Week commencing 15.03.04
US mad at China
China is facing a complaint at the World Trade Organisation for the first time since its joined in early 2002. The complaint comes from the US, and represents a further intensification of Washington DC’s accusation that China’s trade policy is costing US jobs.
The WTO case concerns tax breaks for Chinese semiconductor makers, which the US says gives them an unfair advantage. US trade chief Robert Zoellick said China “must live up to its obligations” to create a “level playing field”.
The move follows recent efforts by lawmakers on both sides of US politics – as well as unions – to blame China for some of the stubborn stream of job losses.
This is the US throwing its toys out of its pram because it does not control the silicon chip market.
Anti-terrorist money
The UK is to step up the fight against terrorism by giving an extra £15m to specialist police units. Home Secretary David Blunkett will announce £12m to improve surveillance and intelligence gathering in London, with £3m for other forces.
Mr Blunkett is also due to press at talks in Brussels for greater EU co-operation against terrorism.
Meanwhile, London police chief Sir John Stevens warned of a “definite link” between the Madrid bombers and the UK.
Looks to me like the terrorists have one. They have managed to force our government to divert money away from schools and hospitals and onto defence. This is a necessary evil in the 21st century, I know, but still. How childish.
Follow me
Motorists were led on a mystery tour through Essex after a policeman accidentally switched on a sign telling the drivers behind to “Follow Me.” Five motorists took the instruction to heart and tailed the police Volvo for a number of miles as the officer carried out his routine patrol.
The officer – now dubbed the Pied Piper by colleagues – noticed the convoy near Maldon and pulled over.
Essex Police said the unnamed inspector had apologised to the motorists.
A police spokeswoman said the matrix system on top of the car is used to display instructions to drivers such as “Pull Over” or “Follow Me.”
She said: “Naturally, the law-abiding drivers saw the message and did as they were asked.
“Some had followed the car for some time, but they were all very understanding when the officer explained the sign had been accidentally switched on.”
Budget bribes
Gordon Brown is defending his Budget plan to shed 40,000 Whitehall jobs so he can provide schools with more cash. Wednesday’s announcement has set the battle lines for the next election which is widely expected next Spring.
Union bosses are demanding “urgent meetings” over the job cuts while the Tories say the chancellor’s borrowing makes future tax rises inevitable. Opposition parties described the one-off £100 to help over-70s with council tax rises as a pre-election “bribe”.
I have to say, that I do not agree with the Conservatives, but on this occasions they are right. This budget is so blatantly a bribe, the local police are getting jealous.
Store card shock
Retailers are expected to face strong criticism over the way they run their store cards. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is publishing a report examining the market on Thursday. Stores are being accused of encouraging people to take out cards without explaining rates and interests.
The OFT began the investigation after being taken to task by a committee of MPs for failing to do enough to protect consumers. More than 20 million store cards have been taken out, with more than £4bn spent on them each year.
Interest on store cards runs at about 30%. The Treasury Select Committee has said there is evidence competition is not working properly, as most cards charge very similar interest rates.
In a separate survey on credit cards, the OFT found more than three quarters of credit card holders do not know how much interest they are paying. The survey also found seven out of 10 consumers have a credit card, while 37% of cardholders possess more than one
Shock horror. A financial institution wants you to spend money that you do not have, and pay it back at an interest rate that you can not afford.
Smelly feet
A 10-year-old Vermont boy has won an annual competition for having the smelliest sports shoes in America.
Coming first amongst nine finalists, Daegan Goodman said his trainers were victorious because “I just wear ‘em, sweat in ‘em… I just try”.
The competition is sponsored by a manufacturer of deodorant products for shoes and feet. Veteran contest judge George Aldrich said: “The stench sometimes stays with me for days. It’s like a flashback
Computer language
The Welsh language is to be introduced into Microsoft Windows as part of a project to increase usage by minority language speakers. It is one of 40 new languages due to be added, in response to complaints from around the world that youngsters were losing their native tongues.
Microsoft programmes already run in 40 languages including English, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese variants.
A Welsh start menu and some commands will be available in about six months. Microsoft said it has received complaints from places such as Catalonia, Malaysia and the Arctic regions of Canada.
I want Klingon. Yes that is right, Klingon. Start a protest all you fellow Klingon linguists, equality for all.
Men are from Mars
Women looking for love can choose from 27 different types of man in their quest for the perfect partner, according to a new guide. The sexy backpacker, the boozing Rottweiler and the politically-correct Libman are among the categories pinpointed by Dr Stephen Whitehead.
Other types include The Gadgetman, Trainspotter, and Neanderthal. The lecturer hopes his book The Many Faces of Men of Men will give women more hope of making the right match. In what could be good news for long-suffering women, Dr Whitehead, who works at Keele University in Staffordshire, said men can change their habits as they get older.
