Nanny Knows Best

Nanny Knows Best
Dedicated to exposing, and resisting, the all pervasive nanny state that is corroding the way of life and the freedom of the people of Britain.

Friday, August 31, 2012

The Grim RIPA



I am ungemused to read that yet another council has overstepped itself and has been using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), which Nanny told us was for counter terrorism, to investigate a petty civil issue relating to a dating agency.

Nanny's chums from Suffolk County Council decided to use RIPA to send an "undercover lover" to investigate complaints made against Suffolk Singles, a dating agency run by Mary Brame from her home near Woodbridge.

Clients alleged that they had not been introduced to enough prospective partners, and were not told about their right to cancel membership within seven days of joining. The Mail on Sunday reported that the council sent in its trading standards officer to pose as a middle-aged woman looking for love.

Blah blah blah......

Whatever the truth or otherwise of the allegations, can someone please explain to me why/how the council used RIPA for this clearly non terrorist related issue?

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Thursday, August 30, 2012

The Dangers of Tube Mice



Some very sensible health and safety advice from Nanny wrt "Tube mice".

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Prats of The Week - South Gloucestershire Council

Ooh err missus, this is clearly the week for prattery. Much like buses, having awarded one "Prats of The Week" Award this week, another one pops up eager to be awarded.

Therefore, without further ado, I am pleased to be able to award this week's second "Prats of The Week" Award to South Gloucestershire Council.

For why?

For their super duper wizard idea to open a 200 space car park (costing £1.3M) in June 2011, for a park and ride scheme in Stoke Gifford near Bristol.

What's wrong with that?

Nothing, under normal circumstances. However, there are two wee problems with the scheme:

1 An average of just 10 motorists a day are using the car park, and

2 The bus service for the park and ride scheme will not be in operation until 2015.

Brilliant!

South Gloucestershire Council, well deserving Prats of The Week!

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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Prats of The Week - The BBC

Ooh, having shaken off the dregs of the Bank Holiday weekend and easing myself into the forthcoming week ahead, I feel it is time to award my prestigious and internationally renowned Prats of The Week Award.

This week it goes to Auntie (ie the BBC).

For why?

Just ask Baroness Bakewell, who is campaigning to have a statue of George Orwell erected (can I say "erected"?) in the piazza outside of the new Broadcasting House.


It is a good idea, Orwell warned of the dangers of communism and (via 1984 and Animal Farm) gave us a chilling vision of what the future might look like under a totalitarian regime where every communication was monitored and our daily lives subjected to state control and intrusion.

Orwell also worked as a BBC journalist, producing radio programmes at Broadcasting House during the Second World War before leaving to publish Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four.

So why have I nominated the BBC for my award?

Well it seems that the BBC don't want to have an erection in the piazza, even though the cost would be covered by donations.

Why?

Mark Thompson, the Corporation’s outgoing director general, said the statue could not be erected on BBC premises because Orwell was “too Left-wing”.

Eh?

Lady Bakewell is quoted in the Telegraph:
I met Mark Thompson at a BBC reception and mentioned the project. He said, 'Oh no, Joan, we can’t possibly. It’s far too Left-wing an idea’.”
Could it be that the BBC is still smarting from the fact that Orwell based Room 101 on a conference room at Broadcasting House, where he attended staff meetings?

The BBC, well deserving Prats of The Week!

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Friday, August 24, 2012

Anus Horribilis



Oh dear I see much huffing, puffing and moralising shite being expounded by various commentators and the media over the "outrage" of the pictures of a young man partying in his hotel room in Vegas.

Whatever happened to the strict code of "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"?

Why oh why are people so shocked that a young man, who was partying, ends up without any clothes embracing a naked lady in a hotel room?

Go to any British town (or Spanish party town) on a busy night, and you will see the streets awash with drunken youths (male and female) baring their arses, boobs and a lot more; all of which will be captured on mobile phones and posted on YouWank the next day. At least the young man in the photo was in the "privacy" of his own room.

Men and women have been getting smashed and naked for millennia, this young man is hardly the first to do this and most certainly won't be the last.

Kudos to Boris Johnson for his most sensible observation:
"I think it'd be disgraceful if a chap wasn't allowed to have a bit of fun in Las Vegas. The real scandal would be if you went all the way to Las Vegas and you didn't misbehave in some trivial way."
As a country we really do seem to be incredibly anal about these things..sheesh!

That being said, whoever took the pictures and sold them is a real c**t!

