Has Gwyneth Got The Zip Undone?
There’s something strange about the picture of Gwyneth Paltrow in this article in the Standard.
Look under her left arm, at the cut out in the dress. It looks like she’s got the zip open. Or is it one of those straps to put the dress on a hanger?
Great Balls Of Ire
I don’t know New Addington, but this article makes me want to go.
From the picture in the article, I feel I ought to go and get my camera out.
Theresa May Does The Right Thing
Theresa May has done the right thing in my view and also that of several eminent legal minds. Read about it here on the BBC’s web site.
Especially, as it appears it is all covered by Article 3 of the much-derided Human Rights Act.
But why did Gary McKinnon have to endure ten years of hell?
Only because Tony Blair was sucking up to Dubya.
Smoking In The Car Isn’t Good For You
Any sensible person knows that smoking anywhere is not a good idea, but now scientists have shown that you can exceed toxic limits in a car. It’s all here on the BBC.
As I rarely go in a car and certainly not one that ever gets smoked in, if smoking was banned in cars, I wouldn’t bother personally. Although, I believe if smoking stopped in this country, we’d all have a better standard of living and the NHS would see less cancer.
According to this article, we raise about £12.1 million from taxes related to tobacco, so we might have a budget hole to fill.
But then every action has an equal and opposite reaction. How many people have changed their evening habits because now all pubs and restaurants are smoke free? And how many jobs has that created.
Will Theresa May Do The Right Thing Over Gary McKinnon?
Theresa May is due to announce today, if Gary McKinnon is to be extradited to the United States. The decision is laid out in detail in this article on the BBC.
She is also due to announce different procedures for extradition to the United States. As I said here over three years ago, it’s about time we normalised our extradition arrangements with the United States.
What puzzles me most about the McKinnon case, is that a man in his bedroom working alone was able to hack into the Pentagon’s computers. How many others have done this, but with more sinister objectives. I would argue that McKinnon has done the American military a service by showing that their computers were built by the Colander Corporation.
Sad to say, but there is an awful lot of the Monty Pythons about this case.
Lawyers Attack America’s Big Food Companies
This story from the BBC tells how the lawyers who made billions of dollars fighting tobacco companies have now turned their guns on the Big Food companies.
Given America’s obesity, I can’t say that I’m against their tactics, but I do wonder if the lawyers are motivated by money. Although, the lawyer interviewed says at 68, he doesn’t need the money.
I did notice the foods he was targeting, which did include canned fruits, tinned tomatoes and tea. Canned fruits, I can understand, although I haven’t knowingly eaten any for perhaps fifty years, except for possibly a pineapple-upside-down pudding, that C occasionally made before I went gluten-free. But canned tomatoes and tea. Admittedly, the canned tomatoes in my cupboard are organic, but the only additive is citric acid. My tea is organic too. so how do these get adulterated in the United States?
Do The Scots Want The Independence Referendum?
I have a feeling that this referendum is going to be one of the most over-hyped and over-budget pieces of political theatre in these isles since nineteen-hundred and God-knows-what!
I don’t care one way or the other, as Scottish independence will probably make no difference to me personally.
If Scotland leaves the Union, it could be argued that my taxes might go down. But I doubt it, as politicians will use my taxes for other purposes!
It could also be argued that taxes will go up, as we would have less revenue from oil.
If on the other hand, Scotland votes to stay in the Union, we’d constantly have these referenda called every year or so by the Scot Nats, until they get the answer they want.
My biggest worry about this referendum though, is of all the Scots I know, few seem to be in favour of the referendum. So we may see one of the most surprising votes in history.
Politicians should be concentrating on what matters. Like creating jobs!
The Issue Too Hot For The US Presidential Candidate
This piece on the BBC talks about the subject that is not being mentioned by either of the US Presidential candidates; guns and specially the case of Trayvon Martin.
The United States must get to grips with its gun culture. It’s now starting to spill over into the UK and it’s an American import we don’t want or need.
And Some Think London’s Got Traffic Problems!
I just read this piece on the BBC web site about a legal challenge to a new bus lane in Delhi.
I think it is interesting to look at how well London survived the Olympics. A lot of the road network was closed down and people found better ways to work or get to work. I started referring to buses as Big Red Taxis.
Since the end of the Olympics, you’d think road traffic would have got back to previous levels. I’m not sure, but when I walk up the Balls Pond Road at rush hour, it may be busy, but not as bad as I remember before the Olympics. The only really bad times are when Arsenal are at home, as a large number of people still drive to one of the easiest stadia in the country to get to by public transport.
I would love to see some properly collected figures on traffic in Central London. Do they publish the amount of money raised by the Congestion Charge? I can’t seem to find any recent results. They should publish the takings on a regular basis. Probably daily!
25 Years Since The Great Storm
Today marks twenty-five years since the Great Storm. I wrote about my personal experiences of the storm here.
One point, is today the BBC is reporting from Sussex. In Suffolk, we probably got it as bad as anywhere, with a lot of the county without power for two weeks and forests like Rendlesham were completely devastated.
But of course, at the time, the BBC didn’t have a local radio or television station in Suffolk. Yet again, another example of Suffolk being left to its own devices.
The Anonymous Widower 