Bacton explosion last night - The Bigger the Bang the Louder the Silence.

Remarkably there has been remarkably little (virtually Zero) comment on the Blast / explosion / fire at Bacton in Norfolk last night which has shut the supplies of 13% of UK natural gas and psuhed the price up overnight from 52 (ish) p per Therm to 57 (ish) p per Therm.

However rooting about this popped up

BBC Online 8/1/08 Armed police to guard gas plant

One quarter of Britain's gas is handled at Bacton, which also processes supplies from three North Sea oil fields and channels gas to and from Europe.

Armed police are to guard Bacton Gas Terminal against a possible terrorist attack, Norfolk Police has confirmed. The decision to deploy armed police is part of an ongoing review of security around the country.

The Home Office emphasised it had not received any intelligence of an attack, or an increase in the level of terrorist threats.

A national newspaper (Rupe's Rag News of the World NOW) claimed there were intelligence reports of al-Qaeda suspects showing an interest in some oil and gas terminals. (The NOW oil and gas terminals in Humberside and Grampian, Scotland, and oil refineries at Coryton, Essex, and Fawley, near Southampton, as locations where troops are to be deployed to beef up security. They also said the paper suggested that plans to bring in military security came in response to intelligence reports of al Qaida suspects showing an interest in plants including Bacton and the Milford Haven gas terminal in south Wales.)(PA) The NOW report also was headlined that the Football Premier Leage was a target with a picture of a footballer as headline ! - AL-QAEDA TARGET THE PREMIERSHIP

The Home Office said: "We have been very clear that we face the severe threat of terrorism, so it is important that we consider all options to protect our assets and infrastructure.

"This particular review doesn't reflect any specific threat. We constantly keep our resources under review."

Current Threat level

UPDATE 3.45 pm GMT Reuters report gas flow re-started. Still no mention on Friday UK News media of incident.

Israelis rain bombs and rockets on Gaza - 20 dead, 5 of them children

Late Thursday, an Israel Air Force missile strike hit an electric company vehicle in Khan Yunis, killing two workmen, medics said. The Israeli military said they hit a car carrying militants.

After nightfall Thursday, two Palestinians were killed in an IAF missile strike on a truck in Gaza City, near Shifa Hospital.

Early Thursday evening, an IAF helicopter attacked a police roadblock near the Gaza City home of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, in which Palestinian .

Four children - all under the age of 16 and three from the same family - were killed in an IAF strike in Jabalya, a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said. Witnesses said the children were playing soccer when the missile struck. Another boy wounded in that strike, a 12-year-old neighbor, died later, hospital officials said.

Another IAF attack in northern Gaza a short while later killed a Hamas militant.

Earlier, IAF aircraft struck northern Gaza, killing another Hamas member and one other person. There were no details on the target, and the IDF had no immediate comment.

On Thursday morning, the IAF struck targets in carried out an air strike in Gaza City, killing two militants from the Popular Resistance Committees and another from Hamas.

Overnight, IAF jets blasted a government building in Gaza. Palestinian health officials said a 6-month-old baby was killed in the attack, and 30 people were wounded.
Haaretz

Harry Windsor - An Officer and a Gentleman

Air Force Link
Feb. 26 airpower summary: B-1Bs destroy Taliban check point

Air Force B-1B Lancers dropped GBU-31s(500lb) and 38s (2,000lbs) in order to destroy an enemy commander's house, a Taliban check point, an enemy ambush site, improvised explosive device emplacers, and enemy combatants on a ridge line. A JTAC reported that the missions were successful.

"After the disappointment over Iraq ....... he retrained as a battlefield air controller known as a JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) with a view to going to Afghanistan. "

Gordon Brown said Prince Harry has been an "exemplary" soldier, adding: "The whole of Britain will be proud of the outstanding service he is giving."

Doling out a Guernica daily to the Third World - it's no wonder they are so thrilled to see us there.

Anorak has a good take on the media HarryFest

" ..all he seems to have done is spanked a few bare bottoms" David Steel on Cyril Smith 1979

Attutudes to the abuse and bullying of children, especially those in the care of the local authority or the State have changed dramatically.

So has the attitude of society to those who misuse their position to abuse children

The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979. It marked a pivotal point in post war British politics. Margaret Thatcher defeated James Callaghan's incumbent Labour government in what would prove to be the first of four consecutive general election victories for the Conservative Party. Auberon Waugh, also stood representing the "Dog Lovers' Party" in memory of Rinka the Great Dane shot by Andrew Newton instead of Norman Scott, Jeremy Thorpe the Liberal leaders lover..

One was never certain that the nation was more shocked by the culling of a dog than by Thorpe's homosexuality, deceit, and bare faced lies in court.

Rochdale Altenative Press (RAP) published an article about Cyril Smith MP, (Now Sir Cyril) in their issue No 78 of May 1978 which hit the streets of Rochdale the week before the election .

It was headed "Strange Case of Smith the Man"

The Article launched into their report ...RAP has obtained evidence that , during the 60's Cyril Smith (Alderman and Chairman of the Education Committee) was using his position to get lads aged 13-18 to undresin front of him in order that he could get them to bend over his knee while he spanked their bare bottoms or let him hold their testicles in a bizarre ' medical inspection '

They deatiled how the Lancashire Police had investigated claims about Smith's activities 3 years before he became an MP for 6 months.

The original complaint concerned a resident of Cambridge Boys Hostel, Castlemere Street, Rochdale (it closed in 1965) . Eventually 7 people made complaints.

"... he took me into the quiet Room. he told me to take my trousers down and bend over his knee..." Another one ..." Cyril Smith found out I had taken some money . He asked me if I would accept his punishment or be dealt with by the authorities..." Another " He told me to take my trousers and oants down. He held my testicles and told me to cough"

At the end of the Lancashire Police review a File was drawn up by the Officer incharge of the Task Force team for submission to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

But the DPP wjhen asked by RAP said .." The DPP cannot trace such a case being referred to us, but cannot confirm or deny receiving it" - it appears that at the time existence of the review into Smith's conduct and the File were common knowledge amongst many local politicians and Police.

But the file did exist and was handled by Special Branch when prospects of a Conservative / Liberal pact were being considered.

Smith has always denied the allegations. RAP at the time warote asking for an interview and received no reply.

The article was published and a shocked town waited for a response by the big fella.

There was none.

David Steel's Press Office was quoted as saying on 22nd April 1979 ..." ..all he seems to have done is spanked a few bare bottoms".

Copies of RAP can be found in the Rochdale and Whitworth Libraries.

Bacton Gas Explosion - immediate gas price rise in UK of 18%

Gas pipelines blow up - "THE BIG BANG THEORY – The Bigger the Bang, the Louder the Silence 04/08/04 " identifies the problems the UK faces in energy security.

Late sleepers in Ath, 30 km SW of Brussels were woken by a massive explosion at 8.55 am on Friday July 30th 2004. A gas pipeline exploded.

