h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oops! Sorry folks

Squigs

The water wars have begun.
http://youtu.be/OKutgHbCoUs

You may not understand the language but the tones
are not unlike the overtures of the 1812 with a
harmonic spirit of 1776.

Liberty has a pot on her head.

~jwf~

Rich people get richer from their control of resources (water in the above example).


Here are two articles describing how rich Australian mining companies extract riches from aboriginal lands while destroying aboriginal sites of spiritual importance and culture:
http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/news/all_indigenous/default.htm (Aug 2nd 2013 report)
http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/rock-art-riches-the-devastating-cost-of-australias-mining-boom/570/ (March 8th 2013)

In my book colonial Australia is a history of genocide and ethnic and cultural cleansing of the natives equivalent to (or maybe worse than) colonial America and their impact on their natives. Sure everything changes but at least one needs to be honest about the founding history and continued practices.

A campaign to stop the privatisation of the Probation service:

http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/do-not-privatise-the-probation-service

"If the Probation Service is dismantled and privatised, many offenders will no longer be supported to make the necessary changes in their lives, as the 'results' may not be quick and lucrative enough to private firms"

The G4S has not precisely a clean record on protecting human rights. They are the same who make the dirty work for the Israeli govt. in the Gaza frontier, just to mention only one thing.

The headlong privatisation / charitisation of the things that had previously been state functions is making it harder and harder for services to be provided in an integrated way. In my present role (vulnerable to being contracted out to the likes of G4S) I have to access and record in, local NHS records and to liaise with local drug agencies, probation and police. The drug agency was hived off from the NHS and now we no longer share records - more difficult to provide an integrated service. If my service is contracted out we will lose access to health records. At the moment I am able to access probation records where appropriate.

Each individual privatisation / charitisation, seen in isolation MAY appear to make sense, but when looked at as a whole, it is a nonsense.

PP.

Former Tory minister Charles Hendry takes job with party donor (29 July 2013)
Conservative MP for Wealden signed energy pact with Iceland while in office and will now work for importer of Icelandic power.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jul/29/tory-minister-charles-hendry-donor

Former UK Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell has been accused of ‘cashing in’ on his Government connections by accepting a top role with a private consultancy. Critics say there is a conflict of interest in his new job as chairman of Frontier Economics, which has been working on Heathrow Airport’s third runway bid. (31 July 2013)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2381655/Former-Cabinet-Secretary-Gus-ODonnell-accused-cashing-accepting-job.html

Two major Conservative donors appointed to government (Jan 2013)
1) John Nash, who worked for a private equity company with major education interests, will receive a peerage and become a schools minister. Mr Nash and his wife have given the Tories almost £300,000.
2) Lord Polpot, who was given a peerage in 2010, became a government whip on Wednesday. Lord Popat and his wife have given over £320,000 to support the Conservatives.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/9794202/Two-major-Conservative-donors-appointed-to-government.html

Lord Polpot

Cannabis found in pot plants

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-23566284

Funny that growing this plant as an ornamental is taken so seriously, when no one minds the cultivation of things like Salvia or Opium poppies.

or Aconitum Napelius, which is very dangerous. It´s a potent hallucinogen which can cause the death very quickly.

http://pocogardenclub.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/christopher-lloyds-garden-flowers/aconitum/

Update:

Aconitum Napellus can´t be sold since 2004, although it can be used in pharmacy.

Spain threatens to introduce border charges.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23567976

Here was me thinking we were all in the EU.

Gibraltar doesn´t belong to the Schegen space, that means that the Rock is out of the EU frontier legislation.

Nobody understand the moves of the Spanish govt. it seems they have a very peculiar sense of patriotism. They have no problem with letting the national and international financial mafia to rule the future of this country, however, they have started to claim in the most contradictory way some rights that they have been giving away for many years.

I think it´s the typical absurd stale Nationalism of the rightwingers.


On the other hand, Gibraltar is the thugh of the area, and all kind of crimes: enviromental and economics ( smuggling, narcotrafic, tax evasion...) are committed and broadly ignored by the EU and the whole world.

Luxury loo linked to your mobile

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23575249

Whit?

Noah's Ark Children's Hospital forced to close because of heavy rain:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-23587791

You can't make it up, these days...

Monty Panesar urinates on bouncers:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-23600037

I never knew he bowled them...

"A Jimmy Savile themed fancy dress float won third place in an annual community parade"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/jimmy-savile/10230031/Families-to-boycott-festival-after-Jimmy-Savile-float-won-prize.html

Even funnier is the reaction of the professionally-offended crowd.

It was up there in the bad taste stakes though.
PP.

I heard the winner was a giant statue of a moustachio'd Australian, a horse and two small boys.

Eww!