Amen

Our father, who art in heaven, hello be my name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in....oh, hello, you caught me in the middle of my evening prayer. I will finish it later because, to be honest, i don't know the rest of it but i know bread comes into it somewhere but i really should learn the rest of it, particularly as i am a fully ordained minister now.
Yep, i am part of the God bothering crowd now and according to the blurb that came with my free online ordination, i can perform marriages, funerals, baptisms, ceremonial rites, and last rites. I can even start my own church but it is the last two things that being an ordained minister brings that i am most excited about.
Firstly, i can use the title Reverend, Minister, Healer or Educator but the most exciting part is i can absolve others of their sins!
How cool is that, i get to hand out forgiveness and the hail Mary's.
Want to get to heaven but have broken some of the commandments? Took the Lords name in vain while coveting your neighbours wife on the Sabbath? Come see rev Lucy and i'll get you upstairs with the big guy.
My certificate only lasts a year so be quick and get those confessions in early to avoid disappointment.
Amen

Prodding Iran

After a decade of military failure in Afghanistan and Iraq, destabilisation of Pakistan and Yemen and slaughter from the skies in Libya, you might hope the US and its friends would have had their fill of invasion and intervention in the Muslim world.
Apparently not because America's best and most out of control friend, Israel, has been stepping up the stealth war against Iran and have been continuing a campaign of assassinations of Iranian scientists, today's assassination being the fifth in the past 2 years.
Iran has pointed the finger at the US and Israel for the murders although Washington deny any involvement, Israel have declined to comment but comes after Israel recently warned Iran 'would undergo more things which take place in an unnatural manner.'
Today's assassination came courtesy of a magnetic bomb attached to the scientists car, a tried and trusted method as it was the same use of magnetic bombs delivered by motorcyclists used in killing the other scientists who worked within the Iranian nuclear facilities.
The latest murder comes at a time of high tension between Iran and the West with the US declaring it will prohibit the global financing of the Iranian oil trade and Iran reacting by threatening to close the strait of Hormuz and cutting off a fifth of the world's oil supply.
Just like with Iraq, we are seeing a ratcheting up of the pressure on Iran and the softening up of public opinion as the threat of another war looms larger despite the case against Iran being so fantastically thin.
There is no evidence that Iran is engaged in a nuclear weapons programme as the US, UK and Israel claim so definitively and the IAEA have once again failed to produce a smoking gun, despite the best efforts of its new director general, Yukiya Amano, who was exposed by Wikileak's as being described by American diplomats as being 'one of us when it comes to Iran'.
The sense of de je vu fills the air. Can it really happen again? Israel, as they have proved in Palestine time and time again, care very little about the civilian deaths they cause, but can America and Britain really be gung ho for a repeat of Iraq or Afghanistan where over a million people were killed for no benefit whatsoever outside of the military suppliers and oil industry?
The propaganda campaign against Iran has now gone so far that even outright murder of Iranian civilians, illegal under international law, is no longer condemned.
The latest Israeli attack is another attempt to provoke Iran until it retaliates which in turn will give warmongering America and its sycophantic British poodle and the vile, murderous Israeli Government the ultimate excuse to send in the troops so if Iran is not building nuclear weapons, it clearly needs to so it can protect its citizens from being wiped off the face of the earth by the usual nations who seem to not be able to satisfy their war lust.

Waving Scotland Goodbye

Kingdoms are run by kings, empires by emperors and now Scotland is hoping to be a country which means, ironically enough, it will be run by Alex Salmon who is looking to wrench the cold and wet bit at the top of Britain away from the rich bit down the bottom.
I'm all for Scotland going it alone, i will be waving it goodbye as it removes the Union Flag and hoists the Saint Andrew's Cross in its place, hopefully just as they realise that they might have made a bit of a boo boo.
As an independent country, we would have a perfect excuse to send back all the Scottish languishing down here taking all our jobs, claiming benefits etc etc.
Rod Stewart, you can have him back and the Krankies. Andy Gray can pack his tartan suit case and Billy Connelly, Ewan McGregor, Alan Hansen and Annie Lennox can all clamber back onto your side as well. David Tennant can stay if he likes though.
We can also say goodbye to having to listen to the Scottish football scores because we really care that East Stirlingshire beat Berwick Rangers and it solves our problem of having to shoehorn in 4 Scottish players into our British Olympic football team.
No more of those god awful Scots Guards bagpipe tunes so yep, it's a win win for us except for now having to store our own Weapons of mass destruction somewhere, hang on, we still have Northern Ireland so problem solved. Cya Scotland.

