helpful warning via twitter

An early heads up so you can plan your Tuesday evening - tomorrow Paxman will be talking rainforests with pop star Sting live on Newsnight.

- BBCNewsnight


So don't bother watching then...........

cycling injuries rise in brighton

From the Argus

A campaign group has called on a council to improve road safety after figures revealed the number of cyclists being injured has increased. Between April and June of this year, 47 cyclists were injured in Brighton and Hove, compared with 44 over the same period last year, a rise of 6.8%.

or alternatively an extra 3 injuries in 3 months, or 1 per month. One. Per. Month.

Adam Pride, secretary of Brighton cycle group Bricycles, said: “Brighton is a cycling town which is meant to be encouraging more and more cyclists but the council has got to ensure the roads are safer for them, particularly those who have only recently taken up cycling."

No Adam. The onus is on the individual to make sure they are competent and safe for the environment, not the other way around. Not that it's really much of a problem anyway.

“In Holland, where there are more cyclists, the number is much lower."

Yes and you know what else is much lower in Holland? The fucking geography! Riding to the top of Elm Grove was classed as a category 4 climb by the Tour de France. How much influence has that had on injuries and accidents?

A spokesman for the city council said:“The council works closely with other agencies and partners to reduce casualties on the city’s streets, an example being the recent Brighten Up campaign, jointly run by the council and Sussex Police to target cyclists riding at night without lights. The enforcement led to 116 fixed penalty notices being issued by the police and those stopped were given vouchers to collect free cycle lights from the council."

Here's a penalty notice for putting yourself in danger and now have a free set of lights? Oh ffs! When a car driver is stopped by the police they have to correct the problem themselves and then prove that they have done so. Why treat other road users differently?

blowing their own trumpet

The government has released a report (pdf) giving the government a "glowing report card" for science and maths innovation funding.

tough on alcohol, tough on the causes of alcohol

From the BBC

A Conservative candidate says the party's policy of increasing the price of alcopops does not go far enough.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, parliamentary candidate for Totnes in Devon at the next election, would like to see a minimum 50p price per unit for alcohol.

Oh for fucks sake! I'd like to see a minimum requirement for PPC's that they aren't authoritarian cocktards and the current checks do not go far enough.......

call the h&se!

Via Twitter

So next year we'll see one of these there?

lost but not found

From the BBC

Police in Strabane have warned the public to be vigilant after they received a call saying a device had been left near the police station. They have carried out initial searches but so far, nothing has been found.

If anyone has found the missing iPhone please contact the police so they can stop searching .......

from the fridge of a party leader

News reaches these parts that LPUK have elected a new party leader who is also the well known blogger Devil's Kitchen. As he was online last night and open to being interviewed I asked him the most important question I could think of. You will be pleased to hear that he replied in the affirmative.

Still, task four is a little worrying .. .. ..

that new cameron picture

Is it just me ............

i hope he's not washing his hair

Apparently for an intimate meal, a few drinks and then see where the evening takes them.........

bishops are nonsense says carol

Angry mother Carol Festive has spoken out against Bishops today calling them nonsense [ed- check that, might be nonces] and imbeciles.

"Earlier this week the Bishop of Repton was telling Christians not to say Happy Christmas in case people were sad and today the Bishop of Croydon has spoken out against hymns" she said. "Is the Archbishop preparing a sermon for evensong that decries the whole Nativity?"

Ms Festive is angry about comments that a senior defender of the Christian faith has made in his latest blockbuster 'Why Wish You A Merry Christmas?' In the book he claims that Jesus was abnormal if he had not cried as a baby. She says that eyewitness accounts from the time are quite clear on the matter

Away in a manger, No crib for His bed the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head
The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay
The cattle are lowing the poor Baby wakes but little Lord Jesus no crying He makes

She called for the Bishop to be excommunicated for such blasphemy. Bishop Baines is also in trouble from Dickus Van Hufflegoof chief executive of the shepherd's charity Wardens of organic Livestock (WooL) for describing the first witnesses to the Lord's birth as "the great unwashed". Dickus said that contrary to popular belief shepherds were meticulous in their cleansing rituals ever since Flossie was diagnosed with a particularly bad dose of an intimate disease.

More information can be found here

on nintendo, female gamers and political parties

The Telegraph today picks up on a story that was covered by the gaming blogs a few days ago, and that is that Nintendo's share of the female gaming audience is around 80%. The telling comment in the Telegraph piece (that a large number of the comments in the gaming blogs totally fail to comprehend) is

"This didn't happen by accident," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo in the US. "It's the result of a deliberate attempt to expand the market."

For a while now I've been following the output of Sean Malstrom who relentlessly argues that Nintendo are not trying to be part of the "Gaming Industry" but instead are trying to disrupt the Gaming Industry. He explains this particularly well in his essay Birdmen and the Casual Fallacy (tea and biscuits required). Nintendo, especially with the Wii, are not trying to compete on the same terms as Microsoft or Sony for an ever shrinking target market. Instead they have looked to expand their audience by making their console attractive to people who are traditionally not considered gamers. Wii Fit is not a "Gaming Industry" game but it was sold out for most of it's first 12 months of release and has been instrumental in selling millions of Wii and selling the idea of gaming to millions of people who previously wouldn't have considered themselves gamers.

I wonder if there is a lesson to be learned here for political parties. For too long the interest in politics has dwindled as the population switches off from the inward looking "Politics Industry" with it's associated media reviewers that are always hyping the 'next big thing' that we should be excited about. The parallels are startling. I don't see any of the three main parties being able to be the disruptive force needed to bring about change as they are too entrenched, have too much staked, in the Politics Industry. Parties like the BNP, UKIP and the Greens are all eager to join in the game rather than be the disruptor.

Nintendo did not set out to beat Sony and Microsoft in the battle for console supremacy by playing the game to the rules their competitors laid down. If a political party is to change the game, break up the tripartite monopoly of political power, it must look to gather support outside of the usual spheres of influence. As a recent local by-election showed less than half of the population cared enough to vote. The majority, those who currently don't give a toss, they are the key to winning an election but they aren't interested in the game as it is currently played. Nintendo's answer was to target the female gaming market. What would a political party do?

kneesy does it

Stumpy loved his Christmas toy

i just can't give a fuck

Video by MrKiddr, words by Dungeekin, music seems familiar .. ..

what the flush?

Is this for real or is it just toilet humour?

bonnie greer on her bnpqt experience

From the Telegraph

"The BBC's job is to educate," she said. "The party does have the same amount of voters as Ukip. It's about the people who decided that that's the party that they want to vote for. The BBC's obligation was to respect that. I think it's about respect: we need to listen to one another. Question Time is enabling that listening to happen. The people made that choice; we don't want a Victorian society where our betters decide what we need."

imminent ice age?

