notmyopinion

Who else should be shot while we're at it?

2011-12-01T21:08:00.007Z

It seems that Jeremy Clarkson has said that the Public Sector strikers should be shot. Cue waves of outrage from people who don't watch Clarkson, and didn't hear what he said."Frankly, I'd have them all shot. I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families. I mean, how dare they go on strike when they have these gilt-edged pensions that are going to be guaranteed while the

#superinjunction

2011-05-22T13:13:00.010+01:00

Indignation in the mainstream media, and gloating by the twitterati - that's pretty much how the superinjunction story has run so far. The press are indignant that they cannot publish what the twitterer on the street seems to know about #ctb and Imogen someone-or-other. And the idea that the courts can apply sweeping injunctions to silence discussion of the peccadillos of the rich strikes the

Please may I use the facilities?

2010-10-16T11:43:00.003+01:00

I went to look up the opening hours of a local Barclays Bank branch, and I noticed there was a wee tab I could click on, called "Facilities". Wondering what facilities the branch offered, I clicked on it."Facilities: Yes"I'm still slightly mystified. But I wonder what they would do if someone came in asking to use their facilities.At least they are open on Saturdays.

Tumbleweed

2010-10-15T11:42:00.000+01:00

Some tumbleweed rolls past...

Don't you know there's an Election on?

2010-05-05T23:06:00.004+01:00

Maithrie was blogging about the election, so I thought I'd mention an interesting site from they work for you. You put in your postcode of constituency, and they give you a quiz where you compare your views on policies - many of them local - with those of the candidates.An excellent idea.... except that the DUP, UUP/Tories, and the SDLP can't be bothered telling us what they think. Poor show,

Bloke colours vs Girlie Colours

2010-05-04T22:46:00.005+01:00

We've "known" for ages that Girls can name colours that we men are quite certain are actually animals, plants, or basically almost anything but colours. But is it true?The Doghouse Diary recently posted a cartoon to show how this works.But XKCD have gone one further, with a survey that investigates this phenomenon.And is it real?For full details, you'll need to check their blog - but in a word (

What's going wrong with the Police?

2010-02-28T19:05:00.005Z

As M3 and I were returning to the UK a few weeks ago, we saw two Metropolitan Police officers behaving in an aggressive and intimidating manner to a young Spanish visitor - fortunately, after about half an hour of throwing their weight around and abusing their authority (and snapping at any members of the public who, they felt, were standing too close, or looking to see what the fuss was about),

A new kind of spam?

2010-01-31T08:58:00.003Z

I was wondering about the newfound popularity (slight though it was) of my blog from Japanese-language bloggers. By "popularity" I mean that there had been about one kind and apparently relevant comment on a number of my posts.Then I noticed that their blogs all seemed to relate to eye clinics.It could be a coincidence, I suppose - but somehow I'm not so sure. Spammers are getting cleverer... or

Checkpoints

2010-01-30T17:21:00.003Z

Yesterday we had traffic cops checking our passports and my driving licence. One grumpy "get out of the car" cop, possibly peeved that he'd been waving his torch around and been ignored. One polite cop. We ignored the grumpy one even harder and showed the documents to the good cop, who wished us a good evening and sent us on our way.Today we were stopped at a Navy checkpoint. They must not have

It wos the Sun wot dun him

2009-09-30T22:11:00.003+01:00

So the Sun has come out against Gordon Brown, at the end of his Labour Party Conference. Gordon Brown quite properly replied that it will be the voters who decide the election, not the Sun (The voters of Scotland, Wales and England at any rate, since Labour lack the courage to face the voters in Northern Ireland).Still, there is something not quite right about a newspaper making the news to this

Electric dreams - missing technology

2009-09-30T20:14:00.007+01:00

A fascinating show from the BBC, Electric Dreams is an experiment to see how one family adjusts to life in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Their house was stripped of modern technology, completely reorganised in period fashion, and decorated and equipped with only items available in 1970. The family dressed in 70s clothes, and they they lived a decade a day, with new gadgets (like a freezer and a

More free lunches

2009-09-27T20:26:00.008+01:00

There was a Drupal Camp in Belfast this weekend. No tents involved, fortunately - that last time I tried that, the air mattress deflated during the night, and I woke up lying on the ground. This was a more comfortable affair - a bunch of people talking about Drupal, doing presentations and demos, and having free lunch - two free lunches, in fact.It was good timing really - I have been playing

