An Englishman's Castle

May 14, 2008

Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Gordon Brown pays £2.7 billion to end 10p tax crisis - Times Online...
a desperate move to end the row over the abolition of the 10p rate that has brought Labour to its knees and left Gordon Brown fighting to survive.

Excuse me if I don't join in the general jubilation that accompanied this news, I'm sure I heard someone on ITN claiming it meant there will be no losers. And I hate to quibble with the headline writer but it isn't fricking Gordon who is paying it.

Now £120 in my pocket will be very welcome, but I could have got that by running up my credit card bill. But do you know what, I chose not to do that for one very good reason. A reason that the Times has uncovered after consulting some highly paid analysts:

Analysts pointed out that the further increase in borrowing would have to be paid for eventually by higher taxes or cuts in spending.

It's got to be paid back, with interest.

Combine that with Northern Crock and the other desperate bribes labour is handing out from our money and for how long will be paying for this discredited rump of a party?

From Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1603:

LORD POLONIUS:
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:36 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

If music be...

A bottle of house red please. Oh, and some Hendrix to go with it - Scotsman.com News

Scottish scientists have proved that the type of music we listen to while drinking wine influences the way we perceive its taste....

If the music was loud and dense – such as Carmina Burana, the thrusting cantata composed by Carl Orff – so the chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon used in the test were deemed more powerful and heavy.

If the soundtrack was of a more sedate, classical nature – such as Waltz of the Flowers from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker – the wine was regarded as subtle and refined.

Similar results were found in tests conducted with music considered "zingy and refreshing" – Just Can't Get Enough by Nouvelle Vague – and "mellow and soft" – Michael Brook's Slow Breakdown.

Though the songs chosen for the study were deliberately obscure – so as to minimise the likelihood that students already drew some previous association with the tracks – Mr Montes has selected music he considers the ideal accompaniment to certain wines. What his list lacks in scientific rigour it makes up for in taste; merlot, he suggests, is best consumed while listening to Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding, while Jimi Hendrix's blazing cover of All Along The Watchtower is considered the perfect soundtrack to a glass of cabernet sauvignon.

Time for some scientific research this evening with a corkscrew and youtube...

Posted by The Englishman at 6:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The Lady is for turning

Labour MSPs force Wendy into another U-turn on referendum - Scotsman.com News

WENDY Alexander's position as leader of the Scottish Labour Party was last night described as "impossible and untenable" after she was forced into yet another U-turn by her fellow MSPs.

Well at least she will know how Gordon feels know....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Get your filthy lawyer fingers off my blog

'Half of web users' support bloggers' code - Telegraph

A voluntary code of conduct for bloggers and internet commentators is supported by almost half of all internet users, a survey has claimed.

The researchers said 46 per cent of web users believe bloggers should agree to a set of guidelines which reflected the laws on defamation, intellectual property rights and incitement.

Four per cent strongly opposed the suggestion and 15 per cent had no opinion.

Put me down as one of the four per cent - I set the rules for this blog, it is my private property I will do as I like.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:11 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Telegraph Watch

Telegraph online - Naughty sub editors...

Juxtapose - tr.v. -To place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 13, 2008

Envirocrime - it's tough on the streets.

Daily Express: UK News :: 18 hours in police cell – for dropping apple

A MAN accused of dropping an apple core in the street hit out at police last night after being held in a cell for 18 hours.

Plumber Keith Hirst, 54, who has a heart condition, was locked up after he refused to accept a £50 on-the-spot fine from a police community support officer.

“The way I was treated you would have thought I had robbed a bank,” he said. Mr Hirst was arrested after he refused to give his name and address. He was then taken to a police station, where he had his DNA and fingerprints taken.

Police were given the power to take DNA samples from suspects in 2003. But the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, made clear at the time that the power should be used only for serious offences.

Mr Hirst was held during a lunchtime trip to shops in Swinton, Greater Manchester. He was approached by the cycle-riding support officer, who he said was wearing a fluorescent jacket, big sunglasses and a baseball cap and carrying a wad of tickets and a pen.