From the environmental pages of The Observer comes this

The next Ice Age could take only weeks to engulf Britain. Scientists say the last great disruption to the Gulf Stream 12,800 years ago took only a couple of months to trigger a massive plunge in temperatures across Europe.

The Gulf Stream carries tropical heat from the Caribbean to northern Europe but is already being disrupted by meltwater pouring from the Arctic as global warming intensifies. One day it may switch off completely, say scientists.

Such an event occurred 12,800 years ago when a vast lake – created from melting glaciers at the end of last Ice Age – overflowed and poured into the north Atlantic, blocking the Gulf Stream. Europe froze – almost instantly, said Patterson.

So the last post-warming ice age was not caused by driving the kids to school in a 4x4 then but was part of a natural cycle but the next ice age is, relatively speaking and for all intents and purposes, going to be caused by human activity? Why?

[insert neutral word here] christmas

The Telegraph reports that

Wishing people a Happy Christmas could be seen as an "insult" or even an "obscenity" as not everyone is in a position to celebrate, a bishop has warned.

The Right Reverend Humphrey Southern, the Bishop of Repton, said it was a "hollow" greeting to make to those who were suffering.

"What could it possibly mean to the victim of bullying, ostracism or racial intimidation in your workplace or neighbourhoods or community?"

Oh for fucks sake is this what we've become? An Anglican Bishop telling Christians not to wish people Happy Christmas in case it insults them? I'm no more or less offended by any belief system (provided those who practice it do not intend to force their beliefs on me) but taking umbrage because someone wished a Happy Christmas for me would take a special kind of stupidity that I sadly do not possess.

The whole 'offence by proxy' culture that has seemingly taken a firm hold in this country is fucking stupid and not helped by the comments of The Right Reverend Humphrey Southern.

man lives for a year without money

The Argus reports that

A man who lived for a year without spending any money said that it has been the happiest time of his life and he intends to continue.

Mark Boyle, 30, has lived for the past 12 months as a true 'freeconomist', leading a self-sufficient lifestyle in a caravan in Timsbury, near Bath, growing his own food and reusing junk that people have thrown away.

This is the same Mark Boyle that wrote two pieces for the Guardian over a month ago? How does he manage to lead a cash-free life? Well he

either grows or forages for his food and gets his clothes from bins or from the Freecycle website.

which is all very admirable and, if you want to live the fantasy lifestyle of an eco-scrounger, that's the way to do it. Of course if we all lived that way there would be no clothes, no free newspapers, no waste food, no Freecycle and that's the problem with this 'cash-free' model. It relies on other people spending cash, trading and wasting for it to work.

looking for a new job?

Seen here via here

e-petitions (5)

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Take £1 from everyones national insurance contribution and buy a lottery ticket.

Take £1 from everyones national insurance contribution and buy a lottery ticket. This will distibute wealth and create many millionaires in different social classes. Good causes will benefit from the increased contributions from the Lottery fund.

Who takes what out of every £1 spent buying a lottery ticket? Camelot say

In the period up to March 2010, around 28% of total National Lottery revenue is expected to go to the Good Causes.

During the new licence, over 50% of total National Lottery revenue is expected to be paid to winners in prizes, while 12% of total revenue is expected to be paid to the Government in Lottery Duty. National Lottery retailers will earn 5% in sales commission

So you Gareth Williams, want the government to give £2 per week for each working person (one assumes that you wouldn't sanction the purchase of a ticket for the non-contributing) to Camelot to enter them in the National Lottery draw so that the government can claw back 12p per ticket in lottery Tax? Which budget would you have them cut (please say the fakecharity budget)? How much do you think this would cost to administer? I'm willing to bet that it would be more than not doing it.

e-petitions (4)

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to we in the comunity want to see tougher laws on the parents who knowingly put there children in a risk area .

i think that a parents responseabilty is to always ensure the safety of there own children, and putting them in the risk area knowing that 7 outa ten somthing was too happen then that parent must be proscuted in the same catagory as the abuser in my eyes its knowing whats going to happen before it dose and all along the parent could of protected the child. but turned a blind eye

What the fuck are you talking about ms gayle eaton? Seriously.

e-petitions (3)

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ban horse riding by minors.

Scientific evidence appears to show that horse riding has larger risk attached to it than the taking of certain illegal drugs. On this basis the government should take action to protect against this dangerous activity. In a free society it is obvious that those with adequate judgement should have the choice to take this risk, but that is not the case for children.

You've not really thought this through properly have you Ian Ellis? You use the words "free choice" while bansturbating about the idea of restricting children from learning how to ride properly. Unlike taking drugs a rider's skill improves through prolonged exposure to horses and they reduce, minimise even, their risks.

While I agree that statistically there is more risk of injury through equestrian activity than taking ecstasy (although less if you take into account ALL currently illegal drugs) banning horse riding is not the answer.

football's not coming home

From the Guardian

Gordon Brown intervened today to shore up England's troubled bid for the 2018 World Cup when he met a veteran Fifa vice-president who has dismissed England's chances.

Downing Street described the 20-minute meeting with Warner, who influences five of Fifa's 24 votes, as positive.

We may as well save the money and halt the bid now.. ..

tactical nuclear penguin (2)

I know, I know, it's probably all just a marketing scam by the clever BrewDog boys, but I've placed an order for a bottle of Tactical Nuclear Penguin.

The first batch sold within one day and the second batch may, or may not, have been sold out too by the time my order was placed. At £42 for a 330ml bottle (inc p&p) it isn't cheap but it's one of those things that just had to be done.

If you've come here via google, searching for "where can I buy Tactical Nuclear Penguin?" then the only place is direct from the brewery. Good luck.

say what?

Argos is the store that just keeps on giving



examples of crappy photoshopping. Bodyless hands? Cut half of the text off?

scumbag goes to jail

From the BBC

Darren Pease, 33, from Dagenham, took more than £300,000 from a fund set up for five-year-old Ellie May Challis. Ellie May, from Little Clacton, Essex, lost her arms and legs to meningitis four years ago.

Pease was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to fraud and deception at Basildon Crown Court. The court heard that Pease had been a trustee of the fund.

What a horrible thing to do, especially to your own family. The BBC also informs us of his profession

An east London banker has been jailed for siphoning hundreds of thousands of pounds from his disabled niece's trust fund.

