August 31, 2012

Brothers In Arms

Not since my army days have I known a bond as strong. I don't suppose I ever will again. It is unique.

This created a lump in my throat. Forget the why's and wherefore's for a moment and watch this goodbye.



I know you don't all agree with war. None of us can agree with those senseless deaths.

But can we agree that this is a righteous farewell?

CR.


Ponder These....

Some great piccie theft this week.








Possibly the best photo bomb ever.



Not a lizard. Likes riding them though.




There you have it. Take the piss. It annoys them.






Works for every British newspaper, BBC, ITV, Ch 4, Sky etc etc.


Amen.



Amen again.






Not just the useless Labour Party. The useless coalition carried it on.











Late addition (Thanks to Skip and ArtCo):
















More piss and vinegar next week as the House of Corruption resumes "work" on Monday.

Deep joy.

CR.

August 29, 2012

Are We There yet?

Are we living the Orwellian nightmare?



Only you can decide.

And, ironically, only you can do something about it.

If you think you can't, then you can't.

If you are waiting for a hero I can tell you that he/she is not coming to rescue you. If you are waiting for "the right time" I can tell you that the right time never comes.

Civil disobedience can be satisfying, peaceful and hugely damaging. It is also worthwhile. If you desire change, that is.

Do you dare to be disobedient? Note the overtly paternal rebuke. Children "disobey", adults revolt.

Many commenters say I am wrong. Many say that violence is the only answer. I disagree. For now. You don't need to put yourselves at risk. You can unleash hell from the comfort of your armchair, using tools like your brain, your keyboard, and a tiny word that has more power than you can possibly conceive.

That word is "No".

Try it out. You will be amazed at the dumbfounded looks on the faces of the Borg.

Tip of the beret to fellow Awkward Sod Captain Swing for his great video.

CR.

August 28, 2012

Dear The Police

This is a public service broadcast. Please pay attention.

This, is a lion:














This, is a cat:















And while we're on about recognition, these people, are all traitors:















So is this chap:













Now that you know who the bad guys are, we insist that you do the needful. All but one of them are alive alive-o, so there should be no issues locating them. They are all fairly high profile but don't let that deter you. Treason is still a crime. One of the most serious on the Rolls.

Get to it.

This public service broadcast was sponsored by rage, disgust, disappointment and despair.

CR.

August 27, 2012

Pictures To Ponder

Or not.

They have one thing in common: I stole them all.







The short version: Man Up & Carry On.





Coolest. Mobility. Scooter. Ever.




Sounds a bit like lefty propaganda to me.




Keep voting, and they stay in control.






More of that "Much respected British justice" we keep hearing about.



I lolled, I did.







Late entry No 1:




















Late entry No 2:





















Okay, okay, one more:






This will have the drones fainting in their millions....













Have a super week.

CR.

The Eighth Age Of Britain

Reposted from December 2009.

(I wondered if it was still relevant, and thought some of our newer readers might like to see it).

Here you go:

As I sit here in front of my computer, looking out over snow-covered farms (thank Yahweh for global warming), yet another helicopter overflies my house, bound for the North Sea with 18 men and women on board. They will spend New Year exploring the sea bed for more oil or they will spend the time on a production platform ensuring that the black gold continues to head back to the refineries of Britain. I wonder how long those helicopters will continue to move people to and from those installations as we race towards peak oil. I wonder about the future of our nation a lot these days. What will it look like ten, twenty, or thirty years down the road?

Sometimes, to know where we are going, we need to know where we have been, and where we came from. My interest in history has increased exponentially of late. So, much to the chagrin of my herd, I parked my arse in front of the telly box yesterday and watched all seven one hour episodes of Bettany Hughes "Seven Ages Of Britain". It was fascinating, to say the least, and I thoroughly enjoyed the nine thousand year romp through our islands' history. If you get the chance, please watch it. If, like so many, you imagine that you have pure British blood coursing through your veins, you are in for a disappointment. Up to 40% of our DNA is Middle Eastern. We truly are a mongrel nation, and no amount of posturing by the BNP will change that fact.

The past is what it was. We cannot alter that, but we do have a say in what will be. Yesterday, my free copy of "Ten Years On- Britain Without The European Union" arrived, courtesy of The Taxpayers Alliance and it is, predictably, an incredible little book. It was, and is, my belief that the vast majority of Britons (can we still call ourselves that?) have absolutely no idea just how far those EU tentacles reach. For an idea of just how encroaching these unelected thieves are, here is a quote:

"If you traded something, made something, sold something, ran something, policed something, protected something, transported something, communicated something, fished something, grew something, burnt something, buried something, stored something, repaired something, bought something, spent something, exchanged something, taught something, learned something, powered something, healed something, published something, researched something, reported something, supported something, Brussels had a say in it".