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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Monkey See, Monkey Do



As loyal readers know only too well, Nanny loves to use her rules and regulations as an excuse to charge us money (eg parking fines, street enforcement fines, music licences etc etc).

Sadly it is not just the state that uses rules and regulations as an excuse to rip us off, the private sector has also taken to copying Nanny as well. Step forward Monarch Airlines, which has an "interesting" take on what constitutes a health and safety issue; as Zoe Hammond found to her cost recently.

Ms Hammond was flying back at night from Turkey on Monarch, and felt a little chilly on the plane. She, like any other passenger on a cold plane, not unreasonably asked for a blanket.

Can you guess what happened next children?

Yes, that's right, the stewardess told Ms Hammond that she could not be given a blanket for health and safety reasons.

What?

Since when?

However, it doesn't end there.

Can you guess what then happened children?

Yes, that's right, the stewardess was happy to sell Ms Hammond a blanket for £5.

Ker Farking Ching!

Ms Hammond, tired and cold, gave in and paid. However, on her return to the UK the Mail reports that she raised the issue with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

A spokesman said:
"HSE have contacted the CAA and they have confirmed that there is no legal requirement to prevent a passenger having a blanket to keep them warm. Cabin crew from Monarch Airlines allegedly made the claim about health and safety

There are no health and safety regulations to prevent an airline providing blankets. It would be helpful for the airline to explain the real reasons for their decisions rather than attributing it to health and safety.

This is a blatant case of health and safety being used gratuitously as a cover up for poor customer service and/or a commercial decision.

It is clear that there is no health and safety concern given that blankets are available - at a price. The airline should have the courage to explain and stand by the real reason for its decisions."
As the old saying goes "monkey see, monkey do", the private sector is emulating the state wrt greed, fraud and dishonesty.

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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Tasmania To Ban Fag Sales



In a plan that is destined to fail (if it is enacted), and bring about a major increase in revenues for organised crime, Tasmanian Nanny is considering banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2000.

ABC News reports that Legislative Council member Ivan Dean wants to make it illegal for people born after 2000 to buy tobacco once they turn 18 - meaning they would never legally be able to buy cigarettes.

The proposal was passed unanimously by the Upper House on Tuesday night.

Is it not an individual's right to decide what he or she chooses to put into their body?

Why does Nanny insist on trying to legislate about what we are allowed to eat, drink, smoke, snort etc?

Needless to say there are those who will come up with the "passive smoking" argument, yet far more damage is done to us by the passive ingestion of pollution (airborne and waterborne) from cars, lorries, factories etc etc.

I am sure that Nanny states around the world will be watching this with interest, and will be itching to do the same.

It is a bad/dangerous idea, and it is destined to fail. Yet Nanny never learns that banning things makes them ever more attractive.

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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

What Nanny Gives With One Hand, She Takes With The Other



I see that Nanny's much derided policy of "everyone's a winner" is still be applied in our educashunal establishments with gusto.

The Telegraph reports that last year almost 90% of teenagers sat exams in subjects as "challenging" and as "useful" as call centre skills, cake decorating, health and safety and hazard control instead of the more "conventional" GCSEs.
Chris Skidmore, the Conservative MP for Kingswood, said:
These figures lay bare how Labour lied to a generation, falsely giving them the impression that qualifications that employers will all too often regard as irrelevant were ‘equivalent’ to GCSEs in rigorous subjects like maths and science. 

Hundreds of thousands of young people are now paying the price for their deception. 

In tough economic times, we must make every effort to ensure that our children are learning the subjects that employers and universities value most so they can compete for jobs once they leave education.”
Whilst it is all very well and, to some extent, true to lay the blame for this at the door of the previous Labour administration, the Coalition has been in orifice for a number of years now. Why only now is this issue causing the government some angst?

Anyhoo, rather late in the day Nanny has now outlined plans to axe more than 3,000 equivalent courses from her league tables by 2014.

In the event that Nanny actually carries out her plans, this will be rather demoralising for the 552,575 pupils (88% of the total) who were entered last summer for at least one of the equivalent qualifications set to be axed by Nanny.

What Nanny gives with one hand, she takes with the other!
 
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Monday, August 20, 2012

Nanny's Retrospective Rules



I was "gemused" to read a story in the Telegraph a few days ago about a "typically British" dispute between an allotment holder (Michael Rock) and his local council (Hastings), over the thorny issue as to whether he should be allowed to grow fruit trees instead of vegetables on his plot.

Nanny contends that fruit trees are not a productive use of a "scarce resource" (ie the allotment), and that if Mr Rock does not want to use the plot productively then he should vacate it.

