Support for Fabrice Muamba
The support for Fabrice Muamba has been heart-warming and according to reports his family have appreciated all of the messages and displays of support.
Let’s hope he makes a full and speedy recovery!
A Question Answered
A few weeks, ago I asked how scammers got your phone number and other details.
The Sunday Times answers the question today and says it all down to corrupt Indian call centre workers, who sell the details for two pence a shot. Surely, I’m worth more than that?
If that is the case, we need a nice EU Law, which says that data from individuals of a particular company, must only be held and accessed in that country.
Companies might moan, but all we would need to do was boycott the moaning companies. As it is, I try to avoid companies with overseas call centres. And that would include Spanish, German or French companies, that have their call centre, where they are head-quartered.
Groupon Told to Improve
I’ve always felt the web site, Groupon, a bit suspect and in the “If-it-looks-too-good-to-be-true- then it-must-be” category, so if any offer has anything to do with it, I ignore it.
So now the Office of Fair Trading has told it to improve as reported here on the BBC.
I’ll ignore it even more, if that were possible.
The French are Complaining
According to The Times, the French are complaining that the official Olympic brochure is not available in French.
But if you do put it into French, do you use French French, which I can read or Canadian French, which I can’t and a lot of French people from France have been known to laugh at in the same way we treat American English.
In my view there might be a more serious problem on the various Olympic sites. All sports with the exception of football, cricket and one or two others are performed with respect to metric units. Even rugby talks about 10 and 22 metre lines!
So do we put up the signs inside the Olympic park with yards or metres. As most of the competitors and spectators, think a yard is somewhere to keep your rubbish, we should use metres.
But I bet we don’t!
The only place I know in the UK, with metric signposts, is Liverpool University’s campus.
There is an e-petition on metrication here.
For those who are against this on account of it’s not the British thing to use metric units. I have never used Imperial units in business and don’t ever use them to measure anything. My eldest child will be 43 this year and he didn’t even learn about Imperial units at school.
So why do we keep them?
Whose Side Are They On?
This is the title of a leader in The Times today, questioning the motives of those who belong to the British Syrian Society. The co-chairman is Sir Andrew Green, who is always popping up on the media as spokesman for MigrationWatchUK.
Surely he has a conflict of interest here, as the actions of President Assad against the Syrian Uprising, must surely mean we’re going to get more immigrants. Let’s face it, if I was in Syria now, I’d be digging my way out like crazy. Even a slum in some of the worst places in Europe or the United States would be better, than the life I’d be leading now.
David Cameron’s Biggest Problem
Rowan Williams decision to retire as Archbishop of Canterbury, may have given David Cameron his biggest problem. Although, as the Telegraph puts it he makes the decision from a short-list of one.
Dr John Sentamu has been installed by bookies as their favourite in the wake of the Archbishop of Canterbury announcing that he will step down by the end of the year.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, will name Dr Williams’ successor after being given a “preferred name” by the Church’s appointments commission, which is made up of three clergy and three members of the laity. It is chaired by a civil servant.
Dr Sentamu is on the commission and will have to step down if he intends to be considered to be Archbishop of Canterbury.
He would be the first black leader of the Church of England and as primate would inherit an Anglican communion badly split over how to deal with homosexuality and whether women can become bishops.
Dr Williams himself conceded that his own attempt to prevent schism in the Church over the issues was likely to fail.
But if a large number of the Anglican Community don’t like the choice, David Cameron will get the blame.
Perhaps he should give the decision to Nick Clegg, as he doesn’t believe in God.
There is a Black Market for the New iPad
I’ve never got this thing about Apple products. So when I see there’s now a black market for iPads in last night’s Evening Standard, I’m reminded of the phrase about there’s one born every minute.
The full article is here.
What happens if the computer you buy, is the rare one that fails?
I sometimes think that the only good thing about Apple is that every product sold means a royalty for a company called ARM in Cambridge. And that can’t hurt the British economy!
RBS Six Nations Trophy
A quite elaborate trophy is presented to the winner of the Six Nations Rugby Championship. Here’s some details.
The idea of a Trophy for the Six Nations Championship was first thought of by the Earl of Westmorland, and was first presented in 1993 to France (the winners that season). It is held in trust by the Six Nations Championship Trophy Trust.
The Trophy is made of 200 ounces of sterling silver and is insured for £55,000. It was designed by James Brent-Ward, a silversmith designer, and made by eight craftsmen at the London silversmith firm William Comyns. The inside of the Trophy was originally silver, but it became so tarnished from repeated fillings with champagne that it has been lined with 22 carat gold to protect it.
There are fifteen sides to the Trophy, representing each player, and three handles representing each official ie the referee and two touch judges. Around the wooden base of the Trophy is the emblem of each of the six national unions.
The handle, or finial, on the lid is interchangeable and represents the current champions. The finials of the five challenging teams are kept in a hidden drawer in the plinth throughout the Championship.
According to this piece it pre-dates the Royal Bank of UK Taxpayers sponsorship of the Championship. So this is one thing, where Sir Fred isn’t guilty.
The United States Looks After Its Own
The fact that Sergeant Robert Bales, has been quickly returned to the US is no surprise to me.
In areas around the US bases in the UK in the 1970s, there were a couple of cases of death by dangerous driving caused by US servicemen.
No prosecution in the UK ever happened and in one case familiar to my late wife, a barrister in Suffolk at the time, nothing more was heard of the case, after the perpetrator was returned quickly to the United States.
The current case is very different and I suspect that he will face a Court of Law.
The Luck of the Irish
Only the Irish would strike oil a few days before St. Patrick’s Day as is reported here.
Then they win the Gold Cup at Cheltenham today.
So what will happen tomorrow in the rugby. It’s obvious.
Even this van had the flag out.
The Irish Are Flying The Flag
I don’t wish the Irish bad luck tomorrow. But I do hope England win!
The Anonymous Widower 