Popper, Bragg, The Poverty of Political debate and Nancy Cartwright ; Amazing Picture !

There are many who find Lord Melvyn Barg's egregious and unfailing smile, his irritating flaccid nasal tones and (on TV) Armenian carpet seller's hand waggling, irritating beyond measure. Lord Patel does, but his contribution as a catalyst or a mid wife for those better equiped than him to explain the cultural history, science, philosophy and enduring values of Western Civilisation over several decades is remarkable and worthy.

Today's program on BBC 4 "In our Time" examined the contribution of Karl Popper to 20th century scientific thinking and methodology and it's impact through his book "The Open Society". Lord Patel was educated as a scientist in the post war period when Popperian views were promulgated and expressed on the BBC and visits to speak at Universities by P.B.Medawar, PMS Blackett, JD Bernal, Lancelot Hogben who awakeded many unformed minds to the history of scientific thought. Alhough this was at the time when the portentous and preposterous C P Snow ( a fellow alumnus of Lord Patel but of an earlier re-war generation) was lauded (quite absurdly) by the mainstream press with his nonsensical views on "The Two Cultures" - which was effectively demolished by FR Leavis, but not before it's pointless dichotomy had been seeded, grown and fruited, much in the way that the current "debate" on climate change (and by a subtle but meaningless terminological shift to Global Warming) is now an idee fixéé in the minds of Newspaper Editors and school teachers and other feeble minded souls.

Today's excellent contributors who provided an excellent brief and concise introduction were John Worrall, Professor of Philosophy of Science at the London School of Economics, Anthony O'Hear, Weston Professor of Philosophy at Buckingham University, Nancy Cartwright, (see pic) Professor of Philosophy at the LSE and the University of California. (No it's not the one who is the voice of Bart Simpson !) Despite her astonishingly good looks for a philosopher, she doesn't however correspond by e-mail - is this a revolt against technology, idleness or a value judgment on e-mailers who might clutter her mailbox and possibly her unsullied mind ?

The latter was (despite here US origins) lucid and clear, especially in explaining how Popperianism (?) had affected post war thinking about social welfare. This reminded Lord Patel of is his Tutor Winifred Tutin, a statuesque lady (oddly reminiscent of Eliza Manningham Buller and probably like her a supporter of the UK foundation garment industry - the Spirella corsetiére must have been a frequent visitor) of immense scientific rigour who undertook prodigious ammounts of detailed work on the palynology of the sediments of the Lake District to pioneer the understanding of the post glacial warming and vegetative development of Cumbria. Work which has been disregarded it appears in the flurry of "peer reviewed literature" that makes insupportable claims of authority and authenticity, based as it often is on insupportable assumptions and fed by selective and tenuous data streams.

On visiting the department in the late 90's after her husband Tom, (joint author of the authoritative UK Flora and the first Editor of the massive Flora Europea) had died, Lord Patel introduced himself to and she silently reflected on the name for some time, (much as say a descendant of the survivors of Bannockburn may dwell on the name) attempting to grasp at a identity of a more youthful, and less well kempt person. "Ah ..... yes Lord Patel ... you were the first person who I ever heard use the term "value judgement"". With that, she muttered some excuse and sped off to look down a microsope.

Which only serves to confirm how ill informed and ill educated our political masters are, who rail about "taking children out of poverty" by which they rely on a whole series of value judgements and dubious rationalism about what poverty (of flesh, ideas, food, transport,medicine, love.. ?) is, and can so easily be distilled into the single monetary figure of household income. A figure which can be bragged about, and hurled around as a substitute for thought in what passes for political debate by oiks like Milliband, Balls, Bradshaw with the minds of shoolchidren ... which is probably why Popper went on the write "The Poverty of Historicism".

The BBC have made these programs available as podcasts and this one is highly recommended. Every schoolchild should listen to it and learn to recite the important bits by heart - much better than lessons on "climate change" and "Britishness" .. they might ..God forbid, learn to think for themselves.

Instructions on downloading BBC podcasts here

Lord Patel's Index of Extraordinary Minds could easily be applied to Nancy - this consist of comparing the desirability of a post-coital conversation between Margaret Beckett and the person being Indexed, on a scale of 1 to 100. (MB being the datum point of zero) Suggestions are solicited.

Does the global climate possess a stabilizing negative feedback and is the likely candidate for such a feedback cloud cover ?

The excellent whimsical but nonetheless academically highly authoritative, Canadian Spectator draws our attention to an overlooked paper in 2003 in the Geological Society of America Journal Vol13 Issue 7 July 2003.

Celestial driver of Phanerozoic climate?
by Nir J. Shaviv, Ján Veizer

They examine how the two principal drivers of the global climate ;

1 Atmospheric levels of CO2
2 The galactic cosmic ray flux (CRF)

are and have been linked to climate variability in the context of daily to millennial variations, ands also over geological time scales e.g the Phanerozoic (past 545 m.y.),

It would be pointless to abbreviate the detailed arguments, maths, geological record, hydrogeological and climate records they use to detremine and illustrate their thesis. There conclusion is however, that when considering both forcing effects that ;

We find that with none of the CO2 reconstructions can the doubling effect of CO2 on low-latitude sea temperatures be larger than ~ 1.9 °C, with the expected value being closer to 0.5 °C. These results differ somewhat from the predictions of the general circulation models (GCMs) (IPCC, 2001), which typically imply a CO2 doubling effect of ~ 1.5–5.5 °C global warming, but they are consistent with alternative lower estimates of 0.6–1.6 °C . See ...

Lindzen, R.S., 1997, Can increasing carbon dioxide cause climate change?Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v. 948335–8342.).


They claim in their discussion of Potential implications that their approach , based on entirely independent studies from astrophysics and geosciences, yields a surprisingly consistent picture of climate evolution on geological time scales.

They state that the proposition that celestial phenomena are important for understanding the vagaries of the planetary climate is viable . Most intriguing (and of vast important to the current debate if correct) is their claim that one interpretation of their results could be that the global climate possesses a stabilizing negative feedback and a likely candidate for such a feedback is cloud cover (Lindzen, 1997 op cit Ou, H.-W., 2001, Possible bounds on the Earth's surface temperature: From the perspective of conceptual global mean model: Journal of Climate, v. 142976–2988.).

This therefore implies they argue that the water cycle is the thermostat of climate dynamics, acting both as a positive (water vapor) and negative (clouds) feedback, with the carbon cycle “piggybacking” on, and being modified by, the water cycle. See ...