Oh he works for a bank? They're all evil aren't they .. .. ..

reading material for the flight to copenhagen

After educating children about climate change, and how it's all the fault of humans, for the last 12 years the government asked them to tell the government why the government should impose even stricter targets on the country so that the government can prevent more climate change. The children went away and came back with this .pdf which was given to Ed Balls today and he promises to give it to Gordon before he travels to Copenhagen.

As you can see the bright colours make it easy on the eye and the lack of content make it easy on the brain. Perfect for a Prime Minister travelling to an international summit.

we are listening to you (but ignoring you)

From the BBC

Government plans to roll out e-petitions across the UK could offer people a real say in the democratic process, a conference has heard. The legislation to make e-petitions compulsory for all councils in the UK comes into force in April 2010.

So from April you can put up an e-petition to your local council.

It could result in a national e-petition scheme and force Westminster to take more notice of people power, thinks web guru Tom Steinberg.

What, similar to this one?

E-petitions allow citizens to raise issues with government.

But even when they get over 1.8 million signatures the government ignores the petition anyway. The final comment is priceless

Peter Cruickshank from Edinburgh Napier University's School of Computing hopes e-petitions can have a more general feel-good effect on citizens. "A successful petition doesn't have to be one that achieves its aim. If people see the issue is being taken seriously then they will be happy," he said.

So you see this as a tool for keeping people quiet, not a tool for change? You tool.

tactical nuclear penguin

Those boys over at BrewDog are ruffling establishment feathers again today by releasing their latest beer, Tactical Nuclear Peguin, an imperial stout that touches the alcoholometer at 32% ABV.

Only 500 bottles are available, 250 of them retailing for £30 each, the other 250 for £250 but that includes an "equity for punks" share.

Tokyo (18.2%), Nanny State (1.1%), Tactical Nuclear Penguin (32%). Next they'll come up with a beer that removes the alcohol from your bloodstream?


UPDATE: Via the Grauiad I read

Jack Law, chief executive of the campaign group Alcohol Focus Scotland, said BrewDog was guilty of "childlike attention-seeking" by releasing the beer on the day the alcohol bill was published.

"The fact they have achieved a new world record is not admirable, that's for sure," he said. "It is a product with a lot of alcohol in it, that's all. To dress it up as anything else is cynical."

What a miserable cock-rag he truly is. A Scottish world record "is not admirable" says the chief exec of Alcohol Focus Scotland? Cunt. Maybe he's still upset that the public didn't support minimum alcohol pricing in the survey on his website?

wind farms - so reliable

The BBC reports that

A wind farm off the coast of Kent has suffered persistent mechanical failure in the four years since it began operating

Gearboxes in all 30 turbines on the Kentish Flats have been replaced with newer, improved parts.

In 2007, the gearboxes - which transfer the power from the blades to the generator - were all replaced because of bearing failures.

In 2008, 20 of them were changed again with an upgraded version, and now the final 10 are being upgraded too.

You could call it teething troubles if you wanted to but not really the reliable replacement for fossil fuels that they are made out to be, are they?

headline of the day

Facebook sex teacher jailed

They have people to teach sex on Bookface now?

that racist michelle obama picture

The Sun says

WEB giant Google were forced into an apology today after a racist image of Michelle Obama appeared on its site when users searched for photos of the First Lady. Anyone typing "Michelle Obama" into the search engine this morning would have seen a cruelly altered photo depicting the President's wife with monkey features.

In an unprecedented move, Google posted a message on top the images - which is usually reserved for sponsored links - distancing itself from the post. However the shocking image has still not been removed from site's search results.

Just in case you didn't see the image they have thoughtfully reproduced an enlarged copy of the search results to accompany the story. I've screen grabbed the image in case they remove it.

thumbs aren't for everybody

As seen in the Argos catalogue

more e-petition fun

Trawling through the less well supported e-petitions is an unending source of merriment. Take for example this one

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Change planning laws to redefine pylons as wind turbine.

Once planning law has been changed to make wind turbines the same as pylons, Pylons already in situ can then be replaced with wind turbines. With out having to through lengthy consultations

signed only by the original petitioner, Mr Darcy Pace. Mr Pace has obviously not thought through the technical processes that are required to transfer electricity from the point of production to the end user. This usually requires suspended wires that are carried on pylons. If you replace all of the pylons with wind turbines .. .. .. ..

single mumps vaccine production ends

According to the Telegraph Merck, the manufacturer of Mumpsvax, has ceased production and has switched it's capacity to the MMR jab instead in the face of falling demand. The report ends with a quote from a Department of Health spokesman who says

"Merck decided to stop producing single vaccines. This is a decision that they took and over which we had no influence."

Why would anyone think that the DoH would have been involved in any way with this decision? *stares into distance*

'It's a moat around our property'

If only he was an MP he could have charged us to have it cleaned eh?

pacifists are domestic extremists?

I happened to catch a video report about police surveillance on the Daily Politics show today. Environmentalists, Animal rights campaigners and pacifists appear to be the target of the domestic extremism unit. Pacifists? What?

£21k for a terrace chant?

The Sun reports

FOOTY fans were singing "What a waste of money" last night after ministers blew £21,000 on finding a new terrace chant.

A top agency was hired to launch a contest for an anthem as a way of encouraging adults to improve "literacy skills".

Oh for fuck's sake! Terrace chants are spontaneous and reactionary; they can't be planned in this way. However the Get On site has lots of top tips if you are planning to write your own chant including

# A good chant is simple and memorable
# Rhyme helps, repetition helps, and rhythm is essential
# There's no point writing a complex chant because it has to be picked up instantly by thousands of people who've got their mouths full of pie!

Sadly the LSC has removed the page with the announcement of the winner (but luckily it still appears in the google cache) but it appears to be quite an old story. The cache is from 17th October 2009 and the article refers to the beginning of the football season. Which was August. So a belated story about an expensive but pointless exercise. Go on my Sun!

a tax on compass

As a springboard for this morning's reading the Guardian had an article about a pamphlet released by Compass (pdf) that suggests changes to the taxation system. Left wing think tank Compass suggest that the solution to some of the financial woes of the country is to increase taxation on people earning over £100,000 pa, increase the number of council tax bands and increase the range and scope of NI on the highest earners to raise income and balance the tax burden across the income range. Among other things the report says

It was not big government that got us into this economic mess but free markets beyond democratic and social control. Overall public spending does not need to be cut; this would only make matters worse.

Sorry what? When anyone is spending way above their income then they need to rein that in or face going bankrupt. The report also says

the 10% spending cuts proposed by the Tories would directly lead to 500,000 extra jobless, cutting £10.5bn from the wage costs of government but saving the government only a net £800m due to loss of tax and the payment of benefits.