Microsoft Alderaan Slammed in Race Row

2009-08-27T02:54:00.007+01:00

The Register reports that outrage was sparked when the website of Microsoft's outpost in Alderaan was clumsily photoshopped, allegedly to conform to local racial demographics.Two humans were crudely pasted into the picture to make the all-Wookie board of Microsoft Empire seem more acceptable to potential customers in the influential and wealthy Alderaan mobile, droid and deathstar O/S

And you thought it belonged to you: Why DRM is such a bad idea

2009-07-18T13:16:00.006+01:00

Last night I noticed a very funny thing. Amazon had "un-booked" some books they had sold. Their customers woke up to find that their copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm had been taken back, and the cost refunded. Ironic as anything, but how could it possibly happen?They had not bought a physical copy - they had paid for a licence to read an electronic copy on Amazon's eBook machine - a

Fit for purpose?

2009-06-11T02:26:00.002+01:00

The UK does not have a very good system for handling people who need a visa to visit the country.The process is slow and awkward - when the Russians have a slicker process (and their process is by no means slick), you know something is wrong.The information available on the official Websites is poorly organised, and is not written from the point of view of someone who wants to come to the UK - it

Good UN / Bad UN

2009-05-30T14:44:00.004+01:00

Nobody is perfect, and few organisations are irredeemably corrupt or evil. The UN is no exception.On the one hand, the UN refugee agency has been trying to do good work on the ground in Sri Lanka in the face of a huge refugee crisis, when the government allows them. (They also do vital work in Pakistan, the Sudan / Darfur, Iraq, and elsewhere).A refugee camp in Sri Lanka -UNHCR/B.AlanOn the other

On not being involved in a land war in asia?

2009-05-25T18:41:00.005+01:00

It seems that the war is over in Sri Lanka, and that Sri Lankans are all one nation now - at least that is the official story. Certainly I've seen lots of flags and public celebration in the streets of Colombo. People are delighted that the brutal and ruthless LTTE (the Tamil Tigers) no longer hold territory in Sri Lanka.Not so much public concern though for the hundreds of thousands of Sri

Aristophanes would have been proud

2009-05-09T01:33:00.003+01:00

2400 years ago, Aristophanes wrote his play Lysistrata, in which the women of Greece tried to force their husbands to end a war by withholding their affections. No sex, basically. On strike.Fast forward to Kenya, 2009. The BBC reports that the Women's Development Organisation, backed by the Prime Minister's wife, called for a similar boycot, to last for a week. They want to force Kenya's

Website Assassinated

2009-05-04T22:08:00.004+01:00

The Register reports that the Sri Lankan Army's site was "assassinated" by pro Tamil Tiger hackers. Apparently they put "horrible and gruesome images" up instead! The hackers were accused of terrorism.One commenter at the Register cut through the claim and counter claim:Let's hope the "horrible and gruesome images" are quickly replaced with the images of picnics and children playing with puppies

The great Greenbelt Giveaway

2009-04-28T10:43:00.003+01:00

So how do we get our free church leader? Will they deliver, or do we have to collect them? And if they've been kept in a tent for ages, will they have gone off?I'm sure the answers are somewhere on the greenbelt site. I hope the weather is good, this August...

Rip-off Britain: it's worse if you're foreign

2009-04-05T02:09:00.012+01:00

Call it a stealth tax, call it taking advantage of those with no choice... call it what you like - it doesn't look very fair.Look at these figures for New Labour's proposed visa charges for 2009/10, compared to what it costs to process the application:(Click on the graph for a larger version)Figures from Written Ministerial Statement announcing proposed fees for Financial Year 09/10

A true lady never sees the middle of the road as "a convenient spot to park the car".

2009-04-04T13:48:00.002+01:00

That's one of the set of rules for true ladies, from the police in a Siberian city, according to Russia Today. Accidents caused by women drivers have been increasing, and this pink book of rules is an attempt to address the problem. Not everyone is impressed. "They seem to have written it for idiots, not responsible drivers," says Maria, a local female driver. At least it seems to have started

Freedom of speech, or the right not to be offended?