Nemani, R., White, M., Thornton, P., Nishida, K., Reddy, S., Jenkins, J., Running, S., 2002, Recent trends in hydrologic balance have enhanced the terrestrial carbon sink in the United States: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 29106-1–106-4.

Lovett, R.A., 2002, Global warming: Rain might be leading carbon sink factor: Science, v. 2961787.

Lee, D., Veizer, J., 2003, Water and carbon cycles in the Mississippi river basin: potential implications for the northern hemisphere “residual terrestrial sink”: Global Biogeochemical Cyclesv. 17DOI: 10.1029/2002GB001984.

This is they say an aid to understanding the complexities of climate dynamics and ultimately to quantification of its response to potential anthropogenic impact.

Which of course flies in the face of the hysteria which supports the unwelcome, wholesale and erroneous belief that the sole driver of climate change AKA global warming is driven by atmospheric CO2 and that the source of that is anthropogenic.

Anyone seriously interested in educating themselves about the debate would benefit from reading this major but evidently overlooked study....at least look at the graphs which are very convincing.

Qat - A Parliamentary Question to which you may have missed the answer

Hansard 31 Jan 2006 : Column 369W

Khat (Qat)

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will add khat to the list of substances controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. [Q No. 43565]

Paul Goggins: No. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced in Parliament on 19th January that he had accepted the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs that khat should not be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

What is misleading is that the reference is to 19th January 2005 when overweight Charlie Clarke was Home Secretary and being quizzed about re-classifying Cannabis and he said in oral answers to questions ..

"As previously announced, I have accepted the advice to keep Methyl Amphetamine as a class B drug, though this is subject to a review reporting later this year. Similarly I have accepted the Council’s advice not to classify Khat as a controlled drug."

Which will not only cheer up the thousands of East Africans living in the UK who sit chewing it all day, but the suppliers in Kenya and the immensely profitable supply chain that prospers based on the daily deliveries at Heathrow Airport. Is VAT chargeable on the supply of Khat ?

Charlie Clarke took the opportunity that day to remind his listeners that ...

"Growing and selling cannabis is not harmless or idealistic. It is a multi-million pound business, often organised by sophisticated and violent criminals."

You can access the considerable research on Qat (Khat) by Lord Patel Global Botanical Mind Altering Substances Lab and Library here including it's connection with the 21/7 bombers who ocassionally appear at the Old Bailey these days.

PS. Kat is a banned drug / substance through most of Europe and Scandinavia and in North America , as is possession of the chemical stimulant in an isolated form in the UK.

Where are they now ? No 234 The enigma of Esmail Gamasai

Esmail Gamasai was born in Iran 44 years ago, a Shia Muslim, he was educated in Britain and became a UK citizen in 1986 and in 1997 changed his name to Daniel James. He had been a territorial soldier for 19 years and was approached in April 2005 to be a Farsi (mother tongue) interpreter. He suffered 2 strokes and on recovery was deployed by the Army in March 2006.

This resulted in him interpreting for Gen David Richards, the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan and one of the most senior officers in the British Army who has been removed and replaced after 9 months in post.

Esmail (Dan) was arrested on Dec 18 on his return to the UK and was remanded to the Old Bailey under the 1911 Official Secrets Act. He was charged that on Nov 2 he "communicated information calculated to be directly or indirectly useful to the enemy".

The Attorney General's permission is required before a prosecution can proceed under the Official Secrets Act. That has not been granted to date. When he appeared in court on January 12th the prosecution requested an adjournment to obtain the Attorney General's consent for the prosecution.

Mr Justice Calvert-Smith said at the time James would appear at the court to enter a plea on June 15 A trial lasting 3 months might take place in January 2008.

So everyone is waiting for the Attorney General 57 year old very worried looking Baron Goldsmith of Allerton who has got rather a lot on his plate presently especially after writing on March 17 2003,to the Government stating that the use of force in Iraq was lawful. Those with a long memory will recall that it resulted in the precipitate resignation of Elizabeth Wilmshurst, deputy legal adviser to the Foreign Office, on 20 March 2003 whose letter of resignation can now be found @ BBC and is reporduced here for those who may not have seen it.

A minute dated 18 March 2003 from Elizabeth Wilmshurst (Deputy Legal Adviser) to Michael Wood (The Legal Adviser), copied to the Private Secretary, the Private Secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary, Alan Charlton (Director Personnel) and Andrew Patrick (Press Office):

1. I regret that I cannot agree that it is lawful to use force against Iraq without a second Security Council resolution to revive the authorisation given in SCR 678. I do not need to set out my reasoning; you are aware of it.

[The following italicised section was removed by the Foreign Office but later obtained by Channel 4 News]

My views accord with the advice that has been given consistently in this office before and after the adoption of UN security council resolution 1441 and with what the attorney general gave us to understand was his view prior to his letter of 7 March. (The view expressed in that letter has of course changed again into what is now the official line.)

I cannot in conscience go along with advice - within the Office or to the public or Parliament - which asserts the legitimacy of military action without such a resolution, particularly since an unlawful use of force on such a scale amounts to the crime of aggression; nor can I agree with such action in circumstances which are so detrimental to the international order and the rule of law.

2. I therefore need to leave the Office: my views on the legitimacy of the action in Iraq would not make it possible for me to continue my role as a Deputy Legal Adviser or my work more generally.

For example in the context of the International Criminal Court, negotiations on the crime of aggression begin again this year.

I am therefore discussing with Alan Charlton whether I may take approved early retirement. In case that is not possible this letter should be taken as constituting notice of my resignation.

3. I joined the Office in 1974. It has been a privilege to work here. I leave with very great sadness.

Baron Goldsmith's views on what Corporal Daniel James .. and maybe General Richards were up to in Afghanistan are awaited with a great deal of interest.

PS Michael Wood was the arsehole and grandee at the FCO who told Craig Murray that torturing people was OK but you couldn't use the evidence obtained in court - As if. Carif also says he was the only man in the FCO who could drink him under the table and also described him as "almost effeminate" Murder in Samarkand Page 162

Jungli [as a trio] this saturday at BAM w/the BRC

Jungli
Saturday, February 10th 2007 9:30 pm
@ BAM Cafe
with shrine for the black madonna
30 Lafayette Avenue brooknam. new york city.
www.bam.org

*this performance is part of the Black Rock Coalitions residency @ The Brooklyn Academy of Music we will be sharing the stage with many brilliant artists all month * Listen & look

Jungli -adjective /jung'lee / in the hindi or gujurati language. 1. Wild, natural, raw, in one's primal state 2. Unruly, of or pertaining to the jungle. 3. Jungli is a rock and roll band.

