Waste Of Money Brains And Time

SOX sucks

2005-03-21T20:21:00.000+01:00

Quite some time ago, Mr. Steven Den Beste had an article that quite rightly backed up a US judge's declaration that courts outside of the US had no juristiction over what US companies and/or people put on their web sites. The case was about Yahoo and the ability of French people to access auction sites where Nazi memorabilia was for sale - against the law in France to sell things like Nazi memorabilia. The shoe has swapped feet.

I'm in IT. And in IT there is one thing on EVERYBODY'S lips at the moment : SOX (aka The Sarbanes-Oxley Act). In a nutshell :

Due to executive greed at several highly rated companies (mostly American companies but an Italian also snuck in) who then folded, Dubya decided that the whole world should suffer and got two politicians to come up with some heavy hitting bureaucracy that will only help to line the pockets of accountancy and auditing firms.

And don't think that companies could just de-list from the NASDAQ or the Dow Jones, oh no. If you've got over 300 shareholders in the US, you have to be SOX compliant (since you cannot de-list if you have over 300 shareholders - and all listed companies have to be compliant).

Twats.

Land of the Free and home of non-sexually suggestive cheerleaders

2005-03-18T23:56:00.000+01:00

I remember a while ago, Perry de Havilland of Samizdata wrote this article. He has decided, after a lot of contemplation I would think, that the United States of America is :

a place in which the battle can be fought within the last bastion of the Anglosphere's culture of liberty.

Well Perry, I'm not sure about New Hampshire (except that its bloody cold in winter) but in the one state that everybody associates with liberty, freedom and the RKBA, we have politicians proposing measures such as this.

I'm sticking with Europe. The revolution will start sooner here. Those that want to work, enjoy freedoms and look after themselves will be able to before the USA gets back on track.

I have been known to be wrong before though.

A Reminder

2005-03-18T23:46:00.000+01:00

Had an argument with a colleague the other day about the Nazi Party. He didn't believe me that it had socialist in its title. So just in case there are some that don't know the meaning of Nazi :

Nationalsozialistische deutsche Arbeiter-Partei - in German, and translated for those that are still not convinced : National Socialist German Workers' Party.

So, next time someone starts an argument about how bad capitalism is for the world and they state that they are a socialist, you can retort with :

"What a socialist ? You mean just like the Nazis ?"

Perfect, I can't wait until the opportunity comes up.

A bona fide hero

2005-03-18T23:33:00.000+01:00

Balls. Gigantic, steel balls. The full citation is here.

Watch and see some politicians try and make capital out of it.

Well done Private Beharry, I hope we can all live up to your standards.

Shooting demon

2005-03-17T20:14:00.000+01:00

Last night I got 421 points out of a possible 500 at 25m.

Chuffed.

Second Quote of the Day

2005-03-15T23:07:00.000+01:00

Speaking of ScaryDuck earlier :

Useless Workshy Cunt Of A Builder

Priceless.

Quote of the Day

2005-03-15T22:28:00.000+01:00

From Fred :

A Volvo is a beautifully engineered, well-built statement that the owner has the soul of a dung beetle.

I'll get fired if I elaborate but he is spot on.

Chirac urges full review of EU 'open services' plan

2005-03-15T21:53:00.000+01:00

Well he would wouldn't he ? Lets see what Jacqui Chiraci is so afraid of shall we ? Europa (The Gateway to the European Union) has a nice document here. And just so we know what services are, let us use Europa's definition :

This definition covers a very wide range of activities including, for example, management consultancy, certification and testing, maintenance, facilities management and security, advertising services, recruitment services, including the services of temporary employment agencies, services provided by commercial agents, legal or tax consultancy, property services, such as those provided by estate agencies, construction services, architectural services, distributive trades, organisation of trade fairs and exhibitions, car-hire, security services, tourist services, including travel agencies and tourist guides, audiovisual services, sports centres and amusement parks, leisure services, health services and personal domestic services, such as assistance for old people.

OK, basically besides selling tourists dodgy postcards under the Eiffel Tower, or serving drinks at the beach in summer or on the pistes in the winter, this is everything that France could do after its large manufacturers move to Eastern Europe due to French union strength. Now do you see why Jacques is so worried ? He's got a VERY important vote coming up. Remember which one children ? Yes that's right - the one that could just decide if the European Union survives in its present form - The European Constipation.

There are also others worried about the Bolestein Directive. What makes such amusing reading is stuff like this :

If adopted, this European directive would result in the merchandisation of all services within the Union. This would mean that essential sectors such as culture, education, health care and all services relating to national social welfare systems could be exposed to the same forms of economic competition as commercial goods.

Yes dear reader, dispair. There are people who see this as a bad thing. There are people who don't understand that this will in fact benefit the European population as a whole. They're probably the same people that still vote Communist. But lets get back to Jacques :

"Europe means the protection of social rights, it means fair conditions for competition, it means the development of public services and respect for cultural diversity," Chirac was quoted as saying.

For protection of social rights read : we want to impose the same handicap on you as we suffer. For development of public services read : we want to be able to skim money for political parties from road / rail / water infrastructure plans. For respect cultural diversity read : shit no we won't speak English.

Dinosaurs still roam in certain parts of Europe. Lets hope a no vote in May starts the extinction ball rolling.

Twats.

Boo hoo !!

2005-03-15T21:40:00.000+01:00

I didn't win anything. In fact I've only ever heard of Slashdot, Policeman's Blog and ScaryDuck, the rest well ...

And nobody has written yet.

Twats.

TAX TIME !!!!!!!!!!

2005-03-12T23:22:00.000+01:00

France and the USA have something in common. Both countries are stupid enough to have a system where you fill in a form to pay your income tax. Why they both don't tax at source for people who aren't self-employed or free-lance I'll never know. From my limited time on earth (30 odd years), it seems that wherever one has a system that asks you to fill in a form and to calculate your own tax payment, the national sport is : tax evasion.

Not that I enjoy paying taxes. I just know how I would screw the populace if I was in power.

UN panel urges France to halt racist incidents

2005-03-12T23:14:00.000+01:00

A United Nations human rights panel called on France on Thursday to stop racist incidents involving French security forces and to do more to fight discrimination against asylum seekers or Roma gypsies.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination which oversees international rules against racism, said in a report that it was also concerned by a wider increase in racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic acts.

This is the UN boys - remember how important the UN is ? You know like no country should ever think themselves above the UN since it's so well run and there's no corruption or naughty things going on, oh no never.

Trouble at mill

2005-03-12T22:56:00.000+01:00

I have been trying for a few days now to post with no luck. Must be the French secret service attempting to deny my right to criticise them and their piss poor corrupt government. Oh well.

Only extremely large amounts of money will work on me I'm afraid - yes like all, I also have my price.

Michael Jackson trial

2005-03-06T20:52:00.000+01:00

Thankfully I read the intelligent section of the internet (OK I visit other sections on occasion but purely for research if you must know) and the sites - being written by intelligent people - have avoided all mention of Michael Jackson and his alleged paedophilic tendencies.

