Facebook Ban

Did you hear about this? Kent County Council have banned their *32000 employees from using the social utility Facebook.

Employers are great at disciplining staff aren't they? If they spent as much time getting people to "buy-in" to the culture (I know it isn't easy in the public sector) of their organization, valued them more their staff just might do a better and more committed job. Perhaps then they wouldn't feel the need to spend time at Facebook or going outside for a fag.

This sort of thing is so typical of British management. Minimalist, narrow-minded, old-fashioned and unnecessary.


*32, 000 - what do they all do?


Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter

Deutschland uber alles? - THE DAMN EU AGAIN

New EU constitution "without public poll"

Nicholas Cecil in today's Evening Standard reports that Wolfgang Ischinger, the German Ambassador to Britain, said Berlin would "love" to get through a new treaty containing the key parts of the EU constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters. He suggested this could be done by scrapping the pledge made in countries such as Britain and France........Mr Ischinger told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We would love to preserve to the maximum extent possible the substance of that draft".

........and what is the substance of the draft?

A total loss of sovereignty, our way of life and our laws and customs which have served Britain well for centuries. As I said at the General Election in May 2005, the undemocratic, evil EU is succeeding where the Luftwaffe failed in 1940.

Goodbye 2006 and hello.................................

to 2007.

My last post on this forum for 2006.

See you all in a few hours time!

Balkan Bottoms

Once again I feel compelled to copy & paste from Richard North's site. This time the subject is the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EUssr Club.

At midnight tonight, with the dawn of the New Year, Romania and Bulgaria join the European Union, bringing it to 27 members. But that means more than them joining a cosy little club. It means that Romanians and Bulgarians have the right to enter our country. They do not, as yet, have a right to work here – unless they are self-employed – but who is checking?

It does mean, though, that their governments become part of our government. Romania and Bulgaria will supply officials, high and low, to the EU commission, which makes decisions on how we in England are required to run our affairs. Their ministers join the Council of Ministers, which decides which laws are adopted, and their heads of government become members of the European Council – and decide on "European" political strategy. For that privilege, we also pay several more billions into the kitty.

The funny thing is, I do not ever remember being asked - not by my government or anyone else - if I wanted Romania and Bulgaria as part of my government, giving their officials the right to decide on the laws that affect me. And do I mind? Hell yes! I do mind, very much indeed.

Accordingly, I will not be welcoming the latest new members into the "club". I would sooner they and all the rest celebrated our departure from it. In the meantime, they can - as the song goes - stick their blue flags up their .....

..........................Balkan bottoms?

Boring, boring accountants

This has recently been posted on "Gaping Void's Blog"

I like the bit about website. It's so true, all those professional firms out there making "a difference".

The "Nobody Cares" Manifesto For Accountants

* It's important to remember debits are on the left and credits on the right - nobody cares. Probably because the system was invented in 1494 and hasn't changed since.

* We work hard to earn letters behind our names - nobody cares. Importance isn't derived from academic achievement but what you do for others.

* ROI is an important concept - nobody cares. ROI calculations are something you do when you really don't want to help your client but to demonstrate to him/her how important you are. For which read 2.

* It's important to keep good records - nobody cares. Clients aren't in business to be administrators. If you can't figure out how to help clients then expect to be outsourced. Probably the day after tomorrow.

* A tidy office implies a tidy mind - nobody cares. A tidy mind is often compartmentalised to the point of tunnel vision. You don't see tidy at the edge of innovation. Which is where you should be when your clients come up with great ideas.

* Professionals should always wear top quality suits - nobody cares. How you look may be important if your name's Anina but it sure as heck doesn't matter when you're traipsing around a pig farm. You do that occasionally don't you?

* Your professional status among the community demonstrates integrity - nobody believes you. Professional status is over-rated. Those schmuks from KPMG in court on fraud charges sorted that one out once and for all.

* Adding value is the most important thing you have to do - nobody believes you. Clients can read a 1,000 websites and see that same vacuuous statement. Stuff your website with client stories, preferably written by clients and not some PR outfit.

