I’m a Pundit

Near a decade has passed since the Embargo was passed on Cuba, and just recently Obama has removed this restriction.  Can I say here, Brilliant,The best way to remove communism is to flaunt the prowess of democracy, let the trading commence, let the people learn that Deomacracy is better. Maybe there will be a mini revolution, maybe cuba will slide in to democracy.  Either way I believe that all countries should be as interconnected as possible, let the world join together, and while not be in a happy marriage, let it be a place where anyone can go and explore where they want! 

written by Oli \\ tags: Cuba

With a trip to America planned there has not been much time for me to read the paper recently.  One thing that has garnered my attention however is the latest string of Pirate attacks that are suddenly being publicized.  Now Modern day pirate attacks are no new thing, and the publicity can only help towards ending this.  What worries me however is how soft we are being to the pirates.Currently these people are sailing the seas, killing innocent people and stealing their boats, ships and cargo.  Currently if they get talk all that happens is their weapons and ammunition are conficated and tehy are given provision, yes thats right we give the pirates goods, and send them home.  Is there just me that sees something wrong with this?I very much doubt that I was not the only one who cheered when I heard that three of the somalian pirates had been shot dead while holding an American prisoner hostage, these guys go out as bandits and pillage the ships, they get what they deserve.What interests me is why they get given aid, not punishment, would a bank robber be let go if he was caught stealing millions, because these pirates steal millions.   Further more would a bank robber be taken to the nearest fast food joint and given a burger? Hell No!If these pirates are intent on continuing their piracy I think our navies should go out their and show with true force what happens to people who mess with our ships, blow em out of the water!And for all the people who say it i because they were fishermen who had all their fish stolen, this has been going on for decades, I think even in that region after nearly 30 years people can get their heads around a different profession.  

written by Oli \\ tags: Pirates

The environmentalists have been petitioning for mandatory water meters for some time, the water companies are of course backing this claiming that England uses ‘too much’ water.

This is of course something that riles me just a little bit.

Do food companies complain about people eating too much and charge them more, do games companies blame buyers for not having enough stock? Or course not, therefore it makes me wonder why the water companies who are asking why Britons use too much unmetered water are not asking themselves why they do not build more reservoirs to increase our available water supply.

Of course that would not please the doomsayer environmentalists, who claim that our river levels will be down by 90% in 2050 (Ignoring the flood) but I think they should focus more on how the reservoirs collect during the rainy seasons and disperse during the dry.

All in all I am appalled that the water companies are not for instance, forced to fix more of their broken pipes, build more capacity and lower prices in line with profits. Instead they just continue to lynch us, the consumer, with proposed rate hikes and metering services.

written by Oli \\ tags: Drought, Floods, Waetr COmpanies, Water

I have been often dismayed to see the politicians of our country make continuous blunders in the name of public good. It’s not hard to see how they are putting this country into a deeper and deeper slide, crushing our economy and strangling any new business opportunities.

I live in the City of York, this city is one of the most historic cities in England, and therefore it is a shame to see our local councillors driving it into the ground.

Take for instance the latest fiasco with their new ‘Energy efficient’ head quarters. This was a building designed and budgeted for over £40 million. All for a building of which in size should not even have cost £10 million. This council headquarters scheme was done out of the public eye, and in a very strange order.

Infact it is interesting to point out that even though this never went ahead they spent £4 million on this project, this is before they even had anything more detailed than a quick draft of what the building could look like from the outside. Many York residents are starting to ask why for instance, several hundred thousand was spent on an interior designer before they even had planning permission.

Now, there have been complaints about the location of the headquarters (next door to one of York’s most historic pubs) although personally I don’t see this as a problem, York has a great mix of the modern and the ancientWhat worries me if first the fact that this budget was so high for a building that was so small, secondly that we spent 10% of that budget before the building had even had an architect look at it, thirdly that they didn’t keep residents involved with this, fourthly that the councillor in charge has a family history of swindling and fraud and finally that they are now saying the budget they had was not big enough!

Now however my mind casts down to more mundane problems, with unemployment on the rise, Businesses going bankrupt in quick succession and MP’s saying that companies should not give out pay rises in line with inflation (While voting above inflation pay rises for themselves) I am beginning to wonder exactly why the local council has just embarked upon a crusade against A-Boards.

For those of you who don’t know, A-Boards are these highly visible attention grabbing advertising boards. It is called an A board because it is made of two boards leaning against each other with a rod attaching them, which when unfolded makes the shape of an A.

