Saturday - January 24, 2009

Hadn’t planned on anything today until I ran across this.  Water Company claims Squatters Rights.

I think it’s an outrage.  Legal theft? That’s what this story reads like.
Or else I read it incorrectly.

Farmer outraged after water company claims squatters rights on property she allowed them to access

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:43 PM on 23rd January 2009

A farmer has been left devastated after a water company claimed squatters’ rights on land that has been in her family for generations.

Ruth Wrixton had allowed Wessex Water officials onto her farm for years so workers could access a pumping station there.

But Miss Wrixton was dumbstruck after discovering the multi-million pound firm claimed ownership of her property on the grounds that it has ‘enjoyed free, uninterrupted and undisturbed possession for 12 years.’

Miss Wrixton, whose family have owned the farm for 100 years, received a letter from the Land Registry explaining the change of ownership while she was battling cancer.

The firm also offered her a deal to buy her own land back in exchange for a free 99 year lease.

Miss Wrixton, 50, said she was outraged over the matter and couldn’t believe she has lost her land.

She said: ‘I can’t put into words how I feel, I am so angry and upset by this.

‘My family has owned the little farm for 100 years and we have been bound by law to allow Wessex Water onto our land because their are a public utility.

‘But how dare they turn round and claim this land is now theirs. Who do they think they are?’

The saga began more than 50 years ago when the local council had to build the small pumping station in the village of Symondsbury, Dorset.

The farmyard at Miles Cross Farm was deemed the lowest point in the area and the 12ft by 10ft sewage station was placed there.

The station passed into the hands of Wessex Water when it was privatised in 1974.

Miss Wrixton’s grandfather, Fred Barnes who bequeathed the farm to her, was obliged to allow the firm’s employees onto his land.

That agreement continued after she took over the 70 acre beef farm.

She said: ‘I had no choice - if I tried to stop them I would have been arrested. By law they can come on my land because they are a utility .

‘I couldn’t win either way. Let them in, and after 12 years they take the land, or I stop them entering and be arrested.’

Miss Wrixton only learnt that Wessex Water had registered the small plot of land the station is on in its name after she divorced and notified the Land Registry that she was now the farm’s sole owner.

Although she wrote an objection, a second letter from the Land Registry stated:
‘Unfortunately your objection is not sufficient to prevent the completion of the application.

‘I have no doubt that Wessex Water has been in full free, uninterrupted and undisturbed possession for at least 12 years of the claimed land.’

Miss Wrixton approached her local MP, Conservative Oliver Letwin, who wrote to Colin Skellett, the chairman of Wessex Water.

She said: ‘Mr Skellett replied and stated they would transfer the land back to me for one pound - so I buy my land back and in return I let them have a 99 year lease back at one pound. Meaning that I let them have the land for 99 years free of charge.

‘I wouldn’t care if the land was in the middle of nowhere but it is in the farmyard and I have to keep the route clear for them.’

A spokesman for Wessex Water confirmed they believed they owned the title of the land.

He said: ‘Although no deeds exist, which is not uncommon, Wessex Water has rights to access and maintain the site in accordance with our statutory duty to provide sewerage services to local residents.

‘A recent application to HM Land Registry to register our possessory title in the site has met with objection from the claimant.

‘In response we offered to take a 99-year lease of the site at a peppercorn rent but the claimant sought more commercial terms.

‘We are still prepared to transfer the small piece of land back to the claimant and take the lease as previously proposed.

‘We are disappointed not to have received a reply from the claimant.’

Posted by peiper     on 01/24/2009 at 12:21 PM   
Filed Under: • Jack Booted Thugs • Outrageous • UK •  
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We Buy Oil From These People

Police arrest goat accused of armed robbery

Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempted armed robbery. Vigilantes seized the black and white goat, saying it was an armed robber who had used black magic to transform himself into an animal to escape after trying to steal a Mazda 323. ‘The group of vigilante men came to report that while they were on patrol they saw some hoodlums attempting to rob a car. They pursued them.

‘However one of them escaped while the other turned into a goat,’ Kwara state police spokesman Tunde Mohammed said. ‘We cannot confirm the story, but the goat is in our custody.
‘We cannot base our information on something mystical. It is something that has to be proved scientifically, that a human being turned into a goat,’ he said.

Belief in witchcraft is widespread in parts of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. Residents came to the police station to see the goat, photographed in one national newspaper on its knees next to a pile of straw.

I think Nigerian beer must be some rather amazing stuff. 

Posted by Drew458     on 01/24/2009 at 11:45 AM   
Filed Under: • Africa • Animals • Fun-Stuff • Stoopid-People •  
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A New Twist To The Game

NEW YORK – A huge deep-water natural gas find off the coast of Israel promises to be a boon to the Jewish state’s economy as well as a stimulus to other developers searching for offshore oil and natural gas in the Mediterranean.