6 things in 2007 - My Prophecies

1. The "cash for honours" row peaks in February/March.

2. Hezbollah will attack Israel again. (This time Israel will finish the job)

3. Political scandal in Australia.

4. Windows Vista launch unsuccessful.

5. Civil unrest in Iran.

6. Major earthquake in the southern hemisphere.


Iain Dale, Ellee Seymour, James Higham, Eastcliffe Richard, Shasinka, Stephen Pollard, Yid with Lid, Julia Buckley, Dizzy Thinks, Richard North, Chicken Yogurt, Franorama, Rox Populi, Beau Bo D'or,

What are the seven [7] best things you did this past year?

From James Higham........and these are mine

1] Bought a new computer and started blogging.
2] Agreed to trek in Feb 2007 for Breast Cancer Campaign (see my other blog)
3] Got involved in Blogpower with many of you.
4] Moved up the "meedja" ladder.
5] Didn't get another 3 points on my licence.
6] Had a fantastic weekend in Bordeaux in October and survived the Pyrennes in June!
7] Glad I didn't go to the World Cup.

Tags:
Eastcliffe Richard
Frances Oapen
Dr Simon Moores
Lucy Mail/Ramsgate Tourettes
Julia Buckley

Sashinka
Stephen Pollard
Tim Worstall
JohnnyB
Ellee Seymour
Barrybeelzebub
Pillage Idiot
Peter Wells' Coffin End Blog
Men are better than women
Onyx Stone
Chase me
Michelle Malkin
Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe
Gates of Vienna
Bel is thinking
The Spine
Strumpette
Petite Anglaise

Adsense for Internet Marketing

Google Adsense. If you are thinking about an internet business for your Blog or website and your really in to internet marketing, does Adsense work for you?

Broadcaster dies in car crash

(From the BBC News website)Talksport phone-in host Mike Dickin, known to listeners as "The King", has died in a car crash.

The presenter, who was in his 60s, was involved in a six car pile-up on the A30 on Monday. He was airlifted to hospital but was pronounced dead.

Dickin started his broadcasting career at BBC Radio Oxford in the 1970s, where he was the first presenter on the air.

He also broadcast on Radio 4 and LBC, and won an award for his coverage of the Lockerbie disaster in 1988.

The presenter, who broadcast from his home studio in Bodmin Moor, was known for his passionate, outspoken views.

Listeners dubbed him Britain's angriest man, but he was also known as "The King" because of his supposed resemblance to Henry VIII.

Last month, BBC's The World at One presenter Nick Clarke passed away from cancer.

Clarke presented The World at One, the BBC's flagship politics programme, for 12 years, taking the reins in February 1994. He resumed his work this summer after a nine-month absence to fight a soft tissue sarcoma, a cancer that cost him his left leg.

That's two great "radio voices" we've lost in recent weeks.

Top Tips for Sports Broadcasting on Radio (3)

As you'll be likely to work for long stretches at a time, ensure that

1. You've had a good night's sleep beforehand, and

2. Eat properly.

Remember, you are a performer. Think and act like such.

Global Warming

Sir David Attenborough has called for a return to war-time values as Lewis Smith in today's Times newspaper points out..................................

He hit out at 4x4s, electrical standby facilities and lights that are left on unnecessarily as he demanded a change in moral and intellectual attitudes towards climate change.

He said that even tiny amounts of wasted electricity were immoral because they put “our grandchildren’s lives in danger”.

“I grew up during the war and during the war it was a common value that wasting food was wrong,” he told MPs. “It wasn’t that we thought we were going to beat Hitler by eating every bit of gristle of meat, but it was accepted as wrong to waste food. People felt that widely, universally.”

Such attitudes, Sir David said, should be revived. “There should be a general moral view that wasting energy is wrong. It doesn’t matter if it’s a tiny bit or a big bit. It’s a general attitude to life. We are putting in hazards for our grand- children,” he said.

Sir David made his call for change a few hours after the Met Office announced that 2006 was about to go down in history as the hottest in Britain since records began.

Is Sir David right, or is he scaremongering? After all, the Met Office records only go back 100 years or so? For all we know, climate change or global warming is a naturally occuring phenomenon. I'd also like to ask Sir David how his return to "war-time attitudes" will go down in the USA, the world's major user of fossile fuels, and in the emerging economies of China, India and Brazil?

