Homeland Security

I've used the term as I'm writing about making all our lives secure.

The Royal Statistical Society, which I doubt is an organisation given to hyperbole, has stated that of a thousand people who smoke at 20 and continue to do so, then one will be murdered, six will die in accidents and 250 will die before they are 65 because of smoking related illnesses.

So perhaps instead of frightening us to death and generally being heavy handed with everybody, the Government should spend time and effort first where they will get the best value for our money.

We should start with proper anti-smoking education, then how about fire safety, road safety and all the other common sense things we never do.

Interestingly, if we became a safer society that was more attuned to danger, then wouldn't we be more likely to spot those up to no good. Possibly not, but by education we can safe thousands of premature deaths.

The Government's policy is also doing a very good job in alienating large parts of society, so that if they knew of a bomb-maker in their midst, they'd probably turn the other way. How many times do you read of a terrorist being arrested, with Fuhrer Blunkett shooting his mouth off and then nothing more? There is often no real evidence and the so-called terrorist is released. Oh dear!

Now another small point.

Over the years there have been loads of authenticated stories of IRA moles, who told everything to the papers and the intelligence services. It's always been the way that spies will sell their secrets for any number of reasons.

But where are the Muslim moles, who have seen the inside and been trained by Al Queda? Are there any? Or is it a myth that Al Queda has trained many at all?

After all, if you told a good tale, the papers would pay a fortune.

I do hope they have talked to the intelligence services.

 

Ian Paisley

If you want a good laugh visit his web site. It very much reminds me of the sort of claptrap that used to get peddled as schoolboy humour in the 60's. But his is serious! It's sick!

How can a man who claims he is a man of God say such things about fellow human beings?

And also how can people vote for a bigot like that?

We will never get anywhere in Northern Ireland until Ian Paisley and his fellow idiots are consigned to the dustbin of history.

 

Ipswich 3 - Sheffield United 0

A nervy match enlivened by two very good goals.

Ian Westlake scored one and made the other with a cheeky low cross from a short corner for Darren Bent.

If he continues with his progress, Ipswich may have found another star to follow Keiron Dyer to the England team.

 

England Win!

I saw England win the 1966 World Cup at Wembley as a 19 year old on the television at a neighbour's house in Felixstowe.

On Saturday, I saw England win again at Rugby in Sydney. Oh! How I would love to have been there!

It was just as nerve-racking as 1966 and finished in almost as dramatic a way, but this time there was no dispute.

Well done England!

 

Ryanair and Charleroi

Michael O'Leary seems rather annoyed about the rulings by the European Court on illegal state subsidies.

He probably has a point!

On the other hand, he puts far too much emphasis on low fares, especially when that means flying to an obscure airport some miles from where you actually want to go!

But if subsidies are so important to him, how come he can fly virtually empty planes at some times to Genoa with perhaps a dozen people on them! I've flown that route several times and never felt crowded!

But cost isn't everything.

Take the weekend after New Year, where we are going to a wedding in Edinburgh.

There are three choices :-

1. EasyJet to Edinburgh. This works out if I booked today at £26.99 up and £71.49 down. (I could save a bit if we got up at five after the reception. No!)

This works out at just under £200 for two.

2. Ryanair to Glasgow. This looks to be £14.99 up and £49.99 down. (I could save a bit, but I could also pay a lot more.)

This costs just under £130 for two.

But we then have to get from Prestwick to Edinburgh. This takes about two and a half hours on a train with usually two changes.

3. GNER to Edinburgh

This is actually from Peterborough, which is only about twenty minutes further from our house than Stansted. As parking is cheaper, the cost of getting there is about the same.

A double ticket with reserved seats costs £156.

So it is really no contest.

GNER is almost as quick as EasyJet, as you don't have any security to fight through, you can arrive ten or so minutes before departure and you don't have to get in from the airport. All baggage can be wheeled the short distances involved with no buses.

Ryanair may appear cheaper, but by the time you've paid for the train tickets from Prestwick to Edinburgh, there is little in it. It's also at least two hours longer.

But the real clincher is that GNER is first class, with free tea, coffee, snacks and reserved seats!

So Mr. O'Leary are the cheap airlines really that cheap?

 

Protesting Against the Bush/Blair Axis

It won't happen, but surely the best way that to protest against the State Visit of Bush to London next week, would be for no-one to turn up!

No members of the public! No protesters! No-one! Only rows of policemen protecting the blessed two from a totally non-existent threat! The pictures going round the world would make them a complete laughing stock!

On another positive side, this would also mean that if someone decided to throw a bomb or do anything stupid, they would be so obvious or more probably, they'd think better about it!

I just despair about the invasion of Iraq. It is turning out to be the most stupid thing anyone's done in the Middle East for many years and has given the extremists enough excuses to last until the 22nd Century.

 

Nanny Cars

I like my MG ZT-T!

But why does it have to lock the tail-gate automatically and if I stop quickly, do I have to start the engine again and play with the locking system?

Supposedly, it's safety!

I call it infuriating and the sort of feature that detracts from a very good car!

My wife's new Mini locks all the doors once you get to about 5 mph.

That's another idea that should be binned.

But if not, why can't I have a little control panel, that I can adjust to unset all these silly features.

 

Toxic Ships

Toxic? My arse!

Well, there is a large amount of asbestos and other chemicals in the ships. But nothing that can't be dealt with easily and safely.

Why can't the Americans deal with it?

But as they are worried they may get sued, then there is really no reason that they can't be dealt with successfully in the UK.

If you really want to get cancer and have a lot of toxic chemicals in your body, then SMOKE!

 

Let's All Protest

The local East Anglian news on BBC this morning is all about protesting and stopping progress.

Firstly, you have the Animal Rights lot complaining about medical research on primates in Cambridge. Now I hold no brief for testing drugs and other procedures on animals and believe that in as many cases as possible it must be avoided. But often as a last resort some research has to be done on animals.

If we banned it in the UK, then we would see the loss of a lot of highly-paid research jobs to countries who don't take such a pinnacle of the moral high ground.

A lot of this could be avoided if all drugs which were developed with animal testing were clearly marked as such, with a named web site that described how.

Then there is the MP who wants growth at Milton Keynes capped. Everybody wants house-building restricted because that means that the price of your house rises, as housing is in short supply.

Beautifully selfish isn't it?

We also had people protesting about the expansion of Stansted.

There is a simple solution to that. If you put your name to a petition to stop expansion, then you can't fly through the airport. It was done many years ago in the States and it stopped the protest.

It just shows how selfish people are!

They never think of all of the economic activity and jobs that will be created, which will pay the taxes to fund the needs of everyone.

And people were protesting about the expansion of Felixstowe.

I could go on!

But we need those jobs and economic activity, otherwise the UK will become a quaint historic island outside of the future.

 

A Bad Weekend

Ireland lost, when they should have won, Sunshine on me wouldn't load at Newmarket and then Ipswich lost to Gillingham!

Oh dear!

 

Good Riddance IDS!

At last the idiot has gone.

How can anyone vote with someone, who has zero-charisma and believes in the death penalty?

I can't!

Will Michael Howard be any better?

Not sure!

But if not, who do I and many others who come from the liberal wing of the Tory party vote for?