blinkx - brilliant dedicated video search engine

Spun out of Autonomy, by developing a video search engine based on technology that was conceived at Cambridge University, enhanced by $150M in R&D over 12 years and protected by 111 patents, blinx was founded in 2004 by Suranga Chandratillake and operates in the UK and California.

blinkx’s video search engine has a competitive (and unique) advantage by using speech recognition to analyse and identify the component of the video content. Searching is then based on both phonetic and text transcripts to match content with search queries.

Microsoft signed up to use it on October 2006, for parts of MSN and Live.com Lycos, Infospace and parts of AOL are also licencsed users of the technology.

On June 3rd it announced it was also powering video search on Ask.com and then on June 22nd it was announced Realplayer's next version would incorporate the engine

They have also this week launched AdHoc, the first " contextually relevant video advertising platform" . As Google’s AdSense provides textually related ads on the "Text Web", blinkx’s AdHoc platform will (they say in their press release) "revolutionize video advertising by matching compelling, customized, TV-style ads to your audience on the Video Web."
http://www.blinkx.com/news?type=&id=409


They launched on AIM in May 2007 at 45p and ran up during the day by 40% to 62 pence.LSE: BLNX but than rapidly ran back down in days and closed on Friday at 43.5 p.

Their website claims ...

Today, blinkx is the world’s largest single index of rich media content on the
Web, delivering more content from a broader range of sources than either Google
or Yahoo!

In use , retrieval is fast - although type slowly for the search text box - Vagit Alekperov was truncated to Vagit Alkperov - returning the same results for this Russian Oligarch and CEO of LUKoil, but impressively with a query on the spelling.

"Glasgow Bomb" returned 59 results, "USS Liberty " = 57 and "Tesla" - 1,920

The site is a model for clarity, ease of use, uncluttered simplicity and speed - the momwentary delay in inputting text into the search box is due to the software for text concept / forecasting kicking in with each character as she is entered.

If you want the moving pictures and you want them fast this is you first port of call - those who want the more ...er..adult side of entertainment remember to switch the default search filter off. Try it now - blinx

Another Brown Job

Again almost unnoticed Melanie Brown , ex Coronation Street , tongue pierced actress, author in 2002 "Somebody Light My Fire" also announced a career move.

Grieving Queen seeks solace in Brown, the steadfast Scot

In all the excitement nobody seems to have noticed that a Scotsman called Brown slipped quietly into Buckingham Palace this week.

Does this presage the quiet admiration lavished on another Scotsman by another generation of the Royal family ? As the Queen grieves over the memories of her most favourite wife of the next and future King - has she sought solace in that rough embrace, redolent of the Fish Dock in the Lang Toon combined with the perfume of midnight scolarship in the Manse. Och Aye! the Romance of Scotland.

Will his visits become more regular - will there be something in this dour Scot's awkward shyness, his sly obseqiousness that 10 years subserviance to His Masters Voice has instilled in him that have made him attractive to Lady Helen Mirren ? (AKA Queen Elizabeth II ).

Will the Glens of Balmoral and the valleys of Speyside echo to the soft sussurations of tender nothings from Brown as she watches him ply his rod and flies in the soft summer sun ? Sylvie Krin could soon be telling us the tale.... shared breakfasts from the Tuppwerware ....

Is David Icke correct ? Have the Purple Lizards led by HM taken over ? A clue maybe is that the Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones Fan Club have been augmenting Gubment*** in the shape of Sir John Stevens K.St.J ,QPM, DL, LL.D, Hon DCL, M.Phil, CIMgt, FRSA , Master of the Inconclusive and Lengthy Inquiry (who it must be remembered forecast the 21/7 bombers in the pages of News of the World) he is of copurse also an advisor on Policing to the Governments of advises the South African, Jamaican, Bulgarian, Romanian, Qatar and Greece.

Admiral Sir Alan West GCB,DSC. and one time Chief of Defence Intelligence has also ben appointed as amanuensis to Jacqui Smith the new and naive Home Secretary and swiftly and prominently figured in her small entourage to chair the COBRA committee this weekend.

*** Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville - Jones will of course continue as the Fan Club's spokesperson to BBC Newsnight, Today, World at One, PM, BBC World News with her comments syndicated to the TV / Press throughout what we used to proudly call the "White Commonwealth".

Terrist Threat now CRITICAL

The Home Office have set the Terror Alert level at it's highest - CRITICAL - - an attack is expected imminently.

Murdoch News men on the scene for Glasgow Airport traffic accident

No doubt things will become less clear as more disinformation becomes available.

Telephone captured videos from public sent in to SkyNews

Excellent series of clips from public on BBC including man being arrested by police apparently unharmed. Take copies before they "disappear".