Noble Energy, a New York Stock Exchange-listed company, has discovered an estimated more than 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in three high-quality reservoirs drilled in the company’s Tamar No. 1 well in the Mediterranean Sea, about 56 miles off the Israeli northern port of Haifa.

Noble Energy drilled the Tamar No. 1 well to a depth of about three miles, beneath 5,500 feet of water.

The find is significant for those who believe the Bible indicates Israel is sitting on a massive oil reserve that would reshape the geopolitical structure of the Middle East.

The Tomar site is estimated to be three times as large as the Mari-B natural gas field off Israel’s southern shore that analysts estimate may reach depletion within five years, according to a report published by Israel12c.org.

“We are witnessing an historic moment in Israel’s energy market,” Israel’s National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer told Reuters. “If it turns out in a few weeks that the indicators received in recent days are true, then we are talking about the biggest find in Israel’s history.”

Posted by Drew458     on 01/24/2009 at 12:59 AM   
Filed Under: • Israel • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
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   Friday - January 23, 2009

Reading Assignment

It’s always a good thing to be well grounded in the classics. But some of them are really long, and written in “old”, and dull, and have big words you might have to look up. And they don’t really speak to modern times, unless you really think and think about them, and that’s hard. So here is a classic, modernized, for your reading pleasure. Take 10 to 15 minutes, and enjoy.

I bow before the greatness of Iowahawk, best beloved of all the digital muses. High thee hence.

The Idiossey

the not-so epic poem of Obamacles

Speak to me, O Muse, of this resourceful man
who strides so boldly upon the golden shrine of Potomac,
Between Ionic plywood columns, to the kleig light altar.
Fair Obamacles, favored of the gods, ascends to Olympus
Amidst lusty tributes and the strumming lyres of Media;
Their mounted skyboxes echo with the singing of his name
While Olbermos and Mattheus in their greasy togas wrassle
For first honor of basking in their hero’s reflected glory.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/23/2009 at 10:52 PM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Humor •  
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A bit of smart science

TOKYO – Japan on Friday launched the first satellite to monitor greenhouse gases worldwide, a tool to help scientists better judge where global warming emissions are coming from, and how much is being absorbed by the oceans and forests.

The orbiter, together with a similar U.S. satellite to be launched next month, will represent an enormous leap in available data on carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, now drawn from scattered ground stations.

“I’m saying Christmas is here,” said an enthusiastic Inez Fung, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. “Now we get about 100 observations every two weeks. With the satellite we’ll get a million.”

The satellite — named “Ibuki,” which means “breath” — was sent into orbit along with seven other piggyback probes on a Japanese H2A rocket. Japan’s space agency, JAXA, said the launch was a success, and officials said they were monitoring the satellites to ensure they entered orbit properly.

Ibuki, which will circle the globe every 100 minutes, is equipped with optical sensors that measure reflected light from the Earth to determine the density of the two gases.

Carbon dioxide, the biggest contributor to global warming, is emitted by the burning of fossil fuels by power plants, motor vehicles and other sources. Methane has a variety of sources, including livestock manure and rice cultivation.

International science agencies report that carbon dioxide emissions rose 3 percent worldwide from 2006 to 2007. If emissions are not reined in, a U.N. scientific panel says, average global temperatures will increase by 4 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit (2.4 to 6.3 degrees Celsius) by the year 2100, causing damaging disruptions to the climate.

“Global warming is one of the most pressing issues facing the international community, and Japan is fully committed to reducing CO2,” said Yasushi Tadami, an official working on the project for Japan’s Environment Ministry. “The advantage of Ibuki is that it can monitor the density of CO2 and methane gas anywhere in the world.”

Scientists currently depend on 282 land-based stations — and scattered instrumented aircraft flights — to monitor carbon dioxide at low altitudes. Ibuki, orbiting at an altitude of about 415 miles (670 kilometers), will be able to check gas levels in entire columns of atmosphere at 56,000 locations.

With the current ground-level network, “due to the relatively small number of locations, only large-scale regional averages could be determined” for greenhouse-gas emissions, said Swiss climatologist Fortunat Joos, of the University of Bern.

With satellite readings, he said, “one would perhaps be able to discriminate carbon emissions from different countries.”

Such data could help negotiators in ongoing global climate talks to determine more precisely who would need to reduce emissions by how much to protect the climate.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/23/2009 at 04:06 PM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather •  
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A Better Plan?

WASHINGTON – Top Republican lawmakers on Friday unveiled a plan for tax cuts and other steps meant to pull the battered US economy out of its slump after White House talks with President Barack Obama.

The blueprint, anchored on a series of tax-cut proposals and an effort to prop up sagging US home values, came with the Senate and House of Representatives looking to send Obama a stimulus bill by February 16.