We have managed without belonging to a European Superstate for over 2,000 years. This book asks if we can continue to manage without them. Their conclusion, unsurprisingly, mirrors my own: Yes, yes, yes indeed. We "voluntarily" pay in £60 million every day of every week of every month, every year. We get very little of the freshly laundered money back. And this at a time when we so desperately need to take care of our own, government created, debt. If ever there was a good time to say goodbye to the EU, it is now.


So I wondered what the Eighth Age Of Britain would look like to my grandchildren, or their grandchildren. Except we are no longer called Britain. Don't worry, that will be beaten out of us in the next five to ten years, along with our childish need to use our "British pounds". Feet and inches clearly belong to savages, as do silly things like miles and pounds and ounces. We will be assimilated, for there can only be one way, one rule, one law. Will future generations, bar-coded, tagged, micro-chipped and GPS'ed, (for their own safety, of course), look back with a wry shake of the head, and say "Can you believe they resisted for so long for such an out-moded concept as freedom?". We are being encouraged, right now, to take snapshots of buildings that dare to burn lights when no-one is in, and send them off to Stasi Central, so the Righteous can punish the miscreants. Our children are being interrogated at school on mum and dads behaviour. Do they smoke? Do they drink? Do they strap you in when driving? Do they recycle? If the kids answer incorrectly, an "Intervention Unit" will be along smartly to re-educate.

There must be an upside, surely? Yup. We now have no borders. We no longer need to show identification to travel within Europe. Give it a try, why don't you? I can't even fly from Aberdeen to fucking London with waving my passport at someone in a uniform. How the hell do I get to Prague, or Hamburg, or Amsterdam without showing the Stasi that I am a legitimate European? The law says that I do not need a passport to leave or enter my own country, unless we are at war with a sovereign nation. The last time I looked, no such condition existed. It hasn't, in fact, since the end of WWII. Our "differences" with other nations have been mere "conflicts" or "disputes". Understatements all, particularly when you consider how many brave servicemen and women gave their lives, their legs, their eyes or their sanity, to take part in these "disputes". I was fortunate during my seven years with the British Army not to visit those places where lead poisoning at the speed of sound was prevalent. I sort of regretted that at the time, but not any longer. Today, I wouldn't risk a fingernail for this country. It is no longer mine. It is no longer ruled by the monarch I served. It is no longer governed by British politicians. It no longer has control over her own destiny. On 1st December 2009 we entered servitude. We became serfs of the superstate. 61 million people lost their nationhood, their identities, their ethnicity, their law, their opinions, and their freedom.

Will our grandchildren thank us for this? Will they say we did the right thing by doing absolutely nothing to prevent this cancerous growth? Will they say we were right not to rebel?

I think not.

Welcome to Britains Eighth Age. The Age Of Control. The Age Of Serfdom.

This is slavery in all but name.

I am disgusted with you. I am disgusted that you stood by and allowed this to happen.

I am disgusted with myself. I am disgusted that I stood by and allowed this to happen.

But mostly, I am frightened for my children. And their children.

At best, I have another 30 years to endure this. My death releases me, but before that time comes, I will fight. And fight.

And fight.

CR.

August 26, 2012

Dear Lefties

You are wrong about many, many things, but some of those errors need correction.

Here is a short list:

1. Free prescriptions are not free.
2. Free healthcare is not free.
3. Those benefits you claim are not free.
4. The NHS is not free.
5. Rent free housing is not free.
6. The government owns no land.
7. The government has no money.
8. The government does not generate revenue.
9. The government owns no buildings.
10. Taxpayers pay for everything.

Every time you whine for more, people like me end up with a little less. Hard-working people are robbed every month to support your idle lifestyle.

That £1.2 million house the council put you in? We paid for that.

That plasma TV, that washing machine, that fridge and that cooker? We paid for those.

Those benefits you get every week? We paid those.

Don't get me wrong here. I know we have to support those who need a leg up from time to time, but do we have to carry you for your whole three score and ten? Really? How does that make you feel? Can you look yourself in the mirror every day and feel any sense of pride whatsoever?

I am not talking about the genuinely needy. I am not talking about the elderly. I am not talking about the vulnerable. Any society must be judged on how it takes care of those in need. I both agree with that and I applaud it.