2009-03-30T22:58:00.006+01:00

The United Nations' Human Rights Council (the indistinguishable and undistinguished successor to the discredited Human Rights Commission) has excelled itself [see this article]. That august body of the UN approved a resolution which calls for limits on what they called "defamation" of religions, especially Islam. To illustrate the sort of defamation they had in mind, the resolution mentions

Evverything feels better after a good breakfast

2009-02-28T10:12:00.002Z

Last night we arrived in Manchester Airport. The flight was pleassant, and the sandwiches were very nice - and half price, because it was the last flight off the day (Ryanair probably inccrease the prices instead, for out of hours catering).That was the good part.There was nobody at Manchester airport to meet us with a wheelchair. Fortunately the staff found a chair wwe could push ourselves,

Taking the... Mickey?

2009-02-27T14:11:00.006Z

What is Ryanair's Michael O'Leary smoking these days? His latest wheeze seems to be putting coin slots on the toilets in his planes - at least that's what the BBC says he is considering. The service, already scraping the bottom of the barrel, looks set to plumb new depths.And how come it's OK to charge anyone booking one of his flights a credit card fee for each passenger and each leg of the

Aieeeeee!

2009-02-19T17:03:00.003Z

Two steps forward, and one step back.Just as the house was getting tidier and most of the rooms were functional, the shelves in my study collapsed. As I sat at my desk.Suddenly I was almost buried in an avalanche of folders, CDs, books and papers.Sorry, no pictures. It's just too traumatic - and I need a coffee.

Speeches and Writing

2009-01-29T00:57:00.004Z

I've been reading a few powerful and thought provoking speeches and other writings recently - this one, by the assassinated Lasantha Wickramatunga stands out. He wrote it shortly before his murder, and it was published in the Newspaper he edited in Sri Lanka shortly afterwards. Some of the names and incidents may be unfamiliar - but you should get the gist: No other profession calls on its

What in the name of all landfills were Debenhams thinking?

2009-01-29T00:28:00.006Z

These days it's apparently fashionable to be green. Which is why it's all the more shocking when you see something so incredibly environmentally hostile from a major UK company.Here is what Debenhams used to pack six tiny plates. And why did they all have to be packed separately? Are we the only ones to ever get more than one plate at a time?At least some of the packaging was biodegradable.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T15:28:00.003Z

If you're in Australia :-)I think my new year's resolution will be to get some wedding photos on line!

About that wedding...

2008-11-11T03:17:00.001Z

Here's a quick link, for those of you who need the information :-)

Does Ryanair offer zero transaction charges with Visa Electron because nobody uses it?

2008-10-31T19:14:00.003Z

Does Ryanair offer zero transaction charges with Visa Electron because nobody carries the card, and they can then charge everyone else loads more money to fly, while pretending that their flights are nearly a fiver cheaper than they really are?Just wondering...

Explosions in Colombo

2008-10-28T19:52:00.003Z

We heard distant explosions or gunfire about an hour or so ago, followed a few minutes later by a power cut. People near the oil refinery report explosions there, and Reuters reports that a Tamil Tiger plane bombed the refinery. Lanka Business Online reports a fire in a power station.Power has been restored. Nothing on local TV yet. We're some distance from the explosions - everyone here's fine.

Clearly what we really need is more anthems. And flags.

2008-10-25T05:09:00.005+01:00

I missed this story when it came out the other week, but it seems that the EU has now officially recognised its flag, anthem and motto. Apart from the motto, which hardly anyone knows, and fewer people care about, wasn't this supposed to be one of the key differences between the failed EU constitutional treaty, and the new (and temporarily failed) not-quite-so-constitutional treaty? That there

Let's hear it for free internet access

2008-10-25T04:52:00.002+01:00

Thanks to the enlightened airport planners of Doha who have allowed free internet access for transit passengers. Hopefully the machines don't have too many keyloggers installed - I just got a pop up saying a popular anti-virus package was deactivated!At least it means I can catch up with my email - even if I have to change all my passwords when I arrive.Off to Colombo next. Hi Maithrie, if you're

Shameful hypocrisy of Royal Society

2008-09-17T04:01:00.005+01:00

Last week at the British Association's science festival Rev Professor Michael Reiss said that creation should not be ignored if it come up in class. Prof Reiss, who is director of education at the Royal Society, said that since a substantial number of pupils have concerns about the issue they are likely to "detach from" science if their concerns are not addressed. Creation should not be taught as

