Not quite as buggered up: One news item a day Auntie- Did someone die?: Connolly goes retail: Scrap yard Numpty: and a slice of resignation.

Vast amounts of atmospheric movement, venal amounts of lack of warm, very little skywater and Dawn’s crack is as big as the biggest thing you can think of at the Castle this morn, after several days (plus a couple) of “resting” the annoying, painful, locked up elbow it feels OKish enough to attempt yet another piss poor post.

The good thing about the last few light things is that I have had the chance to catch up on stuff like watching a few DVDs, reading some books and other nice stuff.

 

Auntie is it seems suffering from a lack of news

 

And has resorted to “reporting” just one news item a day-all day and all fucking night, today it is the explosion of a fertiliser factory in the Lone Star state, earlier in the week was the “unexpected” terrorist attack at the Boston marathon, yesterday it was the 6.00 am to midnight coverage of the funeral of someone who popped their clogs at the ripe old age of 87 after a very long and very privileged life and was dragged through the smoke looking at the arse end of some horses.

Luckily I managed to miss this “spectacle” by turning orf the TV and doing “proper” stuff.

 

Is the BBC suffering from tunnel vision, or have they reached the stage that they can’t be bovvered to source out news that is relevant to the inhabitants of Blighty, where are the stories about the multitudes dying in NHS ‘Orspitals, or old farts starving to death so that they can put the heating on, or the dodgy deals of the Millionaires Club Coalition.

Do they think that we are so stupid that we can only cope with one bit of information at a time which comes from a foreign country or are they in league with “them” so that we aren’t aware of what is really happening?

 

Norf of the border

It seems that master William Connolly doesn’t have enough filthy lucre under his mattress yet and has gorn retail by hawking his own range of clothing and household good - including man-bags and
tea towels.

And best of all his not very handsome old face is emblazoned on most of his “merchandise”, in the form of the “Vitruvian Man” logo from his The Man Live tour and an Andy Warhol-style colourful mouse

His Fair-trade cotton “man-bag”, which features the logo inspired by the famous artwork by Leonardo da Vinci, is being sold for £4.50, while caps and beanies emblazoned with the slogan “Too old to die young” are on sale for £10 and £8 respectively.

The £10 tea towels are inscribed with one-liners including “Never trust a man who, when left alone with a tea cosy, doesn’t try it on” and “Marriage is a wonderful invention: then again so is a bicycle repair kit” and bear Connolly’s signature.

 

Oh fucking joy, I can’t wait to pay to advertise the rich old fart.

 

West to the home of the junk yard and the land of gear heads

 

On Tuesday evening at around 6 p.m., in Jamestown NY a 1995 blue Chevrolet Tahoe was travelling north on Monroe Street toward Eighth Street when it failed to stop at the intersection and was struck by a vehicle travelling east on Eighth Street.

An Alstar ambulance was called to the scene for occupants of the eastbound vehicle driven by a Kennedy man, while the driver of the Tahoe was not seriously injured.

Upon investigation it was found that Jason Burger, 28, of Barrett Avenue, Jamestown was attempting to take his Tahoe to the scrap yard. According to police, Burger indicated his vehicle did not have brakes.

Burger is facing charges of failure to stop at a stop sign and inadequate brakes. He is also being charged with reckless endangerment after revealing to police that he had removed lug nuts from the wheels of his vehicle and disconnected the battery before coasting down the hill and through the stop sign. Isaacson stated that the subject had intended to bring his car to the scrap yard located near the location of the accident, but was unable to cross over Eighth Street before being struck by the oncoming vehicle.

 

Thank him/her upstairs for Numptys...

 

And finally:

 

Back in newsworthy Blighty

 

A Cambridgeshire man recently gave notice with a message piped on top of a passion cake, Chris Holmes, an immigration officer for Border Force at Stansted Airport, handed in his resignation yesterday beautifully piped in neat black letters on a flawless page of white royal icing. "The writing was quite fiddly," he says (he had practised on a sheet of paper). "I would have done it a bit neater if I'd known it was going to go viral."

