A Time of Sadness

Today is a very sad day for my family and in particular for one of my nephews and his family.

Yesterday as reported by the media the 255th soldier was killed in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. This brings the total of personnel killed in the the current conflicts up to the same total as the Falklands War.

It also brings the conflicts so much closer to home as the soldier killed was part of our extended family.

Captain John McDermid had only recently been posted to Afghanistan, was not known personally to me, but he was the step-father to my nephew, husband to Gill and father of two more boys.

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Captain John McDermid of The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland yesterday, Wednesday 14 November 2007, in southern Afghanistan.

Captain McDermid, who was serving with 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, was leading a joint UK and Afghan National Army patrol to the south of the district centre of Sangin in Helmand Province, during which he was also mentoring an Afghan National Army officer in the leadership and infantry skills that platoon commanders need.

At approximately 1130 hours local time an Improvised Explosive Device detonated, which sadly resulted in the death of Captain McDermid and serious injury to the Afghan interpreter who was accompanying him.

Captain John McDermid

Captain John McDermid, aged 43 and born in Glasgow joined 1st Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers in 1983 and served 21 years as a soldier and 3 years as an officer. In a distinguished career, he served in Berlin, Canada, Kenya, Cyprus and Belize, conducting two tours in Bosnia as part of the UNPROFOR mission and one in Kosovo as part of the NATO deployment. He completed four Northern Ireland tours and a further tour in Iraq cemented his standing as a hugely experienced, skilled, knowledgeable and capable soldier.

His quality was identified early on and he rose quickly through the ranks. As a first-rate Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, he was selected to instruct officers at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he excelled. On return to the Battalion he served as Company Quarter Master Sergeant, Company Sergeant Major and Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant before promotion to Warrant Officer 1st Class as Regimental Sergeant Major of The Royal Highland Fusiliers in 2002. His performance there was typically outstanding.

He was commissioned in June 2004 and, initially, led the Regimental Recruiting Team based in Glasgow. His energetic and engaging approach overhauled recruitment. His subsequent appointment was as Unit Welfare Officer where he oversaw the move of the Battalion (now The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland) from Cyprus to Glencorse Barracks, Edinburgh.

Captain McDermid was posted to a staff appointment at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in early 2007. Always a field soldier, he volunteered for operational service in Afghanistan. In September 2007, he was attached to 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment as a member of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, tasked with training the Afghan National Army. As a mentor, he was responsible for developing the leadership and infantry skills of platoon or company commanders.

Captain McDermid leaves behind his wife Gill, and three children.

Captain McDermid's family said:

"John's family and friends are devastated by this loss. John was such an important part of their lives and his death has left a void that can never be filled. Every one who knew John knew how loving, dedicated, strong, hilarious and truly wonderful he was. Although very much a family man, John's sense of duty and responsibility were never overlooked."

Captain McDermid's family appreciate the overwhelming support they have received from both the Army and friends alike. They would like to be given the time to grieve privately at this difficult time.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Harkness MBE, Commanding Officer of The Royal Highland Fusiliers, The 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, said:

"Captain John McDermid represented everything that is special about both the Army and The Royal Highland Fusiliers. From Fusilier to Regimental Sergeant Major, his 21 years service as a soldier was notable for its professionalism, commitment and loyalty. His exceptional qualities led to him being commissioned into the Regiment that he loved and into which he had devoted so much of his time and energy. Since his commissioning in 2004 he had continued to serve with the Battalion in both Cyprus and Scotland, where his exceptional talents remained evident amongst the Regimental family.

"Captain John McDermid was a friend and mentor to everyone. He loved the Army and everything that it represented. It came as no surprise to those who knew him that he had volunteered to go to Afghanistan as soldiering was in his blood. Held in the highest regard by all ranks, he occupied a unique place in everyone's hearts and minds. His death will leave a gap in all our lives that will never be filled. Today we have lost a friend and colleague, but his memory will live on within the Battalion and amongst those fortunate enough to have known him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, now and always."

Lieutenant Colonel Simon Downey MBE, Commanding Officer 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment said:

"Captain John McDermid was an exceptional soldier, officer and man. Deeply able, hugely energetic, and an accomplished, compassionate and encouraging leader, he rose rapidly through the ranks from private soldier to captain, excelling at every stage. Attached to 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment as a member of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, he made an immediate and thoroughly positive impact. Good natured, good company but with an inner steel, he was a very popular and key member of the mentoring team.

"Whether it was training the Afghans or commanding on operations, he was always at the forefront – seeking the best, encouraging and re-assuring those around him and leading by example. His command in Sangin was simply inspirational. Captain John McDermid's loss is a heavy blow to us all. We have lost, in John, a good comrade and an outstanding officer. He will be sorely missed, but we take great strength from his friendship, his example and his determination to make a difference for the people of Afghanistan. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family – his wife Gill and his three children."

Major Barrie Terry, 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, Officer Commanding Combat Support Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team said:

"Captain John McDermid was a first rate officer. He was a charismatic leader, who had vast experience and a real flair for command. He was a loving husband to Gill and father to his children. Typically, he volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan and join the Combat Support Operational Mentoring Liaison Team. A highly qualified Late Entry Commissioned Officer and exceptional instructor; he was ideally placed to mentor the Afghan National Army and prepare the less experienced members of his mentoring team.

"Deployed to Sangin, John was energetic in taking forward operations against the Taliban. Characteristically, he was always at the forefront of everything his team did, leading by example. A professional and committed soldier, he had already achieved so much, as a Colour Sergeant Instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the Regimental Sergeant Major of 1st Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers, and he had a bright future ahead of him.

"With his quick sense of humour and a warm but no-nonsense approach, he was extremely popular; he will be very much missed by all who knew him. The British Army has lost an able and devoted servant. My thoughts are with his family as they cope with this tragic and devastating news."

His close friend, Captain Ekbahadur ‘Ek' Gurung, of 36 Engineer Regiment, Combat Support Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, said:

"He was a Scot who was professional and committed to his job. He was absolutely dedicated to his family and children. His pictures and stories reflected his love for his family. His knowledge of the infantry role and tactics was first class and this knowledge has been responsible for the safety of the whole Combat Support Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team. We will miss the compassion that he showed to every one regardless of rank."

Captain John ‘Dud' Southam, Combat Support Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, Queens Royal Lancers said:

"I first met Captain John McDermid just prior to the deployment and was immediately struck by his warmth and good humour and with his ability to make friends very quickly. During the deployment it became very clear that his professionalism and drive were immense and that he was an inspiration to all who worked with him. The fact that even after almost 25 years of service he continued to set standards for others to follow speaks volumes for the kind of soldier he was. Sadly, John ultimately lost his life doing the one job he had always excelled at: being an exceptional soldier who knew only one way, that of leading from the front.

"The loss of Captain John McDermid I know will leave a large hole in people's lives across the Army, but our thoughts are with his family. Their loss is immeasurably more than ours can ever be. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time."

Captain James Manchip, Combat Support Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, 26 Regiment Royal Artillery said

"Captain John McDermid was a softly spoken and very likeable character. He was a consummate professional and took a keen interest in his soldiers well being. He always led from the front and would do everything he expected his soldiers to do, often putting himself in harms way ahead of his soldiers. All found him approachable and easy to talk to. He always showed a genuine interest in other people's lives and in getting to know them. He will be much missed."

Sergeant Whelan, Combat Support Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, 26 Regiment Royal Artillery said:

"Foremost we knew him as a strong soldier who enjoyed commanding us. He believed what we were doing in Afghanistan was right and gave up his desk job to be here. He spoke a lot about his family and was most proud last week that his son was in a military cadet parade in his kit and couldn't wait to see the photos. He had a strong bond with his men and with the Afghan National Army, who like us, are heartbroken at the events."

