‘Tis cold, dark and windy at the Castle this morn, oodles of wet stuff yesterday and last dark thing, which has made the garden smile-and me because I don’t have to drag the watering can around.
I had several phone calls from Mac owners who have acquired a virus on their “inviolate” laptops, so I downloaded the
SophosLabs free antivirus for Mac, deleted the Leap-A worm and charged them double.
Why? Because I can…….
The Talk Talk internet connection is still iffy, and the rain doesn’t help, modern technology.
British officials said that the Piss poor Polices Prime Minister, David Cameron, was ready to promise £110m in aid for such countries over four years. The initial beneficiaries would be Tunisia and Egypt.
Today's summit declaration is expected to promise a "durable partnership" with Egypt and Tunisia and any other Arab countries which overthrow autocratic rule. Cairo has asked for $10bn to $12bn (£6.1bn to £7.3bn) by the middle of next year. Tunisia says it needs $25bn over five years.
The cost of democracy.
Net migration in to the UK soared by almost half last year and is now close to the record levels of 2005.
It is the fifth quarter in a row that net immigration has risen signalling a worrying upward trend.
And two of the main drivers were a slump in emigration and a sharp rise in Eastern Europeans coming to the UK for work – two areas that will not be affected by the Government’s annual cap or other immigration measures.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday also showed:
: The number of foreign workers increased by 1.7 million in the last decade and accounted for all the increase in employment levels over the period.
: Work visas increased by six per cent in the year to March 2011
: Asylum claims increased by 11 per cent
: Migrants granted settlement in the UK increased by four per cent
U-Turn Cam has promised to cut net immigration, the difference between those arriving and those leaving the UK, to the “tens of thousands” by 2015.
Not working is it.
The closure of the monastery of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, which holds some of the Church's most prized relics, was reported by Italian dailies La Stampa and Il Foglio.
The reports said the community of Cistercian monks based at the church for more than five centuries was being transferred to other churches in Italy.
Contacted by AFP, the Vatican did not deny the reports.
The basilica had become a hub for the Friends of Santa Croce, an aristocratic group, and had been criticised for some unorthodox practices including dances in which nuns pranced around the altar.
One of the nuns who performed at the church, a former disco dancer, can be seen in a YouTube video performing a modern dance with a crucifix.
Seems like fairly normal behaviour for the Catholic Church to me.
The world's biggest saw helps workers in Kazakhstan plough through hillsides by digging out 4,500 tonnes of coal an hour.
Towering in at just over 145 feet and weighing a staggering 45,000 tons, the massive machine obliterates anything in its path.
The saw has jagged buckets attached to the rotating blade - which works in a similar fashion to a chain saw.
The buckets dig deep into the coal seam and break off mammoth chunks - before it travels around a conveyor belt and straight into containers positioned on waiting trains.
The mammoth excavator needs a total of 27 people to operate it at any one time.
As giant as this mighty tool is, it is hindered by one flaw: it only travels at one mile every three hours.
I pity the poor sod that has to change the blade.
Heinz Australia will shed more than 300 jobs when it moves some of its operations in Victoria, NSW and Queensland to New Zealand, the company announced today.
The decision will result in the loss of 160 jobs at Golden Circle's Northgate plant in Brisbane, 146 jobs at Girgarre in northern Victoria and another 38 jobs at Wagga Wagga, in NSW.
Heinz will shift production of sauces, beetroot and some meals products from these facilities to its operations in Hastings, New Zealand, it said in a statement.
Heinz Australia chief executive Nigel Comer said the decision was made after an extensive review of the company's manufacturing operations.
Or in other words-cheaper.
And finally:
A retired dentist suffered a broken leg after driving his quad bike into a tree while being attacked by a goose.
Jan Pieniazek was chased around a lake by an over-protective male Canadian goose as he tried to collect some grain from a neighbour's garden for his chickens.
He jumped on to his quad bike to escape but the hissing bird flew at him, landed on his head and knocked him off course.
Terrified Mr Pieniazek crashed into a tree and was left flat on his back in a field in Cowfold, near Horsham, until a neighbour heard his cries for help and called 999.
He said: "I went past the lake where there are a pair of Canadian geese. The female was sitting on her eggs on an island.
"The male always flaps his wings and hisses to protect the nest but on this occasion, he followed me all the way around the lake.
"Out of the blue he then landed on my head when I got on the quad and I drove straight into a tree.
"I heard a big crack in my leg bone. I was 200 yards from he nearest road so I screamed and screamed until a lady from a cottage down the road came to help me."
Paramedics and the Sussex Air Ambulance attended.
An Air ambulance spokesman said: "His tibia bone was protruding through the skin so we anaesthetised him, administered a strong painkiller and reduced the fracture.
"We then splinted his leg and made him more comfortable."
Mr Peiniazek is now recovering at home and is hoping to be back on his feet within six months,
The geese now have a family of six goslings.
A retired dentist…maybe there is someone upstairs: and at least the Goose is OK.
And today’s thought: Politics gives guys so much power that they tend to behave badly around women. And I hope I never get into that." - Bill Clinton, former U.S. president.
Angus
