Nostalgia!

That is the opening for, in my opinion, a great article.

Have a read, and then tell me what you would do to have a leader, like Margaret Thatcher, who put Britain first.

The Thatcher years: no time for soundbites when we felt the handbag of history on our shoulders.

You may not of agreed with her policies, but you have to agree she had the strength of will to put Britain first, no matter what the opposition.

Remember she battled the whole of the EU to get a rebate for Britain, and got it. Only for Blair to give it back for nothing.

Is This a Major Shock?

Below is a the headline to this article from the Telegraph

Rising public sector pay cost £11bn in taxes

Britons would have been spared £11bn in taxes had public sector pay rises been kept in line with the private sector over the past two years, according to a think-tank.

I'm not shocked by this.

We all knew that the public sector was being paid more than the private sector, but finding out that they have cost us £11 Billion is unforgivable.

How many quangos are there that doesn't do much else apart than being a talking shop, and issuing useless and stupid new rules and regulations.

I would love to know the truth how much money has been wasted throughout the last 10 years on computer systems that don't work, bonuses for workers who save money on buying equipment that isn't up to the job (yes MOD i am talking about you)

Bonuses for workers who put their 'lives on the line' (yes that's right the immigration officials See This Blog).

The government, local and national, should be under the same rules as private business. They should be legal requirements to show the public, whose money it actually is, that the money isn't being wasted.

If someone in government does waste millions or billions on a computer system that doesn't work, for example, then the people responsible should be fired.

That's what normally happens in private business, but if that happens in government you get promoted and get a huge bonus.

How much of the tax payers money has helped some MPs become rich through house sales, where they buy them cheap, do the house up at the tax payers expense, and then sell at a profit. How many MPs have done that.

Will this all change next year?
Will the public sector pay get frozen next year?
Will we see a reduction in the amount of public sector employees?
Or will it be a token gesture and the status quo will carry on?

That is just what is wasted by the UK Government.
I would hate to know how much is wasted in the EU?

Have a Look and See What you Think

I have just found this and it has made me think.

Why have i become so negative, have i been brainwashed by the media?

With everything going on in the UK and the world you can be forgiven to be negative.

I've been guilty of it in the past, but not every youth is there to cause trouble.

Why has this Bridge Cost £1.6 Million?

I have just read this article in the pioneer and i am wondering why it has cost £1.6 million.

I have no problem with the bridge being built, but why has it cost so much?

The Maesdu bridge is costing from £1.5 million to £2.3 million, but Maesdu bridge is being demolished and rebuilt for use by cars, buses and lorries as well as pedestrians and cyclist.

Was it built to budget?
If it was built to budget, who approved the budget for the bridge?
Is the £1.6 Million part of a bigger scheme that included the bridge?

Call me a simpleton if you like, but i can't see how a bridge like that can cost £1.6 Million.

Council Snoopers

I have just been reading this article about how councils have the authority to go into our PRIVATE homes without police presence or a warrant.

Here is a quote from the article;

The average local authority has 47 employees authorised to enter private homes, although some councils have hundreds of such inspectors.

The Home Office recently admitted that 1,043 different laws permit state inspectors to enter people’s homes and premises.

Although many of the laws are necessary to ensure public order and safety, there are growing concerns that proper vetting and supervision may not be in place for those authorised to enter private homes.

Why do you need 1,043 different laws just to enter someones home. What happened to the legal way of if there was suspicion of certain activities, criminal or otherwise, you go to a court and get a warrant?

The old way was for the police, or other organisations, go in front of a judge and asked for a warrant to search a premises. The judge would ask what evidence there was, the police told them and the judge would either sign the warrant or dismiss it due to lack of evidence.

Now it looks like a council worker can just enter our homes for practically any reason.

For all that's holy, that just isn't right.

As the old saying goes 'A man's home is his castle'.

I'd like to see a council officer try to step into my home without a policeman and a warrant.

This information comes from a report by 'Big Brother Watch' .

I had a read of the report and i was wondering how many council workers have the' authority' to enter (or at least try) our homes in the Conwy county.

Below is the answer;

Clackmannanshire Council 39
Colchester Borough Council 8
Coleraine Borough Council 25
Conwy County Borough Council 361
Cookstown 16
Corby Borough Council 21
Coventry City Council Denied -cost
Craigavon Council 7

Now i am wondering, why does Conwy county council need 361 officers, when the average is 47, who have the 'authority' to enter our homes with out a warrant, when other councils have so many less?

The laws were introduced under the anti terrorist law, but councils have been using it for ridiculous reasons, like checking if parents lied to get their child in a good school and checking if we are recycling properly.

Now if i ever saw an abuse of power this is it. It has to stop before this COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY, OUR COUNTRY falls into a pit that we will never get out of.

In previous blogs i wrote about this country becoming like the old Soviet block Stasi controlled states. Well i have changed my opinion. We are living, right now, in a stasi controlled state.

We have to change this before it is too late.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Well all presents are now wrapped and in bags ready to take to the in laws for Christmas.

As with tradition, all the men will be chatting away, wearing our new jumpers or cardigans (maybe even socks) our wives or parents have bought us, letting the women get Christmas dinner ready, and before you ask we have offered to help in the past but we all get told to go away.

Then we have our Christmas dinner and all the men go and watch tv, but all fall asleep after thirty minutes.

Does that ring any bells for anyone else?

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

If you want to keep a track on Father Christmas' movements click here

Interesting Quote From Copenhagan

Here is a quote from Mr Lumumba Di-aping, after the agreement at the conference was announced;

The quote is taken from this article in the Mail;

Mr Lumumba Di-aping, chairman of the G77 group, which represents 130 of the world's poorest nations, said the non-binding agreement would mean the deaths of millions because of the effects of global warming such as floods and droughts.

Mr Di-aping, a Sudanese diplomat, described the deal as 'devoid of any sense of responsibility or morality'.

'It is a solution based on the same values that funnelled six million people in Europe into furnaces,' he said.

I have a question;

Isn't Dafur in Sudan?

What is this guy up to?

Last week we heard the unfortunate news of 1700 jobs losses at the steelworks on Teeside.

I have just read this article and i am wondering what is Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC, up to?

Here is a quote from the article that links him to Corus;

The original power base from which Dr Pachauri has built up his worldwide network of influence over the past decade is the Delhi-based Tata Energy Research Institute, of which he became director in 1981 and director-general in 2001. Now renamed The Energy Research Institute, TERI was set up in 1974 by India’s largest privately-owned business empire, the Tata Group, with interests ranging from steel, cars and energy to chemicals, telecommunications and insurance (and now best-known in the UK as the owner of Jaguar, Land Rover, Tetley Tea and Corus, Britain’s largest steel company).

Here is a quote about his chairmanship of the IPCC;

Although Dr Pachauri is often presented as a scientist (he was even once described by the BBC as “the world’s top climate scientist”), as a former railway engineer with a PhD in economics he has no qualifications in climate science at all.