Defence Secretary, Des Browne said:

"Captain McDermid's death is terribly sad, and at this difficult time my thoughts are with his friends and family. An enormously capable and clearly popular officer, I am sure he will be sadly missed by all who knew him. We owe Captain McDermid a debt of gratitude, both for the important work he volunteered to do in Afghanistan and for his many years of service in The Royal Highland Fusiliers."

My sympathies go out today to John and Gill's families, you are all in our thoughts today.

Our thoughts are also with all members of the armed services and their families who are serving or are about to serve in areas of conflict around the world. May you return safely.

Expectant mothers to get £190 to spend on Fruit

Expectant mothers are to be given £190 to spend on fruit and vegetables to help ensure their child is born healthy.

The handout, which will be paid from April 2009, was originally announced in September - when it was said it would be worth £120. I didn't realise that Food prices had gone up that quickly.

Unfortunately this will be paid direct to the expectant mother after her 25th week of pregnancy when it will be of no use to the health of the mother.

In this age of welfare I can just see the average Kylie or Sharon popping down the green grocer for a pound of apples or a half-dozen of oranges. More likely it will be to the local Asda for some Booze and Fags. The new motto will be "A fruit grant a day keeps the shakes away"

So, as per normal, those of us who can afford to have kids will be subsidising those who can't. Meanwhile the government keeps giving them more money for fags and booze if they do. It is the usual "Joined Up Government".

Don't worry this will only cost about £100m of our money. Money that would be much better spent on improving maternity units which are currently desperately short of money.

Expectant mothers to get £190 fruit money sparks 'gimmick' row | the Daily Mail

Brown's New Conviction Politics

A new definition of Conviction Politics is emerging as Gordon Brown brings out the 'Clunking Fist' variety of Conviction Politics. This involves Ministers changing their Convictions within 1-2 hours after a quick fisting from Gordon. As the Guardian says

The government was plunged into disarray today over its proposed terror laws as security minister Lord West retracted his statement that he was not "totally convinced" about the need to extend detention of terror suspects for more than 28 days without charge.

The security minister "clarified" his remarks following a pre-planned meeting with Gordon Brown.

In a statement released less than two hours after his comments on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the minister said he was "convinced that we need to legislate now so that we have the necessary powers when we need them".

Brown just cannot stand having anyone disagreeing with him.

Minister backtracks over detention limit | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

Alcohol 'shouldn't be sold like tattie scones'

I see Kenny MacAskill can't tell the difference between lingerie and wine, a barbecue and beer or tattie scones and vodka. In case he hasn't noticed you actually have to be at least eighteen to buy alcohol and you can't buy it at certain times so it is already more than just slightly different to the rest of the produce.

Perhaps he would prefer if alcohol was only available from licensed shops as in Norway, of course they have no alcohol problems!

If Kenny wants to stop people drinking then he should start applying the laws he already has properly to ensure Pub's /Supermarkets/shops sell responsibly rather than bothering with the fine details.

He would be better off making sure the corner shops stopped selling to underage drinkers rather than this sort of tactic.

Scotsman.com News - Politics - Alcohol 'shouldn't be sold like tattie scones'

Tartan Army launch chart assault

Combine Aviemore, 50,000 of the Tartan Army, The Scotland Football Team, Runrig and Children in Need and what do you get - A potential No 1.

Loch Lomond (The Hampden Remix) is now available, as they say, from all good record stores, iTunes and a variety of other sources.

Let's also hope it helps Scotland win against Italy on Saturday.

Now I remember when Runrig were a Ceilidh band and later when I did a bit of flyposting for them round Aberdeen on a number of occasions.

Tartan Army launch chart assault - Strathspey and Badenoch Herald

Misleading Information

Jacqui Smith denies a cover-up saying

My approach was that the responsible thing to do was to establish the full nature and scale of the problem and take appropriate action to deal with it, rather than immediately to put incomplete and potentially misleading information in to the public domain

My arse, "responsible", Labour wouldn't know what that was if it was shoved down their throats with a security guard attached to it to ensure they choked.

She hoped that it would not be found out whilst doing as little as possible. It was only in October that they started properly trying to sort this out. Unlucky for her she has been caught out like other recent Labour Ministers who have tried to stop embarrassing information leaking out.

Drink 60 pints and get a Six-month hangover

I have had a few hangovers in my life but none like this

Six-month hangover for 60-pint Scotsman | The Register

Update on Barclays shares suspension

More on the story that Barclay's shares were suspended for a period at mid-day today.

This really just goes to show how nervous the market is at the moment about the sub-prime crisis.

I note there is very little about the story in the MSM. Is this a sign that they have been asked to layoff in case of another run on a bank. BBC at this time(14:50) has only this story on Barclay's from a week ago. Maybe a sign of the "clunking fist" in action.

Maybe it's just lucky the weather storms are the main news rather than the Financial Storms.

Barclay's shares remain steady at the moment at 456.75 down 29.50 on the day.

Update at 17:46: Is some one playing with the market? This article from Robert Peston the BBC Business editor is quite interesting. Barclay's shares finished at 474.50 down 11.75 on the day.

Barclays shares suspended after plunge | This is Money

Record UK Trade Gap For September

BBC reports that the September trade gap for goods and services was a record 7.754 bn. Just more good news for Gordon.


BBC NEWS | Business | UK trade gap widens in September

Congratulations to Glasgow

Congratulations to Glasgow

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West | Glasgow wins race for 2014 Games

Guido reporting - POUND PLUNGES AS BARCLAYS SHARES SUSPENDED +++

Guido reporting pound plunging as Barclays shares suspended.

Update Reuters has the following apparently shares were suspended for technical reasons.

Further update here statement from Barclays

"There is absolutely no substance to those rumors," a spokesman for the bank said when asked about a possible $10 billion writedown.

He gave the same response when asked if the bank planned an emergency rights issue or if John Varley, its chief executive, or Bob Diamond, head of its Barclays Capital investment bank unit, planned to resign.

He declined to comment on talk that the bank may issue an emergency statement, but reiterating it planned to issue a trading update on Nov 27. By 1220 GMT Barclays shares had pared losses and were down 4 percent at 466.5 pence.

Update 13:05 FT reports here

Poster (Lennon) on Political Betting reports

"In order to attempt to ease panic - a word of explaination. Shares were not suspended but placed into a volatitily auction. This happens on any share where large moves happen to ensure attempting to equally match buyers and sellers. Barclays has since come out stating that there is ‘No Substance’ to rumours of a £10Bn write-down in values."

Guy Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours and conspiracy: +++ POUND PLUNGES AS BARCLAYS SHARES SUSPENDED +++

Drivers face disqualification for speeding twice

Good, let us only hope that anyone under 23 is not only disqualified on the first offence but also made to resit their test before being allowed back on the roads. This might stop the carnage and waste of young lives and their innocent victims on our roads all over Britain , but particularly in Aberdeenshire where I live.

Drivers face disqualification for speeding twice - Telegraph

Thoughts on Detention - Bob Marshall Andrews

Shockingly I listened to almost all of the speeches yesterday by Jack Straw and David Davis on the second day of the debate on the Queen's Speech.

DD was on tremendous form and laid into a number of Labour MP’s, who tried some off the cuff comments, with tremendous effect.

What was also very interesting was the performance of Bob Marshall-Andrews who laid into his own party not only on the detention limit but also on the number of law changes Labour has introduced.

