This time culled from, er, Time.
There are 90 guns for every 100 citizens in the USA, making it the most heavily armed country in the world. The country with the next highest aresenal of civilian arms is India. With 4 guns for every 100 people. Four and a half million guns are purchased in the USA every year. Worldwide, only eight million guns are produced a year.
Scientists have used sugar-eating microbes from the ocean to convert food into electricity. Apparently a cup of sugar can power a 60-watt bulb for 17 hours.
And this gem of a story made it into the most emailed section of BBC News despite being almost 2 years old: Jogging your way to saggy breasts
(It's top quality research which incidentally is sponsored by a sports bra manufacturer)
Showing posts with label arms trade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arms trade. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Stuff I learned from Mark Thomas’ book
Every job in the defence industry is subsidized to the tune of £13,000 plus change
That money comes out of our taxes
Far from being the impartial, fearless newsgatherer it wants to portray itself as, the BBC bottled it when the opportunity came along to expose arms dealers who’ve given money to the government
If the Indian government ever drops a nuke on Pakistan, it’s likely to be from a British-made plane
Most cabinet ministers visiting foreign governments are corporate whores touting the wares of Bae Systems
It’s illegal to sell torture equipment in the UK, but people still do it, and you can buy it on the web
The Labour government cares more whether you pay your TV licence than whether you are selling arms to UN-blacklisted regimes
If you’re going to break into an arms fair and cause havoc, one of the best ways is to dress up as a ‘penis of peace’ and hide a battering ram inside your giant papier mache cock – plus make sure you’re naked and greased up with olive oil to make life even harder for the security goons trying to grab you
Still haven't bought your own copy? Get along to Amazon.
That money comes out of our taxes
Far from being the impartial, fearless newsgatherer it wants to portray itself as, the BBC bottled it when the opportunity came along to expose arms dealers who’ve given money to the government
If the Indian government ever drops a nuke on Pakistan, it’s likely to be from a British-made plane
Most cabinet ministers visiting foreign governments are corporate whores touting the wares of Bae Systems
It’s illegal to sell torture equipment in the UK, but people still do it, and you can buy it on the web
The Labour government cares more whether you pay your TV licence than whether you are selling arms to UN-blacklisted regimes
If you’re going to break into an arms fair and cause havoc, one of the best ways is to dress up as a ‘penis of peace’ and hide a battering ram inside your giant papier mache cock – plus make sure you’re naked and greased up with olive oil to make life even harder for the security goons trying to grab you
Still haven't bought your own copy? Get along to Amazon.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Light bedtime reading
This has been the working week, if not from Hell, then from somewhere nearby. Purgatory perhaps, now that the Pope has gone and abolished Limbo. To cheer me up Cathy bought me a little gift - Mark Thomas' polemic about the arms trade called As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela.
It sounds grim, and in places it is, but I'm enjoying reading something so passionate about an important topic for a change. I'm a third of the way through, but here are a few quotes that have made me laugh so far:
"For many in Old Labour, the day Blair dies is the day that Judas will be found muttering in the depths of Hell, 'I bet he comes and sits next to me.'"
"All we had to do was smile and lie, and not just little lies either - we had to lie like estate agents."
"To the best of my knowledge not even the most cap-doffing historian has dared to describe the British Empire as an 'ethical empire', although there is bound to be one out there somewhere, just as there is bound to be a Conservative Party leader who doesn't look like a smug twat, if only we could be bothered to look."
There's lots more, but you should really go and buy your own copy.
It sounds grim, and in places it is, but I'm enjoying reading something so passionate about an important topic for a change. I'm a third of the way through, but here are a few quotes that have made me laugh so far:
"For many in Old Labour, the day Blair dies is the day that Judas will be found muttering in the depths of Hell, 'I bet he comes and sits next to me.'"
"All we had to do was smile and lie, and not just little lies either - we had to lie like estate agents."
"To the best of my knowledge not even the most cap-doffing historian has dared to describe the British Empire as an 'ethical empire', although there is bound to be one out there somewhere, just as there is bound to be a Conservative Party leader who doesn't look like a smug twat, if only we could be bothered to look."
There's lots more, but you should really go and buy your own copy.
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