Addressing his letter to "The Management", Holmes writes in upright and looping script: "Having recently become a father I now realise how precious life is and how important it is to spend my time doing something that makes me, and other people, happy. For that reason, I hereby give notice of my resignation, in order that I may devote my time and energy to my family, and my cake business."

Holmes, 31, who lives in Sawston, Cambridgeshire, is otherwise known as Mr Cake, in the baking business that he has been building up in his spare time over the past two or three years. He arrived for his day job at Stansted on Monday with his large rectangular passion cake in a box – "a spiced carrot cake with pecans and sultanas and coconut" – and a resignation letter, and handed over both at once to the duty manager sitting on the podium behind the immigration desks. The manager and his colleagues "were surprised and amazed", Holmes says. "But they took it very well. It was a huge cake-Ten by 12 inches, with about 18 eggs in it." He made it in two parts, splicing them together with orange icing. "The people who tasted it say it was very nice," said Toby Allanson, a spokesman for Border Force.

 

No wonder there are so many illegal immigrants in the country...

 

That’s it; the elbow is playing up again: I’m orf to shrink some batteries

 

And today’s thought:

Time to go

 

Angus

No news is good news

Chucking it dahn at the Castle this morn, the butler is feeding the furnace with fat, carbon neutral teenagers at the speed of time, and the study is about half finished, after three trips to the "recycling centre", four bags of non-recycling stuff, half a gallon of couloured wall stuff, two hundred trips up and dahn the stairs I am knackered, the left hip has decided that it wants a holiday, I have used two tubes of that well known stuff (which targets pain and has anti agony stuff in it) on my back I have managed to crawl dahn to the sofa to put fingers to keyboard only to find that there is bugger all to post about.


Where has all the "interesting" stuff gorn?


All I can find is:

 

TheStatus Quo has been restored over the very windy wet thing on the left 

Which means bugger all to us despite the billions of dollars and hundreds of hours of BBC air time spent on it.

 

 

Some dozy cow of an MP has decided to emigrate Dahn Unda

To spend a couple of weeks sitting in the "jungle" eating maggots and crapping next to the Koala bears in the woods rather than doing her fucking job which she is royally paid to do.

Apparently the whip has been withdrawn which is a shame because she deserves a good flogging.

The Interweb thingy is in a high state of Corporal Jones over the interfering with Kiddlies do-dah

 

 

 

Which seems to be publishing lists of people who are not connected to the Catholic Priests preference for buggering and fiddling with children at all.

 

 

 

 

and:

 

 

 

Apparently the Ginger Rodent has his own beer

 

 

And has allededly attended the Launch of said Ginger Rodent ale by Cairngorm Brewery in Aviemore, and even promised to take a couple of bottles back to Westminster for Harriet Harman.

 

Oh har fucking har, maybe he would be better orf sitting in his plush office sorting out the fucking economy...

 

 

 

and finally:

 

 

 

 

 

Fuckwit Cameron has sidled orf to somewhere warm

 

 

 

 

With a bit of luck he will wander orf into the outback and disappear...

 

 

and:

 

 

 

Charlie and his old Nag has fucked orf somewhere just as warm



 

 

 

Where the grazing is much better.

 

 

 

That's it:I'm orf to stock up on coffee

 

 

And today's thought:

Hello; and where are you from?

 

 

 

 

Angus

 

 



No news Sunday

After searching the web since Dawn’s crack appeared on the horizon (which is not a pretty site at that time of the morn) I have decided that there is nothing of interest in the whole world.

Which means that I will actually have to write something myself.

So:

Sort of interesting-ish.

Over in the Vatican apparently Pope JP2 is about to be beatified, and to enhance the experience they have dug him up and some of his blood is on hand as a relic.