Between 12 and 16 people died immediately and some 200 were injured of whom 35 who suffered massive burns (many of them emergency service staff) and are not expected to survive.
The UK media offered no comment or analysis on this massive and lethal incident and turned to the important issues of the day, Cherie Blair's swimwear, Lady Di's non-functioning fountain and the endless sex sagas of the denizen's of London's Soho Square.

Silence. A silence induced by an unwillingness to either rule out the possibility of terrorist action or even identify how such an accident (if that is what it was – and nobody has ever decided what caused it) punches a hole in the alleged UK “Energy Policy”.

Now 4 years later there is still do definitive efitive view about the cause of the explosion.

Tonight we learn that there has been an explosion at the Bacton Gas terminal in Norfolk 18 miles NW of Norwich.

Bacton is a sprawling complex of five gas terminals, built over the last 35 years is the largest gas terminal complex in the UK. Gas lands onshore at the three producer terminals from the Southern North Sea and from the Shearwater Elgin Area Line (SEAL) and is then distributed to UK customers via the National Grid terminal, or to Belgium via the Interconnector system. When in reverse flow mode, the Interconnector Bacton Terminal is used to import gas into the UK.

Ten fire engines attended the incident, which was described as ``very large-scale'' by the Norfolk Fire Service press office today. The plant sustained some ``structural damage'' from an explosion, the fire service said. All 17 staff on the site at the time were accounted for and by 7.30pm Shell UK Exploration said: “The fire has now been extinguished and the plant has been shut down safely.”

No gas was flowing through either the Shell Bacton or Bacton Seal terminals, data from National Grid showed.

Total SA halted flows from the Elgin-Franklin fields in the North Sea, which ship gas to Bacton, spokeswoman Jenny Costelloe said. Those fields can pump 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, including 175,000 of gas condensate, a type of light oil.

Flows through the BBL pipeline from the Netherlands were unaffected by the fire, according to National Grid data on Bloomberg. The fuel was arriving into the U.K. at a rate of about 35 million cubic meters a day at 7:58 p.m. GMT

Within-day U.K. gas prices rose on the APX Gas UK exchange, trading at 61.5 pence a therm at 8:08 p.m. GMT, (equivalent of $12.33 per million British thermal units) compared with about 52.5 pence ( a rise of 18%) before the blaze was reported. (A therm is 100,000 British thermal units (BTU))

``Traders taking gas in through Bacton will have to replace those flows,'' said Patrick Heather, an industry consultant and former head of gas trading at BG Group Plc, said in a phone interview. ``The southeast is where the demand is. Bacton is our physical link to the continent.''
Gas Trading

Bacton can handle as much as 20% of the U.K.'s net gas imports, Heather estimated.

News of the blaze came after normal trading hours for most gas brokers. The APX exchange is used by National Grid Plc, operator of the U.K.'s gas pipeline network, to buy and sell the fuel to balance daily demand.

Gas traders will ``pounce'' on the Bacton news when trading resumes tomorrow, Heather said. ``At this time of night it will just be balancing trading.''

The APX Gas UK exchange is used by National Grid Plc, operator of the U.K.'s gas pipeline network, to buy and sell the fuel to balance daily demand and provides a real time twenty-four hours a day facility.

Further report from Eastern Daily Press 8 pm which suggests that eveyting is damped down, any fire is out . No offficial public statements have been made by the Fire Services, Terminal operators or the National Grid. 9.0 GMT. At 10.00 pm GMT Police said ave given the all-clear after the explosion and fire at Bacton gas terminal. Officers used an automated system to tell people in 360 homes in and around the village that they were safe, that the fire was out and the plant had been shut down safely.


Gobal oil and gas prices tend to move in unison and in the US Since September 2007, the prices of oil have increased from approximately $75 per barrel to over $100 per barrel and natural gas has increased from $6.13/mmBtu to a recent price of $9.08/mmBtu, a 48 percent increase. Se Chart which is close of business Wednesday 27th.
Today - Crude oil for April delivery rose $3, or 3 percent, to $102.64 a barrel at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) . Futures rose to $102.97 a barrel, the highest since trading began in 1983. Prices are up 66 % from a year ago.

The Oil Drum has this excellent article posted today on North American natural gas decline. There are interesting comments on the mi of using LNG as a agas source - LNG has a higher energy content and has limited use for domestic equipment currently in use.

UPDATE : Natural gas on APX is being quoted today 57.44 (1.00 GMT) - from 52.55 yesterday before Bacton was hit. You can see the effect on quoted prices in the graph from yesterday.

Oddly enough there is little comment in the UK Press today about the incident.

Bloomberg report ;

Investigation Underway

Shell said an investigation is underway into the fire at the terminal in Norfolk, England, and it was too early to comment on the cause. The facility sustained ``structural damage'' from the blast, according to a recorded message from the local fire service yesterday.

``We have no date for the re-start of the terminal,'' Shell said in an e-mailed statement today. ``Gas supply to the U.K. is unaffected.'' Shell has been in contact with the National Grid who confirmed there is ``more than enough supply coming into the country from all the various sources,'' according to the statement.

``National Grid are confident there will be no detrimental effect on security of supply,'' Shell
said. ``Only the Shell terminal at the Bacton site is affected.''

Supply Draw

Gas shippers started to draw supplies of the fuel from liquefied natural gas stocks at the Glenmavis facility in Scotland today, the first time since Feb. 20. Rough, the U.K.'s biggest gas-storage facility, was 34 % full as of Feb. 28, with more than 26 days of supply at maximum withdrawal rate in stock, according to National Grid data. Smaller storage sites are 60 % full with 10.8 day's supply, while LNG stocks are 67 % full, the grid data show. (The loss of the 2 Shell pipelines at Bacton = 13% of UK gas supply)

Dutch gas for delivery March 3 at the Title Transfer Facility rose 2.8 % to 23.75 euros (US
$36.12) a megawatt-hour, according to Spectron Group Plc. That equals $10.59 a million British thermal units. Next-month gas gained 4.4 percent to a month-high of 23.65 euros = 55.3 p Therm.

Happy 63rd Birthday SIR PHILIP MARTIN BAILHACHE Bailiff of Jersey

The Current Bailiff of Jersey is SIR PHILIP MARTIN BAILHACHE , QC who was elected to the post in 1989. He lives with his wife Linda Le Vavasuer dit Durell and 2 children Alice and Edward at L'Anquetinerie, Grouville, Jersey JE3 9UX .This picture below is of the datestone celebrating their marriage in 1984 when he was 38.

Sir Philip was born 28 Feb 1946 almost at the same time as George Robertson. He is an Old Carthusian and went on to read Law at Pembroke College Oxford (MA, Hon Fell 1995); admitted to theMiddle Temple 1968, advocate Jersey 1969–74

He was for many years in the 70's and 80's the Governor of the Jersey Home for Boys (Haut de la Garenne)

First elected to the States of Jersey as Deputy of Grouville in 1972, he resigned his seat in 1975 to become a Crown Officer when appointed as HM Solicitor General. He became HM Attorney General in 1986. He was the serving Attorney General at the time of the court case vs. Peter Pearce which represents the only time that a senior legal official in Jersey has lost a case in the Royal Court of Jersey. The case was presided over by the Bailiff of Guernsey.

