tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56371120094525746852024-03-13T15:12:31.514-07:00The Last BastionMuttered ravings of a right-wing loon.thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-18628229346966551212007-02-11T00:07:00.000-08:002007-02-11T00:17:03.390-08:00What Colour Blue Are You?<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="350" align="center" border="0"><tbody><tr><td align="middle" style="color:#dddddd;"><span style="font-size:0;"><b>You Are Navy Blue</b></span></td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#000099"><center><img height="100" src="http://images.blogthings.com/whatcolorblueareyouquiz/navy-blue.jpg" width="100" /></center><span style="color:#ff9900;">You're a true adventurer. You constantly find yourself drawn to new experiences, people, and places.Sometimes you feel quite scattered and bored. If something exciting isn't going on, you feel a bit lost.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorblueareyouquiz/">What Colour Blue Are You?</a>thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-43151096603340429662007-02-05T16:26:00.000-08:002007-02-05T19:33:14.444-08:00Islam vs SchoolsIt's been an interesting few days first <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/05/nveil05.xml">this</a> then <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/05/nfahd105.xml">this</a>. I find it interesting that in both of these cases Saudi influence is implicated.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color:#ff9900;">Taj Hargey, Meco's chairman, said he was also willing to organise a campaign<br />among Muslims nationally to resist "this largely Saudi-driven campaign to make<br />the niqab a compulsory requirement for Muslim women".</span> </blockquote><br />and<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color:#ff9900;">He also alleges that when he complained to school chiefs about the content of<br />the curriculum and questioned whether it complied with British laws, he was<br />told: "This is not England. It is Saudi Arabia".</span> </blockquote><br />Naturally saudi Arabia being our wonderful ally in the "War Against Terror" (not to mention grateful arms costomer) is doing all it can to stem this flow of hatred spewing forth from its borders.<br /><br />hmmm...thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-26510991953250055672007-01-30T20:08:00.000-08:002007-01-30T20:27:59.152-08:00Mind your "Ps" and "Ks"<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/31/nlevy31.xml">I see Lord "Cashpoint" Levy has been arested again. </a>Of cource it is all too easy to gloat about NuLabours current difficulties, so I think I'll do just that.<br /><br />What with first <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=CIKBE3YL0S2LRQFIQMFCFGGAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/01/20/nloans20.xml">Ruth Tuner</a> and now "Cashpoint" being arrested it seems the noose is tightening around number 10. I wonder how long before Tony gets that knok on the door, although I suspect it wont happen - not while he is still in office anyway - knowing his luk he could well get away scot free.<br /><br />Personally nothing would bring me more pleasure than to see Tony dragged out of No 10 by the met.thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-64389998008336288532007-01-30T17:13:00.000-08:002007-01-30T19:15:34.375-08:00Islamofascism/Regular Fascism<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=FDZRFIXBMKUI3QFIQMFCFGGAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/01/30/ncameron30.xml">This</a> is probably the first time I've heard DC <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">express</span> a strong stance on anything*. It is certainly a step in the right direction. The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6310000/newsid_6311900/6311967.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm">BBC</a> video report on this is interesting, amongst other things it quotes the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Conservatives</span> as explicitly accusing the "moderate" Muslim Council of Britain of being equivalent to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">BNP</span>. Not that this is the first time that I've heard similar accusations of their being extremist, but never from one of the main parties.<br /><br />This quote from the end of the BBC report is a bit <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">mystifying</span><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color:#ff9900;">But invoking white racists in his argument some worry he will promote alienation<br />rather than integration.</span></blockquote><br />Who worries about that and what the hell are they smoking! Seriously I cannot <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">understand</span> the objection to this. British Muslims obviously hate the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">BNP</span>, Cameron is just saying that disagrees with them just as much he disagrees those who wish to impose sharia law on Britain. It seems a perfectly reasonable position to me.<br /><br />*with the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">exception</span> of climate change which all of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">mainstream</span> parties seem to broadly agree on.thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-64636539976766183182007-01-15T01:09:00.000-08:002007-01-15T01:59:52.451-08:00Bank for the Wind<a href="http://environment.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/2586/25861402.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://environment.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/2586/25861402.