Safe and fast

Congratulations to the M4 Protest and Safe Speed crew on the successful M4 anti-speed camera protest today. Not only do we not want speed cameras on motorways, we want the speed limit increased to 80 mph and a focus on safe skilled driving, and an end to this obsession with raising revenue by enforcing outdated speed limits where any idiot can drive dangerously just so they are within the speed limit. The AA, the RAC, the Association of British Drivers and lots of us concur:

Motoring organisations are calling for an increase in the national speed limit on Britain’s motorways. Campaigners say the limit should be raised to 80mph — the speed at which many drivers routinely travel. Unless the limit is increased, they say, there is a danger that tens of thousands more drivers will be caught by speed cameras being newly installed on motorways to enforce the 70mph limit. The resulting increased number of prosecutions could lead to protests and to otherwise law-abiding motorists being unfairly penalised.

The RAC Foundation will this week begin preparing a campaign to raise the motorway limit to 80mph. “A limit of 80mph in good weather at a safe distance from the car in front is a safe speed,” said Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation. “Modern cars have better brakes and safety systems and can be driven safely at higher speeds — 80mph has been the common-law limit for almost a decade now. Until recently, at least, you were highly unlikely to be pulled over for doing anything up to 85mph.”

The RAC wants the government to raise the motorway limit and at the same time introduce a motorway driving exam as a supplementary test for all new drivers. The Department for Transport (DfT) said it would consider the RAC’s arguments. “We looked at the idea of raising the speed limit but it was ruled out on road safety grounds,” said a spokesman. “The government will now certainly consider the RAC Foundation proposal, and of course any decision will depend on who is in government in a few days’ time.”

The AA Motoring Trust, the campaigning arm of the Automobile Association, said it may add its voice to the campaign if the use of speed cameras spreads. “Many motorists who believe the limit is too low do not want it raised for fear of disturbing current enforcement custom and practice,” said Andrew Howard, the head of road safety for the AA Motoring Trust. “But if camera enforcement on motorways were to become widespread, it may be necessary to raise the speed limit.”

The Association of British Drivers (ABD) said the 70mph limit was outdated. “In 1965 when the 70mph limit was first introduced, 70mph represented more than 80% of the maximum speed of average cars,” a spokesman said. “Now it represents only 60%.”

A recent study of 1,000 drivers by the Transport Research Institute at Napier University, Edinburgh, and the Transport Research Laboratory in Crowthorne, Berkshire, found that the number of motorists driving at “excessive” speeds (more than 90mph) on the motorways had increased. Asked what was the fastest speed at which they would drive on the motorway and still feel safe, all interviewees gave speeds ranging from 80-100mph.

Enforcement of the 70mph limit on the motorway network is varied. Police have tended to turn a blind eye to drivers who break the limit by a margin of 10mph or less, and usually book only motorists exceeding 85mph. A transport department report found that more than half of all cars on motorways already exceed the speed limit and a fifth travel at more than 80mph.

Home and Away

Heading down south for the weekend. Back Sunday night. Have a nice weekend all of you.No, I am not going anyway near Gush Gatif.

Hampstead Ponds victory: We can swim when we like!

In what the great Michael Beloff QC has termed “a victory for common sense and self-reliance”, the High Court has ruled that the City of London Corporation was out of order in its attempts to cut back on pond swimming opening hours because it was not prepared to pay for the large number of lifeguards that the Corporation itself employed to cover its arse out of alleged fear of prosecution under Health and Safety regulations.

This was a test case so although it applied specifically to winter early morning swimming in the Mixed Pond by a registered club, the ruling means that in effect all three Heath swimming ponds could be once again open for swimming during all daylight hours all year without lifeguards present. Excellent news for those of us who like an evening swim in the summer. Even more widely, it reaffirms the idea that responsible adults are free to decide for themselves whether to pursue recreational activities involving an element of risk.

Mr Justice Stanley Burnton said that the City's decision was based on a legal error.