So we're back to the 'Labour investment - Tory cuts' narrative again are we? Even though the fucking budget shows that the Labour Party plan 10% spending cuts as well?

I find the specific tax proposals in this pamphlet scary. What they are proposing with is to increase the tax burden on someone with an income of £94524 pa by nearly £20kpa!!



I can't imagine very many people who bought a house in the last 5 years with an income over £94,000 being in favour of that proposal, can you?

shopping vouchers?

From the Mirror

Householders who recycle could earn £130 a year in shopping vouchers under plans to be unveiled by shadow chancellor George Osborne.

A scheme to encourage recycling which was piloted in Windsor and Maidenhead will be extended across the country. The trial has boosted recycling by 30%, the Conservatives say, and this would save cash being used for landfill taxes.

We've had a government for the last 12 years that fails to understand that there are two parts to the 'carrot and stick' method of encouragement so the promise of rewarding desired behaviour patterns is a positive step. However .. .. .. I'd rather see a reduction in council tax rather than 'shopping vouchers' being offered as inducement. I wonder how that sits with the proposed bribery legislation?

current e-petitions from the number10 site

Finding myself on the Number10 e-petition site for the petition against the latest proposed anti-piracy law I thought I'd have a nose around and see what other petitions are open. Oh My God! There's a petition for:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to the prime minister to make it law for all pedel cyclists to wear helmets and high visability jackets.
(I'm not sure what possible safety advantage I could gain by wearing a high vis jacket while riding offroad)

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Form a proper Welfare State.

The formation of a Welfare State will entail the nationalisation of Coal, Oil, Gas, Water, alternative energy, transport, education, healthcare and banking. The notion that we are living in a welfare state now is the worst joke ever written, seeing as how privitized fat cats are in it for self gain. State control would ensure 100% accountability literally to the public, ensure universal, unconditional provision and form the basis of a fairer, more egalitarian society, both socially and economically. The deranged, right-wing, pro-business view is both backward and idiotic, as it doesn't take Einstein to tell you that corporations are in it for profit, whose best interest it is to financially exploit their customers (and employees) with zero concern for people's welfare *cough* credit crunch *cough*. The deluded idea that competition lowers costs is meaningless next to free state provision funded by higher taxes on the rich. It is rapacious and pathetic to impose profiteering in the welfare sector that ultimately hits the people who can least afford it the hardest.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Provide free or discounted driving lessons to people claiming JSA.

In this modern world, your own transport is a necessity for pretty much everything, finding and getting to work in particular. People like myself who have been on Job Seekers Allowance for several months or even years are being restricted by public transport, which in many areas is overpriced and inadequate.

Please sign this petition if you think that the government should give financial aid to people claiming benefits to help them drive in order for them to have better access to work.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to bring into law statutory complain procedures for dealing with internal complain procedures within religious organisations.

We, the Church Law Campaign is requesting a Statutory Complain Procedures for handling complains within religious organisations. We are also seeking a special tribunal to handle complains resulting from the proposed statutory complain procedures.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop speeding in Spofforth in North Yorkshire.
(How the PM will have time to personally enforce the speed limit on every driver is not explained in the 'more details' comments)

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Ban advertising to children under 16.

We believe that advertising to children is immoral. It can manipulate a child's mind and exploits they're innocent and trusting nature. Advertising is all about creating a false need in the viewer's mind. This can cause a child to feel unhappy and insecure.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to enforce-caps-on-mobile-networks.

I would like the prime minister to enforce caps on mobile networks. By this I mean capping the bill. All mobile networks should do this as it benefits the customer and stops the customer being charged ridiculous amounts.

Now if mobile networks refuse to do this then I feel at the very least they should include these features.

One when you phone to find out how many minutes and texts you have left the network should also tell you if your being charged for anything that isn't included in your monthly bill e.g. Premium rate numbers/Texts.

They should also Phone you when you do something with your phone that you don't normally do. For example phoning a premium rate number or accessing the internet etc.

Finally it should be there job to tell you that you have spent over your monthly contract when say it goes to more than double your normal monthly contract cost.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to make it an offence for pedestrians to walk behind reversing vehicles.

Reversing a vehicle in a car park or elsewhere can be a tricky manoeuvre. Even the most observant and diligent driver cannot see all around their vehicle at all times. It is therefore foolish at best and dangerous at worst that pedestrians regularly walk alongside or behind a reversing vehicle, especially if they are accompanying children. The proposal is that this act is made a criminal offence, either with a fine of say, £100 or five hours community service. This issue is pertinent to road safety.

And that's just from the first of 4682 pages .. .. .. some people are seriously nuts!

pole dancer ruins wedding

Found HERE

video games permit virtual war crimes

according to the BBC article.

Video games depicting war have come under fire for flouting laws governing armed conflicts. Human rights groups played various games to see if any broke humanitarian laws that govern what is a war crime.

No they didn't. According to their report

The selected games were played by young gamers under the auspice of Pro Juventute and TRIAL and the legal assessment of the critical scenes was done by three lawyers, particularly trained in the areas of IHL, IHRL and ICL. Professor Marco Sassóli from the University of Geneva, a well known expert in the area of IHL, supervised the legal analysis.

which is significantly different. The panel watched video of the players game and then decided whether a breach of the various rules would have occurred in real life. They even discuss this in their report

In addition, the analysers sometimes had difficulties understanding the plot of the game and the context of the scenes. The games are very complex and the players are often given various possibilities to achieve their goals, thus making it difficult to determine which means and methods are available to the player and which rules apply. In addition, because the games are controlled to a great extent by the player, a player of a particular game may see very different types of content than another, depending on the choices he or she makes.

The whole study is bizarre as it makes the assertion that

We have chosen video and computer games as the object of our analysis because, unlike literature, films and television, where the viewer has a passive role, in shooter games, the player has an active role in performing the actions. Thus, the line between the virtual and real experience becomes blurred

then concludes that in future video game developers should incorporate IHL and IHRL into their framework which would, in my opinion, blur the distinction between real and fantasy even further.

can't choose the closing line? leave them all in

From the Telegraph again

He added that this year was one of the best years ever for British Christmas trees because of the summer's mix of rain and sun.

He said this had been one of the best years ever for British Christmas trees which have flourished with the summer's good mix of rain and sun.

"Last year was all right but this season has been absolutely amazing. The pattern of sun and rain has been perfect for the trees," he said.

"I think the rain in the summer really helped as the foliage is glossy with lovely shiny dark green needles."

today's guest publication is

Recently I've noticed that the Telegraph has been lobbying to become the guest publication for the HIGNFY missing words round.

