I am looking to set up a number of photoshoots for January: various themes, studio-based or location-based.
Although I am in London, I would be happy to travel for the right collaboration: the right idea or the right model. If you’re interested, please get in touch by clicking on the following e-mail link (hidden from the Spammers!): webf…@rhmphotographic.com We can then discuss ideas and put things in place!
My other passion is motorbikes, so it was a no-brainer to go to the 2010 Carole Nash Motorcycle Live show at the NEC Birmingham. Unfortunately, I was away for Trade Day when I usually go, so I ended up going on the busier, last Sunday of the show and got a couple of images for the Automotive gallery.
I have been pondering the present economic crisis and looking at what is behind the latest financial scare, Greece’s debt reclassification as junk.
The company behind this latest panic is S&P and their word is gospel to governments and financial markets. And they were, of course, the ones who gave AAA ratings to the “collateralised debt obligations” that brought about the major global financial collapse and indeed gave Lehmans an A rating shortly before their collapse (excuses here). Oh and there’s some good analysis from the BBC’s Robert Peston here.
Arse? Elbow? They don’t know.
But what if Greece were to say, “no, S&P are right and our debts are worthless. Tell you what, world, why don’t you shove your debt up your bum because we’re not going to pay”? What would everyone else do? Send the bailiffs round to collect their televisions? I doubt it. So Greece, why not simply say you’re going to continue with the austerity measures and get your balance of payments back in kilter and become self-sufficient so as to be able to become less reliant on world trade and certainly world financial markets. Because, realistically, what can the rest of the world actually do?
Oh and S&P (aka Standard and Poor)? Fuck off!
As usual, it’s the construction industry getting a hard time for dodgy dealings: first there was the issue about cover pricing that was then somehow translated into bid rigging in the media. A lot of hot air over what was practically nothing…
Now there’s news that the OFT has fined six recruitment agencies £39M for fixing fees.
I wonder when we’ll see similar fines for agencies working in other business sectors?
Or how about some massive fines to the banks for price fixing both in relation to bank charges and interest rates?
Or what about members of the BPI for price fixing? You’ll remember they sued online retailer CD WOW! for daring to sell legitimate CDs in the UK that had been sourced from Hong Kong for less than the prices they were being sold for in the UK. Much the same as the lengthy dispute between Levis and Tescos over parallel importing.
I won’t hold my breath.
MPs need to represent their constituencies. They should therefore live in the areas they represent. To be an MP, they then need to be in the Commons and because of all the chit-chat they tend to work extended hours (when they’re actually there…), so I accept that MPs should also live in London when they need to be in the House.
Now all the hoo-hah has been about what they claim for in terms of mortgage interest, repairs, etc. There is a recession on and that’s affecting the construction industry and also the amount of office space going begging. So bearing in mind the 646 need to be going to the same place from time to time, why not simply build or convert a block into 646 flats plus security near to the Houses of Parliament and give each MP a room whilst they’re MPs. Think Premier Inn stylee. That way the daily travel exes come down. No worries about pisstaking. Security is less of an issue as they’re all within a security cordon. When the MP stands down or is replaced, he gives up the room and his replacement moves in.
In the meantime, he gets a comfortable room with decent bed, TV to keep up to date, desk and power to catch up out of hours, cleaners can come in daily as and when, etc. And the public gets to keep a tight rein on expenses. No frills and not too much like a room in a monastery either. You could also add a ground floor with office space for meeting rooms they could book.
What’s the problem?
So Alastair Darling has announced a new plan to offer a £2,000 discount if you trade in a ten year old car and buy a new one. Woohoo!
Now then, let’s have a little think about this. I drive a 1999 Ford Mondeo ST200 which would qualify in a few months’ time. I bought this second-hand at less than a year old and got a whopping discount off the new price. So woohoo! Let’s go and buy the new equivalent Mondeo.
Except there’s not really an equivalent, but there is a 2.5L 220PS version though not as nice looking.