He's Saying What We All Think

Obama on Chavez: 'We’re concerned about the government’s actions, which have restricted the universal rights of the Venezuelan people, threatened basic democratic values, and failed to contribute to the security in the region'.

Chavez to Obama: 'You know what, Obama? I feel sorry for you. Just ask the black communities of your country what you mean to them. You are the greatest disappointment of recent years. Go ask the poor people of your country. You are a great disappointment to them'.

The chubby South American has got you there Barack and as Mr Chavez delivers free heating oil each winter for 500,000 poor Americans living in low-income neighborhoods and shelters throughout your country, you should be a bit nicer to him as he is picking up your slack!

Implant Profiteering

I don't like to keep venting my spleen about how the the economic system that dictates our daily lives seems to be rotten to the core, i want to be writing posts poking fun at Australia or wagging my finger at Americans for actually wanting a country full of gun owners but when it's a constant stream of multinational corporations getting away with tax dodging to the tune of billions or bankers awarding themselves billions in bonuses as people all over the world plunge into poverty and unemployment it's hard to resist.
As i have said countless times here, the system is terminally flawed so that the only conclusion is the capitalist system is no longer serving the human species well and we need a better way of organising ourselves where the interests of more people become relevant and greed is of lower importance.
Before you sigh and say the communist hippy is off on one of her unsubstantiated anti-capitalism rants again, the implant furore makes my point for me.

French firm Poly Implant Prothesis have admitted filling their implants with industrial silicone to cuts costs and then hid what they were doing from inspectors.
Jean-Claude Mas, founder of PIP, told police: 'From 1997 onwards we hid the products used to make the PIP gel. I wasn't allowed to buy these products because they were not authorised. We organised everything to escape being monitored'.
The PIP gel cost £4 a litre while the authorised American gel Nusil was £35 a litre although the implants cost remained the same.
When the deceit was uncovered and Mas was asked about the women who claimed to have suffered health problems after being fitted with the sub-standard implants, he replied: 'The victims are only suing to get money … I have nothing to say to them'.
Investigations have found there is a possible association with leaking PIP implants and a rare form of cancer which have affected 11 French women who had these implants fitted and an investigation has been launched in France into charges of manslaughter and unintentional injury against PIP who are already facing charges of aggravated deception.
The French government have announced they would foot the bill for tens of thousands of breast implant removals, amid cancer fears while the British Government have said that women who are concerned about breast implants made by PIP will be able to have them removed for free by the NHS if they were put in by the NHS due to reconstruction surgery but if the implants were due to cosmetic surgery, the women will have to return to the private clinic where they had the initial operation to arrange for them to be removed or replaced.
The reply from the private clinics? A number of private clinics are resisting removing the implants for free, saying they will go under if they have to fund surgery, while others are charging women thousands of pounds to have the substandard implants taken out or replaced.

Proof once again that profit making is king and any health concerns, from the cynical gross negligence of PIP to the exploitative opportunism of the private clinics, is a secondary concern.
As for the Conservative idea of privatisation of the NHS, this should kill that stone dead because it is proof that the NHS may not be perfect, but it is a hell of a lot better than the money grabbing private sector where the ability to pay is the only factor in deciding if you get any treatment.