On the 28 day detention limit he asked

Will the Home Secretary return to the vexed question of the number of days for which a suspect may be detained? We heard her being tested a great deal about that on the radio this morning. She is not naming a figure, but it is widely known that something like 56 days will be the Government’s preferred option. If that is right, and if the consultations that she has undertaken suggest that would be sufficient, will she say why, two years ago, Labour Members were whipped to approve a limit of 90 days? That appears to be about twice the amount that is required.
While I am on my feet, may I tell the Home Secretary that I said earlier that she was the human and attractive face of the Home Office? She was not here at the time, so I must add that I was making a comparison with her predecessors. [Laughter.]

and then

It is a pleasure and a privilege, as always, to follow the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard). The sentiments and views that he expressed I agree with entirely, and, indeed, it has meant that I can expunge totally from my speech the long passage that I had on intercept evidence, so he has done the House a considerable service.
I want to start with, and to spend some time on, the issue of imprisonment without charge or trial, and I shall begin by dealing with zealotry—not “their” zealotry but mine. I am zealous on the subject of civil liberty, which is the reason why I joined the Labour party and one of the reasons why I am still in it. I believe that civil liberty is the most important part of our political agenda, and it is our defining characteristic as a nation. It is worth repeating what the shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis), said in his speech, in a slightly different way. My parents’ generation did not fight—and in some cases die—in the last war for the national health service, the repeal of section 28 or many of the other entirely laudable and worthy things mentioned during the Lord Chancellor’s speech. Indeed, if we had given in to the blandishments of Herr Hess at the beginning of the war, we would probably now have a perfectly acceptable national health service—providing, of course, that one is not Jewish, black, gay, Serbian or any of the other persecuted minorities who came to this country and received here the security and freedom for which we are famous. I echo what the right hon. Gentleman said: that this House should give up the smallest part of those liberties through our collective gritted teeth.

and then

I say to the Minister, in one simple, compendious sentence, that we do not need any more legislation to reform the criminal justice system. To put a slight gloss on that, I can say that what would be desirable would be a large and compendious Bill that had as its purpose scrapping most of the legislation that has been passed in the last 10 years in the cause of so-called reform of the criminal justice system. In the last 10 years, the Government have suffered from legislative hyperactivity syndrome in respect of criminal justice matters. I have been to the Home Office only once. I went there briefly to see a Minister who subsequently fell from grace: these things happen. I did not explore the building, but in my mind’s eye I can see a vast, probably subterranean, room—similar to that immortalised by Roald Dahl in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”—out of which are churned ever more impenetrable subsections, deliberately designed to cause dismay and chaos in the criminal justice system. The figures are interesting. In the whole of the 19th century, 34 Acts were passed that affected criminal justice. In the first half of the 20th century, there were 15. In the second half of the 20th century and up to this date, there have been 48, of which 35 have been passed by this Government. It is something of a feat to pass, in 10 years, more criminal justice Acts than were passed in the whole of the 19th century. Some 400 new offences have been created and 500 new sentences. Some of the figures that are kited are far higher, but I have removed from the count old offences that have been retreaded as new offences.

It is well worth reading the whole exchange here.

Do read the response after the speech by David Davis and Bob's answer.

RAF Nimrod puts out Mayday call after 'major fuel leak' - Times Online

The Nimrod was never designed to conduct air-to-air refuelling

Very worrying indeed that this should occur.

Update 9th Nov at 18:02: I see that nearly 48 hours after this story was broken it has now become the top news article on the BBC online news. The Times meanwhile has the following article and also reports the Nimrod could not send out a Mayday message as they could not get air traffic controllers to hear his mayday call.

Text of RAF Incident Report

A. AIR INCIDENT SER KAF/089/07(902/31/07 AND KINLOSS 102/07)

B. NIMROD MR2, XV235

J. DURING AR A FUEL SPRAY WAS OBSERVED IN THE BOMB BAY. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DUE TO IN-FLIGHT REFUEL FROM A TRISTAR. THE JOIN AND INITIAL CONTACT WERE UNEVENTFUL. THE JOIN WAS MADE AT 260KTS AND BOTH AIRCRAFT ACCELERATED TO 270KTS BEFORE THE NIMROD WAS CLEARED ASTERN.

THE AIRCRAFT FUEL LOAD ON CONTACT WAS 32800 LBS. PRIOR TO CONTACT THE 4 TANK REFUEL COCKS WERE OPEN. WHEN CONTACT WAS MADE PRESSURE WAS OBSERVED ON THE ENGINEERS REFUEL PANEL AND BOTH 2 AND 3 TANK REFUEL COCKS WERE OPENED. A SINGLE CONTACT WAS MADE AND THE FUEL REMAINED FLOWING THROUGHOUT. SHORTLY AFTER CONTACT WAS MADE THE ENGINEERS INTERCOM FAILED AND HE HAD TO CHANGE HEADSET LEADS. THE FIRST 5000 LBS OF FUEL WAS OBSERVED ON THE ENGINEERS GAUGES AND CONFIRMED WITH THE TRISTAR CREW. THE CREW THEN REQUESTED THAT THE TRISTAR CREW TURN ON THEIR CARTER PUMP. THERE WAS A SMALL PRESSURE RISE AND THE PRESSURE NEVER EXCEEDED 35 PSI. APPROXIMATELY 20 SECONDS AFTER REQUESTING THE CARTER PUMP ON, THE CREW MEMBER WHO WAS MONITORING THE BOMB BAY THROUGH THE PERISCOPE REPORTED FUEL SPRAYING INTO THE BOMB BAY AND FLUID LYING ON THE BOMB DOORS. THE BOMB BAY PERISCOPE WAS MANNED AS THIS WAS THE FIRST AR FLIGHT THE AIRCRAFT HAD UNDERTAKEN SINCE AN FRS COUPLING CHANGE IN OCT 07. THE CREW MEMBER AND CAPTAIN HAD DISCUSSED THIS PRE FLIGHT AND HAD IDENTIFIED THE AREA OF THE NEW FRS COUPLING.

AN IMMEDIATE BREAKAWAY WAS CARRIED OUT AND THE AIRCRAFT TURNED TOWARDS KANDAHAR AIRFIELD. THE REFUEL COCKS REMAINED OPEN UNTIL PRESSURE HAD DISSIPATED ON THE ENGINEERS PANEL. A MAYDAY WAS DECLARED ON THE ATC FREQUENCY IN USE, THESE CALLS WERE NOT ANSWERED AND THE TRISTAR CREWS RELAYED. A FURTHER CALL WAS MADE DECLARING THE INTENTION TO LAND AT KANDAHAR AIRFIELD. THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLEARED FOR AN UNINTERRUPTED VFR APPROACH AT KANDAHAR THE AIRCRAFT MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LANDING. WHILE EXITING THE RUNWAY A REPORT OF A FUEL SMELL WAS MADE BY THE TAC CREW AND THE AIRCRAFT EVACUATION DRILL WAS CARRIED OUT. ON ENTERING THE BOMB BAY 20 MINUTES AFTER LANDING THE BOMB BAY DOORS WERE OBSERVED TO BE WET WITH FUEL AND THE BOMB BAY HEATING MIXING CHAMBER CLADDING WAS SOAKED WITH FUEL. FUEL WAS ALSO OBSERVED ON THE PIPEWORK ON THE ROOF OF THE BOMB BAY IN THE AREA OF THE MIXING CHAMBER.

K. (1) UNABLE TO REPLICATE REPORTED AIRBORNE OCCURRENCE UTILISING FULL SUITE OF CURRENT GROUND TESTING PROCEDURES.

(2) CONTRIBUTING FACTORS ASSESSED AS MOST LIKELY TO BE ENVIRONMENTAL

CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH PREVAILING AMBIENT AIRBORNE ENVIRONMENT

(3) REFUEL CARRIED OUT THROUGH AAR PROBE ENDEAVOURING TO REPLICATE

REPORTED FLIGHT CONDITIONS. MAX FUEL PRESSURE OF 50 PSI ACHIEVED AND

MAINTAINED FOR ?5 MINUTES ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS. ONE MINOR WEEP

IDENTIFIED FROM COUPLING PREVIOUSLY REPORTED UNDER GROUND OCCURRENCE

REPORT 902/23/07 ON THIS AIRFRAME. WEEP ELIMINATED BY RE-TIGHTENING OF COUPLING. LEAK RATE OF ?1 DRIP PER MINUTE DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR

REPORTED AIRBORNE OCCURRENCE.