"If an adult swimmer, with knowledge of the risks of swimming, chooses to swim unsupervised, the risks they incur are the result of their decision and not of the permission to swim.”

"It follows that those risks are not the result of the conduct of the employer of his undertaking, and the employer is not liable to be convicted of an offence."

"The swimmers will be under no compulsion or pressure to incur the risks involved in self-regulated swimming. They will do so of their own free will."

The judge spoke out in favour of “individual freedom” and against the imposition of "a grey and dull safety regime.

This may well also mean that the ludicrous Corporation proposals of charging swimmers through a ‘voluntary’ pay and display ticket can now be scrapped.

Let’s hope that the Corporation has learned its lesson and will indeed not appeal.

Helping out

I goofed off work today to help a friend move down south. I'm sure that in time my back will heal and my body will replace the lost flesh from my right hand. I will state something else though. Israelis can and are the kindest people on the planet when trouble strikes. Let nobody say different.

P.S Trapped my hand under a fish tank. Apart from the police stopping us twice in one morning for routine checks and getting stuck in a massive holiday traffic jam, neighbours came to help with bandages and the rest of the loading.

US closes book on Iraq WMD hunt

Remember WMDs? Oh no, of course not, it was all a strong desire to being democracy to the Middle East. Oh, and to get rid of dictators unless they're on our side.

Is Gaza part of Israel?

I would have thought that any debate over the status of Gaza should have preceded any settlement building rather than occur just as we're about to leave the place. What was it an unknown American politician once said?

Israel is adept at getting out of situations that most nations would not have gotten into.

I note that Syria seems to have gone from Lebanon at long last. I just wish they'd taken Hezbollah with them.

Leg of lamb before wicket

The first day of Passover was also the start of the cricket season in the nearby cricket clubs we can see from our place. It reminds me of when I was a London newbie I met an NJB who was a keen cricket fan. I was missing my baseball. We agreed an exchange. I took him to a baseball game (between teams of US marines at Copthall in Mill Hill – the real thing, not softball) and explained the rules to him. He took me to a cricket match at The Oval and explained the rules to me and gave me a most useful and entertaining cribsheet which I still have. It reads:

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.

Each cricketer that’s in the side that’s in goes out and when the cricketer is out that cricketer comes in and the next cricketer goes in until they are out.

When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in out.

Sometimes you get cricketers still in and not out.

When both sides have been in and out, including the not outs…

that’s the end of the game.

Shabbat and Pesach

Seasons greetings to you all especially Cathy, my friend and blog partner. No posts from me until Monday.

No smoking and no smoking wood ovens

On the brink of Pesach, a chametz story.



Another Italian tradition may bite the dust. Cigarette smoking has been banned in public places (good). Now wood-burning pizza and bread ovens look set to disappear (bad). Only ovens that meet stringent new EU anti-pollution standards will be allowed to be used. Those ovens that do meet the emission controls must be re-certified every year.

Image courtesy of The Hotel Restaurant Pietro a Metrano in Sorrento whose delightfully fractured English I can’t resist sharing with you:

“The Hotel Restaurant "Pietro a Metrano" is located in the wide spacious place, same as all the rooms and overlooking the gulf of Sorrento Peninsula. It is perfect for weddind, receptions and bankets. We are offering a large selection dishes and wines. All our vegetables and fruits are organically grow. You could have a choice of 25 types of pizzas!!! A homely atmosphere is created by management offers you type of food you desire. You could win a free dinner for each table in our Restaurant.”

Gorgeous George versus Oona King

This looks like an interesting fight. New Labour versus Old Labour pehaps? Gorgeous George is Mr Galloway, derided as a corrupt Saddam supporter and Oona King is the Labour candidate standing in Bethnal Green, the old Jewish area in Bow, London.

Even though I was against the war, I would turn out to fight for Oona. What al-Muhajiroun have against George I do not understand at all.

Chametz

I can safely say that workplace is chametz free. It looks lovely and clean as well. I shall spend tomorrow in Tiberius with a customer as compensation.

