What the blithering f***

I have no idea what planet our councils inhabit. It certainly isn't Planet Reality, where you and I live. Remember this from April? Shocking stuff.

I finally received the straggler yesterday, Edinburgh City Council, and I must say I nearly fell off my chair when I read the e mail.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002 - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

With reference to your request for information, I have dealt with this in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).

You have requested information regarding Trade Unions. You have specifically requested:

- How many Council employees we have whose sole duties are union based

- Union representatives who have no other tasks but are directly employed by the Council

In response to your request The City of Edinburgh Council currently have eight Trade Union representatives on full-time duties. This level of support is temporary for the duration of the Modernising pay project.

Edunburgh City Council currently have a £90,000,000 hole in their books. How they can possibly justify the cost of paying the wages of eight employees who are basically working for a trade union is beyond me. Perhaps the residents of Edinburgh should be asking a few questions.

As I have said before, the blatant abuse of tax payers money in this way must cease with immediate effect. It's outrageous that in this time of cut backs and fiscal prudence councils get away with nonsense like the above whilst the services you and I pay for, under duress, suffer.

Interested in what the Modernising Pay Project is all about? Have a look here. (PDF file).

Real life....

....has been extremely hectic/stressful of late. Thus my intertwat inactivity for the past while.

The Rablet just got out of Yorkhill hospital yesterday after having major surgery last week. He's doing fine but it's a long road.

I applied and got offered a new job with a competitor. I accepted it, handed in my notice and three weeks into my notice period decided that the grass is not greener and withdrew my notice over the weekend. Talk about a red face......

And I passed my driving test the other day.

All I need for a full 'stress hand' is a divorce and a house move.

So blogging, twattering and e mailing have taken a back seat for now.

I am not quitting. Always remember,

He who remains silent gives his consent.







.

Cameron really is an imbecile.

It wouldn't surprise me if he had a truck load of housing and benefit claim forms on route as I type this.

He really hasn't got a bloody clue.

Sign this...

No-one in Britain under the age of 53 has ever had a chance to give their opinion on our country's position within the European Union (EU).

Some people believe that we should leave the EU altogether, and that we should negotiate trading and other agreements with Europe as we would with any other country or continent. Others believe that our best interests would be served by fully committing to the EU, which would mean greater surrender of sovereignty to Brussels, and eventual adoption of the single currency - the Euro.

Currently, we have one foot in the EU, and one foot outside it. This is detrimental to our interests, and to the interests of the EU, both politically and economically, and we need to take a decision as to where our future as a nation lies. This decision must be taken by the people, and our politicians must abide by it. When that decision is made, then we will look to our politicians to show strong and decisive leadership, and to take our country on the course we choose.

Sign the petition here. If over 100,000 sign the government cannot ignore it.

Your kids being used as political fodder

A trade union protest march, earlier today.

Whilst perusing the Pravda site earlier I was stunned to see that Unions and leftie teachers have decided that it is perfectly fine to use your children as political pawns in a protest against the cuts to the school building programme.

It's completely outrageous that they seem to think that they can use children in this way.

Perhaps they should be asking the local authorities why they allowed school buildings to fall into such a poor condition, whilst there seemed to be plenty of cash for LGBT outreach workers and fact finding missions to exotic foreign locations.

The left really are a tiresome, predictable, hypocritical and loathsome lot.

A little slice Britain.

I dread to think what future historians will make of our times.

update - Cato has a friend being interviewed sticking up for the above interviewee.

Glasgow Commonwealth Games Programme

Here is the programme for the commonwealth games in Glasgow

OPENING CEREMONY

The flame will be ignited by a petrol bomb thrown by a native of the city. The flame will be contained in a large, overturned police van situated on the roof of the stadium.

THE EVENTS

In previous Commonwealth games Glaswegian competitors have not been particularly successful. In order to redress the balance some of the events have been altered slightly to the advantage of local athletes.

100 Metres Sprint - Competitors will have to hold a DVD player and microwave oven (one under each arm) and on the sound of the starting pistol a police dog will be released from a cage 10 yards behind the athletes.

110 Metres hurdles - As above, but with added obstacles (car bonnets, hedges, garden fences, walls, etc).

Hammer - Competitors may choose the type of hammer they wish to use (claw, sledge, etc). The winner will be the one who can cause the most physical damage within three attempts.

Fencing - Entrants will be asked to dispose of as many stolen goods as possible in 5 minutes.

Shooting - A strong challenge is expected from local men in this event. The first target will be a moving police van. In the second round competitors will aim at a Securicor officer. The traditional .22 rifle has been replaced in this event by a choice of either a Browning automatic pistol, or a sawn-off 12 bore shotgun.

Boxing - Entry to the boxing event will be restricted to husband and wife teams and will take place on a Friday night. The husband will be given 15 pints of Stella, while the wife will be told not to make him any tea when he gets home. The bout will then commence.

Cycling Time Trials - Competitors will be asked to break in to the University bike shed and take an expensive mountain bike owned by some mummy's boy on his first trip away from home, all against the clock.

Cycling pursuit - As above, but the bike will be owned by a visiting member of the Fiji rugby sevens team, who will witness the theft.

Modern Pentathlon - Amended to include mugging, breaking and entering, flashing, joyriding and arson.

Swimming Events - All waterways are currently being tested for toxicity levels. Once one is found that can support human life, swimming events will be organized. Please note that the synchronized swimming event for this year will comprise of dropping acid and watching all the funky ripples on the pool.

The Marathon - A safe route has yet to be found.

Men's 50km Walk - Unfortunately, this event will have to be cancelled as the police cannot guarantee the safety of anyone walking the streets of Dalmarnock, especially anyone who appears to be mincing.

THE CLOSING CEREMONY

Entertainment will include formation rave dancing by members of Calton Health in the Community anti-drug campaign, synchronized rock throwing and music by The Bridgeton Community Choir. The flame will be extinguished by riot police water cannon following the inevitable pitch invasion by confused Celtic supporters.

The stadium itself will then be boarded up before the local athletes break in and remove all the copper piping and the central heating boiler.

To guarantee the entry of any athletes from the local area at all, drug testing has been waived for the duration of the games.

