Greenpeace Oops.

Apparently supporters of the Greenpeace lot (remember them, they're the ones who caused more environmental damage by not letting Shell scuttle the Brent Spar, and instead pressured them to towing it to inshore waters and dismantling it - causing more harm than good) anyway, Greenpeace supporters have suffered a bank error (not in their favour) debit £1000.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4567944.stm

Oh how we laughed.

Rail fares to rise by up to 10% in Scotland

As if my day couldn't get any worse...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4505914.stm

My train was 15 minutes late this morning, getting me in to the orifice at about 09:20.
They announce on the BBC website today that train fares in Scotland are likely to increase (again) shortly. I am fuming.

We commuters are over a barrel. They know this, we know this, and they still take the mickey, and we still travel on the trains. Why? Because we have to.
I wouldn't mind an increase if it weren't for these two simple points... My season ticket, even with a 5% discount for First Scotrail being crap last year cost more than the undiscounted ticket for the year before, that and the trains still don't run on time.

A week or two ago, the 08:45 Fife Circle service left Waverley some time after 09:15 (I hopped platforms to the Markinch service, which is timetabled to leave at 09:15, and did leave on time...) However, that's a half hour delay to the start of my working day. First Scotrail haven't bothered to reply to my email regarding the service that morning.

Greenpeace miss the point, yet again

Apparently Greenpeace want us all to live in mud huts without electricity.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4478946.stm

Nuclear power is the only decent alternative to fossil fuel fired power stations in this country. No amount of climbing around on a roof is going to change that.

Renewables just don't provide enough reliable energy - it's as simple as that, and these hippies need to get it into their thick skulls that pissing and moaning isn't helping their cause. Remember Brent Spar?

Mother blames school for not disciplining her child

Let me get this right...

A woman is blaming the school for her 10 year old daughter being suspeded 10 times from school because she doesn't have time to discipline her properly...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4464836.stm

Let me run that one by you again... It's your fault that I can't keep my child in line? Nope. Still doesn't quite sit right, does it?

"Because I have to go to work I don't have time to be strict."

Bring back the birch... for the mother.

Stepping out for a cigarette... at 30,000ft

Well, here we have an idiot wanting to go for a cigarette mid flight:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4456076.stm

Perhaps they should have opened the door and let her out.

Aircraft should come with little disposal chutes for passengers like these. That and screaming children. I used to fly transatlantic with monotonous regularity, and after the indignity of being prodded and poked at security, treated like a criminal by immigration, the last thing you need is some fruitcake trying to open the door mid flight.

These people scare me.

Firearms for the Police

First off, I would like to add my condolences to those already expressed by the British people to the families and friends of the murdered Police Officer in Bradford, and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded officer in hospital.

I have been reading the papers, and various news websites, most of which have included letters from the public. I think I shall add my tuppence worth here.

There are a few schools of thought - Arm the police. Keep the status quo. Ban all guns. Bring back the death penalty for those who kill police officers.

Here are a few thoughts on each:

• Death Penalty. Don't be daft. We'll tie ourselves in knots if we get into that one again. Let sleeping dogs lie.
• Ban all guns. Haven't we done that already? Oh, no - we've stopped law abiding citizens from keeping licenced firearms, and enjoying recreational shooting with pistols because they couldn't be bothered to apply the existing laws. Yes, that's a Labour Government we have to thank for that. The populus cannot carry firearms, and so are relying on the Police to protect them, which brings us nicely into...
• Maintain the status quo - well, that clearly hasn't worked in this case... It does seem to work in most cases though. I have to admit, I am still pretty comfortable with this option. Trouble is... what happens if another situation like this occurs... We'll rely on the local police officer saying "Stop! Or I'll have to ask you to stop again!" once again, and when something like this happens again, we will be back here, asking the same questions. I have got news for you people: criminals have firearms, and are not afraid to use them!
• Arm all of the police officers... People seem to have a fear of firearms, rather than a fear of the people (of the criminal persuasion) who have firearms. People seem to have been watching too many films, westerns and perhaps Police Academy, and seem to think that an armed police force will bring about the end of civilisation. Apparently some citizens in Edinburgh felt intimidated simply by the increased Police presence during the G8. Why? Feeling guilty, perhaps? I have worked in the US (Texas) and shared office buildings with SWAT, Vice and Gang units - sharing elevators with armed officers on a daily basis. Did I feel intimidated? No. They were there to protect me. Same with armed officers here. Edinburgh does have a few dotted around. They are here for my protection. Why should them carrying a firearm make me feel any different?

If we go down the road of arming all Police, do we get to ask the question, what is so special about the police? Why can't we be armed and protect ourselves? I find this all very odd.

So today, I am not so much angry, as sad.

