Longrider

The Telegraph is covering this story as is the UK ID Blog.

The government has published the response to its consultation document. Contrary to Big Blunkett’s earlier suggestions that the UK public overwhelmingly support his scheme, only 31% were in favour.

Good, you might think. They’ve held a consultation and asked us what we think and we’ve told them. Well, in a true consultation exercise, you’d be forgiven for thinking that. This, however, is a knee-jerk authoritarian we are talking about here. He dismisses the figures with the excuse that those of us who responded opposing the scheme were "self selecting." So, it wasn’t a consultation exercise after all.

Sometimes, you see an example of supreme arrogance that is so astonishingly bare-faced that it leaves you fuming and speechless, unable to find sufficient expletives to describe just how you feel. This is one of them.
—–

So, Robert Kilroy-Silk has resolved his row with UKIP and resigned the whip to become an independent.

As I commented on Sunday, that didn’t take long. According the to the Telegraph piece, this walkout has damaged UKIP’s credibility. That comes as a surprise - I wasn’t aware that they had any.
—–

From the Defy-ID mailing list - the outlines of Big Blunkett’s response to the Home Affairs committee’s report on his ID card scheme:

The Government is making good progress with its plans for national, compulsory ID cards, the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, said today as he published the Home Office’s response to the Home Affairs Select Committee’s report on ID cards.

The Home Office also published today a summary of responses to its
Public consultation on, and research into, the public’s views on ID cards.

Ho hum…. Big Blunkett’s response comes as no surprise. The man’s arrogance knows no bounds. Still he plies his nonsense about terrorism, crime and illegal immigration despite none of these arguments standing up to even the most scant of observation. As Trevor Mendham points out over at the UK ID blog:

The response is a work of stunning arrogance. Where the Home Affairs committee agreed with him he thanks them. Where they disagreed with him he simply restates his opinion.

Couldn’t agree more, Trevor.
—–

This one is doing the rounds on the Internet. It made me smile….

I think there’s a moral there somewhere, too…

On the eve of the commemoration of the Battle of Trafalgar it’s interesting to wonder how the battle would have turned out given today’s working environment. In that vein here’s one potential script:

Nelson: "Order the signal, Hardy."

Hardy: "Aye, aye sir."

Nelson: "Hold on, that’s not what I dictated to the signal officer. What’s the meaning of this?"

Hardy: "Sorry sir?"

Nelson (reading aloud): "England expects every person to do his duty, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion or disability".
"What gobbledygook is this?"

Hardy: "Admiralty policy, I’m afraid, sir. We’re an equal opportunities employer now. We had the devil’s own job getting ‘England’ past the censors, lest it be considered racist."

Nelson: "Gadzooks, Hardy. Hand me my pipe and tobacco."

Hardy: "Sorry sir. All naval vessels have been designated smoke-free working environments."

Nelson: "In that case, break open the rum ration. Let us splice the main brace to steel the men before battle."

Hardy: "The rum ration has been abolished, Admiral. Its part of the Government’s policy on binge drinking."

Nelson: "Good heavens, Hardy. I suppose we’d better get on with it. Full speed ahead."

Hardy: "I think you’ll find that there’s a 4 knot speed limit in this stretch of water."

Nelson: "Damn it man! We are on the eve of the greatest sea battle in history. We must advance with all dispatch. Report from the crow’s nest, please."

Hardy: "That won’t be possible, sir."

Nelson: "What?"

Hardy: "Health and safety have closed the crow’s nest, sir. No harness. And they said that rope ladder doesn’t meet regulations. They won’t let anyone up there until proper scaffolding can be erected."

Nelson: "Then get me the ship’s carpenter without delay, Hardy."

Hardy: "He’s busy knocking up a wheelchair access to the fo’c’sle Admiral."

Nelson: "Wheelchair access? I’ve never hear d anything so absurd."

Hardy: "Health and safety again, sir. We have to provide a barrier-free environment for the differently abled."

Nelson: "Differently abled? I’ve only one arm and one eye and I refuse even to hear mention of the word. I didn’t rise to the rank of admiral by playing the disability card."

Hardy: "Actually, sir, you did. The Royal Navy is under-represented in the areas of visual impairment and limb deficiency."

Nelson: "Whatever next? Give me full sail. The salt spray beckons."

Hardy: "A couple of problems there too, sir. Health and safety won’t let the crew up the rigging without crash helmets. And they don’t want anyone breathing in too much salt - haven’t you seen the adverts?"

Nelson: "I’ve never heard such infamy. Break out the cannon and tell the men to stand by to engage the enemy."

Hardy: "The men are a bit worried about shooting at anyone, Admiral."

Nelson: "What? This is mutiny."