What's up, Doc?

Read this and this.

Apologies for the lazy blogging recently. Poor old me has a sinus infection and infections in both ears. I just can't be arsed with anything.

We've been quangoed

Name	Role	Organisation	Annual pay rate - including taxable benefits and allowances
David Higgins	Chief Executive	Olympic Delivery Authority	£390,000 - £394,999
Tony Fountain	Chief Executive	Nuclear Decommissioning Authority	£365,000 - £369,999
Howard Shiplee	Director of Construction	Olympic Delivery Authority	£285,000 - £289,999
John Fingleton	Chief Executive	Office of Fair Trading	£275,000 - £279,999
Dennis Hone	Director of Finance & Corporate Services	Olympic Delivery Authority	£265,000 - £269.999
David Nicholson	NHS Chief Executive	Dept. of Health	£255,000 - £259,999
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz	MRC CEO	Medical Research Council	£255,000 - £259,999
Andrew Haines	Chief Executive	Civil Aviation Authority	£250,000 - £254,999
John Armitt	Chairman	Olympic Delivery Authority	£250,000 - £254,999
Joe Harley	IT Director General & Chief Information Officer	DWP	£245,000 - £249,999
Paul Wilson	Chief Officer	London Probation Trust	£240,000 - 244,999
Sir Jock Stirrup	Chief of the Defence Staff	Ministry of Defence	£240,000 - £244,999
Tim Jones	CEO	Personal Accounts Delivery Authority	£235,000 - £239,999
Robin Evans	Chief Executive	British Waterways	£230,000 - £234,999
Alan Langlands	CEO	Higher Education Funding Council for England	£230,000 - £234,999
David Bennett	Interim Chief Executive	Monitor, Independent Regulator of NHS foundation trusts	£230,000 - £234,999
Neil Lloyd	Chief Executive	NHS Professionals	£230,000 - £234,999
Jeremy Beeton	Director General,Government Olympic Executive	DCMS	£225,000 - £229,999
Alison Nimmo	Director of Design & Regeneration	Olympic Delivery Authority	£225,000 - £229,999
Hugh Sumner	Director of Transport	Olympic Delivery Authority	£225,000 - £229,999
Simon Wright	Director of Infrastructure & Utilities	Olympic Delivery Authority	£225,000 - £229,999
Mark Farrar	CEO	Construction Industry Trading Board	£220,000 - £224,999
Clare Chapman	Director General of Workforce	Dept. of Health	£220,000 - £224,999
R Kerslake	Chief Executive	Homes and Communities Agency	£220,000 - £224,999
Douglas Erskine-Crum	Chief Executive	Horserace Betting Levy Board	£220,000 - £224,999
Paul Hemsley	Director of Finance	Ordnance Survey	£220,000 - £224,999
Tim Byles	Chief Executive	Partnerships for Schools	£215,000 - £219,999
Stephen Geraghty	Commissioner	Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission	£210,000 - £214,999
David Green	Director of Revenues and Customs Division	Crown Prosecution Service	£210,000 - £214,999
Lord Mogg	Chairman*	Ofgem	£210,000 - £214,999*
Iain Gray	CEO	Technology Strategy Board	£210,000 - £214,999
Sir Liam Donaldson	Chief Medical Officer	Dept. of Health	£205,000 - £209,999
Patrick Crawford	Chief Executive	Export Credits Guarantee Department	£205,000 - £209,999
Helen Kilpatrick	Director General, Finance and Commercial	Home Office	£205,000 - £209,999
Lin Homer	Chief Executive, United Kingdom Border Agency	Home Office (Agency-UKBA)	£205,000 - £209,999
Steve Lamey	Director General Benefits & Credits	HM Revenue & Customs	£205,000 - £209,999
Geoff Russell	CEO	Learning and Skills Council	£205,000 - £209,999
DA Shields	Programme Director	OGC	£205,000 - £209,999
Alistair Buchanan	Chief Executive	Ofgem	£205,000 - £209,999
Ralph Luck	Director of Property	Olympic Delivery Authority	£205,000 - £209,999
Andrew Hall	CEO	Qualification Curriculm Authority	£205,000 - £209,999
Sir Andrew Cahn	Chief Executive, UK Trade & Investment	UKTI (joint BIS/FCO)	£205,000 - £209,999
Roger Bright	Chief Executive	The Crown Estate	£200,000 - £204,999
Dr Mike Mitchell	Head of National Networks Group	Department for Transport (Centre)	£200,000 - £204,999
Christine Connelly	Chief Information Officer	Dept. of Health	£200,000 - £204,999
Gabriel Scally	Regional Director of Public Health	Dept. of Health	£200,000 - £204,999
Andrew Tyler	Chief Operating Officer Defence Equipment and Support	Ministry of Defence	£200,000 - £204,999
Stephen Henwood	Chairman	Nuclear Decommissioning Authority	£200,000 - £204,999
D Pitchford	Major Projects Executive Director	OGC	£200,000 - £204,999
Alan Rubenstein	Chief Executive	Pension Protection Fund	£200,000 - £204,999
Simon Richards	Business Delivery Director	Personal Accounts Delivery Authority	£200,000 - £204,999
Andrew Altman	Chief Executive	Olympic Park Legacy Company	£195,000 - £200,000
Keir Starmer	Director of Public Prosecutions	Crown Prosecution Service	£195,000 - £199,999
Sir Leigh Lewis	Permanent Secretary	DWP	£195,000 - £199,999
Dr Paul Leinster	Chief Executive	Environment Agency	£195,000 - £199,999
Sir David Normington	Permanent Secretary	Home Office	£195,000 - £199,999
James Hall	Chief Executive, Identity and Passport Service	Home Office (Agency-IPS)	£195,000 - £199,999
Sir Denis O'Connor	HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary	Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary	£195,000 - £199,999
Andrew Manley	DG Defence Commercial	Ministry of Defence	£195,000 - £199,999
Professor Michael Murphy	Clinical Director - Patients	NHS Blood & Transplant	£195,000-£199,999
Christine Gilbert	Her Majesty's Chief Inspector	OFSTED	£195,000 - £199,999
Godric Smith	Director of Communications	Olympic Delivery Authority	£195,000 - £199,999
Richard Paniguian	Head of UK Trade & Investment Defence and Security Organsation	UKTI (joint BIS/FCO)	£195,000 - £199,999
Nemat Shafik	Permanent Secretary	Department for International Development	£190,000 - £194,999
Tim Smith	Chief Executive	Food Standards Agency	£190,000 - £194,999
Trevor Llanwarne	Government Actuary	Government Actuary's Dept	£190,000 - £194,999