This is what BAM says ..." The heavy punk/funk of Shrine for the Black Madonna mixes explosive acid-pop with bursts of dub, African metal, and soul, and their apocalyptic love songs and protest marches don’t shy away from striking melodies or volatile volumes."

£250 Million pounds stolen from UK Treasury

The stunning scale of theft from the Treasury by VAT fraud was underlined in July 2003, when 350 officers raided 93 premises across the UK and Spain, and made 42 arrests.

Today Customs officers made 10 arrests nationwide (In addition, European arrest warrants have been issued in France and Spain against four individuals. ) after 5 years investigating a suspected £250 million VAT missing trader fraud.

More than 500,0000 documents , 361 hard drives have been systematically examined, along with the hard drives of 391 computers

Those arrested are alleged to be the operators a sophisticated network of companies that 'carouselled' large quantities of mobile phones, buying them VAT-free from the continent to supply to businesses in the UK, and then defaulting without paying the VAT due.

Those arrested are

* Curtis Laurent (dob 30.9.58) 56 Ty Draw Rd, Roath Park, Cardiff, CF23 5HD.
* Marcus Hughes (8.9.70) HMP Dovegate, Uttoxeter, ST14 8XR.
* Keith Bennett (4.8.61) Beechwood House, 14 Brownswood Rd, Beaconsfield,
HP9 2NU.
* Hashib Apabhai (20.4.60) 1 The Gatehouse, Gatehouse Lane, Bedworth, CV12 8UE.
* Mohammed Novsarka (15.3.61) 216a Coventry Rd, Warwickshire, CV7 9BH.
* Peter Ebbrell (13.5.51) 3 Abberton Way, Coventry, CV4 7HF.
* Keith Ponder (20.11.50) Furzefield House, 3 Furzefield Road, Beaconsfield,
HP9 1PQ.
* Amir Naghibossadat (6.9.70) Flat 43 Clarendon Court, 33 Maida Vale, London
W9 1AJ.
* Sampson Goldstone (17.4.75) 2 West Lynn, Devisdale Rd, Bowdon, Cheshire.

Apabhai, Novsarka and Goldstone have been charged with money
laundering offences.

Goldstone was arrested at Heathrow Airport yesterday evening, Monday 5 February 2007 and subsequently charged. He has property and spends a lot of time in Monaco.

A 10th man and a 37 year-old woman were arrested late this afternoon

These arrests relate to frauds allegedly perpetrated up to July 2003 - best estimates are that it continues at the rate of £400MN a month, every month throughout 2006 AT LEAST. Recovery of thewse vast amounts of cash is negligible - it is used further to fund drugs, human trafficking, fraud, terrorism, gun running, diamond and tobacco smuggling.

Hashib Apabhai has cropped up trading as Kings Chambers from his luxury house on a gated estate as a lawyer but is unknown to Law Society and the Bar Council. The DTI tried to close down 2 property companies he was involved with Sterling Mansion (UK) and SMI Overseas who had employees who then went on to work for Properties of Distinction and Turningpoint who in turn were connected to CM2 (commenced trading Jan 2003) , all trading from the same address in Peterborough which fleeced "investors" in 2003.

Curtis Laurent was disqualified as a Director for 11 years from 26/05/2006 relating to his activities as a Director of Sava Ltd Co No 04204698 UNIT 12 MAESGLAS INDUSTRIAL ESTATE NEWPORT who closed with a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation of £6,273,791.00.

It appears Mr Laurent from 20/1/04 to 3/4/04 ( that's 6 fucking weeks !) , allowed Sava Ltd.,to Purchase goods worth, at least, £23,331,538, with no VAT payable, from suppliers based in Portugal and Luxembourg . Selling these goods for the sum of £27,585,342 including VAT of at least £4,108,454, to customers in the UK. Making payments of, at least, £7,543,800 to parties other than the supplier of Sava, Mr Laurent disregarded the suspicious circumstances surrounding a number of transactions involving the supply of mobile telephones and computer components, which should have alerted him to the risk that the VAT payable to HM Revenue & Customs & Excise in respect of the supplies would go unpaid. Which resulted in HM Revenue & Customs claiming the amount of £6,170,964 in respect of unpaid VAT and charges.

£6.1 Mn in 6 weeks. Cash in the Bank from HMG.

Spooferama - Folks with time on their hands.

Wait for a bus and three arrive, find a spoof website and another appears as if by Magic. At least this fantasy site is NEW - or claims to be "CPNI, launched on 1st February" purports to be "The Centre for the Protection of the National Infrastructure" again another mixture of alphabetical soups ...."formed from the merger of the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) and a part of MI5 (the UK’s Security Service), the National Security Advice Centre (NSAC)."

I tell you George Blair AKA Orwell would be, if his dreadful chest allowed be splitting his sides. Come on guys you have one of these sentence generation programs, throw in a seed and out they come, Secure Homeland Intelligence Terrorism Service HITS) which is by MI6 our of the Boys Own Army (BOA).

It gets even better .... "an interdepartmental organisation," - well isn't everything these days?

" ....with resources from a number of government departments and agencies. DITTO

These include MI5, (Ho.Ho.) CESG (Communications Electronics Security Group) - the UK's National Technical Authority for Information Assurance (NTAIA) (see www.cesg.gov.uk) and other Government departments responsible for national infrastructure sectors.

CPNI is accountable to the Director General of the Security Service (MI5) and operates under the Security Service Act 1989. Naturally old boy, probably catch him at Boodle's if the bars open ... take a hint DON'T wear a Garrick tie. Bad form Old Boy.

Surely we have seen this nonsense from the Clowns before ..

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) came into force 1 January 2005, and allows members of the public to request access to information held by certain public authorities.

In legal terms, CPNI is accountable to the Director General of the Security Service (MI5) ooo er ... (surely she is on her way out to spend more time with her support garments ?) and therefore operates under the Security Service Acts 1989 and 1996. CPNI is not subject to FOIA and therefore will not process FOIA requests.

There aren't any pictures to laugh at but there is a levely self referencing threat from the authors ... Terrorism also includes threats or hoaxes intended to frighten and intimidate.


Come off it you guys the joke is getting a bit stale.