I only find this interesting-ish because it seems that the Catholic Church remains in the twelfth century, apart from the ex Nazi Pope what’s his name who is still in the twentieth century. 

Back in Blighty head teachers are talking about going on strike, which will make not a jot of difference to the “education” of our spawn because it feels like the little brats have been on holiday since Crimbo. 

Up in the Thames valley plans are afoot to set up hydro-power schemes on River Thames weirs. The Environment Agency (EA) has teamed up with Windsor and Maidenhead council in Berkshire to look for schemes at Marlow, Boveney and Boulters weirs.

Which should produce enough electricity to power the odd street lamp, I still think that waterwheels are the answer.

Not even slightly interesting-ish 

Over in the colonies it seems that the-I’ll show you mine if you show me yours spat between Barack Obama and Donald Trump has reached a new low.

Donald Trump, the property tycoon and would-be Republican presidential candidate, is under pressure from political opponents to release his tax returns after Barack Obama released his birth certificate.

Fake birth certificate versus fake tax returns? 

Across to Europe

Those that are in the Euro thingy are experiencing inflation of 2.8 pc, oh dear what a shame, our inflation's running at 4pc according to the diddled figures from the U-turn Coalition.

And finally:

Do I give a Badger’s bollocks?

The Duck and Duckess of Cambridge are it seems spending their first weekend as a married couple at a secret location.

The couple, who married on Friday, have opted to delay their honeymoon, with Prince William returning to his job as an RAF helicopter pilot on Tuesday.

 Information about the lifestyle of two multi millionaires is really not required reading in the Castle.

And old fart “Sir” Mick Jagger’s portrait is to be hung in the National gallery; I know what I would like to hang, preferably from a lamp post. 

That’s it: I’m orf to give a neglected current some care.

And today’s thought:  You are only young once . . . but you can stay immature indefinitely.

Angus

Catch! McDonalds gets Mc Stuffed, Misspelt Senator, China Saucer and Computer crashes

Sitting here in the dark this morning, it is drizzling and warm, so it looks like the radiator won’t be going into the car then. My young lady is coming to cut my hair today, and yes I know I said that last week but I got the wrong week, as I did with my dentist appointment which is on Thursday, I told you I had a very bad memory.


No dee-daws today, but I do have a magpie in the garden which is making enough noise to shatter a glass.



First up:

Lucky boy

A six-year-old boy survived a 70ft fall from an apartment balcony in Sweden after he was caught by a passer-by.

Rescue workers had been trying to pull the youngster back into the seventh floor flat in Gothenburg when he plunged to the ground into the arms of Lars Gunnarsson who'd stopped to watch the drama.

Police spokeswoman Pia Goksoyr said officers had seen the boy dangling from the window and rushed to help him but had been unable to reach him in time.

But Ms Goksoyr said the boy's life was saved as the man managed to catch him and break his fall.

She said: "The man saw the boy hanging from the window and tried to catch him. He caught him and broke the fall and probably saved his life. But the boy was still hurt and is being treated in hospital."

A spokesman for Sahlgrenska's Queen Silvia Children's Hospital in Gothenburg said: "His condition isn't life threatening."

Ms Goksoyr added: "It may be that the boy shut himself in his room to be by himself and the parents outside the door in the apartment were unaware of what had happened."



No excuse.

What's in a name?

McDonalds lost an eight-year trademark battle against a Malaysian curry restaurant after the country's highest court allowed the latter to use the prefix 'Mc'.

Malaysia's Federal Court dismissed an application by McDonald's Corporation to appeal against an earlier Appeals Court judgement which allowed McCurry to use the prefix.

Chief Judge of Malaya Ariffin Zakaria, reading the verdict of the three-person Federal Court in the administrative capital, said McDonald's had failed to properly frame its questions when applying to challenge the Appeals Court's earlier verdict.

"It is unfortunate that we have to dismiss the application with costs," Ariffin said.