Kevin White	Director General, Human Resources	Home Office	£190,000 - £194,999
Professor Kent Woods	Chief Executive	Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency	£190,000 - £194,999
Andy Nelson	Chief Information Officer	Ministry of Justice	£190,000 - £194,999
Jane Platt	Chief Executive	National Savings & Investments	£190,000 - £194,999
Peter Neyroud	Chief Executive Officer	National Policing Improvement Agency	£190,000 - £194,999
Vanessa Lawrence	Director General & Chief Executive Officer	Ordnance Survey	£190,000 - £194,999
Stephen Lovegrove	Chief Executive, Shareholder Executive	BIS	£185,000 - £189,999
Philip Ridal	Finance Director	British Waterways	£185,000 - £189,999
Peter Housden	Permanent Secretary	Communities & Local Government	£185,000 - £189,999
Dr Harry Bush	Member	Civil Aviation Authority	£185,000 - £189,999
David Goldstone	Director- Finance and Programme, Government Olympic Executive	DCMS	£185,000 - £189,999
Geoffrey Podger	Chief Executive	Health and Safety Executive	£185,000 - £189,999
Roger Baker	Inspector	Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary	£185,000 - £189,999
Zoe Billingham	Inspector	Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary	£185,000 - £189,999
Bernard Hogan-Howe	Inspector	Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary	£185,000 - £189,999
Drusilla Sharpling	Inspector	Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary	£185,000 - £189,999
Simon Bowles	Chief Finance Officer	HM Revenue & Customs	£185,000 - £189,999
Darra Singh	Chief Executive	Jobcentre Plus	£185,000 - £189,999
Professor David Coggon	Clinical Consultant, Programme Leader, Epidemiology Research Centre, Southampton	Medical Research Council	£185,000 - £189,999
Dr Derwood Pamphilon	Clinical Director - Stem Cells and Immunotherapy	NHS Blood & Transplant	£185,000-£189,999
Stephen Walker	Chief Executive	NHS Litigation Authority	£185,000 - £189,999
William Roberts	Chief Financial Officer	Nuclear Decommissioning Authority	£185,000 - £189,999
James Morse	Director of Assurance	Nuclear Decommissioning Authority	£185,000 - £189,999
Richard Waite	Director of Strategy & Technology	Nuclear Decommissioning Authority	£185,000 - £189,999
John Clarke	Commercial Director	Nuclear Decommissioning Authority	£185,000 - £189,999
N Smith	Chief Executive	OGC	£185,000 - £189,999
John Vine	Chief Inspector	Independent Chief Inspector of UKBA	£185,000 - £189,999
Malcolm Ross	Executive Director, Operations and Venues	Olympic Park Legacy Company	£185,000 - £189,000
Eugene Sullivan	Managing Director Corporate Services	Audit Commission	£180,000 - £184,999
Andy Mckeon	Managing Director Health	Audit Commission	£180,000 - £184,999
Peter Wilkinson	Managing Director Policy, Research and Studies	Audit Commission	£180,000 - £184,999
Philip Rutnam	Director General, Business Group	BIS	£180,000 - £184,999
David Bell	Permanent Secretary	Education	£180,000 - £184,999
David Behan	Director General of Social Care, Local Government and Carepartnerships	Dept. of Health	£180,000 - £184,999
Duncan Selbie	Chief Executive	Dept. of Health	£180,000 - £184,999
Chris Last	HR Director General	DWP	£180,000 - £184,999
Elaine Holt	Chief Executive	Directly Operated Rail	£180,000 - £184,999
Phil Pavitt	Chief Information Officer	HM Revenue & Customs	£180,000 - £184,999
Suma Chakrabarti	Permanent Secretary	Ministry of Justice	£180,000 - £184,999
Stephen Hay	Chief Operating Officer	Monitor, Independent Regulator of NHS foundation trusts	£180,000 - £184,999
Dr Patricia Hewitt	Lead Consultant - Transfusion Microbiology	NHS Blood & Transplant	£180,000-£184,999
Professor James Neuberger	Associate Medical Director - Organ Donation and Transplantation	NHS Blood & Transplant	£180,000-£184,999
Ms. Lynda Hamlyn	Chief Executive	NHS Blood & Transplant	£180,000-£184,999
Andrew Dillon	Chief Executive	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence	£180,000 - £184,999
Andrew Wright	Senior Partner	Ofgem	£180,000 - £184,999
Steve Smith	Senior Partner	Ofgem	£180,000 - £184,999
William Hughes	Director General	Serious Organised Crime Agency	£180,000 - £184,999
Gareth Davies	Managing Director Local Government, Housing and Community Safety	Audit Commission	£175,000 - £179,999
Vicky Pryce	Director General, Economics and Joint Head, UK Government Economic Service	BIS	£175,000 - £179,999
Neil MacGregor	Director	British Musem	£175,000 - £179,999
David Cook	Parliamentary Counsel	Cabinet Office	£175,000 - £179,999
Richard McCarthy	Director General, Housing and Planning	Communities & Local Government	£175,000 - £179,999
Paul Clark	Director of Investment and Asset Management	The Crown Estate	£175,000 - £179,999
David Salisbury	Director of Immunisation	Dept. of Health	£175,000 - £179,999
Mel Groves	Project Director, Welfare & Wellbeing	DWP	£175,000 - £179,999
Peter Ricketts	Permanent Under-Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service	Foreign & Commonwealth Office	£175,000 - £179,999
Nigel Shienwald	HM Ambassador to the United States of America	Foreign & Commonwealth Office	£175,000 - £179,999
Mike Falvey	Chief People Officer	HM Revenue & Customs	£175,000 - £179,999
Sir Nicholas Macpherson	Permanent Secretary	HM Treasury	£175,000 - £179,999
Professor Tumani Corrah	Unit Director, MRC Labs, The Gambia (Medical Research Council)	Medical Research Council	£175,000 - £179,999
Professor Cyrus Cooper	Director Epidemiology Research Centre, Southampton	Medical Research Council	£175,000 - £179,999
Professor Alan Lucas	Embed Sci Staff, Institute of Child Health, London Centre	Medical Research Council	£175,000 - £179,999
Sir Mark Stanhope	First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff	Ministry of Defence	£175,000 - £179,999
