Sunday, 11 November 2012
Remembrance Sunday
Saturday, 1 September 2012
The Ultimate Sacrifice
I have not posted for a while.
Work has been somewhat full on but whilst going through my blog roll this morning I came across a post by The Captain.
I have reposted his clip and indeed I was stunned by what I watched.
So thank you Capt!
I have served as my blog friend know for several years.
Those days are behind me now ............ well physically anyway if you get my meaning.
I will salute all member of any armed force anywhere in the world who gives the ultimate sacrifice.
The thing is there scarifice and endeavours these days is tainted by lies, mistruths and politicians using soliders blood for personal gain.
However for the brief 3 minutes of this clip I tip my hat to the Kiwi Infantry.
A most amazing show of respect as only they can.
God Speed !
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Oooopppsssss Daily Express
On a personal note I have been loving the Olympics.
I am so glad the doom mongers have been so far proven wrong.
The success we have been getting is just superb. Indeed if you look at the medal tally and compare it per capita I believe (hopefully a stato will confirm)that medals per head of population we are winning.
Indeed take the USA out of the pool or invoke the same rules on swimming as in cycling (only 1 competitor per even per country..........yes i know team sprints) and the USA really are not performing at all.
And as for that bastion of all Sporting nations the Aussies ............ WHO ??????
Anyway today many newspapers are banging the drum about our medal success.
Indeed 1 did catch my eye this am and that is the Daily Express........not because it was particularly witty or anything like that but because errrrrrr
THAT'S THE BLOODY DUTCH TEAM YOU BUNCH OF PILLOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so glad the doom mongers have been so far proven wrong.
The success we have been getting is just superb. Indeed if you look at the medal tally and compare it per capita I believe (hopefully a stato will confirm)that medals per head of population we are winning.
Indeed take the USA out of the pool or invoke the same rules on swimming as in cycling (only 1 competitor per even per country..........yes i know team sprints) and the USA really are not performing at all.
And as for that bastion of all Sporting nations the Aussies ............ WHO ??????
Anyway today many newspapers are banging the drum about our medal success.
Indeed 1 did catch my eye this am and that is the Daily Express........not because it was particularly witty or anything like that but because errrrrrr
THAT'S THE BLOODY DUTCH TEAM YOU BUNCH OF PILLOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, 6 July 2012
Man Cold
Yes I am a little under the weather right now.
But SOMEONE thought it would be funny to send this.
And yes if was from an "effin" woman.!!!!
Why are ....................?????????
Certain things the way they are .......????
For Example.......The US standard railroad gauge (width between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. Now that is a very odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the gauge used in England and the first US railroads were built by English engineers.
Why did the English use that gauge? Well, the first railways were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that’s the gauge they used.
Why did they use that gauge? It’s simple, the people who built the tramways used the same jogs and tools that they used for building wagons which used that wheel spacing.
Okay, so why did the wagons have that odd wheel spacing? If they tried to use any other spacing the wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England because that was the spacing of the wheel ruts.
Why were the ruts that wide? The first long distance roads in England (and most of Europe) were built by the Roman Legions and these roads have been used ever since then. And the ruts in the roads? Roman chariots first formed the ruts and everyone else had to match the ruts for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made by Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.
Consequently, the United States standard railroad gauge is derived from the specifications of the original Roman war chariot. Yes, bureaucracy lasts forever!
By the way, why was the wheel spacing of the Roman war chariot that width? It was just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two Roman war horses.
Thus, we have the answer to the original question. Now here is a modern twist to the story…
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two booster rockets attached to each side of the main fuel tank. These are the solid rocket boosters (SRB) that were made by Thiokol in their factory in Utah.
The engineers who designed the solid rocket boosters might have preferred to make them a bit wider, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The rail line had to run through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel and the tunnel was only slightly wider that the railroad track, which was slightly wider than two horses behinds.
So, the major design factor of what is arguably the world’s most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass.
For Example.......The US standard railroad gauge (width between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. Now that is a very odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the gauge used in England and the first US railroads were built by English engineers.
Why did the English use that gauge? Well, the first railways were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that’s the gauge they used.
Why did they use that gauge? It’s simple, the people who built the tramways used the same jogs and tools that they used for building wagons which used that wheel spacing.
Okay, so why did the wagons have that odd wheel spacing? If they tried to use any other spacing the wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England because that was the spacing of the wheel ruts.
Why were the ruts that wide? The first long distance roads in England (and most of Europe) were built by the Roman Legions and these roads have been used ever since then. And the ruts in the roads? Roman chariots first formed the ruts and everyone else had to match the ruts for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made by Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.
Consequently, the United States standard railroad gauge is derived from the specifications of the original Roman war chariot. Yes, bureaucracy lasts forever!
By the way, why was the wheel spacing of the Roman war chariot that width? It was just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two Roman war horses.
Thus, we have the answer to the original question. Now here is a modern twist to the story…
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two booster rockets attached to each side of the main fuel tank. These are the solid rocket boosters (SRB) that were made by Thiokol in their factory in Utah.
The engineers who designed the solid rocket boosters might have preferred to make them a bit wider, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The rail line had to run through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel and the tunnel was only slightly wider that the railroad track, which was slightly wider than two horses behinds.
So, the major design factor of what is arguably the world’s most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass.
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Taxes, Taxation and Morals
Well dear me a certain "stooshie" has erupted since Tuesday with regards to a certain Jimmy Carr and soon to be raised to the title of Chief Man of the UK Gary Barlow.
