Chuffin U-Turn cam: Taxing retirement: The wheels on the Ford: Parallel parking: Lazy anti lazy training: and Shoddy Aylesbury.

Oodles of the white crusty stuff at the Castle this morn, the furnace is replete with fat teenagers, the study is nicely inhabited with uncooperative computers and his Maj is curled up on a chair next to a radiator. 

After finally growing at least one gonad

Our beloved Prime Monster has gorn orf the rails, according to U-Turn Cam Britain cannot afford to miss out on new high speed rail links from the capital to Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and other cities.

He reckons that- “If we want to be a world-beating country with world-beating businesses I think it is the right answer to be looking at high speed rail,” he said, during an event for DHL Express workers in Hounslow.

“Of course it’s difficult and you have to spend a lot of money on tunnels and making sure the people who live on the line get compensation. But if you want to take on the best economies in the world, you’ve got to have the best transport systems in the world and I think that means some high speed rail.” 

Here’s an idea-leave the piss poor railway system as it is and spend the £32,500,000,000 on housing, helping companies and training for the people of the North East instead....

Because 32 and a half billion is a lot to pay for twenty minutes or so less travelling time, and planes are faster......

It seems that that the knob at the top of HMRC is orf

Dave Hartnett will retire in the summer of 2012, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced.

From January, the permanent secretary of tax, who turns 61 in February, will work with a new HMRC chief executive - Lin Homer.

Last month, Mr Hartnett admitted to a committee of MPs that mistakes had been made in a tax deal negotiated by HMRC with Goldman Sachs.

And in September last year, he apologised to 1.4 million people who were receiving letters revealing an underpayment of tax. This came hours after a refusal to apologise brought severe criticism.

Wonder what his pension will be.....

Across the briny on the left

 Ford Motor Co recalled nearly 129,000 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans in the United States citing a risk that the wheels may fall off, U.S. safety regulators said on Friday.

These cars, from the model year 2010 and 2011, are equipped with 17-inch steel wheels. Ford said the wheel studs may fracture, causing the car to shake. If ignored, the wheels may fall off while the car is moving, according to a posting on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.

The problems may be caused by steel wheel mounting pads or rear brake discs that have been incorrectly built and cannot properly support the wheel, Ford said.

As of September 30, Ford has found one case when the front wheel fell off and five cases where the rear wheel dropped off that are possibly due to these problems.

The cars were built at the Hermosillo stamping and assembly plant in Mexico from April 2009 and from December 2009 through November 13, 2010. Cars with alloy wheels are not affected.

Ford said 128,616 cars are affected by the recall.

Bloody lazy Mexicans......

And up a bit to the big fruit

  

Not so much parallel parking more of a mugging.

West even further until it becomes East

Five Chinese officials have been suspended from their jobs after they were observed sleeping or reading newspapers during a video conference on stamping out laziness at work, state media reported Friday.

The officials, all high-level workers at tax bureau in the northern province of Shanxi, were supposed to be participating in a meeting to push better work discipline, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It did not say for how long they would be suspended.

The campaign is to remind officials they cannot leave their posts, play games or "attend recreational activities" during office hours, Xinhua added.

Bloody lazy Chinese....

And finally:

Back in lonely Blighty

Up a bit to the posh part, a council Christmas display was described as "embarrassing" as faulty lights left Santa with no face, a reindeer with one antler and the town of Aylesbury described as a "great lace to live".

Faulty lights in Aylesbury town centre, Buckinghamshire, have been erected with several malfunctions, which have led to the £27,000 display being called the shabbiest in Britain.

It includes reindeer with only one antler and one leg as well as Santa without a face.

Once darkness falls, one sign describes the town as "a great lace to be" while another declares "seasns eets" from Aylesbury Vale District Council

 

The joys of Crimbo.

That’s it: I’m orf to do a bit of Nano carving.

And today’s thought:

Angus