But Mr Gallucci away from the wreckage with nothing more than bruising. - crawled away? hopped away? danced a merry jig away?



The call by Lord McColl, a Tory peer, follows fears that the cars' engines - which are almost at low speeds - pose a safety risk. almost useful? almost let out from jail early only to re-offend? almost capable of overtaking snails?

rising co2

From the Telegraph a story reported across much of the media this weekend about the possibility of a 6˚C rise in temperatures due to CO2 levels.

Louise Sime, lead of the British Antarctic Survey study, looked at ice cores to see how temperatures changed during periods of high carbon dioxide

She found that during the last period of high CO2, 125,000 years ago, temperatures were up to 6C higher than present day levels.

I'm pretty sure that was pre-industrialisation so what generated all the extra CO2? A natural cycle you say? Obviously I'm no expert at all but if the temperature was up by 6˚C at the last warm peak, and we are constantly being told that AGW is accelerating / amplifying warming, surely the prediction should be for even higher temperatures?

things teachers say that kids say

Mrsff saw this on Bookface a few moments ago.

11 reasons to vote conservative (10)

Number 10

While the Labour Party resorts to cheap looking photoshop efforts to tap into xfactor mania and take cheap shots at their opposition the Conservatives would never do that would they?


For fucks sake.

expand your property portfolio

The BBC reports that while the global property market is stagnant and depressed there is one area that defies the downward trend. According to local estate agents, prices in some parts of this area have risen by 75% in the past year! 75%! You want to know where this massive opportunity is?


Kabul.

*snigger*

or, as the internet would have it, FAIL

buy shares in high-vis now!

The BBC reports

A taxi marshal scheme has begun operating in Chipping Sodbury to help people get home safely.

The marshals will work on Friday and Saturday between 2200 and 0200 GMT.

As well as maintaining safe queues at the taxi rank on Broad Street they will assist police dealing with anti-social behaviour and nuisance noise.

What next? Dressing Marshals? Sex Inspectors? Nottingham already has pedestrian crossing marshals .. .. ..

alcohol-minimum-price-spotting

The BBC reports

Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh has urged politicians to tackle Scotland's "cheap bevvy" culture. The author called for action to deal with the country's "growing problem" with alcohol. Mr Welsh said the price of drink was linked to the amount consumed, and he demanded politicians "stand up and be counted" by tackling the issue.

His comments come as the Scottish government is planning to introduce proposals for minimum alcohol pricing.

The BBC doesn't report

Welsh, who has in the past admitted to using heroin and Ecstasy,

nor does it mention that the association between SHAAP and Welsh goes back at least 2 years. This is not a spontaneous outburst but part of a lengthy campaign that he and SHAAP are involved with. (SHAAP's 3 years of start-up funding from the Scottish Government end in Nov 2009.) SHAAP also has close ties to fakecharity Alcohol Focus Scotland. On the 5th of November Bruce Ritson, quoted in the BBC article, co-signed a letter to the press with Alcohol Focus Scotland, BMA Scotland and the Scottish Licensed Trade Association stating

A recent opinion by the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice which considered the legality of minimum pricing for tobacco has reignited claims that the introduction of minimum alcohol pricing in Scotland could be illegal. However, the European Commission stated in July 2009 that the Council Directive covering excise duties on alcohol "does not prohibit Member states from setting minimum retail prices for alcoholic beverages". This suggests that minimum pricing is permissible under EU trade law if it applies to domestic and imported products alike and it does not constitute a barrier to trade. If the prices set were shown to be a barrier to the free movement of goods then there would need to be a public policy justification that the harm is so great to allow rules governing international trade to be overridden. With the number of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland increasing by 150% in a generation and alcohol related harm costing Scotland over £2 billion pounds every year, we believe that such a case could be made.

Irvine Welsh is the mouthpiece of fakecharities paid for by the government to lobby the government to increase restrictions on people's lives in a country that he no longer lives

Welsh comes from Edinburgh, Scotland, and lives with his American wife Elizabeth, mainly in Dublin, Ireland and Miami Beach, Florida.

Cult Writer? That's only one letter out.. ..

do keep up!

The Granuiad reports

Labour's drive to increase the number of pupils gaining C grades at GCSE is distorting education and forcing teachers to neglect their highest and lowest achievers, the schools select committee is expected to conclude this month.

After a year-long inquiry into school accountability and inspections, MPs are ready to accuse the government of creating a system that discourages and undermines teachers. Staff, they will argue, feel under pressure to focus their attention on pupils who could achieve a C grade and improve a school's league table standing at the expense of other pupils who might otherwise be able to gain an A or A*.

Back in January I said

It seems that all of the focus and energy is directed at the 'average' kids, the ones who are just below the required standard, trying to bring them up to the level needed to affect the teachers pay review while the brightest of the class are frequently left to their own devices. If a child has already fulfilled their annual objectives they aren't pushed to excel, encouraged to progress further. And that, to me, is very wrong. We should be pushing the brightest students harder as well as trying to encourage performance from the less intellectually able.

Being right is such a burden :o)

emails copied from hadley cru

The coverage in the mainstream media sources of the email messages that have been copied (leaked? hacked?) from the database of the Hadley Climate Research Unit is minimal and cautious at the moment while the internet is alight with discussion.

The timing of the release and the motive of the person who made them available are still being questioned by some while others trawl through the content trying to make sense of it all.

If you want to look at them yourself then a searchable database of the documents is here (link courtesy of DK who is regularly publishing what he, and others, have discovered)

SteveShark also provides two links to pdf files that were contained in the package from their original sources - The Rules of the Game and The New Rules of the Game. Both pdfs are scary enough on their own.

The truth will out. It may take some time but the truth will out.

marriage guidance?

The Telegraph reports that the NHS will provide free marriage guidance counselling for couples.

Doctors and patients' groups said they were "horrified" by the use of NHS resources for relationship advice when patients with cancer and dementia were being denied treatment they desperately needed.

Too bloody right! The National Health Service shouldn't be a relationship counselling bureau .. .. ..

notw and anti-bullying

Six, yes six, anti-bullying stories popped up in the RSS feed for tomorrows NOTW. The Bebo panic button, youtube, Michael Gove, Tulisa, even Ed 'bully' Balls is in on the act. Finally Professor Tanya Byron is back claiming that

BULLYING is the No 1 danger for young people on the internet.

which is plainly ridiculous because for ages we've been told that paedophiles and pornography are the biggest dangers for young people on the internet .. .. ..

saturday car post 2

I bought a second hand car in a private sale this week for Mrsff. It has no tax disc on it and the saga of trying to obtain one is driving me nuts (pun intended)! The online service and the telephone service are entirely automated (as far as I can tell) and will send the disc to the address of the registered keeper as stated on the V5. No good to us as the chances of the database being updated already are slim to none. We can't get a disc via the post office as the updated insurance certificate has yet to arrive .. .. ..