Apparently however these A boards which you see all over England are suddenly illegal. The Council has pulled out some mundane law passed in the misty past of British law and has claimed that these things could create a dangerous obstruction to partially sighted or blind people.Personally I can think of far more dangerous obstructions blocking York streets, Bollards placed hap hazardly in the middle of paths, barriers on the sides of paths painted in a nice, blended, camouflaged gray colour and the numerous cobbled areas which are not highlighted with huge ‘Cobbles Here’ Signs. I personally think that if they ban A-boards for being a hazard they need to get rid of Women dragging small children about, push chairs, old ladies with trolley bags and, ironically, partially sighted and blind people with those dangerous sticks and a tendency to bump in to things.

Because all of these things are, lets face it, a lot harder to spot sometimes than a four foot high board covered in bright writing designed to catch attention.

written by Oli \\ tags: Politics, Rant

Whether you are in the Uk, USA or mainland Europe chances are you will have seen some aspect of the financial crisis in the guise of troubled banks being bailed out by the government.  But what exactly does this mean, why does it happen and more importantly why shouldn’t it happen?

We have seen on many occasions banks being given tens to hundreds of billions of dollars.  These staggering sums keep banks in business, allow people to spend more.  But at the same time people are taking the money out of the banks they are paying more in taxes, all for it to bail out yet another bank.

It is infact a vicious cycle, the governments in charge a the moment dont wan’t the economic crash to happen so are pumping in moneyto the banks,while raiseing taxes to compensate for the loss.

It sounds pretty terrible, the truth is though our economy is still actually quite strong, and yes we are still paying too much, infact if you look at actual inflation vs wages you will find that even if the market drops a further 20% we will still be poorer than we were 30 years ago.

The truth of the matter is that a crash has to happen, people will lose jobs, banks will go bankrupt and people will lose money.

In other news Boy George was arrested for handcuffing a male ‘escort’ to some rails, I will avoid making the obvious ‘do you really wan’t to hurt me’ song reference here and instead go on to mention that you have to be careful forrockstars who may sem loveable, but often use their on stage personalaty as camoflage, rather like a karma karma karma karma chameleon.

I’ll get my coat.

written by Oli \\ tags: Bail-out, Banks, Celebrities, Recession

I was pleased to see that the Government has decided to officially tackle the obesity problem. Yes that’s right, all you fat bastards out there, you are now officially a problem.

This new campaign has been brought together after an obviously shammed together report claimed that in 2050 90% of people will be overweight.  Judging by this I have looked at decent trends and deduced from the governments recent interest rate cuts that in 2050 interest rates will be at minus 30%.  Good news for mortgage holders but sorry savers, your lucks not in.I am not sure exactly how the government is deducing it’s priorities, I mean lets face it, they are pretty much removing all aspects of fitness from our every day lives, take for instance the following :-Rising taxes on pub beers forcing people to shop for booze at the supermarket - This not keeps people at home rather than visiting the pub! (On a serious note I know 3 pub football teams that have collapsed due to the insane rises in alcohol tax), forcing people to stay at home is not only damaging pubs but removing a lot of social activities, many of which ARE fitness related.Increased benefits for single parents - Gone are the days when b***rdry was a crime.  Today we promote single parentage and following that the number of children eating at Macdonalds everyday on non working single parent support has risen drastically.  (On a serious note here a huge percentage of obesity comes from government supported families, this is not coincidence)Compare this to times past when single mothers were flogged and sent to the work house while their children had to walk to London and survive on stolen vegetables while performing spontaneous song and dance routines with surprisingly athletic stall holders.  You can suddenly see why obesity has risen drastically from 200 years agoClosing Sport and Health Facilities - I am not so sure about other areas but due to lack of funding my local city has wait for it NO inner city sports facilities.  This means no cheap government subsidised gym, no swimming pool, nothing infact other than quite a lot of paths which can be run along with only minor damage caused to your knees.Anti Bullying Legislation - Yes I know it may seem cruel and no one likes to see a child picked on.  But lets face it, nothing will get a kid on the sport track faster than 50 of his peers calling him fatty and throwing pies at him.  I think a lot of problems that are around today come from too many rights organisations and do-gooders making life too cushy, these same people have caused countless c*ck ups with their mis-management and shot sightedness.All in all I am not surprised obesity is increasing.Infact the only light at the end of the tunnel I can see most surprisingly came from Gordon brown (although in some ways it isn’t that surprising, the money grabbing retard doesn’t see the benefits the scheme will have on the country he merely sees a quick buck).  Yes that’s right, in the near future it will be much harder to claim benefits unless you are actively looking for work!British Economy

written by Oli \\ tags: Depression, Law, Politics, Recession

The president of the European Commison Jose Manuel Barroso has announced the the UK has come a step closer to joining the single Euro currency.  PersonallyI cannot see this happening.