Overrated People

The BBC are going all out to cause an argument by offering up a dozen of the most overrated people in history and it's quite an impressive list.
They may be among the most famous figures from history, but the likes of Henry V, Charles Darwin, Oscar Wilde, Napoleon, Malcom X and Winston Churchill just don't hack it so far as the historians who were consulted are concerned.
I'm sure the last two will strike the most debate but history is littered with people who i have always thought received plaudits far in excess of that they deserved and would have made my personal overrated list.
People like Vincent Van Gogh who sold just one painting to a relative while alive and it is obvious to see why. Another painter that i never understood why everyone thought so highly of was Picasso.
Further back in history, just why is Columbus so highly regarded? He thought he was in India and why is Oliver Cromwell regarded in such high esteem that he is worthy of a statue in Westminster? He was such a tyrant that he banned pretty much everything including Christmas, sport and make-up.
Elizabeth II is one of our most loved Monarchs but apart from a bit of waving, what else does she contribute? Princess Diana was the 'Peoples Princess' but was off bonking rugby players, surgeons and assorted ginger haired army officers while complaining about Charles making eyes at his former girlfriend.
Thomas Edison is credited with many new discoveries but mostly stole them from other people as did Marconi who it is widely considered invented the wireless radio but just nicked the idea from Tesla and used his friends in high places to void Tesla's original patent and history remembers the sneaky Italian as the radio inventor.
Joan of Arc is a hero in France but all she did was pick up a sword, get caught and set on fire by the English.
There are many modern day people who have me scratching my head over just what other people see in them.
Never could stand Bono or Phil Collins and what is so good about Mick Jagger? Or Jim Carey?
Obama still has some fans although they are dwindling fast but my all time overrated person has to be Jerry Seinfeld, as funny as Winston Churchill was sober.

Film To Avoid

If there is one film to avoid this year, it is this one - The Iron Lady - coming to cinemas January 6th. Certificate 18 - contains scenes of a Conservative government that some people may find distressing

The numpty Tories among us will be wetting themselves in anticipation of a film about General Pinochet's best buddy but the rest of us with act with dignity and decorum and just satisfy ourselves with vandalising the movie posters.
Besides, she was such a figure of hate that even the distance of time has failed to soften her image but at least it gives us a chance to dig out all those old Maggie Thatcher jokes that have lain dormant since 1991.

The Pope and Margaret Thatcher are on the same stage in front of a huge crowd.
The Prime Minister and His Holiness, however, have seen it all before, so to make it a little more interesting, Maggie says to the Pope, 'did you know that, with just one little wave of my hand, I can make every Conservative in the crowd go wild?'
He doubts it, so she shows him. Sure enough, the wave elicits rapture and cheering from every Conservative in the crowd. Gradually, the cheering subsides.
The Pope, not wanting to be out done by such a level of arrogance, considers what he could do.
'That was impressive, but did you know that, with just one little wave of my hand, I can make every person in the crowd go crazy with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display, like that of your subjects, but will go deep into their hearts and they will forever speak of this day and rejoice.'
Thatcher seriously doubts this and says so. 'One little wave of your hand and all people will rejoice forever? Show me.'
So the Pope punched her.

Choices For The America Voters

American kids grow up hearing that anyone can become President and 43 people have done it so far so as the Presidential race begins proper in Iowa tonight, just what do the American kids of today have to do to get the keys to the White House tomorrow?
Most obvious is be male and white as all have been men and 42 of the 43 different men have been white.
Holding a law degree is an advantage as out of the 43 presidents, 25 have been lawyers and make use of the razor as America has only had five presidents with facial hair and the last one was 99 years ago.
Mostly, what you need is money and lots and lots of it.
All of the candidates aiming for the White House in 2012 are extremely wealthy, not one of them has less than a couple of million dollars loitering in their personal bank accounts which puts them all in the 1% that the 99% have been protesting against recently.
The chances are that Obama will stay in the seat and his personal fortune of $10m means he can continue to understand the pressures of the 4 million Americans who earn below, or equal to, the minimum wage who struggle to pay their bills each month.
The favourite among the Republicans is Mitt Romney who has a personal wealth of $250m which of course won't deter him from feeling the hurt of the 45 million Americans living in poverty.
A surprise second choice is Dr Ron Paul who is worth $5m and as a doctor, who better to understand the worry of the 50 million Americans who cannot afford Health Insurance.
Rick Santorum may be worth $2m and live in luxurious Penn Hills, Pennsylvania but his real concern is probably the 672,000 homeless Americans.
The 13.5 million unemployed Americans can be assured that if elected, they will be in the thoughts of Newt Gingrich who has amassed a fortune of $30.1 million although he hasn't actually ever been unemployed or had to pawn his jewelery to pay for food.
Likewise Jon Huntsman who is worth $71m but you know despite having no experience of the depressing situation of having his house repossessed unlike the 1 million + Americans in 2010, he will be doing all he can to alleviate your pain.
Less likely to be top of the tree come the end of the year are Michele Bachmann with an estimated wealth of $2.15m or Rick Perry who has a healthy $3 million in his bank account but rest assured Americans, that whichever of these incredibly wealthy people you vote for, they will be doing the very best they can for you because who better than a member of the multi-millionaire 1% to empathise when you lose your house, savings, job or fall ill.

