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.

From todays Telegraph.

A couple from Somalia along with their children have moved from their previous house in the west midlands into a 2 million pound 6 bedroomed home in London. The council via the taxpayer IE you and me is picking up the almost 2,000 per week rent (8,000 per month or 104,000 per year).
Under the housing benefits bill introduced by the Labor Government there was nothing to stop this family doing so.
Of course they don't work, so no doubt that means a few more thousand quid, along with child allowance, yet more dosh.
This family have sponged of us now for 3 years.

They both don't speak English or at least state they don't.

Yet another example of the UK being the laughing stock of the world.

Perhaps we should all go round wearing 'T' shirts with the words UK citizen = Mug.

No wonder so many pour over our boarders.

It makes me so bloody mad that all my working life I have paid my taxes, and yet those taxes in total have not been enough to look after this one family.
In other words myself and several like me have worked all out lives to support a single family of spongers.

And remember there are thousand of families doing just the same, consisting of our home grown spongers and those that just come here for the freebies.

If anything is guaranteed to stir racial tension this is.

.

Well it makes my blood boil - what a crazy country we live in!

Mnamreh,

Ah you presume too much. My wife read it to me, I just look at the pictures.

.

Well, if it helps, it really annoys me too.

The basic thing wrong with it, is that they seem to be doing nothing for it other than 'f***ing'.

ie, Each other for their child benefit, and then the British Government to pay for their housing, services, food and clothing.

Just what stupid guidelines are there, that stipulate we can't instantly ship them all back to Somalia, complete with a cheque for 5,000-10,000 to help with their expenses?

Aaah! I've just spotted it. It is such an easy thing to miss!

They don't speak English, therefore no one can communicate with them.

For posterity...........

Go on, giz a kiss!

Shell Reveals Size Of North Sea Oil Spill
Sky News 2011, 20:10, Monday 15 August 2011

Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) has revealed that a leak at one of its North Sea platforms has pumped more than 200 tons of oil into the water.

Five days after it first learned of the leak, Shell has revealed that 1,300 barrels worth have spilled from the Gannet Alpha platform, which is 112 miles east of Aberdeen.

The oil spill is the biggest in UK waters for more than a decade.

There has been concern the spill could drift towards the North East coastline and pose a danger to marine life.

RSPB Scotland has expressed fears that birds could become victim of the oil sheen on the sea surface, such as puffins, guillemots and razorbills from nearby colonies.

At this time of year many young chicks are unable to leave the surface of the North Sea because they are molting and can't fly.

A spokesman for RSPB Scotland told Sky News: "The latest comment from Shell confirms that the oil leak continues with approximately one ton of oil per day currently escaping.

"Furthermore DECC (Department of Energy (NYSEArca: JJE - news) and Climate Change) has revealed this is a 'substantial' leak and greater than originally thought. It has been suggested that the current situation poses a low risk to wildlife.

He added: "Whilst we have not had access to the information used to draw this conclusion, it is worth noting that any amount of oil, in the wrong place at the wrong time, poses a serious risk to seabirds."

In the year 2000, a number of leaks resulted in a combined spillage of 524 tons over the course of the year.

The last single incident in UK waters that caused a major oil spill took place in 1993 when the Braer oil tanker ran aground off Shetland, whilst carrying 85,000 tonnes of crude oil.

Shell maintains that the oil spill - which is in a flowline system that serves the platform - is under control.

However, the company does say that the oil continues to leak, albeit at a rate of less than five barrels a day.

The amount of oil on the surface of the North Sea has reduced to 0.5 sq km.

That compares to an oil 'sheen' that initially measured 31km by 4km.

Glen Cayley, a technical director with Shell, told Sky News: "The high winds and waves over the weekend have led to a substantial reduction in the size of the oil sheen as can be seen from the current levels on the water.

"We continue to expect that the oil sheen will disperse due to wave action and that it will not reach the shore

Not too long ago that BP stated that the oil leak of the florida coastline was only minor and that they had it under control. We know how that ended up.

The family that moved to London say they speak no English.
Why? It's in their interest.
Is it true? They have been here for three years.
How have they done the everyday things like shopping
and moving about? They certainly aren't in a community
where they have moved to.Does the Council do everything for them?
They should start by making them take English lessons in return for
their benefits.I bet their progress would be amazing.
How are their children going to be educated if they
can't speak English.
So much for integration!

For years I dealt with foreigners who could speak English to a standard where they could easily be understood, until of course they were arrested.
Many had lived here for years.
Then it was the usual "sorry no speak English, no understand".