L. TF

M. CAT 1.

N. ON COMPLETION OF A FINAL APPLICATION OF GROUND PRESSUR TESTING

DURING DAYLIGHT THERE WERE NO FAULTS/LEAKS APPARENT. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY NITROGEN PURGING OF REFUEL GALLERY. GIVEN THAT COMMON AAR AND GROUND REFUEL GALLERY IS ISOLATED AND SEPARATE FROM MAIN FUEL FEED SYSTEM AND REMAINS UN-PRESSURISED DURING FLIGHT CONDITIONS AIRCRAFT HAS NOW BEEN RELEASED FOR RETURN FERRY FLIGHT UNDER NON-AAR OPERATIONS TO DOB. FUEL SEALS AND PIPES REMAIN UNDISTURBED TO ALLOW POTENTIAL FAULT DIAGNOSIS (BEYOND CURRENT RTI PROCEDURES) TO BE UNDERTAKEN UNDER DIRECTION OF IPT. RECOMMENDATION THAT DETAILED INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS BE UNDERTAKEN TO POSITIVELY DETERMINE THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND CONDITIONS THAT ARE PREVALENT UNDER AAR FLIGHT CONDITIONS IN ORDER TO DEVELOP A MORE REPRESENTATIVE GROUND TESTING PROCEDURE FOR CONDITIONS THAT SEEM TO APPEAR ONLY WHILST AIRBORNE.

RAF Nimrod puts out Mayday call after 'major fuel leak' - Times Online

Families let down by lack of coroners reform

I see that the government of Mr Brown has yet again let down the Armed Services and in particular bereaved families of members of the services who have been killed in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This is particularly disappointing considering the verdict in the latest coroners report

Army logistics failings led to the unlawful killing of a Scottish solider, a coroner ruled today.

Gordon Gentle, 19, died when a Land Rover he was patrolling in was hit by a roadside bomb in Basra in Iraq in June 2004.

A coroner's hearing in Oxford had been told how electronic counter-measures (ECMs), designed to disable improvised bombs, were in Iraq at the time but had not been distributed and fitted to vehicles.

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Coroner Selena Lynch said: "The supply chain appeared to be chaotic and lacking in clarity."

The Royal Highland Fusilier, from Pollok, died of blast injuries.

The coroner said the inquest at Oxford had seen that the Army's in-theatre supply chain "appeared chaotic and lacking in clarity". Ms Lynch also branded the Ministry of Defence's policies for disclosure of evidence to her inquest "illogical and based errors of law".

These inquests should be held quickly to ensure there are no more needless deaths and injuries to the members of our Armed Forces fighting abroad.

It was widely expected that the Queen's speech yesterday would include a Coroners Bill that would have strengthened the investigative powers of inquests and reduced delays for the bereaved.

But the legislation was left in limbo after ministers decided other measures were more deserving of Parliamentary time.

The Royal British Legion condemned the move, saying families had been waiting for years for changes:

“The draft Bill was originally published in June 2006. It is extremely disappointing that the Government has not put this forward,”
he said.
“It is particularly disappointing that during this national week of remembrance it comes as a greater blow to bereaved families.”

The Legion has made the Bill a key part of its "Broken Covenant" campaign, calling on the Government to honour obligations to troops in return for their sacrifice.



Families let down by lack of coroners reform - Times Online

Requiem for the Roly-Poly

Not in our house!

A good "duffo" pudding is required at least once a week just to remind you of the good things that we are no longer supposed to eat.

Requiem for the roly-poly as sticky puddings become a sweet memory - Times Online

Brown to Regulate Flexible Working

How can there be a law to require flexibility? It is an oxymoron. Brown had proposed that flexible working is available by law for working parents. This is typical of Brown.

A discussion is ongoing on the Political Betting site on this issue.

Flexible working only really works when everyone can do it. Letting one section of the workforce do it and effectively penalising the rest will only lead to more and greater problems.

The company I work for has had flexible working for a number of years but how it works for individuals is dependent upon type of job and ability to cover so-called “core” hours. There always has to be a bit of give and take between the nature of the job and reality. Some employers would be hard pressed to provide flexible working because of the type of work performed and the actual nature of the business.

Unfortunately most of the people in public sector jobs who are getting smaller rises will be exactly the sort of people whose jobs are difficult to cover with flexible working.Rather than regulation it would be better to push/advertise the benefits of flexible working to all employers with a happier and less stressed workforce.

It doesn’t depend on Union representation, private/public, small/large it just requires common sense from both employers and employees. I repeat how can there be a law to require flexibility?

The main thing about flexible working is it only really works when there is trust between employees and employers. If there is no trust then it will fail at the first hurdle, this would almost certainly be the case if only employees with kids were allowed flexible working. All the other “special” cases like people with elderly parents, invalid partners etc will justifiably feel excluded.

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Is Gord on to a winner with this?

Scotland and North Sea Oil Taxation

The attached article which appeared in The Press and Journal gives an insight into the reasons why companies are reluctant now to invest in the North Sea despite high oil/gas prices because of constant government tinkering.

It is the lack of coherent change, the tinkering, short-sightedness and the constant changes in tax levels that make both large and small companies disinclined to invest in the region as they require a degree of certainty. As the writer says

The current NSO tax regime creates distortions in the market, a legacy of the many overlapping bits of legislation introduced piecemeal.

The constant tinkering, for example with CGT, this year means that what last week was an opportunity is now longer on the board.

Most North Sea opportunities are now small and rely on good economics to get them investment when ranked against a vast range of similar opportunities throughout the world. If the tick box against consistent taxation cannot be filled in then the opportunity will passed by and the investment directed abroad.

The current system also doesn't cope with new alternatives for the use of the infrastructure in the North Sea such as the application of tax to infrastructure assets that could be used for a purpose other than to extract oil - alternative energy, for example.

At present, if a company were to use (or rely on) NSO infrastructure for purposes other than extracting hydrocarbons from the ground, it would create an adverse tax impact, negating the incentives.

This is stifling an industry which aspires to be as open-minded and creative as possible about making the most of existing asset. We only have to look at the recent cancellation by BP and it's partners of its plans to build the world's first carbon capture and storage (CCS) power plant in Peterhead, Scotland to see the impact this is having.

The unfortunate problem is that whilst the UK government is in charge, revenue from Oil Taxation will always be a minor consideration compared to what it would be if Scotland had control of all its Financial matters.


North Sea Oil Taxation

5 Myths?

According to the Herald in Scotland they have "scotched the myths" about Scotland's financial position in the United Kingdom.



5 Myths?

Military Inquest Disgrace - Scotland to become England

Typically, because of archaic laws and the complete disinterest that this government has in it's armed services and the consequences of being at war, it looks like there is a possibility of Kinloss RAF base becoming part of England. This is because under current law, all military deaths abroad must be examined by an English coroner.

The new proposal would give England jurisdiction over a small part of a Scottish site - such as RAF Kinloss. Under Scottish Law there is no provision for Fatal Accident Inquiries ( The equivalent in Scotland of Inquest) into deaths not occurring in Scotland and it might be difficult to change the law to just cover service personnel.

This would allow inquests on members of the armed forces who have died in Service to take place in Scotland if they arrive back at RAF Kinloss from abroad. Currently inquests have to take place in Wiltshire as all returning flights arrive at RAF Lyneham. This of course means that relatives of Scottish Armed forces personnel who die in service are then faced with long journeys to inquests when they are finally heard.