McCurry, which is short for "Malaysian Chicken Curry," serves Malaysian staples including fish head curry, according to the company website (www.mccurryrecipe.com).

"We feel great that this eight-year legal battle is finally over, and we can now go ahead with whatever we plan to do such as opening new branches," McCurry owner P. Suppiah told Reuters after the court decision.

Oh good that means that all the people with “Mc” in their names are safe from persecution from the big boys.

Money Matters

Over the pond Family First Senator Steve Fielding has stumbled while trying to clarify his views on the economy.

Senator Fielding has frequently recently mispronounced "fiscal policy" as "physical policy".

Speaking to journalists this morning he was questioned about the mispronunciation.

"I'll make it quite clear: fiscal, F-I-S-K-A-L," he spelt.

The journalist repeated his misspelling, at which point Senator Fielding corrected himself.
"F-I-S-C-A-L. Yeah, fiscal."

Senator Fielding has argued against a Greens push for a Senate hearing into the stimulus spending, saying it would only be worthwhile if Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens appeared as well as Treasury secretary Ken Henry.

He has argued it is important to consider both monetary and fiscal policy.

“S: (adj) fiscal, financial (involving financial matters) "fiscal responsibility"”

Read and digest Steve, I suppose that counts as a Numpty for the day.

Chinese puzzle

The UFO world is alive with speculation that China is about to reveal details of startling and detailed footage of an unidentified flying object taken during the solar eclipse on July 22.

Scientists at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing are reported to have confirmed that they filmed a UFO during the eclipse for 40 minutes. They say that they will spend the next 12 months studying the footage before drawing any conclusions.

The incident follows a series of UFO sightings in China which culminated in an object being captured on film by students in Deqing. The footage, which was featured on Chinese television, appears to show the object repeatedly changing shape after initially appearing as a glowing blue sphere.

It's an under inflated weather balloon; or is it?

And finally:

Churchill says "Oh NO"

Computer engineers topped the list of those professions making the most accident claims in the last three years, according to figures from Churchill Car Insurance.

The second most-claiming professionals were sales managers, followed by chefs, students and doctors.

In contrast, farmers had the best road safety records based on claims made, followed by aircraft fitters, stores personnel and ambulance drivers.

Tony Chilcott, head of Churchill Car Insurance, said: ''The poorer claims experience associated with computer engineers, sales managers, chefs and doctors most likely reflects the long hours they work in a very stressful job. As a result, they are more likely to be tired when driving and possibly distracted.

''Estate agents make lots of journeys in their cars during the day – dashing to see clients in urban areas and often parking wherever they can when they arrive.''

He went on: ''Conversely, those who have jobs which involve working outdoors or who drive for a living tend to have fewer accidents.

''Farmers have a lower claims frequency because they live and work in rural areas with less congestion, which are likely to be more tranquil to work in than a stressful office environment.''

Churchill's top 10 most frequently claiming occupations are:

1. Computer engineer
2. Sales manager
3. Chef
4. Student
5. Doctor
6. Estate agent
7. Surveyor
8. Customer adviser
9. Hairdresser
10. Social worker

So tell your insurer you are a social worker if you want the lowest premiums, nobody will like you but money talks.


Angus

AnglishLit

Angus Dei-NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

Angus Dei politico

NOT A LOT

The world seems to be holding its breath, the news has crawled to a trickle and the country is in sleep mode.

The BBC’s top story is the disappearance of the Air France plane “somewhere” in the Atlantic

The best the Telegraph can come up with is that Tetris is 25 years old, and the expenses scandal of course.

The Times Online seems to have moved the MP thing to Euro MPs, here we go again.

The Daily Wail, sorry Mail is concentrating on SuBo and BGT, telling us that Ofcom are investigating the treatment of the said SuBo.

The Independent has decided we need a general election, about a week too late.

The Mirror tells us that Peter Andre is depressed: who cares.

