"Another section of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony has been exposed as faked - the children supposedly representing the country's 56 ethnic groups were in fact all from the same one, the majority Han Chinese race."It is odd how "the left" will be up in arms over any perceived attack on the religion of multi-culturism in the UK but China will get a free pass over this in the Guardian and Independent.
"Woman has 200 orgasms a day - Sarah, 24, suffers from Permanent Sexual Arousal Syndrome"200 a day, that must be tiring. I think I would be happy with 10, well you know what they say about "goats"...
"China has set aside three parks during the Olympics, to allow people to demonstrate. But, as the BBC's Michael Bristow finds out, the parks are empty and those who apply for permission to protest are even finding themselves arrested."Who would have thought that? Thank heavens we can protest freely in the UK, wherever we want... what we can't?
"BBC News certainly does not have a line on climate change, however the weight of our coverage reflects the fact that there is an increasingly strong (although not overwhelming) weight of scientific opinion in favour of the proposition that climate change is happening and is being largely caused by man.The BBC being obsessed by Man Made Climate Change and the "fact" that we are all to blame could not let any views opposed to Man Made Climate Change get on air and so it with no great surprise that I learn that the BBC held a seminar with the following result
BBC news programmes and our website of course reflect alternative views but we do not balance these views mathematically as that is not our judgement about where the argument has now reached.
That is definitely not the same as us propagating a view ourselves about climate change. It's not our job to do that."
"The BBC has held a high-level seminar with some of the best scientific experts, and has come to the view that the weight of evidence no longer justifies equal space being given to the opponents of the consensus [on anthropogenic climate change]."
"Our own observatory at Armagh is one of the oldest in the world and has been observing solar cycles for more than 200 years.
What this work has shown is that, over all of this time, short and intense cycles coincide with global warmth and long and weak cycles coincide with cooling.
Most recently, this pattern continued in the 1980s and 1990s when cycles 21 and 22 were short (less than 10 years) and intense and it was notably hot. But all this now looks set to change.
Cycle 23, which hasn't finished yet, looks like it will be long (at least 12 to 13 years) and cycle 24, which has still to start, looks like it will be exceptionally weak.
Based on the past Armagh measurements, this suggests that over the next two decades, global temperatures may fall by about 2 degrees C — that is, to a level lower than any we have seen in the last 100 years. Of course, nothing in science is certain. Perhaps (though I doubt it) Armagh's old measurements are wrong or perhaps there are now other factors, such as CO2 emissions, which may change things somewhat.
However, temperatures have already fallen by about 0.5 degrees C over the past 12 months and, if this is only the start of it, it would be a serious concern.
Northern Ireland is not noted for extreme warmth at the best of times and has much more to fear from cold weather than it does from hot. We really need to be sure what is going to happen before spending too much money on combating global warming.
We may need all the money we can save just to help us keep warm.
David Watt
Brentwood
Essex"
"while many traditional names are fading into obscurity, other recent additions are flourishing. Mohammad was the 17th most popular boy's name last year, while Muhammad was the 38th most popular. More boys born in Britain last year were named after the Prophet than were given any other name."I am not sure if I was right in December or The Independent is right now, but should we be coincerned that the most popular boys name in the UK is a variant of Mohammed?
"The Dunfermline-born married father-of-two had been a patient at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, where he was visited by Mr Brown on Monday."A visit from Gordon Brown that could tip a healthy man over the edge. Is there any way of Gordon Brown coming with a Government Health Warning from now on?
"The latest poll (conducted 6-8 August) carried out in Scotland by YouGov recorded the biggest ever poll lead for the SNP with the party gaining a 19% lead over the Labour.... the SNP on 44% with Labour trailing on 25%."
"SIR - Conditions in China have changed beyond recognition since I worked there in the early 1960s. Despite unhelpful distractions such as Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution, remarkable progress has been made."An interesting phrase that, "unhelpful distractions"; I am not sure that I would use such a bland phrase to describe the process that resulted in the deaths of between 20 million and 70 million people.
"To human rights campaigners, I say back off a little and allow further change to evolve from within."How many more deaths would you say were acceptable in the next phase of this "remarkable progress"?
"Allies of Mr Darling believe he was ‘stitched up’ by a Downing Street briefing operation designed to test the popularity of possible moves to suspend the tax....a Labour MP close to Mr Darling claimed he was being deliberately undermined by No10 in preparation for being demoted in the September reshuffle."