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This weeks New Scientist is running a story about a improved method of <a href="http://environment.newscientist.com/article/mg19325861.400;jsessionid=JIMJDEGAJNGE">storing electricity</a> (you need a subscription to read the whole article) from wind or other transient renewable energy source. It uses flow batteries which store up electricity as chemical energy in the same way as conventional batteries, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">except</span> that the electrolyte is drawn out and stored up in tanks. Charge flows across a membrane between two solutions however the membranes in previous batteries had been known to leak. </div><div></div><div><blockquote><span style="color:#ff9900;">This [research] focused on one of the big weaknesses of these devices. The<br />membranes separating the two electrolytes allowed molecules of electrolyte to<br />leak across. As a result, each solution became increasingly contaminated with<br />the other, reducing the battery's output.</span></blockquote></div><div></div><div>The type of battery featured in the article - at Kings Island <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Australia</span> - gets around this by making both solutions with vanadium in different <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxidation_states">oxidation states</a>. </div><div></div><div><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"><blockquote><span style="color:#ff9900;">Best of all, it didn't matter too much if a few vanadium<br />ions on one side of the membrane leaked across to the other: this slightly<br />discharged the battery, but after a recharge the electrolyte on each side was<br />as good as new...<br />....One of the key advantages of flow batteries is<br />their scalability. To increase peak power output you add more battery cells, but<br />the amount of energy they will store - and therefore the time they will operate<br />on a full charge - can be expanded almost indefinitely by building bigger tanks<br />and filling them with chemicals. The result is that the batteries can be used in<br />a wide range of roles, from 1-kilowatt-hour units (like a large automotive<br />battery, say), to power-station scales of hundreds of megawatt-hours.</span></blockquote></span></div><div></div><div>Research into these batteries is continuing.</div><div></div><div><span style="color:#ff9900;"><blockquote><span style="color:#ff9900;">Vanadium sulphate solutions cannot be made very concentrated<br />so the energy stored in a given volume of vanadium flow batteries is about half<br />that of lead-acid batteries. This rules them out for applications where<br />compactness and low weight are at premium - electric cars being a prime example.<br />So <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Skyllas</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Kazacos</span> and her team<br />want to replace vanadium sulphate with vanadium bromide, which is more than<br />twice as soluble. She expects that research to be completed by 2008.</span></blockquote></span></div><div></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span></div><div><a href="http://www.newscientisttech.com/channel/tech/mg19325865.400-setback-for-safe-storage-of-nuclear-waste.html"><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span></a> </div><div>-----------------------------</div><div>Also in new Scientist(these don't require subscribtion):</div><div>-<a href="http://www.newscientisttech.com/channel/tech/mg19325865.400-setback-for-safe-storage-of-nuclear-waste.html">Setback for Storing Nuclear Waste</a></div><div>-<a href="http://www.newscientisttech.com/channel/tech/mg19325865.500-how-to-leak-a-secret-and-not-get-caught.html">How to leak a secret and not get Caught</a></div>thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-54570531349018792202007-01-14T21:37:00.000-08:002007-01-14T23:35:39.771-08:00Cameron is a True Tory<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6258089.stm">...apparently.</a> So what to make of Cameron's claim to be a TruBlu rather than just BluLubour. Well he certainly has done little which convinces me of that so far, although it is possibly still early days yet. He has spent the last year sorting out the Tories image problem - lets face it he needed to - by bing nice and cuddly. If I were in his position I'd do it too, even if I did plan a more right-wing government. He hasn't specifically ruled out tax cuts on principle(see below), and I think it was right to focus attention on the working poor. True tory policies such as a <a href="http://www.adamsmith.org/images/uploads/publications/flattax.pdf">flat</a> <a href="http://www.adamsmith.org/images/uploads/publications/flattaxuk.pdf">tax</a>(or tax cuts), <a href="http://www.tfa.net/pdfs/60617.pdf">workfare</a> or <a href="http://www.ukip.org/pdf/ukipeducation.pdf">independant and selective education</a> would ultimatly help such people of cource. It's the working poor that are screwed most under socialism. The problem is convincing the public of this, Darfur Dave perhaps gives us on the right the best chance of winning these arguments. For the time being I think I'll give Dave the benifit of the dought and stick with the tories, but if I don't see somthing more right-wing over the cource of year two I may switch to UKIP.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color:#ff9900;">He goes out of his way to deny that he would follow Labour's tax-and-spend<br />policies and holds out the prospect of possible tax cuts. "We are pledged to<br />share the proceeds of economic growth between public services and lower taxes,<br />thereby ensuring that over time the state takes a smaller share of national<br />wealth," Mr Cameron writes.</span> </blockquote><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/2326/camerontaxog9.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Perhaps there is more to Cameron than his "cuddly" image.</span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/Cartoon/OpinionCartoonFrag.jhtml?&RangeStartValue=101">Cartoon from the telegaph.</a></span></em></div>thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-63478090007252789032007-01-14T20:38:00.000-08:002007-01-15T00:31:18.564-08:00United Kingdom or Bust...<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6258089.stm">...at least for NuLabour.