That is all you will read about Jackson here. Oh, apart from this :

"Today, Michael Jackson's lawyer said that he will not play the race card - mainly because he can't figure out what race Michael is."

Trial of the century

2005-03-06T20:40:00.000+01:00

I saw a story on the BBC site the other day, but haven't been able to find a link. This is from Yahoo France.

At the moment in France a trial has started that has more sordid details than anything I have ever heard before. Basically for several years a large group including family members raped and prostituted their children. 66 (39 men and 27 women) people are being charged. It involves 45 children. The children's ages range between 6 months and 12 years old at the time of the events.

When such a large group of people can commit such crimes for such a long period of time, I really worry about my one year old daughter.

The only solution, I think, involves a calibre of at least .44 of an inch.

Benefits of flu

2005-03-06T20:31:00.000+01:00

No its not correct that there aren't any. I was/am a smoker. Since smoking doesn't go very well with blowing the nose every five mins, or coughing like an ex-asbestos worker, I haven't had a ciggie for a few days now. OK on the 28th I tried not just one but two fags and coughed so much I nearly vomited.

So ... the patch is on (21mg at present) and we'll see how it goes.

Twat for starting in the first place.

Surprise surprise.

2005-02-25T23:56:00.000+01:00

Kid had flu, wife had flu, so guess what ?

I'll be out of action for a day or so.

Oh yeah, our friend Hervé Gaymard has resigned. I've not heard him say sorry though.

Some death statistics

2005-02-24T21:51:00.000+01:00

I've been surfing this afternoon, not really looking for anything in particular, well OK I was looking for European countries that have sensible gun laws. That particlaur entitiy does not in fact exist. Even Switzerland requires registration . Well I stumbled onto an Economist article entitled One victim every minute. The Economist (which I respect enormously) states that there are 500,000 deaths a year caused by guns. Frankly I find this figure low, but I'll bow to the Economist.

I was wondering about how this compared to (for example) death caused by road accidents. Google (can anybody live without Google nowadays?) came to the rescue with this article from the Indo-Asian News Service. The title is India’s insensitive traffic culture and it cites : India records six percent of the world’s total road accidents that kill 1.2 million people every year.

I'm not sure who the author of the Economist piece was but he or she doesn't seem to grasp basic economics let alone the idiocy of proposing a worldwide ban on the manufacture of small arms. Can you imagine the unemployment rate in the Peshawar region of Pakistan ? THOUSANDS of poor dark skinned ethnic minorities would have to give up their only way to make money. Shit, I forgot about the drug smuggling trade routes through there - oh well wrong again.

Oh yeah, and there's this of course :

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council are the world's largest manufacturers of small arms as well as all other conventional weapons.

Snowball + Hell scenario.

Now if we REALLY wanted to save lives, why not issue every non-criminal over 18 years of age a rifle or pistol or shotgun (with about 100 rounds of the appropriate ammunition) AND ban all cars trucks and motorcyles.

The result ? Those that thought about raping and pillaging and murdering would think twice about it since there potential victims would now be armed, reduction of maybe half of the estimated 500,000 killed each year( I reckon more but lets have a worst case scenario). And since there would be no more vehicles for the roads, there would be far fewer accidents therefore saving 1.08 million lives per year (I've used a 90% reduction here since there are going to be loads of dumb twats on mountain bikes still acting like idiots and they could still be counted as road deaths).

So, what have we done?

1) Increased employment with the opening of new factories to produce more firearms and more ammunition to supply everyone with a weapon.

2) Decreased victims of small arms violence by ensuring that potential victims have the means to fight back.

3) Banned all cars, trucks and motorcycles. Reducing pollution (Kyoto fans aren't you happy?), saved the greater striped randy hedgehog from extinction which was particularly affected by the size and weight of all those gas guzzlers and their tyres, and more importantly there are another 1.08 million potential customers for the Chinese each year.

A WOMBAT solution if there ever was one. Think I'll go and watch some crap French telly now.

OK, I'm now contactable

2005-02-24T21:38:00.000+01:00

Well dear reader, you can now contact me.

My email address is : wasteofmoneybrainsandtime - at - yahoo - dot - com

Since Mr. du Toit has his goblin count, what I'd like if possible is to try and get stories where guns were used to stop crimes (break-ins, robberies etc) BUT NO SHOTS WERE FIRED. Basically I want to get an idea of how often these events are reported and also to try and keep a record of them.

But the email account isn't just for that so mail me if you feel the need. Even if you don't feel the need you can mail me. Well except for those guys advertising Viagra (I have evidence that shows I don't need it - at least not yet), cheap software is also unnecessary (I mostly use Linux - Windows at work), pictures of young virgins in showers annoy she who must be obeyed since I always pester her after seeing them, and I'm a multi-multi-millionaire already so don't try and propose any business opportunities.

Thankyou for your understanding.

French + Foot + Gun

2005-02-23T22:28:00.000+01:00

Guess the result.

After this, it just gets worse for Hervé Gaymard. Not only was he living in a 600 square metre flat on two floors paid for by taxpayers with several staff to look after him and his eight (yes that's 8) children [no TV in his house then] but we find out that he had another 31,800€ (Le Canard enchaîné says it was 150,000€) of taxpayer's money spent on bringing the flat up to his standards (part of the bill was to knock a hole in the floor/ceiling between the two flats and install some stairs).

Plus. Yes there's even more. Dear old Hervé owns a flat in Paris already that he rents out for 2,300€ per month. Apparently its only 200 square metres though (Le Canard enchaîné says its 235 square metres).

Corruption : the French national pastime.

Fred Reed - 1000 words of gold

2005-02-23T21:56:00.000+01:00

Intelligence in men and women.

Don't even try arguing with his logic. In fact don't even THINK about arguing with his logic.

Pure gold.

February - when will it end ?

2005-02-23T21:41:00.000+01:00

Sickness hasn't left our place since the beginning of the month. I blogged earlier about our education at the Ministry of Ethnic Diversity (aka Children's Emergency at the local hospital) and the trips we have made.

Now she who must be obeyed is ill. And I'm starting with the same symptoms she had. Oh joy.

Plus I haven't been shooting in three weeks now. I woke up in a sweat last night with my trigger finger pulling away like crazy. I shall have to get some range time soon.

BBC - Top of the Professional Twats League Table

2005-02-19T17:41:00.000+01:00

The bloggers of the UK and Europe haven't had as much impact on big media as the US based bloggers - yet. The BBC like so many other big media players is still trying to figure out blogging and what it entails for big media's future.

An article about the events surrounding Eason Jordan's departure, raises some questions :

Bloggers. Truth-tellers or vigilantes? Trophy-hunters or watchdogs? Some see the bloggers as an explosion of free speech, a democratic counterbalance to media arrogance and a much needed call for greater transparency in the media, while others see bloggers as vigilante partisans bent on discrediting and destroying the media

All of the above thankyou very much. Or none, depends what day of the week it is, or what drivel the 'swampys' of the world have written or broadcast recently.