On the face of it, the council has a point; allotments are a scarce resource and there are waiting lists of years for many of them. However, Mr Rock argues that he used to grow veg etc but that much of the produce was wasted and he instead wanted to use it for fruit in order to make jam.

Now, here we come to the crux of the matter, if he had signed an agreement when he first took over the plot that he could only grow certain produce then the council has a prima facie case for throwing him off the plot if he has broken the rules.

Question: did he sign such an agreement?

Answer: No (the original agreement contained no such restriction).

The council are trying to force him to now sign an agreement that would be applied retrospectively, preventing him from growing fruit, thus on signing he would be in breach of the agreement.

Mr Rock, not unreasonably, refuses to sign.

As the the National Allotment Society says:
In our mind the spirit of allotment gardening is that it’s a communal activity which everybody can enjoy; it’s a hobby, at the end of the day.

We do understand the reasons for tenancy agreements, but would always advise councils not to impose them retrospectively. Allotment gardening is something people do in their spare time and it’s important that rules are imposed in the spirit of fairness.” 
Sadly Nanny doesn't do "fairness"!

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Friday, August 17, 2012

UKBA - Protecting Our Borders!



On Monday I wrote that Nanny's ever "efficient" and "respected" Borders Agency "in the spirit of keeping our country safe from felons and evil doers, has banned Dog The Bounty Hunter from coming to the UK this week to appear on Celebrity Big Brother."

I went on to conclude:
"I dare say that we all feel a lot safer knowing that the UKBA are clearly on the ball!"
Well then, imagine my "shock" and "surprise" when I read that the UKBA had managed to let a violent crossbow wielding stalker into the UK despite being warned before he arrived that he was dangerous.

The Argus reports that the UKBA has now apologised to the family of Dr Alison Hewitt, who was subjected to a four-month stalking campaign by her jilted lover, Al Amin Dhalla.

Dr Hewitt’s mother, Pamela Hewitt, had written to the agency in November 2010 warning them about Dhalla.

The letter warned the UKBA that he had an extensive criminal record for violence, was banned from the US, used three aliases and had previously entered the UK illegally.

Despite giving the agency his passport number and flight details of when and where he would return to Britain, Dhalla was able to walk through immigration unhindered and begin a terror campaign against the family.

For why did the UKBA allow this man into the country?

Simples...it seems he failed to declare his previous convictions when applying for a visa.

Aha!

Tip for Assange: don't tell anyone who you are when you try to leave the country!

Dhalla was arrested at Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, where Dr Hewitt worked. Police found a loaded crossbow, a large knife and a fuel-soaked envelope addressed to Mrs Hewitt in his car.

Way to go UKBA!

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Thursday, August 16, 2012

Live Feed From Ecuadorian Embassy London


Video streaming by Ustream

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Ecuador Live - How Does Assange Get Out of The UK?



Question for Nanny:

How does Assange get out of the country?

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Ecuador Grants Assange Asylum

UPDATED

Ecuador grants Assange asylum



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Nanny's War On Eggs



Following up on yesterday's article about Dr David Spence's mission to stop us eating eggs, my thanks to Bucko for providing a link to an earlier episode from Dr Spence's war against eggs:
"Spence expects a backlash from the egg industry.

The last time he released a study in 2010, linking eggs to health problems, Spence's home was egged and a major donor pulled its funding from the university."
I suppose that's known as egg lovers eggstracting revenge?

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Question For Nanny? UPDATED Ecuador Grants Asylum



Since when did we, as a country, disregard international rules and conventions wrt embassies being sovereign territory?

Assange may be a complete and utter wanker, but threatening to enter an embassy in order to arrest him sets a very dangerous precedent:

"You need to be aware that there is a legal base in the UK, the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987, that would allow us to take actions in order to arrest Mr Assange in the current premises of the embassy."
Nanny is becoming dangerously delusional!

UPDATED

Ecuador grants Assange asylum

Live from Ecuador


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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Nanny Declares War on Eggs Again!



Loyal readers with eidetic memories may recall that, in February 2009, I wrote the following about eggs:
"It seems that Nanny's anti egg campaigns of the past, in which she warned us of the alleged dangers of the cholesterol content of eggs, were a load of bollocks.

A paper prepared by the British Nutrition Foundation states that the cholesterol in eggs has only a small, and clinically insignificant, effect on blood cholesterol."
One would have thought that this would have finally laid to rest Nanny's misguided obsession about eggs being bad for us!

