Sim-O

Labels: Odds and Sods

The world can piss off today. But you, can go and read one of these, if you want:

Chicken Yoghurt
Criag Murray
Mike Power
Desert Peace

Labels: Odds and Sods

…but nothing will change.
Iain Dale:

I think I am often far too lax at letting insulting comments through. It’s not done deliberately; it’s usually a question of not having enough time to read each and every comment in full. If I’m busy I’ll skim read and if I don’t see an f*** or worse, it often gets through.
…
Many people who comment on here do so anonymously because they are civil servants or cannot be identified for other reasons. Others use the anonymous facility to hurl abuse. I believe in freedom of speech and hate censoring, but I know I must be harder on anonymous comments, and I shall try to be.

Update: Screen shot removed because my comment was let through. Whether Iain read it or not is another thing…

Labels: Blogging, Twats That Talk Bollox

The Guardian:

Saudi Arabia’s rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.

Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced “another 7/7” and the loss of “British lives on British streets” if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence.

Labels: Law/Legal, Saudi Arabia

19 March is the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.
Not much to celebrate really, is there.

This blogswarm will promote blog postings opposing the war in Iraq and calling for a full withdrawal of foreign occupying forces in Iraq. Five years of an illegal and catastrophic war is five years too many. On the March 19 anniversary of the conquest of Iraq by the Bush Administration, there needs to be a loud volume of voices countering the pro-war propaganda from far too many politicians and corporate media outlets.

Via Justin

Labels: Blogging, Iraq

“I’m not ‘man’, I’m not ‘dude’. I am Officer Rivieri!”

Not anymore.

Via Bloggerheads

Labels: The Police

I bet the Yanks don’t have a problem with ‘friendly’ fire that day.

Source

Labels: Ahmadinejad, Iran, Iraq

Independent:

A laptop containing the medical records of more than 5,000 patients has been stolen from a hospital, it was revealed today.

The computer was taken from the outpatients department at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, West Midlands, on January 8.

It contains a database with information on 5,123 anticoagulation patients, the hospital said.

Letters have been sent to those affected and police have launched an investigation.

A username password is needed to get into the laptop and another username and password is needed to open the database, apparently.

I hope they were one of the more imaginative public servants.

Labels: Government, Health

Guardian.co.uk:

“The British government appears to have “rolled over” in response to Saudi pressure to drop an investigation into alleged bribery in arms deals, a senior judge said today.

Two high court judges are reviewing the decision of Robert Wardle, the director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), to drop the investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption in contracts between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia. BAE and a Saudi national security adviser, Prince Bandar, deny the accusations.
…
There were repeated efforts by the UK ambassador to Saudi Arabia and personal overtures from Tony Blair. Irresistible pressure forced them to drop the prosecution,” Rose said.

The prime minister “stepped over the boundary between what is a permissible exercise and impermissible attempts to influence or dictate a decision on the investigation by expressing his view,” she said. “This is the clearest case of intervention that goes too far.”

Rose said Wardle and Goldsmith both explained in December 2006 that they had decided to drop the investigation after being repeatedly told the move was essential to safeguard national and international security.

She said the real reason for dropping the investigation “was not national security but the commercial situation”, and called the decision unlawful and based on “tainted advice”. Rose argued that there was no imminent risk to the public, and that national security could not be a factor that “trumps all”.

She said Blair and other officials intervened after renewed threats by the Saudi royal family to cancel a proposed order for Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and withdraw security and intelligence cooperation if the investigation continued. The deal was signed last September.

Labels: Blair, Law/Legal, Saudi Arabia

Mad Mel Phillips is on Question Time.

As expected she’s being a twat and she’s only just opened her mouth.

Update 23:07

She did say that the Beth Din Amendment was put in place to benefit both Jews and Muslims. I bet it wasn’t.

Also, they’ve spent half the programme discussing this one issue, Surely a Muslim MP or journalist or commentator could’ve come on. I do not know if a Muslim person was asked or if they couldn’t un-invite one of the panel, but it’s been the big story all week and if there is one public person that isn’t going to talk sensibly about this subject it’s that fucking loony Mel Phillips.

Labels: Twats That Talk Bollox