My msn keeps stoping

2008-09-10T12:42:00.003+01:00

That's what they keep telling me. If you use MSN at all you may have seen messages like this (usually exactly like this): says:Hey Paul .....This is . My msn keeps stoping (sic) but would like to chat.I am always online here .blogspot.com They probably want me to visit their site with a buggy version of Internet Explorer so they can

Magical Mystery Tour

2008-08-29T12:41:00.000+01:00

I was in good time, for once, on the way home from Greenbelt. In spite of the Cheltenham Supreme Soviet's hatred of railway station signs (do they think it lowers the tone or something?) we found the station much more easily than last year. I got the train, with time to spare, and even found a power socket to recharge my mobile and N800. I should have known it was too good to last.Unfortunately

Hippyfest 2008

2008-08-24T13:49:00.003+01:00

It's back to Greenbelt: good food, good music, good talks, interesting music, interesting talks, music, talks, and many worship alternatives. I'm afraid i missed the mesiaen recital. And the disabled buddhist basketweavers against Israeli occupation.This morning we found out that the tent site was not as level as Peter has thought, so i'm drying out my passport and chequebook!I've found a free

Money money money, must be funny, in the rich man's EU!

2008-07-21T02:23:00.008+01:00

In a website with the ironic label "fewer barriers, more opportunities", the EU Commission announce commissioner Charlie McCreevy's cunning plan to protect aging rockstars from having to work or save for their retirement. They propose to extend copyright on music recordings by another 45 years. The barriers are for consumers, it seems, and opportunities are for the music industry.Apparently it

ICANN loses marbles

2008-06-27T09:23:00.003+01:00

ICANN, the body set up by the US government to oversee the Internet, has gone mad. They've spotted another chance to "Make Money Fast!"as the phrase goes, and are jumping in with both feet.We're used to top level domain names like ".com" and ".net", and the two-letter country ones like ".uk" and ".ca" for the UK and Canada, or ".cn" and ".ru" for China and Russia. These are based on an

Get visas fast!

2008-06-20T00:18:00.002+01:00

It may have been as quick as I've ever seen a government department move (privatised agency or not). In less than a week, Maithrie got her visa. Prayer, perhaps? It's not yet clear whether Dr Dido or Dr Aristophanes will be joining her.

Unashamedly white and unapologetically Christian?

2008-06-07T01:23:00.010+01:00

It's been bothering me since I read about the issue [on BBC News] a week ago, and I thought I'd mention it here.Would it ever be OK for a church to describe itself as: "Unashamedly white and unapologetically Christian"? Or is that a denial of the fundamental truth that there is no race or sex or colour in the Kingdom of Heaven?It's just that Barak Obama's old church refers to itself as "

Sleepwalking further into a surveillance society

2008-05-20T13:03:00.006+01:00

As if Gordon Brown hasn't enough disasters on his hands, the government are working on another one, the Times reports: Big Brother wants complete records of everyone you phone, all your emails, everyone you talk to on the internet - in fact details of every time you go on the Internet - and it wants them in a big, central database that it (for want of a better word) controls.Unfortunately, given

Once more, without feeling

2008-04-21T11:31:00.001+01:00

BMI did it again. I arrived in Belfast, but my luggage didn't. Fortunately it caught up with me a few hours later. And maybe it was SL Airlines' fault instead. Or Heathrow (though I don't think they can still blame terminal 5). I think I'm getting used to it by now.At least it gave me an excuse to catch some sleep before driving off to my niece's first birthday party.

mirages of luggage

2008-03-29T15:35:00.002Z

I thought that avoiding Heathrow terminal 5 and BA would be enough, but it seems my business travel is true to form. today i'm in Cairo, and my luggage is... who knows where.After I get to the front of the queue I'l find out where my stuff is. But then I'm off to meet some colleagues - and there is apparently a mall under their hotel.here goes... apparently my bag is still in heathrow. bye for

Lolcats

2008-03-22T14:06:00.007Z

You know a language has arrived when the Bible is translated into it!Psalm 23:1 Ceiling Cat iz mai sheprd (which is funni if u knowz teh joek about herdin catz LOL.) He givz me evrithin I need.2 He letz me sleeps in teh sunni spot an haz liek nice waterz r ovar thar.3 He makez mai soul happi an maeks sure I go teh riet wai for him. Liek thru teh cat flap insted of out teh opin windo LOL.4 I iz

And now for something a little colder

2008-03-13T03:05:00.003Z

Meanwhile, back in January

2008-03-13T00:29:00.000Z

Record companies on the dole

2008-02-12T17:51:00.000Z

The UK Government has just proposed [BBC] creating a special benefit for the increasingly desperate recording and film industries - and it's going to be funded by increasing what you pay for the Internet!Here's how it works. All UK Internet Service Providers will have to police their networks (read, snoop on your internet traffic) for signs that someone, somewhere may be downloading music. If

Did I say warmer?