Sadly "one" would be wrong.

Nanny is an obsessive creature and, if facts stand in her way, she simply finds a way to manufacture "facts" to suit her obsession.

Step forward Dr David Spence Professor of Neurology and Clinical Pharmacology at Robarts Research Institute University of Western Ontario, he is also affiliated with the London Health Sciences Centre’s University Hospital (where he has set up and runs stroke prevention clinics).

According to the Huffington Post Dr Spence claims that the cholesterol found in egg yolks is almost as dangerous as smoking.

Dr. David Spence goes on to say that:

"It's more than the cholesterol in a Hardee's monster thick burger which is two-thirds of a pound of beef, three slices of cheese and four slices of bacon.
I have never consumed a Hardee's Monster Thick Burger (I am sure they are excellent), but I find that claim to be a tad high on the "Bollocks Scale of Exaggeration".

He then went to to accuse the eggs industry of being like the tobacco industry.

Of course, in order to really damage an industry Nanny just loves to mention smoking!

In view of the research that I reported on in 2009, and the fact that humans have been happily eating eggs for millennia I am inclined to think that eggs are fine.

However, if you need further reassurance I refer you to the "infamous" paper that Dr Spence produced in 2005 on the effectiveness of homeopathy.

According to DC's Improbable Science:
"Dr Spence’s paper was published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. It is not really research at all. They simply asked 6544 patients who had had homeopathic treatment whether they felt better or not. Half the patients (50.7%) said they were ‘better’ to ‘much better’. A further 20% said they were ‘slightly better’. 

The patients who had homeopathic treatment were not compared with anything whatsoever!

This is reported in a straightforward way. What is quite ludicrous is the stated conclusion of the paper:
“The study results show that homeopathic treatment is a valuable intervention”.
It is obvious that there is not the slightest reason to attribute the answers given by patients to the fact that they had been given homeopathic treatment. That would be the crudest form of post hoc ergo propter hoc error. It does not even show that the homeopathic treatment was producing a placebo effect.

Papers like this do not add to human knowledge, they detract from it. By reverting to pre-enlightment forms of argument, they mislead rather than enlighten. To make matters worse, this work was done at public expense, by the Directorate of Homeopathic Medicine, United Bristol Healthcare, National Health Service Trust, Bristol, United Kingdom."
As said, eggs are perfectly safe; ignore the nonsense spouted by those with unhealthy obsessions!

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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Prats of The Week - Applied Language Solutions

My oh my, it has seemed like a gazillion years since I last awarded one of my prestigious, and internationally renowned, Prats of The Week Awards.

Thus, without any further ado, I congratulate Applied Language Solutions for winning this week's award!

For why?

Just ask a cat called Masha, who has been registered to work as a court interpreter.
Solicitors Journal reports that an investigation by the BBC into Applied Language Solutions (ALS), which has a contract with the MoJ to provide interpreting services to courts in England and Wales, identified a number of cases where interpreters were not asked for criminal record checks.

UMMM!!

I thought that in Nanny's Britain everyone had to have a CRB, even if they wished to just say hello to their neighbours?
As if that were not bad enough, step forward Masha.

The owner of Masha, the projects director of Talk Russian UK Neil McCafferty, said that he registered Masha with ALS:
We signed her up for the rare cat language.

We were absolutely staggered to start receiving emails from the company suggesting we take Masha the cat for a language assessment.”
One might ask why it is that Nanny's MoJ works with ALS, the MoJ passed the buck:
It is (Ken says: shouldn't there be a "the" here?) contractor’s responsibility to make sure that they meet this requirement.

We keep this and other contractual matters under scrutiny.”
Data released by the MoJ in May showed that from 30 January to 30 April 2012, ALS provided an interpreter in 81% of the cases where the courts requested one (the target being 98%). There were 2,232 complaints during the period, almost half caused by interpreters not attending court.

A spokeswoman for ALS said:
"If ALS finds interpreters without the appropriate information it will remove them from the register until this information is obtained.
If the BBC is aware of any interpreters working without the necessary information and is prepared to provide specifics, ALS will investigate and suspend or remove such interpreters, if appropriate."
Sorry Masha, it looks like you are out of a job there!

Applied Language Solutions, well deserving Prats of The Week!
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Monday, August 13, 2012

UKBA In The Doghouse



The reputation of Nanny's UK Border Agency has taken a heavy pounding of late (ironically its past CEO, Lin Homer, was promoted to running HMRC), as such it is keen to improve its standing.

