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

What about equal pay for equal work, clothed or not?

I had a look but sadly the 2010 Equality Act doesn't seem to have any provision on ensuring that people should be paid equally regardless of whether or not they are clothed or nude:
http://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance

<BB<

But clothing is an allowable business expense:

http://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed/clothing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43710526

The story in a nutshell.

78 year old man finds an intruder in his house (actually 2 I think), there's a tussle and one of the intruders gets stabbed with a screwdriver by the householder. The other intruder does a runner dragging his bleeding mate behind him. The stabbed intruder dies and is left in the street. Intruder 2 drives off and then sets fire to their car (quite possibly to try to cover his tracks)

Householder gets arrested on suspicion of murder and is later released without charge.

Family of the dead intruder (who by the way is currently under investigation for burglary) leaves floral tributes including notes like 'you was too good to walk the earth' and 'our angel'.

Locals too scared to clear away the tributes left (in my view) somewhat inappropriately) and the householder appears to be too frightened to return home.

PP.

I was going to flag that one too. Apparently the intruder in question was already wanted for other offences & has relatives who are known criminals.

The family may well be upset but those floral tributes are totally inappropriate.

A poignant photo:
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/16149294.photo-of-the-titanic-passing-the-isle-of-wight-106-years-ago/?ref=mr&lp=1

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It looks like it's travelling east (assuming Cowes is in the foreground). Does this strike you as odd?

I have no knowledge of the region or the prevalent shipping lanes, but I took a look at it on Google maps and I suppose they might have rounded the East end of the Isle of Wight before proceeding to Cherbourg.

There's also the possibility that the image is reversed, so who knows?

Yes, that is (West) Cowes and the Titanic is heading East. Most large ships do as the Solent is deeper, wider and calmer that way. You can go west, but only a narrow navigable channel 1,830 metres wide separates the Shingles bank and the chalk Needles rocks with the tidal race leaving the Solent commonly five knots. The Titanic had already only just avoided collision leaving port in Southampton earlier that day so it wasn't a good idea trying to manoeuvre a vessel that steers like a cow through a narrow, fast-moving gap.

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"Steers like a cow" is another of those "Fruit flies like a banana" sentences

Chinese baby born 4 years after parents' death. Grandparents' claim to the frozen embryos accepted & surrogate Mum used.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-43724395

Since sperm/embryos have been frozen, we've had a number of issues crop up about ownership, rights etc.

I've never been comfortable with the ethics of frozen embryo and surrogate parents, but I think this unusual case makes a strong argument for it.

'Titanic' musical abandoned at the end of Act 1 due to health and safety fears: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-43751330

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UK governments really know how to kick the hive.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/13/attack-syria-disastrous-warmongers-middle-east-unjust

That boy is a Class A idiot. He's been humiliated time and time and time again by interviewers, but he thinks they keep asking him back for his cutting wisdom.

Chap in America managed to get through college & become a teacher without being able to read. Finally learnt when middle aged. Shows amazing resourcefulness.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-43700153

Reminds me of a case a friend told me about, of a printer who couldn't read & it was only when electronic typesetting came in that this was revealed & he gave up work.

I hear, on the grapevine, that Denise and Mike Quont of The Mews, Penge, had a baby boy yesterday. This is their 3rd child and they havn't decided what to call him yet.

The child's great Grandmother Mrs Agnes Quont was 92 at the weekend.

I can't find a link in the media though.

PP.

Jeremy Corby managed to congratulate them within 1 hour however

An honest admission of blatant corruption from Mick Mulvaney, Trump's appointee in charge of our Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

http://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/mick-mulvaney-explains-his-pay-to-play-rule-for-lobbyists-while-in-congress.html