</a>thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-37722714041504410182007-01-14T19:00:00.000-08:002007-01-15T01:00:27.432-08:00Grade InflationThere is a rather interesting <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/11/ngcse11.xml">report in the Telegraph</a> about the continuing rise in the numbers of pupils getting five A* - C grade <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">GCSEs</span>. It seems that when those five have to include both English and Maths the number drops considerably (from 82% to 16% in one case). This will not come as a surprise to many of you, indeed I've assumed for some time that much of the apparent grade inflation is down to higher proportions of pupils taking easier subjects (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">VGCSEs</span> for instance). Not <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">exclusively</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">GCSEs</span> either, both A levels and degrees suffer from this. Of course it suits <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">NuLabour</span> not to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">challenge</span> this, it makes it look as though their education policies are actually <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">achieving</span> something for the money that is poured into them.<br /><blockquote><span style="color:#ff9900;">The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">GCSE</span> pass rate has increased each year since Labour came to power, from 45<br />per cent of pupils reaching the five or more benchmark in 1997 to 58 per cent<br />this year. The improvement has been cited as a key indicator of the success of<br />the Government's education reforms.</span></blockquote><br />...however...<br /><blockquote><span style="color:#ff9900;"><span style="color:#ff9900;">Schools which had been lauded for their improvement in previous years now drop<br />to the bottom of the table. The worst falls by 66 per cent from an 82 per cent<br />rate of achieving five or more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">GCSE</span> passes at the top three grades (A* to C) to<br />just 16 per cent once the five passes have to include maths and</span><br />English.<br />Overall the pass rate drops from 58 per cent achieving five A* to C<br />grade passes to 45 per cent once maths and English are included.</span></blockquote><br />So the question has to be asked; if you take into account the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">increasing</span> popularity of easy subjects (and the ability to do more of them) as well as the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">tendency</span> for teaches to become more attuned to - and teach for - the exact grade requirements, does grade inflation disappear? Well maybe, the number of pupils gaining five A* - C <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">GCSEs</span> which include English, Maths, Science, and a foreign language hovered around the 28-30% mark pretty <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">consistently</span> from 1996-2005*. There was a small drop from 2005-2006 probably caused by the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4404998.stm">decline in language study</a>.<br /><br />It is certainly something to think about.<br /><br />*figures taken from <em>The Economist</em> Dec 7<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">th</span> I would post a link but their <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">archive</span> requires subscription.thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-79273114652567470062007-01-07T18:53:00.000-08:002007-01-07T18:54:26.919-08:00Lack Of PostingSorry about the lack of posting at the moment I have exams.thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-15352584060176120012007-01-07T18:04:00.000-08:002007-01-07T18:52:28.504-08:00Titan's LakesIt seems that Cassini has finally found unequivocal proof of those <a href="http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6230381.stm">lakes on Titan</a>.thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-66911589739836780762007-01-02T22:44:00.000-08:002007-01-03T01:48:49.157-08:00...Fill The Cracks in with Judicial Granite...The biggest story right now of course (what with most of the political classes holidaying with <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">bee gees</span> and so forth) is the execution of Saddam Hussein. In some ways it was a pity that it happened so soon, after all he was only ever tried for one of his many crimes. I wonder if the <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">families</span> of the other victims will truly feel a sense of closure - though the end result would be the same.<br /><br />The <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">decision</span> to kill him of the first day of <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Eid</span></span> is certainly questionable, I get the feeling that the authorities wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. It seems to me that they view him as a symbol of the old <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">regime</span> and by trying and executing him they hope to justify their own <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">existence</span>. Or <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">maybe</span> I'm being too cynical.<br /><br />In any case the violence continues.thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637112009452574685.post-78950614485002231502007-01-02T22:36:00.000-08:002007-01-02T22:44:45.378-08:00First Post<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Originally I was going to start this blog on New Year's Day (I'd been thinking <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">about</span> it for some time and seemed like as good a moment as any) but I couldn't be bothered so I'm starting it now. </span>thelastbastionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363245815059446870noreply@blogger.com0