Therefore in the spirit of keeping our country safe from felons and evil doers, the UKBA has banned Dog The Bounty Hunter from coming to the UK this week to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. Admittedly, they have probably done him a favour given that those who appear on the show are humiliated and subjected to mental torture. However, their rationale (he was involved in a murder 33 years ago) seems a tad off beam given that others with criminal convictions are allowed into the UK.

The Guardian notes:
"The refusal letter from the UK Border Agency says: "Records show that you were convicted of one offence which carried a sentence of five years. According to those records, that conviction is not spent." It also says the purpose of his visit is not "of a sufficiently compelling nature" to exercise discretionary powers to let him in.

Other US stars have been allowed into the UK despite convictions, including the boxer Mike Tyson, who was granted entry in 2000 at the discretion of then-home secretary Jack Straw, despite his conviction for rape."
Still I dare say that we all feel a lot safer knowing that the UKBA are clearly on the ball!

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Friday, August 10, 2012

The True Cost of Plain Fag Packets



In April I wrote about Nanny's consultation on plain packaging for fag packets.

Well folks that consultation ran for longer than originally planned, because Nanny was deluged with people's opinions (doubtless many of which were "managed" by the various factions in the smoking debate).

Anyhoo, today the consultation closes.

In the event that Nanny goes ahead with her plans, she has been given a very blunt warning about the financial consequences for the hapless taxpayer. For you see ladies and gentlemen, were Nanny to ban companies from printing their logos/brands etc it would be an infringement of their rights to use logos etc that they have spent billions on developing over the years.

Philip Morris said that the plans violated national and international law, and could leave the taxpayer facing a massive bill for compensation.

In its submission to the consultation the firm cited a legal opinion by Lord Hoffmann QC that removal of the distinctive brand marks would amount to the "expropriation" of the industry's intellectual property rights.

It pointed out that the big four tobacco companies had already mounted a legal challenge to similar proposals in Australia - the only country so far to announce that it intends to go ahead with plain packaging - and suggested the compensation payout in such a case in the UK would run to "billions of pounds".

Good luck with that then Nanny!

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Thursday, August 09, 2012

Nanny Wants Kung Fu Fighting - UPDATED


You know when things are really bad, and are falling apart, when Nanny suggests that her own citizens be trained in the "genteel" art of street fighting in order to deal with anti social behaviour etc.

Funny that, I thought that's why we pay taxes for a police force?

Evidently I was wrong, and that it is now our responsibility to deal with "low level" crime.

Anyhoo, according to the Telegraph, Ben Rogers (a former Blair adviser), now a visiting fellow at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, wants people to learn how to restrain offenders, self-defence and how to defuse tense situations.

In  his view, ruling aside the dangers of vigilante gangs, we should show “civic pride”.

Rogers is of the view that the cuts in police budgets means that real police and plastic police are no longer up to the job of protecting us, and that we have to do it ourselves.

Rogers is not alone in wanting people to take the law into their own hands, Nanny's ministers have also said that householders and shopkeepers should be able to use “reasonable force” to tackle burglars.

All very well, maybe, but if the police are so short of staff who exactly is going to train Nanny's citizen army?

Also, given the fact we live in the Nanny state, what about the health and safety implications, insurance issues and risk of being sued?

It is a potty idea that is dangerous, and destined to cause an awful lot of problems if it ever came into being!

UPDATED

This is what happens when Nanny's citizens take the law into their own hands:
"Overnight, a group entered a lock-up without permission in New Addington in Croydon, south London, where Tia disappeared. 
It led to a confrontation between the garage owner and those keen to find her, including a man who was armed, according to the Croydon Advertiser"
Care to comment Nanny?

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Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Booze Matters - Graphic Images



Oh dear Nanny really doesn't like leaving the issue of our drinking habits alone, even though it is nothing to do with her.

Professor Mark Bellis, spokesman for the UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH), recently got very excited about the possibility of using the same sort of "shock" images that are on fag packets (eg cancerous lungs etc) on bottles of beer, wine and spirits (eg a liver after years of alcohol abuse - foie gras anyone?).

Factoid: as per my book "Accountants Can Cook":
"When I do finally “pop my clogs” I would like to be made into a pate which would be served at my wake. That way my friends will be able to relive the culinary experiences of my life."
Anyhoo, back to the topic in hand seemingly such images will stop people from drinking "excessively".

Really?

We are fed a daily diet of graphic images on the daily news bulletins and in films and dramas, all that seems to happen is that we become sensitised to them and the images have to be made ever more graphic in order to prompt a reaction.