"Mr Brown’s camp furiously deny being behind the shambles but one senior Treasury source said last night: ‘It certainly wasn’t us that briefed it. You work it out.’"
"...Downing Street strongly denied having ‘floated’ the story, which appeared in newspapers on Tuesday, saying the only two people who brief in Downing Street were both on holiday at the time.I think that is the old "weren't me guv" defence.
The Treasury also issued a statement to say it ‘has no knowledge of the source of the story’."
"Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints 'faked' "Apparently:
"As the ceremony got under way with a dramatic, drummed countdown, viewers watching at home and on giant screens inside the Bird's Nest National Stadium watched as a series of giant footprints outlined in fireworks processed gloriously above the city from Tiananmen Square.
What they did not realise was that what they were watching was in fact computer graphics, meticulously created over a period of months and inserted into the coverage electronically at exactly the right moment.
The fireworks were there for real, outside the stadium. But those responsible for filming the extravaganza decided in advance it would be impossible to capture all 29 footprints from the air.
As a result, only the last, visible from the camera stands inside the Bird's Nest was captured on film.
The trick was revealed in a local Chinese newspaper, the Beijing Times, at the weekend."
"British scientists monitoring air quality in Beijing have been ordered to close down their website after their readings clashed with official statistics showing the city was meeting its pollution targets."Can you think of another world government who might be accused of fiddling official statistics to their advantage?
"A spokesman for the International Olympic Committee cited Arne Ljungqvist, an IOC official, as having said it had no reason to doubt statistics from the Beijing city environmental protection bureau."
"It seems like they wanted perfection, but forgot that you also need some real people too."
"After a day of heightening international tensions, Georgian leaders claimed that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which transports oil from the Caspian Sea to Turkey, had been attacked. But it is thought the bombs missed their target.
Their claims came after Russian jets struck deep into the territory of its tiny neighbour, killing civilians and ‘completely devastating’ the strategic Black Sea port of Poti, a staging post for oil and other energy supplies."
"...crucial to the world’s volatile energy market and the only oil and gas route that bypasses Russia’s stranglehold on energy exports from the region."
"Until now it had been expected that extra financial assistance would be targeted at pensioners, the low-paid and people on benefits who suffer from “fuel poverty”, defined as when more than 10% of household income is used to heat the home.Gordon Brown, like Tony Blair before him, sees his role as that of winning elections and if that means creating a client state of new public sector workers, paid to do very little of value but who owe their jobs to a Labour government, then so be it - it's only taxpayers money after all. If it means slipping the electorate the odd £ billion pounds in the run up to an election then so what, it's once again only taxpayers money.
However, Brown is determined that middle-class families - whose votes will determine the outcome of the next general election - should also gain from any new handouts.
Michael Fallon, Conservative chairman of the Commons Treasury scrutiny committee, said: “This is blatant, indiscriminate electioneering in one of the final winters before the general election.”"
"Details of the winter fuel payment scheme were inadvertently revealed by a top civil servant who was overheard discussing the secret strategy on a train.What was the World War Two slogan - "Careless talk costs lives"; maybe we could rephrase that as "Carelessly discussed bribes may cost votes".
Sir Brian Bender, permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, told a colleague that ministers were keen to give extra money to “ordinary people” worried about rising energy bills....
on July 25, Bender, a veteran mandarin, was travelling in a first-class carriage of the 3.05pm GNER service from Leeds to London.
A passenger who was sitting near the civil servant said she heard him disclose the prime minister’s fightback plans to a younger colleague during the journey.
“I first thought they were bankers,” said the passenger, who holds a senior position in the media. “They were talking about deals, investments and large sums of money. Then I realised they were civil servants discussing government policy.
“The two of them were having a wide-ranging conversation. They were talking about their career plans and their summer holidays, but they were mainly talking about the government plans relating to the rising price of fuel.”
Bender, whom she identified later from pictures on his department’s website, said he was returning to London to discuss the fuel plans. “It was only as we drew into the station that it became clear exactly what the plan was,” said the fellow passenger.
“I heard him say: ‘He wants to give it to the ordinary people.’ I think he was referring to Gordon Brown. His colleague suggested the extra cash would go to the needy, but he replied, ‘No, a fuel rebate for everybody on child benefit’.”"
and he really is concentrating on the ball; which, with the distraction of the player in front of him, really is quite a feat.