Republicans have fiercely opposed a Democratic bill that comprises 550 billion dollars in spending and 275 billion dollars in tax cuts, charging it is too big, would do little to restore growth, feeds too many pet projects, and kicks in too late.

But “there’s unanimity that our economy needs help,” House Minority Leader John Boehner said at the White House after laying out the Republican initiative before Obama.

The Republican plan relies on cutting lowest individual tax rates from 15 percent to 10 percent and from 10 percent to five percent, tax deductions for small businesses, and a ban on tax increases to pay for new spending -- which they say should be paid for by cutting spending in other areas.

It would also make unemployment benefits tax free, and offer a home-buyers credit for those who make a minimum down payment of five percent, according to a statement from the Republican leadership.

“At the end of the day, government can’t solve this problem. The American people have to solve it. And the way they can solve it is if we allow them to keep more of the money that they earn,” said Boehner.

Republican leaders were expected to meet with Obama next week to discuss the plan, as the House prepares to vote Wednesday on the Democratic plan and any Republican amendments.

For fiscal year 2008, the 15% tax line goes all the way up to a Form 1040 line 43 amount of $73,200 for Married Filing Jointly taxpayers. For Single taxpayers, the 15% line is at $36,600. A 15-goes-to-10-percent rate reduction for married taxpayers at the top of this bracket would be a tax reduction of $3660; for a single taxpayer at the top of her 15% bracket would save $1795. That’s a fair chunk of change either way, and absolutely helps the lower-middle class folks. For the lower income people, their federal income taxes would be halved. Halved. And no taxes at all for those on unemployment. And you pay for it by NOT SPENDING. By CUTTING GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS. By NOT increasing the deficit. Plus, a bit of a tax credit reward for people who bought a home in something like the proper manner (classically a 20% downpayment).

Golly, this sounds like they found some actual Republicans in DC. Where have they been hiding? [notice that McLefty is not in the group] And why did they vote for Hillary for SoS?

MEANWHILE at the other end of reality, The Heritage Foundation points out that the Dem’s package is overflowing with fat, including several HUNDRED BILLION to be spent on education. While that’s all well and good, it doesn’t create one single job, and just permanently grows the size of government. Even the top Dem behind the measure doubts that it will create any jobs, which is directly opposite to Pelosi’s promise of 4 million new jobs.

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced this week 4 million jobs will be created or saved. Yet Joint Tax Committee staffer Thomas Barthold admitted on the hearing record, also this week, that they had no estimates that any jobs or economic growth would be created by this legislation

And, not to make race an issue here, even though it’s all about race, all the time ...
Robert Reich, Obama’s Economic Advisor, doesn’t want all those infrastructure repair jobs going to construction workers ... if they’re white.
And Charley Rangel doesn’t want the States to step in and have a voice in how Federal stimulus money gets spent ... in their own State. Racism and Socialism. Watch and weep:

Posted by Drew458     on 01/23/2009 at 03:05 PM   
Filed Under: • Economics • Politics •  
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Sky Dancing

A nice daydream for a cold winter’s day.

Somewhere, in one of those alternate universes, I have the skill, the youth, and the cash to play properly. And of course the right toys. And the right music of course ... select what you want, but I’d start with something classy, classic, and lively. Perhaps Hubert Parry’s Frolic. And from there, who knows? But set the mood, call the tune, and step and turn and roll and twist and glory amongst the high clouds in a celebration of life and freedom.

graphics stolen from Theo’s, a most wonderful site for pictures of lovely old planes and lovelier young ladies.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/23/2009 at 02:12 PM   
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff •  
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mrs. clinton vows new era will end obsession with threats. (bet the enemy will love to hear that)

Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda (spelling?) spokesman has called for new attacks upon the UK.
Well, I sure hope someone here is “obsessed” with threats against this country. What’s wrong with a bit of obsession? I like that and paranoia too. Cause I know they’re out there and I do believe what I hear them say.  Or more precisely what I read that they say. And they say they’re out to get us.  Why should I doubt them?

Take heart guys.  Do not be discouraged. She could always get hit by a bus or maybe get bit by a rabid squirrel.
This is Alice in Wonderland.  I feel this deep depression settling in on me.  I wasn’t actually afraid of Bill.  But this person does put a fright in me. And that’s just when I look at her photos.

I guess we’ll see in time, as it will surely tell.  Oh Boy! Will It!

Hillary Clinton vows to end paranoia of George Bush era
Hillary Clinton, the new secretary of state, has stamped her imprint on US foreign policy by saying she wouldn’t be worrying exclusively about the safety of the nation.

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 8:25PM GMT 22 Jan 2009

In a clear reference to George W Bush’s obsession with national security after the September 11 attacks, Mrs Clinton said: “I don’t get up every morning just thinking about the threats and dangers, as real as they are. I also get up thinking about who we are and what we can do.”