In a segment called "Old Media Lost in Blogosphere" on MSNBC, left-leaning commentator Bill Press condemned bloggers as people "with no credentials, no sources, no rules, no editors and no accountability."

No credentials ?!?! Bloody hell, I spent years in university sweating my way through every cheap bar that I could find, attempting to pull and take home anything vaguely female, and even turning up to lectures and exams now and again only to come out with an Engineering degree that got me employment at Rolls-Royce Aero Engines and I have no credibility ?!?! I only just finished paying off the student loans as well.

No sources ?!?! You mean that using the Internet doesn't count ? Hearing from people who were actually there for events doesn't qualify as a source ? What about people who have had experience living under Communist rule, aren't they qualified to comment on Communist rule ? Or is it better to listen to champagne socialists who earn stacks of money thanks to a capitalist system but who yearn for equality for all, criminals given second chances and the literate rate of Cuba ?

No rules ? Agree. In fact that's why bloggers are feared by big media : bloggers are beholden to NOBODY. And don't try and throw the air-stewardess or the Google employee in my face. Why do you think I blog anonymously ? Can you find the name of the company that I work for on this blog ? Any ideas who I am or who I work for ? Those two people should have thought more before critizing their employer or putting up pictures on their blogs. Iain Murray (of Englishman's Sword) found out the hard way as well.

No editors is a feature not a bug dear boy, and as for accountability : where was Dan Rather's acccountability, or Eason Jordan's or the Mirror newspaper's. Glass houses and all that Mr. Press.

Big media are acting like the Islamofacists. They can't win so they'll start screaming more and more about how wrong, misguided, or right-wing bloggers are instead of facing the issue head on and changing their culture / society / religion / political affiliation / underwear.

I'll stop now and watch I, Robot.

BBC - professional twats

2005-02-18T14:17:00.000+01:00

After posting my Investment Advice article a few minutes ago, I was scouting around the BBC website and looking at some of their China links.

Stuff like China's growth, the middle class, some background etc. Well I stumbled across this Taiwan Flashpoint link which has a few pages of info about the history, present status, independence and the US's role. Check out this quote :

The US is by far Taiwan's most important friend, and its only ally.

What complete and utter fuckwits. A bag of severed bulldogs testicles has more intelligence than the upper quartile of the BBC staff. There is a quote from : Unnamed US official briefing, 2003 which probably means that some Che Guavara worshipping swamp fiend staff writer dreamed this up around the time Dyke resigned and the BBC was going through its own little crisis (remember the Lord Hutton report?).

Biased, lying, left-wing twats.

Investment advice from a poor man

2005-02-18T13:07:00.000+01:00

I haven't got any money free right now (or in the next few months if previous pay rises are anything to go by), but if I did I wouldn't be looking at any high-tech companies to invest in.

China is now the worlds largest consummer of grain, meat, coal, copper, aluminium, cement and steel and the second biggest importer of oil. The companies that can provide these goods in the relevant form are the ones that are going to increase shareholder value. Also on the list are materials such as iron and rubber. Shipping costs have also risen apparently, so ship management companies will also reap the benefits.

In France Arcelor (ex Usinor) made ten times the profit of Alcatel (article in French). Looks like the 'old', brick and mortar industries are back in business. Lets hope that I choose well in my career path.

Another Standard French Corruption Story

2005-02-16T22:50:00.000+01:00

I heard this on the radio this morning coming to work.

France's media put Finance and Economics Minister Herve Gaymard in their sights Wednesday after a report revealed he and his family were living in an apartment off the Champs-Elysees in Paris at a cost of EUR 14,000 (USD 18,000) a month to taxpayers.

It just gets better.

Le Canard Enchaine, a weekly newspaper specialising in political exposes, said Gaymard, his wife and their eight children were lodging in a vast two-storey, 600-square-metre (6,500-square-foot) flat in one of the French capital's most expensive neighbourhoods, complete with a butler, a cook, a nanny and two cleaning women.

But wait, there's more.

Gaymard's frequent exhortations for France to adhere to an austere budget to bring its national finances back into the deficit range for eurozone countries were also pointedly noted.

When it hits, it really stinks.

The apartment was obtained by direct negotiations between Gaymard's ministry and the company owning the property, Le Canard Enchaine said, adding that the monthly rent - paid out of state coffers - was equal to Gaymard's ministerial monthly salary.

So the guy earns 14k € a month and spends another 14k € per month housing his family - 28k € per month to employ a finance minister.

Now we know where they found a model for the European Union.

Twats.

UPDATE : Harried French minister surrenders posh pad.

In a statement released late Wednesday, Gaymard's ministry said his decision was solely based on "putting an end to a debate that has developed in the past few hours and protecting his family".

And not the fact that it cost so much to the taxpayers or that he is a corrupt politician.

A Great Quote

2005-02-16T09:57:00.000+01:00

Distributed intelligence and distributed research trump presumed authority every time.

Via Samizdata, and Instapundit from Gregory Scoblete's weblog.

Rewarded for failure

2005-02-16T09:50:00.000+01:00

HP's Carly Fiorina walks away with $45 million.

When are companies going to learn?

When I think about the fun and games I could have with $45 million as well ....

Twats.

England's latest 6 Nations calamity

2005-02-14T15:40:00.000+01:00

We shouldn't be concentrating on England's kicking problems. We should be concentrating on the fact that they gave away so many bloody penalties.

For a professional outfit to behave like England did and give an opponent the chance to score (and Dimitri Yachvili made sure that he did) is disgraceful.

Don't focus on Barkley and Hodgson, focus on the fools that gave Yachvili the kicking opportunities.

Twats.

Weekend in Hell

2005-02-14T15:12:00.000+01:00

Well it actually started on Thursday night. Home from work, visit to the paediatrician, off to the hospital. The sign that greeted us as we walked through the automatic sliding really made our hearts sink : Two hour wait. Lovely. Then our introduction to Ethnic Diversity in France 101 started.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for diversity. But why do I tend to see the worst aspects of our ethnic minorities when I’m out and about. In fact my wife and I were probably the ethnic minority the other night. We had : those of a ‘Roman’ background. (arrive in a Merc, women wearing the veil, men who smoke continuously, the children that aren’t sick trying to get their hands in everything and making noise, whole clan turns up : cousins, uncles, future fellow juvenile delinquents – as an aside the Gitans have a very bad reputation in France. Which I understand completely. Whenever they arrive near where I work several things start to happen. Crime goes up. Windows get smashed (both cars and buildings). Bus shelters get vandalised. Its easier to get your windscreen cleaned at the traffic lights and the local tube station starts to become a game of American football trying to dodge the beggars. They actually have taken over a field near us and hooked up to the water supply and an electricity box for the whole gang. Satellite dishes on each caravan and Mercs everywhere.) Then we had our Islamofacists with the regulation length beard, women covered from head to toe in black robes, and the sick child wrapped up snugly against all western influences. The North Africans were well represented, trying to look like American gangster rappers with expensive Nike sports shoes, MP3 player / mobile phone / digital camera permanently in use (against hospital policy to use mobile phones of course but to no avail). They were another group that came in force. One family there the other night had friends and relatives numbering in the tens with them. I also saw a few people that I think were Russian although I may have the language wrong.

