Booker - by Richard... Sunday, August 01, 2010

Booker - by Richard... Sunday, August 01, 2010

This has got to be sorted. There is no room for a system where there are huge injustices by public "servants" being perpetrated, at our expense, and journalists are not allowed to write about them – not that any are trying to, apart from Booker, only that's standard as well.

Parliament must fix it ... er ... except they've just gone on holiday. Back to the drawing board.

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Not very funny - by Richard...

It is hard to believe that the famous Carry on Doctor film was made in 1967 – and equally so that the picture painted would today be unrecognisable. But, given the opportunity for a remake, the comedic possibilities would be endless, as the script-writers get to grips with the EU's Working Time Directive.

Think of the hilarity as the modern day Sir Lancelot Spratt (different film, I know) walks out of an operation, saying it's his home time, with doctors cast as "lazy clock-watchers".

But wait a minute! This is exactly what is happening. Such a film would not be a comedy but a documentary. What was it they said about life following art? And leave it to the Eurocrats and they will turn the rest of our administration into a comedy routine.

The problem is that, when it is real life, having a joke for a government isn't very funny.

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Greeks wearing mitts - by Richard...

Greek security forces have warned of a wave of violence reminiscent of the terror that stalked Italy in the seventies after urban guerrillas threatened last week to turn the country into a "war zone".

"Greece has entered a new phase of political violence by anarchist-oriented organisations that are more murderous, dangerous, capable and nihilistic than ever before," says Athanasios Drougos, a defence and counter-terrorism analyst in Athens.

"For the first time we are seeing a nexus of terrorist and criminal activity," he said. "These groups don't care about collateral damage, innocent bystanders being killed in the process. They are very extreme."

The threats came from a guerrilla group called the Sect of Revolutionaries, as it claimed credit for the murder of Sokratis Giolas, an investigative journalist. Giolas was shot dead outside his Athenian home on 19 July, in front of his pregant wife.

One wonders whether our bubble-dwellers in the British establishment - and their happy little claqueurs - really think it could not happen here. And, when it does, therefore, not only will they be shocked, they will be mortified to find that the "extremists" have the support of the population, and they don't.

If you want a graphic lesson in what it takes to destroy a society, look to Greece, and then look closer to home. We are seeing the future being written.

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Climate change? - by Richard...

So, floods sweeping Asia have killed more than 900 people, washing away thousands of homes and destroying infrastructure in some of the worst scenes in living memory. Heavy monsoon rains have exacted the heaviest toll in northwest Pakistan, with 800 confirmed dead and the regional capital Peshawar cut off. The deluge has also killed another 65 people in mountainous areas across the border in Afghanistan.

Floods devastating northeast China have killed at least 37 people and destroyed 25,000 homes, with the authorities racing to intercept vessels that broke their moorings and retrieve barrels full of explosive chemicals headed for a dam.

The worst floods in living memory have destroyed homes and swathes of farmland in northwest Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir, with the main highway to China reportedly cut and the military deployed to help isolated communities.

The United Nations says almost a million people had been affected by the Pakistan flooding. Footage shot from helicopters shows people clinging to walls and rooftops as gushing waters rampaged through inundated villages. Others walked barefoot through the water to seek safety, carrying their belongings and with children on their shoulders.

"This is the worst ever flood in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the country's history," provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said. "The death toll in floods and rain-related incidents has risen up to 800 across the province," he said, with another 150 people missing.

Now then ... is climate change supposed to bring drought or floods to these regions? It is difficult to keep up with the latest predictions, whatever they may currently be.