It is those who will not work. Those who will make no effort whatsoever.

Newsflash: the world owes you fuck all.

You do not have a right to a job any more than you have a right to sit on your arse all day long while bozos like me pay for you to do so.

I've been there and done that. I recall a time when I didn't even have one ha'penny to rub against anything. There was no work in my town. Things looked bleak. You know what I did? I moved to a town where there was work. It took a couple of months but I sorted myself out. I took shitty jobs rather than take the dole for longer than was absolutely necessary. I discovered that once you are working more opportunities open up for you. Radical, I know, but the satisfaction of taking care of you and your own, is fantastic.

But FFS stop going on and on about everything being free. It isn't.

You are just half of the problem. The government is the other half. They waste money in mind-blowing quantities. It's almost as if they are trying to win some sort of award for pissing away the most money ever.

I am sick and tired of paying for their incompetency and your idleness.

I don't mind chipping in, but as more and more people come from foreign shores, expecting to be gifted whatever they need, and nationals just taking the piss generally, my "chipping in" looks more and more like direct support. Is it any wonder I don't want to be robbed of 80% of my earnings?

As far as I am concerned, the less I allow them to steal, the less they have to hand out to the feckless. The less they have to give to India for space programmes. The less they have to give to Brazil, the same Brazil in South America that produces all that oil. The same Brazil that can and will host the Olympic Games in 2016. They do not need our money. Cancel all those cheques. Tell them no.

Those faux charities. Those quangos. Those ineffective NGO's. That Foreign Aid. The same Foreign Aid that buys AK-47's by the container-load for the latest up and coming warlord. I am tired of funding them.

The EU. More wasted money. Unbelievable amounts of our money gets sent across to that thieving outfit.

Failed and failing banks. Untold amounts of our tax go on those bastards. Let them die.

What we need is a prime minister with titanium nuts. One who will happily admit that our "generosity" is killing us. One who will make the changes this country needs to thrive and survive.

Here's another newsflash: it ain't Cameron. It ain't Millibland either. The Conservatives, and that bastard traitor Heath started us down this ruinous path in 1972, and Labour just kept on truckin'. The LibDems are a waste of oxygen. The Conservatives in coalition with the LibDems is an embarrassment to us all.

What we need are politicians that care more for their country than they do for their parties.

Then, and only then, will any progress be made.

Update

Most of this is apropos:-























CR.

PS-I digressed a bit here and there, but you should know this: if any statement caused even the mildest blush, then YOU are part of the problem. Take some responsibility, FFS.


August 24, 2012

More Insanity From The EU

Just when you thought The Stupid Club couldn't get any stupider....


...they do this.

The headline, and the most important thing, is that they will force us all to have smart meters at a cost of €51 billion but the "savings" will be €41 billion, at best.

This is like manufacturing a product for £10 and selling it for £7. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Look:

"The Brattle Group consulting firm estimated in a 2009 study that rolling out smart meters across European households would cost €51 billion by 2020. With energy savings estimated at €26 billion to €41 billion, this would leave a margin of €10 billion to €25 billion between benefits and costs."

It is utter madness, but then, madness is built into their DNA. They rarely do anything that makes sense.

You may recall that I have been battling with my (now ex) energy supplier. I had complained about the amount they were billing (£357 per month) and about their illegal "Environmental & Social" charge which was somewhere between 9 and 12% of the annual bill. The supplier investigated itself and magically, they decided that they were whiter than white. I then complained to the ombudsman and lo and behold, they said that my supplier was whiter than white. They did, however, read my complaint wrongly. Their reply, which I received a couple of weeks ago, incorrectly assumed that I was complaining about a product. I was not. My letter is clear: I wanted to know who gave them the right to charge the additional 9-12% per annum. I will write to them again, using words and sentences that an intellectually challenged gibbon could read with ease and I will let you know what they say.

My new supplier charges me £43 per month.

Oh, and it will be a cold day in hell before I allow them to fit a smart meter in my home. I have enough of Big Brother on the streets without inviting him in. The smart meters are operated remotely and switch off your stuff if they feel it shouldn't be switched on.

I don't have to put up with that. None of us do.

At the risk of repeating myself, try saying "No".

CR.

Please note:

Because of one moron I have had to switch on comment moderation. He is 100% wrong with his assertions about who I am or where I live. This harms another soul who has done nothing other than help me when I asked him to. If the troll stays away I will be able to remove moderation. He must be a lefty. If life doesn't go exactly his way, we all have to suffer.