With offending drivers you often got, Driving license, whats that. Insurance, MOT no idea what you mean.
I have had many openly tell me in good English, that once they reached the cell block, they would ask for an interpretor, all this in perfect English of course.

Due to the fear by the police and courts of cases being thrown out (then we would be in big trouble), an interpretor was requested (at 40 plus per hour when I retired in 1977).
These interpreters were used on booking in, initial interview and following interviews.
They were paid from time of contact, plus travel expenses.
Then of course they were required for all court procedures as well as contacts with their solicitors or/and barristers.
This was one of the many areas were the police got the blame for being soft in allowing these people interpretors at great expense when we knew they did not need one.
But with the human rights and civil liberties always hanging over our head, we were not going to risk our jobs by not towing the required party lines.

"when I retired in 1977" - blimey Greek - you've been retired for 34 years ?

Early retirement ?

OK gone back to bed and got up again.
I meant 2003, 1977 was the year I started as a probby.

Mind you, can't call new police officers 'brobby's' anymore as it might upset the little darlings.

:-)

The Guardian's James Robinson says the letter from ex-NoW royal editor Clive Goodman is one of the most critical pieces of evidence to be submitted to the Select Committee.

Most importantly, in the letter Goodman states in the clearest possible terms he agreed to carry the can for phone-hacking in exchange for keeping his job in a deal negotiated by Crone and Coulson

Robinson has been analysing the letter sent by Goodman to News International in 2007 and provides the back story here. Click on this link to see the letter and then click on the yellow tabs for the explainers.

Here are images of the letter. You have to click on the link above to see the yellow explainers working. (Note the important 'blacking out'):



The Guardian's Nick Davies now has the full story which can be read here

He says:

Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and their former editor Andy Coulson all face embarrassing new allegations of dishonesty and cover-up after the publication of an explosive letter written by the News of the World's disgraced royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.

In the letter, which was written four years ago but published only on Tuesday, Goodman claims that phone hacking was "widely discussed" at editorial meetings at the paper until Coulson himself banned further references to it; that Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed not to implicate the paper in hacking when he came to court; and that his own hacking was carried out with "the full knowledge and support" of other senior journalists, whom he named.

The claims are acutely troubling for the prime minister, David Cameron, who hired Coulson as his media adviser on the basis that he knew nothing about phone hacking. And they confront Rupert and James Murdoch with the humiliating prospect of being recalled to parliament to justify the evidence which they gave last month on the aftermath of Goodman's allegations. In a separate letter, one of the Murdochs' own law firms claim that parts of that evidence were variously "hard to credit", "self-serving" and "inaccurate and misleading".

Once again, the phone hacking scandal is really hotting up.

The Guardian are running a 'live time line of events' at

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/aug/16/phone-hacking-scandal-live

As I write, the latest piece to hit the web site is this:

5.38pm: Tommy Sheridan's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, has just released this statement about Andy Coulson, David Cameron's former head of communications who was editor of the News of the World at the time of the alleged phone-hacking.

Today the Culture,Media & Sport Select Committee disclosed that it was alleged that Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking. If true this is a serious contradiction of the evidence given by Andrew Coulson during the Perjury Trial of Tommy Sheridan. Strathclyde Police's majory inquiry into perjury and phonehacking should now consider interviewing Clive Goodman as well as Andy Coulson.

We were told repeatedly during Mr Sheridan's trial by the police and the Crown, that perjury strikes at the heart of the administration of justice and nobody was above the law- We now expect to see a similar robust response to News of the World and for arrests to take place in Scotland, and if it is shown that people lied in the Glasgow High Court they should go to prison."

Labour MP, Tom Watson, says there are a lot of people with questions to answer if allegations of a phone hacking cover up, made by former News of the World royal correspondent Clive Goodman, are true

Mr Watson, who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, described the letter written by Clive Goodman, the News of the World's former royal correspondent, to News International executives as "explosive".

The letter, written in 2007 shortly after Goodman was released from prison following his prosecution for intercepting voicemails belonging to members of the royal househould, claims phone hacking was widespread at the paper.

Goodman's letter claimed phone hacking was "widely discussed" at editorial conferences until Andy Coulson, the former editor, banned explicit references to the illegal practice. The letter was sent to Les Hinton, the executive chairman of News International, but no action was taken.

"If the letter and the facts contained within Clive Goodman's letter are true then it is a damning revelation," the Labour MP said.

You must allow for the fact that the letter was written by Clive Goodman while he was suing the NOW for wrongful dismissal. It may not carry as much weight as it would seem.