Addressing staff members of the 18,000-strong state department on her first day at work, she proclaimed a “new era for America”.

“We are not any longer going to tolerate the kind of divisiveness that has paralysed and undermined our ability to get things done for America,” she said.

“There are three legs to foreign policy: defence, diplomacy and development, and we are responsible for two of those,” she told cheering officials crammed into the main hall of the department’s Washington headquarters.

“Diplomacy and development are essential tools in achieving the long term objectives of the United States. Robust diplomacy and effective development are the best long-term tools for securing America’s future,” said the 61-year-old former first lady, who supervises the US Agency for International Development.

She was later joined by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, in a show of solidarity aimed to assure the state department that it would again be the primary agency of foreign policy.

“We want to send a clear and unequivocal message: this is a team, and you are members of that team,” she said.

In a sign of his commitment to solving the gravest problems confronting the US, Mr Obama appointed two foreign policy heavyweights to key envoy roles.

George Mitchell, the former Northern Ireland negotiator, was made a special envoy to the Middle East, and Richard Holbrooke, a former ambassador to the UN, as special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan. They were both introduced by Mrs Clinton, as Mr Obama looked on. Mr Mitchell said that his experience in Northern Ireland had shown him that “there is no such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended”.

Addressing an audience of senior staff later in the day, Mr Obama said: “I have given you an early gift - Hillary Clinton.” He added: “My presence underscores my commitment to renewing American leadership.”

Former president Bush allowed the Pentagon to lead the country into war in Iraq under Donald Rumsfeld and then take charge of a reconstruction process that went badly awry.

Colin Powell, who served as secretary of state in Mr Bush’s first term, was sidelined in policy-making by both Mr Rumsfeld and former vice president Dick Cheney.

Her sure-footed performance served as a reminder of the political and communication skills that led Mr Obama to select her as the top US diplomat, quickly burying any lingering bitterness from their battle for the Democratic nomination.

She will act as the new president’s representative as they tackle a daunting array of challenges, including unfinished wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the troubled Middle East peace process, climate change and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Mrs Clinton was confirmed late on Wednesday as secretary of state in a 94-2 senate vote and was immediately sworn into office in a ceremony watched by her husband, former president Bill Clinton.

She spent her first afternoon telephoning her foreign counterparts, receiving an intelligence briefing and consulting various regional experts.

TELEGRAPH

Posted by peiper     on 01/23/2009 at 11:47 AM   
Filed Under: • Hildabeast • Homeland-Security • War On Terror •  
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Gay paedophile lovers abused boys in flat they were allowed to share ‘because of human rights.

First of all ... this is totally SICK crap.  These creeps should be taken out and shot. No, bury them alive so they’ll have a little bit of time to think.

I won’t post their photos here.

Welcome to the new world of rights, even for those who deserve none.

It’s hard to conceive of crimes that are worse then this sort of thing.  Stealing a kids future in a way isn’t it?  Hopefully they might not be so thoroughly messed up that with some help they will survive okay. 

One of these guys has a record going back to 1981.  What the heck is he doing walking around free?  OK, we know what he was doing.  Why was he free?
Serving time and then doing the same again.  Why do some ppl think this sort of person can be, “cured?”
Screwed up world no kidding.

Gay paedophile lovers abused boys in flat they were allowed to share ‘because of human rights legislation’

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:56 PM on 23rd January 2009

Two predatory paedophile lovers who abused young boys at their flat were jailed indefinitely today.

Stephen Carruthers, 49, and John Bates, 45, began their relationship in prison while serving lengthy sentences for similar sex offences.

The authorities were powerless to prevent them living together on their release because of human rights legislation, Preston Crown Court heard.

The pair, who both have a string of paedophile convictions dating back to the early 1980s, met in Strangeways prison in Manchester and then went on to live in Blackpool, Lancashire.

They used enticements of money and boasts of celebrity connections to lure four 14-year-olds to their ground floor flat in Caunce Street in the resort. 

Sentencing the pair to indeterminate sentences, Judge Christopher Cornwall said: ‘The simple dreadful reality in this matter in my judgment is you are incorrigible, predatory paedophiles.

‘You simply cannot resist the temptation of making contact with boys with the purpose of abusing them for your own sexual gratification.

‘The harm that you have caused to each of those boys is hard to calculate. What they all have in common is that you were intent on exploiting them and their innocence.

‘You have cast a very dark shadow over their early teens.’

Judge Cornwall added: ‘I have no doubt you pose an extremely high and significant risk of causing very serious harm to other boys in the future, just as you have done on every single occasion you have been released from prison.

‘You are both extremely dangerous. No under-age boy is safe in your company.’

Carruthers was ordered to serve a minimum of five-and-half years in jail before he can be considered for parole after he was convicted of three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, grooming and child abduction.

