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Man banned from using wheelbarrow to take his recycling to rubbish tip - told to D...
Health-and-safety chiefs have banned an avid recycler from taking rubbish to his village tip in a wheelbarrow - telling him to bring it by car.
For the last eight years Andre Wheeler has loaded his glass, cans, paper and garden waste onto his barrow before setting off to the tip.
But now he's been told that wheeling the barrow onto the site is too dangerous and he must join the queues of motorists who deliver their rubbish by car.
The 61-year-old, a design and technology teacher, said: 'It's too ridiculous for words. Telling me to burn petrol to drive to the recycling bins is hardly going to save the the planet.
'I passionately believe in recycling and I use the barrow for environmental reasons.'
He added: 'Walking there keeps me fit - but now I've been banned for health-and-safety reasons.'
Mr Wheeler, who is chairman of Barwell Parish Council in Leicestershire, said staff at the tip had told him the lack of footpaths at the site meant he could get knocked down. Health-and-safety chiefs have banned an avid recycler from taking rubbish to his village tip in a wheelbarrow - telling him to bring i... more -
British swimmer wins 10km silver, throws bottle of water over Chinese official
British swimmer David Davies collapsed with exhaustion today after winning silver in the gruelling 10km open water marathon - despite going off course in the race.
Davies had to be put onto a stretcher as soon as he emerged from the water at the Shunyi Rowing Park but made a speedy recovery before rowing with an official.
The Welshman, 23, reacted with fury when a Chinese woman man-handled him as he was talking to the press and threw a bottle of water over her. British swimmer David Davies collapsed with exhaustion today after winning silver in the gruelling 10km open water marathon - despite ... more -
The great diet pill lie: Horrific side effects
'Doctors took one look at me and assumed I'd taken recreational drugs, something I would never do. Mum then gave them the packaging for the diet pills, at which point I was urgently attached to a heart monitor. It took two doses of sedatives to stabilise my erratic heart rate.' 'Doctors took one look at me and assumed I'd taken recreational drugs, something I would never do. Mum then gave them the pa... more
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Freedom to shine event in Bristol, 13th September 2008. Check it out!
Check out my friend Emma's interview on Bristol's Star Radio!!! She used to have Social Anxiety Disorder and now she's on radio, there is a way out of having Social Anxiety, people!
You can feel fully self expressed in a safe, non judgemental environment.
A one day event which tackles performance anxiety head on, using dance, drama, singing and much more!! Guaranteed to excite and inspire!
* Need to let go and have fun?
* Want to improve your confidence?
* Always wanted to try a performing art but not had the courage?
* Fed up of wrestling with anxiety?
* Want a totally safe and secure environment sensitive to Social Anxiety in which you can let go of your inhibitions, without being judged?
Then come along to this great event, and experience the freedom to shine for yourself!!
When? Saturday 13th September, 9am – 7pm.
Where? Ashton Park School, Bristol.
Who for? People who suffer or have suffered with Social Anxiety, General Anxiety, Depression and Low Confidence/Self Esteem.
How Much?
Discount available on tickets purchased before 31st August!!!
so get your skates on! This means you will only pay £11.80 for the whole day - a bargain!
For more info, and to buy tickets:
http://www.freedomtoshine.co.uk Check out my friend Emma's interview on Bristol's Star Radio!!! She used to have Social Anxiety Disorder and now she's ... more -
Gap between rich and poor 'has doubled in past 30 years'
The study by the TUC union found that while disposable income for the wealthiest in society has risen to more than £700 a week, that of the poorest has only gone up marginally - and is still less than £200.
It claims more Britons are living below the breadline than 20 years ago, and that no other European country has such a gulf between rich and poor.
The report also claims inequality dramatically affects children's chances in life, with babies born to poor mothers more likely to develop health problems in later life, and working-class pupils half as likely to get five good GCSEs as their wealthier classmates.
It comes just a day after the Conservatives accused Gordon Brown of making Britain a less fair place over the past decade by overseeing a widening gap between rich and poor in health, education, living standards and tax.
The TUC is now calling on the Government to put an extra £3billion into benefits in order to meet its pledge of eradicating child poverty by 2020.
Its general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: "We need to take action to reduce inequality now. The causes of inequality are widespread, but the remedies for inequality are far clearer – raising the skill levels of those without qualifications, and tackling the gender pay gap would be a good start.
