How to buy a Policy: Aunties “personal service” non employees: High living on Mont Blanc: Zombie proof motor: Paint your lawn: and The poisonous Moon.

Yet again we have sunny/cloudy, wet/dry, warm/cold, calm and atmospheric movement at the Castle this morn, late again-I overslept and his Maj was waiting at his rear exit with his legs crossed.

The interweb thingy has perked up a bit this day-sort of so I decided to give the laptop a good “seeing to” and managed to rip orf the ‘pause’ and ‘print screen’ buttons from the keyboard, which of course won’t go back on, that’ll teach me....

Up in the smoke

Allegedly ‘The City’ spent £93 million lobbying the Piss Poor Policies Millionaires Club Coalition last year according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ).

It seems that the lobbyists managed to cut the UKs corporation tax in Britain and duties on banks' overseas divisions, which TBIJ claim will save the sector – and deprive the Treasury – of billions of pounds.

And the "neutering of a national not-for-profit pension scheme launching in October that was supposed to benefit millions of low-paid and temporary workers"

Why am I not surprised....

Still in Olympic city

Auntie is being a tad naughty: in evidence to the Public Accounts Committee the BBC admitted that 148 of its 467 “on screen” presenters were paid through “personal service” firms rather than as ordinary employees.

Being paid in this fashion allows the employee to be taxed in part at the corporation tax rate of 21 per cent rather than pay as much as 50 per cent in income tax.

MPs said they had received evidence from one presenter who was told to charge the BBC through a company or take a pay cut.

The broadcaster said that “in light of public concern” it was now reviewing the number of its employees who were paid through these companies.

A breakdown submitted to the committee showed that some of the actors, presenters or musicians were paid more than £100,000 a year through personal service companies. Three of the performers received more than £150,000 annually. The broadcaster did not provide any names.

The news came as the corporation’s annual report disclosed that it pays 16 performers more than £500,000, including three who earn more than £1 million a year.

Nice to see our license fee being spent so carefully...

Right a bit to the land of big rocky things

Teetering 1,000ft above jagged rock faces on the approach to Mont Blanc in the Alps; this ultra-modern refuge is designed to be a lifesaver for weary rock climbers.

Built to withstand extreme weather conditions on Europe’s highest mountain, the red and white metal tube can sleep up to 12 mountaineers en route from the Italian side of the peak.

It includes wooden bunk beds, a kitchen, dining room, storage racks and a living room with stunning views.

The 100 square foot shelter is 9,000ft above sea level and half of it hangs over a ­terrifying drop.

It is “fastened securely” to the rock face using heavy-duty bolts.



Sod that....

Left a lot to the home of motors and the land of Zombies

Hyundai has come up with some new wheels with-spikes, armoured windows, a top hatch, a nice Zombie plough all designed to make your trip to the shops safe from the undead.



Spiffing, I could use one of those dahn Tesco’s….

Still in the land of hot weather and no water

An Indiana man said his lawn has stayed lush and green during the current dry weather due to his secret weapon: paint.

Timothy Birdwell of Indianapolis, an employee of Imperial Painting, said he and a friend came up with the idea to paint the grass when they were confronted with dry weather and a watering ban, WISH-TV, Indianapolis, reported Monday.

Birdwell said the paint, which is specially designed for grass, wills last two to three months.

"If it rains, the grass just grows," Birdwell said. "At that point, you can go out there and touch it up if need be. You can have that kind of yard all year round with no water bill from watering your yard."

Wonder if they have something to make lawns waterproof....

And finally:

According to ‘Scientists’

Any thought of living on the Moon has taken a bit of a knock because it is poisonous.

The surface of the moon is coated in a layer of thick, undisturbed dust, which is not only ultra-fine - and therefore easy to inhale - but can increase the risk of various cancers, similar to breathing asbestos and volcanic ash.

Researchers from the University of Tennessee, referring to Neil Armstrong's first steps onto the moon, said: "The Apollo astronauts reported undesirable effects affecting the skin, eyes and airways that could be related to exposure to the dust that had adhered to their space suits during their extravehicular activities and was subsequently brought into their spacecraft."

Humans have only spent, at max, two or three days on the moon in total, and this time has often been spent in spaceships or airtight suits.

But with long-term exposure, the team says that inhalation would be harmful - even when wearing protective gear, as dust trails the astronauts back into living quarters.

Once inside the lungs the super-fine, sharp-edged lunar dust could health issues, affecting the respiratory and cardiovascular system, causing airway inflammation and increasing the risks of various cancers.

 

That’ll piss orf bearded Branson.

That’s it; I’m orf to have a look at UK science for free

And today’s thought:

Invisible 100 metres hurdles Olympics

Angus

The Sunday Section

The sun is out

The sky is blue

A summer’s day

And about bloody time too.


Monopoly, Tigers, Tax credits, Lunar loop hole and The Empire strikes back

First up:

Play nicely now

A 54-year-old Michigan man faces jail for assault and battery after a game of Monopoly turned violent. Kenneth Repke was charged after allegedly hitting a woman and damaging her glasses when she refused to sell him Park Place and Broadwalk (the US equivalents of Park Lane and Mayfair), reports Detroit News.

The alleged victim called the police and told the operator: "I was at my neighbour's house. We were playing Monopoly and he hit me. He slapped me and knocked my glasses off."

Neighbours have expressed surprise at the incident, saying that Repke and the woman would often get together for board game sessions.

Ah; so that’s what it’s called now, allegedly.

Here Kitty Kitty

Police in Las Vegas say a tamed tiger that escaped from a magic act has been captured.