Mr Hirst, who has had heart surgery and is unable to work, told the officer he was not responsible for dropping the apple core and went into a chemist to buy medication for his disabled wife.

He then claims he emerged to discover five uniformed officers had arrived to arrest him.

He was held at Swinton police station and taken to court the next day handcuffed to a security guard. He appeared before Salford magistrates charged with dropping litter and obstructing a police officer.

He denied both charges, and the obstruction charge has since been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service. The litter charge is scheduled to go to trial before a district judge in July.

Senior officers yesterday defended the police action and said : “We obviously do not want to arrest people for dropping litter. This man had a terrible attitude and left us with no choice because he refused to give his details.”

Superintendent Ian Palmer, of Greater Manchester police, said: "We work closely with the city council and other partners and take a firm stance against all environmental crime."

"Environmental Crime" - so that makes it all acceptable; Noddy Cops in their silly clothes, banging up and DNA extraction, nothing is too much in the fight against environmental crime.

I hesitate to mention this in case it gives them ideas but how far off can it be before Environmental Thought Crime is on the books? Look at how racism has been fought, it used to just be illegal to hit a black man, then it was a crime to incite violence, then just to be unpleasant and now just to harbour inner thoughts. Surely the environment deserves the same protection.....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:45 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack (0)

The Green Tithe

Green revolution to create 50,000 jobs - Scotsman.com News

SCOTLAND is on the brink of a green jobs revolution with 50,000 posts expected to be created in the next decade, careers experts claim.
Wind analysts, turbine technicians and heat-pump installers will all be needed to cope with the renewable energy rush, according to Careers Scotland, which has started a new campaign to raise awareness of the growing green industry.
They say the number of jobs in fields such as recycling, conservation and renewables is set to rocket in the next ten years. Already there are an estimated 80,000 jobs in the renewable fields that did not previously exist, with another 50,000 predicted over the next decade.

How many times does it need saying:
Creating Jobs is a Cost not a Benefit

Daily Express: The World's Greatest Newspaper :: UK News :: Labour's green tax will cost every family £3,000

LABOUR’S new green targets will cost every family in Britain more than £3,000, a Government dossier has warned.

The average family income is £32,779 before tax.

Greenery as a religion, now they are tithing us!
(Tithe (from Old English teogothian, “tenth”), a custom dating back to Old Testament times and adopted by the Christian church whereby lay people contributed a 10th of their income for religious purposes, often under ecclesiastical or legal obligation. )

Posted by The Englishman at 6:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

This morning's Brownian hyperventilation

Brown 'will be ditched as Prime Minister before next election' - Scotsman.com News

FRANK Field, the leader of Labour's 10p tax rebels, came under fierce attack yesterday after claiming that Gordon Brown would be ditched as Prime Minister before the next general election.
Cherie Blair: enough to make you weep | Libby Purves - Times Online

Snipe, snarl, snigger: Lord Levy says Tony doesn't think Gordon can win, and insinuates that the Blairs were in it for money and fame (“Look at what they've done since he's stopped being Prime Minister and answer the question yourself”). Cherie says Levy “knows nothing” and that weird Gordon could win, provided genius Tony advises him. She also lets it be leaked that she toned down her criticisms of Mr Brown so that, whenever she does stick the knife in, we know to add 30 per cent. Meanwhile, John Prescott brags that he called Tony “a little shit” and urged him to sack Gordon,...And the memoirs must be served quick and hot, before poor Mr Brown implodes and everyone's baying for pictures of little Milibands.

Given the speed and nature of current events, there is a real danger that we in the press start to hyperventilate, declaring the Brown government doomed before breakfast every day. But the piece by Neal Lawson, the chair of Compass, in The Independent calling on Brown to return to the Treasury for the good of the movement does seem like a seismic moment.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 12, 2008

Performance Art

Michael Stone 'Planned To Cut Throats Of Gerry Adams And Martin McGuinness' |Sky News|World News

Michael Stone planned to slit the throats of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness inside the Northern Ireland Assembly Chamber when he stormed it in November 2006.