Amazing what a wee concert can do for ya eh!
Anyway its all over a certain K2 taxation scheme.
Here is the basic premise of how it operates:
UK earners 'quit' their job
They then sign new employment contracts with offshore companies
The offshore companies 'rehire' their new employee to the UK but take their earnings
The offshore company pays the employee a much lower salary each month, but 'loans' them several thousand pounds
These loans can be written down as tax liabilities, thus substantially reducing tax payable to the Government
The thing on this is its legal !!!!!!!!
A certain David Cameron described it as "very dodgy".
Infact went on record yesterday in an interview as saying its "morally wrong".
He is the issue I have ............morally wrong??
For 1 I cannot associate politicians and morals at all in any way. I mean only 9 of 646 MP's under the Telegraph expenses scandal being in the clear shows a distinct lack of morals at all. The lying the cheating the sheer contempt to which they hold the public more than hammers Mr Cameron's statement into the dirt. And that's not an anti-Tory dig, that's not a public schoolboy old Etonian dig (as a certain reader of my blog and as an avid reader of his blog) would most commonly write, that's a body politic as a whole dig.
But here's my point ...........Morally wrong. Who decides the morals.
Are not moral people own person choices and feelings on a subject.
I mean if the scheme is legal .......... where is the moral issue if the scheme is used.
I cant see it.
Look watching a pornographic movie is legal...........but is it morally wrong to watch 1............eerrrr don't think so.
I for 1 am sick to death of the morally wrong phrase being used to describe a situation of peoples making in order to gain people onside when clearly the establishment is at fault. Its easy to shout morally wrong when clearly your own loopholes have been exploited and you are being shown to be weak. Its easy to shout morals to cover up your own failings, or to shout morals to gain support from thoose who are easily led.
Jimmy Carr is not morally wrong. There was a loophole and he can afford an accountant who can exploit that loop hole. Exactly the same as Gary Barlow has.
I do notice however in the case of the Queen personal entertainment manager that today the Daily Mirror, yes that most excellent red top (read tawdry little rag) has called for his new honour to be removed.............oh FFS. So the very group of Labour peers who indeed several of whom have gone to prison of late in the wake of the expenses and cash for question scandal still have there's..........jeez what kind of journalism do these people trot out.
Anyway back on topic..........I notice Jimmy Carr's moral have kicked in (note the sarcasm there). And today he tweets the following.
I now realise I’ve made a terrible error of judgement.—
Jimmy Carr (@jimmycarr) June 21, 2012
Although I’ve been advised the K2 Tax scheme is entirely legal, and has been fully disclosed to HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs),—
Jimmy Carr (@jimmycarr) June 21, 2012
I’m no longer involved in it and will in future conduct my financial affairs much more responsibly.
Apologies to everyone.
Jimmy Carr—
Jimmy Carr (@jimmycarr) June 21, 2012
Danny Alexander has gone on record to say the treasury will be looking to close this loophole out.
I expect some rapid HMRC and new Govt legislation to come through rather sharpish.
Some say the HMRC may litigate ........... quite how with a legal scheme I do not understand but we await the next instalment.
Just for the record I am not a fan of Jimmy Carr. Personally I find his humour quite repellent. I avoid him on TV and always turn off. His jokes about servicemen in Afghanistan and the Para Olympic team kind of sealed his fate for me. But he is not morally wrong with his tax affairs........on that point I will defend him.
However the whole taxation issue in the UK is a mess.
HMRC has been described as "not fit for purpose".
The 50p / 45p top threshold debate was a complete mishandled cock up by the "boy George".
High rate earners have always been a fast easy target for the media.
Even in France the new President Francoise Hollande has pledged to tax earners of a million Euro's at 75%. well should he push that through the number of French earners at that figure you could count on 1 hand.
But on a side note that might not happen because the way the Euro is going there might not be Euro soon.
OK lets look at taxation based on a % of earnings.........Suppose that once a week, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to £100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this..
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay £1.
The sixth would pay £3.
The seventh would pay £7.
The eighth would pay £12.
The ninth would pay £18.
And the tenth man (the richest) would pay £59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every week and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until, one day, the owner caused them a little problem. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your weekly beer by £20.” Drinks for the ten men would now cost just £80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free but what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the £20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? They realized that £20 divided by six is £3.33 but if they subtracted that from everybody's share then not only would the first four men still be drinking for free but the fifth and sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fairer to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage. They decided to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.
And so, the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (a 100% saving).
The sixth man now paid £2 instead of £3 (a 33% saving).
The seventh man now paid £5 instead of £7 (a 28% saving).
The eighth man now paid £9 instead of £12 (a 25% saving).
The ninth man now paid £14 instead of £18 (a 22% saving).
And the tenth man now paid £49 instead of £59 (a 16% saving).
Each of the last six was better off than before with the first four continuing to drink for free.
But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got £1 out of the £20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got £10"
"Yes, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved £1 too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me"
"That's true" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get £10 back, when I only got £2? The wealthy get all the breaks"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next week the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important - they didn't have enough money between all of them to pay for even half of the bill.
And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy and they just might not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Abdelbaset al Megrahi
Reports from Libya today state the former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset al Megrahi, has died.
East Renfrewshire Council, which is supposed to receive updates about his condition following his early release from prison, has said it has received no official confirmation of his death but it is investigating.
The Foreign Office said it does not know if the reports are accurate, but they are "seeking further information".