"told the audience that he’d gone to university aged 16 as the result of a school “hot-housing” experiment which had later been dumped. “I’m the result of a failed experiment…”"However, I am more concerned about Gordon Brown's family holiday being interrupted. Will he be rushing back to Southwold tonight or will he have to spend at least one night away from the bosom of his family. Alternatively, has the family holiday in Southwold actually ended? The BBC, despite extensive web coverage of Gordon Brown's interview with Ian Rankin, seem not to be interested in this question. If this is the case, was it always meant to end so soon?
"residential buildings had also been struck, leaving a number of civilians dead. Our correspondent says injured civilians were being pulled from the buildings, which were on fire."Do contrast that treatment of the Russian army bombing a civilian building with the howls of protest that emanate from the BBC when the Americans mistakenly bomb a "wedding party" or when Israel hit a Hezbollah unit deliberately hiding in a residential building.
"Israel backs Georgia in Caspian Oil Pipeline Battle with Russia - Georgian tanks and infantry, aided by Israeli military advisers, captured the capital of breakaway South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, early Friday, Aug. 8, bringing the Georgian-Russian conflict over the province to a military climax."Israel are on the side of Georgia, therefore to the BBC mind Georgia must be in the wrong and Russia in the right. The fact that Georgia is being wooed by NATO, that puppet of the USA, must have made the BBC's decision even easier to make.
"We should be extremely suspicious whenever politicians, campaigners and ‘experts’ play the children card. Almost any kind of restriction can be justified if the young are supposedly at risk."Read the whole Spiked article here.
"Derbyshire became embroiled in a tabloid scandal in 2003 after becoming romantically involved with Mark Sandell, then partner of fellow Five Live presenter Fi Glover. She now lives with Sandell and their two sons."Mark Sandell is described by the BBC as:
"an average reporter, a pretty poor presenter before becoming a brilliant and charismatic editor. Mark formerly edited the World Today on World Service Radio and before that was in charge of news programmes on Radio 5 Live and Radio 1 for the BBC"So it seems to be the case that Victoria Derbyshire (VD) enticed Fi Glover's husband to her, then Fi Glover left 5Live and VD was rewarded with the 9-12 morning show. If this is not the correct sequence of events then I will be happy to alter my article...
"Saudi Arabia (MNN) ― The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Saudi Arabia deported 15 Christians on Tuesday, August 5th, for holding private worship meetings in a house in the city of Taif.
On Friday, April 25, twelve Saudi Arabian police raided a house where 16 Christians were holding a prayer meeting. The first officer to enter the house after breaking down the main gate pointed a pistol at the Christians and ordered them to hand over their resident permits and mobile phones. The other 11 police followed quickly and started searching the entire house. They confiscated an electronic drum set, an offering box with 500 Saudi Riyal in it ($130), 20 bibles, and a few Christian books.
The police initially accused the Christians of preaching the Bible and singing. They later changed the charge to holding a "dance party" and collecting money to support terrorism.
During the raid, the police mocked, questioned and harassed the Christians for four hours. Then they took them to a police station where the head of the station interrogated them. The official then wrote down their "statements" in Arabic and forced the Christians, who are immigrants and not able to read or write Arabic, to sign the statements.
After the interrogations, the Christians were incarcerated and held incommunicado. After three days, the Christians were finally released on April 27, 2008 at 8 PM.
Upon their release, one of the Christians permanently departed the country. The others, thinking that their ordeal was over, went back to their daily lives and work. But they soon received letters demanding that they leave the country immediately.
ICC's President Jeff King says this has been typical behavior of Saudi officials. "They'll say, 'We don't want political pressure.' So [once foreign Christians are] arrested, they release them quickly. The next thing you know, the whole group is deported out of the country."
While deportation isn't good, it's far better than what happens to Saudis who come to Christ. "They could be killed" says King. "They would be arrested. They would be in grave danger. And those are the cases, unfortunately, we can't talk about. There's tremendous pressure to convert them back to Islam."
The decision to deport them runs contrary to recent attempts to portray the Saudi kingdom as a beacon of reconciliation among Christians, Muslims, Jews and others. Three weeks ago, Saudi Arabia hosted an interfaith conference in Madrid, Spain. During the conference that took place from July 16-19, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called for reconciliation among various religions.
King says this is ironic. "The [Saudi] king is saying that Christians and Muslims need to get along better. Then, look at what's happening at home! This just shows and exposes the heart of Saudi beliefs. They can spend money and spin things, and they can do PR. But what matters is what happens at home."