Well the young one was tested but results take two days so Friday we should have had a day of relative rest but for the fact that the demon gout struck me down. Impossible to walk or drive so I stayed in the house all day and drove my wife crazy. The young one was also not 100% and was vomiting every now and again. Saturday after a fairly relaxing day spent watching the minor nations try to play rugby we were called at 18H00 and went back to the hospital. The sign said a four hour wait this time and the waiting room was populated with more of the ethnic diversity that I have spoken so fondly of previously. We were lucky having been called in so we only had a one hour wait.

Sunday was spent waiting for the England France match and running the washing machine. The young one decided that it was time to have diarrhoea so I became an expert in bed changing and knowing what program could be used on the washing machine to get the right balance between cleanliness and rapidity. By half time between England and France I was a happy man. We left for the hospital to get the second injection for the young one (needs to be 24 hours after the first). 4 hour wait sign again greeted us. Luckily they did the required work within 90 mins and we were back home in time for the dross that passes for Sunday night TV in France.

Oh yeah, both the young one and myself have some sort of stomach bug still. England self-imploded yet again against the French, in London so that got me down. Utd won which keeps the pressure up on Chelsea. I haven’t yet checked the lottery tickets but hopefully after a weekend like we had I might have won some millions. And she who must be obeyed has a job interview. If the young one hadn’t given me a grin to break any man’s heart last night, I think that manslaughter might have been committed.

Lets hope skiing and calm are on the menu soon – I need a break.

Tony Blair has appealed to voters to give him a third chance as prime minister

2005-02-14T13:11:00.000+01:00

Where do we start. Why not here :

Likening his relationship with the public to a turbulent marriage, Blair acknowledged on Sunday tempers had flared but said he had learnt lessons and grown "a little wiser".

A little wiser ?!?!?! Not good enough Tony. You haven't learnt that some fundamental chasms in your thought process exist between what you may think is best for Britain and how the electorate think. You haven't been paying attention dear Tony. You haven't been trying to solve problems, you and your doctors of spin have done nothing but manipulate the media, statistics and the electorate to show your deficiencies.

"It's not a bad idea to think of it in terms of being like any relationship: you the British people and me, the person you chose as your prime minister. Now you ... have to sit down and decide whether you want the relationship to continue."

Cheers. Decided. Nope. No. Niet. Nada. Non. Is this clear enough Tony ?

Giving an impression of deep soul-searching, Blair accepted some voters felt he had neglected domestic issues for foreign diplomacy, had failed to listen and had appeared arrogant.

Some voters ? How about several MILLION voters Tony ? How about all those middle-class people that voted not just once but twice for you ? The people that want to work, want their children well educated, want to feel safe in and out of their homes, want their families' health assured, want to be able to enjoy their prosperity, want to feel listened to Tony ?

"I'm back ... Back with a relentless focus on the job of delivering better lives for Britain's hard-working families."

Nope, sorry not convinced.

Fearing complacency and apathy could be Labour's worst enemy, Blair urged supporters to turn out to vote.

Will do Tony. Of course, no problem with that mate. Bad luck though. It's not going to be for you.

Twat.

France will not forget Iraq rift

2005-02-14T13:09:00.000+01:00

Don't worry bitch, neither will we.

Change of address

2005-02-13T13:48:00.000+01:00

Russ Nelson (aka The Angry Economist) is diversifying and is therefore going to write about more than just economics. His election to the post of the Open Source Initiative should also provide some interesting articles.

He didn't update often as the Angry Economist, hope he does better - without too many railroad articles of course.

I've updated the link on the right.

Reform of French 35-hour working week sails through

2005-02-10T15:34:00.000+01:00

Since France is in such a mess, they are starting to see serious knock-on effects when the government of Jacqui Chiraqi tries to implement reform. Now the 35 hour week is quite sacred to the French since it means that they get so many days off. In reality nobody worked a 35 hour week, to get around the initial law companies asked for 38 or 40 hour weeks and then gave workers more days off. Sorry, when I talk about things like this I'm talking about private sector companies. The civil service (25% of France's employed) live in their own world and apply their own rules when and how they want to.

Anyway since people are going to be asked to work more (I'll believe the extra money when I see it in my bank account) with less holidays (the perception of the majority), the knock-on will be a No vote for the constipation, sorry constitution that was headed by Ex-French pres Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. I hoping this happens, and soon, because Europe will be in such a turmoil that the revolution that the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is hoping for will finally get started.

And then we'll be able to shoot socialists and communists in the streets !!!!!

Happy happy, joy joy.

Fiorina steps aside

2005-02-10T15:05:00.000+01:00

HP has parted company with its chair and CEO, Carly Fiorina, after a falling out over the company's direction

Yeah, HP wanted a rise in share price, a profit and a future. Carly gave them a bigger less efficient company which doesn't know what to do, how to do it, when, and where it wants to be.

The merger with Compaq has been a disaster. The only thing that HP got out of it was the iPAQ and some bloody good server technology. Unfortuately it didn't capitalise on either.

SCO - a lesson for pissers into the wind

2005-02-10T14:06:00.000+01:00

Some of you humble readers may not be aware of the SCO vs. IBM case in which SCO (Shit-eating Communist Orangutans) are suing IBM because SCO can't make it in business themselves. Some background is given in this article.

The sooner this case gets thrown out of the already corrupt US justice system, the better. Then people working on and with Linux can concentrate on making it THE OS to replace Windows in all aspects (desktop and server).

And just in case somebody out there thinks that Linux isn't ready for the enterprise; guess what ? Its already in enterprises, already being used in production systems, already used to protect networks, resolve hostnames, do email etc. Now if Open Office's spreadsheet software could just understand my Excel macros, I'd change tomorrow.

Welsh rugby fan cuts off testicles after win

2005-02-08T21:24:00.000+01:00

The money quote :

Huish was taken to hospital where he remained in a seriously ill condition, the paper said. Police told the paper he had a history of mental problems.

No shit Sherlock. He isn't just in a seriously ill condition, he is in fact a fucking lunatic. Just from the few words written about this incident, I can already diagnose a very very long stay in some sort of highly secure psychiatric institution. With or without his balls - makes no difference.

Twat.

How the Left Betrayed My Country

2005-02-07T23:31:00.000+01:00

Read this. Now.

Why do I bother ?