Sunday am The News of the World report

"In the early hours today, two further men were arrested in Cheshire in
connection with the Glasgow outrage and the attempted bombings in London on
Friday. A police source said the suspects were seized after cops rammed their
car on the M6.

They also claim ...

The News of the World can reveal that before the Glasgow incident anti-terror officers had already identified the London Mercedes bombers and were closing in on them.

Police had intelligence there were MORE cars primed for attack and were using all their resources to catch them before they struck again. One security source told us: "It was a race against time to track them down. They knew we were closing in."

But the Sunday Telegraph reports ...

Despite having hours of CCTV footage from 160 cameras, neither the police nor MI5 have even partially identified three men believed to be involved. This suggests the plotters are unknown foreigners or British-based volunteers recently recruited by al-Qaeda.

They also state the bleedin' obvious ..

One security source has told The Sunday Telegraph that if the bombers are “unknowns” it would be evident that ­Britain’s multi-billion pound intelligence network had failed to keep pace with the threat posed by Islamist terrorists.

Can Mark Malloch Brown outsmart the Chinese and the Yanquis in Africa ? ...er ... No

Oliver Marre had a real and overlooked scoop in the Observer on Sunday November 12, 2006

Brown's found a new friend ... called Brown

Naturally, there will be changes if Chancellor Gordon takes over from Tony Blair in the coming months. ...

... Gordon Brown, unsurprisingly, intends to import minds more excited about fiscal matters. Step forward Mark Malloch Brown, deputy secretary general of the UN.(Marlborough, Magdalene College Cambridge and the University of Michigan)

A senior source close to the Chancellor tells me that he has been in earnest discussions with Malloch Brown and that a peerage and a significant role in a Brown cabinet is on the cards.
Malloch Brown will step down as deputy secretary general at the end of the year. In that role, he has been far from uncritical of Tony Blair and, particularly, the Iraq war. Just like Gordon.

On the other hand, he's been a regular champion of the government's international aid programmes. Just like Gordon.

Previously he has been involved in the (very Brownite) UN's development programmes and worked at the World Bank. Intriguingly, he was also invited to put in an appearance at October's Conservative party conference.

'Mark's speech was one of the oddest given,' says my source. 'He basically used it to tell the Tories how brilliant the government's record had been on aid and development.'

MM Brown was knighted in the 2007 New Years Honours and on Thursday received, a peerage, took Ministerial office and became a Privy Councillor.... busy year so far.

He has a hard row to how in Africa. We wish him luck

Another conspiracy ("plot"" Plod) not to cause explosions gets rave reviews

It was a great re-assurance to see that calmly smirking Dame Pauline Neville-Jones had hurried to the studios of BBC Newsnight ( regrettably looking rather dishevelled in something vaguely khaki and military, evidently not having had the time to smarten herself up).

The plot ( 2 cars stuffed with incendiary materials, nails and a handily placed mobile phone activated but nonetheless easily dissembled and inactivated "detonating device" by a nerveless bomb squad officer casually leaning through the handily open window) is, she assured a waiting nation was / is "aimed at the new government".

"The issue is, who is behind that. I think I will be inclined to
believe there is some kind of al-Qaida link,"

Those would be the guys who did an end run round NORAD, steered incendiary planes into 2 skyscrapers causing them to fall in ways unknown to man or physics, smash into the most heavily guarded military building on Earth, killing thousands....etc.,




Evidently a change in strategy and tactics - quick of her ( and her BBC chum Frank G) to notice. .. "... I will be inclined..."

Good also to see that one "bomb" was identified by the Ambulance service and the other "bomb" had been man handled and dragged in it's incendiary state through the streets full of roistering clubbers by the ever zealous traffic wardens and left ignored for 18 hours.

It was therefore encouraging to see that the result of the squillions of taxpayers funds spent on terrists has not yet been used to remove the blundering, bovine Peter Clarke, The Sphincter of the Yard ( who had left his lunch pail behind this time) whose men are yet undertaking a further painstaking enquiry.

We can expect more of the same, - bombs in London that don't go off, the smirking Dame on Newsnight and the overweight "I speak you weight machine" Plod.... and ... er .. forensic pictures in the ownership of the Met appearing in US newspapers.

A "crystal clear CCTV " image of one of the drivers legging it, and the car number plates are as yet withheld from the public - no doubt, just in case someone could help the police with their enquiries.

PS The consultant numerologist points out that 29-06-2007 can also be understood better

29-6-2-7 = 21 therefore 21/7.
See also Kurt Nimmo

In a major speech to the Naval War College on Thursday (Bush plays al Qaida card to bolster support for Iraq policy) President Bush referred to al Qaida at least 27 times........