Another quote;

What has also almost entirely escaped attention, however, is how Dr Pachauri has established an astonishing worldwide portfolio of business interests with bodies which have been investing billions of dollars in organisations dependent on the IPCC’s policy recommendations.

Now if there is a conflict of interest with his business dealings outside of the IPCC he should resign.

A quote from the article relating to the Teeside job losses;

It is one of these deals, reported in last week’s Sunday Telegraph, which is enabling Tata to transfer three million tonnes of steel production from its Corus plant in Redcar to a new plant in Orissa, thus gaining a potential £1.2 billion in ‘carbon credits’ (and putting 1,700 people on Teesside out of work).

If the 1700 job losses in Teeside is just so India (Tata) can claim Carbon credits, then there is certainly suspicion of dirty dealing and it should be investigated by our government, wishful thinking i know.

Have a read of the Article and see what you think.

Let's Tax Charities Instead

This is a good one.

The Daily Telegraph today has an article about charities paying for a music licence when fund raising.

The government won't cut services to help with the massive debt we now have, but it will take money away from charities, who are having a hard time raising money as it is.

Although it isn't coming into effect till April 2010, it will cripple a lot of smaller charities.

Here is a quote from the article;

In its own impact assessment the Government admits that it will cost voluntary groups £20 million a year and will be "highly detrimental". Some organisations will "cease playing music" because they cannot afford a license, and it will hit a quarter of a million organisations - 140,000 charities, 6,750 charity shops, 66,440 sports clubs, 4,000 community buildings, 5,000 rural halls and 45,000 religious buildings.

If you think this is a new thing, it isn't. Read this quote;

The clampdown is part on an ongoing tightening of music licensing law which has already proved controversial. Last month this newspaper revealed that police forces were paying hundreds of thousands of pounds a year to allow officers to listen to music at their desks, in canteens and even in cell blocks.

In 2007, PRS launched a test case against Lancashire Police, which it argued was not paying enough money and secured a 20 fold increase. The music bill for Derbyshire Police rose from around £700 in 2007 to £60,000 the following year.

It won't be long before every workplace will have to pay this if they have a radio on site.

I know the government has to find money from somewhere, but to tax charities that is going a bit far.

How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot

Have a look at this picture and have a think about it.



They are two 22 year old young men in fancy dress. Who are they i hear you ask?

Well i don't know who the man on the left is, but the guy who looks like Ziggy Stardust of David Bowie fame is actually Nick Clegg the Liberal Democrat leader.

Here is a quote from the article from the Sky news website;

The Liberal Democrat leader has described his embarrassment after a photo of himself in "ridiculous fancy dress" has been turned into a Christmas card by a Labour MP.

Chief whip Nick Brown used the snap of Nick Clegg dressed as the David Bowie alter ego Ziggy Stardust.

Now in my opinion i find nothing to be embarrassed about in the picture, I'm sure many of us have been to a fancy dress party and have pictures like this somewhere.

What i do find embarrassing is Nick Brown trying to embarrass Nick Clegg like this. Is Nick Brown that desperate to knock another politician that he has to resort to using this sort of picture.

I do hope that someone finds a picture of Nick Brown from his youth and publishes it on the internet and then we will see who is the most embarrassed.

Someone should remind Nick Brown of this saying;

"People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

Copenhagen Climate Conference

I have been watching and reading about the climate conference these last two weeks and I have seen some things that worry me.

The main reason for the conference is to stop or reduce the effects of climate change (global warming), whether you believe in climate change or not that is another argument.

All i have seen is developed nations, like the US and the UK, desperately wanting to give billions of taxpayers money (OUR MONEY) into a global fund for climate change, and also saying they will reduce CO2 output by ridiculous amounts.

You have the developing nations, like China and India, being told that they must invest in renewable energy sources and not to use their own natural resouces like coal, but the developed nations would help them with money from this global fund.

Then we have the poor nations, who just want as much money as they can get from the global fund. Not because they want to invest it in renewable energy and to build up their country, but just so the leaders and their supporters can keep as much of the money for themselves.

Then we have the scientific research behind the IPCC. I'm no scientist but from what i have read on the subject there is still some doubt on the exact causes of climate change and if global warming is actually happening.

What i would expect is scientists on both sides debating it at the conference, but all i have seen is scientist and other people who are skeptics of climate change being refused entry or denied to ask questions on the subject to scientists and speakers at the conference.

Are they hiding something from us, or are they that afraid of debating the subject in case someone asks the wrong question?

Before this conference i wouldn't of put myself in either camp, if i am honest i was slightly with the skeptics, but after all that i have seen at the conference and the research i have done myself on the internet and the library i am definitely a skeptic.

All i ever wanted was the truth, but from what i have seen and read the IPCC scientists, world governments and the green movement don't want to here anything other than the world is heating up, the seas will rise 20 feet in the next 100 years, the North and South Poles are melting and that humans are the only reason for climate change.

This reminds me of the old Soviet Union where if someone spoke out against the government or communism they were taken away and never heard from again.

We live in a democracy, or are meant to, and it looks like we are being denied our right to free speech.

What with the UK being part of the EU, which is an unelected body, and now people being unable to speak out against something that clearly isn't 100% proven is very worrying indeed.

I maybe wrong, but i believe we are on a slope towards something that people died for in there thousands to prevent.

Anyone remember WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II.

I was Wondering

I was watching the news earlier and i was watching an article about the BA strike action and i noticed the union emblem.

Why is the BASSA union, which is part of the Unite union, using as it's emblem a classic WWII picture from the Battle of IWO JIMA?

See Below;

Picture taken from the Unite Union website.

Spot the difference?

Picture taken from Freeinfosociety.com

Notice the difference?
Not much if you ask me.

Is it right that a union is recreating a picture where soldiers lost their lives?

Is the union saying that they will put their lives on the line for their members?

In my opinion it is an insult to the people who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima that a union would recreate this picture.

Crime & Punishment?

I just read this on the Sky News website

Nursery worker Vanessa George will serve a minimum of seven years in jail as part of an indeterminate sentence after she sexually abused young children in her care.

The indeterminate sentence means that if she shows that she is not a danger to the public or children, then she will be let out in seven years.

I blogged about 'How Long is a Life Sentence' back in October and I was wondering how long her sentence would be.

I thought that because of the serious abuse that she gave those children she would get at least 20 years before she would be up for parole.

Well she didn't get 20 years, she got an indeterminate sentence, which could mean that she will be locked up for a lot longer than seven years, but all she has to do is trick the parole board into thinking she isn't a danger.

If she does get out, will she be given a new identity paid for by the tax payer?

I have tried to keep calm while writing this blog, but the thought of this scum of the earth being let out just makes me so damn angry and upset.

Why doesn't the punishment fit the crime any more?
Why is it that the government is letting serious offending criminals out from prison early only for them to rob, rape and murder again?

I want to feel safe in my own country again, i want to know that if someone is guilty of a crime that they will be punished accordingly. All they are getting now is a slap on the wrist.

When is Enough not Enough?

I have just read this article about the government buying twenty two new chinook helicopters.

Now this got me thinking back to the news early this year, so i went back and i found an article about the amount of helicopters needed in Afghanistan.

Here is a quote from the article from July;

Gordon Brown clashed today with the outgoing Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown when he insisted British troops in Afghanistan had enough helicopters for the tasks they faced, and denied he had failed to prepare the country for the recent spate of British military casualties.

Now which statement is true, does the Army have enough helicopters now or doesn't it?

I would also like to point out a paragraph from the article today, see below;

Mr Ainsworth said the first 10 Chinooks would be completed in 2013, and the procurement would increase the UK's fleet of the heavy-lift helicopters from 48 to 70.

If they wanted to increase the helicopter fleet in Afghanistan, why didn't they buy chinooks that were already built, so the military had them within a few months not in four years?

In the above quote it says the following;

"The first 10 chinooks would be completed in 2013."

I hope i am wrong in what i am reading into this, but I hope that what he said in the quote has nothing to do with how long our military will be in Afghanistan. I thought Gordon Brown said that we will be pulling out within a eighteen months to two years.

Spend money or Save Money?

This is something i have been thinking of since i read about Gordon Brown giving £1.5 Billion to the fund on helping developing countries to fight Climate Change.

If, and i mean if, the 'catastrophic' climate change occurs, wouldn't the money be better spent on updating and shoring up this country's flood defenses, or was this extra money found down the back of the sofa?

To be honest the flood defenses need fixing now, because as we have seen if it rains more than usual we get flooded. The drainage system in the UK is very poor. We need to build proper storm drains and keep flood plains as they are, so families won't get flooded out of their homes.

The UK is massively in dept and we cannot afford to give any extra money out. The government has to cut back on everything and make huge changes in what they spend on.

I know things are going to be hard over the next few years, but if you are in dept you only spend on essentials and if you have any extra money after that you put it away for a rainy day.

There needs to be a massive rethink of government spending now, and not in 6 months time.

How do you Spoil Christmas for People

Answer;

Get airline staff to go on strike over Christmas and the New Year.

I know they have their reasons why they are going on strike, but to destroy family holidays with about a weeks notice is just wrong.

Why couldn't they strike after the New Year?
Because seeing people sitting around the airport missing out on their families Christmas, waiting for a possible flight, has a bigger impact.

I would like to ask the union exactly why they feel the need to destroy Christmas for these families. There maybe families flying out to see family members they haven't seen in years.

Also what about the families who have scrimped and saved for this Christmas holiday, and now they find it is in ruins.

If they keep this up, people will stop using British Airways and then BA will go under and then none of the staff will have a job.

I hope they resolve this before Christmas is spoilt for these families.

Next Year (2010) to be the World’s Warmest on Record, Met Office predicts.

This is the the prediction that the Met office has given. (See article)

Here are some quotes from the article;

Next year is “more likely than not” to be the world’s warmest year on record and man-made climate change will be a factor, according to the Met Office.

It announced at the Copenhagen climate change summit that it expected the global average temperature next year to be almost 0.6C warmer than the 1961 to 1990 average. It forecast an annual average of 14.58C compared with 14.52C in 1998.

They maybe right, but they did predict a 'barbecue summer' for this year.

Let us come back to this next year as see if they were right.

Anyone want to make any bets on the outcome.

I'm Sorry but I Don't get it

I'm off to my local builders merchant in a minute to buy a brick.

Why, I hear you say.

Well i have just read this article, and i am going to see if i can make some money.

The artist, Gavin Turk, bought a brick which looks like any you can buy from any builders merchants, signed it and put on a plinth. (See Below)

It is now worth £3000.

The thing is it has been stolen and replaced with a brick like in the picture below.

Art to me is like a Constable or Van Gogh or a Monet, where the artist takes hours to create a piece of art, but this modern art i just don't get.

How can a single brick be called art?

This Gavin Turk who signed the brick is either a genius or someone who is having a big laugh.

What do you think?

"Immigration Officials Putting their Lives on the Line for the Country"

The above is a quote from Phil Woolas, the Home Office minister, from an article in the Telegraph.

Can death occur from a paper cut?

Or is it tripping over all the bonus money they received?

How can someone say that desk bound officials are 'putting their lives at risk for their country' when we have our military, who are putting their lives at risk everyday, in Afghanistan.

Is this what some of our politicians are thinking nowadays, that filing papers away is as dangerous as dodging bullets and bombs.

Mr Woolas, a word of advice, engage brain before opening mouth.

What i want to hear now is exactly how immigration staff are 'putting their lives on the line.'

I have a question;

Do politicians know anything about what is happening in the real world?

Ever wondered how to make a HUGE Carbon Footprint?

Well it's easy.

Just get a few thousand of your friends to come along, invite some press and have a chat about saving the planet.

I found this Article at Watts Up With That.

Here is a quote from the article;

On a normal day, Majken Friss Jorgensen, managing director of Copenhagen's biggest limousine company, says her firm has twelve vehicles on the road. During the "summit to save the world", which opens here tomorrow, she will have 200.

"We thought they were not going to have many cars, due to it being a climate convention," she says. "But it seems that somebody last week looked at the weather report."

Ms Jorgensen reckons that between her and her rivals the total number of limos in Copenhagen next week has already broken the 1,200 barrier. The French alone rang up on Thursday and ordered another 42. "We haven't got enough limos in the country to fulfil the demand," she says. "We're having to drive them in hundreds of miles from Germany and Sweden."

And the total number of electric cars or hybrids among that number? "Five," says Ms Jorgensen. "The government has some alternative fuel cars but the rest will be petrol or diesel. We don't have any hybrids in Denmark, unfortunately, due to the extreme taxes on those cars. It makes no sense at all, but it's very Danish."

Read the full article here.

The people going to this conference are telling us to reduce our CO2 output.

Is it a case of do as we say, not as we do.

Or is it a fact they are just hypocrites, who enjoy their luxuries to much.

We should be making small, but significant steps to help the environment.

Like i have said previously in this blog, we should start by stopping the deforestation of the rain forests, and to start planting more trees and plants.

I would love to know how much this conference is costing and who is paying for it?

Keeping Up with the Joneses 2

Well here is another street trying to compete with one another.

You can read the full article here.

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Have you ever felt compelled to try and beat your neighbour when it comes to the Christmas lights on your house. Well one neighbour thought up a unique way of competing.

You can read the full article here.

Is This The Start of Things to Come?

Stitch-up? Now France excludes Britain from special talks on EU farm spending

France has triggered a fresh row over EU power-broking by excluding Britain from key-Europe wide talks on the future of farm subsidies to be held in Paris this week.

Well, well, well, It didn't take long did it.

Here is a quote from the article;

The French government has summoned a meeting of what it called the "G22" - senior ministers from 22 European states - in an attempt to influence a rethink of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

However, it has not invited Britain or other so-called "reform nations" - the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Malta - all of which have argued for a full overhaul of EU farm subsidies.

Bruno Le Maire, the French agriculture minister, said the aim was to "produce a battle plan to defend a strong common agriculture policy, to support a renewed CAP."

You can read the full Article here.

This might be a one off, but in my opinion i don't think so.

I wonder what will happen next?

Why doesn't this Shock Me

Police force 'tricks' to 'fiddle' crime figures

Police forces are using a series of tricks to manipulate crime figures to give a false picture of their performance, a former senior detective has revealed.

This is a headline to this article

I'm sure people have known this for years, but haven't any proof.

Just give us the truth about the crime figures, and then deal with it.

We all see the lawlessness in our towns and cities, but when they are caught they are just let off with a warning, or with an 'asbo' or get a light sentence if it is more serious.

I would like to see all these league tables for detection rates abolished so the police don't have to worry about how many crimes have been solved this month.

Getting rid of these league tables is a start, but the courts have to do their bit as well. They must give proper sentences to these criminals, not just a slap on the wrist.

The police and courts have a lot to do to gain the public trust again after all these years. I still have faith in the police, but it has gone down over the years. I just hope my faith in the police and courts doesn't go down any further.

Climate Change? What to do?

Yes i have been reading the papers again.

I read this article. It was about deforestation and how to stop it.

Why can't the Copenhagen conference start here with a way to stop deforestation. After all the rain forests have been called 'the lungs of the world' before now.

Here is a quote from the article;

Richer countries would need to put forward money to set up the mechanisms such as a satellite monitoring service to ensure countries being paid not to chop down trees are keeping their promises. There will also need to be cash to help provide alternative incomes for people in and around the forests.

WWF is calling for funding of around £27 billion per year by 2020 to keep the forests standing.

The money could be raised by making forests part of the carbon markets. This would mean industries could pay to protect forests to offset some of their pollution. People could even buy ‘forest bonds’ that grow in value over time as polluting becomes more expensive.

Now, as a start, £27 billion by 2020 is a hell of a lot cheaper than the TRILLIONS of pounds that politicians have said we need to spend to stop CO2 emissions.

If CO2 is increasing, in the atmosphere, then why not start by stopping the deforestation of the rain forests that helps regulate the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

I am sure the majority of the population of the world would agree with something like this. Also if everyone buys two or three plants to help off set there own emissions, I'm sure it could all help in the long run.

I haven't got all the answers, but what the politicians are proposing does make me suspicious of their motives.

The Social Workers have been at it again.

I have a question.

If a child is slightly under weight would you feed him junk food, chocolate, sweets and crisps to get his weight up?

I wouldn't, and I'm sure nearly everyone else wouldn't. This couple didn't and for some reason some social workers, from Derbyshire, took the decision to take the child into care.

See Article Here

Here is a quote from the article

But in a decision that surprised the couple, a social worker from Derbyshire County Council later said that Zak needed to go into foster care so they could “assess his needs” and determine how he ate.

The couple, who have four other children aged under 10, were told that if they challenged the decision, social services would “go straight to court” where “all your parental rights would be taken away”.

I am shocked that they take a child into care because he is slightly under weight, but i am even more shocked that they then tell the parents that if they challenge them they will take their rights as parents away.

That is blackmail in my book.

They must of known they were on dodgy ground by taking the child into care. So what do they do, they tell the couple that their parental rights would be taken away if they challenge them.

It took them four months to get their child back, and guess what they fed him, yes junk food.

Another quote from the article;

Eventually they went to court to try to get Zak back, and after four months, he was allowed to return home after gaining less than a pound in four months.

Social services eventually said they were good and caring parents.

If they were good and caring parents why the hell did they take the child away from the parents in the first place?

I know the majority of social workers are genuine hard working and work with parents to see what is best for the child, but the minority of them, who cause unwarranted situations like the one above, have to be taken out of the profession.

Welcome to the UK, a province of the EU

Today is the day that the Lisbon Treaty comes into force. (See Article here)

I am curious to see what will happen in the next few months, and years.

I was against the Lisbon treaty and the EU Constitution before that.

Let us wait and see what Gordon Brown has signed us up to.

Let us see what is waiting around the corner.

Bohemian Rhapsody. Muppet Style

I hope you like this one. I did

Climate Change?

I have been thinking this last week, since the hacked emails story came out, about other aspects of the environment that has been pushed into the background in recent months and years.

For example;

Deforestation, oil pollution, water and air pollution, not just CO2 in the atmosphere.

Why aren't they been talked about, they are causing ill health in people now.

I am sceptical about the causes of climate change, but i do believe in protecting our environment.

I would like the politicians to talk about those subjects in Copenhagen, not just CO2 emissions.

Flood Rescue Team News

Here is a news article from the RNLI website regarding a couple of lifeboat volunteers from Llandudno and Conwy.

Conwy RNLI volunteers return to North Wales after rescuing Cockermouth flood victims

Jobi Hold, an RNLI volunteer at Llandudno and Greg Donald, a volunteer with the RNLI crew at Conwy, have relived the devastation they witnessed after being called to assist with the flood rescue operation in Cumbria. Greg is a member of a newly formed group of North Wales volunteers who are trained in swift water rescue and can be called upon in a moment’s notice to respond to emergency situations.
As well as being a member of this new group, Jobi is also part of the RNLI’s national Flood Rescue Team, which the RNLI set up following its involvement with flood relief in Mozambique in March 2000.

Click Here for the full story

As you can see the skills of a lifeboat volunteer have evolved in the last 45 years.

Climate Change? 4

I have been watching a very interesting You Tube video on 'Plato Says' Blog.

It is called 'The Great Global Warming Swindle'.

If you have any sort of doubts about global warming and climate change check out Plato Says Blog

If you want to watch the documentary, Click Here.

If your Child is Scared of Monsters, Call this Girl

I just loved this video. What a cute, adorable, funny girl.

Look out monsters, you better stay away from this girl.



What Are you Gonna Do To The Monster - Watch more Funny Videos

What is the Worst Thing that could Happen at a Wedding?

Have you ever thought about what might happen at a wedding that might spoil the day.

Have a think about it then watch the video.



Clumsy Best Man Ruins Wedding - Watch more Funny Videos

Thank you again to a reader of my blog. Please keep sending them.

On A Lighter Note

How Drunk can you get?

I think this guy tried.

I was sent this by a reader of my blog. I hope you like it.



Worst Shopping Run Ever - Watch more Funny Videos

The Supeme Court

British Banks Win 'Stunning' Victory in Landmark Ruling on Overdraft Fees

High street banks won a 'stunning' victory at the Supreme Court today in a dispute over overdraft fees that lands a blow to thousands of customers who hoped to recoup charges.

That is the headline from the Telegraph today.

This story makes me wonder, is the new Supreme Court free from political interference?

The reason i am asking is that if the banks lost today they would have to pay back £1 billion and would of lost £2.6 billion in lost revenue. Now as we, the tax payer, own some of the banks we would of had to fork out more money to the banks to cover the lost revenue.

Another thing, i was just checking my email before and i don't know if it is just a coincidence, but i received an email from my bank with a change in my terms and conditions.

In the new terms and conditions there is a section about bank charges and how and when they will charge you.

It didn't take them long to send the new terms and conditions out.

Did the banks have prior knowledge of what the supreme court ruling would be?

Or did they have 2 versions of the new terms and conditions ready to send out?

Stop Eating Meat to Save the Planet

That is what Andy Burnham, the health secretary, is saying.
Read article here

This is a quote from the article;

Health Secretary Andy Burnham is urging the nation to stop eating meat in a bid to save the planet.

Speaking at the launch of a new report on how rising temperatures will affect the public, Mr Burnham said eating a more vegetarian diet would cut the impact of livestock on the climate - as well as improve health by lowering the amount of saturated fat consumed.

Ok lets go to Andy Burnham's Britain where the nation stops eating meat.

There would be no MacDonald's, Burger King and other fast food outlets, so there would be thousands more people out of work.

There would be no, or very few, butchers and meat markets, again more people out of work.

What would farmers do, they have a hard enough time as it is, and this would send them bankrupt. More people out of work.

That is just scratching the surface.

Yes, eating less meat means there will be less cattle putting methane into the atmosphere, but does Andy Burnham know anyone who is a vegetarian. I do.

I can tell you that if everyone went on a vegetarian diet people would more than make up for the reduction of cattle and their methane contributions.

In my world you can eat anything you want, as long as you eat it in moderation.

I have one thing to say to Andy Burnham and the government;

LEAVE ME AND EVERYONE ELSE ALONE

Let us choose what we eat and how we live. I'm a grown man who has more important things to worry about than what the government wants me to eat.

What i want from the government is make the streets safer, give my children a proper education, give criminals proper sentences for their crimes. The MPs work for us and not the other way round. We voted you in, and we can make sure we vote you out as well.

I want these politicians to look after the public, the people who voted for them, and not looking at it as way to fill their pockets with our money.

Climate Change? 3

Here is a very interesting article about climate change.

If what the article is saying is true then the whole world has been lied to.

It maybe that some of the quotes, from the emails, have been used in the wrong context by the people who wrote them. Then again they might of kept certain data from the public.

I won't be passing judgment just yet, but i believe there will be a huge backlash against governments and environmentalists in the near future unless they give the public more information.

I have found a website that has all the emails taken from the climatic research unit in East Anglia. There is a huge amount of emails to go through and i bet the people who took them haven't gone through them all yet.

Click here if you are interested.

This will definitely put the cat among the pigeons.

I wonder what will happen next?

A photo of the RNLI Flood Rescue Team

Adding to my previous blog about the floods in the Lake District. Below is a photo of the RNLI Flood Rescue team who went to Cockermouth.

Some of them are from Rhyl, Llandudno, Beaumaris and Conwy lifeboat stations to name a few. See if you can spot someone you know.

You can find the news story here.

Well done lads.

The above photo is from the RNLI website.

I hope people realise what the crews of the stations from all over the country do. They need all the support they can get.

The Floods

Above are two pictures from the floods that have happened in the last couple of days. It is a double blow for the residents of Cockermouth because they had a flood back in 2005.

I really feel for the residents of these towns, because i know what they are going through. I remember the Llandudno flood in 1993.

Remember this;

I was lucky, my wife, then girlfriend, and i were in a first floor flat, but our downstairs neighbour wasn't so lucky. We brought up as much as we could, but because her flat was below the pavement level, she still lost a lot of her belongings.

That was back in 1993, it is now 16 years later and there have been floods, somewhere in the UK, every few years.

I thought someone in government, either local or national, would of thought by now that our drainage system is inadequate.

Yes we will have the usual excuse of this being a 1 in a 100 year event, i heard today that someone said that the floods in Cockermouth are a 1 in a 1000 year event.

I have a question, How many 1 in a 100 year events or 1 in a 1000 year events can the UK have?

In the last 5 years alone we have had 5 floods in parts of the UK. The list below is from wikipedia

United Kingdom
In January 2005, flooding on the Rivers Eden, Kent, Derwent, Greta and Cocker as well as others in Cumbria, England, flooded about 2,000 properties and caused in excess of £250 million of damage.

The Boscastle flood, 2004 on the 16 August in Cornwall (Great Britain) caused much damage to buildings in the Valency river valley. Further flooding took place in surrounding valleys, and in the town of Camelford.

The June 2007 United Kingdom floods killed 6 people and devastated North, West and South Yorkshire with many road and rail closures, power cuts and evacuations with Sheffield the worst hit.

2002 Glasgow floods

2009 Cumbria and southwest Scotland floods

People have said that the reason for some of these floods is because houses have been built on flood plains and that the water doesn't have any where to go apart from the streets.

My belief is that the government has to build proper storm drains that can take the amount of water that comes down in these "1 in a 100, or 1000, year floods". Either that or build something that will ease the amount of water in the rivers after these storms, so there is less risk of people getting flooded out of their homes.

Finally i just want to send out my appreciation to all the emergency services who are rescuing these people in the floods, the fire service, the RNLI, the police to name a few.

My sympathies are with the wife and family of PC Bill Barker who died helping others in the flood. (See Article)

Climate Change? Part 2

I posted a blog a few days ago about one version about climate change (See Link), about this article.

I have just read this article in the Telegraph.

I am no expert in climate change like most of the population of this planet, but what i want is to be informed of the truth about what is happening or going to happen.

Is this planet in danger?

Will the planet heat up?

Will the planet freeze in a new ice age?

All we get is one side saying we are in danger of global temperatures going up about 10 degrees.

Someone else saying that global temperatures will lower, causing an ice age.

Another set of people saying that climate change is a myth and it is just another way of taxing the people of the world.

There are some genuine questions that i and many others would like answered, like;

Should we try and save more energy in the home?

Should we use our cars less? Although the way the fuel prices are going up we may have no choice.

Should we reduce the birth rate in the world? To reduce the amount of resources we use.

Is the earth able to to absorb the CO2 in the atmosphere anymore?

The public just want a straight answer from people who know.

We don't believe what the politicians say. Remember them saying that the fuel tax increase was for environmental reasons, yes i really believed that.

The more we get conflicting reports the less we believe all the hype surrounding climate change.

Will someone please give the general public the truth.

Would you want to send a Soldier a parcel, or would you send some cash to the government?

I have just been reading the Daily Post and i came across this article

(See Link)

The articles title is

Don't stop us sending parcels to troops says mother of Llywelyn Evans

Basically the government is asking all the people who send parcels to the soldiers to stop because the military postal service is being swamped, and it can't cope. They also say it puts the delivery personnel at extra unjustifiable risk.

What more risk than the soldier out at the front lines?

The government want people to stop sending parcels and instead make a donation to a "charity".

This is a quote from the article;

But now the Ministry of Defence wants people to donate cash to a new charity that will buy sports and other leisure equipment for troops instead.

Now i have a couple of things to say about that;

1. I bet every soldier loves a gift box from home, even if it is from someone they don't know. It must give them a morale booster to open a box and find some sweets, a magazine, maybe just a small toy and even a pack of cards. I'm sure they appreciate that people are thinking of them back home.

2. The Ministry of Defence wants the public to donate cash to a 'government charity'. Hell they don't equip our troops as it is, so why would we trust them to with our money. Would all the money donated go to the soldiers, or would a significant slice be cut from the money for 'administration purposes'?

Another quote from the article says;

An MoD spokesman said: “People often don’t realise the unintended consequences of their actions.

“The EFFMS, which enables families and close friends of service personnel to send packages out to theatre, can be swamped by the public’s generosity. All important personal mail can be delayed.”

One simple solution is hire more people.

If you want to help either way here is some infomation from the article;

Mrs Evans is appealing for donations of small Christmas cakes, puddings and biscuits to be left at Ty Llywelyn centre in Ffordd yr Orsedd or Ty Hapus centre in Ffordd Penrhyn, both Llandudno.

An awareness day for Operation Welly activities will be held at the Victoria Centre, Mostyn Street, Llandudno on Tuesday November 24 from 11am. A coffee morning in aid of Operation Welly will be held at Gloddaeth United not Reformed Church, Chapel Street, Llandudno on Saturday November 28, 10am-noon.

Or

To donate to the MoD’s Operational Welfare Fund go to bmycharity.com/V2/welfarefund or call 0207 463 922. Alternatively, cheques payable to the SSAFA Operational Welfare Fund can be sent to SSAFA Forces Help, FREEPOST, NAT 19507, London, SE1 2BR


If we can't get our boys and girls back home, at least lets give them a morale booster.

What Storm Toopers Do On Their Days Off

Just reading the Papers today and i found something that might interest certain people who love Star Wars.

Here is 2 pictures from the article.

If you are interested in seeing the rest click on the link below.

(See Link)

Climate Change?

I will say from the start that i have not been totally convinced with the climate change argument.

There has been so much in the news the last few years saying that the world is doomed if we don't reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, and that governments are spending billions trying to tackle it.

You have certain scientists saying the computer models, that predict what is going to happen, say that in the next 50 - 100 years the world temperature will increase by around 4 or 5 degrees.

I have read that the computer models, that the scientists use, only use records from the last 15 - 20 years. Now a computer in its own right is dumb, it is only as smart as the person who programmes it. I'm sure that the data used can be interpreted in many ways.

The earth has been around for billions of years and the earth must of gone through several hundred, if not thousands, of changes in it's climate. What we are going through maybe one of those naturally occurring changes. Then again it might not be, I'm no scientist and i don't have all the data.

I do know one thing though. If you want to stop or ease the CO2 in our atmosphere,

'STOP CUTTING DOWN THE RAIN FORESTS'.

Even the people who don't believe in climate change must agree with that.

Trees and plants drink up the CO2 and give out oxygen. So will the politicians please use some of the money they are putting into reducing climate change and buy up the land where the rain forests are so people can't cut them all down. Give the land to the indigenous people who live in the rain forests.

I'm all for stopping pollution. Have you ever been walking, in a street, when a bus drives past and you get a lungful of exhaust fumes? If you have you know what i mean.

Like i said earlier, i haven't been convinced about the argument about climate change, but i am willing to listen to all arguments for and against.

The latest article i have found on climate change is in the Telegraph. (See Link)

Take a look and see what you think.

If climate change is happening, maybe we can get a decent summer for once.

Crime and Punishment

Why doesn't this surprise me.

Back in June this year a judge gives a sixteen year old boy a community service order for the rape of a 7 year old boy.

A week later he abducts and rapes a five year old boy.

What in the hell was this judge thinking letting a rapist go with a community order, which is basically letting him go free and do what he like.

You can read the article here.

The following is a quote by the judge, from the article;

"I have to say I have absolutely no hesitation whatsoever in reaching the conclusion that you are indeed a dangerous offender."

The youngster was sentenced to three years four months but with time already spent in custody taken into consideration he will serve two years, 359 days before he is assessed as being safe enough to release back into the community.

The judge admits that the boy is a danger to the public, but gives him three years.

Rape of any sort is one of the most serious offences to commit against another person, even worse if it is against a child, and he is sentenced to three years. Words fail me.

The police catch him, twice, get all the evidence against him and they send it to the Crown Prosecution Service. The CPS take him to court, where he pleads guilty. The first time he is up in front of a judge he is basically set free, and the second time he is up in front of a judge he is given three years.

Do these so called judges think that rape isn't a serious crime?

I want both of the judges to go to the families of these two boys and look them in the eye and explain why they gave this sixteen year old such short sentences.

I have said it before and i will say it again the judicial system needs changing, especially the judges. We need judges who know what it is like out in the real world, not in their pampered world they live in. Get rid of the costumes they wear and drag them into the 21st century.

I feel for the two families, especially the two young boys, whose lives have been ruined. With love and support i hope they get through this nightmare and live as happy as possible.

UPDATE:

I have just found this Blog by 'The Policeman's Blog' . It goes on about the same subject.

A Very Interesting Article about the UK

Politicians chose to put you in this mess
Policies can make Britain's financial and social problems worse - or better, argues Irwin Stelzer.

The above is the headline to an article, that in my opinion, is worth reading.
(See Link)

From what the article says, we can get Britain back on it's feet and working it's way back to becoming Great Britain again. It just needs someone with the bottle of someone like Margaret Thatcher to kick start this.

I know some people don't like her, but like her or hate her she had the bottle to go against all of the European commission and get a rebate for Britain. She went up against the unions and won.

Britain is now close to, if not, in the gutter. We need to look at every policy and make it work, by either changing it or getting rid of it and making a new one that works for all the people of the UK.

Have a read of the article and see what you think.

Where has all our Freedom Gone?

The headline below is in the Daily Telegraph today.
(See Link)

'Every phone call, email and internet click stored by 'state spying' databases'

In the week where we Remember the Honoured Dead who gave their lives in both World Wars, and the conflicts since, to give us freedom from dictatorships and to go about our business freely we find out the government is introducing this.

Here is part of the article;

Despite widespread opposition over Britain's growing surveillance society, 653 public bodies will be given access to the confidential information, including police, local councils, the Financial Services Authority, the Ambulance Service, fire authorities and even prison governors.

They will not require the permission of a judge or a magistrate to access the information, but simply the authorisation of a senior police officer or the equivalent of a deputy head of department at a local authority.

Now I realise there has to be a certain amount of security for the safety of the nation, but to let this information available to any department head in a local council is beyond a joke.

Now people will say if you haven't done anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. Yes, but people should be able to email, chat on the phone, sell things on Ebay, buy things at an internet shopping site etc, without worrying about if the information is being checked by the department head of refuge in your local council.

We already have local councils using anti terror legislation to check if people are living in catchment areas for schools, no we have this.