A Scottish court in 2001 convicted Megrahi, 60, of the 1988 attack on Pan Am flight 103, but he was freed on compassionate grounds in 2009 because doctors said he was battling prostate cancer and had only three months to live.
He was greeted like a hero by the Gaddafi regime on his return to the country in 2009having served eight years of a 27-year sentence.
He was the only person convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie.
To the end, Abdelbaset al Megrahi always insisted he was an innocent man and had nothing to do with the attack, which killed 270 people, most of them American students flying home for Christmas.
Born in Tripoli in 1952 and educated in the United States and the UK, the former Libyan intelligence officer was added to the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives list seven years after the atrocity.
He did not fit the stereotype of an international terrorist.
Smartly dressed and quietly spoken, he portrayed himself as a family man who had been the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice.
After almost seven months and evidence from 230 witnesses, Megrahi was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 27 years.
A director of Libya's Centre for Strategic Studies and later put in charge of Libyan
Arab Airlines' security operations, prosecutors said he used his position to organise, prepare and carry out the Lockerbie bombing.
Fragments of clothing, found wrapped around the timing device, linked him to the attack.
He was also identified by Maltese businessman Anthony Gauci, who claimed he sold
items of clothing and an umbrella to a Libyan man who looked "a lot" like Megrahi three weeks before the bombing.
After a lengthy investigation by UK and US police forces, Megrahi was indicted in 1991.
However, years of lengthy diplomatic bargaining with Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi followed before he was handed over for trial.
Megrahi and his co-accused, compatriot Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, eventually faced a trial in 2000, conducted under Scottish law at a specially convened court at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands.
Costing an estimated £75m, it was one of the most complex trials ever staged.
His co-accused was cleared.
A first appeal against his conviction was rejected in March 2002.
Five years later, his lawyers successfully applied to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and the case was referred back to the Court of Appeal.
Eight years after he was found guilty of blowing up the jet, Megrahi dropped the appeal.
On August 21, 2009, Megrahi was released from Greenock Prison on compassionate grounds amid a storm of protest from victims' families.
But while many of the relatives are convinced of his guilt, there are some, particularly in Britain, who believe he was innocent.
I am 1 of the dissenting voices.
I ask you to read this link here. It will take you back to 11 post relating to this subject.
Some of them with praise, some of them critical, some of them questioning of evidence.
Please just have a wee read!
The 1 thing I know today is certain members of the British Government, Scottish Government and both the UK and USA intelligence services tonight are breathing a lot easier. The 1 man who remained, that knew the actual truth has now gone !!!!
Friday, 11 May 2012
Having a Pun Day ???
I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now.
When chemists die, they barium.
Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.
How does Moses make his tea? Hebrews it.
I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.
This girl said she recognised me from the vegetarian club, but I'd never met herbivore.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down.
I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words.
They told me I had type-A blood, but it was a Type-O.
PMS jokes aren't funny. Period.
Why were the Indians here first? They had reservations.
We are going on a class trip to the Coca-Cola factory. I hope there's no pop quiz.
Did you hear about the cross-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?
When you get a bladder infection urine trouble.
Broken pencils are pointless.
I tried to catch some fog, but I mist.
What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.
England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.
I dropped out of communism class because of lousy Marx.
I got a job at a bakery because I kneaded dough.
Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.
Velcro, what a rip off!
A cartoonist was found dead in his home. Details are sketchy.
Venison for dinner again? Oh deer!
The earthquake in Washington obviously was the government's fault.
Be kind to your dentist. He has fillings, too.
When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded.
Marriage is the mourning after the knot before.
Corduroy pillows are making headlines.
Is a book on voyeurism a peeping tome?
Sea captains don't like crew cuts.
A successful diet is the triumph of mind over platter.
A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumour.
Without geometry, life is pointless.
When you dream in colour, it's a pigment of your imagination.
Reading while sunbathing makes you well-red.
A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.
What's the definition of a will? (Come on, it's a dead giveaway!)
A backwards poet writes inverse.
In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism, your count votes.
With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.
Doctors tell us there are over seven million people who are overweight. These, of course, are only round figures.
What is the purpose of reindeer? It makes the grass grow, sweetie.
There were two ships. One had red paint, one had blue paint. They collided. At last report, the survivors were marooned.
The other day I sent my girlfriend a huge pile of snow. I rang her up and asked, "Did you get my drift?"
Where do you find giant snails? On the ends of giant's fingers.
Why is Saudi Arabia free of mental illness? There are nomad people there.
When I was in the supermarket I saw a man and a woman wrapped in a barcode. I asked "Are you two an item?"
When she told me I was average, she was just being mean.
This duck walks into a bar and orders a beer. "Four bucks," says the bartender. "Put it on my bill."
A dog with his leg wrapped in bandages hobbles into a saloon. He sidles up to the bar and announces "I'm lookin' fer the man who shot my paw."
A termite walks into a bar and says "Is the bar tender here?"
Four fonts walk into a bar. The barman says "Hey get out! We don't want your type in here!"
When chemists die, they barium.
Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.
How does Moses make his tea? Hebrews it.
I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.
This girl said she recognised me from the vegetarian club, but I'd never met herbivore.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down.
I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words.
They told me I had type-A blood, but it was a Type-O.
PMS jokes aren't funny. Period.
Why were the Indians here first? They had reservations.
We are going on a class trip to the Coca-Cola factory. I hope there's no pop quiz.
Did you hear about the cross-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?
When you get a bladder infection urine trouble.