WMIK - Patrolling Afghanistan in a convertible

Lord Patel brought reader's attention to the nosey Nick Harvey on Tuesday, June 12, 2007- Nick Harvey MP asks about WMIK . Ill equipped UK forces in Afghanistan Part 17.

Nick Harvey MP (Lib Dem North Devon) Question 142524 :will today ask The Secretary of State for Defence, how many weapons mounted installation kits and general purpose machine guns are in theatre in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan.

It now appears that when Lord Drayson answered a not dissimiliar question From Lord Astor on the Monday of that week (18th July) he had answered "I am withholding detailed information on the availability of the combat vehicle fleet in Afghanistan, as this is sensitive operational information."

Bernard Jenkin (North Essex, Conservative) pointed out to Adam Ingram Minister for mumbling excuses about Forces Equipment shortages, on the 21st June that 16 Air Assault Brigade had already starting its training for its second tour in Helmand, which he understood will be deployed some time in the spring of 2008.

He had when meeting some of their officers, asked , "What equipment are you training with?" he went on to explain to the Hapless Scotsman (another of the buggers !) "The mobility and firepower of a vehicle known as WMIK, which is an open Land Rover with a .50 calibre machine gun strapped to its top, are vital to operations in Afghanistan. Almost all the vehicles are deployed in Afghanistan, so the entire brigade has one WMIK vehicle for training purposes in the UK and will not be able to do any training until it returns to Afghanistan.

The fact that the Government appear to have been reduced to buying and providing equipment for the front line only, because they cannot afford enough equipment for the front line and for training, is affecting morale and the effectiveness of our armed forces personnel."

On Tuesday 19th in answer to a question to Ann Winterton (Conservative Congleton) Adam Ingram had already stated that the MOD had 5 WMIK vehicles available in the UK for training.

Anyway , no doubt stung by all this detailed, and informed criticism on Monday 25th June the MOD announced that under an Urgent Operational Requirement for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan , (which as Lord patel's old batman pointed out they don't hand out with the rations.Sir.) 130 new new MWMIK 's , will begin deploying out to operational theatres "early in 2008", Lord Drayson, Minister of State for explaining shortages, overunning costs, and delays in Defence Equipment and Support, said:

"These vehicles are well armed, swift, and agile and will boost our capability with some serious firepower. MOD and the Treasury have worked hard to get these powerful vehicles to our troops in quick time, and they will start going out to theatre early next year."

So that's alright then , we send our troops to war in a convertible - this stripped down 50 year old Land Rover is useless as a patrol vehicle . Indeed why buy an open top patrol vehicle?

These vehicles are claimed to have, Longer range, Greater payload, Greater mobility (?) and a take your breath away top speed of "up to 80mph (130km/h)" - now how does that compare with a Toyota land Cruiser ute ?- a WMIK weighs nearly 4 tonnes all up, powered by a 4.2 litre engine. Keen observers will however note that the picture accompanying the MOD article is somewhat short on firepower , which can include "a .50 calibre machine gun or an automatic grenade launcher and a general purpose machine gun, as well as carrying up to four troops with their own individual weapons." let's hope they have ordered some guns as well. Note that no costs are mentioned.

It is encouraging to see from the picture that seat belts are provided, meaning the vehicles can be used on Public Highways throughout Europe. The Road Traffic Act as it applies to Afghanistan is not a subject upon which we can claim any knowledge, but presumably these brand spanking new WMIK's will be fully street legal in Kabul .

Big problem is of course, patrolling all day in the poppy fields , the thing will get mucky and dusty - how do you put it through the car wash

Lockerbie, lies, deceit, dishonesty in the legal system and Lord Denning's shameful epitaph on Truth and Justice

The Herald today "This could open a can of worms for the entire Scottish justice system"

So what now for the forces of law and order in Scotland? Once the full facts of
the SCCRC's 800-page statement are known, those involved in the prosecution of
the case will undoubtedly come in for criticism for failing to secure a
conviction which could stand up to scrutiny.

Yesterday's report had been expected to level barbs in varying degrees at the trial judges, the Crown prosecutors, the police, and not least Megrahi's original defence team, but so far the reality of the SCCRC's public statement does not quite match
expectation.

Can we ever forget Lord Denning, dismissing the Birmingham 6's 1980 civil action against the police, who said,

“If the six men win, it will mean that the police were guilty of perjury, that they were guilty of violence and threats, that the confessions were involuntary and were improperly admitted as evidence, and that the convictions were erroneous …. this is such an appalling vista that every sensible person in the country would say: it cannot be right these actions go any further.”

"We shouldn't have all these campaigns to get them released".