Until we get a tax disc on the car she can't legally drive it, and with the change in the law it may even be illegal sitting as it is off-road.

*frustration*

saturday car post 1

As I was driving to work yesterday morning in the wind and the rain I witnessed something that made me shake my head in disbelief. The car in front of me, YA53 KKG, was sat right up the exhaust of a very nervous learner driver trying to pressurise them into driving faster.


Twat.

he's no longer a threat. oh.

From The Argus

A dangerous thug who was locked up indefinitely maimed a man for life after he was allowed to walk free from prison.

Jamie Chesher had already been given a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) in 2006 for assaulting and threatening to kill his wife meaning he could not be released until he was it decided he was no longer dangerous.

So who decided he was no longer a threat?

But the sentence was reduced to 18 months in prison by the Court of Appeal last year and he was released.

Obviously proud of their good judgement in this case .. .. ..

On March 21, he threw Mr Craddock from a groyne near the Peace Statue on Hove seafront. As his victim lay motionless on the beach Chesher asked his girlfriend if she thought Mr Craddock was dead. But neither of them stopped to call an ambulance for the victim.

So he has previous and has attacked and crippled another person, surely a long sentence awaits?

At Hove Crown Court yesterday Chesher, of Regency Square, Brighton, was found guilty of causing him grievous bodily harm and was handed a new IPP sentence. Chesher will now not be released until the Parole Board decides he is no longer a danger to the public.

He's proven that he is violent and dangerous so that's going to be a long time right?

It will be six and a half years before he can even be considered for release.

wii pray

There's a hoax going on on the internet *shock* but some people are being taken in by it. Wii Pray is allegedly a new interactive game from PrayerWorks that allows you to worship at home. There's even a youtube video showing it in action. Click on any of the links on the page to find out more .. ..

XD

the silent is

Electric cars should be fitted with a small Swiss cowbell to warn pedestrians they are approaching because of their quiet engines, it has been suggested. The call by Lord McColl, a Tory peer, follows fears that the cars' engines - which are almost ___________ at low speeds - pose a safety risk.



Telegraph

alcohol prices on the rise

The Mirror, The Argus and The Telegraph all identically report

Stuart MacFarlane from AB InBev UK, which owns brands including Beck's, Stella and Budweiser, told The Grocer the majority of price rises in 2010 would come from ''Government meddling''.

From January, VAT will go up by 2.5 per cent and in April alcohol duty will go up by 2 per cent.

When VAT was reduced Alistair Darling raised alcohol duty to more than compensate for the reduction in price. VAT is due to revert to 17.5% at the end of next month and there is no plan to reduce the rate, instead the plan is to increase the rate of alcohol duty again.

No story on alcohol would be complete without some quotes from fakecharities and this one is no exception devoting 30% of the copy to fake alcohol charities

Last month campaigners called for alcohol prices to go up in a bid to persuade people to drink more moderately. Alcohol Concern urged the Government to consider higher duty on stronger drinks and charges of at least 50p per unit.

It was backed by the British Liver Trust (BLT), which said drink-related deaths had trebled in the past 25 years and a price clampdown was the only way to stem the tide.

With the level of duty being forever driven upwards the reality of 50p per unit can't be that far off. Will Don Shenker's brigade be happy then? Like fuck they will! I'm guessing they are already preparing for the next campaign. Cunts.

bbc reporting of unemployment

On Thursday I noticed the strange way that the BBC reports that unemployment is rising and the figures it reports.

September: Unemployment rises to 7.9%


October: Unemployment rises to 7.9% from 7.6%


November:Unemployment rises to 7.8% from 7.7%


Things got even stranger today when checking another area of their site and a different report tells a different story about the figures, one that is at odds with the other report published on the same day.


November:Unemployment falls to 7.8%


Come on BBC. If you can't be honest, at least be consistent.

google searches keep the smiles coming

1st out of 1,700,000,000 .. .. ..

the internet is raping your children behind your back again

Prof. Byron, the government's internet safety czar, fresh from telling parents that their children are all addicted to internet porn is trying to reinforce how bad the internet is by peddling the line that "Children social network in secret". Now obviously I am the absolute coolest parent on the planet ever but still the juniorffs would rather that I didn't speak to their friends and "quite frankly dad could you fuck off please?" is not uncommon from juniorff3 (aged 6)*. All children social network both online and offline without their parents hanging over them and stifling their self expression at every turn, don't they? According to Prof Byron

"There are plenty of children going on social networking sites to catch up with friends, having lied about their age - and they are in a playground with adults, not being sensible about their privacy."

So her solution is?

Prof Byron, speaking at the launch of a social network designed for schools called Kwercus, says school networks are an ideal place for younger children to enjoy talking to their friends - but also to learn how to handle themselves on social networks. "It helps children with their learning, they can hand their homework in, parents can engage in their learning, which leads to better outcomes,but it also has what children love about social networks - but in a safe, secure environment, where people can help them understand that it is very easy to type mean things about someone but it hurts."

You. Just. Don't. Get. It. It's not the being on BookFace, it's the ability to have a private conversation with your friends that your parents aren't listening in to. Do you really think that kids will use Kwercus when they are at home and be reminded of being at school? How fucking stupid are you?









*He doesn't actually swear, but does say please and thank you.

google searches that made me smile

I'm guessing the search instigator is not a fan of the police force?

tickets for the outrage bus .. .. ..

The Mirror headline "Fake orgasm radio clip sparks BBC row" is a little sensationalist when you consider the story reported underneath.

The BBC was criticised today after a radio presenter played a clip of Meg Ryan faking an orgasm during a show broadcast during the time of the school run.

Steve Harris, presenter of the Drivetime show on Radio Solent, played the 10-second recording from the movie When Harry Met Sally when talking about a drug being heralded as the female version of Viagra.

He played the clip immediately after asking listeners: "What would you say if I asked if you were interested in a female version of Viagra?"

You'll notice that they aren't criticised for discussing the sexual pleasure enhancing drug, just the sound clip. Who is upset about it? Step forward Vivienne Pattison, director of campaign group Mediawatch UK, who said

"I think the BBC made a bit of an error. They must have been having a right laugh but they got a bit carried away in playing this clip. If you happened to be a parent picking your child up and hearing that, you would either have had to deal with bouts of sniggering or, from a younger child, you would end up dealing with lots of questions."

So those people in Dorset and the Isle of Wight must have contacted the BBC in their hundreds to complain about this?

