A YouGov plc poll of 1,765 adults in the UK discovered the following based on the question.

"The Government is proposing identity cards costing around £5billion. What do you think the money should be spent on?"

ID cards as planned 15%
Cutting the basic rate of income tax by 1p for one year 19%
Increasing the state pension by £8 a week for one year 36%
None of these 24%
Don’t know 5%

How long before the Government realises that no one but them wants this scheme?

Ram.

Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow recieving a light from Harold Wilson. This was taken during the 1964 General election where he stood in Harold Wilson's Huyton constituency. He recieved 518 votes on behalf of the National Teenage Party. The voting age in the UK was 21 until the Representation of the People Act of 1969 lowered the age to 18.

It was in 1983 that Screaming Lord Sutch founded the Monster Raving Loony party, mainly on the grounds that 'there is nothing more monstrous than politicians'. The Monster Raving Loony party may never be taken seriously as a party but that is their point. They satirise democracy and all the failings of Government, they rattle off many hilarious pledges in their 'manicfestos', including some ideas actually taken up (lowering voting age and 24 hour pubs).

They say that the jester is the only person at court who can speak the truth without having their heads cut off. Long may this jester continue with their important work.

Problems in mathematics

Today the Government launches The Low Carbon Transition Plan White Paper, which should detail how the UK is going to meet their targets agreed by the Kyoto Protocol, The Climate Change Act and the agreements of the G8.

Now, as we all know from the recent G8 meeting, it was agreed that developed countries should reduce their greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050 to prevent more than two degrees of global warming.

George Monbiot does some helpful mathematics on this subject which I shall paraphrase here.

Total global C02 emissions = 29196 million tonnes

Total Developed Countries C02 emissions = 14982 million tonnes (51% of global emissions). It is this figure that is proposed to be reduced by 80%, shaving 11986 million tonnes (41% of total) from the total global output and reducing their emissions to 2996 million tonnes.

The G8 has also called for a GLOBAL cut of 50% (14598 million tonnes) by 2050, meaning the Developing Countries will have to cut the other 2612 million tonnes of the 50% to reach that target. This is only roughly 9% of the total global carbon emissions.

However, there is the problem of Carbon trading and offsetting, something I forsaw would be a problem as soon as I learned about it. The way the UK proposes achieving the cut of 80% is to offset at least half of it, meaning they would in reality only be reducing their emissions to 5993 million tonnes. Developing countries would then have to reduce their emissions by 5993 million tonnes as well. If you add that to the amount they already have to reduce by:

50% (14598 million tonnes) of GLOBAL emissions need to be cut:
5993 by Developed Countries
5993 Offset by Developed Countries to Developing Countries
2612 by Developing Countries

= 5993 (roughly 40%) for Developed Countries
= 8605 (roughly 60%) for Developing Countries

So those who produce the 51% of all emissions, have to reduce less than those who produce 49%. Perhaps there is a bigger picture I am missing here.

1181984

By next week 118800 will have a directory of all mobile phone numbers in the UK. Anyone may search for your number and it will be texted to them. This means you may be subjected to cold calling to your mobile or worse.

The BBC discuss this and as lawyers point out, this kind of service should require people's consent rather than automatically doing it and giving people a small window to opt out. Had I not heard of this I would be on that directory.

Go now to 118800 website and opt out of this directory. Select 'ex-directory' on the tabs at the top and follow the instructions. Do it before the end of the week.

Honestly this is the kind of thing that really annoys me, I do not care how secure they tell me it is I DO NOT WANT MY NUMBER ON THE DIRECTORY AND YOU NEVER ASKED MY PERMISSION FOR IT TO BE.

Grrrr.

Ram.