UK unemployment total reaches 17-year high

Really is hard to see how this ‘United Europe’ vision will work when patently individual countries would be better off concentrating on their own issues first.

UK unemployment rose by 114,000 between June and August to 2.57 million, a 17-year high, according to official figures.

By way of example: I have been driving through Europe a lot recently. On the Spanish roads are a lot of Spaniards driving Seats in France you can’t move for Renault, Citroen, Peugeot and in Germany …… VW, Audi, Porsche, BMW, Mercs, and in the UK, Nissan, Toyota, Ford ….. we don’t make anything anymore.

Hard To Find Any Sympathy

So 18 million Brits aren’t able to afford a holiday this year and I have to say I find it hard to get too excited about the fact, or to summon up too much (if any) sympathy.

The overall impression given ‘these days’ is that people seem to feel that they are ‘entitled’ to a holiday every year, a new car every two years, the latest gadget, current fashion items and a meal out a couple of times a week.

Of course this isn’t true about everybody, and a significant majority can only dream of such luxuries, but that to me is the point that is being missed these days.

Romanian workers in Britain send home £500,000 every day.

It is no secret that the Eastern Europeans have a great work ethic, and are more then willing to ‘go without’ themselves in order to send money back home, and until recently that was very much the case with the Morocans here in Almerimar. Unfortunatley as the greedy Spanish exploited them and paid them ‘black money’ they now have no work, no rights to any benefits and no way of returning home ….. but I digress!

O2 to start unlocking iPhones

Apple’s original UK iPhone partner O2 will start to unlock customers’ phones. Rival provider Orange started selling the iPhone Tuesday, while Vodafone is expected to offer the iPhone from the second week in January next year.

U.S. Mac Sales Up 7% Year-Over-Year in July and August, iPod Sales Down 16%

Silicon Alley Insider reports on data from research firm NPD showing that U.S. Mac sales were up 7% year-over-year during the months of July and August, ahead of most analysts’ projections. The data, reported by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, also shows a 16% decline in year-over-year iPod sales, a performance slightly below analysts’ expectations.

UK.gov revives net cut-off threat for illegal downloaders

The government has today unexpectedly revived plans for laws to disconnect persistent illegal filesharers, in a move to delight the entertainment industry and anger ISPs.

T-Mobile UK starts shifting iPhones on the quiet

T-Mobile UK has started supplying iPhone 3G handsets to selected customers, while O2 UK continues to believe it has a UK exclusive on Apple’s last-generation handset.

VAT ‘idiocy’ will cost businesses at least £300 million

The administrative burden of repricing millions of goods, changing software and accounting systems will total £125 million when VAT returns to 17.5 per cent on January 1.

UK ATMs set to offer WiFi access, free for BT and iPhone users

BT Broadband customers and O2 iPhone owners, rejoice — some 2,500 ATM machines near you will soon be converted to serve as free WiFi hotspots, courtesy of BT Openzone and Cashbox, perhaps the most mismatched pair of commercial metaphors ever put together.

Tony Blair is the most highly paid speaker on the planet, and his wife is not doing too badly, either.

As Tony Blair soaked up the applause of an adoring Filipino audience at the end of his latest paid speaking engagement last month, a startling statistic must surely have popped into his head. In the space of just 30 minutes, Mr Blair had earned £183,000 – the same as his salary as prime minister.

This articl in the Telgraph has rendered me all but speachless!! The guy lies about WMD, leaves the country in a total mess, yet makes £15,894,936 since retiring to June 2009!!! To be honest I can’t see what anybody would want to listen to him for, or read his book and as for his money grabbing wfe …

BT chief: People don’t need fibre to the home

Ford not Ferrari for you

Just tread in the Register that BT chief executive Ian Livingstone defended his firm’s limited plans for faster broadband today, arguing there is not enough demand for fibre to the home to justify its cost.

What a load of rubbish!!! Lok back in history my friend. If companies had waited for the demand nothing would have got invented would it. Of course we need and want faster broadband, and we want it cheaper!!! That is your challenge to provide it and make enough of us buy it. Now get on with your job!!!

Pimping The Road King Classic

I am heading back to the UK in May to pick up the Road King Classic and bring it back to Almerimar. Apart from the fact that I miss it, Sands and I want to use it as our main mode of transport rather than the Jeep. Part because the Jeep is so old and consumes so much fuel (think green, think skint!!!), part because it is just so much more fun to use the Harley than a car!

Unlocked iPhones in the UK

I was wondering if anybody had taken advantage of the play.com offer of LEGALLY unlocked iPhones in the UK. I am sort of thinking that my parents may like one, and Sands has managed to crack her first generation iPhone’s screen!

Both the 8GB and 16GB versions are available on the website in black only, priced at £549.99 and £599.99 respectively and with free delivery.

A little expensive but then again with no contract required that is actually not a bad price!