This stupid country (3)

Also from yesterday's London Evening Standard.......this time news about another stupid decision. You see the English never see the "big picture". Hardly surprising, we've people in positions of authority, who in my opinion, are small-minded, minimalist, short-termist and lacking in vision. This is certainly the case when it comes to town planning matters. Aesthetics never come into it.

Museum St, SW7

The three museums in South Kensington-The Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria & Albert - are a remarkable cluster of cultural and educational institutions. Nearby there are other buildings of considerable importance, from the Serpentine Galery in Hyde Park to the Royal Albert Hall. Yet this area is divided by busy roads-Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road-which makes it difficult to see the buildings as part of a coherent whole. It can also make it a bleaky experience for visitors.
An imaginative solution has been propsed by Kensington & Chelsea Council, Westminster Council and the Mayor. This would involve redesigning Exhibition Road and the area around to make itmlore welcoming for pedestrians. The road would lose its narrow pavements and would be redesigned with bold markings, which, it is hoped, would cause cars to travel more slowly. There would be provision for good crossings for pedestrians at major junctions and centralised bus stops and space for taxis.
Unfortunately, this scheme has been turned down for inclusion for the shortlist for the Big Lottery fund on the grounds that it concentrates too heavily on road enhancements. This misses the point, which is that the redesign is not intended to benefit motorists, but to make the whole area more accessible and to help integrate important cultural institutions into a single space. The cost, at £25 million, is reasonable. Now an appeal is to be made for £5million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, with the rest made up by the Government. This eminently sensible scheme deserves support.

Of course, whether or not it gets it remains to be seen. I agree with the columns main thrust. For those of you who have visited the Spanish city of Valencia, you may have been impressed by the location of various museums and an aquatic centre, very easily accessed, in the centre of that remarkable city.

This stupid country (2)

Our continued membership of the EU is now going to give the British Film Industry problems................from the London Evening Standard leader column of December 11th.

"SAVE OUR SCREEN"

Encouraging films that promote British culture is a laudable aim. But there is a risk that new European rules that limit tax breaks will damage the industry they ostensibly seek to encourage. Films made in Britain must have a 75% British storyline or have british lead characters or be based on British stories in order to receive the funds. That could discourage Hollywood from using the skills of Britain's internationally respected film industry. The whole world loves British-made films, whether they are set here like Harry Pottter series or not. The tax regime should support both.

This is so typical isn't it. Let's put the wishes of unelected foreign bureaucrats before the interests of a very needy British industry.

Canada Geese

Canada Geese seem to be attracted to Golders Hill Park, Hampstead Heath and they've taken over the boating pool in Regent's Park. Are they pests or do you like them?

I'm certain James Higham Shasinka Girl with a One Track mind Stephen Pollard and of course Ellee will have something to say on the matter.

Meanwhile, you may enjoy the latest offering from Alan Caruba

Mexican, Canadian or American?

By Alan Caruba

The discussion arising from the birth of a Mexican child, born to Mexican parents, on a Mexican airliner, over American territory has aroused my interest. Lawyers assert that the child is technically American, having been born over the territorial area of the United States of America.

I live in New Jersey where, for decades now, we have been home to large flocks of "Canada Geese." However, many of these flocks have taken up permanent residence in New Jersey and have given birth to many "Canada Geese" who in turn poop all over New Jersey without regard to either sanitary or environmental regulations. Frequently aggressive, they have been known to chase small children and dogs from "their" favorite parks and other areas.

While it can be argued that this aggressive behavior is likely the result of their residing in New Jersey, the larger question is whether, in fact, they should be called "American" or "New Jersey" geese?

If a Mexican new-born child can be accorded all the rights and privileges of being an American citizen merely for flying over our great nation, surely these "Canada" geese should be accorded a more proper identification as "American" geese.

Nor do I think "Canada" geese should, having been born in New Jersey, be given another State's name simply because they may, on occasion, fly over or to other States. I have traveled widely throughout the United States and am still identified as from New Jersey no matter where I am. I am, however, prepared to compromise on this in favor of the generic "American" geese.

Regrettably, a most esteemed legal advisor, a former judge, has advised me this is not feasible due to the North American Migratory Waterfowl Treaty that has established their nomenclature. No change can be made to the designation of “Canada” geese without the concurrence of all the signatories to the treaty.