King says, "Deporting Christians for worshipping in their private homes shows that King Abdullah's speech is mere rhetoric, and his country is deceiving the international community about their desire for change and reconciliation."
While persecution continues in Saudi Arabia, the church is growing. "There is a tremendous hunger for Bibles in the persecuted church," King says. "You could see up to 30 people sharing one Bible. They tear off little pieces, and each person has like one book. One of our big drives is to get Bibles into the hands of these guys. It makes all the difference. I always call it 'spiritual fertilizer.'""
Back in October, "Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) will urge its counterparts in the European Union to ask their governments not to link terrorism to Islam and also to issue regulations to protect Muslims from prejudice and discrimination because of their faith." Standard stuff from the Saudis and not something that I would ordinarily comment upon It was the next bit that got me thinking "the government-funded rights body will also address various human rights issues in Europe: when Muslims are unjustly interrogated, treated with disrespect, physically or mentally abused, or not allowed to practice their faith freely such as Muslim girls being prevented from wearing the hijab (head cover) in some schools."
"New microchipped passports designed to be foolproof against identity theft can be cloned and manipulated in minutes and accepted as genuine by the computer software recommended for use at international airports.
Tests for The Times exposed security flaws in the microchips introduced to protect against terrorism and organised crime. The flaws also undermine claims that 3,000 blank passports stolen last week were worthless because they could not be forged.
In the tests, a computer researcher cloned the chips on two British passports and implanted digital images of Osama bin Laden and a suicide bomber. The altered chips were then passed as genuine by passport reader software used by the UN agency that sets standards for e-passports."
"Using his own software, a publicly available programming code, a £40 card reader and two £10 RFID chips, Mr van Beek took less than an hour to clone and manipulate two passport chips to a level at which they were ready to be planted inside fake or stolen paper passports.
A baby boy’s passport chip was altered to contain an image of Osama bin Laden, and the passport of a 36-year-old woman was changed to feature a picture of Hiba Darghmeh, a Palestinian suicide bomber who killed three people in 2003. The unlikely identities were chosen so that there could be no suggestion that either Mr van Beek or The Times was faking viable travel documents."
"The Home Office said last night that it had yet to see evidence of someone being able to manipulate data in an e-passport. A spokesman said: “No one has yet been able to demonstrate that they are able to modify, change or alter data within the chip. If any data were to be changed, modified or altered it would be immediately obvious to the electronic reader.”"
"MI5 and MI6 could be forced to share their intelligence with the rest of Europe under new proposals from the EU.
Under the plans, seen by the Daily Telegraph, all countries would feed secret information into a central intelligence unit so that any member state can use it.
But the proposals risk hard won intelligence gathered by British agents being leaked by less scrupulous security services, particularly in the former Communist states of Eastern Europe.
Although the Government has contributed to the proposals being drawn up, Britain's security services are likely to put up stiff opposition to the plans."
"Youngsters would not face prosecution for minor crimes and anti-social behaviour under a new Liberal Democrat crime strategy for England.
The party said custody for youngsters should be a "last resort" as it was expensive and ineffective.
Instead offenders would appear before panels of local people to apologise, and pay the cost of damage caused."
"the Treasury has now said the story had been "speculation" and a "number of options" were being looked at.... in a statement, the Treasury said: "Recent news stories suggesting the government has put forward a proposal on stamp duty are simply wrong. These stories are based on speculation. "As has been said on many previous occasions, the government has made clear that there are a number of options we will need to consider to help businesses and people get through what is undoubtedly a difficult time.""Yes that will stop the rumours in their tracks and get the housing market moving! Honestly I have very little time for Labour politicians and their apparatchiks who have so little understanding of economics and human nature that they could not have predicted what the results of the leaks would be and also who cannot see how important it is to either confirm or completely kill the story.
"The head of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, has praised Beijing's "extraordinary" efforts to cut pollution ahead of the Games.If you read on you will discover that far from Beijing's air quality being of an acceptable standard the air quality is recorded as having
He said there would be no danger to the health of athletes, despite continuing concerns about pollution levels."
"levels of particulate matter (PM10) at 191 micrograms per cubic metre. This far exceeds the WHO target of 50 micrograms/cubic metre, and also exceeds the WHO target for developing countries of 150 micrograms/cubic metre."