"All the evidence shows that countries with a greater degree of equality also have more social mobility."
The TUC's report, called Poverty and Inequality and Children, draws on official data from the Office for National Statistics, Eurostat and HM Revenue and Customs as well as reports from academics and charities to show how inequality has grown in recent decades, and how it harms the health, education and well-being of children.
Its figures disclose that household disposable income for the poorest 10 per cent of society was £130 a week in 1979, and had only risen by around £50 to £181 by 2006.
However, disposable income for the richest tenth rose from £407 a week to £733 over the same period.
Meanwhile, the proportion of people in poverty - earning less than 60 per cent of the national median income - has risen from 13 per cent to 21 per cent in 2004.
The union said this showed that "the gap between the top tenth of the population and the bottom has roughly doubled since 1979".
It added that inequality in Britain - using an statistical measure known as the Gini coefficient - is higher than the average for European Union countries and is only matched by that in Ireland in Italy.
The TUC report goes on: "At every stage, poverty and inequality harm the life chances of children."
It quoted data from scientific studies to show that poor children are more likely to weigh less at birth and are at greater risk of dying as babies and suffering developmental problems. Poor nutrition and accommodation are also likely to lead to asthma, meningitis and stress, it claims.
Meanwhile in education, 32 per cent of children of manual workers attained five GCSEs at A*-C grade in 2002, compared with 77 per cent of the children of professionals. The study by the TUC union found that while disposable income for the wealthiest in society has risen to more than £700 a week, that o... more -
Polish immigrants' guide to fleecing 'soft' Britain
It shows how to avoid electricity bills and tax, rent flats for free and con insurance companies.
The scams, published in Polish magazine Przeglad, are revealed by Polish workers already living in Britain.
One man, quoted as a Polish criminal expert, said that cheating the system had became a way of life under decades of Communist rule.
"Once you've cheated the Communist government and the Iron Curtain and the Soviet states, running rings around British Gas is child's play," he explained.
A worker called Tomek suggested opening electricity and gas accounts with bogus personal details. He said: "How can I pay bills that aren't addressed to me? The accounting system in England is based on trust, that's why you can phone and give them data plucked out of thin air."
Another man recommends renting a house in a made-up name, then immediately stopping rent payments because tenancy laws mean it will be months before they are evicted. In the meantime the property is sublet to dozens of others.
Expensive mobile phones are insured and then reported "stolen". Once the insurers pay out, the cheats pocket the cash and sell the "stolen" phone back home in Poland for a £100 profit.
Another man tells how he never pays for a television licence, electricity or gas bills - but boasts that he has never been cut off.
"In Poland it would be unheard of - they would have cut everything off long ago," he said. "And you'd have to be an idiot to register the TV."
Image: http://flickr.com/photos/malkiewicz/ It shows how to avoid electricity bills and tax, rent flats for free and con insurance companies. ... more -
Two more energy firms to raise prices
Energy firms E.On and Scottish and Southern Energy are to raise gas and electricity prices by up to 29%.
E.On said it would up its gas prices by 26% and electricity bills by 16% on 22 August for domestic customers.
Scottish and Southern followed a few hours later by announcing a 29.2% increase in gas bills, with electricity tariffs up by 19.2% on 25 August.
Both blamed an increase in wholesale costs for the latest rises - the second in a year. Energy firms E.On and Scottish and Southern Energy are to raise gas and electricity prices by up to 29%. ... more -
Fight for your right to get soused in public
The Manifesto Club, a London based civil liberties organization, plans to protest restrictions on public drinking in England and Wales. The group claims that government restrictions on public imbibing are depriving people of the right to socialise. A large picnic will be held on Bank Holiday Monday in London's Hyde Park in order to allow the public to express their dissatisfaction with the laws. The Manifesto Club, a London based civil liberties organization, plans to protest restrictions on public drinking in England and Wales... more
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UK Game Piracy: Propaganda, Evidence and Damages - More Lies, NO Landmark Fileshar...
This week, alleged game pirates in the UK have been condemned to the ruination of huge fines and misery. Well, not quite. See, if defendants don’t turn up in court, it’s easy to get a default judgment and huge damages because no-one contests the evidence. So what’s the truth and what evidence do the lawyers really have?