And the Sun is hedging its bets by having a “revolving” headline covering all the above, plus Britain’s most wanted which strangely enough doesn’t have one single photo of a politician.

What has happened to Journalism? Where are the interesting articles? Are there any reporters out there in the country hunting for news, or are they all sitting behind their desks waiting for it to fall out of the sky and onto their desks, preferably on CD of course?

So that really is what is going on-not a lot!

“People have this illusion that all over the world, all of the time, all kinds of fantastic things are happening. When in fact, over most of the world nothing is happening.” –David Brinkley

Angus


NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

Angus Dei-NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

ANOTHER NEWSPAPER, ANOTHER VIEW

Today I am taking a “take” on the Express (no don’t laugh).

The best and the funniest (inadvertently I am sure) head line is- Body parts murder clues adding up and I know it isn’t funny, all these parts of someone being discovered all over the place but you must admit it is a gaffe worth noting.


In addition, a good bit of news for America- Paxman axed as Newsnight in US flops the US edition of Newsnight has been dropped after Americans failed to be won over by Jeremy Paxman’s acerbic wit.

The show, launched amid much fanfare in February last year, started off in a prime‑time Friday slot before being moved to Thursdays.

Paxman was expected to be a huge hit and was even compared to fellow Brit, music mogul Simon Cowell, who dominates US TV.

Acerbic Wit? That’s one way of putting it.



Here’s one to cheer us all up- BBC stars to take a pay cut some of the BBC’s highest-paid stars are facing huge salary cuts as part of the broadcaster’s tough plans to curb spending.

They include £6million-a-year Jonathan Ross, who recently returned to work after a three-month suspension for his part in broadcasting lewd phone calls to veteran actor Andrew Sachs.

Also on the hit list for cuts are Graham Norton, on £2.5million, and Jeremy Paxman, on £1million.

It has been reported that up to 40 other BBC television and radio stars on more than £1million a year face seeing their enormous earnings cut after years of bumper rises.
A senior source at the corporation last night insisted that no one was too important to avoid the sweeping pay cuts.

He added: “There are no sacred cows in terms of BBC programmes having to make big savings.”

And about bloody time, but there is some bad news-“The budget-slashing is thought to have taken place on what are known as “returning dramas” like My Family, Spooks or Doctor Who.” three of the best programs on the BEEB.




Something that can affect all of us- How noisy neighbours ruin millions of lives (I had to put the ruin in myself) another editor for the sack!

THE lives of millions of Britons are being blighted by noisy neighbours, a survey has found.

More than a third of us have been disturbed by a racket from nearby houses and many say they can no longer enjoy their homes as a result.

The biggest gripes are loud TVs, radios and hi-fis but some say parties, rows and even karaoke machines drive them crazy.

Research by insulation firm Rockwool found that 38 per cent of Britons – equivalent to 17.5 million people – have been disturbed by noisy neighbours in the past two years.

Six per cent say the problem is so bad; their homes have become virtual prisons.
Forty-two per cent say loud music and TVs are the biggest problem.

Raucous parties upset a third of people, while nearly as many are disturbed by neighbours’ rows.

Almost one in three is also bothered by DIY next door.


So there you are-TURN IT DOWN!




And finally:

Something I think we all know anyway- Prescott is Labour’s laziest MP FORMER Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was yesterday revealed as Labour’s laziest MP.

Mr Prescott – who got £141,000 in expenses and allowances last year as well as his £64,766 salary – missed more than half of all votes, failed to speak in the Commons, belonged to no select committees and tabled no written questions on behalf of his constituents or other taxpayers.

But Mr Prescott has been keeping busy elsewhere. Since leaving government, he has earned £170,000 for private speaking engagements, book-writing and a TV show.

Meanwhile, a new report says that dozens of MPs are not bothering to turn up to vital committee meetings.

Members often claim the reason so few are seen in the Commons chamber is because they are working with groups, such as the Treasury Select Committee, which influence Government policy and new laws.