For a moment there I thought I was reading a medal citation rather than the prosecution case against him, and in the interest of balance I note: "Stone has denied the charges, claiming his attack was "performance art". And I bet he didn't apply for an Arts Council grant....

Posted by The Englishman at 8:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

BA 777 crash - don't know what caused it but it wasn't Gordon, really it wasn't...

Heathrow crash landing 'could have been caused by cold weather' - Telegraph

Cold weather over Russia could explain a British Airways Boeing 777 crash landed at Heathrow in January, flight investigators have said.
In its latest report the Air Accidents Investigation Branch has focused on the “region of particularly cold air” between the Urals and Eastern Scandinavia.

It found that temperatures plummeted to -76C, far lower than would have been expected.

They have established that the fuel used on the aircraft was of high quality.

While the average freezing temperature of aviation fuel is -47C, tests on what was on this flight showed that it did not turn to ice until -57C.

Tests also found that the fuel temperature throughout the flight never dropped below -34C.

“There might have been an issue with viscosity – with the fuel becoming thicker and flowing less well,” said David Learmount, operations and safety editor at Flight International. “This report takes us absolutely nowhere, I think they still have no idea.”

Its experts have also discounted electromagnetic interference from jamming devices which were claimed to have been used to protect the Gordon Brown’s motorcade as he arrived at Heathrow.

So one plane, and one plane only, whose fuel didn't get very cold, crashes at Heathrow because it is a bit chilly in the Urals, yes of course, couldn't possibly be anything to do with flying too close to the one eyed Jonah... (click for more details)

Posted by The Englishman at 7:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The Duke, The Prince and The Paupers

Prince Philip questions benefits of organic farms - Telegraph

The Duke of Edinburgh has publicly challenged the benefits of organic farming, one of the Prince of Wales's greatest passions.

In a television interview with Sir Trevor McDonald on a tour of the Queen's Sandringham estate, the Duke talks openly about conservation, animal welfare and soaring food prices.

"The food prices are going up – everyone thinks it's to do with not enough food, but it's really that demand is too great, too many people,'' he said.

The two-part documentary is to be screened on Monday at 9pm on ITV1. and concludes at the same time on Tuesday.

The old boy speaks a lot of sense, it's a pity we don't hear more of it.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:12 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Caring for the wounded

Afghanistan hero criticises poor care for troops - Telegraph

Despite assurances from ministers and hospital managers that the care for servicemen at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham, was now excellent, Capt Martin Hewitt said the "truth" about the continued poor care for troops had to be exposed as it was "unacceptable".

I think I tend to believe him rather than the ministers.....

Posted by The Englishman at 7:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Wendy Blames Gordon's Dithering

The end of a beautiful friendship - Scotsman.com News

Allies of Alexander's are blunt. "Gordon can't make a decision and people have just got so fed up with it. This was just another decision he wasn't willing to make. She basically decided, well f*** you, I've got to do something,"

A sentiment that a lot of cabinet members were thinking this weekend.....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king

Labour: Gordon Brown should reflect on premiership, says Lord Levy - Telegraph

Lord Levy said the Cabinet was devoid of talent to take over from Mr Brown following his years of tension with Mr Blair.

"There is no one who I look at and say 'wow, they are really outstanding; wow, if they took over from Gordon Brown they could really make that big difference'. I don't see it. Others may but I don't see it."

I'm sure Diddy David Miliband is stamping his feet at that, but it is true the whole bunch of them are political pygmies. Too many years of the two top jobs being done by a pair of preening peacocks has not allowed any talent to flourish.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:47 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

May 11, 2008

Take two tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate and what do you get?

A green and verdant field of wheat ready to feed the world!

And in other news Eeny, Meeny, Miny and Moe arrived today ready to be fattened up...

Looks like I'm going to be alright for the winter!