2008-01-10T05:35:00.002Z

Colombo is certainly warmer than Belfast. There are other differences as well. Yesterday I realised that driving lessons too are not the same - though given the traffic, that's not so surprising.The appointed time was 1.30 so, naturally enough, when we arrived we were told that our instructor would not be there until 2pm. At least Maithrie was told (What do you think, Paul). We sat in the office

When life gives you snow, make snowmen

2008-01-04T13:58:00.000Z

At least that's what they were doing when I got home last night.It's quite an impressive snowman, isn't it? Putting the head on must have been quite a job.Now I think I'll go somewhere warm.

It's not normally like this

2008-01-04T11:31:00.000Z

A slight change in the weather, and suddenly cars were moving slowly sideways at traffic lights, and sliding down hills. We're not used to this sort of thing.Finally it looks Christmassy. Some of my neighbours were even building a huge snowman last night.

In God We Trust?

2007-12-29T14:16:00.000Z

That's what it says on the US Dollar, anyway, and some Christian ministries have an awful lot of dollars. But does God have much to do with it? What, exactly, do these people do with the money they collect?That's the question that US Senator Charles Grassley and the Senate Committee on Finance have been asking (PDF) of a number of very rich organisations in the USA. Ministries run by Benny Hin,

Farcebook!

2007-12-17T22:40:00.000Z

According to a Facebook application that lets you compare your friends, I am... wait for it...Most punctual.Person who can drink the most.No, really, It's official! The computer says yes!

More weaselly than Blair

2007-12-15T02:37:00.000Z

Gordon Brown is turning out even more weaselly than Tony Blair.After promising a referendum on the European Constitution, he's decided that the virtually identical European Treaty does not need a referendum after all.And when it was being signed in Lisbon on Thursday, Gordon Brown arranged to turn up late, so he wouldn't need to be in the group photo. It might alarm the voters, or something. Then

Outlining a nightmare of an education system

2007-12-11T00:37:00.000Z

I've just been reading the Education Minister's tedious and self-congratulatory statement on how she is going to truly transform our system into a world class system fit for the 21st century (download PDF).One new policy is to abolish academic selection, and replace it with selection by parental income. Those who can afford houses near the good schools will get in. Those who can't, won't. Unless

What craziness is this?

2007-11-30T03:27:00.000Z

It seems that an English teacher working in the Sudan was threatened with 40 lashes and a year's imprisonment for stirring up religious hatred.What was her crime?She had taken a vote among her mostly muslim 6-7 year old pupils on what to call a teddy bear. They ignored her suggestion and voted 20 to 3 to name it Mohammad, after one of the boys in the class.Two months later a secretary in the

A tree has been planted on your behalf

2007-11-28T13:59:00.000Z

OK, maybe a couple of trees:Innocent, the nice smoothie people, are planting trees to help rural communities in India and Africa (see how here). There are even virtual images of two of them: one tree, and another tree.If I keep drinking the smoothies, there may be more.

All your database are belong to, err.... no idea really!

2007-11-23T18:46:00.000Z

Banking details of all families with kids in the UK, and details of their kids, have gone missing. Lost in the post, apparently. This is exactly why the government cannot be trusted with the enormous interlinked collection of data on its citizens that their ID Card scheme would require.Mistakes happen in any system, especially if security is not considered at the outset. The bigger the collection

Romance, sarcasm, maths, and language

2007-11-08T09:49:00.000Z

If you liked Douglas Hofstadter's books, you'll enjoy this!I just found a rather unusual web cartoon site - check it out at xkcd.com. They even use a creative commons licence, so you can copy their stuff for personal use.But they warn you: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced

If you were wondering why clear plastic bags make toothpaste safer...