"Scientists know a lot about how events will unfold...which means that whatever we do, our climate destiny is fixed for the next few decades... Rainfall will decline in the summer and the increased deluges in winter will struggle to replenish thirsty reservoirs because much of the water will run off the baked ground."Hmmm, in august 2007 the Times reported that contrarily
"Britain is facing a flooding timebomb this autumn and winter, with huge amounts of underground water stored up by incessant summer rain ready to burst out as floods the next time heavy rains return." and "The Environment Agency is giving warning of “an enhanced flood risk” for England and Wales, although where and when any flooding strikes will depend on the weather patterns. Forecasters are predicting a wet autumn across much of Britain."Last month The Mail reported that
"A summer of rain threatens to bring the great autumn floodsToday if you look at the BBC's weather website you will read the latest weather warnings
The saturated ground means any more downpours could cause huge volumes of water underground to burst out - ... The Environment Agency is giving warning of “an enhanced flood risk” for England and Wales... Forecasters are predicting a wet autumn across much of Britain.... The aquifers were recharged fully during the summer, safeguarding water supplies well into next year. But the saturated ground also means that parts of the country could be on flood alert throughout autumn and winter, with no chance for the ground to dry out until the spring."
"Thursday 7 August WEATHER WARNING Outbreaks of rain across western parts of Scotland, especially in and around the Glasgow area, will be locally very heavy at times and will give accumulations of 15 to 20 mm. Valid until 1000BST.
Thursday 7 August SEVERE FLOOD WARNING There is 1 severe flood warning in Scotland. There are 6 further flood warnings in force in Scotland. Further updates will appear here."
"Clinton's presidency was marred by a long succession of scandals, including sexual harassment allegations, lawsuits, an accusation of rape, and, most famously, revelations that he had carried on a sexual affair with 21-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On December 19, 1998, after having perjured himself repeatedly before a grand jury, Clinton - on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice - became only the second President (after Andrew Johnson in 1868) in American history to be impeached, though he was not removed from office. In October 2001 he was disbarred from practicing law before the United States Supreme Court. He had previously had his Arkansas law license suspended for five years as a result of a disbarment lawsuit brought by a committee of the Arkansas State Supreme Court.... Of the 305,000 employees removed from the federal payroll, 286,000 (or 90%) were military cuts..... Osama bin Laden and his terrorist-related activities were well known to the United States by 1995. Clinton had an opportunity to capture him in the fall of 1998, but was unavailable. When he was finally reached, further consultation was needed with various secretaries. The two-hour window in which bin Laden could have been caught was lost. Says Patterson, "This lost bin Laden hit typified the Clinton administration's ambivalent, indecisive way of dealing with terrorism. Ideologically, the Clinton administration was committed to the idea that most terrorists were misunderstood, had legitimate grievances, and could be appeased, which is why such military action as the administration authorized was so halfhearted, and ineffective, and designed more for 'show' than for honestly eliminating a threat.""
"Since June 2007, when Hamas forcefully seized control in Gaza, it has conducted arbitrary arrests of political opponents, tortured detainees, clamped down on freedom of expression and assembly, and violated due process rights enshrined in Palestinian law. The victims have frequently been leaders, activists and supporters of Fatah, especially those with suspected ties to a security force or those who sought to undermine Hamas rule after its electoral win in January 2006.
In the West Bank, the Fatah-dominated authorities have committed many of the same abuses, with victims being the activists, leaders and supporters of Hamas and affiliated institutions. Fearful of a Hamas takeover of the West Bank, security forces have detained hundreds of people arbitrarily, tortured detainees, and closed media and organizations that are run by or sympathetic to Hamas."
"I say again, this is a principled, decent man, entirely uncorrupt" and in many ways a welcome relief from the high-kicking, look-at-me heyday of the Blairites.A relief from the Blairites, I agree; but principled, decent and entirely uncorrupt?
"Eight of Ken Livingstone's closest "cronies" are to receive pay-offs totalling £1.6 million after he changed the rules before he lost the election."The Standard explains that
"The former senior City Hall advisers were political appointments on fixed-term contracts. By law they had to lose their jobs when Mr Livingstone lost the election."
"Last year, Mr Livingstone introduced a rule which allowed them severance payments by giving them the same redundancy rights as permanent employees. They are now to get an average of £200,000 each after several appointed solicitors and threatened to sue the new Mayor, Boris Johnson, for "unfair dismissal". Those getting payoffs include John Ross, Mr Livingstone's economic adviser; Redmond O'Neill, his adviser on transport; Simon Fletcher, his chief of staff, and Mark Watts, his climate change adviser, all of whom are current or former senior members of Trotskyite group Socialist Action."