I bet this University is having a lot more trouble trying to analyse women. If they managed that, it would be like cracking the DNA genome.
Windows to go
Microsoft is throwing its considerable weight behind devices to let you watch video and listen to music on the go.
It is working with leading gadget makers to develop digital players based on Windows software.
The first Portable Media Centers are due to go on sale in Europe by year end, Microsoft said at the Cebit computer show in Hanover, Germany.
The devices are similar to other handheld players already available from European firms Archos and Thomson.
In many ways, the idea of a sort of “video iPod” is a natural progression from the MP3 music player.
I do not know if I agree with this. Shutting the noise of the world out is one thing, but shutting out the world totally…there in lies the slippery slope.
Happy St Patrick’s day
Trains on time?
Travellers using Midland Mainline rail services could find themselves ushered onto their trains with more than a courteous ‘All aboard’.
The company, which had one of the worst punctuality records in the UK, has bought in 500 super-loud whistles to hurry passengers into carriages.
But they say the tactic works, because the piercing sound of the ‘Acme Thunderer’ is already cutting delays.
The company runs trains between Sheffield and London.
Another tactic , of course, would be to run up and down the platform with a big stick, beating anyone who was not quick getting on or off a train. Mind you, some MPs and judges may like that too much.
No gun, want one?
An air passenger was stunned to find a handgun in his luggage after a flight with Israel’s national carrier El Al.
The man discovered the weapon while unpacking in Israel after a visit to Germany, reports Israeli daily Haaretz.
He immediately reported the find to the police only to be told that the weapon, which had been de-activated, was part of a security drill for airline staff.
Security officers sometimes put replica guns in luggage to keep bag checkers on their toes, Haaretz says.
In theory, the weapon would be discovered during checks and removed, leaving passengers none the wiser.
This handgun, however, appears to have slipped through the net. The airline could not confirm or deny the report.
“El Al uses different tactics to ensure the safety of its passengers,” said a spokeswoman. “We won’t detail our tactics.”
Can you imagine if a customs officer did not receive that memo. That poor passenger would be in jail forever.
Gum shoe
Singapore is preparing to partially lift its famous ban on chewing gum – in order to comply with a free trade agreement with the United States. But only gum aimed at helping smokers to quit will be allowed when the new rules come into effect on Thursday. The government will allow the sale of Nicorette, a nicotine gum, because the agreement with the US says “therapeutic” brands should be allowed.
Singapore banned chewing gum in 1992 because of a litter problem. The pristine city-state, did not like gum sticking to its pavements, but the rules have been relaxed as part of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which came into effect at the start of this year.
I really like Singapore and I fear for the decline of the country now that it is trying to keep up with the US trade agreement. Why is everyone so keen to please the US that they are prepared to bend over and be shafted by them?
Speeding failure
A speeding driver has lost his High Court fight to try to exploit a legal loophole. Idris Francis was challenging his conviction for failing to sign a notice served on him for speeding. His barristers argued his conviction should be quashed on a point of law – that there was no legal obligation for him to sign the form.
The judges rejected his appeal, saying they will give their reasons later. Mr Francis, a retired company director, was caught speeding on 11 March, 2003, on the A325 in Hampshire, by a speed camera. When the case came to court, magistrates could not convict him of speeding, as he had not signed the form identifying himself as the driver – rendering it inadmissible in court.
Instead the vintage car owner, of West Meon, near Winchester, was fined £60 with £364 costs and given three penalty points on his licence for failing to identify the driver. His barrister Mark Laprell told the court: “The issue in this case is causing some consternation up and down the country.”
Nice try, on behalf of all of us that would have followed in your wake.
Prince recognised
Late Beatle George Harrison, Prince and ZZ Top were among those who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York on Monday. Rock singer Bob Seger and R&B outfit The Dells were also honoured.
Harrison, who died of cancer in November 2001, is already in the rock hall as a member of the Beatles.
Prince performed a medley of hits at the ceremony, which was also attended by Sir Mick Jagger, Alicia Keys and George Clinton.
“I embarked on a journey more fascinating than I could ever imagine, but a word to the wise to the young artists – without spiritual guidance too much freedom can lead to spiritual decline,” said Prince. After a career dotted with disputes with record labels, Prince also offered some advice to young artists, “a real friend and mentor is not on your payroll,” he said. Artists are only eligible to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after at least 25 years have passed since their first record was released.
It is interesting that you have to wait 25 years to be eligible for the Hall of fame. In the music business most of the patrons are likely to be dead from drugs by the time they get in. Also surely now with ‘Prince’ and ‘The Dells’ it should now just be the ‘music hall of fame’.