Depleting Our Non-Renewable Resources

In the latter stages of the Twentieth Century, the Environmentalist message that we are destroying our planet with man made emissions raised public awareness so that we have now reduced the amount of emissions we pour into the atmosphere.
There are some who disagree that we are responsible, the oil companies for example, but maybe it is too little too late as the globe continues to warm but while we have been concentrating on renewable forms of energy such as solar and wind, we have been merrily depleting our non-renewable natural resources and the problem with non-renewable resources, as the name implies, once they are gone they are gone for good.
We know about the dwindling supplies of oil and gas and how the easy to reach sites are running dry which means having to drill wells many miles under the sea-floor to access what's left but there are plenty of other natural resources that we take for granted that are close to exhaustion.
So just how much of these resources that are used in the manufacture of everyday items have we got left left to work with?
All the figures are based on known and estimated reserves and assume current consumption stays the same. Of course, more reserves may be discovered in the future but the figures do not take into account the rising world population which is projected to rise rapidly.

Silver: 13-29 years worth
Indium: 13-18 years worth
Palladium: 15-20 years worth
Gold: 17 -45 years worth
Tin: 17-40 years worth
Zinc: 17 - 46 years worth
Lead: 20-42 years worth
Copper: 31 -67 years worth
Uranium: 32 - 59 years worth
Nickel: 40 -90 years worth
Platinum: 56 - 360 years worth
Natural Gas: 60-70 years worth
Iron: 70-80 years worth
Cobalt: 100- 112 years worth
Tantalum 116 -120 years worth
Aluminum: 150-1000 years worth
Coal: 100-150 years worth
Phosphorus 300-400 years worth
Lithium 400-600 years worth

This is not to say that we will be completely out of indium which goes into making our flat screen televsions or palladium used in our cars catalytic converters within a couple of decades, but as we presently have no new source for it, when there is no more to be mined, we will have to make do with whatever resources we can scrape together through recycling or find new ways of creating essential things like batteries, wiring, dental crowns and plumbing.
What with the devastated environment and the depleted resources, it does make you wonder what future generations are going to make of what we have left for them to inherit.

Sources
US Energy Information Administration
U.S. Geological Survey
Scientific American
New Scientist
Science et Vie
Environmental Thinker

2012 Psychic Predictions

When someone declares that they are the Psychic that all other American Psychics go to for help, then you know that LaMont Hamilton has to be good so he is the obvious choice to see what we can expect to happen in 2012.
His biography on the World Psychic Website tells us that LaMont is respected all over the world as a top Clairvoyant/Psychic and he has been having psychic experiences since he was 8 years old and considering that he charges $65 for email consultations and $55 for a half hour phone reading, and he offers his services to any United States Federal/State/Military Agency that would like to employ his services to Protect the interest of the United States of America or its Constitutional Citizens, i have high hopes for him.
So on to the predictions:

#1: Accident seen around US President Obama as he trips or falls in the early months of 2012.
#2: Iranian revolution seen in 2012 where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad removed from power.
#3: Japan embroiled in dispute with China where military action will be threatened against Japan or a partial Naval blockade will occur.
#4: Threats or a rumor of an assassination attempt against Nicolas Sarkozy in a foreign land will be reported.
#5: Russia will encounter two setbacks in its space program in 2012 due to accidents or explosions with their launch vehicles.
#6: South Africa will prosper after the discovery of a major new gold/diamond mine.
#7: President Barack Obama will face conservative Republican, Mitt Romney as the US Presidential choice after the 2012 primary elections.
#8: Iran will see a nuclear related explosion to one of its 2 reactors this year due to an accident or sabotage.
#9: A conflict or battle in outer space will occur this year between 2 countries, most likely involving Russia or Iran.
#10: French President Nicolas Sarkozy & wife Carla will have a new son.

We will come back in 12 months to see how many Mr Hamilton has got right and whether any US States Federal/State/Military Agencies that have handed over money to him for his services have been rolled over.