PUB CLOSURES TO BE ONE IN EIGHT: GOOD NEWS OR BAD?

ONE IN EIGHT PUBS WILL CLOSE DUE TO IRRESPONSIBLE SELLING.

Now, on the face of it this should be good news: fewer pubs, means fewer drunks, means fewer problems on the streets. Not so says CAMRA. The Campaign For Real Ale advise that pub closures are "ripping the heart out of community life" and it is all down to supermarkets selling at irresponsible prices. I think there are all sorts of reasons why pubs are closing. Maybe they are just bad pubs, the smoking ban has been named many times. Visiting the pub is a lot less affordable, but so is everything else these days. Why should pubs be singled out for special treatment? What do you say? Is your local the heart of your community?

           Or would you not miss it if it closed?

SONY TO HELP CASH STRAPPED U.K..

I was almost at the point of buying a SONY LCD TV.  I have been looking at them for a while. I already have lots of SONY products. But you know what?

I am going to buy a Phillips. Why? Because Sony have just announced they will increase their prices in the U.K. due to currency fluctuations. Thanks for your help in the current economic climate Sony.  If nothing else it makes my purchasing decision easy. Or should I wait until the January sales when they will be giving away all the overpriced Sony products that smart consumers didn't buy because of the price rise. Oh it's tough being a consumer.   

JOHN LENNON FORGIVEN BY THE VATICAN. HOW BIG OF THEM?

How big of the Catholic Church to forgive Lennon for the "more popular than Christ" remark taken out of context all those years ago. I am old enough to have heard the original interview and what was said was a simple truth, a statement of fact. At that time the phenomenon that was The BEATLES was more popular than anything before or since.  It is worth noting that the same Vatican for many years refused to acknowledge wide spread child abuse and cruelty in its ranks. Will they also be as forgiving towards the gay community,divorcees,and women desperate for reliable birth control in poor third world countries.

HYPOCRISY ALIVE AND WELL IN THE VATICAN.

VAT TAX CUT TO SAVE ECONOMY: HOW WILL YOU SPEND IT?

It's being described as a high risk strategy to boost spending and help turn the economy around. So how will you spend the extra 2 1/2p in the pound if indeed VAT comes down to 15%? 

Or if you were planing to buy a £100 Christmas gift for someone, what will you splurge the £2.50p saving on?  Now don't get me wrong here, any measure that puts money back in pockets & purses is most welcome. I just don't see this prompting people into a spending spree, especially not now. As we all know the stores blinked first in the annual stand off on price reductions, so consumers have at last realised that all power is in their hands. This just looks like more fiddling and fixing to me. It's like finger in the dyke action which does not really address the real problem which is of course....debt. 

I think that people will again get further into debt rather than have a meager Christmas. So any benefit that may have come from a tax cut will be lost. I am no economist so maybe I am missing some important part of the strategy ?  Answers on a post card please.

SARAH PALIN MAY BE LED TO TOP JOB BY GOD

                                             Sarah Palin, defeated Republican, famed slayer of moose and Governor of Alaska, has declared she may run for President in 2012 and hopes God will guide her on her way.  I read this story twice and have concluded that the U.S.A. just had a narrow escape (well, not that narrow but you know what I mean). In her first full sit down interview the lady says she will plough through any open door God may show her.

         Can you believe that a serious contender for high office can speak like this? It is scary and quite frightening when politicians try to convince the world of their sincerity and worthiness in this way.  I could not imagine Hilary Clinton or Margaret Thatcher or Condi Rice speaking out in this manner. I concede that Sarah is new to the game in many respects but she needs to realise that this is exactly the type of language that scared the voters. Oh and please remember to close all doors tightly and securely.

MOST JOB LOSSES TO HIT LONDON AND THE SOUTH

The Local Government Association have predicted that the forthcoming sharp rise in unemployment will hit London and the south more severely than other parts of the U.K.  Pretty clever forecasting as most of the jobs are....in the south and London.   Now we have been here before and we are still grumpy about the thousands of jobs lost in the North and Midlands of the country. What goes around comes around some may say.

Maybe it's the South's turn for some of the home truths about how market economies work. It is always sad to hear about people losing their jobs and I bet you there are no redundancies at the LGA. Good news is it may turn "grim down south" but not for ever, you really do need to be in the north for it to last that long.

Youngest Around The World Sailor.Crazy or Not ?

Michael Perham here is 16 and he is about to attempt to sail around the world single handed. The voyage will take around 4 months and he admits that it is probably a bit crazy to attempt it at his age.  Now while I do wish him well I have always wondered what the point is to these solo sailing ventures regardless of age, gender, or experience. Call me a grumpy old cynic but who actually benefits from them, are you inspired to do something challenging when you hear of this type of endeavor? So you tell me how inspirational is young Michael here? Is he your modern day hero/adventurer?

                        Or is it all a bit of an ego trip?

FATHER LOCKED UP FOR SMACKING SON ON BOTTOM DEMANDS APOLOGY

In sharp contrast to the sad case of baby P in Haringey this father was shocked at what befell him for disciplining his son after he had run off. He was arrested and spent the night locked up in the name of child protection. His lad had run out of a shop and disappeared from sight.When Mr Frearson found the child he gave him a slap on the rear end and a severe telling off.

In these days of heightened awareness regarding all sorts of child protection issues you would think a few inquiries could have sorted this out very quickly. Instead father and son have been treated to an unpleasant experience by a "complainant" who has now withdrawn the complaint.   Calls for common sense to be applied all round but, as one mother has commented,  common sense is not so common is it?

Haringey Council Under Pressure Over Baby P Case

The tragedy of this case is that it seems every possible indication of the abuse was present. Visits by social workers,examinations by health professionals, a former employee alerting the Secretary Of State but still no action was taken.   

Typically we have witnessed the usual pathetic rush to support the very people who failed not only this child but an entire community.  The simple question is could this child's death have been prevented?  The simple answer is...YES.  Therefor Haringey Child Services Failed to discharge its duty and consequently  those involved in the case should be sacked. 

If the stories leaking out now are in any way accurate this child should have been removed on health and hygiene grounds alone. How many more cases like this are lurking in the files of social service and child care departments who, we keep hearing, are under paid, over worked, and demoralised.  Enough has been said, it is time for serious action to be taken and clear warning given that these cases will receive severe punishment from now on.

                      Including the professionals who fail to protect our children.   

WONDER DRUG WILL SAVE MILLIONS? IS THAT PEOPLE OR DOLLARS ?

Statins have the potential to save many lives and the latest claims are heralding the latest form of the wonder drug.  The U.S.A research is a wee bit confusing as the biggest benefit seems to be to people who are healthy anyway and not considered at risk.  Run that one again....patients "not considered at risk had fewer adverse heart events"  ....than those at risk one presumes?

The grump here is, again we hear fabulous claims for a commercial drug, no detail as to the trials, no full analysis of side effects, just the old banner headline routine "WONDER DRUG WILL SAVE MILLIONS".  Keep in mind only around 18,000 people took part in trials. Why did they stop the trials? Was it because they got the answer they wanted? Also this is not a "new" drug, statins have been around for some time. So all in all looks like a pretty flawed piece of research/reporting/propaganda. 

Medical history is littered with wonder cures and miracle drugs. And immensely rich drug companies. Just think, as one eminent expert said "If Aspirin were invented today it would not be considered safe enough to get a licence"