Posted by The Englishman at 3:48 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

A Quite Interesting proposal for education

The QI equation for an enriched IQ - Times Online

Think about that list of great men who barely went to school: Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, William Cobbett, John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russell. Our most independent thinkers were more or less self-educated. You will also find that the best schools – for example, Eton and Westminster – have the shortest terms and do the least teaching, a paradox that would suggest we need less formal education all round.

In the QI edition of The Idler, Lloyd and Mitchinson present a five-point manifesto for educational reform.

“There would be no work, for a start,” said Lloyd. “It would all be play. Plato said that education should be a form of amusement. That way you will be much better able to discover the child’s natural bent.”

This approach is in direct contrast, of course, to the largely Gradgrindian approach common to most schools. As Mitchinson points out, it is actually a method of containment: “There’s that great line: you’re taught for the first five years of your life how to walk and talk; and for the next 10, you’re told to shut up and sit down.”

For Mitchinson, schools have turned into wage-slave production farms rather than places of learning....

Posted by The Englishman at 8:41 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Plant Rights

The Silent Scream of the Asparagus

You just knew it was coming: At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated....

A "clear majority" of the panel adopted what it called a "biocentric" moral view, meaning that "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive." Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim "absolute ownership" over plants and, moreover, that "individual plants have an inherent worth." This means that "we may not use them just as we please, even if the plant community is not in danger, or if our actions do not endanger the species, or if we are not acting arbitrarily."...

The [Swiss] committee has .  .  . come up with few concrete examples of what type of experiment might be considered an unacceptable insult to plant dignity. The committee does not consider that genetic engineering of plants automatically falls into this category, but its majority view holds that it would if the genetic modification caused plants to "lose their independence"--for example by interfering with their capacity to reproduce.

H/t Numberwatch

Posted by The Englishman at 8:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Beck's back bashing the AGW theory

PIK Climate Change Knowledge in a Nutshell; of the PIK Potsdam and its Contradiction
by
Dipl. Biol. Ernst-Georg Beck

Posted by The Englishman at 7:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Cameron - lackwit

I was going to comment on a speech by Cameron;
"I don’t want to leave the European Union and I'll tell you why. This is a trading nation..."

But Timmy has already shown how Cameron is making the classic mercantilist mistake. and for a stronger comment we have:

The Devil's Kitchen: Cameron: still a lackwit, know-nothing arsehole

Posted by The Englishman at 7:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The elephant

Christopher Booker - Telegraph

Thank heavens for Jeff Randall. In all the coverage of last week's devastating Government report on the collapse of our postal services, nowhere was there any mention of the key part played in the disaster by the EU - until Mr Randall broke media silence in Friday's Daily Telegraph.

Yet the report itself made no secret of the fact that the trouble has been our dutiful compliance with EU postal directives,... Other EU countries, as it says, have not been idiotic enough to comply.

But in another glaring instance of that familiar "elephant in the room" syndrome, the EU's part in this awful story was wholly ignored - until Mr Randall delivered his blast on Friday. Still one wonders how any journalist who had actually read the report - just 36 pages long - could have missed it.

Especially when some bloggers spotted it.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:43 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Global Warming Causes Stronger Wine

Wine makers take heat out of global warming - Scotsman.com News

GLOBAL warming may be the latest threat to the wine industry. Higher temperatures result in grapes containing more sugar and thus more alcohol...

And the problem is what?

Posted by The Englishman at 7:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

ὕβρις and Gorgon's ατή

I told Tony Blair to sack Gordon Brown, says John Prescott but the former prime minister was “scared” of his chancellor.

Stephen Byers damns Gordon Brown as 'distant and uncaring' - Times Online and manipulating the tax system for “tactical advantage”.

Cherie Blair says things about Gordon Brown that Tony Blair can't - Telegraph

The fact that you already have several holes in your head doesn't mean you want another one. Imagine being Gordon Brown this weekend. You are still reeling from disastrous local election results and the loss of London to Boris Johnson. You trail a record 26 points behind David Cameron in the polls. Rebellion surges through your party's ranks: in Westminster, over the abolition of the 10p tax rate; in Scotland, over the proposed referendum on independence.

