Space Shuttle - The Final Flight

After 30 years and 135 missions the Space Shuttle was retired from service. An important function of the transport system was to build and develop the International Space Station. The ISS is an ongoing project and will now heavily rely on the Russians to service this international platform.

Co-operation is paramount and any Cold War or underlying problems must be absent by inference. An irony is that the conflict between the two countries initiated the Space Race from which the ISS  was ultimately created. World events seem to have gone from conflict to co-operation. This is encouraging for a future of harmony.

It's why the land-based world events seem so peculiar and inexplicable.

25.08.2011

• Russia has grounded its fleet of Soyuz rockets after an unmanned spacecraft carrying cargo for the ISS crashed shortly following launch - more

What happens now?

Student Loans: The Conclusion Begins

NEVER FORGET 

The range of issues concerning the student loan affair is considerable. These particular issues will almost certainly be forgotten in years to come (but not here - DA).

On and on will this go... this single affair will become this government’s nastiest piece of work (so far - DA).

Coalition government = 

Student Loans

Parasite's Tree

This nasty effort is totally illustrative of how (any) 'government' seems to function. It is consistent enough to conclude that much. Whether Tories or Labour or Lib Dems are the active government or the official opposition makes no difference. The Murdoch fiasco, aka farce, makes for some timely misdirection and so it may well be played up to maximise the advantage.

The current nauseating and patronising 'buzz term' 'we are all in this together' is entirely inappropriate and an obvious (and very crude - DA) attempt at conditioning. We the people are 'in it' because that's where we've all been dumped.

Regarding the tuition fees débâcle it is not outside the imagination to propose that a deal had been reached before the last election. And concerning the need for a loan? Raise the level to force the need to take out a loan. How? Just raise the level artificially so requiring it.

Up the ante

Students from wealthy backgrounds don't need loans. There's nothing to repay so disallowing a simple payoff after graduation is a complete red herring. The result is lock-in to paying off the increasing debt from the addition of interest. For the creation of the elitist society it is critical to shackle the future graduates (the clever, but poor, represent potential competition to the advancement of the possibly not so bright wealthy - DA) by being chained to a lifetime of debt (student loan, mortgage...) so enabling the wealthy to race on ahead free of yokes. If a 'poor' individual can swim then place a heavy chain around their collective neck and drown them all. It's all about winning and if not by ability then by manufacturing advantage.

• 'Poor' = anyone from anything other than a 'wealthy' and advantaged background.

Hypocrisy

Whatever label 'won', student loans would be raised. The term 'raise' is absolutely disgusting. Revulsion and repugnance are words that don't even come close to describing this absolute betrayal of the future. It's all about money and nothing. ABSOLUTELY nothing else. Remember the control of finances ensures ABSOLUTE control. The increase from £3290 to £9000 corresponds to a jump of £5710 and provides that control.

Annual increase 

of over...

273%

Imagine if the basic rate of income tax or VAT or TV license or... were to be raised by anything close to this amount it would initiate a mass protest never before known in the UK. No government would ever dare (really? - DA). But students? Who cares? The secondary education system has been debased so much that the 'A-level' A* grade is an average and super A* grades are needed to be just above average. Anything less than an A grade is effectively regarded as worthless. It's not, but this is the betrayal simply to gain money.

The result: a very large number of A graders all vying to get into any university. So, just about all the universities wanted to charge the maximum £9000 annual fee and there would be no choice about value for money. There is none.

The best becomes...
the best of the best becomes...
the best of the best of the best becomes...

Job done! Tuition Fees raised and current revenue maximised (for now - DA). Those to blame? The Lib Dems since Dr. Vince Cable was responsible. That was back in October 2010. Now it's Willetts - a Tory.

Weren't me guv. I'm just pushing forward

the mess started by Cable!

The Lib Dems did it. The Tories didn't.

We just upped the ante, mate!

Why so soon (the priority where all the cuts came essentially afterwards) with the new government of the day?

Cuts don't involve reducing tuition fees.

This is money in not out.

The same as taxes and VAT and ...

All inwards, not outwards 

and into the public interest

• By the time the next election comes around in 3-4 years all... 

will be well established and the

new levels will be the norm!!!

It'll ALL just be forgotten

BUT not here - DA

The debt will be ongoing for a lifetime and the old government (and those responsible) will be long gone. And everyone will be so pleased that they have gone. It's how it works and is a very cosy arrangement where ABSOLUTELY no individual gets the blame. It's a truly perfectly self-sustainable system. The people are crushed even more and no one notices. But the host is continuously regenerated and replaced by a new feedstock for the parasite.

Phone Hacking

The possible smokescreen gets more dense. All the governmental rhetoric and 'pulling together' does not settle well. The party in power and the official opposition agreeing? There's something intrinsically sinister about that scenario. And that is what is happening.