August 22, 2012

War Is Good Business

Ever wondered who profits from those countless, needless deaths?

Wonder no more.







Click to embiggen.












Image taken from here and a tip of the beret is due to the anonymous poster for leaving us the link in the Let Them Fail blogpost..

Your taxes are paying for the slaughter. The next time you get a demand from the taxman, you might want to consider saying no.

CR.

Mid Week Pix

Some funny, some...not so much.




























Be well,

CR.

August 20, 2012

Dawning Realisation

"Not before time", some of you will say.

I'm naturally positive and I tend to look at the upside but these days there is precious little good stuff to observe.

London 2012 took our eye off the political ball and when it was over, politicians of every stripe rushed off to foreign climes to top up their tans. The House of Commons is in recess but what has been bothering me of late, is this:

Legislation continues to pour forth...

How is that number at the bottom left hand side of the page still climbing? At 9 am on 1st January 2012 we started with zero. Just eight months into the year we find that 2,691 2,711 2,713* new Acts or Statutory Instruments have been created and given the force of law. I know, like you will after you glance at the page, that the vast majority of these SI's are mundane things. That is not my worry. My worry is that with no MPs sitting, who has ratified/signed off on these SI's while the MPs are all on holiday? It strikes me that if something is given the force of law there has to be some oversight. Someone to carry the can. If they are being signed off by civil servants how can we be certain that something more sinister isn't introduced while we are not paying attention?

*My apologies. I looked away for an hour or two. In that time they managed to ejaculate another 20 22. If they trend like last week it will be around 2,820 by Friday afternoon. By December 31st it will be a jaw-dropping 4,320 for 2012. This will beat last years Coalition record of 4,116.

The HoC and its attendant lickspittles are quite literally a law unto themselves. We know that the monarchs power was diluted severely following the Parliament Act of 1911, and that the Lords were seriously curtailed with the House of Lords Act of 1999. When you decrease or remove powers granted under the constitution to the monarch and the HoL it increases the power of those 650 in the House of Commons. This gives them carte blanche to do what they will. Without any fear of retribution they do just that. No-one, of any import, is watching them. They police themselves. And they do it badly.

The Greeks continue to suffer. Their new government is having just as much trouble as the last one in making the numbers work. I see continued calls for more money as they realise that the bail-outs are nowhere near enough. The talk of them leaving the eurozone has changed from "if" to "when". The Finns are openly discussing disintegration, the Germans have said "No more dough", the French are silent, for a change, and I reckon the Italians, the Irish and the Portuguese are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Whilst I genuinely feel pity for the ordinary stiffs in these nations, I cannot help but think that a break-up of the eurozone will be a blessing in disguise for them all.

The misguided leaders of the EU, may they all contract genital warts, continue to try and breathe life into the corpse. To everyone else it looks like utter insanity but they don't see that. They will carry on regardless, and why not? It isn't their money they are throwing down the drain. It's yours. And mine. The UK government, in league with this devil, continue to help themselves to your hard-earned cash. Cash you could use to improve your lives, the lives of your children, and even the local and wider community is being tossed away on a failed experiment. As ever, we think salvation lies in electing a different government. Too late, we realise again and again, that the label on the party de jour is meaningless: they ALL take your money (by force when necessary) and piss it away.

In the Middle East the sabre-rattling continues. The Israeli's have recently said "We will not use thermonuclear weapons against Iran". I often find that when a nation makes an unequivocal statement like this, the exact opposite will follow shortly. I believe WWIII is just around the corner. We hope, and we pray for calm heads, but hope and prayer are useless. Look at the history: every time a truly global depression arrives, world wars follow. It is a fantastic opportunity for them to waste millions of young lives and it is usually over nothing. WWI was triggered when Franz Ferdinand (and his wife Sophie) was assassinated on 28th June 1914. Had Sarajevo turned the other cheek, over nine million lives would have been saved. War is big business and when it finally ends, the losses are sustained by the young, the brave, and those afflicted with patriotism, and the gains are enjoyed by those who manufacture weapons and war machinery. The millions upon millions of lost lives are replaced with a frenzied baby boom when the last bullet is fired. It is a cycle of despair and my disappointment in the human race is boundless. We repeat this exercise ad nauseum.

What is to be done? I don't know. I only know what I would like to happen but I also know there are vested interests, firmly entrenched, that will ensure it never happens.

History is written by the victors and it isn't necessarily the truth. In fact, it is almost certain to be strewn with lies, misdirection and misinformation.