Just for those interested in these sort of things the Technical Department did a WHOis

Domain name: CPNI.COM
Administrative Contact:
ieProtection.com
Administrator Domain (Whois@ieprotection.com)
1-345-925-1600
Fax:
P.O. Box 533 WB
West Bay, Granc Caym KY
KY
...here is the interesting bit ... spooky
Creation date: 08 Feb 1998 00:00:00
Expiration date: 07 Feb 2008 00:00:00

1 Day left. Grand Cayman ? Now try accessing http://www.ieprotection.com/ ?

Real Time Internet Inc.  No Trace anywhere of them. Spooky.

Is this funny or is there something sinister going on here ?

Senlis - Symposium on Afghanistan - the only people who talk sense on the problems and have some answers

The Senlis Council, in collaboration with The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), will be holding a symposium on “A Cohesive Strategy for the Future of Afghanistan: Reconciling Counter-Insurgency, Counter-Narcotics and Reconstruction Efforts”, on 14 February 2007 at 11:00am , Arundel House, London.

The symposium intends to make recommendations on how to reconcile the Counter-Insurgency, Counter-Narcotics and Reconstruction strands of the effort in Afghanistan.

Keynote speakers

Lieutenant General David Richards, Commander, NATO-International Security Assistance Force - who has just been replaced and who did not get on too well with the US forces assigned to NATO (pic NATO)

General Abdul Rahim Wardak, Minister of Defence, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Ms Norine MacDonald QC, President and Lead Field Researcher for Afghanistan, The Senlis Council

Plus other speakers knoweadgeable about the issues and the region.
Mr Peter Bergen, Dr Patrick Cronin, Ambassador James Dobbins,Dr David Kilcullen, Ms Elizabeth Kvitashvili, Mullah Taj Mohammad Mujahid, Ms Hawa Alam Nuristani, Mr Larry Sampler. For further information

China challenges GPS , Galileo ...... and Space Wars and Space Dust

Another Beidou (Big Dipper) satellite launched on top of a 3 stage Chinese Long March 3A rocket this weekend, from the Xichang cosmodrome, and joined 3 other satellites launched since 2000 at an altitude of 23,300 miles, to build up the Chinese Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS) navigational positioning system. This will increase competition both militarily and commercially with the US Global Positioning System (GPS ) and the delayed EU Galileo satellite system - in which China (and Israel) are paid up partners.

It also rattled the cages of the US military after the recent demonstration of the remote destruction of a redundant weather satellite by a guided missile.

The Compass System offering it is said, 10 metre accuracy currently , is in use on Chinese deep sea fishing fleets and is said to operate on frequencies close to GPS to reduce the chances of blocking the signals.

It will be interesting to see what strategy Qualcomm adopts for the development of their The third-generation (3G) wireless standard (Wideband CDMA/ Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service)WCDMA /UMTS chipsets which support new 3G higher speed data rates .Their world leading QUALCOMM’s gpsOne® position-location technology provides (by using GPS) highly accurate, widely available position-location technology on mobile platforms. Presumably Asian markets will be looking for sideways compatibility.

So far they have said nothing.

China have a busy year ahead in space and have plans for ;

1. Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter in April will use another 3 stage Long March 3A rocket to orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 125 miles (200 Km.) to create a detailed lunar map analyze the Moon's soil content.

It is said future missions could feature landing craft and a probe to return rock samples to Earth.

2. Probably in March, they will launch CBERS 2B which will be the 3rd satellite in a joint Earth observation fleet operated by China and Brazil.

3. In April the 2nd Chinese marine survey satellite, Haiyang 1B should launch closely followed by the Sinosat 3 communications satellite in May

4. To meet the needs of the 2008 Beijing Olympics media coverage 2 for TV and wireless relay are scheduled for later this year and polar orbiting meteorological satellite is also planned for launch in late 2007

Work is apparently on schedule for launch in 2008, of Shenzhou 7 to carry China's first 3 man crew into orbit for a flight lasting several days which will involve a space walk.. it is not unlikely that this space spectaular is planned to co-ordinate with the Olympics. The US astronaut Sunita Williams has just set a new record space walk time of 22 hours 27 mins beating
the record set by another American, Kathryn Thornton of 21 hours 3 minutes...WOW!!

Meanwhile the spectacular and intentional destruction on Jan. 11 of China’s Fengyun-1C weather satellite (in space since May 9th 1999) by a Chinese anti-satellite (ASAT) device has created a mass of debris in space. The satellite’s destruction is said to be the most prolific and severe fragmentation in the course of five decades of space operations.

According to NASA’s Nicholas Johnson, Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris at the space agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas the U.S. military Space Surveillance Network has cataloged nearly 600 debris fragments as a result of this event. It is expected that the total will eventually bee in excess of 900 fragments over 4" (10cm) in diameter.

At present debris cloud extends from less than 125 miles (200 kilometers) to more than 2,292 miles (3,850 kilometers), that is covering all low orbit paths - including the International Space Station (ISS).. The mean altitides are 528 miles (850 kilometers) which means that they will not decay quickly.

NASA assume that there will be a further 35,000 bits of what they call "riff-raff" up to 1 cm diameter.

An international body, Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) is an international governmental forum for the global coordination of activities related to the issues of human-made and natural debris in space and their 25th meeting is on April 23-26 hosted by the China National Space Administration to be held at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing. No doubt the roadkill from their cosmic spectatuclar will feature high on the agenda.

Before then The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space will also have a leisurely meeting in Vienna on the 12th - 23rd February 2007 and have on their agenda (Item 7) the need to approve draft Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines that were formulated last year especially in connection with the impact of debris on space craft those with nuclear power sources on board. (Item 8 is "Use of nuclear power sources in outer space.")

Texas schoolgirls to get Merck Gardasil HPV vaccine -1 Down, 49 States to go in WIG campaign,

A slew of Google searches from the US have found Lord Patel's posting of Friday, June 9 2006 Merck's Gardasil cleared - now you can inject your 9 year old girl against an STD

When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Merck's (MRK:NYSE) Gardasil, the first vaccine against 2 strains (HPV 16/18) of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer and genital warts. Merck licenses the Gardasil technology from CSL Ltd. of Australia. Invented by Australian Ian Frazer,it was first licensed there and costs around AU$460 (US$348) for a full three-dose course. GlaxoSmithKline are hoping for approval this year of their competitive product CERVARIX™ which they claim provides higher levels of immune response in trials to date.

In August 2006 a committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has recommended that Gardasil be fully licensed and was quickly approved for sale within Europe from October. European authorities recommend that treatment be extended to boys as well as young girls and the UK Gubment are said to be looking at introducing a nationwide vaccination program for schoolchildren.