BallsFirst things first. Remember the single mother-of-two in the news this week who picked up a £16,000 fine for sharing Dream Pinball 3D? You must’ve heard about it - it’s touted as a ‘landmark decision’ in dozens of redundant news articles, which indicated the world caving in on file-sharers in the UK and signaling that everyone contacted by lawyers Davenport Lyons (working for the games industry against alleged sharers) over the last year or so were doomed to a huge fine.
Let’s get something clear. The defendant, Isabella Barwinska, didn’t turn up in court - that’s according to Simon Perry over at Digital Lifestyles: “The text [in the article] was from the official comment that I received from Davenport’s PR company Bell Pottinger,” he told us. And here it is:
The initial default judgment was made against her was at the London County Court on 27 May. Subsequently the Patents County Court in London handed down damages of £6,086.56 plus costs and disbursements of £10,000.
For those still unconvinced, this Channel4 news report states clearly that Miss Isabella Barwinska, the recipient of this huge penalty, did not defend herself, she did not respond to letters and her side of the story has never been heard. Thankfully, not every news outlet fell for the ‘landmark victory’ line.
Just in case this still isn’t clear (please forgive me for this reiteration but it’s vital): It was impossible for her to win her case so this defeat (default judgment) means little for the other people facing these accusations who actually have a defense.
Davenport Lyons picked on six individuals who didn’t mount a defense, and so far, they have default judgments from four of them at least. Those that responded and denied the claims, just as we previously reported, have been left alone.
It seems likely that yesterday’s announcement that Davenport Lyons will now go after 25,000 other alleged sharers was perfectly and deliberately timed to ride on the momentum from the news of this ‘landmark’ win, which in reality, was the legal equivalent of shooting a dead fish in a barrel.
Evidence and Damages
So what do Davenport have in their evidence arsenal? Well, not enough to take on someone who is prepared to defend themselves, or so it seems. Also, how do they calculate these crazy damages? Well, they claim damages of whatever they like and with no-one there to challenge them, its simple to get stupid amounts awarded. TorrentFreak has received information which lay everything bare and of course, we share it with our readers.
Let’s start with what Davenport Lyons don’t know, because their highly controversial (1, 2, 3, 4) anti-piracy tracking company Logistep can’t tell them:
Davenport doesn’t know if the defendant copied the work to his hard drive or allowed someone else to do it for him. They have no idea (and admit it) how many times the game was uploaded to 3rd parties on P2P networks, or even if it was at all.
They admit to not knowing how long the defendant made the work available and actually admit that it may have been only made available for a second, which is interesting since we have seen documents where Davenport claim that Logistep download a full copy of each game in every case. At the time, we thought that to be completely unfeasible and it now seems that was indeed the case. This adds weight to the theory that Logistep didn’t even verify that the file offered for download was the actual file in question.
More at the link :) This week, alleged game pirates in the UK have been condemned to the ruination of huge fines and misery. Well, not quite. See, if defe... more -
Energy firms hike prices
Two of the UK's "big six" energy firms have hiked their gas and electricity prices, creating further difficulties for many households already struggling to pay their bills. Scottish & Southern Energy, which has 8.8 million UK customers, is raising gas prices by 29.2% and average electricity costs by 19.2% from Monday, while rival E.ON also unveiled rises of 26% and 16% in gas and electricity prices respectively. Both firms blamed soaring wholesale energy prices.
SSE's energy supply director Alistair Phillips-Davies said: "The world is experiencing an energy shock of a kind not seen since the early 1970s, but which is likely to have more profound and lasting consequences." Two of the UK's "big six" energy firms have hiked their gas and electricity prices, creating further difficulties for m... more -
UK newspaper unearths secret guide for Poles on how to cheat UK government
Polish magazine Przeglad reportedly published a dossier explaining how Polish people can cheat their way through Britain's rules and regulations.
The Sun calls it the 'spongers’ guide' and claim it 'shows how to dodge electricity bills, rent flats for free, pay no tax and swindle insurance companies because British laws are “too soft”.'
Criminal experts from Poland have said cheating the system is a way of life under for some Poles after living for decades under Communist rule.
“Once you’ve cheated the Communist government and the Iron Curtain and the Soviet states, running rings around British Gas is child’s play,” they explained.
And here's a few of the handy hints they provided:
- Not paying rent once they move in as tenancy laws mean it will be months before they’re evicted. In the meantime the property is sublet to more Poles.
- Opening electricity and gas accounts with bogus personal details.