Senior Labour figures say that there will be trouble - meaning a leadership challenge - if the party does not make serious progress by its conference in September. And then - what do you know? - up pops the unmistakable grin of your Scouse nemesis. Yes, Gordon: Cherie Blair is publishing her memoirs.

I lament my lack of knowledge of Greek and Shakespearean tragedies because I am sure an educated man would be able to recognise this morality tale of hubris...

Hubris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hubris (sometomes spelled hybris; Greek: ὕβρις) is a term meaning excessive pride, self-confidence or arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution. In Ancient Greece, "hubris" referred to actions taken in order to shame and humiliate the victim, thereby making oneself seem superior. It was most evident when looking at those in charge and how they used hubris when making decisions in their justice system and personal lives. The word came about when describing people who considered themselves more important than the Greek gods themselves. Because of this origin, hubris was considered a crime in classical Athens. It was considered the greatest sin of the ancient Greek world. The act of hubris was considered so because it not only required self-confidence and pride, but it usually erupted into violent acts by or to those involved. The category of acts constituting hubris for the ancient Greeks apparently broadened from the original specific reference to molestation of a corpse, or a humiliation of a defeated foe, to molestation, or irreverent, "outrageous treatment", in general. The meaning was eventually further generalized in its modern English usage to apply to any outrageous act or exhibition of pride or disregard for basic moral laws. Such an act may be referred to as an "act of hubris", or the person committing the act may be said to be hubristic. Ate, Greek ατή for 'ruin, folly, delusion', is the action performed by the hero, usually because of his/her hubris, or great pride, that leads to his/her death or downfall.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Continental Scam

Terry Wogan is a problem, says Eurovision chief Bjorn Erichsen - Telegraph

He said: "It is something you love to hate. It's something to laugh at. It's something continental. It's a scam. It's ridiculous. The British like to distance themselves from it."

Yes, that sums up Europe for us - and Eurovision...

Posted by The Englishman at 7:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 9, 2008

Friday Night is Music Night (Not an Ode to Billy Joe Edition)

Posted by The Englishman at 5:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Giving Blair an ASBO

ASBOs quietly dropped as most young offenders ignore them - Times Online

One of Labour’s main policies to tackle yobbish disorder is facing a slow death after figures published yesterday showed a sharp drop in antisocial behaviour orders.

As they declined, the number of people breaching the terms of their orders rose to almost a half. Among juveniles the rate is 61 per cent and among adults it is 43 per cent, according to the Home Office figures. The overall breach rate is now 49 per cent.

ASBOs were a key initiative of Tony Blair to help to improve the lives of people affected by yobbish behaviour on estates and in town centres.

The Respect Task Force, which led the antisocial behaviour drive, was disbanded and the Respect Commissioner, Louise Casey, was given a new job as head of a Cabinet Office review of crime and communities.

All those announcements, all those initiatives, all that money - just so much flim-flam. Politicians have too much time on their hands and waste it, and everybody else's, with their never ending "calls for action". They should be getting down to the boring work of actually managing the out of control state institutions we already have, but that is too hard and doesn't make the evening news.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:43 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

If you go down to the woods tonight.

Police can't break up 'too dark' raves - Telegraph

A police force has admitted it is powerless to break up illegal raves - because it is too dark when they are in full swing.
Chief Supt Ellis told the meeting: "We will wait until daylight hours for reasons of health and safety before making interventions."

Scary going into the woods at night, can't do that; not with motorists to catch, we can do that as we munch donuts sitting in our nice warm cars....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Wendy - Gordon's Fletcher Christian

Losing his grip on Scotland - Scotsman.com News

THE rift between Gordon Brown and the Scottish Labour Party deepened last night, as Wendy Alexander openly defied his orders by pushing ahead with her plans for an independence vote.

The Prime Minister has long regarded Scotland as his personal power base, but he appeared to be losing his grip on Scottish Labour as Ms Alexander ploughed on with calls for the SNP to bring forward its referendum bill to next week.