Bates must serve at least four-and-half years for committing three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child and one of child abduction.

However, the judge said he wanted to ‘make it abundantly clear’ that both were facing lengthy prison terms.

‘I do not expect any application for release to the Parole Board to succeed for a very long time,’ he said.

Both men were disqualified from working with children for life and must not have any unsupervised contact with children.

The Probation Service and police were aware the men - both on the Sex Offenders Register - were living together but could only monitor them.

Even if the couple are eventually released they will still be able to move back in together under current laws.

Richard Howarth, prosecuting, said: ‘The Crown would have wanted an order that the defendants do not reside with each other because it is when they are together they are most dangerous, but I believe that may offend human rights legislation.’

The prosecutors said the pair’s victims were lulled into a false sense of security as they were groomed in a ‘deliberate and expert fashion’.

Two of the boys met Carruthers as he asked them to look after his dogs while he popped into a shop to buy cigarettes.

He was soon offering them small amounts of money to carry out odd jobs in his flat before suggesting he could give them ‘a million pound each’ to satisfy his desires.

They also claimed to be former jockeys who knew many famous people and would show a picture of them apparently posing with Sir David Jason in his role as Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses.

One of the victims had learning difficulties which Carruthers exploited to confuse the boy.

In victim impact statements read to the court, one mother said she had ‘gone through hell’ and that her son was still terrified that the pair would escape from prison.

Another mother said her son had talked of committing suicide and was constantly being teased at school after he told classmates about his ordeal.

Mr Howarth said that boy’s family had moved away because of their predicament to get away from the memories the two men had caused.

Carruthers had a history of sex offending that stretched back to 1981. Bates’s criminal record began in Newcastle in 1983.

Both men sacked their defence teams ahead of giving mitigation today.

Carruthers told the court: ‘My partner and I have been in a relationship for 10 years and in that 10 years together at no time have we got together to plan to abuse any children.’

Both denied all the charges against them but were convicted by a jury at their trial in December.

Outside court, Detective Inspector Tony Baxter, from Blackpool Police’s public protection unit, said: ‘I am extremely happy with the sentence passed on to these dangerous individuals.

‘It sends out a strong message to anyone who commits such offences that when they are caught they will be dealt with robustly by the courts.

‘Carruthers and Bates are clearly dangerous individuals and the public needs to be protected from them.

‘I would like to commend the young victims for their courage in coming forward and the way they gave their evidence under trying circumstances at court.

‘I hope this sentence will be of some comfort to them and their families and I hope that they will grow into successful young men.’

Posted by peiper     on 01/23/2009 at 11:09 AM   
Filed Under: • Crime •  
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The migrants who just don’t belong.  (about time someone spoke up but … who’ll listen)

Really interesting that The Archbishop of York would say this out loud and in public.

Wonder how long he’ll remain in office.

And a side story about ppl who do not belong.  It’s reported today (oh surprise) 90% of failed asylum seekers remain in UK… and backlog of undecided cases doubles in a year

One of the problems of course is, they have civil rights and one of those rights is to ignore local laws and to maintain whatever ethnicity they bring with them.
And if that means they don’t integrate, well that’s one of their rights as well.

This is really LyndonB’s area of expertise and he has commented quite well on the subject. 
Hard for a lot of American to take in I guess because back home we have huge problems of this nature.  But we’re a bigger country and in many areas, lots of folks never notice.  But this is an island and it can seem quite crowded at times and makes one think they’re living in the tower of babel.  And they ALL enjoy benefits even when they can hardly speak the language.  Cause that’s one of their rights too.

The migrants who just don’t belong

By Steve Doughty
Daily Mail

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, says migrants have failed to integrate into British society over the past 40 years.

Immigrants to Britain in the past five decades have been treated like hotel guests who ‘do not belong’

Dr John Sentamu said the failure of migrants to integrate had contributed to the collapse of a common British culture and the lack of a national sense of direction.

He called for recognition of the Christian heritage which used to bind the nation together and for a revival of the civic values once represented by myriad local clubs, churches and trade unions.

The Archbishop’s powerful attack on uncontrolled immigration and on the Left-wing interpretation of multiculturalism that encourages migrants to ignore traditional British values, was made in a speech to Gordon Brown’s think tank, the Smith Institute.

Dr Sentamu, a trustee of the Institute, has previously criticised multiculturalism and official neglect of the importance of Christian thinking and history.

But yesterday’s speech was the first admission from a senior Church of England figure that large-scale immigration has brought serious problems as well as benefits.

Ugandan-born Dr Sentamu, who came to Britain in the 1970s, said it was important to remember that Britain had always provided refuge for economic migrants.

He said 250,000 Jewish people had come before the First World War, and had integrated and been accepted.

‘What happened after the Second World War was a different phenomenon,’ Dr Sentamu continued.

