NO JESUS IN CLITHEROE

Now, I have never been a huge fan of major religious iconography but it's a small world and we all have to share and get on with each other. This of course requires a little give and take. On Tuesday last, in order to forget my Birthday trauma the previous day, my friend Jonathan and I went on a little jaunt which after a very pleasant day taking photos of the snow covered Pennines, ended up in Clitheroe in Lancashire. Considering the main indulgences of Christmas were now over it was surprisingly bustling and many festive lights adorned the town.

We did the usual things that touriests do of course, including a bitterly cold ascent of the lethally iced steps up to the Castle and took in the panoramic views. On the way back down thinking only of a hot cup or tea or coffee and a warm place to drink it and shelter from the Siberian style wind, we passed Clitheroe's Nativity. "Hold on a Mo" said my friend, who was scrutinising the tableau "something's wrong here the Baby Jesus is missing. And so it proved. There was Joseph, Mary, the oxen etc, but it was true, the Crib was empty and Baby Jesus was nowhere to be found.

So who would do such a thing? could it be social services has taken it away because of the Arctic conditionss which were certainly not suitable for rearing a newly born infant, or, had local Pagans decided to exact their revenge, Perhaps even Mary and Joseph had failed to pay the local Romans the full applicable amount of Council tax ? Sadly the most likely solution to this mystery was that local Yobboes had nicked it whilst out on a drunken Xmas spree.

As i mentioned earlier, i don't go large on this kind of religious stuff but I do respect other people and their beliefs and even the traditions which go with it. and I think its s sad reflection of the times we now live in that some sniggering twat thought it was funny to nick the baby from the Christmas Nativity. I know from friends in that area that this is not typical of the people of Clitheroe but more likely a manifestation of the legacy of Thatchers Children served up with a Garnish of New Labour who together, had stolen the goodness from our society and replaced it with sniggering greed and materialism.

Hard to believe i suppose but it also later made the local press and Media, and they don't lie do they ? So whats the moral of this tale, is it my political rant about stolen values or merely a reminder that if you should go to Clitheroe, next Christmas, don't forget to take your own Baby Jesus with you. It may just come in handy. I think we should be told.

I PLAYER ON YOUR TV SET, DIRTY DIGGER IS FURIOUS AGAIN

The BBC has come up with a plan to extend the use of its much used IPlayer which enable people to watch most of its TV programs on demand once they have been shown on live TV. It works well though my own PC is already groaning under the pressure of running HD TV streams which are very processor heavy.

The new plan is to extend the the I Player so that other TV companies such as Independent TV and Channel Four or Five can also stream their progs on it. Most people are in favour of this except of course (step forwared the Dirty Digger) Rupert Murdoch the well known Right Wing Neocon Politicians with extensive interests in all kinds of Meda. His Sky TV in the UK has already achieved his stated target of 10 million users which rivals the Free View System which also has 10 million users. A number of other suppliers and ISPs also survice another two ro three million viewers and toegether this accounts for the majority of the digital market.

Mr Dirty is already whinging of course which he usually does whenever anything is suggested which might threaten his monopoly, especially if it is more left wing than his own org which of course, everything else is. My own view is that his sky service other than for sports fanatics is actually a crock of shit and most of us can manage perfectly well without it. The BBC may have a number of faults, who doesn't/ but it does also provide a wide range of good programmes which far surpasses in quality and diversity, anything that Mr Dirty can muster.

I wish the BBC good luck with its new sharing of video platforms proposal, it will make it easier for those who might other wise find it technically or finanacially difficult to set up streams and replays for the on demand market. And if it gives Mr Crappy a hard time, i would regard it as a welcome bonus. The new service provisionally known as "Canvas" coult begin as early as the New Year.

UK ARMY -- WHAT ARMY?

If ever proof were needed that Britain should not be involved in the Iraq or Afghani conflicts then todays announcement by the British Government that there will be major cuts in the armed forces merely to pay for more helicopters in Afghanistan must surely be it. Not only should we never have sent our troops into these conflicts at the behest of the notorious liar Tony Blair, we now know that we could not afford it anyway. Undoubtedly the credit crunch has hastened this realisation but for the last two or three years the armed forces have complained bitterly that lives are being lost because of an acute shortage of helicopters. Now we lear that we will at last get the choppers but to do so, bases will be closed, non front line jobs will be axed, a couple of Navy ships will go and one of our two aircraft carriers will not even have aircraft to carry other than the helicopters of course. Even training exercises will be be reduced.

For far too long the UK has tried to Punch above its weight but now this can be seen to be little short of posturing and for no good reason. We have been selling our own troops and airmen short for far too long as it is. Now we will at last get the choppers that our troops need but so much more will be lost. What a total disgrace and most of this can be laid at the door of our totally discredited ex-prime minister. To make a mistake is human but to follow an asshole like George W Bush into battle must top the lot. In the Iraq conflict the UK component was little more than a stocking filler and now the enquiry currently underway into the Iraq blunder shows how we were totally ignored by the US President. Presumably Blair held on to W Bushes trouser legs hoping for favours in the future. What an indiot he was, we didnt even get any thanks or respect. Not in our name please, not in our name.

RECORD INDUSTRY GREED HITS CHARITY SHOPS

I learned today from BBC Radio Fours program You and Yours that the greedy bastards in the Music Biz are at it againl this time its the charity shops who are being nailed. Currently, if a couple of people who are unpaid volunteers have the audacity to listen to the radio in the shop whist sorting through old clothes, books and bric-a-brac. the shop has to pay the Performing Rights Society £100 per annum for the privalage. Now we learn that the PPL the Phonographic Protection are also set to demand another £100 per annum. Those of you who would like to send hate mail can contact them at this address. PPL, 1 Upper James Street, London, W1F 9DE