The Anonymous Widower

A Course In Chugging?

They’ve just had a guy on the radio, who runs a course at South Bank University on charity fundraising. How to chug properly is a substantial part.

Surely, we can think of more worthwhile University courses?

Incidentally, they were chugging for Save The Tiger in Islington last week.  It would be better if they did this outside the Chinese Embassy!

After all we’ll only save the tiger, if we convince the Chinese to change their ways. I wonder if the Chinese are keen on saving pandas, is that they have no culinary or medicinal use for them!

There is a big piece in The Telegraph today about how the Local Government Association is getting a bit fed up with them and is calling for a clean up of legislation. A spokesman is quoted as saying.

“Government needs to remove the double standard which means volunteers collecting coins for a local hospice need a licence, but agency workers seeking pledges for national charities do not.”

I would agree as a local hospice is much more important than a big national charity. I think though that methods of donation like Just Giving are better. I regularly see an ad and send a small amount. The trouble is some ads are on the Underground and mobile phones don’t work down there.

April 21, 2012 Posted by | News | , , , | 6 Comments

Interviews Before Execution

This article on the BBC web site, puts a whole new slant on reality television.

We’re back to the public executions at Tyburn that finished in the last 18th Century. The list on Wikipedia of those who were executed there, includes Oliver Cromwell, who was actually posthumously executed, after exhumation of  his body from Westminster Abbey.

March 12, 2012 Posted by | News | , | Leave a comment

Should We Ditch Huhne’s Wind Power Policy?

There is an article in The Times today from Dieter Helm, who is Professor of Energy Policy at Oxford University and a Fellow in Economics at New College at the same University.  So he should know what he is talking about. in fact, if you can get hold of a copy of today’s Times, the article on page 22 is a must-read!

He questions Chris Huhne’s energy policy of building lots of wind farms, especially as it will lead to higher energy bills against a background of falling gas prices. As gas is a fuel that creates less CO2 for the same amount of energy than coal, it would seem to me to be sensible, that whilst we wait for nuclear to come on stream, we use gas in the interim, as obvious low gas and electric prices will be a stimulus to the economy and our wind farms will do little to reduce the amount of world-wide CO2 emmissions, as China and India are commissioning a new coal-powered power station every week or so.

He finishes with a lovely quote.

Ministers who try to pick winners should remember that losers tend to pick governments.

He also indicates that energy and climate change policy needs substance, to make it a  workable one, that is believable to the man on the Dalston omnibus.

In my view that means scrapping expensive, inefficient and unsightly wind farm proposals, use more gas and build nuclear power stations for our long term needs. I am also a strong proponent of building a large tidal power station on the Severn, with an international airport on top.

It would also stimulate the country, if our electricity and gas bills were reduced.  The higher they get, the more likely it is that jobs needing a lot of energy will be exported to where energy is cheap, like India, China and the United States.  So we’ll get more global warming from their new coal-fired power stations.

February 6, 2012 Posted by | World | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Russia And China Give Their View On Freedom

Russia and China have vetoed a resolution from the West and the Arab League to try to end the carnage in Syria.

But then what is going to happen, when their own dissidents protest? After all to Putin it would appear democracy is something to be manipulated for your own ends and the Chinese just feel it is not the right system for China.

February 5, 2012 Posted by | News | , , | 2 Comments

China’s Fake Apple Stores

It would appear Apple has a problem.

August 13, 2011 Posted by | Computing | , , | Leave a comment

Travelling is More Eye-Opening than Reading

On an item on the BBC this morning about why Chinese tourists visit Clarks Shoes in Street, the title of this post was quoted by a Chinese interviewee.

The quote is from Confucius and I quite like it.

There is more on the story here in the Daily Mail.

March 2, 2011 Posted by | News, Transport/Travel | | Leave a comment

Fake Facebook and www.feetspicy.com

I’ve no idea what this scam is about.  I get masses of messages saying that someone on Facebook has sent me a message. As I always check links before I click them, I don’t follow them as they point to www.feetspicy.com.

This web site is registered and hosted in China, so I suppose it’s up to no good.

I just don’t have the time to follow it through, but I suspect it’s some sort of scam to collect Facebook logins.

August 21, 2010 Posted by | Computing | , , , | 2 Comments

Karzai Wants The Kids To Be In Charge of the Sweetshop!

According to the BBC, President Karzai wants to have more direct control of the foreign aid to his country. Would that mean that more  and more of the budget ended up in the Swiss bank accounts of him and his corrupt friends?

Afghanistan has significant mineral resources and of course, they will end up in the hands of the Chinese.  Would they provide the funds to rebuild the country? They should, but I doubt they will!

The Chinese though might provide a military solution to the Taliban, when they try to protect their mines and other assets.  On the other hand there are quite a few million Muslims in China and they wouldn’t want them to get restless and unruly in consequence, would they!

July 20, 2010 Posted by | News | , | Leave a comment

Justice – Texas Style

This article from the respected TIME Magazine is chilling.

It further supports my view that no civilised nation should use the death penalty.  After all, the three biggest users of ths cruel punishment are China, Iran and the United States.  America may think they are civilised and many Americans are, but whilst some states still use this cruel punishment, that deserves to be in the dustbin of history, they can’t all call themselves so.  I had hopes that Obama would get rid of the death penalty, especially as most of those executed or likely to be so are Afro-Americans. He is rapidly losing any respect I might have had for him.

June 17, 2010 Posted by | News | , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Death of Akmal Shaikh

Akmal Shaikh was a man, who was caught smuggling drugs into China and has now been executed by the Chinese authorities.

But what makes Shaikh’s case even worse, is that he appears to have been a man with all sorts of mental problems, who was exploited by criminals.  As the BBC report says.

Mr Shaikh’s family said he suffered from bipolar disorder.

They said he had been delusional and duped into a carrying a suitcase that did not belong to him when he was found with 4kg of heroin in Urumqi, north-west China, in September 2007.

His daughter Leilla Horsnell has said he was approached by drug smugglers in Poland and they convinced him they would make him a popstar in China.

Whether this is true or not actually makes no difference in my mind, as I am totally against the death penalty, as I feel that it is something that should be consigned to our more violent past. We just have to be a lot more civilised.

At least in Shaikh’s case the Chinese authorities haven’t harvested his organs for transplant, as is their normal practice.

December 29, 2009 Posted by | News | , , , | Leave a comment

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