Broken pencils are pointless.
I tried to catch some fog, but I mist.
What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.
England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.
I dropped out of communism class because of lousy Marx.
I got a job at a bakery because I kneaded dough.
Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.
Velcro, what a rip off!
A cartoonist was found dead in his home. Details are sketchy.
Venison for dinner again? Oh deer!
The earthquake in Washington obviously was the government's fault.
Be kind to your dentist. He has fillings, too.
When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded.
Marriage is the mourning after the knot before.
Corduroy pillows are making headlines.
Is a book on voyeurism a peeping tome?
Sea captains don't like crew cuts.
A successful diet is the triumph of mind over platter.
A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumour.
Without geometry, life is pointless.
When you dream in colour, it's a pigment of your imagination.
Reading while sunbathing makes you well-red.
A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.
What's the definition of a will? (Come on, it's a dead giveaway!)
A backwards poet writes inverse.
In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism, your count votes.
With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.
Doctors tell us there are over seven million people who are overweight. These, of course, are only round figures.
What is the purpose of reindeer? It makes the grass grow, sweetie.
There were two ships. One had red paint, one had blue paint. They collided. At last report, the survivors were marooned.
The other day I sent my girlfriend a huge pile of snow. I rang her up and asked, "Did you get my drift?"
Where do you find giant snails? On the ends of giant's fingers.
Why is Saudi Arabia free of mental illness? There are nomad people there.
When I was in the supermarket I saw a man and a woman wrapped in a barcode. I asked "Are you two an item?"
When she told me I was average, she was just being mean.
This duck walks into a bar and orders a beer. "Four bucks," says the bartender. "Put it on my bill."
A dog with his leg wrapped in bandages hobbles into a saloon. He sidles up to the bar and announces "I'm lookin' fer the man who shot my paw."
A termite walks into a bar and says "Is the bar tender here?"
Four fonts walk into a bar. The barman says "Hey get out! We don't want your type in here!"
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
France
So on Sunday just past 06/05/12 the lovely people of France voted and as we all know The current President of the Republic being Nicolas Sarkozy, a position held since 16May 2007, with a result of a loss for him giving the President-Elect to François Hollande, who takes office on 15 May 2012.
Good luck to him but for everyone else I thought it best to provide a few basic facts figures and quotes about this once great Gaullish nation
ABOUT THE FRENCH
"France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country" --Mark Twain
"France has usually been governed by prostitutes" --Mark Twain
"I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me" --General George S. Patton
"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion" --Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld
"We can stand here like the French, or we can do something about it" --Marge Simpson
"As far as I'm concerned, war always means failure" --Jacques Chirac, President of France
"As far as France is concerned, you're right" --Rush Limbaugh
"The only time France wants us to go to war is when the German Army is sitting in Paris sipping coffee" --Regis Philbin
"The French are a smallish, monkey-looking bunch and not dressed any better, on average, than the citizens of Baltimore. True, you can sit outside in Paris and drink little cups of coffee, but why this is more stylish than sitting inside and drinking large glasses of whisky I don't know" --PJ O'Rourke
"You know, the French remind me a little bit of an aging actress of the 1940s who was still trying to dine out on her looks but doesn't have the face for it" --John McCain
"You know why the French don't want to bomb Saddam Hussein? Because he hates America, he loves mistresses and wears a beret. He is French, people" --Conan O'Brien
"I don't know why people are surprised that France won't help us get Saddam out of Iraq. After all, France wouldn't help us get Hitler out of France either" --Jay Leno.
"The last time the French asked for 'more proof' it came marching into Paris under a German flag" --David Letterman
"Only thing worse than a Frenchman is a Frenchman who lives in Canada" --Ted Nugent.
"War without France would be like... uh ... World War II" --Unknown
"The favourite bumper sticker in Washington D.C. right now is one that says 'First Iraq, then France'" --Tom Brokaw
"What do you expect from a culture and a nation that exerted more of its national will fighting against Disney World and Big Macs than the Nazis?" --Dennis Miller.
"It is important to remember that the French have always been there when they needed us" --Alan Kent
"They've taken their own precautions against al-Qaida. To prepare for an attack, each Frenchman is urged to keep duct tape, a white flag, and a three-day supply of mistresses in the house"--Argus Hamilton
"Somebody was telling me about the French Army rifle that was being advertised on eBay the other day. The description was 'Never shot. Dropped once" --Rep. Roy Blunt (MO)
"The French will only agree to go to war when we've proven we've found truffles in Iraq" --Dennis Miller
"Do you know how many Frenchmen it takes to defend Paris? It's not known, it's never been tried" --Rep. R. Blount
"Do you know it only took Germany three days to conquer France in WWII? And that's because it was raining" --John Xereas
*snigger*
Its Official
YES ITS OFFICIAL!!!!!!!
Muller Fruit Corner Greek Yogurt Rhubard ............... absolutely F*****G Rock.
I have no connection to the company at all but should a person of the company wish to send me loads of free ones I will accept and post on the blog everytime I eat 1.
I am soooo cheap its not true.
Excuse the shaky photo but I was still overcome in yogurty pleasure !!!!!!!
Muller Fruit Corner Greek Yogurt Rhubard ............... absolutely F*****G Rock.
I have no connection to the company at all but should a person of the company wish to send me loads of free ones I will accept and post on the blog everytime I eat 1.
I am soooo cheap its not true.
Excuse the shaky photo but I was still overcome in yogurty pleasure !!!!!!!
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
08/05 ........... A Sad Day
Indeed ...... sadly 08/05/12 marks a date for myself.
This wee blog is the main outlet I have but if you follow this link here and indeed then the link there all will be clear.
Today is the second anniversary of the passing away of my very best mate Calum, in a horrific motorcycle accident.
Indeed a better friend I never had ............... maybe never will have.
Please read the original posts if you are not aquanted with the story but ............... I can say the guilt has gone but the hurt still stays.
Tonight a wee trip out to Scotlandwell will be had. Nice we part of Perthshire if anyone knows it. A wee flower will be laid and a wee prayer said. Not that I am devoutly religious. Maybe more of a question to the big guy upstairs to ask why Calum.
He left a wife and a tiny wee daughter. They have moved away now and are going on with their lives.
Life does not stop because of tragedy, I above all realise that ............... it just needs dealt with.
Night my mate ...... sleep well !!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
405
Odd number eh!
Well not unless you realise that is the number of servicemen and womens death in Afghanistan.
Today, a British soldier from 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters), has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The soldier was working alongside an Afghan security forces' patrol in the Mirmandab region of Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand Province, when he was struck by an improvised explosive device.
Sleep well Tony !!
Budget 2012
And whats the big talking point.
Yep you guess it the 50p tax band.
This was introduced by the Labour government to make those who gain the most from society pay a bigger share of the costs of the country.
What it actually did was increase the tax benefits of creating a personal service company to avoid tax.
Labour introduced the 50p tax rate in the name of fairness.
It was levied ontp earners of £150K and above.
That was less then 1% of the population bare in mind there are approx 30 million tax payers in the UK.
Well basically the boy stood up and slashed it to 45p in the pound.
Not really a shock there was it.
It's been in the news for god knows how long.
Question being was he right?
Stats from HMRC and OBR say it dragged in £3Bn in tax revenue.
Well 3 bill is a big number but not when you compare it to the taxation budget.
Infact its a bit of a joke.
What apperas to have happened in a nut shell is those with the dough saw a tax hike when Gordon Brown tried to slap through a populist policy on tax in a vain attempt to bolster his piss poor performance.
Yes indeed by the time he banged this through his 10 years of borrow send and never realising it had to be paid back where indeed starting to unravel.
As a result of the tax hike some well to do accountants gave these chaps a bit of loop hole in the means of a personal servic company as 1 example in order to reduce the tax burden on them.
In most cases it looks like the HMRC estimated it dropped their burden to approx 45%.
What I really want to do is see the actual numbers reported.
This 3 bn is approx 1/3rd of what it was supposed to bring in , and also what did it cost to manage that taxation band.
But still if a reduction to 45% means its not worth then persuing a loophole company and the full value is taxed at 45% then its a no brainer.
I mean 45% of 2 mill is a damn site better than 50% of 1 mill.
Anyway he went on with other bits about fuel, fags, booze etc.
Glad I dont smoke by the way...........5% above inflation ..... Jeez !!!!!!!!!
Then up stands David Milliband
Ooopppsss sorry I mean Ed Milliband.
Sorry another BBC fuck up ...............dont shoot the messenger !
And then he retorts with the usual diatribe about millionaires.
Well no wonder we got as a country into such a financial mess with Labout in charge if he thinks £150K a year makes you a millionaire.
And fantastic to see his right hand man, the man with his finger on the cash pulse .......... over his right shoulder the one and only Ed Blinky Balls.......... That will be the same Ed Balls who was in the treasury under Gordon Brown who was part of the toxic team who created this toxic mess.
Still Ok lets put the posturing away for the time being.
The 50p rate was a supposed vote winner thats all..........it failed to do that.
What I need to see a chunk of the HMRC report and the OBR statement saying as a tax it has not dragged in the cash it needed to have done.
Otherwise its just children agruing in the playground...........which is just what the HOC has become.
So c'mon ........ as the film says "Show me the Money"
However
Labour shouts long and shouts loud about fairness so........You would think that these high paid Labour politicians would be happy to pay their fair share of income tax, wouldn't you?
Think again. Here are a few big name who have senior positions in the Labour party:
Ken Livingstone, Labour candidate for Mayor of London
Lord Melvyn Bragg, Labour peer
Lord Mandelson, Labour peer and former Secretary of State for Business
Lord Sugar, Labour peer and star of The Apprentice
David Blunkett, Labour MP and former Home Secretary
David Miliband, Labour MP, former Foreign Secretary and brother of Labour leader Ed Miliband
Gordon Brown, Labour MP, former Chancellor, former Prime Minister, person who introduced the 50p tax rate.
So lets look a little further at the above
Ken Livingstone, Labour candidate for Mayor of London
Personal Service Company: SILVETA LIMITED
Income from: newspaper articles, TV appearances, speeches
Directors: Emma Beal (wife), Ken Livingstone
I will say nothing more about this odious bastard other than a quick visit to Guidos place wont inform you of !!!!!!
Lord Melvin Bragg (Labour peer)
Personal Service Company: MELVYN BRAGG LIMITED
Income from: various TV shows, books
Directors: Catherine Bragg (wife), Melvyn Bragg
Net Worth: £931,775
Note: It is not clear if this company is still trading.
Melvyn Bragg also runs DIRECTORS CUT PRODUCTIONS LTD with partner (and former ITV producer) Cathy Haslam. This company recently produced a BBC show about the British class system. Lord Bragg likes to claim that he is still working class, but he produces high brown arts shows, mixes with the right circles and avoids tax like any other rich person. That doesn't sound 'working class' to me.
Lord Peter Mandelson (Labour peer)
Personal Service Company: WILLBURY LIMITED
Income from: TV appearances, speeches, books, advisor jobs
Directors: unknown.
Registration Date: 26/05/2010
Net Worth: the company does not appear to have submitted accounts yet
Lord Mandelson is also a partner at GLOBAL COUNSEL LLP
Peter Mandelson was the person who went on TV to defend Labour's raising of income tax to 50%. What a shame that he doesn't feel the need to pay it himself.
Lord Alan Sugar (Labour peer)
Personal Service Company: AMSTAR MEDIA LIMITED
Income from: TV show, book
Directors: Danial Sugar, Simon Sugar, Andrew Cohen, Roger Adams, Michael Ray, Claude Mitner (but not Alan Sugar)
Net Worth: £2,401,935
These days his main business interests are his large property portfolio which he bought with all the wealth that he earned by selling off Amstrad.
For the sake of this article I will just look at Lord Sugar's income from his TV show and books. This is money from his own work, not from employing others. This income morally should be taxed as income tax, not corporation tax.
According to the register of members interests he earns money from TV and book writing and the proceeds go into Amstar Media Limited.
Here is a summary of the Amstar Media Limited accounts:
2009 2010 2011
Profit before tax £208,245 £399,935 £2,710,539
Profit after tax £149,938 £287,953 £1,964,043
Tax paid £58,307 £111,982 £746,496
Tax rate 28% 28% 28%
If Lord Sugar had paid income tax on his earnings from working on a TV show and writing a book then he would have paid 50p tax plus National Insurance, so the effective tax rate would be 52% (plus the employer would pay an additional 6%).
By avoiding income tax using his personal services company, the government has lost 58% of the amount but gets 28% in corporation tax. Lord Sugar is effectively paying less than half of the tax that he should be.
The curious thing is that the Amstar Media Limited bank balance not reflect this money and the company does not pay wages or directors. I think the reason is that Amstar Media Limited is owned by Lord Sugars holding company, AMSHOLD GROUP LIMITED. This company has over £120 million in the bank and a net worth of £264,472,000.
Amshold Group Limited should not be confused with AMSHOLD LIMITED, which is another Lord Sugar company that is registered in tax haven Jersey and which has a net worth of £216,144,994.
It appears that the profits (i.e. Lord Sugar's personal income from working as a TV celebrity) goes into his holding group company, which also includes several other companies - mainly related to his property investments.
Another of Lord Sugar's companies is AMSVEST LIMITED. I believe that this is the company that he uses to invest in companies co-owned by the winners of The Apprentice. That money looks like it comes from Amstar Media Limited via Lord Sugar's holding group.
So, next time Alan Sugar claims that he will invest his personal money with the next Apprentice winner remember that half of that money really belongs to the tax payer because Lord Sugar avoided tax on his personal income.
David Blunkett
Personal Service Company: HADAW PRODUCTIONS AND INVESTMENTS LTD
Income from: adviser jobs, speeches, lecturing job
Directors: Hugh Blunkett, Andrew Blunkett, Alastair Blunkett, David Blunkett
Net worth: £683,783 (2011)
According to the register of members interests, the company received income from:
- advisor to scandal hit A4E Ltd (which the Labour party are trying to associate with David Cameron only......not 1 of their own was in it)
- advisor to scandal hit News International (again, which Labour try to associate with the Conservatives)
- advisor to US based Secure Trading Inc.
- lecturing at the London School of Business and Finance
- various speaking engagements
These are all jobs which he has personally undertaken, but where the money was paid into the company to avoid income tax. According to the register he has not received any income from the company, but as he has family members as directors he can avoid inheritance and income tax by letting them receive income from it.
David Blunkett has also donated cash to the Labour party in the past. What a shame that the money came from avoiding paying income tax.
David Miliband MP
Personal Service Company: THE OFFICE OF DAVID MILIBAND LIMITED
Income from: unknown (possibly newspaper articles, TV appearances, speeches, various advisor jobs, teaching jobs)
Directors: Louse Miliband (wife?), David Miliband
Note: this company was registered 21/12/2010 (after he lost the Labour party leadership) but is not mentioned in the register of members interests yet. I cannot find any accounts for it either.
Note: I didn't bother including Tony Blair - we all know how little tax he pays on his fortune, but at least he employs a large team.
Gordon Brown MP
Personal Service Company: THE OFFICE OF GORDON AND SARAH BROWN LIMITED
Income from: book, speeches, lecturing jobs, adviser jobs
Director: Sarah Brown (wife) - but not, it seems, Gordon Brown!
Note: this company was registered 1/9/2010 (after he lost the general election) and I cannot find any accounts for it yet.
AND FINALLY .............. The 1 the Only
Tony Blair - we all know how little tax he pays on his fortune, but at least he employs a large team.
So the title of the Labour Election manifesto was bang on then.
In case there was any doubt .............. I cant stand hypocrits and I cant stand socialism .......... the worst politics there is !!!!!!
Hat Tip Here
Yep you guess it the 50p tax band.
This was introduced by the Labour government to make those who gain the most from society pay a bigger share of the costs of the country.
What it actually did was increase the tax benefits of creating a personal service company to avoid tax.
Labour introduced the 50p tax rate in the name of fairness.
It was levied ontp earners of £150K and above.
