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

What's wrong with that? Don't we all?

PP.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-23970281
Give them a rise in their take home pay and stop the tax payers contribution to their pensions to pay for it.
Their pension could then be frozen and used to pay them off at the age of 60. That would reduce the pension liability that they are passing on to their students.

Maybe Cameron should focus on Spain rather than Syria? It seems that Spain are bullying and intimidating the British & the Gibraltans at the Gibraltar crossing point despite the Schengen agreement
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23976118
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/424391/Spanish-police-enter-British-waters-to-plant-a-FLAG-in-Gibraltar-s-controversial-reef
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23822189

The UK isn't part of the Schengen Area.

US and UK intelligence have reportedly cracked technology used to encrypt internet services such as online banking, medical records and email.

Disclosures by leaker Edward Snowden allege the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK's GCHQ are hacking key online security protocols.

The NSA is said to spend $250m (£160m) a year on the top-secret operation

The NSA also collaborated with unnamed technology companies to build so-called back doors into their software - something that would give the government access to information before it is encrypted

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23981291
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryption.html?hp&_r=0

A couple of university students have taken a life-size cardboard cutout of Eric Pickles on a holiday across the Deep South of America.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-23961480


Geggs

French Fries are back on the US menu. They were removed from the menu and replaced with "Freedom Fries" when the French refused to back the US Iraq invasion of 2003. However with the French (Monsieur Hollandaise) now in full support of the US planned bombing of Syria the Fries have been proudly relabelled French Fries:

Main Page BBC Headline: French fries finally back on the menu in America
links to BBC magazine report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23980533

Any other suggestions for renaming this greasy Fries (e.g. War Crimes Fries, In Hell Saddam Fries, Don't Cross the Red Line Fries, Do up your Fries)?

Does anyone actually call them "French Fries" or "Freedom Fries" and not just "fries" ?

I've never once that I can remember been asked "Would you like French Fries with that?"

Are we still allowed to call them cheese-eating surrender monkeys?

I don't think we ever were to be honest

Ah, that explains a lot.

This could be the first bit of good news regarding Syria: The aim is surely to get Syria to hand over their chemical stockpiles & get them destroyed and so here we seem to have a good cop (Russia) bad cop (US) approach:

"Syria crisis: Russia urges Assad to give up chemical weapons"
Russia has asked Syria to put its chemical weapons stockpile under "international control" in a bid to avoid US military strikes, and then have them destroyed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24022866

Hmmm just realised we are approaching the anniversary of 9/11

Again!! Blinkin' blinkity, is this going to happen *every* year??

Can we call it 11/9 yet?

I take it that if Syria hands over their chemical weapons, England won't be allowed to sell them some more?

I hope they can improve the relationship between Assad and the opposition. I'm not sure why they can't get along better. Maybe the chemistry isn't right.

Bashar Al-Assad: As a medical went to the United Kingdom to begin postgraduate training in ophthalmology at the Western Eye Hospital, part of the St Mary's group of teaching hospitals in London. He wasn't able to complete his studies as he was summoned back to Syria following the death of his brother and heir to the throne. I think it is because of this incompleteness in his studies that he tends not to see eye to eye with his opponents.

His wife is British: she graduated from King's College London in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in computer science and French literature. She briefly pursued a career in international investment banking before moving to Syria to marry President Bashar al-Assad in December 2000. Her parents were Sunni muslims originally from Homs - the centre for rebellion against the rule of Assad (a Shia).

If Bashar's brother hadn't have died, this man would likely now be a consultant ophthalmologist working in London ... look right, now left