2007-11-06T15:35:00.000Z

Anyone who is puzzled by the peculiar EU rules on bringing "liquids" onto planes (you can, as long as they are in a resealable clear plastic bag, and they are in containers less than 100ml) will be pleased that sanity is dawning - in the European Parliament of all places.They have asked the European Commission to repeal the ban, unless new facts emerge. They also, quite sensibly, ask for

Art 2 get

2007-11-05T13:19:00.000Z

Last week I saw something new - door to door art salesmen. Young women actually, but never mind. They seem to roam the world, selling paintings. Some interesting pictures too.I think it's these people!(photo by numstead, creative commons licence)

Elephants at Pinnawela elephant orphanage

2007-11-05T12:56:00.000Z

What I did on my holidays

2007-11-05T00:12:00.000Z

Some pictures from Sri Lanka...There are a few more stuck on my phone... I did say they might have to wait a bit :-/

Hello from Sri Lanka

2007-10-07T18:31:00.000+01:00

I'm in Sri Lanka, where it's warmer than at home, and sometimes even wetter. It's not as cheap as it used to be - from a local perspective, things are getting very expensive. But I've got a local SIM for my mobile phone, and call and text charges are better than O2 roaming. Veeeeeerrry much better!No insightful posts about the state of the country today - it's getting late. And pictures will

Conspiracy? Or cock-up?

2007-09-25T07:01:00.000+01:00

Maybe I'm being too cynical, but when I got round to reading the Times this weekend, I discovered that Gordon Brown is taking an axe to the Ministerial code of conduct that he had said needed to be strengthened.The sleaze and scandal under previous administrations resulted in a strengthening of the rules in 1997. Ministers were required to obey "the letter and the spirit" of these rules - and one

The saints go marching out?

2007-09-24T20:08:00.000+01:00

The Catholic Church has asked its members to stop giving money to Amnesty International, and the Catholic auxiliary bishop of Down and Connor has advised that school links with Amnesty should be severed. It's because Amnesty International now supports abortion for rape victims in war zones.It's fair enough to stop funding organisations that campaign for things you disagree with - indeed, it's a

Arrrr!

2007-09-19T17:43:00.000+01:00

Arrrr! Today be talk like a pirate day! Shiver me timbers!

#$% Residents' Association

2007-09-06T10:47:00.000+01:00

Bah Humbug! The residents' association has been wittering for ages about getting ramps built on the roads where I live. I thought that idiocy had gone away - but no such luck. There is now a dirty great ramp just down the road.So now we're going to suffer the inconvenience and wear and tear of driving over ramps, with the increased traffic noise as cars slow down before and speed up afterwards,

Greenbelt 2007

2007-08-26T16:24:00.000+01:00

I wasn't quite prepared for the sun - in fact with the delay in arrival of my luggage I wasn't prepared for very much. But I'm surviving just fine.More about greenbelt later - have to rush to the next event!

March for half-truth?

2007-08-13T14:29:00.000+01:00

Seems Sinn Fein have been marching for truth last weekend for some of the victims of the troubles (BBC story here).Hypothetically, if you were Sinn Fein, and you wanted a process that would deliver truth for all the victims of the troubles, which would you think was more likely to succeed? a campaign to expose the evils perpetrated by “pro-british” forces, which ignores any harm done by

11th Night

2007-07-12T10:21:00.000+01:00

There were bonfires all over Belfast last night.From the hills, the view over the city was quite impressive. It would have been more impressive without the drizzly haze - though the fire brigade were probably quite thankful for it!

England catching up

2007-07-03T14:08:00.000+01:00

I was over in England at the weekend, and there were signs about the new smoking ban. It looks like England and Wales are catching up with the rest of the UK.Now that Ireland and the UK have led the way, I wonder what the chances are of the EU adopting this as a health and safety measure? Or is the EU just for things that "Europe" wants and we don't?

Human rights: just another political tool?

2007-06-19T12:39:00.001+01:00

Human rights matter! That's why the UN had a Human Rights Commission, and that's why the main abusers of human rights made sure they were on the commission - to prevent any inconvenient interference from the UN. Not so much "set a thief to watch a thief" as let the thieves run the police. It wasn't working.The UN realised this was undermining their credibility, and last year they completely

Organic Raspberries

2007-06-10T00:51:00.000+01:00

It must be Summer! The Sphinx (probably the best Kebab joint in Belfast) is apparently frying new potatoes.The sun was beating down.And just this morning I noticed that my first raspberry of the season was nearly ripe. By this evening there were several, so for the next few weeks there will be fresh organic raspberries at casa notmyopinion.Even if they are only organic because I'm too lazy to

Kill all non believe's

2007-05-29T12:59:00.000+01:00

I'm in Bradford today, and that's what it said, scrawled on a door with some sort of black marker."Kill all non believe's"Does not believing in spelling or punctuation count?