It might also help the government out of a problem it has long had in that because of it's inertia in dealing with the deaths of members of our armed services in Iraq and Afghanistan we now have a huge backlog of inquests that must be heard. According to reports nearly half of the deaths since the Iraq invasion in 2001 have still to have an inquest completed. Although according to the BBC the Justice ministry reports

The UK Ministry of Justice said hard work by coroners and staff and additional resources provided by the UK government had seen the backlog of inquests handled by the Oxfordshire coroner fall from 86 to two.

A spokesperson said: "To ensure that a backlog of inquests does not develop in Wiltshire, the government has agreed to provide coroner David Masters more additional resources in the form of an additional departmental coroner, a coroner's officer and administrative support.

The reduction from 86 to 2 is a completely misleading figure as inquests now have to be held in Wiltshire as Brize Norton is currently closed and all inquests have to be initiated in Wiltshire after the arrival of the bodies at RAF Lyneham .

Even more misleading is the following

Former Armed Forces minister Adam Ingram MP said he was surprised at the proposal as he had written to the Scottish Government six months ago suggesting a change in the law to allow inquests to be held in Scotland.

He added: "I am a bit stunned by this proposal if this is what they are going to do.

Now I wonder who the the Scottish Government was six months ago, yes it was then Labour, so a different approach from the SNP has been daubed as being cynical because Labour had previously failed to accept proposals when they were in Government.

Cynically I can only imagine the reason for this delay is to keep bad news out of the papers.

Scotsman.com News - Politics - Scottish military base may become part of England

Think Differently

As my Big Bro mentioned this is a cause we both have close to our hearts and families.

Please take time to visit and read the website, take the quiz, sign the petition and view this film.

Maybe next time it will make you think differently.

You might want to read the following article from The Press and Journal a few years ago about our youngest son Ruaridh.

Bollocks from the FCO

Yesterday I highlighted an article on the EU Constitution or what is now disingenuously called a "Treaty".

During my search on the web I turned up the "Official" Supporters club for the Treaty at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, this was not difficult to find as it is currently an advertised (paid for by us) link on Google.

Now today we find out via the Coffee House blog in the Spectator that the Independent has peddled out some of the Labour spin on the site as original work. The article examines some supposed myths about the "Treaty". Unfortunately most of these myths have now been discovered to be truths.

This is not the worst of the FCO site taking the following on the front page.

Why is the Reform Treaty in the news now?

The mandate for the EU Reform Treaty was agreed by the prime ministers or presidents of all EU countries in the European Council in June.

The final text of the Treaty - which is currently being written - will have to be approved by all EU countries, following their own constitutional procedures, before it can come into effect.

In the UK, all Treaties, including EU Treaties, are submitted to Parliament, which has the right to examine and debate them in detail.

There is currently a lot of speculation in the media about what the Reform Treaty will mean for the UK. Some people believe that the UK should not agree to the Reform Treaty until it has been put to a public vote in this country (a referendum).

Many people who are opposed to the Reform Treaty are also opposed in principle to the UK's membership of the EU; others want a referendum because they believe that the Reform Treaty would transfer too much power from the UK to the EU.

These are serious issues that demand public attention. However, the fact is that many things that have been said and written about the Reform Treaty are simply not factually accurate.

It then links to the EU Treaty myths, the subject of the Independent Front page.

Lets look at the implications here

1) That it is only Eurosceptics who don't want the treaty, it lumps the many People who are opposed in the group of people who don't want Britain in the EU at all. This is simply incorrect. Whilst it will be true that virtually all people who oppose the EU will oppose the treaty, there are many more who support the EU but oppose the Treaty (myself included).

2) That some people believe that the UK should not agree to the Reform. No mention that only 29% would vote for the treaty against 47% who would vote against it.

3) That some people think there should be a referendum, no it's not "some" people it is 66% of people who want Labour to keep their promise of a referendum.

4) Of course it doesn't mention any of the major reasons that it might just be in the news, such as the frailty of the red lines, the manifesto promises that are being broken, the Parliamentary committee who reported that the Treaty was the constitution in all but name, etc, etc.

This is just one example of the crap that the FCO is trying to peddle to the country as the truth on this website. It is a disgrace to the Government and to this country.

EU Reform Treaty Foreign & Commonwealth Office

EU Treaty - A Cynical Stitch-up

Have a quick read of this article on the EU Constitution or rather "Treaty".

Feartie and his sidekick the Millipede are still banging on about red lines and how big and courageous they have been standing up to all those johnny foreigners in the EU and how nothing will change.

This is a complete and utter mockery, all that has happened is that the Constitution has been obfusticated and rewritten as a "Treaty" to sound better. It will now be passed on the nod by Gordon tomorrow night and there will be little we can do about it now or in the near future. The Treaty is the old Constitution in all but name.

Our protection will of course will be the infamous "Red Lines" that have either already been effectively bypassed or can be got round like the infamous Maginot Line.

Even the The cross-party European Scrutiny Committee in its report finds that the new Reform Treaty is “substantially equivalent to the Constitutional Treaty”.

It also notes that the Government’s “red lines” are substantially the same as before, and questions whether the various safeguards for the UK will work.

It notes that the Treaty would

“change the legal relationship between the EU and national Governments”

particularly by giving the European Court of Justice new powers over criminal law and policing.

The key points from the report are

1) The new treaty is the same as the rejected EU Constitution

From Para 45:

* “Taken as a whole, the Reform Treaty produces a general framework which is substantially equivalent to the Constitutional Treaty.”

* “Even with the ‘opt-in’ provisions on police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and the Protocol on the Charter, we are not convinced that the same conclusion does not apply to the position of the UK under the Reform Treaty. We look to the Government to make it clear where the changes they have sought and gained at the IGC alter this conclusion in relation to the UK.”

The Government has repeatedly insisted that “the constitutional concept has been abandoned – most recently in the Prime Minister’s press conference today. But the Committee’s Report notes that this is “misleading”.

* Para 50: “we do not consider that references to abandoning a ‘constitutional concept’ or ‘constitutional characteristics’ are helpful and consider that they are even likely to be misleading in so far as they might suggest the Reform Treaty is of lesser significance than the Constitutional Treaty. We believe that the Government must offer evidence if it is to assert that the processes are significantly different.”

2) The red lines won’t work

The report also publishes correspondence with ministers. Initially the Government claimed that it had secured an “opt out” from the Charter of Fundamental Rights. In his statement on 25 June Tony Blair said, “It is absolutely clear that we have an opt-out from both the charter and judicial and home affairs.” However, in a letter dated 31 July Europe Minister Jim Murphy admitted:

* “The UK specific protocol which the UK secured is not an ‘opt-out’ from the Charter. Rather, the protocol clarifies the effect that the Charter will have in the UK.”

The Committee warns that the European Court of Justice will simply sidestep attempts to limit the impact of the Charter. The report gives a number of examples:

* Para 58: “To take a possible example, the Working Time Directive contains provisions limiting the weekly hours of work of a worker to 48 hours per week, but with the possibility of agreements to waive those limits. As Article II-91 of the Charter provides that “every worker has the right to limitation of maximum working hours” we have some concern that following a reference to the ECJ from some member state, the Court might find that, in the light of the Charter, the [UK] derogation from the Directive allowing such waivers has to be interpreted more restrictively than before (i.e. before the Charter had legal effect).”

* Para 59: “We would be concerned that, following a reference to the ECJ from some other member states the Court might find that a measure adopted at EU level (such as Council Directive 200/43/EC) had to be given an extended interpretation in light of the wide grounds for prohibiting discrimination under the Charter.”

On criminal justice and policing the report notes that:

* Para 21: “We are concerned that removing the “distinction” between the EU and the EC in relation to matters currently dealt with under the third pillar (with the subsequent increase in the powers of the Commission to bring infraction proceedings and those of the ECJ to interpret and apply Union measures) will change the legal relationship between the EU and national Governments in a way that will increase their powers in relation to UK law. We call on the Government to set out the safeguards which they will expect to gain at the IGC to prevent this happening.”