He was involved in the controversy surrounding the removal of Vernon Tomes (later Senator Vernon Tomes) as Deputy Bailiff, and replaced Vernon Tomes in that office in 1994. He became Bailiff of Jersey in 1995 and received his knighthood in 1996.

Vernon Tomes, the island's Deputy Bailiff, and a farmer's son was dismissed by Queen Elizabeth in 1992, acting on instructions from Whitehall. The reason given was that, as a senior judge, he had been repeatedly late in delivering judgments.The Queen rules as heir to William, Duke of Normandy, and not as a British monarch, she appoints the Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff to preside over the States and the judiciary and to represent the island abroad.

At the time Tomes was sacked her representative was Lieutenant Governor, Air Marshal Sir John Sutton who was booed and heckled in the streets of Jersey. The Bailiff presented Sir John with a pair of decanters "suitably inscribed" when he eventually retired Tuesday, 27th June 1995.

In 2006, Sir Philip awarded l'Ordre de la Pléiade (Grand Officier class) by l'Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie.

Philip is curently recovering from surgery from prostate cancer and will not return to office until the end of March - meanwhile Deputy Bailiff Michael Birt is standing in for him.

PRAYERS OF REPENTANCE were said at the church closest to Haut de la Garenne, where the remains of a child were found, at a service attended by Jersey’s highest officials this evening.
Rev Canon Dr Peter Williams who has arranged the service at Gouray Church where he is vicar, said prayers of “corporate repentance” would be said during the service attended by the Island’s First Minister, the Chief of Police and the Queen’s representative.

They would consider Matthew 18 : 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

EDUCATION Minister Mike Vibert yesterday today spoke to the press on the steps of the State House and said that ‘I regret that there was a historic case of child abuse at one of the Island’s schools 'Victoria College', which was uncovered in the early 1990s before I was elected as a States member.

‘Once reported to the Education Department of the day this incidence of abuse was taken seriously. The man responsible was successfully prosecuted and subsequently imprisoned.’
The Education Minister made the statement after Senator Stuart Syvret gave copies of a leaked report into the Jervis Dykes child abuse scandal to the media yesterday.

LOCAL PRESS reports today say children at Haut de la Garenne were selected for abuse and kept in a ‘deep, dark place in the ground’ before it occurred, police have been told.
It is claimed by alleged victims that the abuse, which was sexual and physical, either took place within the holding chamber in the ground where the children were kept and fed, or elsewhere in the building.

Only one person has been charged in connection with the current enquiry. In January Gordon Claude Wateridge, 76, was accused of indecently assaulting three girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979.

The BBC have an excellent Timeline here Guradian inter active 3 D guide

Panic! Don't Panic ..Show bizniz crisis hits Metropolitan Police Entertainments Unit - all their patsies stars locked up . more required...

Peter Clarke ,Met Police Assistant Commissioner responsible for specialist operations, (AKA The Sphincter of the Yard) said on Monday when launching an advertising campaign to coincide with the ending of the 5 month "Don't Panic I'm Islamic" Trial (Joint Production BBC / MI5/6) ... "Terrorists live within our communities, making their plans whilst doing everything they can to blend in, and trying not to raise suspicions about their activities."

This blending in the community naturally involves being filummed for TV - BBC 2, Sunday 12th June,2005 19:00 ( er...one month before the 7/7 false flag bombing of the London Transport) ....The BBC paid for Mr Hamid and fellow defendants Muhammad al-Figari and Mousa Brown to go on a paintballing trip at the Delta Force centre in Tonbridge, Kent, in February 2005 for a BBC programme commissioned by MI6 (who also supplied an Asian agent provacateur for the set up / entrapment ) "Don’t Panic, I’m Islamic"

The men, accused of terrorism training, starred in the programme which was screened in June 2005. Woolwich Crown Court was told the BBC paid Mr Hamid, an Islamic preacher who denies recruiting and grooming the men behind the failed July 21st 2005 attack, a £300 fee to take part in the programme.

Mr Clarke went on to say on Monday ..."We want people to look out for the unusual, some activity or behaviour which strikes them as not quite right and out of place in their normal day to day lives."

Well look carefully at these two photographs and decide whether you should give him a call and advise him of something out of place.. or ...er...not quite right.

Nasreen Suleaman, "a researcher on the programme," *** was born of Pakistani parentsin Britain and brought up like Mohamed Sidique Khan in Yorkshire and has worked for the BBC for 13 years. She has written a considerable number of stories ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 )which have appeared on BBC Online about evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists . In November 2005 she produced a BBC 4 documentary , "Biography of a Bomber " - a search for reasons why Mohammad Sidique Khan turned from being a non-mosque-going Yorkshire Brit into a suicide bomber for Islam on July 7.

Nasreen Suleaman also spoke at a conference in Madrid organised by the British Embassy in Spain with the aim of discussing Islam and communities in the future some time in 2005.

Nasreen Suleaman appeared in Woolwich Crown Court and told them that Mr Hamid contacted her after the July 21st abortive attack and told her about his association with the bombers. (read about trial here)

Nasreen Suleaman explained to the court that she informed senior BBC managers but was not told to contact the police and therefore felt under no obligation to contact the police with this information. It appears it was her idea that they went paint balling - she told the court: "There are many, many British Muslims that I know who for the past 15 or 20 years have been going paintballing. It's a harmless enough activity. I don't think there is any suggestion, or ever has been, that it's a terrorist training activity." WRONG WRONG

Nasreen Suleaman had no need to worry, Peter Clarke and the masterminds of the Met knew all about Mr Hamid, they had a man on the inside (Agent 1259 ) for over 2 years, they were secretly recording conversations in his house.

Regrettably so busy have the Busies in Blue been in masterminding their secret cells of evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists they betrayed the trust the public put in the security services... and allowed patient, clever , well organised enthusiastic committed eco-freaks to not only identify the glaring weaknesses in security at our major airpirt and the Houses of Parliament but to breach them and explouit the resultant publicity.

They managed to sneak huge banners, Day Glo Jackets to parade for hours their message to be relayed worldwide by a primed and waiting Press.

Mr Peter Clarke the terrist mastermind added on Monday launched a massive (and no dobt expensive) advertising campagn in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and the West Midlands (that's the hideout of the evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists).

Mr Peter Clarke the Sphincter of the Yard and Keeper of the Lunch Pails added: "I completely understand and appreciate that some people may have concerns or reservations about contacting the police."

"Any information passed to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline (0800 789 321) is treated in the strictest of confidence."