This is manifestly unfair and unjust! Given the obvious increase in the population of these "Canada" geese in New Jersey and the fact that few of them, if any, have ever been to Canada, the time has come to assert our sovereignty by fully assimilating and identifying these great honking and pooping geese for what they are—American!

Alan Caruba writes a weekly column, “Warning Signs”, posted on the Internet site of The National Anxiety Center, www.anxietycenter.com. His new book, “Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy”, has been published by Merril Press.

© Alan Caruba, December 2006

An amazing Oz Blog

Check out this from Bagel Blogger

PEACE OIL

Pity this isn't aired in the media.........................


Peace Oil is produced in Israel by Jews, Arabs, Druze and Bedouin working together. Grown in the foothills of the Carmel Mountains, the olives are pressed within hours of picking, to produce this prize winning extra virgin olive oil.

An initiative of registered UK charity The Charities Advisory Trust, Peace Oil encourages co-operation between communities. By helping to market their produce it hopes to bring economic prosperity to such enterprises, encouraging others to follow their example.

Profits from Peace Oil are used to support peace and reconciliation work in the Middle East.

www.peaceoil.org

Peace Oil
Radius Works
Back Lane
London
NW3 1HL
0207 435 6500

Raymond Gubbay this morning with Kirsty Young

On Desert Island Discs this morning, music impressario Raymond Gubbay recounted his first ever job interview. It was with the great Victor Hochhauser

There were just three questions, said Gubbay

"What school did you go to?"
"Are you Jewish?"
"Can you start Monday?"

Brilliant. None of the Health & Safety/ID check/UK citizenship/inside leg measurement/form filling rubbish today's job seekers now endure.

There's so much bureaucracy today isn't there. Do you blame the Government, or should ordinary citizens take some responsibility for allowing the "paperwork culture" to overload us all?

What's your opinion?

Ziggy the cat (3)

A great pic from Ha'aretz

Notice the eyes. Named Ziggy after David Bowie. The rock star also has two different coloured eyes.

This stupid country

On a sign, actually three little signs, in the fruit counter below some biscuit tins, in Marks & Spencer - Temple Fortune - these words, well nearly............

"Offensive Weapons Act 2003. It is an offence to sell items which have sharp edges to persons under 16".

Woopeedoo. F***king buscuit tins are now deemed offensive weapons. It beggars belief doesn't it. Why didn't they put these signs all around the fruit shelves? I mean think of it, you can do real damage with a banana - and how about a pineapple thrown at you at full pelt from 3 yards? Could blind you.

Devil, do they have this bollocks in Edinburgh?

Or Tunbridge Wells, Iain?

This is the sort of stuff that ought to be discussed on 18Doughty Street

San Francisco Beduoin

A refreshing story from "Yid with Lid"

Here is some nice Shabbos reading for the Peanut President and Tutti Fruti. Israel just announced a new consul in San Francisco, Ishmael Khaldi. And what do ya know! Mr. Khaldi is a Bedouin Muslim Arab Israeli.

Gee I wonder how many Arab Countries have a Jewish Consul? ... OH WAIT I REMEMBER That number would be ZERO. I wonder how many of those Islamic States have Jews in a high-ranking position in their foreign service...THAT Would Be Zero too. Any High Ranking Government Position?

SF's newest consul enjoys being Bedouin, proud to be Israeli
By Matthew Kalman 11/30/06

Ishmael Khaldi lived in a Bedouin tent until he was eight years old, walked four miles round trip to school each day and still goes home on weekends to what he calls the "Middle Ages" to tend to flocks of sheep.

But next week, Khaldi will leave his tiny village of Khawalid - population 450 - in the northern Galilee region and fly to San Francisco to become Israel's first Bedouin diplomat and the nation's first Muslim to rise through the ranks of the Israeli foreign service.

Of the more than one million Israeli Arabs, only 170,000 are Bedouins, many of whom were once nomadic desert dwellers. In recent years, Arab radicals in the Israeli parliament and Islamic movements who deplore the existence of the Jewish state have dominated Israeli-Arab relations, and the six-year-long Palestinian intifada has stretched their allegiance to Israel to a breaking point.

But Khaldi, while conceding that the situation of Arabs in Israel "is not perfect," is an unrepentant Israeli who says he is not betraying his Arab "brothers" by becoming the new Israeli consul to San Francisco.