2005-02-07T23:19:00.000+01:00

Supporting England is a love hate relationship. I love them, they hate me. They must do. It must be spite. It can't be anything else ! What other excuse do they have for loosing to the bloody sheep shagging, shandy drinking, big girl's blouses from WALES. They've got a bloody leek as the national flower or plant or whatever ! And the bloody Scots didn't do us any favours either.

Let's just hope a crushing England victory is coming next weekend against the Frogs. Then they'll be using that HONTE word that I talked about recently.

Twats.

Translating

2005-02-07T22:56:00.000+01:00

When a news reporter or journalist interviews someone who isn't French for the French TV public, one can usually hear the questions and replies between interviewer and interviewee. Such was the case the other night when French TV had a documentary about the Chinese cockle pickers that died in Morecombe Bay several months ago.

The reporter asked what a 'local' (I think that he was from Liverpool) thought of the Chinese getting killed and the conditions that they have to work in. He replied : It's a shame. Now this in my mind could also be said as : its a pity, or : it's sad. The French translation given : c'est la honte (some readers who know French might think that the A should be dropped between the L and H ... well you're wrong. La Honte it is).

Now anybody who has spent a few years in France will have come up against this word. Used when the national teams loose against the English (football or rugby), used when the far-right candidate gets more votes than the leading socialist (by all the lefties) and generally used by she who must be obeyed when I mix the grape and the grain.

So ... it's a shame has been translated as it is a shame. Why am I pointing this out ? Because gentle readers, one cannot take at first glance the literal meaning in ANY translated work. In particular any work translated by the French, and especially any work translated by the French that involves Englishmen (or women) and/or Americans.

This sort of slack translation job has happened before, in news stories, in interviews with Americans or in misquoting GWB. If I didn't know that 90% of French were dumb, I'd think that they were doing it on purpose. Twats.

An explanation

2005-02-04T14:29:00.000+01:00

I've been trying to be a good blogger for a couple of years now. I'm not going to offer any excuses for my sporadic posting, that's not the point of this article. What I hope the few readers who visit this site will understand is my reluctance to have comments or an email address for the site. I've also chosen not to have a Site Meter.

The reasons ? I've found that the benefits of writing, letting myself go as it were, are outweighed by disappointment when I didn't get any mails on the other blogs that I tried. It also took several months before I received an email. The emails that I did receive were all complimentary so I have nothing to complain about. The Site Meter got a spike when a well-known site listed me, but it trailed off after I didn't update for a while. I also found that said well-known site and myself were sort of covering the same ground.

Anyway, I shall continue my blogging adventure sans email address, comments or site meter. I find the ability to put my frustrations onto a website a much better medium than shouting at she who must be obeyed or the terror that is my 11 month old daughter.

Just wanted to let you know.

Bored ? Want something to do on those long Friday afternoons ?

2005-02-04T14:03:00.000+01:00

Check out News of the Weird.

The Truth ... honestly

2005-02-04T13:36:00.000+01:00

Annan vows action on corruption

Microsoft's Gates vows "interoperable" software

French deny attempt to kill Ivory Coast leader

Rice says Iran attack "not on agenda"

Lying twats.

Arsenal vs. Man Utd

2005-02-01T22:30:00.000+01:00

63 mins gone and United are winning. Can they hold on ?

Update : The Red Devils perform yet another great comeback. After being behind twice and having a man sent off for 20 mins of the second half, they beat the Arse by 4 goals to 2.

BUT, will Chelsea slip up ? Will Man Utd. be able to overtake them with only 13 games left ?

I'm doubtful that United can will the title, Chelsea are just too strong. I'm hoping for a Man Utd. vs. Chelsea European Cup final and of course a 5 - 0 result for the boys in red.

Intelligent Policeman ?

2005-01-31T22:22:00.000+01:00

No.

The money quote :

One of our officers yesterday shot himself accidentally. He was driving to the range for a training day. As he was driving, he attempted to unload his pistol.

What a fucking twat. And this guy is supposed to be protecting people ?? After he looses his leg, fire him - he's a liability and shouldn't be paid for scrubbing toilets let alone carrying a firearm.

Hillary Clinton recovers after collapse

2005-01-31T22:14:00.000+01:00

Kim must be a bit pissed off about this !!!!!!!!!!!!

Gunwatch

2005-01-31T21:59:00.000+01:00

John Ray over at Gunwatch - worth a read.

For more of John's writing goto the bottom of his bio here.

The roar of a .44

2005-01-31T21:50:00.000+01:00

Since the beginning of the year I've been lucky enough to put the black powder revolver through its paces a few times. Got everything I need now and I'm getting the hang of the loading, shooting and then cleaning processes. I'm thinking of writing a Beginners Guide (written by a beginner) about my experiences soon.

One thing a potential new black powder shooter should realise is that you don't get to shoot as much (as with a revolver or semi-auto handgun). I've been letting off about 25 rounds in 90 mins at the range. The reason isn't just the time it takes to reload, its the fact that everyone, and I mean everyone, asks about it. People with Glocks, Berettas and other pistols don't get half the interest I get when I let off a round and five minutes later the smoke clears with me smiling through a black powder encrusted face.

Wonderful stuff.

So much happening and so little time to write

2005-01-31T21:40:00.000+01:00

A small female of approx 9kg is keeping the household busy. She starts to get up, takes two steps and decides that she would like to be carried instead. This decision is accompanied by noise. The stress was getting to she who must be obeyed so she left an unfastened 11 month old in a push chair.

Head of 11 month old + height of pushchair + concrete = screams + scrapes + worry + doctor visit

where worry = anguish * 1 000 000 000 000 000 000

The little one is OK except for the bruise on the forehead over the eye, the bruise on the chin and the swollen cheek. Medical service in France is excellent though, so I've got high hopes that her IQ hasn't been permanently lowered.

Excuses - could do better

2005-01-31T21:38:00.000+01:00

Well I'm not going to offer an explanation for my lack of posting. Like the boss said in my latest yearly review : Could do better.

Story of my life.

Martin Mubanga - ex Guantanamo detainee

2004-12-11T13:55:00.000+01:00

I searched the net for a while and only came up with references to this Martin Mubanga. Can't see there being many people with the same name in the UK.

I went to school with this cunt. Stupid, but a good football player. He was a cunt then as well. And an Arsenal supporter.

We're right behind you Kofi !!

2004-12-09T19:12:00.000+01:00

Jacqui Chiraci and Jose Luis Rodriguez "Zorro" Zapatero backing the corrupt UN Secretary General to the hilt.

Twats.

MIT's OpenCourseWare

2004-12-09T13:54:00.000+01:00

For those of you who have time on their hands and who want to broaden their intellectual horizons, I present this.