So, if any readers see a group of people (they don't have to be evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists) standing on top of an plane at London Airport with a huge fluorescent banner.

If any readers see a group of people(they don't have to be evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists) hanging banners off the roof of the Houses of Parliament while policemen (they are usually the one's in fluorescent jackets - but not always) with Heckler and Koch MP5 automatic machine guns skulking around looking very awkward.

RING 0800 789 321

Ask for Peter.

*** Small research program for the reader , simply Google the phrase, "Nasreen Suleaman, a researcher on the programme, told the court that Mr Hamid, 50" (no quotes) ... and see if you think the beautiful, doe eyed, Asian beauty , Nasreen, 13 years with the BBC who speaks to conferences at the UK Embassy in Madrid and produces TV programmes which take 24 months to make is a "researcher"

One thing is for certain beautiful, doe eyed, Asian beauty , Nasreen Suleaman is a very smart lady.

UPDATE March 17th see also Antagonist 26 February 2008
Osama bin London Exclusive - terror training and extremism gets BBC sponsorship

The UK elites and their prediliction for sex with children

Jersey is a small (90,000 population) island with a mediaeval system of Government - it isn't in the EU - Aangirfan has collected together information about Edward Paisnel, the "Beast of Jersey", who was the son of wealthy Jersey landowners.

In the period 1958 - 1971, Paisnel abducted and abused a number of children and at the same the time visited visited Jersey's Haut de la Garenne orphanage dressed as Father Christmas. This was revealed in first revealed in a book written by his wife, Joan, in 1972, after he had been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Paisnel, apparently was keen for the children to call him Uncle Ted, died in 1994. He apparently also did work on the premises as an odd job man /painter.

The mainland were alerted to an intensive study centred on that orphanage by the BBC in early December - Investigating Jersey's 'abuse' history . Mr Syvret, 42, the former Jersey health minister who has been involved in fierce clashes with Frank Walker, the island’s Chief Minister, over allegations of a cover-up, said that the abuse extended to several more children’s homes in addition to Haut de la Garenne and Greenfields, which is the subject of a separate investigation .
Aangirfan provides an excellent running commentary on paedophile scandals and cover ups ... which he traces through Lenny Harper the NI policeman in charge of the inquiry on Jersey today , via the Kincora Boys Home the North Wales , Bryn Alyn paedophile ring and MI5/6 /SIS involvement with both.

By way of police cover ups at Dunblane and Labour Party Politicians like Margaret Hodge (née Margaret Oppenheimer) who (reminscent of Kenny the Red) accused the accused the Evening Standard of "gutter journalism" and rejected its dossier on paedophile activity in the homes when The Evening Standard began a series of reports alleging that dozens of children at two Islington council homes were abused.

..to the curious case of George Robertson ... Secetary general of NATO

Blair's Protection of Elite Paedophile Rings Spells the End For His Career / Mike James

"NATO boss and Blair government insider Lord Robertson has threatened to sue Scotland's leading independent newspaper over internet allegations that he not only used his influence as a Freemason to procure a gun licence for child killer Thomas Hamilton, but was also a member of a clandestine paedophile ring reportedly set up by Hamilton for the British elite. "

Aangirfaan gets better ... read also the way Israel / Turkey / US are forming a sinister triangle of force ready to tackle Iran. Turkey is being persuaded to join an attack on Iran?

Gannon - see WAPO Friday, May 4, 2007; Page A02 see also

The BBC have been on the case of the Haut de la Garenne child abuse and cover up since 2006 and this link gives an excelle time line with links to all BBC stories. Something is very rotten in the States of Jersey.

Bob Bennett and Northern Rock - a pattern emerges -Après moi le déluge

Those who heard Bob Bennett on Radio 4 "Today" programme yesterday may well be inerested in this interview he gave when he announced his retirement. We have not heard the last of Mr Bennet or his relationship with Mr Applegarth.

He described the then-chief executive Adam Applegarth as "an energetic, youthful, growth-orientated individual"."He was difficult to deal with and he was difficult to handle," said Bennett who described himself as a "safe pair of hands" in the City's view.

Northern Rock should never have gone to the Bank of England for emergency financing in August, Bennett said, suggesting it should have taken action to scale back its lending.
Asked if the management was to blame he replied: "Partially, .... yes".

Interview: Moving On – Bob Bennett, group finance director at Northern Rock
Clare Bettelley Finance Week - 18-Sep-2006
Northern Rock group finance director, Bob Bennett announced his early retirement today. He tells Clare Bettelley the reason behind his decision and his plans for life after Northern Rock.

Finance Week: You told Finance Week last year that you would “definitely” not retire before your 60th birthday, next May. What changed?

Bob Bennett : I will continue to be employed until May (He was then 60) . If you think about the results, it makes sense to do the year-end and for the new guy to start as early as possible in the New Year.

FW: Were you forced to go? (now why ask that ?)

BB: No. If we had recruited an external candidate, then possibly I would have gone earlier. Some new people do not always want the old guy around.

FW: How many internal and external candidates did the bank consider?

BB: Dave Jones was the only internal candidate - he was always seen as the clear internal candidate. Northern Rock has a fairly static strategy about what it wants to do. Dave is completely conversant with this.

FW: What have been the highlights of your 13-year tenure?

BB: I am a forward-looking kind of guy, not a nostalgic one. It is not the end of Bob Bennett.

FW: But what would you consider your achievements?

BB: I always wanted to be an accountant. If someone had said I would be a finance director of a FTSE 100 company, I would have been happy.

FW: Will you consider extra non-executive director roles in addition to your post at Greggs?

BB: If people see me of use, then of course I would.

FW: What projects will you leave unfinished?

BB: I will not leave anything unfinished; it is not my style. The Basel II project will continue. One of the things that I am pleased about is that I am not a megalomaniac. I see it as a relay race, and have ensured that Dave’s been involved with all big projects.

JC Flowers wo looked at a take over of NR briefly, included Bob Bennett in their managment team for ther take over.

See also Accountancy Age the Daily Telegraph also had what will be seen as a very prescient article on September 19th 2007 which mention BB's departure and the consequences.

Lights go out all over Florida - Turkey Point PWR shut down

Two Florida Power & Light nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point power plant automatically shut down at 1 pm EST today. The plant is 2 miles east of Homestead, Florida, United States, next to Biscayne National Park located about 35 miles (56 kilometers) near the southernmost edge of Miami-Dade County.....

.... On the day the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announce that NRC staff will conduct two public meetings in the vicinity of the Three Mile Island 1 nuclear power plant on Tuesday, March 4, to discuss the agency’s review process for a proposed 20-year extension of the facility’s current 40-year operating license. AmerGen Energy Co., LLC, owns and operates the plant, which is located in Middletown (Dauphin County), Pa.

''We don't know whether the grid disturbance caused the units to shut down or that their shut down caused the grid disturbance,'' said Kenneth Clark, a spokesman at the NRC regional office in Atlanta. He said the two reactors were automatically shut down.

