Charging interest on the money people owe you

I think part of the success of Stargate is that it taps into the surprisingly popular theory that aliens had something to do with the building of ancient sites such as the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge.

I do actually prefer it to Star Trek because they don't go overboard with the irritating idea that humans are morally superior to every alien race in the universe and that if we boast about our superior morality to them they will apologise for backsliding and suddenly change their ways. Look at the resentment that is caused whenever America imposes its moral standards on some other country.

Also, Star Trek is a little too obvious in its attempts to attract teenage male viewers - this was the main purpose of Seven of Nine in Voyager and T'Pol in Enterprise. The poor actresses spent the whole time wearing costumes that showed their figures to best advantage instead of the more conservative Starfleet uniforms.

And don't get me started on Africa.

Most African leaders publicly blame the woes of their people on the legacy of European colonialism in order to avoid questions concerning their corruption.

For instance, Nigeria's oil revenues and other mineral reserves should have made it as prosperous as Western Europe. However, all the money has been filtered off by corrupt officials. Many Nigerians don't want the West to keep on sending out more money because it never gets through to the people who need it; they want us to send out technical expertise to help them make a going concern of their country.

And what abou the living hell that is Zimbabwe? Mgabe and his cronies are so corrupt and ruthless that they are deliberatly starving people to death in regions that sopport the min opposition party. There's a country that would benefit from a spot of regime change.

And how is the West responsible for what has happened to Zaire, or whatever it is calling itself this week. Not only is there a massive civil war, but every one of its neighbours has launched an invasion to gain control of some of its mineral wealth.

Edit: and I've just remembered Rwanda. I suppose it's the fault of the West that the Tutsis and Hutus can't stand each other and regularly commit genocide against each other?

I dunno, the BNP are pretty moderate if you stand them next to President Bush

The UK one seems to count every individual who lives in the UK, regardless of whether that individual is supposed to be the breadwinner of the house. It even includes children who are too young to work.

It is not a good indicatior how how your personal income fares against the national average.

Utility bills are increasing at a rate greater than inflation where I live as well. Electricity and gas are going up because North Sea production is declining, although curiously water is going up as well. Welsh Water will increase the avergae household bill to £352 p/a by 2009, which is expensive by English standards, and surprising considering how Wales has no water shortages.

Don't put too much faith in the official crime figures. Blair has been caught fiddling the figures before, such as with the NHS waiting lists. Also, public confidence in the police is so low that people just don't bother reporting crimes any more. If your car gets broken into, would you even bother wasting your time telling the police unless you needed a crime number for the insurance claim?

Most muggings and thefts are to feed the drug habit of the thief. Britain has a massive drugs problem that the government refuses to acknowledge. Teenages in places like the Welsh Valleys know that they have little realistic chance of ever getting a job and getting on in the world, so they just give up and drift into drug addiction and end up commiting crimes to feed their addiction.

As for public transport, most of the railway lines in Wales were closed down back in the 1960s, and bus services are infrequent away from the M4 corridoor. The privatisation of public transport has meant that public transport only exists in areas where it is highly profitable - ie big towns. Those of us who live in small towns and villages have no choice but to use the car, no matter how much the government and police persecute motorists.

To be fair to the police, there are still some crimes they investigate. If you defend yourself against a mugger or burglar, you can expect no mercy from the police and courts for your despicable actions.

And woebetide anybody whom the PC lobby accuse of doing something marginally racist. In these cases, the burden of proof is very much on the defendant. The REALLY infuriating thing is that the thought police are totally indifferent to the real racists, such as Nick Griffin and the rest of his BNP cronies as well as the radical Islamic clerics who urge the murder of anybody who doesn't share their sick racist and misogynistic world-view.

Okay, try finding something that hasn't gone downhil since Labour came to power.

I also recall they fought the 1997 election campaign on the promise of ending corruption and sleaze in politics. That lasted as long as their ethical foreign policy...

The government justifies the high taxes it levies on alcohol and tobacco by pointing to the social costs, such as paying for their hospital treatment.

Anyway, chain smokers are national heroes. Their determinism to smoke themselves to death before reaching retirement age alleviates the pension crisis caused by Labour taxing the private pension funds.

There is a reason why tens of thousands of people are dying each year from infections caught while in hospital. The Tories privatised the hospital cleaning services, which are now contracted out to the lowest bidder. Costs are kept low by not giving the cleaners the time they need to do a proper job.

Although it was a Tory idea, Labour are no better because they've had nearly nine years to reverse the privatisation of hospital cleaning services.

Where's the axe and the green pen?

I'm not sure I should continue using the avatar I have over at Strategycore. Most people haven't heard of Tony Hancock, so they think it's a picture of me.

*looks at Silvertongedevil's avatar*

Maybe having people think I look like Tony Hancock isn't all that bad

Ivory's avatars (can I have one?).

He would still need his wife on hand to haul him out before he suffocates.

In Victorian times, his entire family would have been shoved in a workhouse. Today, his council will probably knock several terraced houses into one and increase council tax for everybody else in Derby.

Not all progress has been for the better.

You could try filming them to prove that the allegation is true. Trouble is the police might get the wrong impression. Or possibly the right impression in some cases...

My mother's face when she realised I wasn't kidding about getting her an ironing board cover for hir birthday & mother's day...

But you have to pay fees to the estate agent and the removal company, write to all the utility providers to notify them of your change of address, AND your relative will get your new address off a neighbour.