Her move means Mr Brown no longer seems to have control over what happens north of the Border, leading Tory leader David Cameron to say: "He's lost his authority."

To this day, the reasons for the mutiny are a subject of considerable debate. Some believe that Bligh was a cruel tyrant whose abuse of the crew led members of the crew to feel that they had no choice but to take the ship from Bligh. Others believe that the crew, inexperienced and unused to the rigours of the sea and, after having been exposed to freedom and sexual excess on the island of Tahiti, refused to return to the "Jack Tars" existence of a seaman. They were "led" by a weak Fletcher Christian and were only too happy to be free from Bligh's acid tongue. They believe that the crew took the ship from Bligh so that they could return to a life of comfort and pleasure on Tahiti.

Wendy is busy positioning herself for a life after Brown, he's a done force especially in Scotland so it is no longer politic to be hiding under his coat tails now that the police have gone away. Expect to see more Brownies declaring their independence but carefully not challenging Brown. His one use now to the party is to lead the party into the next election and take the blame for the defeat.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Oh wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursel's as others see us!

Rough Guide to England, an irritating place - Telegraph

"Of the two hundred-plus destinations across the world that Rough Guide covers, there is none so fascinating, beautiful and culturally diverse, yet as insular, self-important and irritating, as England," says the guide, which was written by four British travel writers....a "querulous, quarrelsome country"... all have views on issues such as politics, crime and immigration, but are also voracious consumers of "celebrity chit-chat".

The guide says: "As a glance at the tabloid newspapers will confirm, England is a nation of overweight, binge-drinking reality TV addicts.

"But it's also a country of animal-loving, tea-drinking, charity donors, where queuing remains a national pastime and bastions of civilisation, such as Radio 4, are jealously protected. It's a nation that prides itself on its patriotism – yet has a Scottish prime minister, an Italian football coach and a Greek royal consort.

"Ask any English person to comment on all of this and you'll get an entertaining range of views. Try to make sense of these, and the resulting picture might suggest something akin to a national identity crisis."

Posted by The Englishman at 6:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

No more Frtizl

Josef Fritzl blames Nazis for crimes - Telegraph

Ting! Godwin's Law - that's it finished, end of discussion.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:07 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

May 8, 2008

Offensive education

State education so poor it's offensive, says schools chief - Telegraph

Chris Parry, the new chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), said standards were "offensive" to parents who pay their taxes and forced hundreds of thousands to go private.

Speaking a week after taking up his post, Mr Parry also criticised the ideological opposition to fee-paying schools that was perpetuated by teachers in the state system.

The system is rotten to the core, it is beyond gentle reform with barrow loads of cash, it needs the pressure of real parental choice, it needs school vouchers.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:02 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Amazing Discovery! (For pre-internet times...)

Victorian men's guide to looking your best - Telegraph

..A recent discovery shows that the men of the 1800s were just as worried about looking good.

The Young Man's Own Book, published in London in 1832, was a must-have for those wanting to impress the girls and look their best.

The book warned against dressing in "absurd finery" and cautioned that some men "may paint or powder themselves so much and dress so finically to suppose they are women in boys' clothes".

As for the age-old art of wooing the opposite sex, the 300-page pocket-sized book covered everything from how to trim one's fingernails to how long to spend lazing in bed.

"A foul mouth and unclean hands are certain marks of vulgarity," it said.

Readers were also warned: "Beware of treating ladies as mere playthings."

The book will be auctioned this month after being found at a house in Burton upon Trent, Staffs.

All good advice no doubt, but don't journalists have Google? - the first search result shows this book for sale for £25 in a bookshop....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

No more beef in cattle class

British Airways ditches beef in meals - Times Online

British Airways has ditched beef for economy class passengers this summer in an attempt to appeal to a more international passenger base.

A spokesman for the airline told The Times: “We were looking for something with broad appeal. Research trends have shown us that fish pie is very popular in supermarkets so we decided to go with that and chicken and tarragon for the summer.