News International 

The appearance before a Select Committee by Rupert Murdoch is claimed to be a day for feeling humble. The alleged apology to the family of Millie Dowler would have been a more believable act of contrition had he gone to see the family rather than they visiting him. After all, he can travel from Australia to London so 'that last mile' should not have been too much of an extra burden. Attempting to save the BSkyB deal seems to have been the priority.

It's all a sordid story about alleged corruption in high places and the alleged liaison between the press and police. The benefit of all this is the wake up call to those asleep and remaining totally unaware or not bothered by what has possibly been happening for a very long time. As the recent couple of weeks have revealed: there is a great deal of back-room dealing being done. So, what else has been happening?

Consult these pages and decide what may be

a reality and not 'conspiracy theory'

The term 'conspiracy theory' is not accurate. It should be, perhaps, 'ridicule theory' - DA

The dirty little (and very BIG - DA) backroom deals that could be taking place secretly behind closed doors. Out of the public eye. So much is 'coming out' that it appears almost overkill. Overwhelm the public and perhaps they'll start to ignore it all. The deals will continue and the people will lose interest. But...

Hopefully, not everybody
will go back to sleep

Phone hacking is not a new concept, although the terminology may be quite new to public awareness. But it has all been made out to appear as such. This is possibly the damage control reaction to cover the technique of interception.

The 'powers that be' could be unnerved by the fact that these techniques have been publicly uncovered and that not everything is 'ridiculous'. The so-called truth papers have been the comics to entertain the people, pandering titillation to the masses. This has all become very much alive in the collective public mind. The real questions that should be asked are who else and for how long? 'Big Brother is watching you' has become very real to many. How could such a thing be happening.

Surely governments wouldn't do this? 

Or the police?

Or... who else?

• Public revulsion has suddenly become the 'wake up' effect. Such is the background that this could be the desirable outcome. The people are being deliberately unnerved by government.

Downbanding

Exploitation of a bad situation to gain advantage can be illustrated by downbanding. This approach is not a new concept, but just another shift in definition. A pay cut (negative promotion - a 'justified' demotion not caused by an employee's work record) or be made unemployed - sacked. The latest example appears to be Sainsbury's. A very profitable company yet expecting staff to accept a £0.00 wage increase.

Nothing

Inflation incessantly increasing means staff are worse off by working for this company.

...it was "shameful" that King collected pay and bonuses of £3.24m last year... £6.71 an hour after 15 years of loyal service... no pay rise for two years, and we're facing no pay rises in the future... not really have enough money to live on... paid just 40p more than my daughter, who only started this year...what's that for loyalty?"

(Loyalty doesn't seem to fit the Sainsbury model and unsurprisingly, unemployment figures appear to be 'improving'. They will certainly be changing - DA).

Slavery

This also avoids the costly issue of redundancy. Staffing level reductions can go only so far before a business can no longer operate. This is an alternative approach to wealthy companies merging (taking over another company and its assets) and then trimming back any duplication of staff. Restructuring. As a cynical tactic this (smokescreen) enables a business to increase profitability and at the same time retain staff. If the concern is genuinely finding trading difficulties this also avoids the necessity to hire anew skilled staff who know their job. Retaining staff 'on the cheap'. Some employees can find new work elsewhere though most will probably find supreme difficulty in uprooting families with mortgages and young children at school. Doubtless many businesses are in difficulty and hence the exploitation by those only focused on increasing profitability.

This is another example of the problems happening as a result of over population and the failed concept (was never a success - DA) of 'money and growth'.

The older method was downsizing though this could restrict a business potential for 'growth'. A reduced level in the workforce.

The entire system stinks anyway. The UK is cutting everything, yet countries like Portugal, Spain, Greece and Ireland are receiving bail-out funds to prop up this totally failed system that is based on debt. The situation works in one way to theoretically 'raise' money through the future debt repayment. It seems clear that the UK is cutting so that more wealth is just moved to the already wealthy (so incredibly short-sighted, dumb and stupid - DA). Defaulting on payment can be 'avoided' by giving a further loan and so increasing the debt and the potential return by interest repayment: simply converting the serious problem into a catastrophe. This virtual wealth is the confused logic of the idiot. But...

Create the problem and

provide the solution

It cannot be coincidence that inflation has allegedly taken a dip so that an interest hike will not be necessary. But raising the interest has to be inflationary... who are they trying to kid?

• Want to see what smug looks like?

Such a system is unsustainable, but the 'wealthy' stand to lose so much of their perceived true wealth that any change is as likely as two (genuinely) males or two females conceiving a child with their same natural sex.

To imagine that any long term plan is within the wit and intelligence of mankind is difficult. At best it can be opportunistic tinkering with the single aim of being top dog.

Pathetic losers