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 !!!!

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!"

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 !!!!!!!

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 !!!!!!!!!

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

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

2012

Its been an odd year has it not?
We have seen and heard from both ends of the scale.
Bravery, courgae, generosity..........to theft lies deception and just plain stupidity.
Most of it out or Westminster.


TLOTF has been quiet on the blog front I know.
I will correct that in 2012.

Suffice to say 2011 has been a bit of a stinky 1 for me.

Don't get me wrong not all stinky but indeed it has thrown a few serious curve balls which needed dealt with.

I am not 1 for thinking just because the clock strikes midnight that all will become better tonight. No not at all.

However I do believe despite what this year has hurled at me, that positive thought and good planning are a must. So I will use the midnight chimes to put a marker down for 2012.

So to all my friends out there a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2012.


But lets be honest and lets keep some focus.
The government will still lie.
Taxes will still rise
We will all still be skint
Labour are still shit and are just the depths of anything political.
Michael Dugher MP on Sky News this am was savaged by Mark Longhurst hahahahahahaha
I want an independent Scotland........but not on Alex Salmonds terms
Troops will still die needlessly in Afghanistan
The Pars will be relegated
Mercedes Benz make the most beautiful cars in the world
And my cat (HRH the Princess Boo of Caledonia) will continue to screech when her food is not out exactly on the time she demands

Ce la vie !!!!!!!!

Scotlands Hurricane!

URGENT – HURRICANE BAWBAG APPEAL On December 8th 2011, a hurricane of biblical strength blasted across North and Central Scotland.

Victims can be seen wandering aimlessly muttering: "Ah wiz pure shittin' masel big man so a wiz, ah need some jellies".

The hurricane decimated the area, causing approximately £30 worth of damage.
Untold disruption and distress was caused:

Many were woken well before...... their giro arrived. * Several priceless collections of mementos from the Balearics and Spanish costas were damaged. * Three areas of historic and scientifically significant litter were disturbed. * The cone fell off the head of the statue outside Glasgow’s Modern Art Gallery. * Thousands are confused and bewildered, trying to come to terms with the fact that something interesting has happened in Scotland.

One resident, Pocahontis McGlinchy, a 17 year old mother-of-three said "Ah wiz like ‘Whit’s that? Ah,canny hear ma choonz innat man’ Wee Beyonce came running into my bedroom pure howlin so she wiz. My youngest two, Brooklyn an Blackpool slept through it. I was still pure rattlin when I was watching Jeremy Kyle the next morning."

Apparently though, looting did carry on as normal.

The British Red Cross have so far managed to ship 4000 crates of Buckfast to the area to help the stricken masses. Rescue workers are still searching through the rubble and have found large quantities of personal belongings including benefit books and jewellery from Elizabeth Duke at Argos.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Clothing is most sought after. Items required include: - Sovvy rings - Baseball caps - Shell suits - Tesco two stripe trainers - White socks - Chunky gold chains Food parcels may be harder to put together but are necessary all the same.

Required foodstuffs include: - Mutty Pies and Buckfast - Hauf Pizza Suppers and Buckfast - Mars Bars and Buckfast - Kebabs and Buckfast - Haggis Suppers and Buckfast - Fray Bentos Pies and Buckfast * £2 buys chips, scraps and ginger for a family of four. * £10 can take a family to Coatbridge for the day, where children can sniff glue and spike up among the national collection of stinging nettles. * 22p buys a biro for filling in a spurious compensation claim.