That was less then 1% of the population bare in mind there are approx 30 million tax payers in the UK.
Well basically the boy stood up and slashed it to 45p in the pound.
Not really a shock there was it.
It's been in the news for god knows how long.
Question being was he right?
Stats from HMRC and OBR say it dragged in £3Bn in tax revenue.
Well 3 bill is a big number but not when you compare it to the taxation budget.
Infact its a bit of a joke.
What apperas to have happened in a nut shell is those with the dough saw a tax hike when Gordon Brown tried to slap through a populist policy on tax in a vain attempt to bolster his piss poor performance.
Yes indeed by the time he banged this through his 10 years of borrow send and never realising it had to be paid back where indeed starting to unravel.
As a result of the tax hike some well to do accountants gave these chaps a bit of loop hole in the means of a personal servic company as 1 example in order to reduce the tax burden on them.
In most cases it looks like the HMRC estimated it dropped their burden to approx 45%.
What I really want to do is see the actual numbers reported.
This 3 bn is approx 1/3rd of what it was supposed to bring in , and also what did it cost to manage that taxation band.
But still if a reduction to 45% means its not worth then persuing a loophole company and the full value is taxed at 45% then its a no brainer.
I mean 45% of 2 mill is a damn site better than 50% of 1 mill.
Anyway he went on with other bits about fuel, fags, booze etc.
Glad I dont smoke by the way...........5% above inflation ..... Jeez !!!!!!!!!
Then up stands David Milliband
Ooopppsss sorry I mean Ed Milliband.
Sorry another BBC fuck up ...............dont shoot the messenger !
And then he retorts with the usual diatribe about millionaires.
Well no wonder we got as a country into such a financial mess with Labout in charge if he thinks £150K a year makes you a millionaire.
And fantastic to see his right hand man, the man with his finger on the cash pulse .......... over his right shoulder the one and only Ed Blinky Balls.......... That will be the same Ed Balls who was in the treasury under Gordon Brown who was part of the toxic team who created this toxic mess.
Still Ok lets put the posturing away for the time being.
The 50p rate was a supposed vote winner thats all..........it failed to do that.
What I need to see a chunk of the HMRC report and the OBR statement saying as a tax it has not dragged in the cash it needed to have done.
Otherwise its just children agruing in the playground...........which is just what the HOC has become.
So c'mon ........ as the film says "Show me the Money"
However
Labour shouts long and shouts loud about fairness so........You would think that these high paid Labour politicians would be happy to pay their fair share of income tax, wouldn't you?
Think again. Here are a few big name who have senior positions in the Labour party:
Ken Livingstone, Labour candidate for Mayor of London
Lord Melvyn Bragg, Labour peer
Lord Mandelson, Labour peer and former Secretary of State for Business
Lord Sugar, Labour peer and star of The Apprentice
David Blunkett, Labour MP and former Home Secretary
David Miliband, Labour MP, former Foreign Secretary and brother of Labour leader Ed Miliband
Gordon Brown, Labour MP, former Chancellor, former Prime Minister, person who introduced the 50p tax rate.
So lets look a little further at the above
Ken Livingstone, Labour candidate for Mayor of London
Personal Service Company: SILVETA LIMITED
Income from: newspaper articles, TV appearances, speeches
Directors: Emma Beal (wife), Ken Livingstone
I will say nothing more about this odious bastard other than a quick visit to Guidos place wont inform you of !!!!!!
Lord Melvin Bragg (Labour peer)
Personal Service Company: MELVYN BRAGG LIMITED
Income from: various TV shows, books
Directors: Catherine Bragg (wife), Melvyn Bragg
Net Worth: £931,775
Note: It is not clear if this company is still trading.
Melvyn Bragg also runs DIRECTORS CUT PRODUCTIONS LTD with partner (and former ITV producer) Cathy Haslam. This company recently produced a BBC show about the British class system. Lord Bragg likes to claim that he is still working class, but he produces high brown arts shows, mixes with the right circles and avoids tax like any other rich person. That doesn't sound 'working class' to me.
Lord Peter Mandelson (Labour peer)
Personal Service Company: WILLBURY LIMITED
Income from: TV appearances, speeches, books, advisor jobs
Directors: unknown.
Registration Date: 26/05/2010
Net Worth: the company does not appear to have submitted accounts yet
Lord Mandelson is also a partner at GLOBAL COUNSEL LLP
Peter Mandelson was the person who went on TV to defend Labour's raising of income tax to 50%. What a shame that he doesn't feel the need to pay it himself.
Lord Alan Sugar (Labour peer)
Personal Service Company: AMSTAR MEDIA LIMITED
Income from: TV show, book
Directors: Danial Sugar, Simon Sugar, Andrew Cohen, Roger Adams, Michael Ray, Claude Mitner (but not Alan Sugar)
Net Worth: £2,401,935
These days his main business interests are his large property portfolio which he bought with all the wealth that he earned by selling off Amstrad.
For the sake of this article I will just look at Lord Sugar's income from his TV show and books. This is money from his own work, not from employing others. This income morally should be taxed as income tax, not corporation tax.
According to the register of members interests he earns money from TV and book writing and the proceeds go into Amstar Media Limited.
Here is a summary of the Amstar Media Limited accounts:
2009 2010 2011
Profit before tax £208,245 £399,935 £2,710,539
Profit after tax £149,938 £287,953 £1,964,043
Tax paid £58,307 £111,982 £746,496
Tax rate 28% 28% 28%
If Lord Sugar had paid income tax on his earnings from working on a TV show and writing a book then he would have paid 50p tax plus National Insurance, so the effective tax rate would be 52% (plus the employer would pay an additional 6%).