On future treaty change the report notes that the new “simplified revision procedure”, - which would allow the treaties to be incrementally changed in future with no need for any further treaties - would lead to even less transparency and accountability in the way the EU is run:

* Para 42: “We are concerned that these provisions could allow substantial changes to be made without convening an IGC and so lead to even less transparency in the way the EU is governed, and less accountability of governments to their national parliaments. We ask the Government to outline what safeguards they would put in place to prevent this further erosion of transparency and accountability.”

Contrast this with the Official Foreign and Commonwealth Website and its pages on the EU Reform Treaty. This is supposed to be an unbiased website, but just try and find anything in it that does not toe the Labour Party Line, The only mention of cross-party European Scrutiny Committee's damning report is as follows

Minister for Europe, Jim Murphy, has responded to the report on the EU Intergovernmental Conference by the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee:

"I welcome the publication of this report, just as I have welcomed opportunities to provide evidence to this Committee, to its House of Lords equivalent, and to the Foreign Affairs Committee. I am pleased to note the Committee's recognition that by defending its 'red lines' the UK has secured a specific deal different to that on offer to the other 26 EU member states."

Which must be one of the most cynical of replies to a report that rubbishes everything the government has said.

So there we have it Gordon Brown will go back on his party's word that we would have a referendum on the EU Constitution, as it is now a Treaty, and as such we don't need to be consulted. Perhaps he should listen to some of his EU buddies

The author of the Constitution, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, says: “All the earlier proposals will be in the new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way.”

The Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero admits: “We have not let a single substantial point of the Constitutional Treaty go… It is, without a doubt, much more than a treaty. This is a project of foundational character, a treaty for a new Europe.”

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel says simply: “The substance of the Constitution is preserved. That is a fact.”

This is one of the biggest lies that Labour has hoisted on us in recent years and will, I predict, become as infamous as Tony's whoppers about Iraq.

The only obvious solution to this may be to declare Independence in Scotland as soon as possible and hope we are not allowed into/thrown out of the EU, as even getting out of the EU is a tricky business nowadays.

If you want some more forthright and perhaps rather more forcefully reading try Polly the Euro-crazies: A cautionary tale Not for the nervous or easily shocked reader!


We must stand up to this cynical stitch-up | Camilla Cavendish - Times Online

God's own County

Lochnagar from Queens View


Apparently if you want the best quality of life in Scotland you need to go to Aberdeenshire.

Scotland is of course God's own Country.

As a dweller of a deeper part of Aberdeenshire I can only agree. It is truly God's own County.

According to the Herald

"Its residents enjoy high employment, high earnings, good health and long life expectancy rates, while crime and traffic levels are low, "

P.S. I believe everything I read in the Herald.

Want Best Quality Of Life Go To Aberdeenshire If You Can Afford It (from The Herald )

Ming retires to Mongo

Apparently Ming the Merciless has retired back to his home town of Mingo City suffering from severe irritation and some deep scars to his back and leaves Feartie Gordon to battle the "Dave" alone.

At least one in 8 Britain's might possibly have noticed this as they are in the 12% who might vote LibDem at the next election, however most appear to have been alienated Labour or Tory voters who are returning in droves to their home planets.

In reality it will only be the odd Bearded Sandal wearer who has actually noticed that the LibDems have retired yet another leader with some sharp items to the back.

Apparently the likely next leader will be another alien masquerading as a horse fly.

Computer Spooks

Want to use your Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Skills then why not join Military Intelligence. Use those hard acquired skills to mine for really interesting information.

Apparently you will be responsible for safeguarding the nation's security, enjoy liaising with diverse businesses (Imagination may be required here) and must be calm under pressure.

You must however be British and it may take up to 6 months to process your application in which time you may not mention your application to anyone but your immediate family.

Pay is from £28,000-50,000 (plus benefits) which does not seem to high for someone who can cube us into the good, the bad , the ugly and the nappy wearing rocking horse users.

Job Description

Data Warehousing / Business Intelligence Specialists, Central London, £28,000 - £50,000 + benefits

Responsible for safeguarding the nation's security, the Security Service is significantly expanding due to the continuing terrorist threat in the UK. In alignment with this expansion and continuous improvement, we are committed to developing and maintaining our technical edge using the latest technology.

We are currently recruiting IT professionals with a broad skill-set and specific expertise in Business Intelligence, ETL and Analytics (such as SAS, Business Objects and PL/SQL). Ideally you will have experience in some or all of the following disciplines:

• Large scale production Databases/Data warehouses(Oracle / SQL Server)
• Business Intelligence
• Information Management
• ETL/Data Modelling
• Data Mining
• Statistical Analytical Techniques (EDA, PCA, MDS)
• Kimball/Inmon Techniques
• Using technology in partnership with customers to solve business problems
• Exposure to full project lifecycle

The challenges come thick and fast so resilience, pragmatism and the ability to remain calm under pressure are essential. Utilising your strong technical skills, you will also be client facing and enjoy liaising with a diverse business. Demonstrating knowledge of leadership, project management, and business analysis would be a distinct advantage.

This is a fantastic opportunity to develop and learn new technologies - with excellent career prospects - while knowing that you are part of a team dedicated to safeguarding national security.

To apply you must be a British Citizen. Due to the recruitment and vetting process, your application could take up to 6 months. You must limit those you tell about your application to your partner and/or immediate family. The Security Service is committed to reflecting both equal opportunities and the society we protect. Closing 18/10/07.

For more information on working for MI5 visit http://www.mi5careers.gov.uk/

Data Warehousing / Business Intelligence Specialists Central London, England - Computing Careers MI5

UHT equals Green Milk?

Anybody drunk UHT milk recently, thought not, it is possibly the foulest tasting liquid available purporting to be drinkable.

It ruins Tea and makes Coffee taste awful and yet the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA, which governs policy south of the border, has made the proposal that 90% of milk on sale should not require refrigeration by 2020.

The plan, part of the so-called Milk Road Map, was described in a government paper sent out to the dairy industry last month to help it reduce its carbon footprint. Officials suggest that by reducing chiller capacity in supermarkets and corner shops, carbon emissions could be significantly reduced - though farmers fear this would lead people simply to buy less milk. (The move is not intended to reduce the use of domestic fridges; once UHT milk is open, it has to be stored as fresh milk.)

So after having had the Dairy industry destroyed in many parts of the country we will now have to suffer UHT milk because it is "greener" what a load of cows manure.

UHT is milk that has been heated to at least 135˚C to kill off harmful bacteria. It can then be stored in cupboards for up to five months. It was developed in the 1960s and became popular in Europe, where higher temperatures made storing fresh milk more problematic. In Belgium, UHT accounts for 96.7% of the milk market; in Portugal it is 92.9% and in France 95.5%. It never really took off in Britain, where consumers prefer the taste of proper milk.

So what betting that the EU has got it's sticky little fingers all over this idea to allow EU countries to penetrate the British market for milk.

According to the Herald

This latest proposal for the dairy industry comes in the wake of the recent threat of foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue - and the ongoing battle to secure a fair price for milk. Over the past six years, one in three Scottish dairy farmers has gone out of business. It is expected that by the end of this year there will be fewer than 1000 dairy farms in Scotland. Twenty years ago there were more than 5000.

A more welcome development might be the greater take up of milk deliveries, driven by recycling-aware shoppers and those intent on supporting their local dairy industry. The website www.findmeamilk man.net has had more than 300,000 hits in eight months as people seek milk in bottles that can be washed out and refilled. The number of milkmen in the UK has fallen from more than 20,000 in the 1980s to the current 9500 because of competition from supermarkets, but it seems the tide may be turning.

The NFU Scotland spokeswoman said: "We think Scotland has a dairy industry to be proud of, and it's only just getting back on its feet in the last few months after years of dreadful prices. Offsetting carbon is great, but there are other ways it can be done.