"Mr Ross, Mr O'Neill and Mr Fletcher were the key members of what was dubbed the "Kenocracy," the fanatically loyal group of advisers who worked for Mr Livingstone long before he became Mayor and who imposed his will on City Hall. Others being paid off include John Duffy, Mr Livingstone's adviser for waste; Murziline Parchment, his director of major projects, and Joy Johnson, his former head of PR. None was available for comment."
"His chair has his name and campaign logo embroidered on the back top -- “Obama ‘08” on one line and “President” underneath."
"The IOC was going to discuss whether to allow Katerina Thanou to compete at the Games, but it seems a final decision has been delayed until next Thursday.
She was one of two Greek sprinters involved in a drug scandal that completely dominated the start of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
She withdrew from those Games and has since served a two-year doping ban given to her by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
But the IOC has reserved the right to consider her eligibility for these Games.
Ms Thanou's lawyer has threatened to sue the IOC if she is barred from competing."
"on the day prior to the opening ceremony, Thanou and her training partner Konstantinos Kenteris failed to attend a drugs test, and later the same night were hospitalised, claiming they had both been injured in a motorcycle accident. In the ensuing doping scandal, Kenteris and Thanou announced their withdrawal from the Games on August 18 after a hearing before the Disciplinary Commission of the IOC, for what they described to be "in the interests of the country." An official Greek investigation into their alleged accident, ruled that it had been staged.
The missed test in Athens was the duo's third violation of the summer and they were consequently provisionally suspended by the IAAF on 22 December 2004. In June 2005, however, the athletes were cleared of all charges by the Greek athletics federation. Their coach Christos Tsekos was blamed for the missed tests and suspended for four years, but was cleared on separate allegations of distributing banned substances. After a long legal battle, on 26 June 2006 prior to a final ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the athletes reached an out of court settlement with the IAAF accepting anti-doping rule violations of 3 missed tests between 27 July and 12 August 2004 (in breach of Rule 32.2(d)) and a failure to provide a urine and a blood sample on 12 August 2004 (in breach of Rule 32.2(c)). In return, the more serious charges against them, those of evasion and refusal to provide a sample, were dropped.[1] They have been eligible to compete since 22 December 2006."
"Due to the recruitment and vetting process, your application could take up to 6 months. You must limit those you tell about your application to your partner and/or immediate family."Yes, that should do it!
"Tyler went to hospital for a regular check up last week. Fortunately, he has BUPA, so it was at the local private hospital. It has never had a single case of C diff or MRSA. But in conversation with a consultant who also works in the local NHS hospital, he was told the latter - despite its recent deep clean - is still rife with the bugs: "they've colonised the place". "So what's the solution?" asked Tyler. "Burn it down" was the serious reply. "Burn it down, and rebuild from scratch - it's the only sure way". And that's what we've come to."
"There are demands for a windfall tax. But this largely misses the point. The headline profits usually relate to global operations, of which only a modest part is in the UK. Even if there were a large UK-based windfall tax, the same logic would apply to wheat farmers, who have also benefited from rising world prices. What is more, all these arguments for a windfall tax ignore the inconvenient truth that North Sea producers already face a windfall tax."Something tells me that the BBC will not be asking Vincent Cable on to discuss this policy as the BBC have already decided how they feel about a "windfall tax".
"Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.Yes that is right, US federal agents can take your laptop from you on entry to the US, keep it for as long as they want, copy any data off of it and transcribe that data as a permanent record AND all of that without any suspicion of wrongdoing.
Also, officials may share copies of the laptop's contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons, according to the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement."
"the policies cover "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form," including hard drives, flash drives, cellphones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover "all papers and other written documentation," including books, pamphlets and "written materials commonly referred to as 'pocket trash' or 'pocket litter.'"So a business visitor carrying the usual laptop, Blackberry, cellphone, couple of USB memory sticks, camera plus memory cards and some CDs could lose all of that equipment and data storage on the whim of a Federal agent, and lose it for an unspecified length of time.
"Government figures have shown that the number of people declared insolvent in England and Wales fell slightly in the three months to June. The number of individual insolvencies stood at 24,553, which was 2% down compared with the previous three months and 8.3% below the same period in 2007."
"But company liquidations were up by 11.6% on previous quarter, to 3,560."
"If Obama Was The Nominee: How Would You Vote In The General Election?"and the results are:
