Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

The Heartbleed Bug.....

This week it has emerged that a major security flaw at the heart of the internet may have been exposing users' personal information and passwords to hackers for the past two years.

It is not known how widely the bug has been exploited, if at all, but what is clear is that it is one of the biggest security issues to have faced the internet to date.

Where it says, "HTTPS" in a URL address, doesn't necessarily mean that the information the User is about to use is going to be private.

Security expert Brue Schneier described it as "catastrophic". He says, "On the scale of one to 10, this is an 11."

There are numerous comments about how everyone should 'change their passwords immediately'.

Hmmm?

None of the online financial institutions I use have said anything to me about it.

It's really down to how UKIP do in the upcoming elections.

If they do well, as expected...then the shit will hit the fan, as incumbent mp's look forward to losing their seats on the gravy train.

If ukip fizzle, then it will be business as usual, and referendums and such will be quietly forgotton.

UKIP will do well in the EU elections. The polls are showing UKIP second to Labour or third after Conservatives. The general election is another matter. They need more than double their current percentage to start getting MPs. They are a one policy party and won't get the votes at the GE.

I was thinking more along the lines of the uncertainty that mp's, especially those in marginal seats, will feel if they have ukip standing against them. Nobody knows how it will go, as they seem to be able to rob votes off all sides.

That's certainly true. Some Conservative MPs may lose their seats to Labour because of UKIP. Other combinations are possible, but very unlikely.

public apathy and disillusionment will be the winner in the general election, resulting in the activists of all colours having a disproportionate influence - and that will be woe for us all in the longer term


for sure ukip will do well in the eu elections, but again, joe public really has no interest in them, and i doubt if there'll be more than say 35% turn-out ..... anyone disagree?

and for a change, i actually agree with hays, that ukip's performance in these (non)elections has little or no bearing on what will happen in a general election

coal mines shutting
is fred leaping up and down saying this shouldn't be allowed to happen?
while it's certainly a very sad time for the local and involved populations, if the pits really have become uneconomic, would it be remotely justifiable to keep them open purely on "social grounds"?
i think the unions are being pretty quiet too, so i guess they agree, albeit sadly

From end of March this year

Coal find could fuel UK for centuries: Vast deposits totalling up to 23trillion tonnes found under the North

Scientists have discovered vast deposits of coal lying under the North Sea, which could provide enough energy to power Britain for centuries.

Experts believe there is between three trillion and 23 trillion tonnes of coal buried in the seabed starting from the northeast coast and stretching far out under the sea.

Data from seismic tests and boreholes shows that the seabed holds up to 20 layers of coal - much of which could be reached with the technology already used to extract oil and gas.

I'm sure it'll give the Scots something to do if and when they become indepentent.

Manuel, stop being an idiot as well as a fascist.
I know you memory is getting poorer and you are stumbling a bit more often, but look back what I wrote about Coal Industry post WW2.

It was the Mad Cow Thatcher's approach to the decline of the the coal industry and other heavy industries which was the problem.
(Along with her brilliant strategy for the deregulation of the CITY.)


--------

Exec.

There is not a snowball's chance in hell of the UK exiting the EU.
--------
Cameron and his cronies have made themselves unelectable, whatever the polls and some right wing press are suggesting (That is he press and media, which isn't deserting from the tory camp.)
The majority of Labour MPs, the majority of Lib/Dems and I have a guess the majority of tories, those who aren't lying down or hiding from Nigel’s boys, are in favour of remaining in the EU and will accept what is negotiated. They are not deluded by Little Englanders’ longing for Empire and Greatness.
It is only a group of insular little cons, or look alike Ukippers who are led by a barrow boy as if they have rings in their noses, who wants out.
What they want is pie in the sky, Europe would care little if the population of EU were reduced by 50-60 million little Englanders. They can trade happily amongst themselves with a single currency which many idiots suggested for years would not exist by now.

(Interested, to know the cost to UK industry of dealing in and out of the Euro actually is.)

Many of the Scots would also be happy in the EU and out of the UK.

PS.

If there are stocks of coal in the North Sea and they are accessible by "new mining" methods who do they belong to Scotland or Little England.

Also, how much "clean" energy will be available, less of course you are Nigel and count the profit from a fouled up polluted atmosphere?

---------------------------

fossy .... so in this particular instance, do you agree that the pits in question should indeed be shut down?

Manuel,

To be honest I have only fleetingly look at UK Coal management, or its pits.

The only thing I understand is the the cost of production and usage does not make it sustainable.

Therefore closure seems apt and it is done with respect of environmental needs.

However, I hope that decent and thoughtful planning will have gone into planning for replacement jobs, training and other social needs.

Also, earned pensions are properly protected.

we pretty much agree

when corby steel works were shut down all those centuries ago, i seem to recollect that an awful lot of successful work was done to ensure that the town (and of course its inhabitants) did not just collapse in a heap

Immigration from eastern Europe was massively underestimated, says official report

Office for National Statistics admits it missed an estimated 350,000 in net migration over a decade because of flaws in a key survey


The number of eastern European migrants who came to Britain in the last decade was far higher than previously thought because a crucial airport survey used “inadequate sampling” Photo: London News Pictures



By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent

12:34PM BST 10 Apr 2014


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10757336/Immigration-from-eastern-Europe-was-massively-underestimated-says-official-report.html


The number of eastern European migrants who came to Britain in the last decade was hundreds of thousands higher than previously thought, the Office for National Statistics has admitted.


In a disclosure that will fuel intense national concern about immigration, the agency said it had failed to count an estimated 350,000 migrants who arrived in this country between 2001 and 2011.


The ONS said the mistake occurred because it used “inadequate sampling” in a crucial survey at airports which is used to estimate net migration - the difference between the number of people arriving in Britain and those emigrating.


It said most of the migrants who were omitted from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) were from Poland and other former Communist states which joined the European Union in 2004, known as the “EU8” countries.


The revised totals showed net migration over the decade increased from just under 2.2 million to more than 2.5 million.

The ONS’s highest additional number of migrants was for 2006, when net migration is now thought to have been 67,000 higher than previously thought, reaching 265,000.

Original estimates were too low because the ONS concentrated its survey on main airports such as Heathrow but ignored migrants who were arriving on a growing number of budget airline routes into smaller, regional airports, a report said.

“There is evidence that shows the IPS missed a substantial amount of immigration of EU8 citizens that occurred between 2004 and 2008, prior to IPS improvements from 2009,” said the document.

“This is evident from comparisons of IPS data with a number of other data sources related to immigration.

“The EU8 migrants were missed due to IPS interviewing being concentrated at the time at principal airports, such as London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester.

“During this time, many migrants from the EU8 countries were travelling on the increasing number of routes connecting their countries with the UK regional airports. Many of these routes were not covered, or not fully covered, by the IPS for migration purposes prior to 2009.”

The number of children migrating to Britain was also underestimated, it added.

More regional airports were included in the IPS from 2008 but the improvements were “too late to capture the main wave of increased migration” following EU expansion in 2004.

Labour, which was in power at the time, has admitted it was wrong not to impose restrictions on eastern Europeans’ ability to come to Britain from 2004.


At the time, official estimates predicted just 15,000 people would come from Poland and the other accession countries but the true figures ran into hundreds of thousands.

The ONS said there was “no evidence” that the passenger survey needed further revisions.

Carlos Vargas Silva, senior researcher at the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, which has previously raised concerns about the reliability of the IPS, said: "We have known for some time that net migration must have been much higher during the 2001 to 2011 period than the official estimates had suggested.

"This report provides important evidence of the need for better migration data and of the limitations of using a survey to develop net migration data."

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of MigrationWatch UK, which campaigns for stricter migration rules, said: "This is final confirmation that net foreign migration under Labour totals nearly four million, two thirds from outside the European Union.

"It also shows that the peak of net migration was nearly 275,000 a year, making it even more difficult for the present Government to get the numbers down to tens of thousands."

If Cameron thinks he’s doing God’s work you have to wonder what he worships
10
Thursday
Apr 2014
Posted by Mike Sivier in Conservative Party, People, Politics, Religion, UK


Face the facts: David Cameron has been sucking up to Hindus, Jews and now Christians because he wants religious people to vote for his Conservatives – in the same way Satan, the great deceiver, tries to lure the righteous into sin. If he worships any religious figure, it is Mammon, the personification of greed.

Perhaps he’s had a breakdown in the wake of the Maria Miller scandal.

Visiting Christian leaders were no doubt amazed to hear the leader of the most evil British government in decades telling them he has been doing “God’s work”.

David Cameron told them his Big Society concept – the vain attempt to get volunteers to do for free what public sector workers did before he sacked them all – was invented by Jesus of Nazareth, in Roman-era Israel.

If you think that’s a warped vision of Christianity, try this: He said, “Christians are now the most persecuted religion around the world. We should stand up against persecution of Christians and other faith groups wherever and whenever we can.”

Trying to start another war, David?

He won’t be fighting the Jews, it seems. Only last month he delivered a strongly pro-Jewish speech to the Israeli Knesset (their Parliament), supporting the religious slaughter of animals to make Kosher meat (in the face of calls for more humane methods) and rejecting calls to boycott goods produced in Israeli settlements like the occupied West Bank.

He even mentioned the fact that he had a Jewish great-great grandfather, although the Daily Mail reported, “he made no mention of reports that he may be descended from Moses”.

Cameron has also prostituted himself for the Hindu vote.

But let’s get back to his claim that his policies come from Christ himself. On the day Cameron finally accepted Mrs Miller’s resignation, he had nothing to say about the choice of music accompanying his Easter reception in Downing Street (Ave Maria). Instead, he told Church leaders that, if they believe there are obstacles preventing them from doing more to support his failed pet project, they should think of him as “a giant Dyno-Rod”.

And why not?

If anything in this country deserves to be flung down a drain, it’s David Cameron.

electionista ‏@electionista 3hours ago.
UK - Ipsos MORI poll:

CON 31% _2
LAB 37% +3
LDEM 9%
UKIP 15%

http://www.milngavieherald.co.uk/news/scottish-headlines/english-savers-may-remove-money-1-3372531



English savers 'may remove money'

About 42% of English savers banking with Scottish institutions would consider shifting their money south of the border if the country fails to retain sterling as currency after independence.

The finding is contained in a poll which also shows most people in the rest of the UK oppose the Scottish Government's plan to strike a deal to keep using the pound beyond a Yes vote in September.

The YouGov poll was commissioned by UKForex, a currency transfer service, which calculates up to £280 billion could move south, assuming all Scottish and British customers have the same level of savings and investments.

The following is utterly ridiculous and totally unfair, in the opinion of just about everyone in the UK. And yet the government (eg. Cameron as PM and Theresa May as Home Secretary, do absolutely nothing to correct the stupidity and unfairness of it.

The generality of the USA legal system usually brings 'plea bargaining into the equation'.

If therefore, someone makes a false or malicious accusation against you and instigates a criminal case, you end up having to be extradited to defend yourself and in this case, the initial legal charge was brought in the USA. The couple concerned were in the UK and never got to hear anything about this charge, couldn't defend themselves and the end result was an extradition request to our government to make the couple go to the USA to face charges.

What charges?
They will find that out for the first time when they get there.
Are they guilty or innocent?
They don't even know what they have been charged with! Thus they cannot yet file any kind of a defence!
Upon arrival in the USA after extradition, he goes to a male prison to be held. His wife goes to a female prison to be held. They are thus separated and aren't even allowed to speak directly with each other.
Eventually, a trial will be held. No one yet knows when. The general feeling is that the charge was brought maliciously by the son of the owner of the USA company whom the UK man went to work for as MD of the American Company. The son was overlooked and was very miffed about this. The USA owner died, the son came back into the company at its head and the best thing the UK guy and his wife could do was to then leave and go back to the UK.
When they first went out to the USA to run the company, they were given generous removal and re-settlement expenses. At the time these expenses were OKed by the then owner and subjected to legal Audit by the company's Finance Director and the authorities.
Now, it is generally felt the son is 'getting even' and acting maliciously.

My wife occasionally bumps into one of these two, whilst walking the dog. They don't live too far away and hence we know who they are and we have shown a bit of interest in their case:

Here's the story latest from the local Northampton Chronicle.

Essentially, it is about extremely unfair extradition laws. IMHO, it is irrelevant whether the couple are guilty or innocent of the charges. They are being made to go back to the USA to answer a 'Nobody knows what type of charge' and are being imprisoned until the case is brought to trial, separately, and whilst they prepare a defence.

This defence is going to cost a fortune. What do they do with their home and possessions whilst they are away and until when, since they don't know when they will or even whether they might be back.

They might well commit suicide. They are going to lose absolutely everything. They will undoubtedly be forced into a 'plea bargain'.

A Northampton couple say they could be extradited ‘any day now’ after they heard their case will not be heard at the Supreme Court.

Paul and Sandra Dunham are being pursued by the US Department of Justice over a claim they embezzled more than one million US dollars (£605,000) in illegitimate expense claims.

They ‘vehemently’ deny 12 charges of fraud but say they would be willing to face trial in the UK as they would be entitled to Legal Aid for their defence.

However extradition laws would require the Dunhams to be flown over to the US and kept in detention there for at least 12 weeks before their trial.

Today the High court has ruled their appeal against the extradition will not be heard in the Supreme Court.

The news has come as a devastating blow.

Mr Dunham said: “The problem we have now is that we could be extradited any day now.

“All we know for sure is that this has to happen within the next 28 days, we’ll put on the plane and sent back to the US.”

He continued: “It’s gone on for so long now it is beyond comprehension - it is incredible how corrupt the whole process is.”

Until 2010, Mr Dunham was chief executive, president and 20 per cent shareholder of PACE, a US company manufacturing soldering irons for the electronics industry.

Eric Siegel, the son of PACE founder, the late William Siegel, is pursuing the pair over alleged improperly claimed expenses arising from their relocation from the UK to Maryland.

The Dunhams have never been allowed to see the charges they are faced with and say it makes it ‘impossible’ to prepare their defence.

They have now written to the Home Office requesting that it allows them a further 14 days make a ‘rule 39’ application to the European Court on Human Rights.

But Mr Dunham believes the British Government is doing all it can to protect the extradition laws with the US, which were changed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to enable the swift deportation of terrorists.

He said: “We feel like we are sacrificial lambs to this process.

“I am not over dramatising this at all - but what the High Court told us was they acknowledged that we wouldn’t get pre-trial bail, that the detention facility is likely to be of a harsh condition, that we would be separated and they would have unsatisfactory medical facilities.”

This morning Mr Dunham was driving to Milton Keynes to deliver the bad news to his 84-year-old father.

“He finds it very hard to comprehend, he said. “In this country we work on the principle that you are innocent until proven guilty.”

Michael Evans, of Kaim Todner Ltd, the Dunhams’ solicitor, said: “The High Court dismissed the Dunhams’ applications to the Supreme Court having earlier found that it is “clear” the Dunhams would not get pre-trial bail; that the detention facility regime is plainly “harsh” and that the treatment of Mr Dunham’s mental health might be unsatisfactory.

“The considerable damage to the Dunhams caused by their extradition is believed in law to be a price worth paying in order to honour our US treaty obligations.

“Yet again, the 2003 Extradition Act has brutal effect.”

Tony Blair's Labour government created the 2003 US-UK Extradition Act in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. The law allows the U.S. to extradite UK citizens for breaking American laws, even if the offence was committed in Britain -- even if it was committed in Britain by a UK citizen.

The Dunham's have a Facebook page. As I write it has not yet been updated with their bad news.

Since they have a house and home with furniture, cars, dogs, an 84 yr old father some 18 miles away, and are likely to be extradited any minute, i guess they have loads of arrangements to make - and not a lot of time to now go updating the Facebook stuff.

http://www.facebook.com/TheDunhams

or

https://www.facebook.com/TheDunhams