''There are no safety concerns. The reactors shut down as designed,'' Clark told the New York Times.

There were sporadic shutdowns of traffic lights, Miami airport went on to generator backup and slowly full grid connections were restored.

In 2006, FPL informed the NRC that they planned to apply for new units to be built at Turkey Point. FPL filed an initial proposal for increased capacity with the Florida Public Service Commission in October, 2007

No doubt it will be clearer later in the day what happened - the company report on their website (may be difficult to reach ) "The system is being restored in a systematic process to ensure its safe operation at all times. The company does not have a cause for the outage, which is affecting several hundred thousand customers but the system responded as designed to ensure the outage was contained. We ask you to please call us only in an emergency situation so we can keep our lines open for emergency calls". ....Meanwhile the important news today is ...

Miss Lohan as Marilyn in a pastiche of her “The Last Sitting” with Bert Stern.Kennedy moll and family lover she died six weeks later of an overdose (?).

The whole Bert Stern (ish) Oeuvre is here

PS: Curious story about suspected sabotage at Turkey Point April 2006 here with links.

Pfizer junks Jarvik - must find new way to get folks to eat statins for breakfast

Pfizer has decided to drop Dr Robert Jarvik from ads for Lipitor, Pfizers cholesterol-lowering drug, and the world's best-selling medication ( US$13.6 billion in 2006), after the US Congress (prompted by Michigan Democratic Reps. John Dingell and Bart Stupak) , said it was investigating whether Lipitor ads featuring Jarvik were misleading.

Pfizer President of Worldwide Pharmaceutical Operations Ian Read claims the ads provide valuable and medically accurate information about Lipitor, "the way in which we presented Dr. Jarvik in these ads has, unfortunately, led to misimpressions (add this to your dictionary along with "unclarity") and distractions."

Although Jarvik appears to be giving medical advice, he is not a practicing physician with a valid license in any state. Dr Robert Jarvik is the inventor of the Jarvik artificial heart and holds a degree in engineering from New York University and a medical degree from the University of Utah.

The company, says it is "committing to ensuring greater clarity in the roles and responsibilities of its spokespeople in its consumer advertising and promotion," is planning a new Lipitor ad campaign in the coming weeks... which of course it was going to do ...er...anyway. Pfizer would naturally be looking at better ways to spend the US$258 million they have spent on Lipitor advertising since January 2006, most on the Jarvik campaign, to protect Lipitor, from competition from cheap generics.

If they want to "ensure greater clarity " they could start by stopping using words like misimpressions .

Maybe this could mark the end of celebrity endorsements of medication such as Pfizer paying senator and one time candidate Bob Dole to pitch Viagra in 1999 . Merck & Co. Inc. paid Olympic skating champion Dorothy Hamill to appear in ads for Vioxx which she probably deeply regrets now..

See Video of Ad there is an interesting new development to explain the action of statins here

UPDATE Tuesday 5.20 GMT : Lord Patel apologises for providing a"misimpression" ...it now transpires that Dr Jarvik does not row, and possibly doesn't even know how to row and that the ads feature a "body double".... as does our fuzzy screen grab from the Pfizer promo video.Which pisses off scullers who have been suckered by Dr Jarik's apparently flawless technique. Dr Jarvik is 65.

The ads also feature Dr Jarvik wearing a very clean White Lab coat, which he did learn how to use after several hours training ... just prior to collecting his US$1.35 million fee.

IAG research the recall of on ads on TV - these are the confidential results for Most Recalled New Prescription Drug Ads Sept 1, 2006 - Sept 23, 2007 Click to enlarge

Isn't it curious what pharma thinks sways consumer choice ... but you can be absolutely certain that it has been very , very caerfully researched.

Why shouldn't we allow pharma to advertise direct to the consumer ... alcohol suppliers are allowed to, and they cause more direct and indirect damage to people's and society's health than the pharma companies do. Lunesta ? .. "Lunesta helps you fall asleep quickly..." Zyrtec ? an anti-histmaine non-drowsy allergenic treatment was only available on prescription but two months ago was allowed for sale OTC . Rozerem is another insomnia treatment Crestor is a statin

Ralph Nader Stands for attention

In 2000, Nader got 2.7 % of the vote. 96,000 of those voters were in Florida.

In 2004 he finished with 0.3 % of the vote.

In 2008 he got to appear on “Meet the Press”

V22 Osprey Turkey hard at work in Iraq

The Osprey V22 has been operational in Iraq for some months now and reports are starting to filter out ... Christian Low at Military.com reports on getting a ride

"It just so happened that my flight from Fallujah to al Asad was on an Osprey. I was jammed in there with about ten other pax, their gear and a box full of supplies" (Design Capacity: 24 troops (seated), 32 troops (floor loaded) or up to 15,000 pounds of cargo .

It sounds as though ear plugs would be advisable - or at least an iPod.

"the performance of the Osprey compared to the helicopter it's replacing -- the CH-46 Sea Knight -- is like night and day. The most dramatic thing you notice here in a "combat" environment is the extreme altitude gain and loss the MV-22 can pull. It literally jumps off the landing pad and within seconds goes nose high and skyrockets to anywhere between 5,000 and 9,500 feet. The pull up and nose down to the LZ can be so jarring you think you're going to fall out the back...and the pressure on your ears is borderline painful."

He also wrote again a few days later ..

"..the Corps’ most high-profile program is finally deployed, and from the looks of it, the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor transport is living up to its promise.

"There’s nothing in the inventory that can keep up with the Osprey," said Lt. Col. Paul Rock, commander of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, "The Thuderchickens" which deployed here in late September. "This aircraft can scream across the ground."

Over the last five months, the Osprey has flown myriad missions. But most of its hops have consisted of run-of-the-mill logistics runs: shepherding troops to widely scattered forward operating bases, flying in supplies and mail, shuttling commanders to meetings with tribal leaders and Iraqi security officials. "

Also at defense.tech

"Although the Marines have been keeping a tight lid on what's going on with the Osprey since VMM-263 arrived at al Assad a couple of weeks ago, our inside sources relay that after a couple of sorties in country it's "so far, so good."

Charlie at OP FOR posted ...

"VMM-263 -- the "Thunder Chickens" -- has flown five Aeroscout missions, one raid, more than 1,400 combat sorties, and maintained an average mission capable readiness rate of 68.1 percent during its deployment, the service reported.

The Ospreys flew everywhere throughout the battlefield from Baghdad to Al Qaim, providing an operational capability over distance and time that has "effectively collapsed the battlespace," the Marines say."

Also an interestingarticle about US$83 available for developing a defensive gun - Navy Times Osprey may get turret-mounted machine gun By Gayle S. Putrich October 11th 2007

Ralph Nader in dirty tricks campaign for White House #1

Rio de Janiero - Revelations

The Senlis Council are holding their International Symposium on Public Security and Drug Policy , Sofitel Hotel , Rio de Janeiro from today until 27th February.