The residents in the city's northwest section reported seeing the tiger wandering their streets Thursday night.

Police Lt Les Lane says the cat belongs to Fernando's Brothers magic act. He says the cat got loose, but "they got it back into custody."

The cat was found in a resident's backyard.

Animal Control and Metro Police are investigating the incident.

I bet that loosened the bowels of the “resident” that found it.

Dead Loss

CAROL Buchanan usually fits in a visit to the post office en route to her job as a part-time cleaner. But the single mother of three was stopped in her tracks when she reached the front of the queue and was told she couldn't collect her working tax credit cheque – because she was officially dead.

Ms Buchanan, 47, from Govan, Glasgow, was then told she could not get an emergency credit payment because she had already been wiped off the computer system.She has now been left without money for more than two weeks while HM Revenue &Customs (HMRC) untangle the mess.

Shortly afterwards Ms Buchanan received a letter from her insurance company, addressed to her estate, to sort out her life insurance policy.

A spokesman from HMRC said: "Once we have received all the information from Ms Buchanan, we'll look at all the case notes and get in touch with her.”


Computer says…………….

Moon rakers

The British couple who sell plots of land on the Moon have had the last laugh after raking in more than £6 million from their exploits.

And Francis and Sue Williams have seen sales double in the wake of the 40th anniversary of the Moon landings.

They have sold off some 500 acres of lunar landscape this month alone – making them around £10,000.

The couple who have now sold up to 300,000 acres of the Moon since 2003were granted the bizarre rights to deep space by an American who exploited a loophole in the US legal system in 1980 and laid claim to every planet.


Francis, 56, of St Austell, Cornwall, says the credit crunch has influenced a rise in demand for novelty gifts

Mr Williams said: "We've had a massive surge of extra orders because of the 40th anniversary. There has been so much talk about the landings and Neil Armstrong's famous first steps.

"People are fascinated with the Moon and we are unique because we offer a chance to own a small slice – a plot of land 200,000 miles away.''

Mrs Williams, 55, added: "The credit crunch has helped because it's a nice fun present in a time of doom and gloom."

The couple set up their business after buying a small piece of Moon land from an American website set up by Dennis Hope, from California.

He claimed rights of ownership to the Moon and all other planets in our solar system in 1980 after spotting a loophole in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty which stated that no government or country could own land in space but did not mention individual claims – so he filed a declaration of ownership with the United Nations General Assembly

The couple, who have two children, offer lunar plots and also have the rights to sell land on other planets in the solar system – including Mars and Venus.

People who buy land on the Moon receive a parchment deed from Moon Estates, signed by Francis in his role as Celestial Ambassador to the UK.

The deed explains where on the Moon the purchaser's land is situated, and a map is enclosed to make it even clearer.

But Mr Williams says that despite selling so much land there is still plenty to spare as the Moon is around nine billion acres.

He said: "The franchise has sold somewhere in the region of two million acres across the solar system.

"Not bad, seeing as Dennis started selling them from a barrel in a shopping mall.''

Anyone "buying" a parcel of the Moon receives a novelty certificate, but they will have no legal right or claim to the land.

Can’t quite work this one out, is it capitalism or taking the piss?

Don't download it!

From across the pond, a warning: A federal jury on Friday ordered a Boston University graduate student who admitted illegally downloading and sharing music online to pay $675,000 to four record labels.

Joel Tenenbaum, of Providence, R.I., admitted in court that he downloaded and distributed 30 songs. The only issue for the jury to decide was how much in damages to award the record labels.

Under federal law, the recording companies were entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement. But the law allows as much as $150,000 per track if the jury finds the infringements were wilful. The maximum jurors could have awarded in Tenenbaum's case was $4.5 million.

Jurors ordered Tenenbaum to pay $22,500 for each incident of copyright infringement, effectively finding that his actions were wilful. The attorney for the 25-year-old student had asked the jury earlier Friday to "send a message" to the music industry by awarding only minimal damages.

Tenenbaum said he was thankful that the case wasn't in the millions and contrasted the significance of his fine with the maximum.

"That to me sends a message of 'We considered your side with some legitimacy,"' he said. "$4.5 million would have been, 'We don't buy it at all."'

He added he will file for bankruptcy if the verdict stands.

Tenenbaum's lawyer, Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, said the jury's verdict was not fair. He said he plans to appeal the decision because he was not allowed to argue a case based on fair use.

The case is only the nation's second music downloading case against an individual to go to trial.

Last month, a federal jury in Minneapolis ruled that Jammie Thomas-Rasset, 32, must pay $1.92 million or $80,000 on each of 24 songs, after concluding she wilfully violated the copyrights on those tunes.

The jury began deliberating the case Friday afternoon.

Tenenbaum said he downloaded and shared hundreds of songs by Nirvana, Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins and other artists. The recording industry focused on only 30 songs in the case.

The music industry has typically offered to settle such cases for about $5,000, though it has said that it stopped filing such lawsuits last August and is instead working with Internet service providers to fight the worst offenders. Cases already filed, however, are proceeding to trial.

Tenenbaum testified that he had lied in pre-trial depositions when he said his two sisters, friends and others may have been responsible for downloading the songs to his computer.

Under questioning from his own lawyer, Tenenbaum said he now takes responsibility for the illegal swapping.

"I used the computer. I uploaded, I downloaded music ... I did it," Tenenbaum said.

So be a man, stand up and take your punishment.

Angus

Angus Dei politico

Angus Dei-NHS-THE OTHER SIDE