However, the study reveals 60 of the 220 members on the most important committees “skived off” more than half of all meetings last year.

Worth every penny and that’s what he should be paid.

So there you go, apart from the typos and bad grammar (which my spell checker has corrected) not a bad selection of news, and not a hint of a story about Princess DI, tomorrow: who knows, apparently it is some sort of bank holiday this weekend, I may have a break, then again…….


“Newspapers always excite curiosity. No one ever lays one down without a feeling of disappointment.” Charles Lamb ("Last Essays of Elia," 'Detached Thoughts on Books and Reading')



Angus

NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

SUNDAY SECTION

A bit different today, more of a roundup on the day’s news.

BBC NEWS UK plans comprehensive terror law the Gov is updating the terror laws to include “tens of thousands of Britons such as retailers had now been trained to deal with a terror incident.”

"What we're completely clear about is that if we're going to address the threat from terrorism, we need to do that alongside the 60,000 people that we're now training up to respond to a terrorist threat, in everywhere from our shopping centres to our hotels. We need to do it alongside the 3,000 police officers now working on counter-terror, and we need to do it with international partners”.

"This is no longer something you can do behind closed doors and in secret."

Unlike the terrorists, who are here because the Gov doesn’t stop them at the borders, and keeps our armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.



Telegraph Senior Labour minister Tony McNulty has admitted claiming £60,000 of expenses on his parents' home.

The employment minister is the latest MP to be caught claiming the Common's controversial "additional costs allowance" for a property that is not strictly his home.

Mr McNulty lives with his wife Christine Gilbert in a house she owns in Hammersmith, three miles from Westminster. Yet the minister has been claiming up to £14,000 a year in parliamentary expenses to help pay for another house he owns in Harrow, 11 miles from the Commons, in which his parents live.

The MP can claim the money because the house is in his Harrow constituency and so qualifies him for the second home allowance. After the arrangement was disclosed by the Mail on Sunday this weekend, Mr McNulty announced that he had decided to stop claiming the money, which he has benefited from since becoming an MP in 1997.

Not good enough McNulty, pensioners are struggling and ordinary families are struggling, you are a selfish arrogant git.



Mail Online Gord and Mandy off to party in Chile, yep, sod the recession, sod the country and sod the rest of us.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, will next week join Left-wing politicians from around the world at a ‘Progressive Governance’ conference in Vina del Mar in Chile.

The event, focusing on the global economic crisis and culminating in a leaders’ summit due to be attended by American Vice-President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Lula da Silva, comes at the end of a week of official visits by Mr Brown that also takes in America and Brazil.
Makes you feel all warm inside doesn’t it?


BBC NEWS UFOs- we are not alone or are we?
A woman reported seeing a glowing, spherical object rise into the air in Norwich after meeting a man who said he came from a planet similar to Earth.

In another sighting, a triangular craft hovered then "shot off at 500mph".
The third set of UFO documents to be released by the Ministry of Defence covers the period from 1987 to 1993.

In November 1989 a "completely terrified" woman contacted RAF Wattisham in Suffolk to report her close encounter with a man claiming to be an alien.
She said she met the fair-haired man with a Scandinavian-type accent as she walked her dog on a sports field.

He then said he had spoken to her because he felt it was important to have contact with humans even though he was told not to.

As the unidentified woman ran home she heard a loud buzzing noise and turned to see a large, spherical object, glowing orange-white, rise steadily until out of sight.

In November 1990, the crews of six RAF Tornado jets reported being overtaken by a "giant UFO" while flying over Germany.

They thought it was a test flight for the then top-secret US Stealth fighter, but it turned out to be the burning debris from a Soviet rocket body used to launch a satellite into orbit.

On 31 March 1993 various reports of moving lights over south-west England and south Wales were later traced to the re-entry of a Russian Cosmos rocket body.