A BBC spokeswoman said: "It wasn't our intention to offend.This was a light hearted intro to an informative discussion utilising one of the best known film clips of the last 20 years. We've had not a single complaint or comment."

Not a single complaint from those who heard it. I wonder how many complaints the professionally offended will make?

language pedantry

Nick Britten reports in the Telegraph

An 18-year-old girl is being forced to spend every night for the rest of her life in hospital after becoming the first person in the world to suffer from a unique blood condition.

If she was the second person in the world to be suffering it wouldn't be unique would it?

'tard

money to improve roads

The BBC is reporting that the government has pledged a further £1.5 million, on top of the £3.5 million it has already spent, to improve road safety.

Abroad.

Minister for Development Gareth Thomas said the road safety statistics in developing countries were "shocking".

"I want to see this funding make a real impact on reducing casualty numbers where it's needed most. It will help with implementing basic safety measures. Statistics show that the UK has some of the safest roads in the world. We must use our expertise to help developing countries meet the safety standards that we take for granted."

With the public finances in such a sorry state maybe instead we could sell our expertise abroad to lighten the burden? All that expense and time that we've taken improving road safety must be worth something?

brighton and hove loses eco ranking

From the Argus

Brighton and Hove has slipped a position in the annual rankings of Britain’s most eco friendly cities. It has been ranked third overall in the Forum for the Future’s 2009 Sustainable Cities Index. The rating marks a slip for the city from second place last year and first in 2007. Brighton and Hove City Council yesterday said the drop was down to a new scoring system being introduced.

Since 2007 the number of Green Party councillors has risen.

Laughing? Me? Never!

volunteers have rights too you know

Ally Fogg is working into a lather about the rights of unpaid volunteers over at CiF.

Volunteers should be protected against unfair dismissal. Indeed, they should claim the same myriad protections offered to employees and service users against discrimination, harassment and exploitation.

Doesn't this fundamentally misunderstand the nature of voluntary work? Time and effort are freely given and can easily be withdrawn by the volunteer without any notice. To suggest that volunteers should have rights also suggests that there should be a contract between volunteer and organisation which would alter the relationship permanently.

bbc unemployment figures

After a conversation with a customer earlier this month I've been researching BBC reporting of the unemployment figures. On the 16th September the BBC reported

Unemployment increased by 210,000 to 2.47m in the three months to July, taking the jobless rate to 7.9%, the Office for National Statistics said.

and then on the 14th October they reported

Unemployment increased 88,000 to 2.47 million in the three months to August, from the three months to May. The jobless rate rose to 7.9% from 7.6%.

Imagine my surprise then when I saw the figures reported by the BBC on the 11th November

The number of people unemployed in the UK rose again in the three months to September, although the 30,000 increase was the smallest since May 2008. Unemployment totalled 2.46 million in the quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The jobless rate edged up to 7.8% from 7.7%,

Unemployment has risen for the third month in a row but is lower than it was three months ago? What the fuck?

ask a direct question and get a gordon answer

Number10.gov has a transcript from a press conference given by Gordon Brown and Robert Fico, the PM of Slovakia. Compare the answers that both men gave to this question

Prime Minister Brown, do you still back Tony Blair in his bid for presidency of the EU and how hopeful are you that this will succeed? Prime Minister Fico, do you back Prime Minister Brown in this decision?

Gordon first

Yes, we do. This will be discussed at the meeting on Thursday, but I must say that today our main discussion was about Afghanistan. I have said that NATO and other allies can bring 5,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The announcement by the Slovakian Prime Minister that he is prepared to bring extra troops to Afghanistan is very important. As I said, we will be approaching other countries and I believe that nearly 10 countries will be prepared to give extra support in Afghanistan, including Britain. That has been the basis of our discussions today, not talking about personalities, but policy.

See how gracefully he knits together an answer to the question asked and the topic that he really wants to highlight? Such skilled oratory. The delicate way that he seamlessly skips from one subject to the next in the blink of an eye is undetectable to all but the most skilful observer. Comparisons have been made between his verbal skills and the boxing technique of Cassius Clay. Groups of women (and men of a certain persuasion) have been known to swoon at such powerful displays of oral skill.

Compare the artistry of that reply with the simplistic approach of Robert Fico

I would like to add to the answer of the Prime Minister. I would like to say that, in my view, the President of the Council should not be just a man who simply organises meetings and directs or hosts the discussion. I believe that the position of the European Union is such that, for this position, we need a personality that is respected in Europe as well as all around the world. However, we spend so much energy on institutional issues that it would be really bad if we spent equal amounts of energy on personal issues. I believe that the next meetings of the Council would focus mainly and exclusively on the issues of the global crisis and economic issues. I can also only confirm that today’s meeting focused on these principal topics.

who actually answers a question with a direct answer. No doubt Gordon will be tutoring him intensely between now and Copenhagen .......

the queen's speech 2009

halving the deficit*

GB: Hello, I'm Gordon Brown

AD: and I'm Alistair Darling. Today we'd like to discuss the Fiscal Responsibility Bill that I

GB: that I thought up and was announced by the Queen today. This brilliant new legislation will make it lawful for the government to halve the budget deficit over the course of the next four years. I've proven once again that I can take tough decisions unlike the 'do nothing' Tories. Could you tell people a little more about the Bill Alistair?

AD: Certainly Gordon. This new Bill legally binds the next parliament to halving the budget deficit over the next four years although it doesn't mention paying down the massive levels of debt that

GB: Thank you Alistair. So you can see that we, the Labour Party, are not afraid of passing ridiculous, stupid, unnecessary, pointless legislation to make it look like we are doing what we should be doing anyway without needing to pass ridiculous, stupid, unnecessary, pointless legislation.


AD: Vote Labour





*Yes, I had an interesting conversation this lunchtime!

maclaren sign button

Fresh from his stint in panto, the eternal footman Buttons is to become the new head of PR for guillotine manufacturer Maclaren. When asked about his new position he said

"It's always a difficult decision to leave a team when you've been there for so long, but life is all about challenges – and, most important of all, it's about challenging yourself. I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges."

Cinderella was unavailable for comment.

ben elton, day 2

After The Argus pulled yesterday's version of this story* it returns today rebranded, reworded and with a less crappy picture of Ben Elton.





*It turns out that he has three children!

brewdog caption competition

Number 6 - Nanny State

lookouttobacco

A story in the Telegraph led me to a site I've not encountered before via the web page of it's designers d2 Digital. Lookouttobacco (and it's companion site lookoutalcohol) is full of fantastic fun facts for kids like the one in the image above plus plenty of information about second hand smoke .. .. .. and of course the obligatory link to Action on Smoking and Health.

