loving the alien.....

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Iraqi handover to be speeded up:

"The chief US administrator in Iraq has said he wants to accelerate the handover of authority to Iraqis. "

Read as "we want to accelerate our departure, it's harder than we thought". Groundwork being laid already.

OK, there's been less and less bloggage recently on here and I thought I'd just do a quick 'catch-up' post.

I've been as busy as a very very busy thing approaching an important deadline he hasn't prepared for in *any way whatsoever* at work. Nothing new or anything, just trying to tighten up the way we work and the way we deal with certain very important parties amongst our customers.
Not those sort of parties. I don't work in PR.

Secondly, I managed to put my back out. I have no idea how. One Saturday night, in the pub, I suddenly realised my back was causing me extreme pain. Went home, next morning was fine. By that night I could hardly walk or get into bed. Monday I came into work but was in agony most of the day. Tuesday morning the Doctor told me I had strained a combination of muscle and ligament (that can't be spelt like that, surely?) which holds one of my vertebrae in place. The good news was it wasn't too serious. The bad news was it would hurt like hell for about a fortnight. Got some horse painkillers and carried on as normal. My back was so painful that I woke up in the night with it for 7 days on the trot and hence appeared at work looking like a zombie every morning (but not acting like one. No spicy brains consumed, yet). Spoke to our on-site occupational health on the Friday. They said (paraphrasing) "well, I'm not surprised our back hurts you fat bastard, lose some weight and maybe you won't be putting so much stress on it, lardy".

So, she gave me a load of info and since then i have been on a 1000 calorie a day diet (1000 Kcalories for those pedants out there). To be honest, it's been easier than I thought. I haven't had any chips, crisps, chocolate or pastry for nearly 2 weeks now, and my back is all better as well. One night I went to bed in the normal agony and woke up feeling like I could run around the block and climb the church steeple. However I quickly came to my senses and had a fag instead.

So, that's where we are today, back is better, weight is falling off (well, it better be) and work has stabilised a little bit.

Quote of the week:

"You better live every day as though it were your last, because one day you're gonna be right" - Ray Charles.

BBC NEWS | England | Cumbria | Girl, 12, gives birth to boy:

"A spokeswoman for the Cumbria Teenage Pregnancy Strategy said support was available for the girl and her family. "

Well, technically it will be in a year's time ;-)

BBC NEWS | Health | DIY doctoring costs Brits millions:

"The amount spent on devices such as blood pressure testers and pregnancy kits has soared over the last few years, says a survey.
The market for 'self-diagnostic' products has expanded from £41.2 million five years ago to £54.3 million in 2002, according to Mintel. "

Because it takes over 2 weeks to get a doctor's appointment so people are taking to monitoring their own health.

BBC NEWS | Health | Elderly 'denied cancer surgery':

"Elderly women are still being denied potentially life-saving surgery for breast cancer because of their age.
The claims will be made by senior doctors and other leading experts at a conference in London on Wednesday.
They come two years after ministers published a national service framework for older people and pledged to stamp out age discrimination in the NHS.
However, experts say the problem still exists and in many cases is resulting in women dying needlessly. "

Surely if they are "dying needlessly" due to being neglected for reasons of age, they are actually "being killed"? Someone somewhere has decided that they are simply too old to live?

Interesting. And scary.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Abbott's son defends going private:

"The son of left-wing Labour MP Diane Abbott has entered the fray over her decision to send him to private school and rejected claims she is a 'hypocrite'.
James Abbott, 12, rang a radio phone-in on Tuesday after it emerged his mother was planning to send him to the £10,000 a year City of London School, rather than a comprehensive. "

Strike you as a bit convenient? Me too. Her son just happens to ring a political phone-in which to be honest at 12 I doubt he even knew existed, and then goes on to give various reasons why *he* chose private over state? Bollocks.

Face it Diane, you *are* a hypocrite. "State schools are marvellous (but I'm fooked if my kid's going to one)".

We get the message. Britain's schools are shite. We already knew. Thanks anyway.

So, Diane sends her kid to private school. I guess Tony had private health care for his heart murmur. "Do as I say, not as I do" to be new Labout election slogan.

BBC NEWS | UK | Terror suspects lose appeal:

"Appeals by five suspected international terrorists detained without trial have been rejected.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission judges made the ruling in favour of the government on Wednesday.
They have been detained without trial under emergency powers introduced in the wake of 11 September.
Another five suspects are due to hear the outcome of their appeals later on Wednesday.
Some of the men have been in jail since December 2001, held under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) backed the Home Office claims it had enough evidence to keep the men behind bars. "

Now, I'm not supporting terrorists here, but surely everyone deserves a trial? Some of these men have been held for 2 years without any kin of evidence being made public or brought before a court of law. WTF is going on in this country?

BBC NEWS | Technology | New Windows virus hits computers:

"Anti-virus firms are warning about a Windows worm called Sober that is starting to spread widely online.
The virus debuted at the weekend and is multiplying because so many versions of Windows are vulnerable it.
Many people are thought to be falling victim to it because one version poses as an update from anti-virus firms.
It also tries to hide by using many different subject lines in both German and English and by changing the name of the payload holding the virus. "

The Observer | Comment | Darkening of a nation:

"No one knew what the Met was up to because orders akin to the announcement of martial law were declared and confirmed in secret. From 13 August for 28 days and from 11 September for 28 days, the police had unconstrained power to treat everyone in London as a terrorist, and stop, search and hold them without cause or reasonable suspicion. "

Holy shit. So basically the police could just lock you up for no reason without explaining their actions to anyone. London was effectively a Military Junta for 60 days (well, police junta doesn't have the same ring does it?).

Once again, see above, don't let these pricks back in. Jack Straw told everyone that these anti-terrorist laws would be used "only against the IRA and other terrorist groups".

Now, the Campaign Against the Arms Trade are many many things (terribly misguided and fighting a hopeless cause for 2) but they are not terrorists.

Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Home Office'tried to axe' BBC police race exposé:

"The Home Office's most senior civil servant wrote to the BBC chairman, Gavyn Davies, accusing the corporation of deceit and raising his 'profound concerns' over its police racism exposé a month before it was broadcast, The Observer can reveal.
In what BBC sources describe as 'unprecedented' pressure from such a senior Whitehall figure, John Gieve, the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, wrote to Davies last month. "

So, not only is there racism in the police, but the Home Office tried to cover it up as well.

Seriously, don't let these pricks in again please.