Hardy: "It’s not that, sir. It’s just that they’re afraid of being charged with murder if they actually kill anyone. There’s a couple of legal aid lawyers on board, watching everyone like hawks."

Nelson: "Then how are we to sink the Frenchies and the Spanish?"

Hardy: "Actually, sir, we’re not."

Nelson: "We’re not?"

Hardy: "No, sir. The Frenchies and the Spanish are our European partners now. According to the Common Fisheries Policy, we shouldn’t even be in this stretch of water. We could get hit with a claim for compensation."

Nelson: "But you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil."

Hardy: "I wouldn’t let the ship’s diversity co-coordinator hear you saying that sir. You’ll be up on disciplinary."

Nelson: "You must consider every man an enemy who speaks ill of your King."

Hardy: "Not any more, sir. We must be inclusive in this multicultural age.
Now put on your Kevlar vest; it’s the rules."

Nelson: "Don’t tell me - health and safety. Whatever happened to rum, sodomy and the lash?"

Hardy: As I explained, sir, rum is off the menu. And there’s a ban on corporal punishment."

Nelson: "What about sodomy?"

Hardy: "I believe it’s to be encouraged, sir."

Nelson: "In that case …kiss me, Hardy."
—–

I love my bike - I really do…

The BMW R1150RT is a well built machine ideally suited for the task of long distance travel. But, like all man made machines, parts fail. On the way back from my chiropractic appointment this morning, I noticed the speedometer behaving erratically. "Aha," I thought, "the cable is about to go." And, sure enough, within a few miles, it stopped wobbling and the needle dropped to zero.

Upon my arrival home I attempted to remove the old cable and here my tribulations commenced. The top of the cable meets the speedometer body deep inside the fairing. I could just about get my right hand in and feel the knurled nut holding the cable to the speedo. But that was it, there was nowhere near enough room to turn my hand. After several fruitless minutes, I telephoned my local dealer and asked if they had a cable in stock. They did, so I trekked over and picked it up - along with a tip for getting the old cable off; use a small pair of pliers. Well, nice idea, but once in the tiny space, I couldn’t get the pliers to both grip and turn, so I gritted my teeth and took off the left-hand fairing panel. Then the bugger came off.

To my surprise, the cable was fine. So now I need a new drive….

Oh, well, given the overall reliability of the bike, the occasional failure such as this isn’t so bad.
—–

As a Europhile, I’ve watched the rise of the burgeoning EU with some dismay. Let me elucidate. By Europhile, I mean someone who enjoys the cultural differences found among our continental neighbours. So much so, that retirement in France has become a certainty. I take pleasure in riding a motorcycle through remote mountain roads whether they are in the Alps, Pyrennees or the Montemuro. My problem is the EU. Now the idea of a common market had some logic and I could run with that idea. As a traveller, the common currency and open borders policy have a practical advantage when compared with some of the difficulties I encountered a couple of decades ago. But - and here’s the rub - what is the price?

It’s with some dismay that I see yet again, the whole edifice is tearing itself apart over the appointment of Signor Rocco Buttiglione. I don’t know the man - but his views on women and homosexuality are distinctly out of touch with the modern world and suggest an inappropriate appointment. So, having screwed up once more, the EU, its (unelected) commission and the parliament are wasting our money debating the appointment. Should I laugh or cry?
—–

How often have you seen those friendly advertisements on the television or hoardings (the Underground often has them too) urging us to consolidate our debt and borrow thousands of pounds secured against our homes?

What disturbs me about this practice is that it preys on the vulnerable - those people so deep in debt and struggling to cope with the monthly repayments that they clutch at the proffered straw. Mr and Mrs Meadows did just that. Back in 1989 they borrowed £5,750. Today they are being pursued for a whopping £348,000 after the debt soared due to an annual interest rate of 34.9%, late payment penalties and £40,000 legal fees.

There are several morals here:

1 - Your home is at risk if you don’t keep up payments on a secured loan.
2 - Consolidation loans and long term second mortgages are only a good idea if you get rid of all other means of debt. In other words, get rid of credit cards and don’t spend beyond your means.
3 - Seek proper independent advice before deciding to consolidate your debt.
4 - In general, you cannot borrow your way out of debt.

I know this sounds blindingly obvious, but the Meadows are hardly alone.
—–

From the Defy-ID mailing list:

The EU seems to have gone back on its decision to use a single biometric identifier on passports and has now decided that there should be a compulsory fingerprint in addition to the facial scan. Blunkett will, of course, use this as further fuel for the fire claiming that we may as well have an ID card as we have to upgrade the passport system anyhow. The EU also proposes to keep a central database of all 450 million EU citizens passport details although, like Blunkett, has not adequately described how it intends to manage this data and the security of such, nor has it discussed putting safeguards in place to prevent the malicious use of such data in the future.

For full details, see:

Statewatch
—–