Archaeologist finds 'oldest porn statue'

7,5000 year old porn? A male statue has been found with the sexual organs shown. A corresponding female one (or the bits of) was also found. The conclusion that this is porn is not certain of course. Perhaps they were teaching aids.

The reason this thought came into my head was a report , also by the Gruaniad , that Japanese married couples don't seem to have sex anymore. A company has sensed a niche market here and is now providing counselling for the female partner and a dishy date complete with hotel room.

The divorce rate has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, with more women blaming their sexually inactive, as opposed to sexually errant, husbands for break-ups.

Porn won't help of course. Japan is awash in the stuff albeit rather strange publications .

Pope Elected

I can't believe it. German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is named as the 265th pope, to be known as Benedict XVI. Benedict was quite an activist in his day.

From fascism to…fascism in the East End or Vote King and country

Gorgeous George is at it again, standing for Parliament as a Gorgeous Party (sorry Respect) candidate against the current Labour MP Oona King in a largely Islamic East End constituency. His latest bright idea: Tariq Aziz is a political prisoner who should be freed instead of standing trial for crimes against humanity.

Nick Cohen’s fascinating piece compares GG to Mosley and has a devastating account of the old SWP trots behind GG’s ‘new’ Respect party who are tying themselves up er, trying to reconcile their atheist anti-capitalism with support for muslim fundamentalism (including Diedres wearing burkas, fnar) in order to attract votes. The incident of Respect supporters chanting and throwing eggs at Jewish survivors of the V2 attack is despicable.

Here are some extracts:

In 1935, in London's East End, Sir Oswald Mosley, a former Labour MP and moustachioed loudmouth, addressed members of the British Union of Fascists, the cult he had founded to worship his personality. 'The yelling mob of socialists and communists are paid by the Jews,' he yelled at his mob. 'The big Jew finances and controls the old parties, both Conservative and socialists; the little Jew sweats you in the sweatshop.'

In 2005, in London's East End, George Galloway, a former Labour MP and moustachioed loudmouth, is urging supporters of Respect to propel him back to power. Just as Mosley bent the knee to the fascist leaders of his day, so Galloway bent the knee to Saddam Hussein when he flew to Baghdad and burbled: 'Sir, I salute your courage, strength and indefatigability.’

Fascism, that is, an extreme nationalism which wages genocidal campaigns against 'impure' ethnic minorities and restless wars of aggression against its neighbours, flourished in Iraq. The Baath party's ideologues were as inspired by Nazi Germany as Sir Oswald.

To add to the foul atmosphere, there's a whiff of old hatreds in the air. Oona King, the Labour candidate, is getting fed up with Respect supporters bringing up her Jewish mother, although she says it makes a change from the British National Party bringing up her black father. Last week, King and a group of mainly Jewish pensioners gathered for a 60th anniversary memorial service for the 132 people who died in the last V2 rocket attack on London in 1945. Muslim youths spat and threw eggs at the mourners and shouted: 'You fucking Jews.'

The media never tell you but Respect isn't a new organisation but is dominated by the old Socialist Workers Party, which ran the anti-war movement. After the great demonstrations against the war, it hoped for electoral gains. In the May 2003 council elections, it flopped. The only seat it won was in Preston, where local priests ordered Muslims to vote for their candidate.

The Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club: Ratzinger FAQ

Cardinal Ratzinger was not a Nazi. He was in the Hitler Youth though. Hmm. Isn't that one and the same thing? I can't see him making a trip to Yad Vashem if he becomes Pope.

The final word on the Royal Wedding. 

Electing a Pope

According to TradeSports, the next Pope will be Italian with the next most likely countries being Germany and Brazil.

Labour should have fought back on immigration, says Euan Blair's girlfriend

Someone to watch. I am getting rather alarmed about the proposed boycott of links with Israeli academia that comes up for a vote this week. Just before Pesach as well.

