Most borrowed book in Parliament

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It offers tips on how to ‘doughnut’ - or surround a speaker in Parliament in order to create the impression on television that the session is well-attended - and how to prevent a political career from derailing a marriage.

Chapter titles include “How to convince voters that the MP never stops working”, “How to dilute boredom”, “How to Climb the Greasy Pole” and “How to write an Abusive Letter”.

 

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It says of IPSA, the expenses watchdog loathed by many Members: "It should be humanely put down, buried under a slab of concrete never to rise again from its dishonoured grave. But until that happens, you'll just have to live with it."

A chapter towards the end of the book gives advice on “How to be Ennobled.”

In the foreword Speaker John Bercow “thoroughly recommends” the book.

Source: Daily Telegraph

Suicide Rates Rise Sharply in U.S.

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An extraordinary thing has happened. Now, thanks to severely depressed Americans, neither chance nor intention… neither the gods nor terrorists… pose a bigger threat to them than they pose to themselves

Preliminary research at Rutgers suggests that the risk for suicide is unlikely to abate for future generations. Changes in marriage, social isolation and family roles mean many of the pressures faced by baby boomers will continue in the next generation, Dr. Phillips said.

“The boomers had great expectations for what their life might look like, but I think perhaps it hasn’t panned out that way,” she said. “All these conditions the boomers are facing, future cohorts are going to be facing many of these conditions as well.”

 

 

 

Why do we still allow this?

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A nurse has been found guilty of the manslaughter of a four-week-old baby who bled to death after a botched home circumcision.

Goodluck Caubergs died the day after Grace Adeleye carried out the procedure without anaesthetic, using only a pair of scissors, forceps and olive oil, a trial at Manchester Crown Court heard.

The 67-year-old is originally from Nigeria, as are the youngster’s parents, where the circumcision of newborns is a tradition for Christian families, the jury heard.

Adeleye, who is also a midwife, was paid £100 for the operation as Goodluck’s parents were not aware the procedure was available on the NHS.

 

It's the 21st century and we not only permit the genital mutilation of male babies but even provide it on the NHS! (For a fee, admittedly)

Mother's against circumcision

Vodka 'saved' elephants in freeze

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Two elephants have been saved from the deadly Siberian cold by drinking vodka, Russian officials say.

They say the animals had to be taken out into the bitter cold after the wooden trailer they were travelling in caught fire in the Novosibirsk region.

The elephants, aged 45 and 48, suffered frostbite to the tips of their ears amid temperatures of -40C (-40F)

But they were warmed up by two cases of vodka mixed with warm water, one official was quoted as saying.

"They started roaring like if they were in the jungle! Perhaps, they were happy," the official told Russia's Ria Novosti news agency.

 

Gorging on anti-corporate baloney

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Rather than endless calls for regulations, bans and taxes - whose efficacy is doubtful but whose effect on personal autonomy would be substantial - it would be far better to recognise that any diet with some modicum of balance will be fine for most people, who will live to a greater age than their parents or grandparents, on average, no matter how much disapproved food they consume. Claims that any particular food is some dietary panacea should be treated with a large, metaphorical pinch of salt, whoever makes them, whether they are an evil mega corporation or the bloke behind the counter at the health-food shop.

Above all, a similarly healthy scepticism should be applied to crusading medics who want to scare us with the idea that Big Food is out to kill us and who encourage politicians to regulate what we eat.