"The industry is key to Scotland, so better to ensure its livelihood rather than try to bring it down. Farmers are under ever more pressure to maintain the highest environmental standards compared to 40 years ago when it was all about optimum production."

I suspect this will be one green issue that will be rightly poured down the sink where it belongs.


Can Drinking Uht Milk Really Save The Planet (from The Herald )

Dr Crippen is back

Good news one of my favourite bloggers Dr Crippen or NHS Blog Doc is back after a too long absence of three months.

NHS Blog Doctor: Crippen redux

Empty "Vision" of the Big Feartie

According to the Sunday Times the Feartie, after a week to forget, is getting even more flack from Blairites of the New Labour variety as he has failed to set out an inspiring "Vision" for new Labour and and an "empty" conference speech.

Apparently Mr. Blair (remember him?) has disclosed that he is "unhappy" with the direction of the party and concerned about what new Labour stands for.

It also appears that is is not just Blair who is complaining a number of quotes appear from Blair allies complaining of a policy vacuum, being policy free, no vision, no coherent narrative and belittling Blair.

Lord Falconer in particular was scathing about Brown. Having left the cabinet in June he has launched a thinly veiled attack on Brown, warning that an inspiring vision needs to be “spelt out”. He said Brown’s experience and management of crises was not enough to win the next general election.

In addition there are reports that three former Blairite Ministers, Stephen Byers, Alan Milburn and Charles Clarke are "itching" to speak out.

Not all is wonderful in 10 Downing Street at the moment. Never mind Gordon can spend his wakeful times during the night phoning even more Newspaper editors to complain of "bad press". Should keep him busy for awhile.

Tony Blair turns on Gordon Brown as ‘empty’ - Times Online

Big Feartie trails Tories by biggest deficit in 15 Years

The big Feartie will be in more trouble now as his Government goes from bad to worse. he is now presiding over a government with the biggest deficit to the Tories in 15 years. The last time the Tory lead was this high was before Black Wednesday, which says much for his leadership and "Vision".

The Poll from October 10/11 will be a bitter pill for Gordon to swallow after a bad bad week for him.

UPDATE: Must correct this entry. This is not the biggest lead for the Tories(they had a bigger lead as recently as March) but the highest level of support they have had in 15 years. This is probably even better than a big lead as I suspect that Labour still has a few points to fall.

Gordon Brown hit by Tory poll surge - Telegraph

Slapping the Uppity Nats down.

When the SNP came into power in "devolved" Scotland in May after the elections and the humiliation of Labour it was really only a matter of time before the London based Labour Government of the UK decided it needed to slap those uppity Nats down. Now they have a ready-made excuse after Alex Salmond revealed details of a draft copy of a statement by Hilary Benn which pledged £8.1 million to Scottish Farmers.

Apparently a senior Whitehall source is quoted as saying

"A line will be going out from the Scotland Office soon telling all departments to conduct a very careful audit of anything that is to be shared with the Scottish Executive, looking for any information that could be used or manipulated for political purposes by the SNP."

This is mainly because they have been embarrassed by the revelations by Alex Salmond and what the real reasons were for the withdrawal of this pledge.

Similar arguments are also going on about what the permanent secretary to the Scottish Government, Sir John Elvidge, meant when he said

"The CSR ... announced by the UK Government today gives details of the level of funding the Scottish Government and UK Departments will receive over the next three years.

"As we expected, this is a tight settlement, with a lower rate of annual growth than we have experienced since devolution."

Both sides are saying it means different things, one that the government figures were correct and the other that they have been manipulated to get the lowest possible increases to Scotland and then to squeeze them even harder.

It remains to see how this tit-for-tat battle goes. Labour are playing a dangerous game here as any thing they do to upset the SNP government will be seen in a bad light by the majority of Scots at the moment.

It is unlikely anyone will be a real winner, but more than likely the loser will be the regular punter in Scotland.


Scotsman.com News - UK - Whitehall papers to be vetted before being seen by Scottish civil servants as row over payments escalates

A Monument to the Servicemen of Modern Times

Good to see that this monument has finally been finished.

It commemorates the more than 16,000 British Servicemen and auxiliary forces members who have lost their lives since 1948 when the Commonwealth War Graves Commission closed its books.

There are memorials around the world to particular regiments, campaigns and even individuals, but there was no national shrine on home soil.

Money was raised by subscription, from the Lottery and even the government chipped in, but the trustees are still short of £1 million to ensure the memorial is properly maintained.

This is a place for memories and a place to honour those friends and relatives who were sadly taken from us. Growing up in a Service family you were exposed to this on a number of occasions.

The saddest part about the memorial though is that, despite there being 16,000 people remembered here who have given their live in the pursuit of freedom and peace, there is a blank space for a further 15,000 names. In this supposedly advanced World this is a sad reflection on Life at the moment.

A monument at last for the fallen of modern times - Times Online

Old Rebel - Billy Idol

Just a quick post for a Friday. It's been a few years since I took my wife to see Billy, she kind of idolised him in a loving way (something about throwing intimate articles to him on stage was mentioned). I enjoyed the concert as well as the backing vocalists were equally easy on the eye.

This version of Sweet Sixteen is just superb.



Watch and enjoy

Election Bribe by Labour?

According to the Scotsman the UK government was last night accused of playing politics with Scottish farmers' livelihoods as it was revealed plans for an £8.1 million compensation payout for foot-and-mouth disease were mysteriously scrapped after Gordon Brown decided not to call an election.

Alex Salmond, the First Minister, revealed Westminster's original foot-and-mouth compensation proposals yesterday. The First Minister issued a draft of Mr Benn's speech which had been given to the Scottish Government on Friday ahead of Mr Benn's statement in the House.

The draft statement contained a paragraph saying Scotland would receive £8.1 million to deal with the foot-and-mouth disaster.

The Environment Secretary was due to say:

"I have also agreed with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury that Scotland should receive £8.1 million and Wales £6.5 million to assist them in countering the impacts of foot-and-mouth on their livestock farmers."

But by Monday, when Mr Benn delivered the statement to MPs, the paragraph had disappeared.

He instead said:

"I am announcing today a package of assistance for the English livestock sector, amounting to £12.5 million. The devolved administrations are proposing to introduce their own schemes."

This looks like a typical piece of Labour sleaze, attempting a bribe for the "non-election" and then dropping it to save a little money, especially if the SNP will look bad.

This is typical of the small minds of Labour who are now seeking their revenge on Scotland for throwing them out of Government. They may see this as a good idea, but in todays climate in Scotland this sort of action will have the opposite effect to what they require to get back in Government.

Scotsman.com News - Politics - Foot-and-mouth payouts for farmers dropped after U-turn on election

Tax rise threat to ‘save as you earn’ schemes

As I expected the Capital Gains Tax change announced in GordonsDarling's first budget will hit Share Option schemes , and yes I do have one!

This was supposed to simplify CGT and hit Private Equity Chiefs, however it looks like it will also hit, not only entrepreneurs and the like, but also savers who at the moment appear to be a dying breed as is normal when it looks like we are going into a recession.

As noted in the depths of the CSR (p146 apparently) the savings ratio in the UK is the lowest it has ever been as noted here.

So what has the Chancellor done he has changed the rules and now the 1.7m savers in share-save schemes will face increased CGT taxes up from 5% to 18% for basic rate Tax Payers and from 10% to 18% for Higher rate tax payers.

According to Labour they are trying to encourage Long Term savings and wider share ownership. Either they are lying about this or they are just incompetent. They just can't work out joined up government.

As normal with one of Gordon'sLabour's tax changes it is the poorest who are hit hardest.

According to ifs ProShare, whose members include many FTSE-100 companies, the CGT changes were ill considered and would hit some savers hard.