Sir Kevin O'Donoghue	Chief of Defence Materiel	Ministry of Defence	£175,000 - £179,999
Peter Ruddock	Saudi Arabia Project Team	Ministry of Defence	£175,000 - £179,999
Sir Bill Jeffrey	Permanent Under Secretary	Ministry of Defence	£175,000 - £179,999
Jon Thompson	DG Finance	Ministry of Defence	£175,000 - £179,999
Jim Gallagher	Director General - Devolution	Ministry of Justice	£175,000 - £179,999
Dr Ruth Warwick	Lead Specialist - Tissues	NHS Blood & Transplant	£175,000-£179,999
Dr Derek Norfolk	Consultant Haematologist	NHS Blood & Transplant	£175,000-£179,999
Rob Clark	Finance Director	NHS Professionals	£175,000 - £179,999
Philip Collins	Chairman	Office of Fair Trading	£175,000 - £179,999
Tony Hobman	Chief Executive	The Pensions Regulator	£175,000 - £179,999
Martin Evans	Managing Director Audit	Audit Commission	£170,000 - £174,999
Elizabeth Gardiner	Parliamentary Counsel	Cabinet Office	£170,000 - £174,999
Adrian Hogarth	Parliamentary Counsel	Cabinet Office	£170,000 - £174,999
Leonie McLaughlin	Parliamentary Counsel	Cabinet Office	£170,000 - £174,999
Tony Redmond	Chairman ,Local Government Ombudsman and Accounting Officer	CLAE	£170,000 - £174,999
Peter Freeman	Chairman	Competition Commission	£170,000 - £174,999
Kim Darroch	UK Permanent Representative to the European Union	Foreign & Commonwealth Office	£170,000 - £174,999
Dr Noel Gill	Head of HIV & STI	The Health Protection Agency	£170,000 - £174,999
Dr Harsh Duggal	Health Protection Unit Director	The Health Protection Agency	£170,000 - £174,999
Marco Pierleoni	Chief Executive and Chief Land Registrar	HM Land Registry (MoJ Executive Agency)	£170,000 - £174,999
Lesley Strathie	Chief Executive Officer	HM Revenue & Customs	£170,000 - £174,999
Professor Sir Iain Chalmers	Clinical Consultant, Oxford Centre Science	Medical Research Council	£170,000 - £174,999
Professor Douglas Higgs	Director MHU Oxford	Medical Research Council	£170,000 - £174,999
John Hirst	Chief Executive Met Office	Ministry of Defence	£170,000 - £174,999
Mike Robinson	Chief Executive UK Hydrographic Office	Ministry of Defence	£170,000 - £174,999
Peter Littlejohns	Clinical & Public Health Director	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence	£170,000 - £174,999
Karen Webb	Executive Director, Marketing and Communications	Olympic Park Legacy Company	£170,000 - £174,999
Sir Alisdair Fraser	Director of Public Prosecution, NI	Public Prosecution Service	£170,000 - £174,999
John Woodward	Chief Executive Officer	UK Film Council	£170,000 - £174,999
Jens Bech	Chief Risk Officer	Asset Protection Agency	£165,000 - £169,999
Ion Dagtoglou	Chief Invesment Officer	Asset Protection Agency	£165,000 - £169,999
Prof. John Beddington	Government Chief Scientific Adviser	BIS	£165,000 - £169,999
Martin Davidson	Chief Executive	British Council	£165,000 - £169,999
Nigel Johnson	Corporate Services Director	British Waterways	£165,000 - £169,999
Sir Ken Knight	Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser	Communities & Local Government	£165,000 - £169,999
Moira Wallace	Permanent Secretary	DECC	£165,000 - £169,999
Lindsey Davies	Interim Regional Director of Public Health	Dept. of Health	£165,000 - £169,999
Hunada Nouss	Finance Director General	DWP	£165,000 - £169,999
Mr David Jordon	Director of Operations	Environment Agency	£165,000 - £169,999
Jenny Williams	Chief Executive	Gambling Commission	£165,000 - £169,999
R Shostak	Head of Prime Minister's Delivery Unit and DG Performance Management	HM Treasury	£165,000 - £169,999
Sir David Richards	Chief of the General Staff	Ministry of Defence	£165,000 - £169,999
Sir Stephen Dalton	Chief of the Air Staff	Ministry of Defence	£165,000 - £169,999
Sir Nicholas Houghton	Vice Chief of the Defence Staff	Ministry of Defence	£165,000 - £169,999
Sir John McColl	Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe	Ministry of Defence	£165,000 - £169,999
Les Mosco	Director Commercial Defence Equipment and Support	Ministry of Defence	£165,000 - £169,999
Carolyn Downs	Director General - Corporate Performance Group and Deputy Permanent Secretary (now Interim Chief Executive of the Legal Services Commission)	Ministry of Justice	£165,000 - £169,999
Jonathan Kestenbaum	CEO	National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts	£165,000 - £169,999
Bernard Crump	Chief Executive	NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement	£165,000 - £169,999
Zahida Manzoor	Legal Services Ombudsman and Legal Services Complaints Commissioner		£165,000 - £169,999
Lorraine Langham	Director, Corporate Services	OFSTED	£165,000 - £169,999
Martin Clarke	Executive Director of Financial Risk	Pension Protection Fund	£165,000 - £169,999
Tim Matthews	Chief Executive Officer	Remploy Limited	£165,000 - £169,999
Sir John Sawers	Chief of Secret Intelligence Service	Secret Intelligence Service	£165,000 - £169,999
Richard Alderman	Director	Serious Fraud Office	£165,000 - £169,999
R S Jackson	CEO	Student Loan Company	£165,000 - £169,999
Peter Marsh	Chief Executive	Tenant Services Authority	£165,000 - £169,999
Chris Humphries	CEO	UK Commission for Employment and Skills	£165,000 - £169,999
Sally Caplan	Head of Premiere Fund	UK Film Council	£165,000 - £169,999
Tanya Seghatchian	Head of Development Fund	UK Film Council	£165,000 - £169,999
Prof. Adrian Smith	Director General, Science and Research	BIS	£160,000 - £164,999
Philip Rycroft	Director General, Innovation and Enterpriseand Chief Executive of the Better Regulation Executive	BIS	£160,000 - £164,999
Howard Orme	Director General, Finance and Commercial	BIS	£160,000 - £164,999
Simon Fraser	BIS Permanent Secretary	BIS	£160,000 - £164,999
Matt Tee	Permanent Secretary for Government Communications	Cabinet Office	£160,000 - £164,999