UK Minister of Justice to look at extreme pornography. Devlin Redux - Amazing Pictures

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Israeli president Katsav cops a plea and is saved from rape charges

The Israeli State prosecutor Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz agreed a sordid plea bargain with President Moshe Katsav who is leaving his office with his trousers round his ankles to join a long list of Israeli State servants who can't keep their dick in their trousers.

OK says the state , there was no rape but you cop a plea for "committing an indecent act".

No prison. No community service.

Compensation payment to the lady "A" (only one of 10 complainants) who he "committed the non consensual indecent act" with and a suspended sentence.







President elect , Shimon Peres, will be sworn in on July 15.

'A' told reporters that while working in the president's residence she underwent increasing sexual harassment from Katsav, culminating in rape.

She said that before the rape, Katsav would ask her to come to work wearing a skirt with no underwear underneath, exposed himself to her, and touched her breasts.

Still in denial and expostulating his innocence he instructed Avigdor Feldman, one of his attorneys, to go on Israel Radio and insist that "A" was lying, and insisted his client was innocent of her charges.

See
Friday, March 30, 2007
Israeli Cabinet, money, guns and lawyers ... and sex ...business as usual

DTI publish UK Energy Trends Q1 2007

Department of Trade and Industry have published Energy Trends and Quarterly Energy Prices Trends today for the 1st Qtr of 2007

Here is a quick snapshot -

- Q1 2007 Total indigenous UK production of crude oil and NGLs decreased 4.5 % on Q1 2006.

- Q1 2007 Total indigenous UK production of natural gas decreased by 16.8% on Q1 2006

- Q1 2007 Total indigenous UK production of coal decreased by 27.9% on Q1 2006

Total electricity generation from all renewable sources in 2006 was 18,133 GWh, 7.5 % up on 2005... approximately 3 % of all electricity generated.

Here are details filleted from the complete reports available at the DTI website.

TOTAL ENERGY: QUARTER 1 2007

- Total production in the first quarter of 2007 at 49.3 million tonnes of oil equivalent was 13.3 % lower than in the Q1 2006.
- Total inland consumption on a primary fuel input basis was 240.3 million tonnes of oil equivalent in the Q1 2007, 1.8 % lower than in theQ1 2006.
- Between the first quarters of 2006 and 2007 coal and other solid fuel consumption fell by 13.4 per cent.
- Oil consumption increased by 2.5 %.
- Gas consumption rose by 6.3 %.
- Primary electricity consumption decreased by 27.8 %.

COAL: Q1 2007

- Provisional figures for Q1 2007 show coal production down (due entirely to mine closures) 4.0 Mn tonnes - down 27.9 %per cent on Q1 2006 at 4.0 . The decrease was the product of a fall of 42.0 % opencast production fell by by 13%
- Imports of coal in Q1 2007 were 2.3 % down on Q1 2006 12.2 million tonnes 10.2 Mn tonnes (84%) of which, was steam coal for the power stations market.

OIL: QUARTER 1 2007

- Total indigenous UK production of crude oil and NGLs in Q1 2007 decreased by 19.9 Mn tonnes a decrease of 4.5 % on Q1 2006. This included production from 3 new fields which started production during the year ending march 2007, including the very large Buzzard field.
- The UK was a net exporter of oil and oil products in the first quarter of 2007 by 0.1 million tonnes.
- Overall primary demand for oil products in the first quarter of 2007 was 5.1% lower than Q1 2006.
- Motor spirit deliveries rose by 0.1 %. Derv fuel deliveries increased by 3.8%. Deliveries of aviation turbine fuel rose by 9.3 %. reflecting the increase in air traffic movements, especially by low cost airlines.

GAS: QUARTER 1 2007

- Total indigenous UK production of natural gas in the first quarter of 2007 was 16.8 % down on Q1 2006.
- Compared with Q1 2006, exports of natural gas in Q1 2007 increased by 44.1 per cent and imports increased by 50.6 per cent.
- Demand for gas in Q1 2007 was 3.4 % lower than in Q1 of 2006.
- Gas use for electricity generation increased by 34.2 % and domestic consumption fell 12.9% public administration, commerce and agriculture consumption fell by 11.2 % and in industrial sectorby 12.3 %.

ELECTRICITY: QUARTER 1 2007

- Fuel used by generators in Q1 2007 was, in total, 8.8 % lower than Q1 2006.
- Coal use during the quarter was 21.1 % lower than a year earlier.
- Total electricity supplied by all generators in Q1 2007 was 4.8 % down (-5.1 TWh) than a year earlier.
- In Q1 2007 final consumption of electricity fell by 4.1 % Domestic use by 6.2 % and consumption by commercial, public administration, transport and agricultural customers was down by 1.3 % and Industrial use of electricity was 4.4 % lower.