The files, which can be downloaded from the National Archives website, are being released as part of a three-year project

These latest documents are the first containing information written by defence intelligence staff to be made public.
Dr Clarke said they were among tens of thousands of secret files contaminated with asbestos and were in danger of being destroyed.

They were eventually saved after a campaign by historians to rescue them from the old War Office building in Whitehall.



BBC NEWS Call for school travel shake-up and about bloody time, Ministers and local authorities must do more to provide alternatives to car travel for pupils, MPs have said.

The Commons Transport Committee said it was disappointed plans had not been in place before the introduction of 14-19 diplomas, which can mean more travel.

The committee recommended a move towards more walking, cycling and American-style yellow school buses.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it would be looking at the committee's recommendations "in detail".
Imagine, no more school run-heaven!

And finally-BBC NEWS Jade Goody dies Reality TV star Jade Goody has died at the age of 27, her spokesman Max Clifford has confirmed.

She died at home in Upshire, Essex, overnight on Saturday after a battle with cancer.


Rest in peace, didn’t like her personally, but maybe cervical cancer screening will save lives, so good on her.

“A newspaper is lumber made malleable. It is ink made into words and pictures. It is conceived, born, grows up and dies of old age in a day.” Jim Bishop

Angus

NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

“PROPER NEWS”

Just for a change some “real news”, not much because I have a busy day ahead.

From the BBC Firm 'sold workers' secret data' The information watchdog has shut down a company which it says sold workers' confidential data, including union activities, to building firms.

A raid on The Consulting Association in Droitwich, Worcs, revealed a serious breach of the Data Protection Act, the Information Commissioner's Office said.

The ICO said a secret system was run for over 15 years enabling employers to unlawfully vet job applicants.

Action is being considered against more than 40 firms who used the service.
Past and present customers included Taylor Woodrow, Laing O'Rourke and Balfour Beatty, the ICO added.

And rightly so, strange though that “they” will prosecute over data but not patients who die in the NHS.



From The Register-BT wins pricing control over faster broadband BT has convinced regulators to allow it to charge rivals whatever it wants for access to its forthcoming £1.5bn fibre network, following an intensive lobbying campaign.

Ofcom said today that BT Openreach will have to offer rivals equal access to the network, as it does to existing infrastructure, but price controls will be removed. "This will allow investors to make an appropriate return on their investment, based on the risk they are taking but pricing at a level that the market will bear," the regulator said.

It means Openreach will probably offer competitors the choice of reselling active wholesale products, or of installing their own equipment in exchanges. Ofcom said BT Retail must be treated without favour.

And guess who will pay in the end.


Oops The UK's military top brass are said to be "furious" that updated imagery on Google Earth has laid bare pretty well all of Blighty's defence infrastructure, including Faslane nuclear sub base, the "nuclear crisis HQ" in Northwood, North London, the SAS barracks in Herefordshire, GCHQ in Cheltenham and MI6's spook central in London.

One shaken military expert told the Sun that "the revealing snaps would make it easy for terrorists to launch accurate mortar or rocket attacks".

He doomwatched: “A strike on our nuclear capability would cause untold devastation. Terrorists could have a field day, knowing exactly where to aim strikes to cause the maximum devastation.”

And this information isn’t available anywhere else?

And finally.

Again from The Register Home Office plans to force CCTV on shops and pubs

If you’re planning to buy alcohol in the near future, and prefer not to have your mugshot made available to the local police, best to stock up now. Because, buried deep within the debate around the s.31 of the Policing and Crime Bill are provisions that will allow the Secretary of State to instruct your local corner shop - or pub - to instal CCTV and retain pictures of anyone buying alcohol for at least 60 days. Said pics will, of course, be available to the police on request.

This hasn’t been enacted yet but watch this space!

“Newspapers always excite curiosity. No one ever lays one down without a feeling of disappointment.” Charles Lamb



Angus

NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

NHS-THE OTHER SIDE