Godless students

Not being one for shying away from controversy, I am compelled to post regarding the removal of Bibles from the rooms at Pollock Halls of Residence, The University of Edinburgh's largest accommodation site for first year students.

Bibles are to be removed, according to Student (that pinnacle of accurate reporting)...

Apparently having a Gideon's Bible in the rooms is seen as presumptuous, and rumour has it, the LGBT community had been lobbying for this.

This, as far as I am concerned, is another erosion of the Christian community - a Bible is hardly an offensive object - if you need it you may read it, and find solace in it. If you don't, then you can ignore it. I have a hundred books on my shelf I haven't read yet. Perhaps some day I'll read them. Perhaps some day I'll feel the need to read them. Perhaps some day they will provide me with a brillaint insight into life, and what it is all about.

To deprive people of that chance is criminal.

Oh, but they'll argue the Bible is available in common areas, and the Chaplaincy is available for people to seek advice. What about those who seek solace, and understanding in the book? What about those who may otherwise be embarassed by being seen reading the Bible, for fear of the slagging from their so called "mates"?

It's all very Farenheit 451, isn't it?

Quiet Carriage

I was on a GNER service from London to Edinburgh (Waverley, obviously) a couple of months ago. Since someone else booked the tickets, we were travelling in standard accommodation. However, they had decided the quiet coach was acceptable. Huzzah, thought I. I shall have peace for my long and arduous journey from King's Cross to Waverley.

Little did I know.

At Darlington, a single mother and her 3 brats got on, and sat slightly further up the carriage from us. These brats were anything but quiet, running up and down the carriage, shrieking when their mother went off to the buffet car / facilities / whatever, I really don't care.

I have no interest in talking to you, or telling your family to shut the fuck up. It's not difficult, It's a quiet coach (at the end of the day, I'd be annoyed by that behaviour on any coach on any train) it's not rocket surgery that people might expect it to be quiet in there.

The noise continued all the way to Waverley.

Suffice to say, the next time I travelled GNER, I booked myself, and went First Class. One is less likely to suffer the riff-raff in First. Although, you do then get peasants who don't understand the terms and conditions on upgrade tickets sitting in your coach.

Bah! One is not amused.

Kate Moss snorts coke

Who cares?

I think we'd all be more surprised if she didn't. Why are we getting so worked up over a glorified clothes horse anyway?

82 year old terrorist

An 82 year old man was ejected, and arrested at the Labour Party conference...
His crime was to shout "nonsense" during Jack Straw's speech. He was arrested under the anti-terror laws that are supposed to protect us from people planting bombs, and plotting mass destruction. Apparently heckling is considered an act of terror these days.

Wolfgang, 82, left Nazi opression to come to the safety of Britain. The question is, where will he go now?

The funny thing is that Tony Blair, and other leading Labour politicians have been telling us how this should never have happened. They were strangely quiet when the pensioner was being forcibly removed from the conference. They were there, weren't they? Telling us how they could remove more freedoms from the British public. Or weren't we supposed to notice?

Taser vs HK MP5

So, the crybabies are whining that tasers are bad... Strathclyde Police have just rolled them out to their firearms officers. The crybabies are complaining about the number of taser related deaths and injuries (in the US) and want to exercise extreme caution...

It all comes down to this though - I think most people would rather be tasered than shot.

These are firearms officers. If they are called, the situation is serious. The other things they carry are Heckler & Koch machine pistols, and glock pistols. Clearly, I'd rather not be on the receiving end of any of that, but the taser would be the winner for the one I am most likely to live through.

Idiots.

Clarkson gets pie in the face

Jeremy Clarkson was pied the other day. What crime had he committed? He was receiving an honorary degree at Oxford Brookes. It was done by a tree hugger, and the pie was composed of fair trade produce (according to newspaper reports). This was apparently to hammer the point home to Clarkson that... that... Oh whatever.

Why the irritating bastard who threw the pie wasn't punched in the face is anyone's guess.

So much anger, so little time.

I am told they want to try to ban Coca Cola products from the Students' Union again. They being the lunatic fringe group, People and Planet.

These people annoy me. Not only do they have absolutely no idea that they are going to boycott the Association out of existance, but as soon as they get a job and start paying tax, they'll end up voting tory. (As well they should). Perhaps they do know that if we ban Coca Cola (given Nestle is already banned) then we ban a few other things they don't like... We might as well shut up shop today.

Of course they tell us we should think of the children, as all good lunatics do. However, Coca Cola tastes good, and is a market leader for a reason. Let the customers choose, keep your fucking boycotts to yourselves.

I am an angry violent man, trapped in a lazy pacifist's body

Need I say more? People have said I should write a blog. For some reason (boredom and lack of booze) I have decided to write one.

You have been warned.