ENERGY PRICES: QUARTER 1 2007

Average industrial gas prices fell 32% , Average industrial electricity prices rose 7.0 % in real terms.

- In mid June 2007, unleaded petrol was on average 96.6 pence per litre, an increase of 1.3 pence per litre compared to a year earlier.
- In mid June 2007, diesel was, on average, 97.2 pence per litre, 0.5 pence per litre lower than a year earlier.
The price paid for all fuel and light by household consumers has risen by 22.9 % in real terms between Q1 2006 and Q1 2007.
Domestic electricity prices, including VAT, in Q1 2007 were 21.1% higher in real terms than in Q1 2006.
Domestic gas prices rose by 33.7 % in real terms over the same period, whilst the price of heating oils fell by 12.1 per cent.
Estimates suggest that in April 2007, domestic gas prices in the UK, including taxes, for medium sized consumers were the second lowest in the EU15 and domestic electricity process were fifth lowest.

RENEWABLES: 2005

Electricity generated from all renewables as a percentage of total UK electricity generation rose to 4.6 per cent in 2006 using the international definition of renewables. In 2005 on the same basis it was it was 4.2 per cent.
In 2006 the percentage of UK electricity sales that were from sources eligible for the Renewables Obligation (RO) was 4.4 % up from 4.0 % in 2005.
Total electricity generation from all renewable sources in 2006 was 18,133 GWh, 7.5 per cent up on 2005.
Generation from biofuels grew by 3 %, within which landfill gas was the main contributor. There was no growth in the contribution from the co-firing of biomass with fossil fuels.
Generation from offshore wind grew by 49 per cent; and generation from onshore wind grew by 27 per cent.
As at 31 December 2006, 449 projects contracted under the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO), the Scottish Renewables Orders (SRO) and the Northern IreIand NFFO had been commissioned and were generating electricity, with a capacity totalling 1,200 1,200 MW. Total renewables capacity in the UK at that date was 3,613 MW = 30% utilisation overall.

Whores ,Millions of Heroin Dollars Bought Ahtisaari's Kosovo "Independence" Plan .. more very sordid details

Oh, and by the way, KFOR NATO troops are involved:

On the last day of February, at 11:47 p.m., German Secret Service agents made a note about the arrival of the KFOR (NATO troops stationed in Serbian Kosovo province, Kosovo FORce) jeep which brought two young women over, followed by Boria’s bodyguard. The girls were in Ahtisaari’s quarters until 5:17 a.m., when they were driven away by the same vehicle.

This is particularly awkward now, because GWB has been making a big push to turn over control of Kosovo to Albanian Muslim narcoterrorists, which is not only insane, but also violates the treaty that the U.S. signed at the end of the Kosovo War.... More >>>>

First you should checkout yesterdays Post "Balkan-tales-and-bulging-briefcases..Artisaari exposed"

The History of the Kosovan plans presented to the UN can be found on previous posts the year from Lord Patel here ;

Friday, February 02, 2007
Mongrelisation of Europe continues - Kosovo plans revealed today by Ahtisaari

Which included this section

What is there in it for Ahtisaari ?

A senior Finnish diplomat in 1977 he was named the U.N. envoy for Namibia, where guerrillas were battling South African apartheid rule. Since then he has negotiated an end to a conflict between the Indonesian government and the leaders of the separatist guerrilla movement in Aceh. This conflict started 130 years ago where the once-powerful Sumatran sultanate have been fighting for independence intermittently since it was occupied by Dutch colonialists in the 1870s.

The Nobel Peace Prize nomination by the grateful and impatient Yanks ?


Sunday, February 04, 2007
Kosovo - Lesser Serbia (Prop. Uncle Sam) gets nearer

No major new media have taken this story up, it appears , so it is either total bollocks invented by the Serbs (which is not impossible) or the corporate call for Omerta has gone out. One Finnish blog Aapotsikka (Apocalypse Now) rubbishes the reports with a gentle caveat.

UPDATE 27th June 18.00 GMT

The Vienna office of Martti Ahtisaari, the UN special envoy for the future status process for Kosovo, told the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Wednesday it did not intend to take action over allegations that the former Finnish president had accepted bribes for recommending independence for the Serbian province.

Fokus further claimed that Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's foreign intelligence agency, had submitted a report on the alleged transaction to the UN secretary-general. Remi Dourlot of the UN office of the special envoy or Kosovo, or Unosek, told STT (Finnish News Agency).