Alex Allan	Chairman of the Joint Intelligence committee and Professional Head of Intelligence Analysis	Cabinet Office	£160,000 - £164,999
Edward Stell	Parliamentary Counsel	Cabinet Office	£160,000 - £164,999
Chris Jesnick	Member	Civil Aviation Authority	£160,000 - £164,999
Stephen Leonard	Director of Customer and Commissioning	Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission	£160,000 - £164,999
Peter Lewis	Chief Executive	Crown Prosecution Service	£160,000 - £164,999
Robert Devereux	Permanent Secretary	Department for Transport	£160,000 - £164,999
Martin Bellamy	ICT Director	Dept. of Health	£160,000 - £164,999
Stephen Holt	Director of Change Management	DWP	£160,000 - £164,999
RT Ennis	Director F & CS	Homes and Communities Agency	£160,000 - £164,999
Dr John Simpson	Head of Emergency Preparedness	The Health Protection Agency	£160,000 - £164,999
Dr Robert Spencer	Consultant Medical Microbiologist	The Health Protection Agency	£160,000 - £164,999
Peter Makeham	Director General, Strategy and Reform	Home Office	£160,000 - £164,999
Dave Hartnett	Permanent Secretary For Tax	HM Revenue & Customs	£160,000 - £164,999
JMG Taylor	Financial Services and Stability Director	HM Treasury	£160,000 - £164,999
Chris Kenny	Chief Executive	Legal Services Board	£160,000 - £164,999
Dr Nicholas Coleman	Programme Leader Clinical Consultant,Cancer Cell Unit, Cambridge	Medical Research Council	£160,000 - £164,999
Sir Trevor Soar	Commander-In-Chief Fleet	Ministry of Defence	£160,000 - £164,999
Sir Peter Wall	Commander-in-Chief Land Forces	Ministry of Defence	£160,000 - £164,999
Susanna Mason	Director Industrial Relationships	Ministry of Defence	£160,000 - £164,999
Helen Edwards	Director General - Criminal Justice Group (now Director General - Justice Policy Group)	Ministry of Justice	£160,000 - £164,999
Nick Ramsay	Director ICT Portfolio and Programmes	Ministry of Justice	£160,000 - £164,999
Phil Wheatley	Director General - National Offender Management Service	National Offender Management Service (MoJ Executive Agency)	£160,000 - £164,999
Dr Christopher Rudge	National Clinical Director - Organ Transplantation	NHS Blood & Transplant	£160,000-£164,999
Nick Scholte	Chief Executive Officer	NHS Business Services Authority	£160,000 - £164,999
Fergus Macbeth	Clinical Practice Centre Director	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence	£160,000 - £164,999
Sir Jonathan Phillips	Permanent Secretary	Northern Ireland Office	£160,000 - £164,999
William Emery	Chief Executive	Office of Rail Regulation	£160,000 - £164,999
Melanie Hunt	Director, Development Learning and Skills	OFSTED	£160,000 - £164,999
Sir John Elvidge	Permanent Secretary	Scottish Government	£160,000 - £164,999
Dr Kevin Woods	Director General, Health and Chief Executive NHS Scotland	Scottish Government	£160,000 - £164,999
Jennie Price	Chief Executive	Sport England	£160,000 - £164,999
Sir Nicholas Serota	Director, Tate	Tate	£160,000 - £164,999
Graham Holley	Chief Executive	Training and Development Agency for Schools	£160,000 - £164,999
E Goodwin	Chief Executive	Waste and Resources Action Programme	£160,000 - £164,999
Fiona Adshead	Director General on secondment	World Health Organisation	£160,000 - £164,999
Mark Russell	Deputy Chief Executive, Shareholder Executive	BIS	£155,000 - £159,999
Dame Lynne Brindley	Chief Executive	The British Library	£155,000 - £159,999
Jim Stirling	Technical Director	British Waterways	£155,000 - £159,999
Vince Moran	Operations Director	British Waterways	£155,000 - £159,999
Hayley Rogers	Parliamentary Counsel	Cabinet Office	£155,000 - £159,999
Jonathan Cunliffe	Prime Minister's Adviser on International Economic Affairs and Europe	Cabinet Office	£155,000 - £159,999
Richard Jackson	Member	Civil Aviation Authority	£155,000 - £159,999
Richard Thompson	Chief Constable	Civil Nuclear Constabulary	£155,000 - £159,999
Mark Grimshaw	Managing director, CSA	Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission	£155,000 - £159,999
Jonathan Stephens	Permanent Secretary	DCMS	£155,000 - £159,999
Sir Hugh Taylor	Permanent Secretary, DH	Dept. of Health	£155,000 - £159,999
Bill Gunnyeon	Director of Health Work and Wellbeing, Chief Medical Adviser and Chief Scientist	DWP	£155,000 - £159,999
D Lunts	Regional Director London	Homes and Communities Agency	£155,000 - £159,999
Dr Stephen Inglis	Director - NIBSC	The Health Protection Agency	£155,000 - £159,999
Dr Kenneth Mutton	Consultant Virologist	The Health Protection Agency	£155,000 - £159,999
Paul Wiles	Chief Scientific Adviser, Statistics and Research Group	Home Office	£155,000 - £159,999
Ursula Brennan	2nd Permanent Under Secretary	Ministry of Defence	£155,000 - £159,999
Archie Hughes	Chief Executive Defence Support Group	Ministry of Defence	£155,000 - £159,999
Stephen Love	Chief Executive/Chief Constable MoD Police and Guarding Agency	Ministry of Defence	£155,000 - £159,999
Michael Dixon	Museum Director	Natural History Museum	£155,000 - £159,999
Terry Moran	Chief Executive	Pension, Disability & Carers Service	£155,000 - £159,999
Jonathan Evans	Director General	Security Service (MI5)	£155,000 - £159,999
Paul Jenkins Q.C.	Treasury Solicitor	Treasury Solicitors Department	£155,000 - £159,999
Steve Cowley	CEO	United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority	£155,000 - £159,999
Will Evans	Head of Business Affairs	UK Film Council	£155,000 - £159,999
Alan Davey	Chief Executive	Arts Council England	£150,000 - £154,999
Stephan Wilcke	Chief Executive Officer	Asset Protection Agency	£150,000 - £154,999
Roy Irwin	Director Housing, Sustainability and Economic Development	Audit Commission	£150,000 - £154,999
Brian Willmor	Regional Director	Audit Commission	£150,000 - £154,999
John McCready	Managing Director, Property, Shareholder Executive	BIS	£150,000 - £154,999