Our good friend Harbinger sent me a couple of links and it may help you to comprehend the nature of this particular beast.

The Hitler Files

and:

Propaganda And The World War


The usual caveat applies: read the articles and decide for yourself. This can be tricky for some because our education system seems geared in such a way that pre-formed opinions are wired into us at an early age. It has been decades since education actually educated and allowed us to make our own minds up. They do this for many reasons but the primary purpose is to churn out unthinking, uncritical system slaves. They do not need your mind to be free, they need you to work. They need you to comply. They need you to know that they need to watch your every move, for your own safety. They need you to part company with your taxes without dissent. Without a whimper and without asking what they are spending your money on.

Tomorrow's leaders and tomorrow's entrepreneurs are mostly selected from the "good schools and universities". They know who they want and those future leaders are selected carefully and they too, are brainwashed to "know" what is best for the nation. Of course, there is a blurred line between what is best for the nation and what is best for the individual. On the face of it these men and women are altruistic but when examined, their fantastic wealth becomes apparent. The nation needs leaders who are selected from known good stock, the rest of us are cattle. To be milked exhaustively, to be watched endlessly, and to be controlled absolutely. Of course, we are also trained to think we are free and that democracy is the b all and end all. It is all things to all men. It is a deception on a massive scale, and the ruse works well. Most of us think we are free. We are wrong. The chains are there if you look, but thankfully for TPTB, most of us never bother to look.

Reading that back prior to pushing the "publish" button, it reads like envy, or that I am bitter about the class system. I am neither envious nor am I overly concerned about class. Someone will always have more than me and someone will always have less than me. It seems largely an accident of birth.  I have met princes and paupers during my five decades on the planet and there are idiots and heroes in both camps. I just happen to know that when a "working class" hero emerges, it is more by luck than by design.

Problems (for TPTB) emerge when some of the cattle start wondering why they are kept in this particular field and demand another option. They wonder why the gate is always locked. They wonder why the farmer counts them dozens of times a day. They wonder why the farmer doesn't even need to walk down to the field and has erected poles with cameras to save the farmer the trouble of exerting himself when technology can do the work for him. They wonder ( a little) when they overhear the farmer say "You know, if we tagged them all with GPS devices, we wouldn't need the cameras". Most of the cattle think this is fine. "It's for our own safety", they tell each other.

When one or two of us wander off the reservation we can safely be ignored. Some of us are too big to be ignored though and a topical example of that is one Julian Assange. On the face of it, he is an (uncharged) but uncaptured rapist and a man that dared to leak sensitive information. This information would upset the cattle and Assange had to be stopped, and if impossible to stop, then all means fair or foul deployed to bring the man to book. I have no axe to grind with Assange. I think he may be a bit of a knob but conversely, I think he is providing a public service at great risk to himself and his family, so I tend to support him.

It's a messy old world, isn't it? I am realising late in life that it is a mess that is uncleanuppable.

Scrapping the entire project and starting again from scratch may well be the only option.

Most of us, it is now becoming clear, do not want that because it is too much trouble. Most of us prefer to keep our heads below the parapet because the fear of being ever so slightly different terrifies us. Many of us are waiting for the "right time" to act. There is no "right time". That time is now.

The government, naturally, say that we must knuckle down. We must produce. We are in debt. It's our own fault. We must continue the War on Terror, the War on Smokers, the War on Drinkers, The War on Eaters, The War on Drugs, The War on Thinkers.

These are all Good Things For Citizens To Believe In And Support.

Of course, believing anything the government says is our first mistake.They are inept, corrupt, and unashamed. They are treasonous, traitorous, and they act with impunity. And they do so with our consent.

When, oh when, will we wake up and smell the corruption?

CR.

August 15, 2012

Appeal Outcome

I thought you might want to see this.

My response to the court after the conviction was not an "Appeal" in the normal sense of the word. You will note that the Legal Adviser knows that as well, and she refers to it in the first paragraph. In my Notice to the court I stated that I was not appealing in the conventional sense. I cannot/could not because I appeared pro se or in propria persona which is to say, for myself. Had I instructed a lawyer I could not have used Lawful Rebellion as one of my defences.

Here is the Court's response, suitably redacted:





















Click to embiggen.

I won't get into the nitty-gritty here. Let's do that in the comments.

Suffice to say that there is some positive stuff to be gleaned from this.

Let me know what you think.

CR.

August 10, 2012

Friday Fannies

Brand new feature.





Fanny.





Fanny.




Fanny.




Fanny.