"This is a rubbish story, which is actually from a Republica Srpska magazine. We have nothing to add to that. This is just a rubbish story,"

Mr Dourlot also dismissed the report that BND had reported to the secretary-general as malicious.

The other public school Middle East / Zionist Envoy rallies the faithful

Link to Conservative Friends of Israel for speech

Useful to have a backup - just in case one two end(s) up in jail

Global retail gas prices

From The Oil Drum Prices in US$ of a short gallon (3.785411784 litres) of gasoline in US$ around the World. Source: AA Motoring Trust via USAToday and Wikipedia. UK / Imperial gallon = 4.546 09 litres Click here to enlarge

Courtney Coventry Where are they Now ? Pt 433 Amazing Pictures

Sources close to David Cameron have revealed today that an American porn star has been flown to Britain by detectives investigating the sleazy honours sold for cash injections to the New labour party by Lord Levy and his team of influence peddlars.

Glamorous, small, but perfectly formed and pertly pouting porn actress Courtney Coventry, 25, unlike fellow Hollywood hero Arnie hit town , not to meet Tony Blair, but to spill the beans to PC Plod about how sleaze ball, midget Karaoke King, ex personal Envoy for Tony to the Middle East and peddler of honours who funded New Labour at the 2005 election took £1,000 off them at a Hilton Hotel fund raising bash.... and how Jane Hogarth , Lord L's chief assistant chased them for a contribution. (Jane Hogarth was head of corporate relations and fundraising, took voluntary redundancy in June 2006. Darren Milner, the corporate relations manager, (now working for Public Affairs News) and Sairina Ramakrishnan, whose responsibilities include helping to organise gala dinners, are also understood to have left).

After enjoying the company of the charming thespian Lord Patel wrote about her closeness to Tony and Lord Levy, ("My midget gem", she called him) on Sunday, March 25, 2007 Tony Blair - Guilty by Association ..she was even kind enough to add a very interesting and revealing comment to the post.

Slim , self confident Mrs Coventry was delighted to be introduced to Tony Blair by Lord Levy along with her husband who were masquerading (in the way porn stars do) as a real life Count and Countess of Rozel - see above post for all the seamy details.. Jack Straw and her ...well...large chest...etc.,

Yesterday, suntanned and looking fabulous, she was flown into Heathrow from Nice, the sunny home of the Hollywood celebrities and starlets by the Metropolitan Police sleuths hot on the trail of the "Cash for Coronets" gang as Assistant Chief Constable Yates calls them.

Plod apparently dismissed her incriminating information as "valueless". Ho.Ho.Ho.

Curiously (and simultaneously) Newsnight and other sources revealed that the Met super sleuths received a stark warning from Number 10 in January as they were preparing to grill the Prime Minister under caution that Tony Blair would quit earlier if he had been quizzed as a suspect.

The result was , they were warned off and he was dealt with simply as a witness.... so far.

Whew what a relief ... unless of course lovely Courtney (videos of her fillums here) had an interesting tale to tell that the denizens of Fleet Street might possibly have a modest interest in. An ancient story also here.

Update.

Yates's supersleuths have kept the retired PM busy today (Thursday) having a leisurely chat with him at a solicitors well appointed officers near Red Lion square where they have previously met him - so convenient.

The CPS have the files of course but there are apparently one or two odds and ends, loose dangly bits to .. just well ...clear up.

One wonders now what GB is doing about Ruth and the other collaboraters in the criminal sale of honours will be doing round the office now.

Sir John Gieve Where are they Now ? Pt 432

Sir John Gieve KCB is one of those turds that repeatedly rise with the stick on smile of a synchronised swimmer to the surface of steaming pool of ordure that forms at the nexus of the twin Whitehall / Westminster sewerage systems.

Quite how and why he became the top dog at the Home Office is difficult to discern, he has however left a noticeable pock marked trail of incompetence and venality which is difficult to beat and which has successfully sunk Blunkett, Clarke and now Johnny"respect" Reid.

Most people were alerted to this remarkable member of the First Division when David Blunket was shagging la Quinn (Yanqui ho who was said to edit a soft porn top shelf magazine) and who ordered that her Filipino nursemaid / au pair / house slave be granted a visa so that she might accompany her employer on holiday overseas.

It transpired when this unseemly affair and irregular handling of not only visa, but rail tickets and the inside of la Quinns underwear there was a curious and (entirely coincidental) connection m'lud between la Quinn's legal helpers and Sir John.