The list of courses is impressive :

Aeronautics and Astronautics

Anthropology

Architecture

Biological Engineering Division

Biology

Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Chemical Engineering

Chemistry

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Comparative Media Studies

Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

Economics

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Engineering Systems Division

Foreign Languages and Literatures

Health Sciences and Technology

History

Linguistics and Philosophy

Literature

Materials Science and Engineering

Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering

Media Arts and Sciences

Music and Theater Arts

Nuclear Engineering

Ocean Engineering

Physics

Political Science

Science, Technology, and Society

Sloan School of Management

Urban Studies and Planning

<> Women's Studies

Writing and Humanistic Studies

HOWEVER, bloody yanks still can't spell THEATRE !!! Plus, I wonder how long before the scientific courses dealing with Nuclear and Chemical Engineering last. I haven't settled on one area yet, there are just too many interesting subjects to read.

English 'world language' forecast

2004-12-09T13:49:00.000+01:00

And the money quote is .... :

He says Chinese, Arabic and Spanish are also going to be key international languages.

Sacré bleu, et nous les Français ?!?!

Twats.

Figure of the week

2004-12-05T20:33:00.000+01:00

12 Million

Via Gunwatch

The Money Quote : Records from October 2004 show that TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which provides background checks for all guns purchased in Tennessee) processed 20,484 total firearms-only a handful more guns than the 19,499 they processed in October of 2003, when the ban (President Bill Clinton's 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in September) was still in effect.

Tennessee has a population of about 6 million and about 20,000 firearms purchase requests are processed per month. Lets say that the population of the USA is about 300 million. If the rest of the states are buying as fast as Tennessee, then our cousins across the pond are buying 12 million firearms per year.

Keep up the good work.

Explosives lost in airport gaffe

2004-12-05T18:43:00.000+01:00

Around 150 grams (about five ounces) of explosive were slipped into the bag of a passenger during sniffer dog training at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. The bag ended up on one of 90 flights leaving at the time, and police are now trying to track it down. They stress the explosive is "no more dangerous than a bar of chocolate".

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fuckin twats.

Samizdata Xmas Party

2004-12-05T18:29:00.000+01:00

The Samizdatistas keep up their good libertarian work by drinking Stella Artois and French wine at their latest party.

The Frivolity of Evil

2004-12-05T18:23:00.000+01:00

Via Kim du Toit, Theodore Dalrymple defines our downfall.

Black powder supplies

2004-11-30T21:30:00.000+01:00

Of course after waiting all this time, the dumb fuckers who work at Frankonia (sounds like some sort of neo-Nazi party doesn't it) sent me :

the greased wads - OK
the powder flask - OK
a platic blue box for holding 38/357 rounds in - NOT OK

So I STILL haven't managed to shoot the bloody revolver. Going tomorrow night and I'm going to spray around 100 rounds to make up for the stress.

Nearly forgot to add this : you are limited to 1000 rounds per year for all bullets that aren't rimfire. EXCEPT : you can make/reload as many as you want.

Twats, they really are.

French rugby lessons

2004-11-30T21:24:00.000+01:00

6 - 45

'nuff said.

France and unemployment

2004-11-30T21:11:00.000+01:00

I usually take public transport to work (actually very good except when strike fever hits). For the past few days I've been using the car. I listen to a station called simply enough France Info. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Within 30 minutes I am a veritable encyclopaedia of information.

Today the unemployment figures were released. For the third sucessive month France's jobless rate stands at 9.9% (more info here and here).

If I wasn't such a cynic I'd think that Jacqui Chiraci and his croonies were passing a few extra Euros to the Unemployment statistics dept to avoid that magic 10% figure.

France and basic economics

2004-11-30T21:05:00.000+01:00

The laws of supply and demand don't exist in France. No, that's not a joke, let WOMBAT explain :

In ABC company SAP consultants are hired at 700€ per day and are easy to find. In the same company Mainframe (z/OS, OS/390, MVS) consultants are hired at 400€ per day and are very very hard to find.

Guess what happened ?

They raised the price to pay for SAP consultants because the ones they were getting weren't skilled enough.

Sad.

Apologies

2004-11-30T21:02:00.000+01:00

I must get into the habit of blogging more often. I feel a need from several million people that I am not fulfilling.

I shall do better.

Elections, Fred and a Home Run

2004-11-22T21:13:00.000+01:00

Reading Fred on Everything is depressing and enlightening at the same time.

Depressing because I don't have his writing skills. Enlightening because he manages to explain the inner-American.

Read his take on the election.

78% in the black

2004-11-22T21:03:00.000+01:00

Just got back from shooting. 11 shots out of 50 went into the 'you're a bad shot mate' space. I was shooting one handed, taking my fine old time, breathing slowly and letting my arm (and the pistol of course) rest between shots. It wasn't as cold tonight as last week so the fingertips actually had feeling in them.

Still waiting for the bloody black powder stuff.

New furore shakes EU Commission

2004-11-22T18:22:00.000+01:00

The EU Commission has taken office amid a new row over one of its members - the French transport commissioner. MEPs urged a review of Jacques Barrot's position when it emerged he had failed to reveal a conviction for embezzlement - later quashed under a French amnesty.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!

French + Politics = CORRUPT

Funny how long its taking people to learn. Well actually its not funny its sad.

Twats.

National Ammo Day

2004-11-22T18:18:00.000+01:00

Kim, KIM !!!!

I bought 500 rounds of 22LR, 500 lead balls for my .44 black powder and I'm going to shoot a few in about 30 mins.

Since I'm in a virtual communist country with gun registration the norm (France - and I'm English) I don't think I've done badly.

Life after a World Cup Win

2004-11-22T18:12:00.000+01:00

There are times when I'm so proud to be English. This weekend was one of them. England beat South Africa 32 - 16. Brian Micklethwait of Samizdata sums up the situation nicely.

P.S. I didn't see the game but I'm hoping to have a recording in my hands before the weekend.

Shooting Club

2004-11-19T17:09:00.000+01:00

I've been given permission by she who must be obeyed to let off steam with a firearm. I tried some martial arts for the last two years and just couldn't get 'into the groove' after several months of training. Luckily the French do allow people to shot, even though one has to jump through hoops in order to maintain your shooting rights.

Anyone over 18 can buy a 22LR rifle (bolt action or lever action - not semi-auto). Anyone over 18 can also buy black powder rifles or revolvers. So I did the 21st century thing and ordered my 1çth century thing over the Internet. Two weeks later I had a stainless steel replica of the Remington 1858 New Model Army in .44 (you can get them in .36 but originally they weren't made in .36). I did this after being hypnotised by this man, and then reading all I could on the wonderful Greybeard Forum for blackpowder.

Well .... I haven't received all the 'bits' to start shooting the 1858 yet, but I have done 200 rounds through some club target pistols over the past three weeks. The club pistols are 22LR UNIQUEs with target grips so holding with a two handed grip is a bit weird. The rangemaster is always telling me to use just one hand but its not as much fun when you miss, so I use two hands most of the time. The first week I wasn't too accurate, but the second week I did quite well (pictures coming soon when I've mastered Blogger a bit more). However the other night (I blame the cold) I was rotten. I think I got about 50% in the black whereas the second week shooting I only had four rounds out of fifty outside of the black.