Around 80% of sexually active women can expect to receive an HPV infection at some stage in their life. Cervical cancer, which is caused by only some of the the strains of the HPV virus, kills an estimated 1,100 women in the UK every year - which has been stable for many years and appears irreduceable. The 1.5 Mn cervical smears that are undertaken throughout the UK each years cost approximately £40 each.

This interest in Lord Patel's previous post must reflect the common sense decision of the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry to issue a Directive Order to ordered the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules requiring Merck & Co.'s new Gardasil vaccine for girls entering the sixth grade as of September 2008. He also also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls ages 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. Parents can elect to have their children void the vaccinaion by filing an affidavit outlining their religious or philosophical objections. He also ordered Medicaid to offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21 , making the Lone Star the first US State to introduce such measures.

This Order follows a Bill filed by 2 Democrats late last yera with the same objectives.

Texas State Senator Jane Nelson, chairwoman of the health and human services committee considered this was hasty and asked for more consultation. See pic of the lady - whose health would be improved by 3 litle words "Calorie Controlled Diet". Neither will she be enjoying "weekend long" stays at the Austin Gubernatorial Mansion like Condi used to do when Dubya graced the Mansion.

Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst wasn't too happy about the Governer's groundbreaking health measures either

'I don't think the government should ever presume to know better than the parents what to do with children.'

Governor Perry, counts on support from the conservative Christian right , he opposes abortion and stem cell research using embryonic cells and claims cervical cancer vaccine is no different from the one that protects children against polio.

"Providing the HPV vaccine doesn't promote sexual promiscuity any more than providing the Hepatitis B vaccine promotes drug use," he said in a Monday statement. "If the medical community developed a vaccine for lung cancer, would the same critics oppose it claiming it would encourage smoking?"

Such enlightened thinking by Gov. Perry fails to square with the odd fact that the largest State legislates to prevent the sale of sex toys. Joanne Webb a company consultant for "Passion Parties" in Clebane, 50 miles from Dallas, TX was charged in 2004 with a misdemeanor for hawking her battery-operated handjob helpers (she sold a vibrator to undercover narcotics officers posing as a dysfunctional married couple in search of a sex aid) — although the case (possibly as a result of an attempt to get her company membersof the local Chamber of Commerce) was eventually dismissed.... which probably tells you more about the narcotics officers than the state of morals in Texas.

Maybe the Governor's move shows that they are all too aware that the HPV virus can be transmitted orally, between female sex partners and also (uuuggghhhhh!!!) by sharing sex toys.

One thing is for certain, it's good news for Merck and their shareholders.... and the teenagers of rural Texicana.... who won't need much encouragement anyway.

Governor Perry has however (Surprise...surprise!!) very close ties to Merck, having received US$6,000 from them for his re-election campaign .

"He also has ties to Women in Government, (WIG) a Merck-funded (see footnote) advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country (click here for website as banner here) . Their website says this is a "bipartisan initiative (that) mobilizes state legislators to address cervical cancer prevention in their states" . His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for the group," and past Chairman other State Directors are Rep Ruth McClendon, Rep. Alma Allen, and Sen. Senfronia Thompson. Dianne White Delisis is also Chairman of the Committee on Public Health and member of the Committee on Public Education.

Rep. Alma Allen (TX) and Sen. Senfronia Thompson (17 terms and chairs the Texas Legislative Black Caucus )(TX)are also on the Membership Roster of WIG.


5 term Ruth McClendon is a strong Christian and is committed to childen's health and welfare and lays claim to fact that The University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio has a new $200 million children's cancer center due to funding pushed the legislative process with her help. McClendon created a law that designates August 26^th as Women's Independence Day in Texas to increase public awareness and serve as a reminder of the struggle both men and women endured to gain the right to vote. August 26^th is the day the 19^th Amendment granting women the right to vote was ratified in 1920. It's a fair bet Dubya would have invited her over to discus Democracy and the woman's ...er ...vote.

"WIG is national 501(c)(3), non-profit, bi-partisan organization of women state legislators providing leadership opportunities, networking, expert forums, and educational resources to address and resolve complex public policy issues.WIG also campaigns for Chronic Kidney Disease

Perry's former chief of staff Mike Toomey is one of the three Merck lobbyists in the State on their payroll.

Over 75 commercial subscribers and sponsors are listed without details of financial help and cover many pharma companies, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Lilly, Schering Plough, Solvay, Glaxo Smith Kline, Wyeth, Bristol Myers Squibb, Astra Zeneca, and Bayer, the largest Pharmacy Dispensary service in the US, CVS as well Mc Donald's, Proctor and Gamble, Exxon, Entergy and Duke Energy.

A Business Council has representatives on from Digene ,Exxon ,GlaxoSmithKline , Verizon Communications,Wellpoint, Inc.

This HPV/Gardasil/ Cervical cancer campaign is one to watch - as well as the Merck share price.

SPOOF Alert - Exposed PLOD fantasy site - Amazing Pictures !!

Spoof sites abound on the web, from honey pots for paedophiles and dissidents run by Gubments to "phishing" by the corrupt and greedy - all left as bait for the credulous. This one is Gold Standard. A1, copper bottomed at Lloyds, 5 star, Blue Riband ...

It was therefore a surprise to see that Famous for 15 Megapixels and Johnny Void have fallen for the wildest spoof yet. Hook, Line, Sinker (HSL) for the comically titled The National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit (NECTU).

Just look at their headline pics (lifted above) - see the clowns with Plod ? OK so it's difficult to separate Plods from clowns - even professional ones. Inverted US Stars and Stripes ...C'mon you Guys!

This brilliantly Orwellian sounding site not only claims to forms part of the "national policing response to domestic extremism" (WTF?), but forms a a total ALPHABET SOUP together with the National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism (NCDE), the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) and the National Domestic Extremism Team (NDET) and as if that wasn't enough they report ... to ... to the Association of Chief Police Officers Terrorism and Allied Matters – ACPO(TAM).... yeah, yeah, sounds rilly rilly OFFICIAL Guys.(ROFALOL)

Good spoof , guys , it looks professional, slick , smart but - The National Fucking Extremism Tactical Coordination Fucking Unit .... even Plod won't fall for that!

Take a look around this site for some more good laughs...Just look at Terms and Conditions

Governing law

These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales...... yeah, yeah, and the Planet Zog.