“We can only serve two options and beef and pork obviously have religious restrictions,” the spokesman added. BA's second-biggest long-haul market, after transatlantic routes, is to India.

But note that business and first class passengers will still be offered beef, why that is almost discriminatory....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:44 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Blame the Press

Josef Fritzl: I deserve credit, I'm no monster' - Telegraph

Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who fathered seven children with his daughter while keeping her imprisoned in his cellar, has complained of receiving a bad press and not being given credit for keeping his dungeon family alive for more than two decades.

In other news:

Gordon Brown: I deserve credit, I'm no monster - Telegraph

Gordon Brown, the Scottish man who imposed many tax increases on his taxpayers while keeping them imprisoned in their country, has complained of receiving a bad press and not being given credit for keeping his dungeon economy alive for more than two decades.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Koala, the new poster bears of the greens

Global warming puts koalas under threat - Telegraph

Global warming will threaten the survival of koalas by making the eucalyptus leaves on which they feed toxic, scientists warned on Wednesday.

Australia's most endearing marsupial is already under threat from a severe drought and loss of habitat as housing encroaches on woodland.

But higher temperatures and increased carbon dioxide could shut down their food supply, leaving them to starve to death.

New research shows that the level of toxicity in the leaves of eucalyptus saplings rises, and their nutrient content falls, when they are exposed to higher levels of carbon dioxide.

Just when I have stopped worrying about the Polar Bears, now it is cuddly Koalas....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:28 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Brown Figures, Majority say go, and doubting Prudence.

Most Britons want Brown to go: poll - World - theage.com.au

IF THINGS weren't bad enough for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, overnight they got a whole lot worse: more than half the nation — 55% to be exact — believe his resignation may be the only way that New Labour may survive.

With less than two years to go before a general election, Labour's vote — and Mr Brown's personal rating — is eerily similar to that recorded by Conservative prime minister John Major two years before he was trounced by Tony Blair.

The first major poll since the devastating council elections that catapulted Tory show pony Boris Johnson into London's City Hall has revealed not only a further drop in Labour's support but a record low in Mr Brown's personal ratings.

Taken for The Times, the survey of more than 1500 people also revealed that the number who trust Mr Brown and his Chancellor, Alistair Darling, most to deal with a faltering economy has fallen to 30%, down from 43% in March and 61% last September.

That last one is going to hurt - the myth of Gordon's prudence and ability in handling the economy has been the figleaf that Labour has used to cover his total unsuitability for the job, and the public has now seen past it, and not liked what it has seen.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 7, 2008

David Davis - Complete Dope

Daily Express: The World's Greatest Newspaper :: UK News :: Cannabis: Labour's latest u-turn

If Jacquiiiii Smith had just said: "I was a dopehead, what more evidence do you need about the harm it does?" it would have been hard to argue with her, but her waffling about how she knows better than the experts as she twisted the figures gave the Tories a golden opportunity that David "Dave" Davis missed.

He was too busy wetting himself as he indulged in a bout of secretive banstubation as his long held fantasies about the dangers of dope and the power to punish users came back.

What he should have done is ask, what is the frigging point of Gordon putting everything out to review?; the where to do bears shit review, the religion of the Pope review, the does Dolly Parton sleep on her back review, if the government is going to ignore the scientific advice it gets. It was a great opportunity to remind us of the pathetic power mad control freak who is too scared to actually make decisions so he hides behind reviews but only listens to them if they confirm his closed little mindset.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Advice to Directors

Manufacturers warn Gordon Brown of coporate 'exodus' over tax regime - Telegraph

Gordon Brown risks a corporate exodus because of the high tax regime in Britain, a leading business organisation has warned.

Martin Temple, the chairman of the manufacturers group EEF, told the Financial Times: "There is a point whereby if you lose confidence in the system and it starts to become expensive, you start thinking about this [and] it becomes a boardroom agenda item ... We are absolutely on the edge of that."