What did all those people die for, in both World Wars, just to see the freedom that they died for be taken away by what is fast becoming like the old East German stasi government, where you say one wrong word and you were never seen again.

If all this information was just available to the security services, like MI5, and maybe high national government i wouldn't be that worried about it, but to give just about anyone in government, national and local, permission to look at the data with out a court order is very, very worrying.

I fear for My Country. I fear what else is coming we don't know about yet.

We have to wait and see.

Charity Bike Ride

I received an email from a reader of my blog asking me to advertise someone who is doing a charity bike ride through China.

After seeing what her charity was for i thought why not. If it helps her get sponsorship then why not help out.

The woman who is doing the charity ride is called Fiona, and the charity she is collecting for is called 'Women For Women.'

She also has a blog page. See Link. She also has a fund raising page at Just Giving.

I have a friend whose daughter has Cystic Fibrosis and i know how hard it can be, not just for the child but for the parents to.

All i ask is for you to take a look and i will leave it up to you.

The Search is Finally Over

There has been a lot of conspiracy theories about the identity of Oscar, from The Thoughts of Oscar blog.

Well i have finally found out who Oscar is and what he looks likes and there can be no denying this.

Here he is: -


















Sorry Oscar, I couldn't help myself.

I got the idea from seeing the google home page and it showing that Sesame Street is celebrating it's 40th anniversary.

I do remember watching Sesame Street when i was a youngster and i loved it, from Bert and Ernie to the Count (ha ha ha ha), from Kermit the Frog to Big Bird. from Oscar to Elmo. As i am writing this i have a smile on my face i loved it that much.

I have very fond memories of Sesame Street and the fun i had watching it.

I think about Sesame Street and i think of what kids are watching now. There isn't any comparison. You learnt a lot on Sesame Street about writing, the alphabet, counting. I could even count to 10 in Spanish because of Sesame Street.

Here's to the next anniversary of Sesame Street.

Crime and Neighbourhood Policing

I have just been reading about Amy Newlove, daughter of Gary Newlove and her question to Gordon Brown about why her fathers murderers were given such soft sentences.
(See Link)

The Prime Minister, speaking at the event organised by Key 103, a Manchester radio station, said crime had fallen but there were now more people in prison, which showed sentences had got tougher.

He added: 'I think, in the longer term, neighbourhood policing is the better thing for all of us. We want to see a visible presence of police on our streets.'

I have a point or two to say about what Gordon Brown said.

He says that crime has fallen and that there are more people in prison. Yes there are more people in prison, but Gordon you are letting other criminals out early so the new ones, or those ones you let out early who re offend return to the prison.

Crime hasn't fallen, it has just been reduced by putting certain crimes in a different category, and by using the crime survey and not the proper crime figures.

With all the crimes reported in the news, locally and nationally, the politicians must be hiding the real crime figures. I think it would be frightening to know what the real figures are.

What will happen when we have another murder like that of Gary Newlove. What will their sentence be?
There have been other murders like this before and there will be others in the future. It is obvious that there needs to be stronger sentences for these type of murders, and murders in general.

It doesn't help when we have this Human Rights, 'for criminals', Act, which only seems to help the low life criminals and not the victims and the innocent people of this country.

Gordon says 'neighbourhood policing is the better thing for all of us.'

Gordon i hate to tell you this, but we had neighbourhood policing years ago, but over the years there have been less and less police walking in our communities.

When i was a lad i saw a policemen nearly everyday walking through town and the surrounding areas, and we had a police station in nearly every town. Policing has become centralised, due to a number of factors. One being better communications, and less money, so they think they won't be needing all the police stations scattered around the country.

Now we have these PCSOs who we see out in our towns. PCSOs can only do a fraction of what a fully trained policeman can do. I would rather have 5 fully trained police than 15 PCSOs.

The police, the courts and sentencing has to be radically changed so the general public can feel safe in our homes and our streets again.

Bodycare UK 'bans Remembrance Day poppies'

That is the news headline in the Telegraph.

(See Link)

A spokesman for Bodycare’s parent company, GR and MM Blackledge, said: "Employees are only allowed to wear their uniform, and charitable pins would not be considered part of the uniform.”

The spokesman said the company did not differentiate between charities, having decided to ban all wristbands and charity emblems.

Is this spokesman a brainless idiot who just recites company policy.

Does this spokesman have any form of common sense?

Does this spokesman realise what sacrifice the soldiers of both world wars and who have died since?

Does this spokesman know what sacrifice really is, or is his idea of sacrifice, for example missing lunch, working late, missing a football match because he has to work.

I hope this guy, and the company, finds out how stupid they are. I hope people boycott this company until they change their minds on their employees wearing poppies.

The poppy is our way of showing the men and women of our armed forces, past and present, that we honour those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

If i ever meet this spokesman for Bodycare, i will take him to the nearest Royal British Legion and ask him to tell the old soldiers why no one in his company is allowed to wear a poppy.

Way to go to Kill off the Romance

I can't believe what i have just read.
(See Link)

Kissing was developed 'to spread germs'

'It isn't the most romantic theory, but scientists believe kissing was developed to spread germs which build up immunity to illness.'

What a way to kill the romance.
Sweetheart, i'm not kissing you because i love you, i'm kissing you so you need to build up immunity to some germs.

The only thing is that people have been kissing for hundreds, if not thousands of years. How did they now back then that they must kiss each other to help provide the woman an immunity for when she is pregnant.

Take a look and see what you think.

ASBO Youths to be Named and Shamed says PM

The Prime Minister says ASBO youths will be named and shamed by having their names published on the internet and by leaflet. (See Link)

Will it be a deterrent to those hardcore youths out there determined to cause havoc on our streets. In my opinion Not A Chance.

The only way to combat these youths is to have police patrolling our streets. The police also need to know that they won't be held back by any politically correct rubbish. There are times for the police to be tactful, and there are other times when they need to be forceful.

Having the police patrolling our streets is one thing, the other is the courts. When the police arrest someone, say for disturbing the peace or even assault, the police gather evidence and send it to the CPS, they go to court and they get a conviction. Then the magistrates sentence them to a ridiculously soft sentence, even though the same person has been in front of them before.

The whole system need to be changed.

The PM quotes;
''The consequences for committing anti-social behaviour should be clear.''
Mr Brown said he was renewing the Government's focus on crime in the weeks ahead as he promised to ''make life better for the mainstream majority''.

I have just one thing i have to say to the PM, remember what your party said twelve and a half years ago.

What you can't remember, here let me remind you;

'TOUGH ON CRIME, TOUGH ON THE CAUSES OF CRIME'

You're a bit late, you should of stuck to what you said all those years ago.

A Letter about Llandudno Lifeboat 2

I am glad to see more people are writing in to the North Wales Weekly news regarding Llandudno Lifeboat and their ongoing trials to try and build a new station by Llandudno Pier.

The latest letter, (See Link), is a very good reply to what John Lawson Reay has been saying over the last few months.