Links to this website

You have to ask permission and receive approval from NETCU to link to this website. Requests should be made in writing to NETCU, PO Box 525, Huntingdon, PE29 9AL..... (ROFALOL) Good one that guys snuck away like that ... You need our permission to let people know you exist !!!! Ho.Ho.

The real kicker is however - and this broke us up down here at Patel Towers ...

Freedom of information

NETCU is not a public authority as defined by Schedule 1 of the FOIA. Therefore there are no obligations on NETCU to disclose information under the Act.

Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.

But the best clue is that if you click on these logos (try it here) on the Home Page you get a link to a real hard core Kiddie Porn portal.

They even have a wonderful spoof Glossary

E-crime

The term 'e-crime' is used to describe computer-based crime and criminal activity, such as hacking, identity theft, the use of websites to incite or promote criminal activity, and so on.

Producing spoof sites like this is no crime, sure makes for a fun time on surfin' the web.

Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.Ho.

Move along. Nuthin' to see, some folks have serious work to do... Hey and DON'T link to it.OK? ... click on the logo here however.

V22- Osprey or Albatross ?

AP report that Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters that the investigations into the crashes of three Army and one private helicopters since Jan. 20 are incomplete but "it does appear they were all the result of some kind of anti-Iraqi ground fire that did bring those helicopters down."

Those with a long memory will recall that Lord Patel wrote on May 6th 2006 " Osprey the Death Wish Machine - soon for combat ?"


The Philadelphia Enquirer had just reported

...a Pentagon panel today endorsed the V-22 Osprey and recommended moving toward full production of the aircraft.

The ruling by the Defense Acquisition Board could mean billions of dollars in contract work for the two companies involved in its production - Providence, R.I.-based Textron and Chicago-based Boeing Co. The company will build at least 458 of the V-22 aircraft for the Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy.

The V22 Osprey Tilt/rotor /helicopter is a massive beast - 12,300 horse power , 4 times the power (and 3 times the weight) as the battle proven and familiar twin rotor Vietnam era Chinook CH-46, and guzzles 3 times the fuel. Most of this widow maker is made in plants in Texas and Pennsylvania but 43 states share in it's manufacture and factories share the work in 276 Congressional Districts.

At that time (May 2006) we were repeatedly informed that, the Marines will deploy V-22s in Iraq later in the year , after 25 years, the spending of US$18Bn and the loss of 30 lives in testing.

"The Osprey can deliver Marines to battle more safely, bring them reinforcements over greater distances in greater numbers, and evacuate wounded more quickly. That all equates to lives saved, as we continue to prosecute the global war on terrorism."
Dr. Donald C. Winter Secretary of the Navy, Jan. 2006 Boeing Website

Well, 9 months later and there is no news of their arrival in theatre - and it appears precious little prospect that this US$68 Mn a pop man lifter and shifter is about to darken the skies over Baghdead. Apparently production is underway for 50 for USAF, 48 modified versions for the US navy and the Marine Corps want 360 to replace their aged Chinook CH-46's and CH -53's ... but it cannot lift an up - armoured Humvee (HMMWV)

William Bender of The Delco Times and Dave Montgomery McClatchy Newspapers both report on the Centre For Defense Informatithat has gone unremarked in the major US news media.

It is now 18 years after the first flight (It was promised for use in Bosnia in 1995, Afghanistan in 2002, and Iraq in 2003, and Gaillard points out that - The V-22 does not work and faces operational, aerodynamic and survivability challenges that will prove insurmountable, and lethal in combat.

Gaillard focuses on three major issues:

1) Absence of defensive armament
2) Constraints of the difficult-to-repair composite skinned cargo compartment for the 24 combat-loaded Marines inside
3) The critical and fundamental aerodynamic dilemma the V-22 faces when it attempts to descend vertically into a landing zone against enemy fire. This combination of blade stall and vortex ring state(VRS) -- a rotor downwash condition was stated to be the major factor that contributed to the April 2000 crash that killed 19 Marines - so far in testing there have been 30 fatalities.

Gaillard points out that the first 2 points have not been addressed - unbelievably (because of weight penalties mainly , the craft cannot protect itself with even machine gun fire. The craft also has no personnel crew hoist and few and cramped windows limiting visual control and ability to scan for hazards.

Repair of composites , if possible, is not a battlfield task and requires special tools, chemicals , huge curing ovens etc., because the body is essentially a single monococque construction which cannot simply be replaced , welded, or reinforced or even perforated. There has been no testing for defence against Rocket propelled grenades (RPG's) the weapon of choice of the jihadi street
fighter in Iraq, Afghanistan and maybe even in Syria or Iran.

The essential aerodynamic problems he says have been papered over with software changes and warning systems that V-22 pilots will ignore at the peril of themselves and their human cargo - and also expose the craft at it's most critical part of the flight path - landing and lifting with humans and their cargo.

The restrictions this imposes limits maximum vertical descent speed to 800 feet per minute = 9.1 miles per hour and attempt in the heat of combat to fly / descend faster would instantly result in de-stabilisation, crash and death.

Finally it is reported this twin engined aircraft can operate with a single engine - although this manouevre has so far, not been tested. Also, the Flight Manual says in the case of dual engine failure that the pilot should convert to "autorotation" although a DOD report says clearly that the " V-22 cannot autorotate to a safe landing."

Gaillard concludes of this monumental cock-up and monument to political corruption, boondoggling, fraud, theft and total lack of concern about properly equipping the military with the tools they need for their job - "The V-22 should not be deployed in combat (if not, where ?) ; an alternative , most probably and in - production helicopter , should be selected to replace all V-22's."

He suggests .....

* Augusta Westland's US101 (EH-101), which has three engines, a single rotor and was recently selected as the US Presidential transport helicopter.

* Boeing's CH-47F Chinook, which has two engines, two rotors and carries up to 33 combat-equipped troops.

* Sikorsky's H-92 Superhawk, which has two engines, a single rotor and carries up to 22 combat-equipped troops.

Osprey or Albatross ?

Iraq - Truck bomb kills at least 137 - 4 US helicopters KIA

AP report that Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters that the investigations into the crashes of three Army and one private helicopters since Jan. 20 are incomplete but "it does appear they were all the result of some kind of anti-Iraqi ground fire that did bring those helicopters down."

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the massive truck bomb that it was "an example of what the forces of evil will do to intimidate the Iraqi people."

Gee those forces of evil at work again, those must be the forces of evil that Paul Bremer used to write about.

Remember that B/W movie with the beautiful Janet Leigh, craggy Charlton Heston and the 42 year old Awesome Welles ? "A touch of Evil" ?