Fanny.



Uber-fanny.



Fanny.



Fanny.




Fanny.










Fanny.







Please forward your suggestions for next week's Friday Fannies.

Have a fabulous weekend.

CR.

Time To Escape, Slaves.

No need for leaders.

No need for a mass awakening.

No need to gather in groups.

You just need to think yourself free. Take that vital first step.



Once you comprehend the nature of this sneaky slavery all it takes is some rational thought to get yourself off the plantation.

Anyhoo, listen to Chris. He makes a lot of sense.

Tip of the beret to our old pal JB for sending in the link.

CR.

August 09, 2012

An Awakening?

Watch this sixty second video clip.

The big question comes right at the end.



I make no apologies for repeating this statement: money is magicked out of thin air, pretty much every time you sign a piece of paper asking for a loan or a mortgage.

You ask for £100,000 and you pay back £125,000 to the bank (for example).

Has the bank just made:

1. £25,000

or

2. £125,000

Answers on a postcard.

Just know that YOU created the money. YOUR signature and YOUR promise to repay it is all they need to whistle up an additional £100,000 into the economy.

It's all trickery but everyone gets what they want.

But only YOU end up in debt. The bank has risked absolutely nothing.

Wake up. Stay awake.

CR.

August 08, 2012

Panic!

This man has his finger on a nuclear button.








M. Hollande-in charge of a nation of 80 million souls.










Be afraid.

CR.

PS-just for a giggle, check out this image from Curiosity Opportunity on Mars. Without wishing to inflame the femmies, I think the NASA driver was a chick. This image is not from the new vehicle "Curiosity" as originally stated. Apologies for the error.

August 07, 2012

Let Them Fail

In fact, why don't we campaign to have them shut down?

In almost any other industry malpractice of this magnitude would be severely punished so why is banking given a second, or third, or twenty-seventh chance?

Greed is good, right? Gordon Gecko told us that in the eighties. It seems that several financial icons took that to mean "Do whatever thou must, but make sure thee reports a profit".

And so they did.

Standard Chartered is the latest to show us how low banking has sunk. See the full story here

HSBC laundered drug money and all manner of low-end nastiness flowed through their books. See that story here

And then there was good old Barclays and that LIBOR rigging. Here's the latest on that story

Three huge names in the banking world and they are no better than common thieves. I know that many of us were aware that banks are not the good guys. They haven't been our pals for decades. They exist only to make money, but some of us thought that they were trustworthy, deserving of some respect, but that image is forever tarnished. We may as well go back to cash. Who knows what they did with our money? Actually, scratch that. For years I have been saying that once your money is in your account at their bank, ownership is transferred. The money is no longer yours. It belongs to them. If you don't believe that, pop down to your local branch and ask them for all of (what you believe is) your money. If you have more than their daily withdrawal limit in your account you are going to leave disappointed.

I know why they do it. There are three reasons: growth, growth, and growth. But the growth needs to be sustainable. It needs to be logical, and, in an ideal world, it needs to be lawful. It seems to me that these three banks forgot completely ignored those basic rules. They will be fined but the shameful thing is that a) the fines will amount to whatever is in the petty-cash tin at the time and b) those fines will be recovered in the fullness of time. Brace yourselves: these monies will be clawed back from YOU. Suddenly, banking regulators (never fear that they are all in this together) will announce that the era of "free" banking is over. Charges will start to appear on your statement and if you tally them up, they will magically be enough to pay their fines with possibly a bit left over to chuck into the bonus pot.

Greed is good. Wars, for that matter, are even gooder. Have a look at this graphic, and when you understand it, stop wondering why we are always at war with Eastasia:








Blowing people to bits is lucrative business.










We live in a nasty world. Those we trusted have become the untrustworthy. Those that once traded with honour have become dishonourable. Those who were meant to remain unblemished have become forever stained.

But will they be shut down? Nope.

Will anyone go to gaol? Absolutely not.

This is crime at the most senior levels of the banking industry but just watch: these clowns will slink out of the back door with millions in severance pay. And within days or weeks, they will turn up at other banks as directors and senior officers. The banks themselves will get over this latest "blip" and carry on forever.

Why?

Because we will continue to use them. It's too much trouble to find a decent bank (if such a thing exists) and by continuing to patronise them, nothing will change.

We are our own worst enemy.

CR.

August 06, 2012

*Exclusive* First Image From Mars

In what can only be described as jaw-dropping, here is the very first image from the Mars craft "Curiosity".





Americans are said to be devastated.

CR.