This event brings together international authorities, experts and policy makers to discuss the most pressing challenges facing public security and law enforcement. In particular the ways in which the problem of drugs impact on public security, and the relationship between drug policy and public security policies will be explored.

For the complete program go here

To view their report on Policy Recommendations for Afghanistan - the only sensible one proposed to day go here 3 pages of pure distilled wisdom on the subject ....

- 66 per cent of Americans support a “poppy for medicine” scheme which would allow farmers to switch their crop away from the production of illegal narcotics, and towards the
production of legal medicines;

- 69 per cent agree that in order for this medicinal scheme to work, there needs to be a trial run in the form of a scientific pilot project;

- 69 per cent of the US public opposes chemical spraying of poppy crops.

Spring Wheat jumps 16% to US$23.10 a bushel as MGX opens with no limits trading - Big Food improves product pumps the price ...profits ..????

"Many (wheat) end-users are shifting from a 'just-in-time mentality' to a 'buy-it-before-I-need-it mentality.' They don't want to be caught short again like they were this year," said Farm Futures analyst Arlan Suderman. Evidently everyone wants to lock in March supplies regardless of price.

The market cannot be fully evaluated until the market shuts.( @ 13.40 (Delayed) local time the price has risen as high as US$25.00 for March Dly a staggering rise of 25 % - but fallen back to US$24 ) May Dly is US$17 plus = US$ 1650 metric ton . This must have an impact very swiftly on retail prices. (1 bushel of wheat or soya beans = 60 lbs = 33 bushels per metric ton. Corn is sold in 56 lb bushels Barley 48lbs bushels DON'T ASK WHY)

Soybeans for May delivery jumped to a record $14.85 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade CBOT before easing back slightly to $14.695 a bushel, up 31.25 cents. March corn rose 13 cents to $5.35 a bushel after earlier hitting a record $5.4175 a bushel - July Corn is trading at US$5.58.

Kazakhstan is one of the worlds larger wheat exporters and Akhmetzhan Yesimov the minister of agriculture, said the government wanted to limit wheat exports as it battled against rising domestic inflation of nearly 20 %. The country has sold about 75 percent of its wheat and will impose customs duties on what's left — about 110 million bushels.

"In a normal year, 110 million bushels wouldn't be a big deal, but with tight supplies like you have, it's a chunk of wheat," said Jason Ward, analyst with Northstar Commodities in Minneapolis.

Packaged Food companies cut costs in unexpected ways

Packaged food companies,like Minneapolis based General Mills (NYSE: GIS ) are forcing savings faced with higher commodity prices in remarkable ways - the number of pretzel shapes in its Chex and other snack mixes to three, from 14. They cut in half the number of pasta shapes it uses in Hamburger Helper, to 10. Food engineers and marketers even worked on the pasta bits so they nested together, enabling the company to shrink the box reducing packaging raw material costs 10%.

General Mills, says price increases accounted for two to three percentage points of the company's first-half sales gain of 7%.

On Feb. 19 GM forecast EPS of $3.64 to $3.66 per share, up from the $3.18 per share -- and $1.14 billion total -- GM earned in fiscal 2007 and look for total sales up over 6% to US13.2 Bn.

ConAgra wants to save US$225 Mn in cost savings - for example they will cut US$20 Mn. annually by reducing the number of can sizes from over 100 to 20 over 2 years, for everything from Hunt's tomato sauce to VanKamp beans. ... "As part of plans previously communicated, the company recently implemented pricing actions for a number of its consumer brands and has announced additional significant increases that will be effective in late March 2008. These actions are expected to be evident in the company's results for the fiscal third quarter and more significantly in the fiscal fourth quarter." ConAgra Foods CEO Gary Rodkin at the the Consumer Analyst Group(CAGNY) of New York at that group's annual conference in Boca Raton, Fla. last week.

Some others just boost retail unit prices in a carefully researched marketing plan called the Neanderthal Fuck the Consumer Project - price hikes or smaller count packages. Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) whose biggest customer in the US is WalMart , has had 4 bread price rises this year and you can expect another before end May - they also introduced a "new North American organizational structure," in December 2007.... and the Press release said ... " the corporation wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements."

“We have taken appropriate pricing actions and have made significant investments in
marketing and innovation in the first half of the year,” said CEO Brenda Barnes at the CAGNY meeting

UBS Securities says food companies stocks are down 11% in the 3 months since December 1st

ConAgra Share price last 3 months

Sara Lee 3 months share price
BTW the Sara Lee Press release at CAGNY also says in it's ante-penultimate paragraph .... after a litany of WalMart's policy on inventory etc., a wonderful boiler plate phrase which speaks volumes for predicting lousy results ...."In addition, the corporation’s results may also be affected by general factors, such as economic conditions, political developments, interest and inflation rates, accounting standards, taxes and laws and regulations in markets where the corporation competes."

AFP reports that Executive Director , Josette Sheeran of the World Food Programme told the Financial Times that if World Food Programme (WFP) donors did not contribute more money, the agency would have to look at "cutting the food rations or even the number of people reached".

The next event of State Terrism - You have been given a warning

White House threat continues ... and watch the video here keep a copy your grand children will never believe you otherwise.

There is a very nice cocktail bar on the 92nd floor of the Hancock Tower which would prove a good vantage point for an attack on the Sears Tower....It may be trivial but the restrooms on the 103rd floor sky deck 1,353 feet (412 m) above street level are the highest in the world.. but the skydeck has been shut since 9/11/01.

Lloyd Goldman and Joseph Cayre, are 2 New York investors who helped Larry Silverstein to buy the 99 year leases on Trade Center office portion from the NY Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The deal, valued at $3.2 billion, including the Trade Center's retail mall, closed in July 2001, weeks before the September terror attacks that destroyed the complex.

In February 2004, The Wall Street Journal reported that the NY Port Authority in December had quietly agreed to return all of the US$125 million in equity that Mr. Silverstein and his low-profile group originally invested to buy the leases.

Lloyd Goldman and Joseph Cayre also own with an unknown third party (Jeffrey Feil ?) the 110 story Sears Towers which they bought from MetLife Inc., the second-largest U.S. life insurer ...

A380 at the Singapore Airshow - Awesome 1.13 sec

Joining some of the Dots : Pt 27 Nahdmi Auchi ,Ibitsam Auchi, Antoin "Tony" Rezko , Barack Obama, Talat Othman and George Bush via Peter Carter-Fuck

Die Hard republican John Batchelor has a fascinating article in Human Events.com

"Who is Nahdmi Auchi, who lent money through a company he controls in Panama to support a fundraiser for U.S. Senator Barack Obama in May 2005?" ....state documents in Illinois recording that Fintrade Services, a Panamanian company, lent money to Mr Obama’s fundraiser in May 2005. Fintrade’s directors include Ibtisam Auchi, the name of Mr Auchi’s wife. ...Obama moved to distance himself from Rezko recently turning over nearly $150,000 in campaign contributions raised by Rezko to charities.