Limbo in Limbo

2007-04-30T22:58:00.000+01:00

Not since the 1950s have we seen such a shift in the public teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.Research theologians in the Catholic International Theological Commission have discovered that there are "serious... grounds for hope that unbaptised infants who die will be saved... We emphasise that these are reasons for prayerful hope, rather than grounds for sure knowledge."For many centuries

About time too!

2007-04-30T22:40:00.000+01:00

Today smokers in Northern Ireland are no longer allowed to inflict their carcinogenic second-hand smoke on the rest of us. It's about time. I have only one question - why did it take so long?

Skiing in Schladming

2007-03-28T01:41:00.000+01:00

Just let us have what we are paying you for, Beeb!

2007-03-28T01:31:00.000+01:00

The BBC is planning to launch new on-demand services which will allow us to download programmes via the Internet. I mentioned earlier that Ofcom wanted restrictions to make the services less useful, so that other companies can sell us the same sort of thing thing all over again.The BBC Trust accepted many of these restrictions, but they are running a consultation to see if the public will buy

wheeee!

2007-03-22T21:18:00.000Z

Having fun on the slopes in Austria, though our team is being badly beaten at bowling. Obviously it's the taking part that counts.If you haven't heard from me, you now know why!

How narcissistic was that?

2007-03-12T13:35:00.000Z

Just the other day, some celebrity was celebrating her marriage - it might have been that Hurley character. The BBC reported (for hours) that the festivities had been "marred by scuffles".What actually happened was this: some of the paparazzi had tried to block the couple's car and then get in to the party, the security guards stopped them, and they started fighting. Slaps and shoving, it seems.

Eclipse

2007-03-03T23:17:00.000Z

Total eclipse of the moon over the UK. You can't see it too well here, but the moon now has a distinctly reddish tint.Terrible pictures - maybe I "need" a better camera?Edited to add the moon coming back again...

1,516,874 voters ignored, and counting

2007-02-16T13:07:00.000Z

"I know," said Tony Blair, "let's give people a way to tell us what they think - that'll reduce cynicism about politicians, and help people get involved." And so the "Number 10" e-Petitions site was born. Or maybe not...Unfortunately those pesky voters keep asking for things that the Dear Leader doesn't want. Apparently 1,515,317 people have signed a petition against the spy-in-your-car

What else is wrong with the country?

2007-02-16T12:38:00.000Z

So Britain is now, apparently, the worst country in the developed world for kids (here's the UNICEF report). Unfortunately that's not all we're bad at.It seems we're one of the most spied upon countries as well. A Privacy International report from November late last year puts us in the bottom group of countries, those with "endemic surveillance", alongside Russia, China, Malaysia and Singapore.

BBC too generous to viewers!

2007-01-24T01:16:00.000Z

Ofcom wants to prevent viewers from being able to download a whole TV or radio series at once from the BBC, and is insisting that book readings and classical music should only be made available in restricted proprietary formats.It's not clear who Ofcom (the telecoms and media regulator) is working for - but it doesn't seem to be you or me, if this story in the Register is any guide.The BBC plans

Onwards and upwards

2007-01-21T23:40:00.000Z

On a couple of trips into the surrounding areas we saw some spectacular views, and some very atmospheric ones -- for which read "so much mist we couldn't see a thing". World's End is supposed to have a huge drop and an amazing vista, but for us, the word ended in a wall of grey. I'm assured that's very rare! And the views later on were pretty spectacular......until the sun set while we were some

Heading for the hills

2007-01-09T13:54:00.000Z

We navigated level crossings and landslides (from last year's rains)......and encountered luxury (in the shape of air conditioned tea rooms, selling excellent tea), and hard conditions (workers doing manual labour under the bright sun, on the tea plantations and by the roads - I did not expect to see old ladies working on the roads!)The countryside was magnificent...but Sri Lanka is making me

Take your eye off the ball, and what happens?