Simon Hoggart's diary

Assuming time space is firmly back where it should be here is a fascinating sketch by Simon Higgart.

Years ago I interviewed Denis Healey, then chancellor of the exchequer, for a profile in this paper. I asked if he saw any country as a role model for Britain, and to my surprise, he replied "Austria".

Lord save us. What a fate.
On the Labour Manifesto.

How on earth does "more power for parish council wardens" find itself ahead of "support Middle East peace process"? Or why is "convict those planning terrorist activity" languishing behind "Britain the best place to make films"?

Finally, I never knew Ted Heath was such a shit.

Books are right tonic for depression

Anything – especially to do with books – that helps people wean themselves off prozac and similar and take more active responsibility for their health is fine by me. Next stage: GPs prescribing walking, gym and sports for depression instead of pills.

“A health scheme in West Yorkshire that prescribes books instead of medicine has secured extra funding to employ three members of staff. "Bibliotherapists" were introduced into libraries by Kirklees Council ('Uddersfield and vicinity) in a bid to tackle depression and anxiety. The council launched the book therapy scheme five years ago.

The novel scheme [very droll, ed] encourages people to dose themselves with a good book instead of pills. Therapists work with health agencies to identify who would benefit from reading sessions to overcome stress. In the five years that the scheme has been running 2000 group reading sessions have taken place, 350 one-to-one sessions have been held and more than 150 new participants join the service each year.”

Full throttle regardless

Yesterday speed cameras were switched on for bits of the M4 motorway in Wiltshire, in spite of growing evidence indicating such cameras do not save lives on main roads and motorways, they only raise revenue. This is the first use of speed scameras on a motorway other than road works and the M25 orbital.

This follows on from vehemently anti-car group Transport 2000 - or more accurately Transport 2000BC - calling for one of the most popular UK TV programmes to be axed because it glorifies one of my, er, driving passions: driving fast cars fast. These sad angry luddites want Top Gear replaced by a programme called Third Gear which would promote sensible practices of bus riding or going from place to place by horse and cart. Oh no that releases too much methane so everyone will just have to walk. People's lives are complicated and diverse, as are their transport needs. A proper transport policy takes into account such diversity. Even worse, 2000BC do not seem to do happiness, pleasure, passion or fun.

2000BC’s attempts to curry favour with women by saying Top Gear is sexist and does not cater for women drivers is not only idiotic (yes we know Clarkson et al are lads, we just want to see and drive the cars!), but patronising and condescending and seriously underestimates the numbers of women petrolheads. For effs sake over 15,000 of us applied for the Formula Woman event last year and the number of girl racers continues to grow.

Google Sightseeing

Interesting idea. You can even see the nuke test site craters and a very strange triangle someplace.

Coincidence

A group of people came to sit at my table at lunchtime. My immediate neighbour was an organic farmer from Somerset, my own county in England. He has a box scheme with around 150 customers. Now that is a very interesting idea.

Tony Blair's campaign diary: The Labour Party: Britain, forward not back

Tony Blair has a blog? Can't be for real can it?

Guardian Unlimited: Election 2005

The Guardian has a election blog. I shall be watching and wondering if they have sub editors for blogs.

Disagreements

In my dead tree version of Ha'Aretz, the headline was 'at loggerheads' which seems a little strong. I have nothing useful to say about the meeting between Bush and Sharon so instead, I can explain what a loggerhead is.

On a sailing ship, some repairs required hot tar. An open flame being not a good idea, a metal ball with a long wooden shaft was placed in the galley fire to allow the ball to heat up. This was then carried by the wooden handle to where the tar was and used to heat it up. This device was called a 'loggerhead'.

On some ships, disagreements between shipmates sometimes led to fights. Open fighting was a punishable offence so an accepted alternative was for the two sailors to take swipes at one another using loggerheads. Hence the term 'at loggerheads'.

I knew you wanted you know that.