‘For the first time, significant numbers of immigrants from a non Judaeo-Christian background settled in the UK.’

He referred to the view of Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks that until the 1950s immigrants were like guests in a country house, who were expected to assimilate British values and to belong to the existing society.

But with the decline of empire and the growth of Commonwealth immigration, the pattern had become more like a hotel.

‘Guests are entitled to stay if they can pay their way and receive basic services in return for their payment,’ he said. ‘But they are guests - they do not belong. In the same way, migrants to Britain from the 1960s onwards have made their home with their cultural rights protected under legislation framed under a multicultural perspective.

‘Consequently, any sense of a shared common culture is eroded, risking increasing segregation.’

The Archbishop, who is second in the hierarchy of the Church of England, was speaking at a time when Mr Brown and his ministers have been increasingly prepared to acknowledge problems linked to immigration.

Dr Sentamu praised Mr Brown’s view of Britishness but warned that the Prime Minister’s vision ‘flounders if it does not allow for participation, involvement and commitment from individuals and communities’.

He also blamed leaders of the Church of England for failing to speak out over the future of the nation as well as ignoring ‘the voiceless and the unheard in the market square’.

Dr Sentamu said that since 2001 there had been no fewer than five ‘major government reports on social cohesion’ all attempting to ‘address the problems of a multicultural approach’.

But few aims had been achieved. This was, Dr Sentamu said, because the Government has been wedded to central control and had been reluctant to see local communities have power.

And, he said, ‘there has also been a reluctance to acknowledge the strong Judaeo-Christian heritage which has shaped our language, our laws, our education and our hard-won civil rights.’

The Archbishop lamented the collapse of the vision of Britain developed in the 1940s that underpinned the creation of the welfare state.

‘It is a tragedy to me that we have increasingly lost this big vision,’ Dr Sentamu said.

‘Memory loss has made Britain sleepwalk on streets supposedly paved with gold but sadly littered with promissory notes whose cash value is the credit crunch and the economic downturn as well as becoming a country that is not at ease with itself.’

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has said since the New Year that many poorer white people feel betrayed and ignored by authorities and that they fear losing out in the share-out of public benefits. She has also admitted that Labour allowed a ‘free-for-all’ in immigration since it took power in 1997.

MIGRANTS

Posted by peiper     on 01/23/2009 at 10:12 AM   
Filed Under: • Illegal-Aliens and Immigration • UK •  
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   Thursday - January 22, 2009

elimination complete

foop. foop. The small sound of silencers coughing in the night. Quiet thuds as the bodies hit the floor. No witnesses, no survivors. No questions. Hurried footsteps recede down a darkened hallway. A dark van drives silently down a wet and unlit alley. This never happened. We were never here.

Europe lauds Obama shutdown of secret CIA prisons

U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision Thursday to shut secret CIA-run prisons abroad brought renewed calls for their locations to be disclosed as well a fresh denial from Poland, one of two eastern European countries most closely linked to the practice.

Across Europe, governments uneasy that CIA flights had been carrying terrorism suspects through their airports and air space for years said they were relieved to be heading into a new rendition-free era.

Dick Marty, the Swiss lawmaker who spearheaded the Council of Europe investigations that sought to expose the existence of clandestine interrogation centers in Eastern Europe and Africa, said he expected the truth would come trickling out once the centers were closed.

“For some countries, things are going to become very embarrassing. I think European countries would do well now to tell the truth,” Marty said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Marty said he “would be very surprised” if any CIA-run facilities were still operating in Europe, but added “in East Africa, or Morocco, I might assume there is something.” He said Obama’s order granting Red Cross officials access to all secret facilities might prove critical in revealing their locations, both past and present.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/22/2009 at 06:26 PM   
Filed Under: • International • War On Terror •  
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Bowling: Know the Rules and the Nuances

Rule 4a
“A delivery is made when the ball leaves the player’s possession and crosses the foul line into playing territory.”

A delivery takes place when a ball is released into fair territory, according to Rule 4a. Crossing the indefinite line including walls, flooring, posts and ball returns before a bowler is in position for the next delivery constitutes a foul. Conversely, a bowler who never releases the ball does not commit a foul. For example, if during the delivery, the bowler loses balance and steps into the lane but does not release the ball, no foul has been committed.

The important thing to realize is that the foul line is more than just that little electric eye down at the surface of the lane. It extends beyond your lane. It extends left to right beyond all the lanes. The foul line runs the entire length of the bowling center.

Anytime a player’s body encroaches on or goes beyond the foul line and touches any part of the lane, equipment or building during or after a delivery, it is considered a foul.

A ball is in play after a delivery until the same or another player is on the approach in position to make a succeeding delivery.