2007-01-09T12:33:00.000Z

I go on holiday to Sri Lanka, which has its own security problems, and what do I find back home?Now that the main terrorists are on ceasefire, and about to come into government in NI, the UK Government only want to cut back our own civil liberties!In the "good old days" (TM) the police needed to have some kind of actual suspicion that crime was afoot before mounting a raid to secure evidence. Now

A typical conversation

2007-01-07T20:27:00.000Z

Shortly after arriving in Kandy I had the following conversation - over and over again, it seemed. At least twice, anyway:Maithrie (in Sinhalese, or it might be Greek): Blah blah blah blah.Shopkeeper (or as it may be, taxi driver or waiter): Blah blah blah blah.Maithrie: Blah blah blah blah. Blah!Shopkeeper: Blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Maithrie: What do you think, Paul?It's got better now

Heading to Kandy

2007-01-07T20:09:00.000Z

We left Colombo (fairly) early to head for Kandy. Radheeka, who is a bit of an expert on getting food, told us about a favourite wee curry place of hers, on the way.It even had toilets.Further on, we saw an elephant by the river.A bit closer to Kandy, another opportunity for food presented itself. Coconuts, when you slice the top off, reveal a clear, refreshing drink. You can eat some of the

We are here!

2006-12-30T13:14:00.000Z

OK. Safely arrived in Kandy Cottage. News and pictures to follow, with any luck.It's supposed to be cooler here in the highlands, but today you wouldn't have known. Meanwhile, back at home, it's winter!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-27T12:50:00.000Z

Merry Christmas, folks!I'm off on holiday now, so I'd better do a bit of packing I suppose. Maybe I'll manage a few pictures in a while - who knows?Till later...

Male Restroom Etiquette

2006-11-10T00:10:00.000Z

Some of you may have wondered why we men don't go to the toilet in groups of three or more. All that and more is explained here, in Male Restroom Etiquette, a video at youtube.com.Warning - this is true. Kind of. Only look if you really want to know... like that will stop you.Rating: funny, slightly icky, educational.

Velvet sock and cloven hoof?

2006-11-09T18:25:00.000Z

"We're not the Nasty Party any more", say the Tories, but today they announced a new immigration policy. They want to "significantly reduce" immigration, and bring in annual quotas. They say that public services will be swamped by the new workers who are moving here to take up many hard-to-fill posts. Except that the birthrate here is falling. The proportion of workers paying into pensions

Maybe it is the worst company in the world after all

2006-10-17T19:04:00.000+01:00

A few days ago I had a call from O2 (formerly "the worst company I have ever dealt with, bar none"). They offered me a new handset (Nokia E50) and a 20% reduction in rental in exchange for a 1 year extension of the contract.Nothing appeared, so I rang them this evening.Surprisingly, they had no record of the new handset - in fact it's not even in their portfolio, they said. Less surprisingly,

Bad Bloggers! Naughty Bloggers!

2006-10-11T09:46:00.000+01:00

Apparently blogging is eeeevil, according to Ambassador Youth, an online magazine at "the only website on earth that explains the truth of virtually every biblical doctrine — and in extraordinary detail".The argument is "interesting" - with no sense of irony, the author begins by lamenting that Blogs give young people (Oh, the horror!) a "voice". Still, I thought you might be interested in this

Maybe not the worst in the world after all?

2006-10-05T23:28:00.000+01:00

Yesterday a nice chap called Dean called, from O2. Now a few years ago they were The Worst Company I Have Ever Dealt With Bar None (a long and sorry tale for another post), but it's been a while since they annoyed me, so I decided to hear him out.O2 agreed to send me a shiny new phone as a free upgrade, and gave me 20% off my rental (in that order, in case it becomes important). So I'll give it a

Read my lips: no new Thatcherism?

2006-10-05T12:32:00.000+01:00

OK, so David Cameron and George Osborne didn't actually say that (and apologies to George H Bush). But that surely was the message in their steadfast refusal to commit to the tax-cutting agenda of the previous, dimly-remembered Thatcher administration.While the electorate is growing tired of New Labour spin in general, and of Tony Blair in particular, they have not forgotten the shadow of the

A wee break

2006-10-02T08:35:00.000+01:00

The west coast of Scotland is beautiful this time of year.and it doesn't rain all the time!