"Who is Mr. Auchi, said to be the 279th richest man in the world, that he would provide through his overseas company wire transfers of $3,499,471 in April 2007, and another $200,000 in July 2007, to Antoin "Tony" Rezko, an indicted Chicago developer accused of defrauding Illinois citizens of at least $6 million? "

...... Rezko, who has been a major fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is asking the appeals court to free him from the Metropolitan Correctional Center where he has been held since Jan. 28.

Who is Mr. Auchi who in 1999, on the 20th anniversary of his business, received a watercolor painting of the House of Commons personally signed by then Prime Minister Tony Blair, the heads of the opposition Conservative and Liberal Parties, and some 130 other British parliamentarians?

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, founded in 1922 as The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, is a leading independent, nonpartisan organization committed to influencing the discourse on global issues through contributions to opinion and policy formation, leadership dialogue, and public learning....

Now there are some folks who would love to know more about two of the Directors Michelle Obama Vice President for Community and External Affairs, The University of Chicago Medical Center, (the former intellectual property associate at Sidley Austin ) Imad I. Qasim Partner, Sidley Austin, LLP (Curiously Sidley Austin New York office featured in a recent post as operating for Northern Wreck on the Granite Master Trust).

Powerful oufit the GCGA - James H. M. Sprayregen Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co. is a member. He joined Sacks of Gold investment banking division in June 2006 from Chicago law firm Kirkland & Ellis and he works with Dhruv Narain, a managing director who advises companies that face cash shortages or possible bankruptcy....and helped United Airlines through their bankruptcy.

Mr Grouchy Auchi has got his lawyers on the case again apparently Alisdair Pepper, for the brilliant Iraqi businessman has recently sent warning letters to "RezkoWatch" blog and Larry Johnson of "No Quarter" blog, regarding published remarks and questions about Mr. Auchi and his unclear and complex links to the troubled and castigated and currently imprisoned Mr. Rezko.

To read the letters from Pepper and the response of Rezko Watch and Larry Johnson go here. Ho.Ho.Ho.

Which takes us to the fascinating Mr Talat Othman is who is president of the founding committee of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC) and who gave two political campaign contributions to Obama for Illinois: 6/30/03 - $1,000 and 5/22/04 - $1,723.. amongst many others including Jesse Jackson Jnr. and Dick Gephardt . Talat was also involved in George Bush's Harken Energy to represent the interests of Abdullah Taha Bakhsh on the Board.

Is Lady Dame Jane Baroness Pauline Neville Jones unwell ?

Concern is spreading amongst the Fans of the Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones Fan Club. The sweet OAP was a guest on Richard Dimblebore's Any Questions on BBC Radio 4 on Friday and gave a truly remarkable and memorable performance.

Compulsory DNA database ? - "something a free society shouldn't have " ... she went on to suggest that conviction wasn't enough , it should anly apply to "serious offences " which she explained could be defined by custodial penalty or nature of offence.

Rendition ? Rendition for deportation after a trial OK, .... state kidnap for undisclosed interrogation in undisclosed places with unknown consequences ... undermines and corrodes trust between allies, and the reputation of the West. If we don't stand for the rule of Law we stand for very little ...this is our shield and sword in Life.

The kind of ideological fight we are involved in - these people challenge our values, to gain the points we must live by what we stand for, we must practice what we preach.

We must agree with the US what constitutes torture - we say waterboarding is torture ... we are not going to countenance it within the British jurisdiction .

Listen here (available for 7 days) - Transcript not published yet.

What has happened to the old fascist witch ... are there a series of clones in the RUSI cellars... is she a Manchurian Candidate... has Rowan Williams treated her to one of his famous course of "unclarification".

There is happily, one way of determining the authentic La Pauline. Douglas Hurd paid for her to have a tattoo placed on her right buttock one heady night after a night on the šljivovica with Zoran Zizic . It is of a fine double headed eagle clasping a streaming banner bearing the inscription "Annuit Cœptis Novus Ordo Seclorum " ( there are some who say one of the heads on the Eagle bears a striking resemblance to Field Marshal (the last one ever selected) Baron Inge)

We haven't a recent photograph of the tattoo but this is one shows the site of it - Douglas Hurd left it behind in his room in the Hyatt Regency Belgrade on Milentija Popovica (just near the Sava Centre from which the Nat West bank obtained such good returns when they funded it). Toni Fabuloso's boy friend was the night porter - there are others .....

Grouchy Nadhmi Auchi and the problems of the blogiste

As if being Black, female, a mother, grandmother , born and living in the US weren't enough handicaps in life,Kate is also a smart, young, beautiful, sassy Blogger (TM) blogiste - but she has had a run in with Google / Blogger (TM) over Kate/A/Blog

Kate keeps a critically sharp eye on the Ruling elites in the US and is also given to a sharp phrasing or two ... when commenting about Clintonan , ..."For those who believe the ruling class cares about them – you do not grasp the mentality of people who would bludgeon their own father and crawl over his body to fuck their sister if it handed them a throne."

One late September night in 2005 Kate posted about the mysterious and extraordinarily rich and powerful Iraqi Mr Nadhmi Auchi and connections in Panama and subsequently received a letter from the firm of libel lawyers / extortionists founded by Peter Carter-Fuck that asked her to cease and desist. Lord Patel suggested to her that she tell them to fuck off.

Ultimately as she explains - Wednesday, November 29, 2006 Don't Make Kate Angry, You Wouldn't Like Kate When She's Angry - Subtitle: Auchi Still At It

"Harjinder Obhi, a London based attorney for Google, with fuzzy threats of lawsuits, forcing my identity be disclosed, potential shutdown of Kate/A/Blog, etc. etc.

Mr. Obhi politely told me that if Auchi files suit, Google will be forced under the terms of Service etc., etc., to produce information about me, emails, IP addresses, ISP information, etc. etc. etc. and that once my identity is known I will be formally added to the lawsuit."

The same day Auchi & Co's hired hands filed a complaint with blogger.com - bottom line , Google scrubbed the posts http://kateablog.blogspot.com/2005/09/nadhmi-auchi.html and http://kateablog.blogspot.com/2006/11/auchi-ouchie.html .

Cause for complaint ? Kate had posted a picture of a Mr Saddam Hussein, a Middle East Dictator and friend and business partner of Donald Rumsfeld (when alive - which he was in 2005) and incorrectly described it as being a picture of Mr Auchi.

However if you go back to the Wayback Machine you will find
Sunday, September 18, 2005 - Nadhmi Auchi

Auchi is the 7th richest man in Britain; having made his billionaire fortune in banking, pharmaceuticals, oil, hotels, aviation, real estate, telecommunications, etc. He has brokered deals for Italian frigates and Iraqi pipelines, oil-for-food, built grand hotels in London, Beruit, Kuwait. His assorted fortune is under the company General Mediterranean Holding........

or here even, if you felt inclined to circulate it.