Tony Bair constantly triumphed the single Euro currency as  the future, however most of Britain questioned whether it was worth our while joining a single currency which would take a third off the value of our money, and remove control from our own central reserve.

Many people have debated our part in the Euro at all, benefits such as ease of travel and work for residents are of huge benefit, however things take a turn for the worse when you look at what the UK pays into it compared to other members.

So from me, today, Euro Currency? No Thanks.

written by Oli \\ tags: Euro

Despite the remembrance ceremonies for world war 1 today many of the newspapers have also been looking a the story of a young 13 years old girl.

This young girl at the age of 12 decided that she did not want a heart transplant and instead would die with dignity. The doctors challenged this and took the family to court, wishing to have the young girl removed from her parents custody and forced to have the operation.  The young girl however remained adamant that she did not want to continue a life already ravaged by a heart defect that had already made her life full of pain.

The parents stood by her decision, not surprisingly after they had witnessed the trauma she had gone through.

The big question is though, is the girl old enough to make an informed decision on her choice to live?  Refusing the heart transplant is of course tantamount to euthanasia.

Personally I think she should be allowed the choice, if she is at a point in her life, but what do you think?

written by Oli \\ tags: Euthanasia, News

So Obama is the new president of the USA, I say this with the tone of voice that most English people use when this is brought up, ie. Couldn’t care less.

But of course in America it is not only a big thing but the BIGGEST thing. 

So who thinks what about the new choice of president?

The media thinks its great, a Black president, woohoo.  They fail to pay much attention to the fact that this black president could be confused for a white person with a heavy tan.  

The Upper class think it’s great, Obama is a true man of the corporation, making the rich richer.

The Middle classes think it’s great, he promises to bring the troops home!  No more war and promises of a more stable economy brought on by the savings this will incur 

The lower classes hate the bastard, god damn son of a bitch making us seem like pussies, I’m down with the war.  Lets lynch that black bastard.

All in all though Obama is the choice I would have made, McCain is undoubtedly useless, just as bush was before him.  To be honest though, neither party is ideal.  

Both parties have been around long enough to become corrupted and inefficient.  Neither of them have any unique ideas or selling points to really bring America back on track and nothing they say really holds any value.

America has the two term policy, no one may be president for more than 2 terms.  This ensures no one president can hold a corrupt power over the United States.  There is however no protection from those just a tad further down the ladder.

Why not institute the 2 term policy for al the managerial and top level positions of a party, hell why not have it just for the party.  By doing this you are ensuring that fresh people, fresh ideas and fresh ideals are brought into the United States.  Not only that but it removes the possibility of corruption, complacency and idiotic managers who rise to power just by being there a long time.

I don’t think this is just a good idea for the United States, but also for England.  It is after all a True democracy.

written by Oli \\ tags: Election 2008, McCain, Obama, President, Result

In Britain we have the NHS, a sytem envied by many other countries.  It’s shiny public face however covers huge defecits.  Today they are debating a key decision which will allow people to top up their NHS treatment with drugs that the NHS would not normally provide.

This sounds a good idea till you look at what happened with our road taxation system not so long ago.  Road/Car tax was initially brought in to cover the cost of our roads, meaning car owners footed the bill.  But wait a second when we buy fuel on petrol around 80% of that is tax, the government said this tax was to cover road upkeep, but wasn’t that what car tax was for?

Now just to rub salt in the wounds the governmetn is implementing Tolls on our roads, why is this? To support our road infrastructure of course.

So with this NHS top up fee to increase availablity to drugs outside the NHS I am severely worried that the number of drugs available on the NHS will steadily decrease and more and more people will be forced to pay for their own drugs while we still pay a huge amount of tax in other ways to support our NHS system in the first place.

I really do think the UK tax system needs a shake up, with huge across the board simplization and removal of ‘duplicate taxes’ where possible.

I do not think that NHS top ups should be allowed on the NHS I do however think that the NHS should be provideing life saving drugs, rather than letting people die because their life saving drugs are too expensive.

Currently human life in the Uk is valued at less than £30,000, fan-fucking-tastic.

written by Oli \\ tags: Drugs, Medicine, NHS, NICE, Top Up, UK