I also got to shoot a Glock 17 the other night. One thing that struck me was the trigger pull. I'm not sure if its due to the Safe-Action of the Glock, but I found that the travel between when you start pulling and when you actually fire very very long.

I'll have to shoot for a full six months before I can actually get a revolver or pistol that fires normal bullets (due to the laws) but I'm tempted to get a 22LR semi-auto because a) the fodder is cheap and b) for 38/357, 9mm, 45 etc shooters are limited to 1000 rounds per year - unless of course you roll your own (which I'm not prepared to do at the moment). But for Christmas I'm going to get a lever action 22LR rifle. She who must be obeyed doesn't know this yet of course.

Hopefully next week I'll have all that I need to shock and awe my fellow culb members with my .44 bellowing smoke. I'll keep you updated.

Self defence law in Britain

2004-11-09T20:21:00.000+01:00

Via The Smallest Minority, this : Vulnerable pensioners need the self-defence law changed.

After seeing the pictures, I can't bring myself to write anything else tonight.

NHS fucked for 9 years (at least) - its official

2004-11-08T22:17:00.000+01:00

One standard, one Microsoft - how the NHS sold its choice : The Register's John Lettice uncovers more Labour Party corruption and bad attitude with a great story on the NHS - Microsoft deal signed recently for £330 million.

GNU/Linux and Open Source/GPL software doesn't just have to be better than Microsoft's; it has to be so much better and so much cheaper than the bribes given by Microsoft to politicians and high ranking technology officers in large companies. Hopefully those that have seen the light will be in positions of power in a few years and the purchase of Microsoft software will start declining.

Week-end low-lights

2004-11-08T09:44:00.000+01:00

Sick all bloody week-end. Flu-ey, gastro-ey, headachey, tired, sweating, cold thingy has of course flown off to bother someone else now that its work time. Typical. Probably some Islamofacist bio-medically genetically engineered disease that they've been working on. But then again maybe not.

United (Manchester that is) couldn't manage to beat Manchester City. It's getting quite depressing now really.

Jacqui Chiraci keeps talking but as normal no action.

Arafat's wife accuses deputies of wanting him dead. Surpise, surprise.
UPDATE : Hamas stakes claim for power.

Ivorian leader urges end to anti-French violence. President Laurent Gbagbo has appealed for an end to anti-French crowd violence which erupted after France destroyed most of Ivory Coast's small air force in retaliation for the killing of nine French peacekeepers.

Didn't waste any time did you Jacqui? Wonder how quick your reaction would have been had a couple of 767s ploughed into the Tour Montparnasse? Osama (and several thousands of others) would now be part of the Afghan landscape intombed in glass.

And to finish, a great quote from Mr. du Toit :

It's fine to be a liberal, in other words, when you can afford to be. To continue being a liberal after having been exposed to reality and experience is a sure sign of either self-delusion or immaturity.

Here endeth the lesson.

Champions League

2004-11-04T21:36:00.000+01:00

I went to the Lyon - Fenerbahce game last night. Great result for Lyon who played really well and are developing into a truely class team. The Turks were quite a good side technically, until Lyon turned it on and then they developed a nasty streak.

At 74 mins it was all square after the Turks equalised. From then on they tried to loose time with delaying tactics. These tactics must have taken time and thought to put in place. I'm sure the Turks (and more than likely the Italians and Spanish) spend at least one day a week in training on time wasting. Masters of the art they are. Any ref with a decent sized pair of testicles would have had the yellow cards flowing, but who was in charge? Every Englishman's favourite Dane : Kim 'Fuckwit' Nielsen. Got a girls name too.

Well luckily all's well that ends well and Lyon showed their testicles to all and sundry - Merci les gars !!

Man Utd scrape through with a 4-1 result against Sparta Prague (Ruudy gets all four). Even though I'm really really very very happy with the result, the question still remains unanswered : Who the fuck are Portsmouth ?!?! Incredible that the Reds can put on such a display in Europe but can't sink the big girl's blouses from the south coast of England.

Bored bored bored

2004-11-04T20:46:00.000+01:00

Only one day after Dubya wipes Kerry's face in the excrement of nearly four million voters and I'm bored of reading editorials and left-leaning websites about how the election was fixed, to shout louder, to try harder next time, the depression that we're all feeling, how divided America is blah blah blah.

Suggestion to Kerry supporters : come to Europe, stay for five or six years (so that you can see a REAL election) and then re-think your politics. If you haven't changed your mind, then you'll decide to stay in Europe. If you have a job that is.

News flashes

2004-11-02T23:36:00.000+01:00

Arafat enjoys some fine French wine during Ramadan. And his political enemies call up to see if they can start the revolution in Palestine yet.

Can't find any links but in France a 14 year old shot his mother, father and sister with the father's hunting rifle (or was it a shotgun). Apparently his mother beat him with a wooden spoon. She won't do that again.

More problems for the Europhiles.

And finally from my favourite software company :

"Benchmark Testing. The 32-bit version of the Software contains the Microsoft .NET Framework. Disclosure of the results of any benchmark test of the .NET Framework component of the Software to any third party without Microsoft's prior written approval is prohibited."

Cheers Bill !!!!

Football, bloody football

2004-11-02T23:27:00.000+01:00

We beat the Arse 2-0 and then bloody loose to who ??!!??!! PORTSMOUTH. Who the fuck are Portsmouth?

What is going on?

Nice to see Arsenal get a draw in tonight Champions League though.

Schadenfreude? Me? Oh no.

Policeman's Blog

2004-11-02T23:14:00.000+01:00

Dave over at the Policeman's Blog makes me laugh. In fact most of what he writes should frighten the British public to death. However, he recently posts regarding the inquest into the shooting of an unarmed man back in 1999. I'm not going into the details here (Dave has enough info to understand what happened).

Here is what I found at the Met's web site :
---------------------------------------------
Our Mission

To make places safer

To cut crime and the fear of crime

To uphold the law

--------------------------------------------
The two policemen didn't stick to any of these three mission statements. Why should they be accorded treatment any differently than any other person in Britain? Tony Martin wasn't.

Closing ranks Dave?

Muslims for Bush

2004-11-01T13:24:00.000+01:00

French news channels are crossing America trying to understand the Americans by asking stupid questions like who is the president of France (why some 16 year old student in Glasgow Montana would give a shit who the chief of the Europee-on corruptors was at the moment is anyone's guess), do you own a gun, who are you hoping will win etc.

The other night in some large state - can't remember which one - some very large woman was asked why she was going to vote for Bush. "Because he stands for the same things that are important to me. Liberty, anti-abortion and no gay marriage". So the liberty is only for you, not for the women who want abortions or the gays who want to marry. Hmmmmm.

Then TFI (state TV) asked some muslims in New York the same sorts of questions. 99% of them said that they'd vote for Kerry, but one piped up with an interesting thought. He said that if you were a faithful muslim then you have to vote for Bush, since he is against abortion and gay marriage - just like the muslims. Hmmmmmmm.