Hard nosed Mexican-American narcotics investigator Vargas (Charlton Heston) and his beautiful and inoccent wife (Janet Leigh) witness a murder caused by a car bomb. The fillum opens with a famous 3 minute tracking shot which follows the bomb-laden (not Bin Laden !) car as it crosses the border, passes Heston and Leigh, fades into the distance and explodes.

Vargas investigates. He runs foul of the local police authority/ Quinlan (Welles - who wrote the screenplay) - an immense – and immensely corrupt – ex-alcoholic . Convinced that Quinlan is planting evidence to frame an innocent man, Vargas begins probing the big man's own shadowy past and methodology. In the end, Quinlan's hunches prove right while his means to solving the crime are left suspended in murky moral limbo made confusing by very idiosyncratic editing – long takes, grotesque (very) close-ups, overlapping sound and steep angles , which emphasise Welles' corpulance – verging on deep craziness.

Marlene Dietrich plays a cigar-smoking, gypsy, brothel owner, Zsa Zsa Gabor a strip club owner and Dennis Weaver (“McCloud,” ) as a wonderfully crazy hotel night clerk.

Henry Mancini provided a remarkable Mexican / rock musical score.

Evil - bad karma , pal.

PS. Dennis Weaver (dcsd) and wife Gerry founded L.I.F.E (Love Is Feeding Everyone), which fed 180,000 people in Los Angeles each week. President Reagan awarded him the “Presidential End Hunger Award” in 1986.

In 1993, Dennis and Gerry founded the non-profit Institute of “Ecolonomics” - a word Dennis coined to illustrate the necessary synergy between a healthy ecology and a vibrant economy in order to create a sustainable future. In 2003 the Institute embarked on the “Drive to Survive,” where Dennis led a fleet of alternative-fueled vehicles on a cross-country whistle-stop tour toWashington,D.C., with the aim of increasing awareness of the need to reduce the US 's dependence on oil.

More recently, he and singer Willie Nelson joined forces to promote the development and use of farmer-grown biodiesel as a viable alternative fuel.

Good karma.

Men with Black Faces - Ooooop North traditions persist

Off to see the famed and curious all male, Britannia Coco-Nutters perform at the Ellenroad Mill Engine Steaming Day. These men with blackened faces reflect a pagan past and may have Iberian / Moorish pirate connections through the northward drift of Cornish tin miners seeking work in the mid 19th century - of whom one was an ancestor of Lord Patel.

There were at one time 4 teams of dancers but only this troupe survive , originating with the Tunstead Mill Troupe who celebrated their half century in 1907.

Their unusual (and popular with children) Nut Dance is performed in a straight line. Each Dancer wears wooden discs or 'nuts' on his hands, knees and belt (see pic from their website) . During the Dance the discs which are made of maple wood are struck together in time to the music. Coconuts was the name given to the discs, probably, since the dance came to Lancashire and it is said they could resemble the protection to knees and elbows when crawling along narrow seams in the mines.

The jaunty, distinctive traditional music (composed by Anon) can be heard here played with the Stacksteads Silver Band , but is usually restricted to the concertina listen here.

3 sound and action videos have been posted on You Tube

1. Easter Saturday 2006 at Bacup Fire Station by phnates
2. Bacup Market by phnates
3. Outside the "Hare and Hounds Pub" at Stacksteads,the last Pub at which they dance on Easter Saturday by silverpig,

On Easter Staurday , regardless of weather the Nutters gather a 9am at the Travellers Rest Public House on the A671 Rochdale to Bacup road dance their way through the streets following a tradition that takes them from boundary to boundary of the Town, stopping it is said at the odd hostelry laong the way, leading to a somewhat unsteady progress later in the day.

They perform at the English Folk Song and Dance Society next weekend , details ; - Tel.020 7485 2206 Fax. 020 7285 0534 EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London, NW1 7AY.

Kosovo - Lesser Serbia (Prop. Uncle Sam) gets nearer

Mark Mardell on the BBC 4 World This Weekend does what the BBC can do very well - a serious, detailed, long and considered report on Martti Ahtisaari's UN report and the response in Kosovo to his plans for this beautiful relict of Ancient Illyria - Ἰλλυρία , the home of the flaxen haired Dardani, for a thinly veiled independence. Lord Patel posted about this on Friday (pic Illyrian Stater 250-350BC - From the Robert Schonwalter Collection.Triton V Sale, 16 Jan 2002, lot 1340.Lot sold for $2000, plus buyers fees.)

You can listen to the whole 25 minute BBC piece here or slect and listen on standalone Real Player - Listen now (it expires in 7 days) for a superb analysis on the ground in Prstina and elsewhere in Northern Kosovo. BBC at it's best.

The comedy element is provided by Mark's interview with gormlesss Jeff Hoon who tells us he is off next week to meet Serbian President Boris Tadić and Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica - they can hardly wait one supposes.

Boris Tadić is quoted as remarking to the dour Finn on Friday, "I told Mr. Ahtisaari that Serbia and I, as its president, will never accept Kosovo's independence."
"Imposing independence (for Kosovo) would violate the fundamental principles of international law and serve as a dangerous political and legal precedent," Tadić continued - a precedent the Basque separatists will be watching carefully, as well as a variety of Bulgarian, Romanian and fractions of the CSI States and the Northern (Turkish) Cypriots.

Kostunica, as predicted, refused to meet with Ahtisaari on Friday, he dismissed the U.N. envoy's proposal as "illegitimate" because it "violates the U.N. Charter ... by undermining sovereignty of U.N. member Serbia." He recently threatened to sever diplomatic ties with countries that might recognize Kosovo as a state - which will probably do more harm to Serbia than anyone else.

In London , Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett talked diplomatic bollocks as usual, she commended Ahtisaari and said his draft formed a basis for a "fair and sustainable settlement ... which will enhance regional stability and the region's Euro-Atlantic prospects." WTF are "Euro-Atlantic prospects" ?

A Serbian view of the "Kosovo Jihad" or as they see it, "The Muslim extermination of Kosovo Christians" can heard here

"KFOR will respond firmly to any attempts to use violence to disrupt the political process," threatened NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Brussels.

Sean McCormack at the US State Department called it "a fair and balanced plan" but he would wouldn't he ? he prattled on that this recipe for continuing ethnic cleansing and handing Kosovo on a plate to the Albanians ...""is a blueprint for a stable, prosperous and multi-ethnic Kosovo. The settlement proposal's broad provisions to protect the rights of all citizens will help advance Kosovo's democratic development."... simply extending the historic US view of ethnically cleansing Serbs - this time for the Albanians rather than the Bosnians.