In 2010, I will pay £205 to tax the ST200. On the basis of the Ford’s emissions figures, I would pay £245 a year on the new one but in the first year, I’d pay £550!
So let’s do the sums: the Government discount of £2,000 is probably £1,000 more than mine’s worth. So I’m up £1,000. Then I would pay £350 more for tax in the first year, so I’m only up £650 now. And that’s around a 2.3% discount in real terms. No doubt the dealers won’t want to add their own discounts on top of this if they can help it and of course buying new and turning the wheels would lead to a huge reduction in value that would dwarf that discount.
And of course every year I’d be worse off because the VED is higher on the new one than the old one.
If I go for more of a performance car then the numbers simply don’t stack up especially as the first year’s VED would go as high as £950!
No doubt the banks wouldn’t want to lend me the money anyway…
From the same bunch of fuckwits that brought you “People ‘can’t wait for ID cards’” comes news of another twat suggesting that if the road speed limit was cut to 50mph the majority of motorists would support the new restrictions, which would be enforced by average speed cameras.
Well here’s news for you, Jim Fitzpatrick: I would be dead against yet another piece of ill-conceived, knee-jerk legislation from you bunch of arrogant control freaks! Or, put another way, you can fuck right off you power-crazed, arrogant, self-obsessed piece of shit!
Sounds like it’s about time for some well organised campaign of civil disobedience before the nanny state imposes yet more draconian legislation on us. Any takers?
So the BBC’s Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson is in trouble for calling our glorious leader, Gormless Brown, a “one-eyed, Scottish idiot.”
All sorts of people with their own agendas such as Labour MPs (especially Scottish ones…) and disability activists are hopping onto this latest bandwagon to denounce him and demand that the BBC acts to punish him.
Why?
El Gordo is indeed one-eyed. Fact.
He is Scottish. Fact.
He is an idiot. Opinion.
And?
For what it’s worth, I think Jeremy Clarkson is a twat. That’s my opinion. But frankly the bigger twats are these complete and utter wankers who want political correctness to ruin our society. Fuck the lot of them!
So then. Not a lot of good press for the boys in blue recently.
Despite being stopped from delivering an Unlawful Killing verdict, the jury in the Jean Charles de Menezes inquest chose not to believe the evidence from the police – none of whom are being charged with anything, by the way – that they had shouted warnings before shooting an innocent man, choosing instead to believe the evidence of all the other passengers who heard and saw the whole things and were unanimous in saying that no such warning was given by anyone. So an Open Verdict was the ‘best’ they were allowed to reach.
That they may have lied about it to protect themselves when taken with the appallingly incompetent way in which the whole thing was mishandled is a pretty big indictment on how the police see themselves as being well above the laws they are supposed to enforce.
Of course, it always looks bad when people like Police minister Vernon Coaker has to apologise for telling Parliament that 70 officers were injured dealing with protests at Kingsnorth power station. Why?
“According to information obtained by the Liberal Democrats, Kent Police officers and staff suffered only 12 reportable injuries, four of which involved direct contact with another person.
“The Lib Dems said the eight other injuries included being “stung on finger by possible wasp”, “officer injured sitting in car” and “officer succumbed to sun and heat”.
“Kent Police confirmed that 12 officers were required to retire from duty because of their injuries.”
But of course the reports of all those “injuries” was used to justify the heavy-handed policing and stop and search tactics employed by the police.
On which subject, I should add that I saw on the local BBC News that plans were in place for people to be stopped and searched for drugs and knives when boarding Thames dinner cruise boats this Christmas: we’ll see, because one of the places they mentioned such searches would be taking place is where I’ll be going this week.
I suppose it makes a change for them to stop and search a white, middle-aged professional. A few weeks back, I was travelling through Leytonstone tube station where a large police presence were carrying out a stop and search on black males whilst I walked straight through. Maybe a white, middle-aged professional type in a suit and carrying a laptop case isn’t likely to be committing a crime?
Or perhaps they do. But on a much, much larger scale…
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