Writing on the web
Rare examples of William Shakespeare’s signature in a will are among important historical papers now available online. The document, which is joined by one million others, has been put on the web by the National Archives.
Shakespeare’s will reveals how he bequeathed his second-best bed to his wife, Anne Hathaway. Wills from Jane Austen, Sir Christopher Wren and Horatio Nelson – the latter’s with a personal diary – can also be viewed at DocumentsOnline. The documents span six centuries of British history from 1384 to 1858.
I hear that they have a shopping list from someone famous in there. What is going to be on that in the early 17th century? 1 rat eaten turnip, 1 worm infested apple, 1 weeble infested bag of sugar, 1 big mac and extra large fries….
Black Prime Minister
When the UK first elects a black leader, it may well be someone like Colin McFarlane – RAF family, public school educated, university graduate. Not only does he play the UK’s first black prime minister in the BBC’s If, he is the first black actor cast in the part in a major production.
Bad news for Gordon Brown. Could it be that once Tony Blair relinquishes his hold on Number 10, the next incumbent will be a Conservative? And might it take another decade before a left-leaning politician – someone like Andrew Kirk – takes the top job and becomes the country’s first black PM?
That at least is the scenario in BBC Two’s future-gazing docu-drama If… Things Don’t Get Better, in which Kirk – played by Colin McFarlane – is determined to narrow a rich-poor divide through welfare spending and higher taxes. It’s political science fiction, of course, but the issues are 100% real.
His is an idealism unpopular with middle-class taxpayers, many of whom live in gated communities – a physical divide between the haves and the have-nots with whom they share a postcode. When one such community in Islington cordons off a public road for further security, a stand-off with the embattled PM ensues.
Why is this news? Is this a reflection of the publics narrow mindedness? Is it so unlikely that this country will ever see a black prime minister that this is a major news item. Maybe if the public started looking for the best person to do the job rather that the best white person, then Britain will be open to a world of possibilities.
New life, new civilisations
Astronomers have detected what could be the Solar System’s 10th planet. Found further away than other planets by the recently launched Spitzer Space Telescope, it has been called Sedna after the Inuit goddess of the ocean.
Observations show it is about 2,000 km across and it may even be larger than Pluto, which is 2,250 km across.
There is likely to be debate about whether it qualifies as a true planet, but some astronomers are already saying it re-defines the Solar System.
The Hubble Space Telescope has also seen it. Details will be announced by the US space agency Nasa later on Monday.
This is a great day. Maybe we can crash land a probe hurtling through space at several hundred thousand miles an hour on that planet to see if there is life. If there is, they would not consider that to be an attack. No.
Young drinkers
The nation’s binge-drinking culture, said to cost £20bn a year, is being tackled by new government proposals.
Ministers are worried about the cost of alcohol-related illness and crime to police, councils, industry and the NHS.
They are proposing a series of measures including marshals at taxi ranks and a clampdown on pubs serving under-18s.
Home office minister Hazel Blears told BBC News the strategy would focus particularly on binge-drinking youths out “to get as drunk as they can”.
What makes me laugh is that all the government ministers that are trying to stop youth drinking, have all been flat down in the gutter throwing up themselves as youths. Change the licensing times to longer and stop binge drinking rather than trying to stop an already rebellious demographic from rebelling. Chose a battle you can win.
Election
An exit poll from the Russian presidential election says incumbent Vladimir Putin has been swept back to power with 69% of the vote.
The non-governmental Public Opinion Foundation conducted the poll of 120,000 people in 1,200 voting stations.
At a news conference after midnight on Sunday, Mr Putin thanked voters for their support and promised to ensure further economic growth.
69%, we have not seen those sorts of percentages since the last dictator Sadam Hussain was toppled.
Alias
Alias actress Jennifer Garner, who stars as a CIA agent in the show, is now fronting a recruitment drive for the US spy agency. She agreed to appear in a video for the CIA’s website urging potential candidates to sign up.
The website states that Garner’s Alias character “embodies the integrity, patriotism and intelligence the CIA looks for in its officers”. Garner, 31, was not paid for her appearance in the advert. A CIA spokesman said: “She did this out of patriotism.” One the website Garner says the agency needs staff from a diverse range of backgrounds and with different talents.
You see, the Americans recruit for spies and make it look exciting, the British recruit for Ethnic groups to inform upon and betray their cultures.
Train-ed police
Plain clothes anti-terrorist police are patrolling the public transport system in London for the first time. British Transport Police have also announced that more people will be randomly stopped and searched.
A spokesman stressed the moves have been planned for some time and are not a reaction to the attacks in Madrid.
Posters are being put up to encourage public vigilance, while Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has urged people to report anything unusual to police. The changes follow a meeting of officials from underground rail systems across the world in London last week.
So, what do the transport police do then? Is this not their job?