Human sacrrifice played a major role in Illyria and historian Arrian that the the Illyrian King Kleitus (317 to 303 BC) sacrificed 3 boys, girls and rams setting out for battle with Alexander the Great (He lost and headed for the hills!) For Uncle Sam, human sacrifice, being driven from your homelands is no big deal.

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 ?

Meanwhile the Russians who liberated Pristina airport under Gen.Viktor Zavarzin, and so upset General Mike "Janus" Jackson in June 1999, are keeping quiet so far. No doubt they relished the clearing up the mess at the airport which the USAF / NATO had so successfully destroyed in the name of "peacekeeping". At the time General J said he had a "good relationship" with Zavarzin, a former Russian liaison officer to NATO. Ho.Ho.Ho.

Colts win Superbowl for First time

To save a lot of electricity, wasted time, spilt popcorn and disgusting American near beer here is the hat that Peyton Manning will be wearing as he steps off the turf at the Dolphins stadium early tomorrow.

Save your time. Save your money. OK you'll miss Florida A&M University Marching 100 with Prince, ... download his new track Guitar here instead, relax and get a good night's sleep.... especially Lovie Smith, Rex Grossman, The Tank, Brian Urlacher and Jamar ...you're history.

Just remember those golden minutes against the Patriots in the AFC title game 21-3 down and then Peyton unleashed a 35-13 torrent over the last 40 minutes. Uh Oh ! Bears... Peyton the ice cold, hunter - killer is on the loose. D is ... going ..... to deliver.

Dame Pauline Neville Jones Official Fan Club

On seeing that Dame Pauline Neville Jones was to review the newpapers on "Broadcasting House" the appalling BBC4 Sunday morning wake - up show, my fantasies of her featuring as the central song and dance girl ..belting out .."There is nothing like a Dame" ... in a bukkake climax, kicked in badly.

This, slim girl with lustrous sparkling eyes and a tantalising school m'amish hauteur, with the clipped tones of the ex-diplomat and faint echo of swishing canes can't stay away from the news studios.

She provides such deep, .... no, profound insights into what really goes on in the world of ex- spooks who helped ethnically cleanse Bosnia, and ex - Heads of the Joint Intelligence Failures Committee ... For example the Scotsman reports in the most detailed fashion today .... 4 Blair cronies will be charged ..

• Levy under the 1925 Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act, which outlaws the offer of honours in return for material gain; • Levy for "conspiracy to pervert the course of justice"; • Turner for perverting the course of justice, in relation to her behaviour during the police inquiry; • Biotech tycoon Sir Christopher Evans, who lent Labour £1m in the run-up to the last election, with "soliciting" an honour, under the terms of the 1925 legislation.

Archly (you can see the raised eyebrow even on the wireless) she says in the brisk way she has.."This whole thing should be wrapped up" .. prodded by Paddy O'Connoll if things were leaked like this when she was in Government, she explains ..."Oh I don't think so" .. you may go a long way for such powerful, intelligent analysis and insight.

Then she drones about drones over Iran and how the drumbeat for an Iranian strike is everywhere - well at least she found a reference in "Fur and Feathers" or something similiar which makes you feel the B2's are revving up on a runway somewhere.

Already Lord Patel is booked to listen to her address the "INTELLIGENCE SUMMIT" to be held on March 5-7, 2007 at the St. Petersburg Hilton, St. Petersburg Florida USA - she is of course on their International Advisory Council.

Which co-incidentally also is guided by cuddly Col. Oded Shoham (IDF Rservist) who was the former head of the Technological Research, Development and Implementation Center of the Israel Defense Forces' Intelligence Corps. He was CEO , ICTS Technologies USA, Inc. part of ICTS Europe Holdings B.V which (confusingly) changed it's name in May 2005 to i-sec Technologies BV of which he is CEO.

Those with a long memory will of course remember that on the 7th July 2005 a bus exploded in Tavistock Square wherin can be found ICTS (UK) Limited, South Block, Entrance D, Tavistock House,Tavistock Square, London,WC1H 9LG which is a subsidiary of i-sec Technologies BV

They may also remember that INFRACO JNP LIMITED, is Tube Lines, is a PFI joint venture between specialist public services provider Amey plc. and U.S. private industrial firm Bechtel, and the Mayor of London (who was on his way back from Singapore and Olympics triumph on 7/7/05) they have business associations with ICTS (UK) Limited and their subsidiary Fortress GB Ltd.,

Well at least Oded and Pauline will have some interests in common when they hit Wrinkle City in March.

Free membership (with membership card and secret code book) to the Dame Pauline Neville Jones Official Fan Club for those who explain the connection between Mr Stivi and our Pauline but not Mr Netanyahu and Tavistock Square.

UPDATE

Will nobody Stop Dame Pauline ? at Random Pottins just preceded this post.

Part of it reads ..

"We've met Dame Pauline before. Back in the days when people were being butchered as "Muslims", even if secular ones, while much of the Left preferred looking the other way and had not discovered the word Islamophobia. Pauline Neville-Jones was a Foreign Office political director and chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee. She stood with Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd for maintaining the arms embargo on Bosnia. Hurd said easing it would only create a "level killing-field". While the Chetniks (Serb nationalists) could sow cluster-bombs and anti-personnel mines, Britain would not let those resisting them even buy mine detection equipment.

Neville-Jones was senior British official at the Dayton peace negiotiations imposed on Bosnia. "Balkan experts remember her from Dayton as a 'very tough' negotiator who was continually pushing the Bosnians to accept the de facto partition of their nation". (Francis Wheen, Guardian, 4 September 1996).

Three months after quitting the Foreign Office, Lord Hurd joined NatWest Markets, investment arm of the National Westminster Bank, on a salary of £250,000 a year. His qualifications for the world of finance were not obvious, but he knew people, and he had a helper - Dame Pauline. The dire duo went out to Belgrade in 1996 for breakfast with Slobodan Milosevic, whose government was strapped for cash, with Serbian workers demanding unpaid wages. NatWest helped Milosevic sell off the post and telephone system, PTT, and obtained a contract to advise on debt management. It eyed up Serbia's electricity industry and oil for further privatisation. While it was Italian and Greek money that went into the telecomms deal, NatWest did well out of tending advice, and so did Lord Hurd and Dame Pauline."