GARY MCKINNON

It's almost a year since I posted about this wretch who continues to evade his due punishment. It becomes clear that lots of people are sorry for this hacker. I am so sick of people who create problems for people who just want to use their computer safely that I would happily see all hackers/spammers horsewhipped or executed. And as that is not realistic then at least extradited to USA where they will not be be dealt with by nice men in red dressing gowns and black sash (otherwise the judiciary of England) but by people who are a little more serious about protecting people against criminals.

And today's press reports on a case where two police officers spent time documenting an incident where a doctor left his 7-year old in a car for 20 minutes whilst he (the doctor) went into the bank. The son was happily playing with his games console. He knew how to open the car door. He was not locked in. He was quite happy. The policemen are happy too as they have gained a few points towards the government targets and whilst they were dealing with this this "crime" they could not be called upon to deal with rapists/murderers/terrorists and the like.

DRINKING

I'm getting a little confused. The Scottish Executive (sorry — Scottish Government as they prefer to be called) have made it clear they want to discourage the consumption of alcohol. Sometimes they refer to the behaviour of yobs on our streets and sometimes to health issues. As far as yobs are concerned one can only only ask why not deal with the perpetrators rather than penalise all drinkers. If people are urinating/vomiting in the streets or being violent or intimidating law-abiding people they should be severely dealt with. As for the health issue we seem to be following the same route as was taken with smoking. From informing people about the risks to heavy-handed regulation. So when a drinks company decided to close a factory I would have thought the Scottish Executive would be delighted. What better way to restrict drinking than close down the factories that make the stuff. But no, they're up in arms and hassling about a few hundred jobs rather than celebrating the thousands of lives that will be saved by people being unable to buy their favourite tipple. What hypocrisy!! Similar concerns apply to the closure of a steel works in England. Millions of "green" people in UK have been determined to de-industrialize and go back to the Iron Age. Our own government in Westminster puts a "carbon tax" on industrial effort in an attempt to put back the clock 2 millenia. And yet politicians are worried about the closure of a plant which must have a huge "carbon footprint". Make your mind up guys.

WOOTTON BASSETT

Have just been watching the BBC evening news and another lot of hearses passing through the small town of Wootton Bassett which I used to pass through quite often when I lived not very far away and visited Swindon in the 1970s/1980s. Our soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan have for the last few years been brought to RAF Lyneham (before that it was Brize Norton) and Wootton Bassett is the first town on the hearses the route. The good, decent, and ordinary people of Wootton Bassett had a tradition of quietly lining the route and silently paying their respects to the fallen. It seems to have started in a very informal way almost by accident and gradually grew as shopkeepers closed for a few minutes whilst the cortége passed. A very humbling and moving experience. Until that despicable organisation the BBC got hold of it and started to publicise it. So the event is getting the "I want to be on TV" treatment. Clearly many of todays crowds have no connections with Wootton Bassett or even Wiltshire. They are there to be on TV. Today some of them even clapped. Clapping at a funeral. What is this nation coming to? Thanks to the BBC and its mission to entertain rather than inform Wootton Bassett is now a on its way to becoming a funfair. I did read a press article just a few days ago which led me to believe that many townspeople would prefer the old informal quiet showing of respect to our fallen troops rather than publicity induced razzamatazz. A townsman pointed out that it has been suggested that "High Street" should be renamed "Highway of Heroes". The suggestion came from a person living over 300 miles away. Unfortunately my belief is that the decent people of Wootton Bassett (and England) are going to be submerged by a mass of people who want to turn a once dignified demonstration of respect for the dead into a funfair.