- Claiming your mobile phone has been stolen. Once the insurers pay out, the cheats pocket the cash and sell the phone back home in Poland for a £100 profit. Polish magazine Przeglad reportedly published a dossier explaining how Polish people can cheat their way through Britain's rules ... more -
Glitter 'agrees to return to UK'
Let's hope they take away his new passport and keep very close tabs on him.
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8-year-old kid passes exam meant for 16-year-olds
Now I'm not one to get jealous, but I swear these exams must be getting easier...
Primary school student, Aran Mohan aspires to be a scientist 'like Albert Einstein' when he grows up, and after achieving a C grade in a Communication Technologies, it's looking well within his grasp.
The brainiac not only found the time to revise for the exam, normally taken by people twice his age, he also managed to fit in his normal primary school studies as well as a variety of hobbies, which range from playing the piano, keyboard, drums and guitar, as well as football, tennis and ice-skating!
Apparently, he didn't even realise he was any good at ICT until AFTER the exam:
"I didn't realise I was good at ICT until after I'd done the GCSE exam. It was easier than I thought it was going to be and I feel proud now that I've done it."
What a kid. Now I'm not one to get jealous, but I swear these exams must be getting easier... ... more -
Driver cleared after ramming van to escape from 'bully-boy' clampers who...
A furious driver who rammed a van to escape after his family was threatened by 'bully boy' clampers has been cleared of dangerous driving.
Nurse Tim Brooks and his wife Lindsay were terrified for the safety of their six-year-old daughter after a hammer wielding clamper climbed in the back seat with her.
Brooks, aged 28, drove his Land Rover Discovery away with the clamp still on its wheel and rammed the clamper's van four times after it blocked him in. A furious driver who rammed a van to escape after his family was threatened by 'bully boy' clampers has been cleared of dang... more -
£92,000 electric sports car that does 125mph in complete silence
It looks just like a normal sports car, has a top speed of 125mph and acceleration of 0-60 in 3.9 seconds.
But the British-built Tesla Roadster, which goes on sale today, has one major advantage - you'll never need to fill it up.
The virtually silent car is powered by an 185kw electric motor and a stack of batteries in its boot. However, this is no G-Wiz - it really does perform like a sports car. It looks just like a normal sports car, has a top speed of 125mph and acceleration of 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. ... more -
Every petrol pump 'will be prepay by 2011'
Every petrol pump in Britain will be prepay by 2011 because of the rise in fuel theft, say industry bosses.
The soaring cost of unleaded and diesel has seen an increase in instances of people driving off from forecourts without paying.
Petrol retailers say their fuel theft bill has risen by several million pounds. Every petrol pump in Britain will be prepay by 2011 because of the rise in fuel theft, say industry bosses. ... more -
War heroes' parade banned by council ... after it allowed a gay pride march a...
Council bosses are under fire after telling war veterans to scrap a parade - after allowing a gay pride march and a mayor's procession.
Last year 3,000 former and current soldiers who served in wars ranging from the Second World War to Afghanistan marched on the first Veterans' Day ever held in Doncaster.
But now the Royal British Legion claims the council has told it the event cannot be staged because of a 'lack of facilities'.
Doncaster has recently staged a gay pride parade and festival as well as a civic parade in which dignitaries, community workers and the public took part. Council bosses are under fire after telling war veterans to scrap a parade - after allowing a gay pride march and a mayor's proce... more -
Living with humans has taught dogs morals, say scientists
Dogs are becoming more intelligent and are even learning morals from human contact, scientists claim.
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Black bear steals hubcap from car
A black bear stole a hubcap from a car in a safari park and then proceeded to offer it to a woman driver.
Azra Noonari, 39, who had had her own hubcaps stolen at home in Luton, Beds, just weeks beforehand, was shocked when the bizarre incident took place in a Bedfordshire park.
"I was driving us to the bear and wolf area when I saw a car stopped right in front of me," she said. "There was a bear in front of it, so I stopped too and started taking pictures. I saw it take a hubcap off the car then start walking towards us. I locked all the doors quickly, we didn't know what it would do. It put the hubcap down and then banged on the window, as if it was trying to get my attention. It was almost like it wanted to give me the wheel cap."
She added: "Maybe the bear thought I needed the hubcap." A black bear stole a hubcap from a car in a safari park and then proceeded to offer it to a woman driver. ... more -
Terror of striking council worker run over on picket line by boss
A STRIKING council worker told of his terror yesterday after being knocked down by a manager who drove through a picket line.
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