Fascinating animation illustrating the nuclear weapons that have been detonated (thankfully nearly all for testing) on our planet between 1945-1998. USA comes out badly with a crazy 1032 detonations (two used in anger), but surprisingly this only represents half of the 2053 weapons used to date.
Glad we’re still here.
Highly interesting lecture on how Fructose (a cheap fat/sugar replacment) is a poison and why we are feeding it to ourself (and our babies).
“Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin.” Youtube Link
I took away a lot from that 90 minutes, particularly that Ethanol is a carbohydrate (that’s why I’m getting fat), why you can’t burn calories with exercise, and Roberts lifestyle intervention for fat kids:
That last one sure sounds difficult!
Now most of the votes in the 2010 UK Election are in, we can now look past the media spin and take a detailed look at how the results were counted. Raw data curtsey of BBC News.
Here are votes cast (i.e. popular vote) against seats gained in parliament.
The first question you might ask is why did Liberal Democrat supporters (like myself) lose 92 representatives?
This difference is caused by Britain’s First-past-the-post system which allows the incumbent to redraw constituency boundary’s for electoral gain in a process called Gerrymandering. Looking at the next chart its obvious that both the big political party’s (Conservative and Labour) benefit greatly from this practice.
With the pitiful state of British democracy, its no wonder that 35% of the electorate didn’t vote. This is the Elephant in the room that media and politicians don’t like to dwell on, because when you factor these people in, its clear to see no party received anything like a mandate to govern.
But who are the disenfranchised and why didn’t they vote?
This is why the Liberal Democrats must use their leverage in a hung parliament to force a deal on Proportional Representation, which would benefit the British electorate by allowing them to vote for who and what they like.
Follow up (9/5/2010)
Looking at the last 2005 election (despite how its been reported in the media), the Liberal Democrats took slightly more votes this time around (0.9% more) but managed to lose 5 seats. Perhaps this election was really decided when the electoral commission redrew the boundary lines in 2006.
Interesting comment in this weeks bugle about the way electoral lines are drawn in the UK and how they favour a labour majority. Here is a model showing Labour getting an 8 seat majority (largest party by 109 seats) from an even split of the popular vote (see Gerrymandering). As usual for a UK election I expect the complacently party to win my a mile.
“Insurance, security or extortion? The US is spending millions of dollars in Afghanistan to ensure its supply convoys get through – and it’s the Taliban who profit” (Guardian).
I project the end of the US social security in 2017.
Why?
Because that’s the year when social security stops running a yearly surplus and starts being a cost to the federal government. When the money men can no longer raid working peoples annual payments, and have to tell all those chumps who paid into the system all those years that they were wasting their time.
The government inflates the money supply to pay its own bills, destroying our savings and making me reliant on government handouts. Then, finally when comes to paying me back on my retirement the state comes up chumps.
Saving is a provision for the future. A nation that doesn’t save has no future.
Per capita, this is much worse for the UK.
From Channel 4 News:
“We’re inviting you to become you the lawmaker - to take part in creating new legislation. Next month MPs will hold a ballot for which of them gets to put forward a private member’s bill (PMBs). Those who win will be lobbied fervently by pressure groups and interested parties with their pet projects. But we want your suggestions. We’ll pick out the best and put them before the MPs with the power to take them forward. It can be anything you like - the abolition of the death penalty and the legalisation of abortion both started life as PMBs - but the bills with the most chance of success tend to ones that will command widespread support across parliament.
Email your ideas to us at more4news@channel4.com, and we’ll invite the senders of the best proposals to make a short film, which we’ll present to the winners of the ballot on 11 December.”
Here is my suggestion, on a topic which I feel quite strongly about…
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Bring back security of tenure for renters
What is it?
Security of tenure is the right of a tenant to continue living in their home after the term of their tenancy agreement has expired.
Why do we need it?
Right now millions of tenants are living in fear of evection if their landlord were ever to go bankrupt. People living in substandard accommodation can’t uphold their legal rights for fear of being thrown out of their homes.
If people want to settle down, find jobs and send their children to local schools, they don’t want this Sword of Damocles hanging over them. Hence the unnecessary pressure to buy property which has drawn millions into debt slavery and sowed the seed of the current housing crisis.
Background
Security of tenure is a common feature to European tenant law, and was so in Britain until Margaret Thatcher got rid of this in the late 1980’s. Additionally, her Right-to-buy policies had the added effect of devastating council housing availability for the one group of renters who still had security of tenure, i.e. council tenants (a policy expanded upon by New Labour).
My Story
Last year my landlord went bankrupt when his chemicals business folded, leaving sizable debts. My girlfriend was shocked to find out about this when, without warning, the bank delivered a repossession notice to our property.
“Don’t worry dear” I said, “we’re living in Germany”.
…And I was right, as the bank had no right of evection and repossessed the property while we were still living in it. Effectively nothing changed for us during the whole process and it was a real peace of mind.
I moved to Germany a few years ago to escape the worst of the house price boom, a software engineer effectively becoming an economic refugee.
In Germany I have first hand experience of German tenants upholding their statutory rights and enjoying a significantly better quality of life than their UK counterparts. Only buying property when it suits their personal circumstances, at more affordable levels and taking on less debt. Meaning that in the coming global rescission, at least they will be spared the misery of a domestic house price crash.
Conclusion
While Gordon Brown is spending tax payers money creating measures to help over indebted home owners, such a law would be a big help to British renters and wouldn’t cost the tax payer anything.
So MPs, forget for a moment your own Buy-to-let portfolios and think of the little people who just want a secure home to live in.
Regards
Mark
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I will be reporting on this at my usual haunts on HPC and GHPC.
A Dutch campaign for prevention of firework accidents or cutting edge commentary on Western cultural imperialism. You decide.
Most grimly dark British thing I’ve seen in a while. It tells the story of the build up to nuclear war from the perspective of the average person, and then the humanitarian disaster that comes afterward.
Truly shocking …And we were worried about the threat of terrorism?
Google video
A sign of things to come from the counter at Burger King in Bremen Main station:
The US government is busy trashing the dollar to help shrink its dollar denominated trade imbalances and short change its many creditors (both foreign and domestic).
My advice: Don’t hold dollars, don’t agree contracts in dollars (yea Airbus) and perhaps enjoy a cheap vacation to the US next year when the flights are cheaper due to the open sky’s agreement (fuel prices permitting).