Viz Hansard Select Committee on Public Administration Minutes of Evidence Examination of Witness (Questions 900-915) Sir John Gieve 12 JANUARY 2005 Question 908

Q908 Mr Liddell-Grainger: We are talking about vested interests and interests in all this. Can I ask about your wife's involvement as a firm of solicitors with David Blunkett's case? Do you think that you, as permanent secretary, should have put your interests forward? You had to set up the inquiry, it was very much your baby (for want of a better word) and do you think you should have said to your wife's firm of solicitors that you thought it was getting too complicated and maybe have moved it on as well? Do you think you, personally, could have handled that slightly better?

Sir John Gieve: The inquiry was absolutely not into David's access dispute and there has been no suggestion that the Home Office should play any role in that or pay for it in any way. I think it is entirely up to David who he chooses as his solicitor. I do not think there is a conflict of interest in that respect.

It later transpired a tete a tete regarding the case was held in David Blunkett's office attended by both the Gieves's .. to...er.... discuss the matter of the apparent said "conflict of interest". Inadvertently, by accident no doubt, note of the proceedings appears to have been taken.

A grateful public was of course delighted to award him after his skilful failures of memory about the "Nannygate" affair with a Knighthood - the Queen was delighted in the New years Honours to bestow on him the order of Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
Sir John was to arrive yet again in the full glare of the public gaze when the Metropolitan Police murdered the Brazilian electrician Mr De Menezes, mistaking him after some 40 minutes close (very) observation , as they often do, for a Somalian terrorist and proceeding to empty 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.11.12.13. bullets at close range into the space above his shoulders which had initially held his head.

Sir Ian Blair Head of the Metropolitan Police wrote a letter to Sir John Gieve - letter is curiously dated the 21st July 2005 but was, we are told written on the 22nd July the day de Menezes was murdered.


In it he explained that , even though obliged to hand over the crime scene to the IPCC he wasn't going to do so and they would be denied access - which they did.

Sir John Gieve wrote back with a delightfully ambiguous reply ..
......dated the same day in which he confirmed a telephone conversation that he did not believe that Blair could suspend Section 17 of the Police reform Act 2002 as Blair had proposed. Gieve however compounded the delay by informing people, arranging meetings as soon as possible.

The end result was the IPCC was denied access to the site, witnesses etc., for 5 days, during which the evidence was scrubbed, altered, mislaid, destroyed falsified and the players arranged a choir practice so they could all sing from roughly the same hymn sheet. AS a result the met now face the perils of an HSE prosecution to which they have pleaded guilty.

The most amazing thing was, that not a single CCTV image was captured of the pursuit and murder of Mr de Menezes or the aftermath when the train driver of the train Mr de Menezes had been sat on was chased into the tunnel and held with a gun against his head.... it would be unwise to draw any conclusion about the absence of such images and the 5 days delay in letting the IPCC get involved.

Strangely enough Sir Ian Gieve who moved on sideways shortly after these trying times in 2005 to the Bank of England as Deputy Governor for Financial Stability - a move which a PPE from St John's, Osxford and a DPhil in Philosophy were not an ideal background.

Anyway Sir John, appears in today's papers not in the role of the husband of the solicitor who acts on behalf of a lady who has asked her lover the Home Secretary to whizz a visa through for her maid. He doesn't appear as the aquiescent servant of the public interest when the Metropolitan Police chief on behalf of his murdering officers, seeks to dismiss the legal requirements of Section 17 of the Police Reform Act 2002.

No he appears as an economic savant when speaking yesterday at the University of Surrey at Guildford, and that he has concerns about 'spectacular growth' in borrowing for buyout and private equity deals which he opines could endanger the banking system and cause a sharp financial downturn.

He said the crisis must be controlled by higher interest rates. It appears from the publication of the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee that Sir John joined Bank Governor Mervyn King and two other members in a minority on the Monetary Policy Committee last month in calling for rates to be increased from the current 5.5pc to 5.75pc.

He explained to his audience yesterday that he was more concerned about the inflationary dangers of unchecked credit growth than the risk of causing an unnecessary slowdown in the economy.

It warms the cockles of your heart that we are blessed with such a banker at the heart of our monetary system. Banker is, Lord Patel is led to understand by the more raucous of his colleagues code for wanker - not a term one could apply to this guy who could not possibly combine the required physical ability with the mental capacity to sustain the event ... well not simultaneously anyway... even with a little help.

Keep an eye out for Sir John Gieve - more must follow.

Livni: Blair would be perfect ME envoy - the best qualified State terrorist around

Tzipi, dandled as a child, on the knee of the Stern Gang terrorist, Menachim Begin, daughter of terrorists - she visits her father's grave every Friday to view the map of Erutz Israel carved on his tombstone - from Syria to the Sinai, would say that ,wouldn't she ?
Apparently Olmerde belled Tony yesterday who he says is a "true friend" of Israel to tell him that if he takes the position of ME "envloy for the Quartet" (non-paying Ho.Ho.Ho.) Israel would cooperate with him "fully." You bet.