By avoiding income tax using his personal services company, the government has lost 58% of the amount but gets 28% in corporation tax. Lord Sugar is effectively paying less than half of the tax that he should be.
The curious thing is that the Amstar Media Limited bank balance not reflect this money and the company does not pay wages or directors. I think the reason is that Amstar Media Limited is owned by Lord Sugars holding company, AMSHOLD GROUP LIMITED. This company has over £120 million in the bank and a net worth of £264,472,000.
Amshold Group Limited should not be confused with AMSHOLD LIMITED, which is another Lord Sugar company that is registered in tax haven Jersey and which has a net worth of £216,144,994.
It appears that the profits (i.e. Lord Sugar's personal income from working as a TV celebrity) goes into his holding group company, which also includes several other companies - mainly related to his property investments.
Another of Lord Sugar's companies is AMSVEST LIMITED. I believe that this is the company that he uses to invest in companies co-owned by the winners of The Apprentice. That money looks like it comes from Amstar Media Limited via Lord Sugar's holding group.
So, next time Alan Sugar claims that he will invest his personal money with the next Apprentice winner remember that half of that money really belongs to the tax payer because Lord Sugar avoided tax on his personal income.
David Blunkett
Personal Service Company: HADAW PRODUCTIONS AND INVESTMENTS LTD
Income from: adviser jobs, speeches, lecturing job
Directors: Hugh Blunkett, Andrew Blunkett, Alastair Blunkett, David Blunkett
Net worth: £683,783 (2011)
According to the register of members interests, the company received income from:
- advisor to scandal hit A4E Ltd (which the Labour party are trying to associate with David Cameron only......not 1 of their own was in it)
- advisor to scandal hit News International (again, which Labour try to associate with the Conservatives)
- advisor to US based Secure Trading Inc.
- lecturing at the London School of Business and Finance
- various speaking engagements
These are all jobs which he has personally undertaken, but where the money was paid into the company to avoid income tax. According to the register he has not received any income from the company, but as he has family members as directors he can avoid inheritance and income tax by letting them receive income from it.
David Blunkett has also donated cash to the Labour party in the past. What a shame that the money came from avoiding paying income tax.
David Miliband MP
Personal Service Company: THE OFFICE OF DAVID MILIBAND LIMITED
Income from: unknown (possibly newspaper articles, TV appearances, speeches, various advisor jobs, teaching jobs)
Directors: Louse Miliband (wife?), David Miliband
Note: this company was registered 21/12/2010 (after he lost the Labour party leadership) but is not mentioned in the register of members interests yet. I cannot find any accounts for it either.
Note: I didn't bother including Tony Blair - we all know how little tax he pays on his fortune, but at least he employs a large team.
Gordon Brown MP
Personal Service Company: THE OFFICE OF GORDON AND SARAH BROWN LIMITED
Income from: book, speeches, lecturing jobs, adviser jobs
Director: Sarah Brown (wife) - but not, it seems, Gordon Brown!
Note: this company was registered 1/9/2010 (after he lost the general election) and I cannot find any accounts for it yet.
AND FINALLY .............. The 1 the Only
Tony Blair - we all know how little tax he pays on his fortune, but at least he employs a large team.
So the title of the Labour Election manifesto was bang on then.
In case there was any doubt .............. I cant stand hypocrits and I cant stand socialism .......... the worst politics there is !!!!!!
Hat Tip Here
With Great Shame !
Its kid of like it never really happeneded did it not.
Yesterday, David Cameron, Tony Blair and Gordon had front row seats in Westminster Hall to listen to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee address.
Nice bit of pomp to cover the fact that later in the day was a horrific repatriation ceremony - one of the many horrifying results of their warmongering decisions.
The grief of families and friends was all too evident when the cortege passed the site of the new memorial garden sited on the edge of Catherton.
5 young men all aged 21 or less gave the ultimate sacrifice, together with a very repected 33 year old NCO also gave the same.
The town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire has still not recovered.
Still the champers went down well and all had a jolly loverly time.
May the five members of 3rd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment and Sgt Coupe, who belonged to 1 Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment and was on secondment to 3 Battalion, rest in peace.
From top left: Sergeant Nigel Coupe, Corporal Jake Hartley and Private Anthony Frampton.
From bottom left: Private Christopher Kershaw, Private Daniel Wade and Private Daniel Wilford
Hat tip to Rosie
Yesterday, David Cameron, Tony Blair and Gordon had front row seats in Westminster Hall to listen to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee address.
Nice bit of pomp to cover the fact that later in the day was a horrific repatriation ceremony - one of the many horrifying results of their warmongering decisions.
The grief of families and friends was all too evident when the cortege passed the site of the new memorial garden sited on the edge of Catherton.
5 young men all aged 21 or less gave the ultimate sacrifice, together with a very repected 33 year old NCO also gave the same.
The town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire has still not recovered.
Still the champers went down well and all had a jolly loverly time.
May the five members of 3rd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment and Sgt Coupe, who belonged to 1 Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment and was on secondment to 3 Battalion, rest in peace.
From top left: Sergeant Nigel Coupe, Corporal Jake Hartley and Private Anthony Frampton.
From bottom left: Private Christopher Kershaw, Private Daniel Wade and Private Daniel Wilford
Hat tip to Rosie