Marc Middleton	Managing Director, Royal Mail & Postal Services, Shareholder Executive	BIS	£150,000 - £154,999
Alison Littley	Chief Executive	Buying Solutions	£150,000 - £154,999
David Sprackling	Parliamentary Counsel	Cabinet Office	£150,000 - £154,999
Jeremy Heywood	Permanent Secretary, No.10	Cabinet Office	£150,000 - £154,999
Joe Montgomery	Director General, Regions and Communities	Communities & Local Government	£150,000 - £154,999
Mark Swann	Member	Civil Aviation Authority	£150,000 - £154,999
Nirmal Kotecha	Major Projects Director	Department for Transport, Highways Agency	£150,000 - £154,999
Mr Graham Ledward	Director of Resources	Environment Agency	£150,000 - £154,999
T Beattie	Director SPP&R	Homes and Communities Agency	£150,000 - £154,999
Peter Collis	Chief Executive and Chief Land Registrar	HM Land Registry (MoJ Executive Agency)	£150,000 - £154,999
Mike Clasper	Chair HM Revenue & Customs	HM Revenue & Customs	£150,000 - £154,999
TW Scholar	2nd Permanent Secretary	HM Treasury	£150,000 - £154,999
Professor Philip Cowan	Clinical Consultant ESS Oxford	Medical Research Council	£150,000 - £154,999
John Jeans	Chief Operations Officer	Medical Research Council	£150,000 - £154,999
Bruce Houlder QC	Director Service Prosecutions	Ministry of Defence	£150,000 - £154,999
Neil Hayward	Group HR Director	Ministry of Justice	£150,000 - £154,999
Steve Munby	Chief Executive	National College for the Leadership of Schools and Chidren's Services	£150,000 - £154,999
Beverley Shears	Director of Offender Management - East Midlands	National Offender Management Service (MoJ Executive Agency)	£150,000 - £154,999
Tom Fothergill	Director of Finance	NHS Litigation Authority	£150,000 - £154,999
Gillian Leng	Deputy Chief Executive & Chief Operating Officer	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence	£150,000 - £154,999
Jon Phillips	Director of Communications & Stakeholder Relations	Nuclear Decommissioning Authority	£150,000 - £154,999
Jim McLaughlin	HR Director	Nuclear Decommissioning Authority	£150,000 - £154,999
Adam Sampson	Chief Executive and Chief Ombudsman	Office for Legal Complaints	£150,000 - £154,999
John Goldup	Director, Development Social Care	OFSTED	£150,000 - £154,999
Patrick Leeson	Director, Development Education and Care	OFSTED	£150,000 - £154,999
Jonathan Dutton	Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services	Olympic Park Legacy Company	£150,000 - £154,999
Tim Brown	Chief Executive	Postcomm	£150,000 - £154,999
Isabel Nisbet	Acting CEO of Ofqual	Qualification Curriculm Authority	£150,000 - £154,999
Ms Stella Manzie	Director General,Justice and Communities	Scottish Government	£150,000 - £154,999
Pam Alexander	CEO	South East England Development Agency	£150,000 - £154,999
Rona Chester	Chief Operating Officer	Sport England	£150,000 - £154,999
Sir Michael Scholar	Chair of UK Statistics Authority	UK Statistics Authority	£150,000 - £154,999
Dame Helen Ghosh	Permanent Secretary	Defra	£140,000 - £144,999
Prof Robert Watson	Chief Scientific Adviser	Defra	£135,000 - £139,999
Brian Scammell	Chief Credit Officer	Asset Protection Agency	£130,000 - £134,999
Professor Douglas Kell	CEO	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council	£130,000 - £134,999
Dame Deirdre Hutton	Chair	Civil Aviation Authority	£130,000 - £134,999
Douglas Ramsay	Parliamentary Counsel	Cabinet Office	£130,000 - £134,998
Janet Paraskeva	First Civil Service Commissioner	Cabinet Office	£120,000 - £124,999
Anna Walker	Chair	Office of Rail Regulation	£120,000 - £124,999
Trevor Phillips	Chair	Equality and Human Rights Commission	£110,000 - £115,000
David Norgrove	Chairman	The Pensions Regulator	£110,000 - £114,999
Philip Fletcher	Chairman	Ofwat	£105,000 - £110,000
Lord Smith	Chairman	Environment Agency	£105,000 - £109,999
Dame Suzi Leather	Public Appointment/SCS Pay Band 2 Equivalent	Charity Commission for England and Wales	£100,000 - £104,999
Richard Foster CBE	Chairman	Criminal Cases Review Commission	£100,000 - £104,999
Janet Paraskeva	Chair	Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission	£95,000 - £99,999
Baroness Prashar CBE	Chairman	Judicial Appointments Commission	£95,000 - £99,999
Michael O'Higgins	Chairman	Audit Commission	£90,000 - £95,000
Janet Gaymer	Commissioner for Public Appointments	Cabinet Office	£90,000 - £94,999
Professor Sir Alasdair Breckenridge	Chairman	Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency	£90,000 - £94,999
Jeannie Drake	A/Chair	Personal Accounts Delivery Authority	£85,000 - £90,000
Lawrence Churchill	Chair	Pension Protection Fund	£85,000 - £89,999
Nigel Stapleton	Chairman	Postcomm	£85,000 - £89,999
Sir David Latham	Chairman	Parole Board	£80,000 - £84,999
Elizabeth France	Chair	Office for Legal Complaints	£75,000 - £79,999
Hamish Buckland	Special Advisor	Asset Protection Agency	£65,000 - £69,999
Paul Lee	Chairman	Horserace Betting Levy Board	£60,000 - £64,999
David Edmonds	Chair	Legal Services Board	£60,000 - £64,000
Sir Roy McNulty	Deputy Chairman	Olympic Delivery Authority	£40,000 - £44,999
Ian Rushby	Non-Executive Director Defence Board and Chair Audit Committee	Ministry of Defence	£40,000
Sir Richard Mottram	Non-Executive Chair Dstl	Ministry of Defence	£40,000
Sandra Rogers	Non-Executive Chair UKHO	Ministry of Defence	£40,000
Jamie Pike	Non-Executive Chair DSG	Ministry of Defence	£40,000
Robert Napier	Non-Executive Chair Met Office	Ministry of Defence	£40,000
Professor Sir Roger Jowell	Deputy Chair (Statistics System)	UK Statistics Authority	£35,000-£39,999
Lord David Rowe-Beddoe of Kilgetty	Deputy Chair (ONS)	UK Statistics Authority	£35,000-£39,999
Loraine Baldry	Board Member	Olympic Delivery Authority	£30,000 - £34,999
David Allen	Non-Executive Director Defence Board and Chair Audit Committee	Ministry of Defence	£30,000