Mr Nicol sounds, from his letter, that he has experienced a lot while he was in the Coastguard, Mr Nicol's letter is from someone who has been there and done that, not something that i can say about Mr Lawson Reay

His letter last week said 2 former Lifeboat crew were backing him in his proposals for where the Lifeboat Station should be.

Now I have a lot of respect for lifeboatmen, and women, current crew and retired crew, but both of these men were on the crew many years ago and, in my opinion, may not know what is needed for the current and future of the Lifeboat in Llandudno.

The current lifeboat station was built in 1903, and was built there to launch from both the West shore and Llandudno promenade. Now it is 2009, 106 years later. I think Llandudno needs a new Lifeboat station.

The slipway that the lifeboat launches from is about 100 yards from the pier, so it is common sense that the new lifeboat station should be built as close as possible to the slipway.

Mr John Lawson Reay says that it will spoil the look of Llandudno promenade, but has he forgotten what the extension to the theater has done to the look of the promenade. or that the view from the promenade is already spoilt by the wind farms.

Llandudno is a 'Victorian resort', but i think that some residents and councillors are still in Victorian times. We need to think for the future of Llandudno, we need to think of what is best for Llandudno now and for the future.

Does Crime Pay? Part 2

This time it's Tony McNulty (See Link)

This Minister for The Home office, who basically was the minister for law and order, had 2 homes within 8 miles of each other. The second home allowance was meant for mps who live too far away to commute everyday, not mps who live with in 10 miles.

How the hell did he get away with it for so long?
How many more mps have done this?

He has been told to repay £13,000 and to apologise to the house of commons. Oh what a punishment that is to someone who has fiddled around £72,000 for his second home. Now it is said that he can keep £60,000 of the, fiddled, expenses claimed.

Do these politicians forget that the money they are fiddling is OUR money, the taxpayers money that we earn through bloody hard work. We work to try and give ourselves and our families a home, food and clothing, and if possible a holiday now and again, but these politicians use OUR money like it is a divine right for them to give themselves as much of OUR money as they possibly can.

There has to be 100% disclosure about all expenses in the future. I don't think the taxpayers will ever forgive the politicians if anything like this happens again.

It comes to mind President Lincoln's address where he ended with;

'That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government; of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth'

We so desperately need a government 'of the people, by the people, for the people.' Not the shower we have now

What a beach should be like

I just found the top picture on the internet. What a site this is or should i say was.

I am guessing that the top picture was taken late 50's early 60's, and the other was taken by myself last year.

As you will see we have the wooden partitions there to help keep the sand where it is. Today we don't have those partitions and as you have no doubt seen yourselves we have a beach that is mostly covered in rock, stone and shingle.

There is a small part that is still mostly sand but that is only about 100 yards between the pier and the concrete slipway.

I remember, just, from when i was a child. In the summers my friends and i would spend hours swimming in the sea, while our mothers chatted to one another and then calling us all in for lunch. We had so much fun in the summers back then.

In my opinion if we can get the beach back to what it was all those years ago maybe, if we get decent weather as well, we will get more holiday makers coming back to Llandudno and it will help revitalise the town.

A couple of years ago the council made a big publicity announcement about this machine that would clean the beach of the rocks and stone and shingle and give us back a sandy beach.

Well in the last couple of years i have seen nothing of that machine.
Is it broken?
Was it just a publicity stunt?
Doesn't anyone know how to drive it?
Or is it due to health and safety that the council cannot use it due to some stupid regulation.

Question Time this week.

I don't usually watch Question Time, but i had to watch this week because i wanted to see what Nick Griffin was like with an audience that wasn't pro BNP.

There have been arguments about weather Nick Griffin should be allowed to go on Question Time, or any other mainstream tv programme. Part of me didn't want him on Question Time, but another did want him on tv.

From what i saw Nick Griffin came off badly. David Dimbleby did a good job to get Nick Griffin to answer questions and not go off on one of his rants. for example; when he was asked about being friends with the head of the KKK and about his questioning of the holocaust being a lie.

As the programme went on he became more twitchy and shifty. In my opinion that answered my worries about whether he should be allowed on a mainstream tv programme like Question Time. Nick Griffin can't handle an audience of people that aren't supporters of the BNP.

The best part of the programme, for me, was when Bonnie Greer said about indigenous people of Britain 17000 years ago. Nick Griffin said that the indigenous people of Britain have been forced out by people from the out side.

Bonnie Greer said that 17000 years ago the indigenous people of Britain were Neanderthals, and that modern people of Britain's ancestry came from the African Continent. If i read between the lines of what she said, she was saying Nick Griffin and his Party were neanderthals. Like it

This weeks Question Time has shown that Nick Griffin can't hold his own unless there is just pro BNP supporters in the audience.

A letter about Llandudno Lifeboat

http://www.northwalesweeklynews.co.uk/views-blogs/readers-letters/2009/10/22/safety-efforts-mean-llandudno-lifeboat-crew-is-required-less-55243-24983705/

Above is a letter by a Mr Oakley Kelly, a very experienced lifeboatman from his letter the other week, putting his side of the argument about the lifeboat station being built on the promenade.

I hope people will listen to someone like Mr Kelly, and not to people like Mr Lawson Reay about the need for a new lifeboat station for Llandudno lifeboat on the promenade.

I have been looking for some articles about Llandudno lifeboat and i have found the following;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/7596637.stm

http://www.northwalesweeklynews.co.uk/conwy-county-news/your-champions/your-champions-archive/2008/10/20/llandudno-lifeboatman-tim-james-is-champion-of-champions-55243-22074390/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7643008.stm

The crew at Llandudno lifeboat station have recieved an award for their bravery in the rescue of that couple 30 miles off Llandudno. No one can doubt the bravery of the men and women of Llandudno lifeboat or the RNLI in general.

The Lifeboat station is small (see link), They need a new station, let them build it where they want.
http://www.llandudnolifeboat.org.uk/wpimages/wp80b1ba01.png

Like what Mr Kelly says in his letter;
Mr Reay refers to the "minions" at RNLI HQ. He should know that almost all of the senior operational staff at Poole were, at one time or another, Divisional Inspectors of Lifeboats covering Llandudno and the whole of the Western Division. They are the ones with all the operational experience to decide if and where to build a boathouse.

I guess that 99% of the RNLI 'minions' from Poole don't have a reason to come to Llandudno. Most of the employees will be office staff, people organising the equipment and storage of spares, the boat builders and repairers, computer IT department. Why would they need to come to Llandudno?

As Mr Lawson Reay knows the head lifeboatman at Poole came to Llandudno (See Link below) to a meeting of the North Wales Business club early this year. So they do come out of hiding now and again Mr Lawson Reay, so get your facts right before you knock anyone or any organisation.

http://www.northwalesweeklynews.co.uk/conwy-county-news/local-conwy-news/2009/06/18/llandudno-rnli-needs-new-lifeboat-house-55243-23902588/

I can't wait for Mr Lawson Reay's reply next week.