“Touches” is the key. You can deliver the ball in such a way that your hand passes through the air above the foul line. This is not a foul. But if you slide your foot across the foul line onto the surface of the lane it is a foul. If you stomp your foot in anger on the ball return channel cover between the lanes that is also a foul. If you make your throw, and you mess up the shot, and then run down the walkway beside the lanes and kick the wall, it is a foul. You can’t touch anything beyond the foul line.

“In play” is the second key. It’s your turn. You pick up your ball and make your approach. You let go of the ball and it rolls down the alley. You absolutely need to make a strike or else your team will lose the championship ... and you roll a 3. The gate comes down, the pin deck is cleared, the next half of the frame is set, your ball has come back in the ball return to the ball corral but you haven’t picked it up yet. It’s then that you realize that you’ve just lost the championship for your team, so you run off and give the side wall a kick. Ahead of the foul line but past the end of the last lane. You still have fouled. Because your first ball is still in play because you have not yet initiated the “succeeding delivery” by picking up your ball.

Rule 108a - leaving the game due to illness or injury

“When a player is unable to complete a game because of disability,injury or emergency, and another eligible player is not available, the team shall count the actual score for the frames bowled plus one-tenth of the league’s absentee score for each frame missed. (See Rule 118b for average information.)”

Regardless of how many frames were bowled, the bowlers actual score must be used and 1/10th of the bowlers absentee score for the remaining frames. So if the bowler did not bowl at all for the game they withdrew from, then the whole absentee score is used for that game. If they bowled 5 frames, then the actual scores bowled for those 5 frames are used, plus 1/10th of the bowler’s absentee score for each of the remaining 5 frames.

NOTE:  For computing score: Take actual score for frames bowled; credit 10 pins for a strike or spare in last frame bowled. Add 1/10 of league’s absentee score for each of the remaining frames. For example, if absentee score is bowler’s average less 10: Absentee score, 145; 1/10 of 145 = 14.5 X 3 frames = 43.5. Drop fraction and add 43 to actual score for 7 frames bowled. The fraction is dropped after the total amount is figured, and not from each frame.

Well, fine, great, but what if the bowler made marks? What if their last frame was a strike, which scores 10 plus the next two balls rolled? What if they only bowled 3 frames and earned a turkey (thress strikes in a row) and then pulled out because of injury?

The key is that strikes and spares are given extra scoring ability based only on the score of the next balls rolled by the bowler. If the bowler withdraws they get a fraction of their absentee score for each remaining frame specifically because they have NOT rolled any “next” balls. Thus a strike or a spare rolled in the last frame bowled will only count as 10. If the bowler bowls 2 consecutive strikes and leaves, they would receive 20 for the first strike frame and 10 for the second strike frame for a total of 30. For 3 consecutive strikes they would receive 30-20-10 for total of 60.

I had both of these situation occur at league this past Saturday.

A bowler - from that same team that has had all the other shenanigans this season of course - was injured and had to withdraw. Of course it was the one week I didn’t bring the rulebook with me. Since I wasn’t sure what to do, we asked the guy running the alley (nice guy, great bowler, not the sharpest knife in the drawer) what to do, and she convince him to used the “3 frames or less ‘rule’” that replaced her actual score with her absentee score, to which he agreed. Ok, fine, it’s over and done with ... but that was a crock. I checked things out with the USBC and what you see above is their response. There is no “3 frames or less” rule. What you bowl is what you bowl, and those scores never are replaced by anything.

The foul situation was similar, but for a different team. I did not know the “in play” part lasted as long as it does, so we let that one go as well. I figured “in play” ended when you ball hit the pins and the bar came down. My best advice: don’t take it so seriously. Unless you’re getting a paycheck out of it bowling is a game. And be a decent sport, or at least grow the hell up and control yourself. Don’t go kicking the walls and chairs like a baby.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/22/2009 at 05:42 PM   
Filed Under: • Bowling Blogging •  
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Let’s get the Oball Rolling!

White House may put hold on offshore drilling plan
U.S. President Barack Obama may order a hold on a proposal issued in the final days of the Bush administration to expand offshore drilling in previously banned areas, an Interior Department official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Shortly after being sworn in on Tuesday, Obama ordered all federal agencies and departments to halt pending regulations until they can be reviewed by incoming staff.

An Interior official said the department is waiting for clarification from the White House on whether a proposed draft of a five-year plan to lease areas in the Atlantic and Pacific waters for oil and natural gas drilling can go forward.

The preliminary plan would authorize 31 energy exploration lease sales between 2010 and 2015 for tracts along the east coast and off the coasts of Alaska and California.

Both presidential and congressional bans on drilling in most U.S. waters ended last year.

Separately, the Interior official said the department’s plan to develop oil shale fields in the western United States may also be stopped by Obama’s order.

Meanwhile, U.S. CRUDE FUTURES SETTLE AT $43.67/BBL, UP 12 CENTS That’s quite a jump since $33/bbl on Monday, seeing as it’s only Thursday.