A bit of fiscal stimulation in action.

Spotted in the comments at Leg Iron's place and I thought it so good I nicked it...

It is a slow day in the small Minnesota town of Marshall, and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit.

A rich tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, lays a $100 bill on the desk and says he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs before selecting one for the night.

1. As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.
2. The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.
3. The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Farmer's Co-op.
4. The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit.
5. The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.
6. The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.
At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves town.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now out of debt and looks to the future with a lot more optimism.

I'm a policeman. Grrrrr! (part two)

An excellent spot by David over at his place.

Honestly, did they think we wouldn't notice?

The end of the world is nigh.

Forget your poncey global warming, famine, war, tsunami, hurricane and asteriod collisions. In fact, lump them all together and it still wouldn't touch this.

If the methane bubble—a bubble that could be as big as 20 miles wide—erupts with titanic force from the seabed into the Gulf, every ship, drilling rig and structure within the region of the bubble will immediately sink. All the workers, engineers, Coast Guard personnel and marine biologists participating in the salvage operation will die instantly.

Better cash in your investments and enjoy them while you can!

I'm a policeman. Grrrrr!

Clearly pissed off that he wasn't allowed a real gun...

Gazza helps his 'pal'...

He's a lovely lad, like....

Gazza tries to ride to the rescue. Listen here, if you can bear it.


Poor Gazza.

Parking ticket?

Watch the video then click the link below.

link

'Anti Racists' complain about police tactics.

A peaceful anti racist shouting and screaming abuse in Kilmarnock railway station.
(whilst hiding behind the police, a camera and a misunderstanding of what hypocrisy actually means)

From the Kilmarnock Standard

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

ANTI-FASCIST campaigners have lodged an official complaint over the policing of the Scottish Defence League demonstration in Kilmarnock last month.

In their letter to Chief Constable Stephen House, the Scottish Anti-Fascist Alliance claim the police decision to escort the far-right demonstrators from Kilmarnock Cross to their meeting place at the Portmann Hotel amounted to them facilitating “an illegal march by a racist organisation”.

They state: “There were many activists present with the intention of making sure that the SDL would be unable to cause disruption and spread hatred.

“In the event, the priority of the police on the day was the containment of anti-racists, allowing the fascist SDL space to chant racist abuse, which clearly breached equality legislation and constituted incitement to racial hatred.

“There were also many clear incidents where SDL member made threats of violence.”

The group say that the police could not have been unaware of the presence in Kilmarnock on June 19 of “serious and organised far-right thugs ... such as members of the ‘British Freedom Fighters’, a hardcore Nazi organisation”.

There had also been threats of violence made by the same people since the demonstration.

The SAFA letter states; “There is copious evidence online and, if police intelligence gathering on these thugs is so woefully inadequate on the threat they pose, we can provide links to publicly available material.”

They also complain of “heavy handed” policing of anti-fascist campaigners, whose freedom of movement had been “severely curtailed”.

The letter continues: “In at least one incident the police focused all their attention on the harassment of non-violent anti-fascists, allowing a group of violent fascist thugs to come dangerously close to those they had pledged to physically attack.”

SAFA also express concern that the ‘official’ Kilmarnock and Loudoun United counter-demonstration was denied the use of Kilmarnock Cross.

They point out that the SDL had no permission to hold a march and ask: “Why then did the police see fit to facilitate them in holding an illegal march whilst shouting racial abuse and making Nazi salutes?

“Until the police can provide us with a coherent alternative narrative, we are forced to conclude that your priority on the day was protecting fascists and racists, whilst controlling the actions of non-violent anti-racists.”

They contrast the police action in Kilmarnock with that of the police at previous SDL demonstrations in Glasgow and Edinburgh where the group had been contained before being bussed out of town.

Although the letter of complaint has already been sent to the chief constable, anti-fascist campaigners hope to present it at Kilmarnock police station over the next few days.

Strathclyde Police made no arrests on the day and there was no obvious signs of trouble or violence. The Force said the operation was a success.

A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said on Tuesday that the force had not yet received the complaint so would be unable to comment.

No-one from the SDL was available for comment.

The less you earn the more you get.

Every time a story like this gets a bit of coverage I'm always surprised at the, umm, surprise from various people.

