Spanish Football is Built on Debt
I know there’s a lot of debt in British football and some clubs such as Portsmouth and Rangers seem to have succumbed to the problems. But this is nothing compared to the tax debts of the leading Spanish clubs, as detailed in this report from AFP.
I thought UEFA had a series of fair-play rules, that British clubs adhere to. It would appear that Spanish practices are different. Here’s just one phrase from the report.
But the latest figure to hit the headlines in Spain is the 752 million euros that Spain’s elite clubs owe to the tax man at a time when more than five million are unemployed and the government is asking citizens for more sacrifices.
Even Rangers don’t owe a tenth of that to the taxman.
Where Is Notepad in Windows 7?
Notepad is one of those little programs in Windows that I’ve always used.
Until Windows 7, it was always easy to find under Accessories, but now such a boring but useful program has to be searched for.
The thing I use it for most is to strip control characters out of a string, I’ve captured from say a web page. I also use it, when I’ve filled in a form to hold and store, what I’ve typed in.
It is a very useful program, that has more used than a Swiss Army knife.
Beware of Bulls
I’ve not heard of this quote before.
Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person, is a little like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.
It is from the American writer, Dennis Wholey, and is used in a leader in today’s Times, about Khalil Rasjed Dale. The leader says that the Red Cross were right to not pay a ransome.
The paper has two other stories of ransoms in Islamic-controlled territory.
One concerns a holidaymaker, Steven McGowan, held with others in Mali and reported being ransomed in exchange for allowing Abu Qatata to go anywhere he wants.
The other concerns a British mine clearing expert, Chris Fielding, on a UN mission, held with others in Khartoum.
Islam is losing all respect among many people for not imposing Islamic values on thugs, who see Westerners as easy money.
There is also another story about Lloyds of London backing a private force that will act against Somali pirates.
And politicians in the UK and Europe, wonder why people vote for the far-right like the BNP in the UK and the Front Nationale in France.
Beware The Croydon Man
With all the fuss about Roy Hodgson becoming the new England manager, I thought I’d look up who else was born in Croydon, that much maligned suburb of South London.
The most interesting is that polymath and outstanding sportsman; Charles Burgess Fry, better known by his initials of C. B. This paragraph from Wikipaedia sums him up.
Fry’s achievements on the sporting field included representing England at both cricket and football, an FA Cup Final appearance for Southampton F.C. and equalling the then world record for long jump. He also reputedly turned down the throne of Albania. In later life, he suffered mental health problems, but in his 70s was still able to perform his party piece: jumping backwards onto a mantel from a standing position.
I think that if you look at Hodgson’s career, he hasn’t shirked any challenge and perhaps he just is the man to lead England in Euro-2012 and beyond. He’s not a polymath like Fry, but he’s a real polyglot, speaking ten languages with varying degrees of fluency.
Hodgson’s problem will be the press. Last night, the Manchester-centric Radio 5 Live commentators were saying it was a bad decision.
I disagree, especially he appoints Stuart Pearce to his team.
Rules for Zopa – May 2012
I did write a set of rules for Zopa investors or lenders some time ago, but my thoughts have changed since then.
Joining Up
The first set of rules are concerned with joining up.
1. Don’t join up to Zopa without reading all you can find out about the system and how it works. There is a forum on the site, where you can ask questions to borrowers and lenders. Search the Internet for any references to Zopa. That is easy as the word, Zopa, doesn’t occur much outside of reference to the company.
2. When you are certain you want to join, always get invited by a member. That way, if you invest more than £2,000, they will get a bonus of upwards of £50, which traditionally,they will share with you on say a meal!
Getting Started
The next set of rules are concerned with getting started with lending money.
1. Choose a sum of money that you would like to experiment with. Obviously choose a sum that if you really muck it up, you can afford to lose. I would suggest a sum below £500 initially so you can get a feel for the system. I did make a mistake in that I started too high and got a couple of bad contracts because in my impatience to get the money lent out, I set the parameters wrong.
2. Choose the markets you want to lend into. I started with A* and A, and later I added the B market to them. I ignored the C and Y markets as I thought they were too risky. Do all your lending in one offer, as this will mean, that if say there is a shortage of punters in the A market, but plenty in A*, the money will get lent out.
3. When you have chosen the markets adjust the interest rates you want to charge in these markets. I have found that the best thing to do is to set the rate, one notch( or 0.1%) below the level where you are told it is “Too High”. Note that the lower you set the rate the faster you will lend out the money, but this lower rate also brings in more dodgy borrowers.
4. Set the maximum amount you want to lend to individual borrowers to something like £50. Setting it higher will mean you lend out the money quicker, but it will increase your risk. Looking at it simply, if you lend out £1,000 in 10 lots of £100, if one goes bad, you will lose £100, but if you lend it in 20 lots of £50 and one goes bad, you only lose £50. It’s not quite as simple as that, but it does show you the pitfalls of lending in too big chunks.
As money gets lent out, you will see how changing the rate and maximum amount you lend will change the speed with which money is lent out.
Daily Maintenance
I look at my account and do the following every day.
1. Withdraw any money I need from accumulated interest and early repayments, if required.
2. The balance of this money is then reinvested.
3. The interest rates I charge are set to my desired level of one notch below the “Too High” level.
4. I also put all of my important values in an Excel spreadsheet.
Obviously not everybody has time to look at their accounts every day, but make sure you do it regularly. There is nothing worse to login and find that you have a lot of money sitting there doing nothing. You might as well have it in ten pound notes under the bed!
A Long Term Strategy
Most borrowers set their repayment day to either the first of the month or somewhere close to the end, which probably reflects when people get paid. I have lent out 3130 loans of which 38.4 % were on the first of the month and 8.2 % on the next most numerous day, which is the 28th.