Moving on and out

Another interview tomorrow and I'm studying hard. This is the first time I've been looking for a job while in employment. We shall see. Whilst I am posting I would like to contrast the 'leftie' method of demonstration with that of the anti disengagement people.

• We get permission first
• We don't block traffic
• We always co-operate with local security.
• We persuade and educate.

Having said that, there aren't very many of us. Even though the polls say a majority of Israelis favour a pullout from Gaza and the West bank, they don't turn up on a Saturday night.

BBC NEWS - Work bloggers offered guidelines

The Beeb points to some guidelines for bloggers. The Electronic Frontier Foundation relevant article is here.

In summary:

• Don't blog at work
• Stay anonymous.
• Don't Be Googleable

That's all a bit hard but probably good advice.

Bog Irish

101 years ago in Limerick there was a violent anti-Jewish pogrom led by a Jew-hating Catholic priest. Now, Jew-hating campaigners may succeed in getting Limerick to declare itself a Caterpillar-free zone in order to punish an evil company for doing business with the evil zionist entity. I guess any earth-moving, construction or road-building in Limerick will revert to being done in the traditional manner with shovels and buckets. Yeah, that'll show 'em...

It's Shabbat

Just shows how acclimatized I am. Mixing concrete on Shabbat makes me feel guilty. Still, my next door neighbour got me to fix her kitchen tap. We speak in French. I am so tired now I'm going to have a nice cup of tea and a lie down. Gush Shalom stuff can wait till I wake up. She Who Must be Massaged has taken some friends for a treat. I wonder if they will survive.

Treaties that the USA does not like.

Here's a list of treaties the USA objects to.

The Convention on Consular Relations. This was a USA proposed treaty back in the 60's. The current USA objection is that it got some people off death row because the USA hadn't complied with the section on allowing foreigners to have consular access. A bit like picking your ball up and walking off the field.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Should be a familiar read to most Americans. I have no idea what the problem with this one is.
The Convention on Discrimination Against Women. Very dodgy here. Woman having the same rights of men. Shurely not.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child. The USA is firmly lined up with Somalia on this one. Child labour must be good for the character.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Control. Of course, climate change is perfectly natural. Commies trying to damage our industry.
The Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court. I've covered this here.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Let those nukes go!
The Land Mine Ban Treaty. Hey, good for the prosthetics industry.
The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. Terrorists have right too!

Makes you proud to be American.

Darth Vader declines a second cup of tea…

…from my e-friend Chas Griffin who encountered DV in Wales. Chas swears it was definitely him, although DV had lost a lot of weight and tried disguise himself in green-blue (not his colour).

Chas, by the way, is a fabulously entertaining and funny writer. He is one of those lucky few people who have self-published their first book to great acclaim and popularity and then have it picked by a major publishing house for a new edition. His Scenes from a Smallholding will be published next month by Ebury, an imprint of Random House. Scenes is a very amusing yet practical and useful account of ‘downshifting’ and starting an organic smallholding literally from scratch. It is so compelling and page-turning that you do not need to be an aspiring smallholder to immensely enjoy it.

Before the new edition is published you can acquire what will no doubt become a very rare first edition of Scenes directly from Chas. Here you can read extracts, see some of the characterful illustrations, read glowing reviews from around the world and even buy the book.

ICC gets started

Today, Kofi Annan hands over a list of suspects to the Chief Prosecutorof the ICC. I was pleased that the USA abstained from the Security Council vote to refer this case to the ICC. Israel has signed the treay but has not ratified it.

The USA has a number of objections to this institution which I hope will pass with time. It's about 50 years later than it should be of course. Here is an article which explains some if Israel's objections to the court. Expecting it to handle drug trafficing and terrorism is just plain silly. There is still no legally acceptable definition of terrorism and I imagine it will remain like pornography. I know it when I see it.

Here is a statement of the objections from the USA. Given that a case cannot start without Security council permission I find these remarks mindless. The Sudanese must be very pleased wuth the USA right now. They can always claim 'it's a political court'.