It's certainly not news to me, nor I suppose your good self, that the less you earn the more the state will give you and the more you earn the more the state will take from you. (Note, I said the less you earn the more the state will give you).

So where is the incentive?

Incentive for what? No, not the incentive to earn a decent crust, there is none. Only a fool, (ie, me and probably you), would.

I mean the incentive to deal with the madness that is the welfare system? The ConDem Abomination are making some noises on the issue but we all know that nothing of substance will happen. Yeah, one or two 'reforms' to certain parts of the system will be introduced to appease the Daily Hate brigade and to ensure that they can say that they have 'done something'.

The bare fact is, any attempt by any political party to properly reform the welfare system is political suicide. Too many battles for votes are waged on the welfare battlefield.

So what to do?

Yes, it's a tough one. Only workers earning over X amount should be allowed to vote? The votes of those on benefits/tax credits only count as a half? Very draconian stuff.

But really, what to do?

It's business as usual

Just the same....

When Liebore were pulled away, kicking and screaming, from the levers of power my heart skipped a little beat. I hoped that things would change for the better.

Well, after a lot of meaningless words it would seem that things are not going to change for the better after all

So, I declare that the honeymoon period amnesty is over. Fuck Cameron. Fuck Clegg. Fuck the ConDem Abomination. Fuck them all.

The phony war is over, let battle commence.


update - I see Obo feels the same.

Even more dodgy goings on...

With thanks to Subrosa for spotting this earlier today, (I've been struck down with manflu and have barely looked at the news).

From the Sunday Herald,

Two businessmen who have given former council leader Steven Purcell a post with their charity are at the centre of a row over a £1.7 million land deal.

It emerged yesterday Allan Stewart and Stephen McKenna have given Purcell the role.

They denied this was “payback” for the ­council paying one of their firms for land needed for the ­Commonwealth Games.

However the Sunday Herald can reveal that after the council backed the deal a Stewart & McKenna company gave £5000 to the Labour party.

Stewart also donated £4100 to his local Labour branch in East Kilbride.

According to the Electoral Commission, the pair made no donations before the land sale.

On November 10, 2006, Glasgow’s Executive Committee approved a £1.7m payment to Stewart & McKenna (Dalmarnock) Ltd for a plot of land in the East End, £350,000 more than the firm had paid for it a year earlier.

It was “not originally considered to be required,” a council report said. But after advice from Games consultants, it was deemed “central” to the event.

On 30 November 2006, the East Kilbride Labour party accepted £4,100 from Allan Stewart.

Five months later, Scottish Labour took £5,000 from Stewart & McKenna Ltd.

Stephen McKenna told the Sunday Herald Purcell would not be paid for his work for the pair’s charity, the Stewart & McKenna Foundation, and denied any connection between the land deal and donations to Labour.

The familiar stench of West of Scotland Labour corruption

Still smiling Jim?

Once again, it would seem that the way to get things done in my neck of the woods is to make sure that you have a friend in high places. As these 'high places' are the dozen or so local authorities that cluster around Glasgow the 'friends' you need will be of the councillor variety and, to narrow it down, a Labour councillor.

Readers, it is my pleasure to present to you another in a long line of 'controversial' local politicians of the socialist variety. Councillor Jim Docherty of South Lanarkshire council.

Sunny Jim, ( he does have a cheery grin. I would too if my house was worth £320,000), appears to be very friendly with a local property developer chappie called James Kean. Councillor Docherty was most anxious to ensure that any planning applications submitted by Mr Kean's business connections sailed through unchallenged.

It is perhaps prudent to mention at this point that Councillor Docherty is a 'long standing and influential member of the planning committee' as well as chairman of the estates committee.

SNP councillors eventually complained about his behaviour at planning meetings. Some of the allegations against him are as follows -

3. The persons complaining (“the complainants”) alleged that, when a particular planning application came before the meeting of East Kilbride Area Committee on 30 January 2008 for consideration, the respondent tried to lobby support from other councillors and conducted himself in a manner that was aggressive, bullying and disrespectful to other councillors and to staff. The first and third complainants pointed out that the Labour Councillors on the Area Committee all voted as a block in support of the application and questioned whether the party whip had been used for this purpose.

4. The complainants’ specific allegations were that the respondent did not speak through the Chair that he interrupted and spoke over other councillors and that he behaved like a bully.

5. The complainants’ allegations were supported in some measure by Councillor Gordon Simpson who took an opposing view to the respondent and proposed the successful amendment to refuse the application. He stated that the respondent interrupted the discussion, failed to respect other councillors and acted in an aggressive manner, although he added that the respondent’s conduct was of no consequence to him (Councillor Simpson).

Councillor Docherty was cleared of any dodgy goings on by the Standards Commission Scotland.

There are now calls for him to resign. Personally I would think a police investigation is in order. There is numerous comparisons to what is happening in South Lanarkshire to what happened in Glasgow under Stephen Purcell's watch.

The scary thing about all of this is, how much more of this is still to be uncovered?

Stephen Purcell's pal in bother again...

A corrupt Glasgow councillor, allegedly...

Oh dear.

A gay and lesbian centre is facing closure over financial irregularities.

An audit at Glasgow’s Castro Centre revealed non-payment of staff tax and national insurance, excessive mobile phone bills and bills to a gaming firm.

The centre, headed by an ally of former council chief Steven Purcell, is on the brink of closure over financial irregularities.

The Castro Centre in Bell Street, Glasgow, headed by councillor Ruth Black, is expected to shut within a week over concerns that staff wages have been deducted yet no tax paid. It follows information passed to Glasgow City Council by a whistleblower.

Ruth Black? That name rings a bell. Let me think....

Of course,

this, this, this and this.

A group pulled together by Black – who left Tommy Sheridan’s Solidarity to join Labour – secured £50,000 to run the centre last October, despite not being a fully set-up organisation. She had run a previous incarnation of the centre, but quit in December 2007.

The centre went bust at the end of last year with outstanding debts of more than £300,000.

Fifty grand? Of tax payers money? Lovely Jubbly.

Last night, asked about the new allegations, Ms Black said: “There are no irregularities.”

Yeah, if you say so love...


West of Scotland socialism. Isn't it brilliant?