Enough hypocricy. It election day - good luck America.

Some French news

2004-10-27T22:01:00.000+02:00

Expatica is a pretty good site to get news in English about whats happening in Europe. Of course like so much mainstream media these days, one has to put up with the Kerry bias seeping into articles at any opportune moment.

Anyway some funny stories from Expatica :

Mitterrand furniture sold for son suspected of fraud
She (Danielle Mitterrand, widow of the former Socialist president) was forced to part with the objects to help her son Jean-Christophe, whose accounts have been blocked pending criminal investigations for suspected illegal arm sales to Angola, money-laundering and tax fraud.

Like father like son - corrupt.

Dassault flies into fighter sales bung storm
Former Indian army chief General V.N. Sharma said the ban had failed to stop the middlemen. Also : "India is the most corrupt country in the world, but what to do? We need equipment. We are stumped."

India and France - two of the most honourable, transparent countries in the world when it comes to multi-million euro business deals. In a few years the China - France deal signed recently will be examined closer. Wonder what is going to be found ?

Missing disabled tourist found in Paris
The Parisians are so impolite they were probably ignoring this poor fellow's attempts at communication for the past week. He was probably only found when some stupid waiter told him the price of a coffee on the Champs-Elysees and fainted.

Blogs to visit

2004-10-27T20:58:00.000+02:00

For those that have just wondered onto this site by accident, there are a few sites that I read everyday that I recommend (obviously having a twisted sense of humour, addiction to intelligence and wit, being a meat eater and finally not batting for the other side [lefties, socialist, commies and the like] are prerequisites).

It may take some time, but I'm in the process of figuring out how to edit the site to get these guys and gals onto the right hand side of the homepage.

UPDATE : Thanks to Mozilla Composer I've been able to change the template slightly and get those all important links to other people you should be reading instead of wasting your time here. Open Source - who says its not ready for the average user eh ?!?

US Election

2004-10-26T15:43:00.000+02:00

I can't find the link now, but a colleague sent me a site where anyone who is not American can vote in the upcoming election. The premise was that since America was such a powerful nation then all the people of the world should have a vote for the president - not just the stupid Americans who might vote in Bush again (what I'm betting on).
All the usual culprits were there : French, Germans, English, Canadians. But there were obviously a few exceptions. These exceptions were from countries where Internet access is probably limited by those in power. These exceptions were from countries where those in power don't face elections to decide their fate. Those that did vote overwhelmingly voted for Kerry.
While I'd like to see Bush win again, I would like to know how Kerry would handle his presidency. How much would US policy change ? Not much is my guess. Kyoto is dead in the US. Pulling out of Iraq would make it worse than it already is. Negotiating with the UN to take control there would lead to a combination of Sudan/Kosovo and even more wasted lives. Funding for no-win social programs would probably go up increasing the burden on business and therefore accelerating the outsourcing virus that is already starting to hit the IT sector. I can see increased legislation on guns, thereby increasing crime, thereby increasing governmental legislation that will make all but LEO criminals.
If Kerry does win then I think he'll last four years, screw up so much that the Republicans will re-gain power and hopefully not allow Hilary Clinton to get her chance for a good long time. Or he chooses Hilary as his running mate in four years time in which case he would definately win and she would become the first US president to have fucked a US president. SCARY !!
This post is starting to wonder so I'll just post it before things get too out of hand.

Whinging Wenger

2004-10-26T15:16:00.000+02:00

Manchester United put in a great performance and beat the Frogs of London fair and square to end their unbeaten winning streak of 49 games. Then Wenger starts complaining about the same behaviour that has enabled his team to be so successful in the past few years. He must be a socialist John Kerry supporter. They act the same way.
And don't forget that Man Utd also beat the Arsenal in last years FA Cup.

Paris sucks

2004-10-26T15:04:00.000+02:00

Spent my week in Paris, back home with wife, child and fewer arseholes. I wouldn't work there for double my salary. I thought that London was bad but Paris is more hostile than Baghdad. On the RER (like the tube but faster) nobody gave a flying fuck about old people, pregnant women, or children. Why? Because old people, pregnant women or children were the three groups that won Rudest People on the RER five years running.

I didn't do any flash restaurants although I found a Morrocan place that did an excellent Mergez Couscous for only 9€. That and one beer and I didn't eat until the evening the next day.

Oh yeah, for the small audience that might be reading this site, when going from the centre of Paris to La Defense for a week, make sure you get a ticket for zones 1 to 4 - yes that's 4. La Defense is just on the edge of zone four. Luckily I know enough French to not accept brush-offs from the French functionnaire types that work for the RER and managed to get the correct ticket - after falling into the trap of course!

Ah Nottingham

2004-10-10T13:52:00.000+02:00

I spent five years of my life in Nottingham. Most of the time I was drunk (20% of the population are students and during my first two years there, one could find a pub and/or a nightclub every night of the week that had pints for £1 and shorts for 50p). I've only just finished paying off my student loans in fact. Five years paying for five years of ... censored for those with heart conditions.

Going into the city centre on a Friday or Saturday night used to be looked forward to. Now I hear that old university friends avoid it like the plague. Sneinton (where I lived for three years) residents now live in fear that their cars are going to be stolen and used in St. Anns to commit drive by shootings.

The Goose Fair was also to be avoided. One year several tradesmen had their cash registers stolen. While serving customers. Stabbings for not getting enough chips with your cheeseburger have been reported. Over the summer the Sunday Times reported on the gangs and organised crime that is backed up by fully-automatic weaponry.

Of course the gun laws aren't strict enough. We should make sure that all fully-automatic weapons are banned and that anyone in posession receives a long sentence.

What? You mean there are already laws in place? But how come ... ?

Britain. Where 14 year old girls are gunned down and guns are banned (from the non-criminals obviously).

Latest news

2004-10-10T13:39:00.000+02:00

OK, I lied, its not really the latest, just late.
England beat the sheep-shaggers, the Champions of Europe scrape a draw, France can't beat the Irish in Paris, and I'm off for a week to listen to some guy tell me how to do my job better. For a week. In Paris. Sounds wonderful eh? Actually if there's one company not to work for when going on business trips - its mine. I'm limited to 10€ per night for food. MacDonalds looks like the best choice. Vive la France!

Digital Rights Mismanagement

2004-10-07T22:10:00.000+02:00

An interesting story from The Register with serial foot-swapper Steve Balmy (of Microsoft) supplying the ammunition.
I have personally come up with an amazing way to stop people stealing music from CDs. Its a wild idea I know but I'm sure it will work : sell music on vinyl discs.
Who knows it might catch on.

Update : More here.

First Post

2004-10-07T21:41:00.000+02:00

Just as I get everything configured for this wonderful new site, the PC starts making strange noises.
Not a good start. In the immortal words of the Governor of Kalifornia : I'll be back.