I have now developed a long term strategy, where on or about the first of the month, I withdraw enough to pay my monthly bills to my current account. If say, at the mid-point of the month, I have more in my current account than I need, the excess is returned to Zopa.
The Missing Escalator at St.Paul’s Station
For the last few weeks, there has been no down escalator at St. Paul’s Station on the Central line, as one is being replaced.
So you have to walk down 99 steps.
However, there is space by the steps to put in a slide, which would be much more interesting. But would Health and Safety like it?
What Right Do The Taliban Have to Call Themselves Islamic?
We received the news yesterday of the cruel murder of Khalil Dale in Pakistan, supposedly by the Taliban. It is not the first time, they have killed people, who are trying to help the poorest of the poor where they operate. But then that was one of Khalil’s crimes in their eyes.
This sort of behaviuor disgusts me and contrasts so strongly with the guy called, Mohammed, late last night in Marks and Spencer. We talked about the rain and I said that I’d seen the aftermath of the bad accident in the Essex Road the day before. He asked if I was alright. I said yes, but thought the guy wasn’t. That is true compassion and should go with us all. And in fact, does go with most of us. Except obviously groups, like the Nazis and the Taliban.
I for one, hope that like bad fruit, the Taliban and their ilk, just wither and die! But I’m not totally hopeful it will happen!
Jimmy Carter on the Death Penalty
This article appeared in the Macon Telegraph.
For many reasons, it is time for Georgia and other states to abolish the death penalty. A recent poll showed 61 % of Americans would choose a punishment other than the death penalty for murder.
Also, just 1 % of police chiefs think that expanding the death penalty would reduce violent crime. This change in public opinion is steadily restricting capital punishment, both in state legislatures and in the federal courts.
As Georgia’s chief executive, I competed with other governors to reduce our prison populations. We classified all new inmates to prepare them for a productive time in prison, followed by carefully monitored early-release and work-release programs. We recruited volunteers from service clubs who acted as probation officers and “adopted” one prospective parolee for whom they found a job when parole was granted. At that time, in the 1970s, only 1 in 1,000 Americans was in prison.
Our nation’s focus is now on punishment, not rehabilitation. Although violent crimes have not increased, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with more than 7.43 per 1,000 adults imprisoned at the end of 2010. Our country is almost alone in our fascination with the death penalty. 90 % of all executions are carried out in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
One argument for the death penalty is that it is a strong deterrent to murder and other violent crimes. In fact, evidence shows just the opposite. The homicide rate is at least 5 times greater in the United States than in any Western European country, all without the death penalty.
Southern states carry out more than 80 % of the executions but have a higher murder rate than any other region. Texas has by far the most executions, but its homicide rate is twice that of Wisconsin, the first state to abolish the death penalty. Look at similar adjacent states: There are more capital crimes in South Dakota, Connecticut and Virginia (with death sentences) than neighboring North Dakota, Massachusetts and West Virginia (without death penalties). Furthermore, there has never been any evidence that the death penalty reduces capital crimes or that crimes increased when executions stopped. Tragic mistakes are prevalent. DNA testing and other factors have caused 138 death sentences to be reversed since I left the governor’s office.
The cost for prosecuting executed criminals is astronomical. Since 1973, California has spent about $4 billion in capital cases leading to only 13 executions, amounting to about $307 million each.
Some devout Christians are among the most fervent advocates of the death penalty, contradicting Jesus Christ and misinterpreting holy scriptures and numerous examples of mercy. We remember God’s forgiveness of Cain, who killed Abel, and the adulterer King David, who had Bathsheba’s husband killed. Jesus forgave an adulterous woman sentenced to be stoned to death and explained away the “eye for an eye” scripture.
There is a stark difference between Protestant and Catholic believers. Many Protestant leaders are in the forefront of demanding ultimate punishment.
Official Catholic policy condemns the death penalty. Perhaps the strongest argument against the death penalty is extreme bias against the poor, minorities or those with diminished mental capacity. Although homicide victims are 6 times more likely to be black rather than white, 77 % of death penalty cases involve white victims.
Also, it is hard to imagine a rich white person going to the death chamber after being defended by expensive lawyers. This demonstrates a higher value placed on the lives of white Americans.
It is clear that there are overwhelming ethical, financial and religious reasons to abolish the death penalty.
Jimmy makes some interesting points and I think he’s right.
One thing I find interesting is that Protestants are more in favour of the death penalty than Catholics. I doubt many European Protestant are in favour, so why the difference?
The Felixstowe Ipswich Rail Route
It is reported in the latest Modern Railways, that work has started on a new rail terminal at Felixstowe. It will be able to handle trains of 30 wagons carrying 90 x 20 ft. containers.
It also appears that the port would like some passenger trains on the branch replaced by buses. As the port had agreed to double-track the branch to increase the capacity, this is a bit of a cheek.
I used to live in Felixstowe and as a teenager, getting back from Ipswich after about five was impossible, due to the appalling bus and train services, which stopped around six or seven.
So do Hutchison Ports want the people of Felixstowe to return to those dreary times I had to suffer. At least, now the last midweek trains leave Ipswich at around 22:30.
There is a petition on the Government’s e-Petition site to get the line dualled.
Which Stuart Pearce will Pick Kyle Walker?
Assuming Stuart Pearce is in charge of both Team GB at the Olympics and England at Euro 2012, after today he has a real selection problem after Kyle Walker‘s superb goal today against Blackburn.
Let’s hope he gets some more problems like this!
Whatever happens, Kyle Walker should certainly be playing competitive football in the close season!
The Anonymous Widower 