“While the Treasury may have sound reasons for simplifying CGT, it would appear the consequences for employees saving through employee share plans had not been fully assessed. These apparently unintended consequences contradict the government’s stated commitment to encouraging long-term saving and to its support for wider share ownership,” it said.

So another "hidden" tax from Gordon. As they said it's all in the Detail.

FT.com / In depth - Tax rise threat to ‘save as you earn’ schemes

Don't Kick A dying Dog - End the Phoney War

Brown drops his Bottle

Perhaps now is the time to lay off the kicking of the Feartie. He is obviously in his death throes as a politician and we should be merciful to him in his remaining days as Prime Minister.

Whatever else happens it is likely that Gordon will now just be a spent force as Leader of the Labour party and Britain. He has been made to look like a fool in Parliament and to millions of people around the world. I suspect he will quietly say he will be going before the next election and then do a Macavity.

The problem for Gordon is that he will not be respected here or in the rest of the World. I can just see him at the next EU meeting taking out his red pen when they are discussing the EU "treaty". He will be challenged by all and sundry and they will know that he will back down as he does not have courage of his convictions. Even worse will happen when/if we are in conflict with other countries like Iran, who would you like standing up for you, it certainly wouldn't be Brown.

It is unlikely that anyone in the Labour party will have the guts to challenge Brown at the moment but they should realise that the longer he is around the worse it will get for them. Perhaps Maggie should pop round and speak to him again about what happens when you lose the support/respect of your colleagues.

So I wonder how long this phoney war will last, Labour are a dying force with Gordon at the helm, they have to look at the options ahead, which after recent events, are pretty thin and come up with someone who still retains the remnants of respect in Britain. Until they do this the battle to be the next Prime Minister will not start.

Mind you I could always be wrong because it's well known that It taks a lang spune ti sup wi a Fifer.

Cheap and Nasty knock-offs.

The Telegraph has an article entitled "Darling's tax hike demolishes business builders" and starts out with a joke about Aberdeen which I was surprised they knew about as it's north of Watford.

The joke is

In Aberdeen you can tell when it's freezing: lawyers resort to sticking their hands in their own pockets.

It continues

No need for that, in Westminster, where Alistair Darling, the Aberdeen-educated lawyer, stuck his hands in the Tories' pockets, pulled out some policies, and claimed them for himself.

Do I need to say much more! I do hear the Sun has headline tomorrow of "Stop Thief"

Darling's tax hike demolishes business builders - Telegraph

Another Feartie cock-up

It appears the Tax Credit system is causing unnecessary distress and hardship to the poorest families it was designed to help.

That's probably an understatement, I know of more than a few families who no longer claim for Tax Credit' because of the number of problems they have had with the system. Maybe this was Broon's idea of saving money for the government, another part of his "Vision" for Britain.

In case you had forgotten Tax Creditswere introduced in 2003 as part of a drive by then-Chancellor Brown to reduce poverty, but has been dogged with problems, not least because of its built-in requirement to claim back many of its payments.

As well as this it has cost the Tax Payer about 2bn because of poor administration and overpayment of some 6bn.

According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman more than a quarter of all complaints received from the public were about the tax credit system, run by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - UK - Watchdog attacks "harsh" tax credit system

EU treaty same as Constitution

This article in the Scotsman will not leave Feartie Broon much room to move after his answer to questions about why there would not be a Referendum on the "new" EU Treaty yesterday.

The Parliament's all-party European Scrutiny Committee concluded in a report that the effect of the entire new treaty was "substantially equivalent" to that of the Constitution.

The Conservatives' Europe spokesman Mark Francois said in view of the committee's conclusions, Brown was "morally bound" to offer Britons a referendum.

But Europe Minister Jim Murphy insisted that the new treaty was "significantly different to the old constitutional treaty in intent, form and substance" and that the version Britain would sign up to was even further from the old Constitution.

So when Gordon takes out his "red pen" to compare them he will find his work has already been done for him and they are virtually the same. He will then have to as a "conviction" politician honour the Labour Party manifesto which, in 2005, promised the voters a Referendum.

I have no doubt though that Gordon using his own special "moral compass" will find a new direction to move that will not allow us to have the promised Referendum.

Never mind perhaps it was just a "Vision" when Blair promised us the Referendum.

Just in case you wondered 9 out of the 16 members of the Committee were LAbour MP's.

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - UK - UK report says new EU treaty same as Constitution

Football-mad drivers bid for "WE57 HAM" plate

I wonder if the esteemed Blogger and West Ham supporter Iain Dale will be bidding for this registration plate for his nice Audi Convertible. I suspect it may go for around 40,000 pounds, cheap to any fervent supporter.

However Iain may be more interested in the following after West Ham losing their last two games Lot 835: "LOS 3R", which has a reserve price of 900 pounds.

Apparently the top 10 prices for Football related registrations sold by the DVLA is as follows:

1 - AR53 NAL (36,000 pounds)

2 - V1 LLA (35,000 pounds)

3 - ALB 10N (19,000 pounds)

4 - DER 8Y (14,500 pounds)

5 - S41 NTS (11,500 pounds)

6 - PRE 570N (9,400 pounds)

7 - 1 WBA (8,400 pounds)

8 - W1 GAN (7,700 pounds)

9 - EVR 70N (6,400 pounds)

10 - S9 URS (4,600 pounds)

Why this item should be in the Scotsman I have no idea.

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Odd - Football-mad drivers bid for "WE57 HAM" plate

A Senior Moment

A group of young students were on a bus discussing the burden placed on society by the older generation of pensioners. One of the pensioners took great exception to some of the comments and stated that he thought it was impossible for some of the older generation to understand todays younger generation and vice-versa. Things had changed so much during the years between their ages. As he was explaining the student interrupted him.

"You grew up in a different world, actually an almost primitive one," the student said, loud enough for all his friends and most of the other passengers to hear.

"The young people of today grew up with colour high definition digital television, high quality music on CD's and MP3 players, jet travel, space travel, trains that have never travelled faster, man walking on the moon, our spaceships have visited Mars. We have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing and ..."

The pensioner interrupted him and said "You're right, son. We didn't have those things to enjoy and marvel at when we were young.......so we invented them. What are you doing for the next generation?"

The applause was resounding...

Hat tip to WhichEndBites

Whichendbites: A SENIOR MOMENT

Third of RAF bomber squadrons 'to be culled'

Dad in his Bomber Days

Stunning isn't it when our Services are as stretched as they have ever been since the Korean war here we are seeing the Labour Government of the Man of Courage, being savaged due to their inadequate financial management.

According to the Telegraph and a number of other papers a third of Britain's frontline RAF bomber squadrons could be disbanded under proposals to save money in the defence budget. This is despite a month ago the Chief of the Air Staff Sir Glenn Torpy saying the RAF

was as lean as it can get.

The Telegraph continues

But Air Force chiefs have been told the priority now is to divert all resources into the current conflicts, leading to cuts elsewhere.

Under the Comprehensive Spending Review proposals, plans are also in place to keep the ageing Tornado F3 fighters in service for another seven years because the Saudi Arabian purchase of 75 brand new Eurofighter Typhoons will mean the RAF will not get any new fighters for an estimated two years.

Much defence funding has also been tied up in major projects such as the two new aircraft carriers, leading to less money being available elsewhere.

So it also seems we are not to get Eurofighter Typhoons as they have all been promised to Saudi Arabia, this is just sheer lunacy.

In addition the Navy will not miss out in swingeing cuts as it could lose all four of its Type 22 frigates and a destroyer.

After Gordon's cheap Political Trick last week when visiting Iraq, this is just what our Armed forces need to hear as they fight on our behalf.

One of the bases which will be affected will probably be Lossiemouth where my father served his final years in the RAF. The loss of anymore squadrons from this area may bring even further problems to this area that has relied on the RAF as a major employment generator for many years.


Third of RAF bomber squadrons 'to be culled' - Telegraph