Mr Temple added: “We are getting examples now of quite small companies that are moving to Ireland. I wouldn't say it's a major trend yet, but if we don't watch it, we'll get this (exodus). It is very dangerous territory.”

Last week the Treasury moved to try and head off concerns by launching a review into the tax system in the UK, but that may be too little too late, according to Mr Temple.

He said: “The question is will it be effective but fast enough to stop the thought processes that, frankly, started just after the pre Budget report?”

Companies Act 2006 - Even with the new wishy washy "enlightened shareholder value"clause Directors still have a duty to maximise success of the company by exercising independent judgment with skill, care and diligence otherwise they can be personally be liable.
Now if they are not aware that there are tax advantages available by shifting the boardroom and they don't consider them then they are in breech. Of course some directors may conclude continuing to based at the office is better than a monthly couple of days away in Dublin, but they must decide that at a board meeting. And if it annoys the rapacious bastards in charge here, good.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:40 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Slowdown in the HIP market

Home Information Packs introduction delayed again - Telegraph

...the Department of Communities and Local Government – faced with estate agents closing at a rate of 150 a week – has got cold feet once again. It now intends to delay the final roll-out until the end of the year.

Hopefully by then the whole idea can be blamed as one of ex-premier Brown's weirder ideas that will be dropped by the new look Labour party preparing for an election.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:28 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Do your bit for Greenland - drive your 4x4 around.

Global warming could help Greenland to independence - Times Online

...when Greenland makes the final break it will rank as one of the most politically incorrect states in the international community.

Whalemeat figures large in its traditional cooking and its hunters enthusiastically track down some of the cuddliest animals on the planet, including polar bears, seals and walruses. Even the seats of the lounge at Nuuk airport are covered in seal skin.

As for global warming, Greenlanders cannot get enough of it. “Climate change will be very beneficial to society there,” Jesper Madsen, of the DMU environmental research institute in Roskilde, in mainland Denmark, said. “It will improve fishing and above all make it easier to drill for oil and gas. The US geological survey calculates that the greatest unused oil reserves on Earth are in the Greenland waters – and they are in the east, where the ice is melting fastest.”

Sounds great, of course, it depends on it actually warming which seems to have stalled for the last ten years...

Posted by The Englishman at 6:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Big Brother's Utter Fiasco

Britain's multi-billion-pound CCTV network 'an utter fiasco which has failed to cut crime' - Scotsman.com News

BRITAIN'S network of CCTV cameras has been branded "an utter fiasco" for failing to cut crime, despite billions of pounds being spent on it.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville, who is in charge of closed-circuit television for the Metropolitan Police Force, claimed only 3 per cent of the capital's street robberies are solved using security camera footage and criminals are not afraid of being caught on film.

The UK has the highest level of camera surveillance in the world, according to civil liberty groups and security experts, with an estimated 4.2 million CCTV cameras on buildings, shops, roads and stations.

Are they about catching the criminals or criminalizing the majority, cowing the populace in a surveillance society? It is a bit like the 42 day detention, the police don't want it but the politicians do, it is all about control, not about problem solving. That's why i don't expect to see the cameras disappear any time soon.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:14 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

A Chance to Vote Gordon Out

Gordon Brown IN or OUT? – The Madame Tussauds Election

When Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair last year, for the first time in a 150 year history, Madame Tussauds took the decision not to immediately create a figure of the current Prime Minister.

Instead we chose to wait for a General Election to confirm Gordon Brown’s status. Ten months later there is still no sign that Mr Brown intends to go to the polls – so Madame Tussauds is holding its own election to let YOU decide the question: Gordon Brown – in or out?

Posted by The Englishman at 6:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 6, 2008

The Pussification of the English Male

Does Britain need more manly men? - Telegraph
“Manly men… have been hunted to extinction in the British Isles,” claims Mr Oliver, who regrets the decline of the “stiff upper lip” among today’s boys.
He has written a book , Amazing Tales for Making Men Out of Boys, which revives historic acts of bravery from the Battle of Thermopylae to Robert F Scott's expedition to the South Pole.

Meoowwww!