Well, at least we won’t NOT HAVE ANY oil. Looks like we’re friggin swimming in it right now.

* U.S. crude inventories jumped 6.1 million barrels last week to 332.7 million barrels, while domestic gasoline stocks leaped 6.5 million barrels to 220.0 million barrels, far above
analysts’ forecasts in a Reuters poll, government data showed [EIA/S].

* Stocks in the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for NYMEX-traded crude rose 200,000 barrels to 33.2 million barrels, extending record storage at the site.

* U.S. distillate stocks rose 800,000 barrels to 145 million barrels, against the forecast for small decline.

so of course, the farmers are growing corn as fast as they can, for all the ethanol to add to the gasoline we aren’t using.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/22/2009 at 03:49 PM   
Filed Under: • Obama, The One • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
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Great Grand-dad has to prove he’s over 18 to buy a sling shot.  They are called catapults here.

More MOONBAT stuff.  Hardly have to look to find it anymore. It’s everywhere. 
Thought it was a gag at first but, no.  Take a look at the old guy.

btw ... not being a fisherman ever I wouldn’t know but.  Couldn’t you do the same thing with a home made sling shot using a hanger?  We did that as kids. Making the slings that is.

This is pretty silly and so that’s why it’s posted. 

Last post for me for the day ... playing nurse to wife who has a cold but worse .... she’s really ticked off at govt. in general but particularly with the locals.
We think that very soon the powers that be are going to allow the paving over of a portion of the valuable GREEN BELT here. They wanna build like 2,000 houses plus the support things like stores and whatever else might be needed.  If our weather clears up enough in my lifetime and the wife gets better, I’ll try and get pix.  Really awful darn news if they go ahead.  But hands are tied council says, by London.  So along with sneezes, cough and sniffles, I’m getting an earful (but no bad language) and the way she’s muttering you would think I was on the darn council myself.
Non of which has a thing to do with this post however.  Just thought I’d add it in closing.

Cheers

Shopkeeper refuses to serve great-grandfather, 73, a toy catapult ‘ unless he could prove he was over 18’

Last updated at 1:53 PM on 22nd January 2009

A 73-year-old angler was reeling after a tackle shop refused to sell him a toy catapult - unless he produced ID proving he was over 18.

Great-grandfather John Payne, who suffers arthritis and walks with a limp, was told the £1.50 toy could only be sold to adults with valid identification.

Staff said the plastic catapult - used to fling fish bait into rivers - could be used as a weapon if it fell into the hands of a teenager.

Humiliated: John Payne was forced to show identification proving he was over 18 before he could buy this catapult

It meant John, who was taking one of his 10 grandchildren fishing, was forced to hand over his driving licence before the ‘jobsworth’ shopkeeper allowed the sale.

Frail John said he was left ‘utterly humiliated’ following the incident at the Original Factory Shop in Melksham, Wiltshire.

The retired foreman said: ‘At first I thought that she was just trying to be humorous.

‘But when I cheekily replied ‘Do I look 18?’ she asked if I could prove it, and then asked me to verify this with some form of identification.

‘At this point I realised that she was in fact being serious.

‘I am 73 years old and have grandchildren who are probably older than the woman serving me. I have a 50-year-old daughter, for goodness sake.

‘I have bought other equipment in the past with no trouble. Surely it is obvious that I am going to use the catapult for its intended purpose.

‘I understand that the girl had a job to do, but she should be able to show some discretion.

‘What sort of a world are we living in now when a 73-year-old cannot go into a shop and buy fishing tackle?

‘It seems some people are jobsworths who are completely devoid of common sense.’

Balding John, who suffers from crippling arthritis, has been a keen fisherman for the past 50 years.

The grandfather of nine and great-grandfather of 10 visits his local rivers most weekends, often with his young family.

But he was stunned when his local tackle shop refused to sell him the catapult - a standard piece of kit for most fishermen across the world.

The shop assistant told him that she had to screen everyone before handing over the ‘dangerous’ implement.

But John, who lives with wife Dorothy, 76, slammed his ‘nanny state’ treatment.

He said: ‘The implication is that I was not a responsible enough adult to purchase a catapult, which is designed for the purpose of firing maggots into the river to attract fish.

‘As much as I am not impartial to a little humorous flattery, on this occasion I felt extremely humiliated by the assistant’s obvious lack of judgement.’

A spokesman for the store said its shopkeeper was being ‘vigilant’ - while having ‘a bit of fun’.

He said: ‘I am sure the assistant was having a bit of fun with the customer and did not seriously expect him to show identification.

‘But this does prove that our staff are very vigilant about asking for identification.’

GRANDAD

Posted by peiper     on 01/22/2009 at 12:31 PM   
Filed Under: • Blog Stuff • Miscellaneous • UK •  
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