Zara Phillips Turned Away from Horse Event
This was the headline on a report in the Daily Telegraph.
I wonder what Disgusted from Tunbridge Wells thinks of it all.
Basques Want to Join an Independent Scotland
I can’t work out if this was a Spanish joke or not, but it is reported in today’s Times. The leader of one of their political parties has said it and has also waxed lyrical about kilts and said that Edinbrgh should replace Madrid as their capital.
Probably it’s just another way of stating the old adage – You don’t have to be mad to be the leader of a political party, but it helps.
I actually think on a day of such miserable foreign news, the story lightens everything up.
On the other hand it could be a large publicity stunt on behalf of Bilbao-based company CAF, who are building the trams for Edinburgh’s tram system and they want to get it finished and of course get paid. When it does get finished, I suspect that a mixture of Scots, Basques, paella and Scotch will be a good recipe for a party.
Lloyds Bank Bonuses and the Greek Bailout
The two main financial stories on the BBC this morning are that Lloyds Bank has taken back a lot of bonuses and that the Greek bailout is to be finalised.
I was just wondering if the bosses of Greek banks got any bonuses.
Alistair Campbell on Alcoholism
Alistair Campbell has written a Panorama program on alcoholism, which is shown tonight.
As he was responsible for framing a lot of Nulabor policy, is there any connection to the financial mess that the Blair and Brown governments left us is.
Just looking at various cabinet ministers of the last fifty years or so, you can tell that some don’t have the healthiest of lifestyles.
How the Argentinians Could Solve the Falkland Islands Problem
The spat between Argentina and the UK over the Falkland Islands is a bit like a spat between two neighbours over a leylandi hedge that has got out of control, except that both sides think it more serious than a hedge. Although, my late wife was once involved in a boundary case and it was one of the nastiest she’d ever been involved in.
At the moment the Falkland Islands have one silly problem caused by the Argentinians; the lack of eggs and fresh vegetables. My mother and many women of her generation learned how to live without fresh eggs, but it was not easy. So the first thing the Argentinians should do is allow more ships carrying provisions to the islands.
Let’s face it, the whole southern part of South America is rather inhospitable. I once met an Argentinian scientist, who had been raised in Patagonia and he left for Buenos Aires as soon as he could. The only people who want to go there are people with an interest in the birds and animals, that aren’t bothered by three square meals a day, that you don’t have to hunt and constant 24-hour television.
Many of these tourists, who want to see wildlife are English-speaking, so passing them to the Falklands might not be a bad idea as building tourist accommodation in that environment is not easy.
But of course, Argentina would allow its construction companies to do the work.
There is the problem of the oil. I did think though that an agreement on how to split the profits had been signed some years ago.
But would the Falklands want the platform yards and oil refineries, with all their problems? I don’t think so, and I suspect Argentina has many suitable bays or other places to do the work. Fifty years ago, few of the experts on undersea oil production were Scots. Now there are a lot more, because of North Sea Oil. Who’s to say in fifty-years time, that a lot of these high-earning engineers won’t be from the Argentine?
So in some ways by working within the status quo, it might be better for the Argentinians.
I do sometimes wonder what would have happened to the Islands if the Argentinian junta had kept control thirty years ago.
The islands themselves might even be uninhabited, except for those animals and birds agile enough to avoid the mines.
Is This a Solution to Bigots Like Abu Qatada?
Michael Burleigh writing in the Sunday Times today, takes a broad look at terrorists who have come to or are in the UK.
He makes one point that I wholly sympathise with. If someone says lets kill all people with a penchant for wearing purple socks, then they should be prosecuted for incitement to murder.
So why hasn’t Abu Qatada been prosecuted, if as some allege he has incited others for murder? Surely if found guilty and sentenced, he could then be returned to his homeland. We now have a precedent in that in this case in Derby, three men were jailed for urging people to hang homosexuals.
These cases would be very much helped if phone-tap evidence were allowed. I can never understand why it isn’t After all, if the United States can use it, to convict the Mafia, why can’t we use it with possible mass murderers. It might have the side-effect that they all got paranoid about talking to each other.
Is the UK Economy Getting A Little Better?
There has been a few positive articles this weekend, which indicate the economy is getting better.
For a start, the BBC is saying that UK retail sales are rising.