The immediate reason for rasing the ghost of Grouchy Auchi (he has swum in these waters before Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Carter Fuck - Legal sharks infesting the Internet - in which it was noted that " Past and present directors of Nadhmi Auchi 's General Mediterranean include ex UK Foreign Office minister Keith Vaz, former Liberal leader Lord Steel, former president of the European commission Jacques Santer and former ladies man and boxer, Conservative chancellor Norman Lamont."

The article also mentioned that Mr Auchi's daughter, the fragrant, lissome, beautiful, heavily bosomed (and scented) and throughly delightful Luma Auchi, and MD of Regent-GM Laboratories Limited, who had been arrested in the NHS drug fraud case involving up to £150 million excess costs to the NHS - she was due to appear at Bow Street Magistrates' Court on 27 April, 2006.

Regent -GM Laboratories Limited, was a UK subsidiary of Mr Auchi's Luxembourg based General Mediterranean business empire and went bust and was wound up in 2004 - so regrettably te NHS could not recover any costs nor press charges.

Regent GM has a star studded board which included former Tory health minister Gerry Malone, who joined the board in 1999 and the fragrant Baroness Falkender, Harold Wilson's long-standing (very) private secretary, who sat on the board of Regent from 1996 to 2003.

It was a former Regent sales and marketing manager Bhupesh Patel (no relation alas) who had for years been acting as a secret whistleblower, who helped the NHS and later Serious Fraud Office with their investigations.

US based Norton (now part of US based IVAX) and the biggest supplier to the NHS of generic drugs eventually paid a total of £13.5m compensation on the basis of being able to deny any liability as part of this gigantic theft of over £150 Mn. from the NHS. Norton CEO from 1990 to 2003 was Isaac Kaye. A Labour donor whose name surfaced again recently .

With a rather murky past in South African politics Kaye was also a generous supporter of Nu Labour and spent £5,000 in 1997 and 1998 on tickets for Labour gala dinners and donated £100,000 to the party in 1999. He also gave £10,000 to the London mayoral campaign of Frank Dobson, the former Labour health secretary.

Currently Kaye's relationship with disgraced Welsh Minister and failed wannabe Deputy Leader Peter Hain has come under scrutiny . It was eventually disclosed that Kaye had given Hain's campaign £15,000 which arrived at his HQ via a political money laundering outfit and post box called Progressive Policies Forum organization funds which the tanned anti-apartheid hero had in a "senior moment" simply forgotten to register.

As a police enquiry was launched he resigned ,only for details of Kaye's support in South Africa for the apartheid National Party to be unearthed.

Oddly enough another firm caught up in the NHS drugs scandal was UK firm Generics who tipped up £12 Mn to the NHS , denying any responsibility naturally... and the chairman of Generics was friend of Isaac Kaye , Mr T (call me "Tony") Tabatznik a large donor to the Labour Party since 1998, so reduced in circumstance his large St John's Wood house house is owned by a Panamanian company.

More to follow about Auchi / Tony Rezko / Auchi's wife / Fintrade / Obama

Fenella Fielding and the Savoy's subtext of Menace - how Mancunians learnt to love James Anderton and the Manchester mafia Masonic brotherhood

From the Deserts of Araby a recommendation to acquire an Independent on Sunday and read the wonderful "The lady vanishes: What ever happened to Fenella Fielding?" by Robert Chalmers - which is also available for those not near a source of the printed copy here. Nominally about her recording a curious set of tracks at Suite 16 in Rochdale last year ... "It was a venture which united the woman famous as England's first lady of the double entendre with the last man in the country to be jailed under the 1959 Obscene Publications Act. "

Who couldn't turn the page ?

The man responsible for this odd collision of having Fenella ( she won't mind me calling her that) intoning the lyrics in her arousing voice , of "Passive Manipulation" by The White Stripes, "Rise" by Public Image Ltd and Nick Lowe's "The Beast in Me" to what even she says of the rythm track , "is a nasty sound" is wannabe rock / sci fi / horror Mancunian legend in the making Dave Britton of Savoy Records whose eclectic output of records tracks . writings (?) and pictures is available here. One of there more fascinating products is Blue Monday/ Cadillac Ranch performed by Lord Horror with the Savoy Hitler Youth Band . Recorded in 1986 12" and available on Savoy Entropy Records SH1T 45 rp

They also have P.J. Proby (who still tours) reading "The Waste Land" and have not yet released Fenella's stab at "The Four Quartets".

The period when the overweight, bearded preacher, James Anderton led Greater Manchester Police and a one man (albeit well supported) homophobic campaign seems dreadfully long ago and far away. In 1989 Dave AKA Lord Horror, took one of Anderton's rants put it in the mouth of fictional James Appleton and replaced "homosexuals" with "Jews". He got 4 months under Section 2 on the basis of material seized in an August 1991 police raid. Fenella says ... "Historically, I have never thought of the police as great literary critics."

The original complaint arose about Lord Horror and the Anderton lierary spoof was in a front page article in the Manchester edition of the Jewish Telegraph, by Doreen Wachmann , probably not the sort of reader the book was aimed at. It then became a matter of major concern to the Editor of the Manchester Evening News - a monopoly evening newspaper whose profits enable the CP Scott Trust to continue publishing the loss making Guradian and Observer .(London based Daily and Sunday newspapers)

You can (and should) read the complete story how Anderton behaved and the Police Committee of Greater Manchester Council (as it then was) allowed him to - ably assisted by stipendiary magistrate Derrick Fairclough at Index on Censorship.

'Since 1976, when James Anderton took over as chief constable, Savoy premises had been raided over 40 times, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of pounds worth of stock. Between 1977 and 1981 Anderton obtained a total of 1,010 search warrants from magistrates under the Obscene Publications Act, which meant that on average one Manchester premises was being raided every two days. The material seized and destroyed was mostly softcore pornography of the kind that could normally be distributed and sold elsewhere in Britain with impunity.'

Michael Butterworth, 'Under Siege', Savoy Dreams: The Secret Life of Savoy Books, David Britton and Michael Butterworth (eds), Savoy 1984.

Derrick Fairclough achieved some degree of legal and national fame when he ordered the electronic tagging in the earliest trials of these hi-tech shackles - of some mothers who had a dispute about their children's use of a bouncy castle in 1996. ... "THE LAW'S heavy-handed involvement in a fight at a children's bouncy castle, and the damage to the fortunes of an exotic troupe of nightclub dancers which followed..."

" the magistrate, Derrick Fairclough, ordered that they must agree to be tagged for four months or go to prison. Electronic monitoring was to confine them to their homes between 8pm and 1am. "You all have young children and it is no real hardship to be in with them at night," he told them. The women protested that the alleged assault had taken place at an afternoon party. Ms Erving, a black 24-year-old, added that it could threaten her only source of income - Hot Supreme, a three-woman dance group which performed in Manchester nightclubs..... "