Here's another article with some myths and facts.

• MYTH: The Court will take on politically motivated cases against U.S. citizens or soldiers.
• MYTH: The Court will violate U.S. Constitutional protections of due process
• MYTH: The Court threatens sovereignty because it claims jurisdiction over citizens of countries, like the United States, that haven't ratified its treaty.
• FACT: The Court will have no jurisdiction over crimes committed on U.S. soil unless the United States ratifies its treaty.
• MYTH: The Court will have jurisdiction over past crimes and will second-guess past U.S. foreign policy decisions
• FACT: The ICC will not have any authority over past crimes: its jurisdiction began when the ICC Treaty entered into force, on July 1, 2002.
• MYTH: The Court will deter the United States from taking military action around the world to protect its national interests.
• MYTH: The Court will be accountable to a rogue's gallery of undemocratic states.
• MYTH: The Court will be used to pursue politically motivated cases against Israel.

Lastly, what do China, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Qatar, Israel and the USA all have in common? They all do not like the ICC. The idea that Israel and the USA have anything in common with those places makes my stomach turn.

Vandals desecrate Rabin's grave

Busy people it seems. They've also had a go at Herzl's grave as well. The summer promises to be warmer than usual.

The Conservative Voice - News

Please. Somebody tell me this is a spoof site like Landover Baptist.

U.S. says Israel must give up nukes

Take no notice of the man behind the curtain.

John Paul II 1978 - 2005

Requiescat in pace. Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.

Sore walker

We both managed a 14 klick walk in the Gilboa hills today. Very English weather even down to the April showers. The walk itself was very well managed with water points, 6 tons of oranges halfway, security patrols on horseback and optional drumming. Impressive in it's scope and the number of people who attended a iffy day.

She Who Must be Listened to was incensed when queueing to pay, by the lady in front who complained about the 30 shekel entry charge. We thought it was excellent value. At the halfway point, there was a stand asking for support to stop the bulding of a 300 house settlement in the National park there. We signed up. Then , I drifted across to an empty stand to see what he was opffering and to my amazement, he was there to put the other side. They can't be both right and they both made plausible cases for and against. The man in charge of pro wants to build his house out of mud as it's supposed to be an eco village. I'd like to come and watch.

New Labour lines up countryside role for Charles; Camilla to be rebranded

After the Prince’s sotto voce indiscretions yesterday, today we learn that Chazza will help the next Labour government and Camma will be the new face of Duchy Original biscuits….

“Tony Blair is planning to offer Prince Charles the role of "countryside tsar" in a third-term Labour government, the Guardian has learned. The offer - to be announced on the eve of Charles's wedding to his long-term lover, Camilla - is intended to give the prince some hands-on experience of running something in preparation for his future role as king.

"The prince is understood to have made it a condition of taking the job that a third term Labour government would reverse its ban on fox hunting. One Downing Street source said: "Tony's very relaxed about it, so long as it can be re-branded as a sport for the many, not the few."

"The culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, has already been in discussions with Clarence House about how to open up fox hunting to a more diverse, less elitist, group of participants. "It's about giving kids on housing estates the same opportunities to hunt as posh children from the home counties," said one culture department source.

"Ministers close to Tony Blair were both surprised and delighted when the prince offered to accept 200 caravans from the controversial site at Crays Hill in Essex on a large plot at Poundbury, his showpiece development in Dorset.

"Labour insiders hope that Camilla could play a role along side the prince in wooing disaffected rural voters.

"The feeling is, it works both ways," said a Cabinet Office source. "It's good for us, but it also helps re-brand Camilla as a jam-maker rather than a home-breaker." Private surveys for the prince, conducted by the polling firm Yo, Guv!, show that Mrs Parker Bowles has a positive image rating with the public exceeded only by the Queen among female royals. One plan being discussed at Highgrove is to gradually reposition the prince's wife as the public face of the Duchy Originals biscuit range. It is thought that the stem ginger brand will be the first to carry her portrait."