Lookoutalcohol has some great questions about peer pressure including

It is ok to say no if you are under pressure?

to which of course the correct answer is "yes" .. .. .. even when you are under pressure to answer. I've also discovered a couple of questions that revolve around Alcohol Concern and Drinkaware statistics, and links to their sites, during my quick visit .

Go and have a play with them (but turn the sound down because after about 20 seconds you'll be screaming with rage at the repetitiveness of it) to see the kind of online media that is being produced to help educate primary school children.

headline of the day

Britons convicted of pigeon tossing

*snigger*

question and answer

The Guardian asks "What's stopping teenage girls from riding bikes?"

The Telegraph answers "Health and Safety fears."





*shakes head wearily*

job vacancy - copy writer for the argus

The successful writer, who lives in East Grinstead, made the comments on a quiz show in Australia, where he is moving with his Australian wife and their **** children.

HahahahAHAHAHAHAHahaha

stay away from smokers

From the BBC

Dr Twalib Ngoma, president of the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), says that Africa is on the brink of a smoking epidemic.

Epidemic?

"For the first time in history, we have the tools in hand to prevent a pandemic," says Dr Otis W Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.

Pandemic?

As far as I'm aware smoking is not contagious.

missing emails

Mrsff is trying to find another car since the gearbox on her existing vehicle died an expensive death 10 days ago. If she sees a car that looks suitable she phones me or sends an email with the details. Except the emails DO NOT ARRIVE.

Emails sent previously arrive.

Emails sent subsequently arrive.

Emails with details of cars that she wants an opinion on just completely disappear. I'm assuming that she is now on some kind of terrorist watchlist?

i'm a pc

Microsoft has opened up its Windows 7 operating system to advertising, allowing brands to advertise on PC desktops.

spying on your kids

Sarah Payne, the government appointed Victim's Champion, is calling for parents to install snooping software on their children's computers according to The Argus.

Parents should snoop on their children's internet use to protect them from paedophiles and cyber-bullies, Sara Payne has said. The Victims' Champion called for adults to install monitoring software on computers used by youngsters, and she admitted she checks up on her own children.

I suppose that if kids get used to their activities being secretly scrutinised then they won't find the surveillance state we live in unusual.

the definition of britishness

I've seen this story in a couple of places today and for me it sums up the essence of Britishness.

Lorry driver Jason Ripley called his boss after being impaled on a pole to say "I've had a bit of an accident." He was almost killed when the pole smashed through the windscreen of his truck and continued through his chest, narrowly missing his heart. "I just didn't see it at all. It went straight through my chest and out the back. There was seven or eight feet of pole sticking out.I just thought it was pinning me. I thought it was digging into my flesh but that was it."

Pinned into his lorry seat by an eight foot long pole that has passed through his chest he phones his boss to say "I've had a bit of an accident".

How reserved.

How controlled.

What poise.

How very British.

two lesbians are better than .. .. .. ..

From the Telegraph

Stephen Scott, director of research at the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners, has said his research shows children from lesbian couples do better in life than the offspring of heterosexual couples. "Lesbians make better parents than a man and a women,"

Stephen Scott of the government funded fakecharity National Academy for Parent Practitioners clearly wasn't studying properly in biology lessons. ALL fucking children are the offspring of heterosexual coupling. Two eggs do not make a baby.

Cunt.

olympic security 2012

From the BBC

Up to 6,000 teenagers could be trained to provide security during the 2012 Games, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games said. The committee said it is in talks with 50 colleges to set up Level 2 BTec diploma courses for 16 to 19-year-olds.

With the minimum wage structure being as it is they will be cheaper to employ than, say 6000 unemployed 22 year olds ,who have plenty of time on their hands to go through the training process.

How long will this intensive level 2 qualification take?

They will be given 30 hours of training on communication, keeping people safe at events and crowd control.

30 whole hours. Whoop.

crackdown on burglaries

From the BBC

Police have begun a crackdown after a spate of burglaries in a town on the Lincolnshire coast.

Six burglaries have been reported in the Drummond Road, Sandbeck Avenue, Becket Close and Buckthorn Avenue areas of Skegness over the past month.

Officers believe most of the homes were targeted while occupants were on holiday as they appeared to be empty.

Police are now carrying out high visibility patrols and house-to-house visits as part of Operation Celestial.

Insp Terry Ball said: "We believe the houses are being targeted due to their apparent emptiness.

"Our high profile campaign aims to highlight this to local residents and ensure they take precautionary action if they plan to go away."

No mention of trying to actually solve the crimes then?

miliband on marr

Ed Miliband was on the Andrew Marr Show this morning being interviewed about the Copenhagen summit later this year. Talking to Sophie Raworth about the need for reducing CO2 emissions he said

"But what's most important, as far as I'm concerned, is to get a really ambitious set of commitments from all the world leaders because we're trying to do something the world has never done before, which is instead of emissions carrying on rising across the world, involving all countries - China, India, Europe, the United States - we're trying to get them to fall."

Freudian slip or just a cunt? When did Europe become a country?

even more (and yet again) on alcohol pricing

The BBC has yet another alcohol pricing article today, this time with the headline "Alcohol pricing backed by experts".

A minimum price for alcohol would have a "considerable" impact if it was set at 60p a unit, a public health expert has said. Dr Emilia Crighton, the convener of the Faculty of Public Health in Scotland, spoke after delegates at its conference voted in favour of minimum pricing.

The full title of the organisation is The Faculty of Public Health of The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh who are of course a registered charity (SC009465), no guesses where the majority of their funding arrives from.

They have a handy link to the Support Change Support Minimum Pricing for Alcohol page which has an emphatic endorsement for SHAAP, who I've previously highlighted, and another link for people who want to support the campaign.

Clicking that takes you to another page which says

Fellows and Members are probably aware that an Alcohol Bill is to be put before the Scottish Parliament in the next month. This Bill seeks to curb alcohol misuse and includes a policy of minimum pricing. This legislation would have a significant impact on reducing the burden of alcohol related death and harm which we see daily in clinical practice. RCPE has been a strong supporter of public health measures to reduce alcohol harm, and has agreed to support these measures. It is expected that the voting on the Bill will be very close. Council feel that the RCPE should be active both collectively and individually in advocating this legislation.

Fellows and Members are, therefore, encouraged to consider personally making their support of these measures known to MSPs in their area as soon as is possible. Below you will find a link to a sample letter which you could adapt and send.

and then there are more links for a template letter (.rtf) and to help find addresses of MSPs.

The fakecharities are mobilising!