Blair, in London, schmoozing with Hollywood starlet Arnie Schwarzenegger could be seen on UK TV meekly accepting the job ...

"I think that anybody who cares about greater peace and stability in the world knows that a lasting and enduring resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is essential," he said. "As I have said on many occasions, I would do whatever I could to help such a resolution come about."

Ever since James Wolfensohn quit in May 2006, the quartet have had no public voice .... Israeli officials claim (with a straight face) that Tony would not serve as a negotiator between Israel and the Palestinians, but that his job would focus on "capacity building" in the PA and the development of functional governing institutions. This role would differ from Wolfensohn's, who dealt primarily with economic issues relating to the Gaza Strip following Israel's evacuation.

Whilst Russia will go along with Tony's appointment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who is in Israel has called for negotiations between Fatah and Hamas, something Israel opposes for fear that it would lead to another stalemated unity government.

ASked about Russian arms sales to Damascus, Lavrov said the weapons being sold to Syria did not tip the balance of power in the region.

"Whatever we do in the sphere of military technological cooperation, our activities always conform to Russia's international commitments and the export control rules - some of the strictest in the world," he said.

Lavrov arrived yesterday and has had a busy schedule today meeting President Elect Shimon Peres the families of kidnapped reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, to bring some "sign of life" from their captors in Lebanon.

Today he will meet Olmert and then see PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah ... but won't meet any Hamas leadesr - most of them are in prison.

High on his agenda will be the status of Russian nationals, mostly women married to Palestinians, who are stranded inside the Gaza Strip. Russia has already evacuated more than 70 Russian nationals from the area.

Tony, who installed Lord Levy, as his "personal envoy to the ME" ... in an office next to the Foreign Secetary to represent the views of Zion in the heart of the UK Government .. and as a sideline sells honours to fund the last election for New Labour is a puppet of Zion .

Tony who demanded everyone stand aside whilst the IDF bombed the shit out of the Lebanese last summer will resolve nothing .. and that is exactly what Israel wants.

In 5 years or less the West Bank will disappear, and the Gazans will live on a dribble of handouts as prisoners.

Of course Tony will make the perfect ME envoy - he has a good perfect CV when it comes to State Terrism.

Birds Eye Peas but the prices won't be frozen

Michael Wright of Bird's Eye explained on BBC "Farming Today" that they now expect a shortfall of 20% of their UK pea crop.

Priding themselves on selling UK produce this will probably mean higher retail prices .. and more imports - but Northern Europe has ben hit with the same bad weather as the UK.

Balkan tales and bulging briefcases - Ahtisaarri is exposed ?

Murky tales of Finnish double dealing reaches us from the Bosnian news agency Focus based in Banja Luka, that the German Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's federal foreign intelligence agency, has uncovered bank accounts held by Mr Martii Ahtisaari UN special envoy for Kosovo that had received two million euros and that on at least two occasions he had received cash payments of more than 40 million euros.

Oliver Dulic, the speaker of the Serbian Parliament, has apparently called for a formal inquiry into allegations that Ahtisaari,has accepted bribes from an Albanian organised crime figure, Exhet Boria, a Kosovan Albanian who dominates heroin trade in Europe.

It is claimed that these bribes were a payment , in exchange for recommending independence for the Serbian province.

Brigadier Luke Neiman, of the BND who ran the operation, claims to have recorded conversations Ahtisaari held with an unnamed ethnic Albanian talking about a transfer of 2 million Euros into Ahtisaari's account from a Swiss bank with an account number 239700-93457-00097 that was masked by an offshore account with a code XS52-KOLER - accounts allegedly held by Exhet Boria.

Focus also alleges that German BND has records as of February 12, 2007, 6:23 a.m., where a jeep owned by the Kosovo Albanian government arrived at the building where UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari was then stationed . 2 silver coloured briefcases were handed to to Ahtisaari. Focus says the BND agents confirmed later that the briefcases were loaded with cash.

"All of this his, of course, should be looked into," said Serbia's speaker of the Parliament Oliver Dulic "and if proven true, it will throw a long shadow over the final [Kosovo] resolution."

According to the Focus, a German report has already been filed at the UN.

The Economist magazine of 18- 24 February 2006 reported that John Sawers the political director of the British Foreign Office told a group of Serbs in Kosovo earlier in the month that the Contact Group had already decided on independence for Kosovo.

Martii Ahtisaari was one of the weapons inspectors in Northern Ireland along with South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa. It would be absurd to suggest that the well funded political / criminal / gangster gangs of Northern Ireland would consider bribing such an august official...would it ?