And Philip Wighton in yesterday’s Times says that clothing companies, like River Island, are moving manufacturing back to the UK, as this gives shorter lead times. Let’s hope others follow their example.
The Times also says that B & Q have brought in a new range of toilet seats called Tonic, that are selling way above expectations. Is this a business going up the pan?
Web Programmer At Risk of Execution In Iran
This is from Amnesty International.
Web programmer Saeed Malekpour could be executed at any time in Iran. His death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 17 January 2012 and a court official has indicated that his death sentence may have now been sent for implementation.
Saeed Malekpour, a resident of Canada and Iranian national, aged 36, was again sentenced to death on 19 October 2011 by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, and it was confirmed by Branch 32 of the Supreme Court on 17 January 2012. On 14 February 2012, one of Saeed Malekpour’s lawyers visited both courts to ask about his case, but learned that the file was being held at neither court. Comments from a court official suggested that this is because Saeed Malekpour’s file has been sent to the Office of Implementation of Sentences.
Saeed Malekpour was sentenced to death for “insulting and desecrating Islam” after a program he had developed for uploading photos online had been used to post pornographic images without his knowledge. Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death in October 2010 following a trial that reportedly only lasted 15 minutes. After a June 2011 announcement that the Supreme Court had returned the case for further review, Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court imposed again the death sentence as well as prison sentence of seven and a-half years. Amnesty International understands that although he has legal representation now, for much of his detention Saeed Malekpour has had no access to legal counsel.
Saeed Malekpour had been living in Canada since 2005, but was arrested in October 2008 while visiting his family in Iran. He was allegedly tortured while held for over a year in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison. In 2009, Iranian state television repeatedly aired a “confession” by Saeed. In an open letter dated March 2010, Saeed Malekpour stated his “confession” was extracted after prolonged torture following orders by Revolutionary Guard interrogators.
I see many e-mails like this. To the Iranians justice seems to be a word with seven-letters and that is all.
This one touched me, as I’ve written programs to upload pictures and othe files to the Internet. As far as I know no-one has used them for any illicit purposes.
The Netherlands May Yet Win the 1978 World Cup
The Times has a small piece about how the military governments of Peru and Argentina stitched up the 1978 World Cup Finals in Argentina.
Search the Internet and there’s this article in the Buenos Aires Herald.
Here’s an extract.
The news is that FIFA, soccer’s world body, could annul Argentina’s 1978 World Cup victory. That may be putting it too harshly, but they are focusing on Argentina’s arranged 6-0 victory against Peru in the semifinal group to reach the final and keep out Brazil.
The report states evidence from Peru’s goalkeeper in that match, Argentine-born Ramón Quiroga — originally the main suspect — that a lot of his players played below form, not the strongest team was picked and the defence “did not stop anything”, that then military government president, General Jorge Videla was in Peru’s changing room talking to several players before the match and that a former Peruvian senator, Genaro Ledesma Izquieta, a political prisoner in Argentina at the time, said he was going to be freed if Argentina scored at least four goals more than Peru.
Whether FIFA will act thirty-four years later is a very awkward question. On the other hand, it was posted on an Argentinian website.
According to the report, FIFA is also annoyed that they have named their football championship after the General Belgrano.
But FIFA has also asked the Argentine FA (AFA) why the current closing tournament has been named after an Argentine navy ship (Crucero General Belgrano) sunk by the British during the 1982 Malvinas War. This could be sanctioned under FIFA statutes which forbid any political significance of tournament names. The name was “suggested” by the Argentine government which pays for the TV rights of soccer matches under the “Free soccer for all” programme which could also be looked on as government interference.
The AFA (and/or the government) however has decided to continue to use the ship’s name for the current tournament. What has, and will save Argentina from possible sanctions is that AFA chief Julio Grondona is FIFA’s first vice-president and is close to President Joseph Blatter.
I think the Falklands are the least of the Argentinian President’s problems. I suspect that the average Argentinian might like the Falklands oil, but take away free football on television and the riot would be extremely large.
We Have Ways of Making You Believe These Things
I have always felt Scientologists to be a group of religious nutters. but not after reading reports in The Times and this one in the Sun. They’re dangerous, sadistic, religious nutters.
The Anonymous Widower 