There is of course a contradiction within this proposal (no surprises there then!). Namely that Nanny abhors fags and wishes us to stop smoking them completely, whereas she "graciously allows" us to drink three to four units of booze every hour (or is it day?).

Still, Nanny never worries about contradictions; rest assured that, if she could, she would ban booze and fags altogether!

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Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Lost



One of the problems of living in a Nanny state, where Nanny is so "proactive" and "restless" in seeking out "problems" to fix, is that her very "proactive" nature itself causes more problems.

A particularly fine example of Nanny's restless search for problems, where they do not exist, is the remarkable confusion and fuss that she is causing in three London boroughs (Hammersmith, Kensington and Westminster) over so called "troubled families".

Nanny is of the view that there are 1720 "troubled families" in these three boroughs, who need Nanny's (ie the three councils' help).

Unfortunately the three councils, despite looking high and low, can only find 32 "troubled families".

Does this discrepancy matter?

In Nanny's world it does, for she is certain that there are 1720 "troubled families" and is insisting that they be helped, even though no one knows who they are.

Thus, as sure as eggs are eggs, in a few months time (in order to shut Nanny up) the three councils will doubtless find 1720 families (even if they are not "troubled") and bestow upon them Nanny's bounteous generosity.

You can read in detail here on the Local Government Chronicle about how Nanny is tying herself up in knots over the issue, it is all very depressing (for a number of reasons) and is a good example of how the state more often than not makes things worse for everyone.


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Monday, August 06, 2012

Save Our Balls



My goodness, Nanny Knows Best is having a veritable glut of foreign Nanny stories; thus demonstrating that Nanny is not a uniquely British phenomenon.

Thus my gimlet eye fell upon the recent activities of USA Nanny and her attempts to ban Buckyballs.

What, I hear you ask, are Buckyballs?

They are an executive toy in the form of magnetic balls.

Aside from distracting the busy executive from earning his bonus, one would have thought that they are harmless enough.

Not according to USA Nanny in the guise of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which decreed that the balls constitute a health and safety hazard to kids and as such has sued to stop Maxfield and Oberton (the company that distributes Buckyballs) from selling them. In fact the CPSC is targeting all companies that make or distribute Buckyballs and all other similar products.

One such company, Zen Magnets, is refusing to kowtow to Nanny and notes that it has never marketed its product to children or heard of any injuries tied to its magnets. It has launched a savemagnets.com petition.

Meanwhile Maxfield and Oberton have set up a "Save Our Balls" website and video.

Needless to say, thanks to Nanny's attempts to ban the product sales have risen.

Craig Zucker, the company’s co-founder is quoted by the Washington Post:
"We do not understand why our products, marketed exclusively for adults and with so few injuries, have suddenly been raised to the very top of the CPSC’s action list.
The bottom line is that anything can be a hazard if it is misused. Children love to swallow things, it is up to the adults around them to keep adult toys out of the reach of the kids rather than ban an adult toy because it might be misused by a child.

Just remember to handle your balls correctly!

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Friday, August 03, 2012

How Secure Is Secure?

Nanny is always fond of telling us how much she values "security", and how we have to comply with her ever more draconian rules and regulations regarding our personal freedom "for our own good".

I am therefore somewhat underwhelmed to read that an allegedly "secure" location in Oak Ridge California (the U.S. government's only facility for handling, processing and storing weapons-grade uranium) has had to be shut because of a security breach.

Seemingly a number of activist (including an 82 year old nun) have managed to scale the fences and have gained access to the site.

Call me a cynic, but if this is an example of high security (albeit a US Nanny example), how the fark can we trust Nanny to look after our security, and indeed why should we give up our personal freedoms to help her "protect us"?

We would be far safer, and have significantly more liberty, were we to recognise that the real enemy of the people is the state.

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Thursday, August 02, 2012

German Nanny Kyboshed



As loyal readers know, I occasionally feature Nanny stories from outwith the UK. Thus I present to you an amusing story that I read today about how German Nanny was well and truly kyboshed.

Horse owners near Doellstaedt were denied a permit to build a shading shelter for their horses by Deutsche Nanny. 

Therefore they decided to be creative and built a gigantic wooden table and two chairs instead.

Splendid!

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The Danger of Zipwires



Why did Nanny's health and saftey police not stop this middle aged bloke from placing himself in such danger?

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Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Play Nice Now - All Hail Our European Overlords



As Europe descends into anarchy, chaos and financial ruin it is "heartening" to see that our European overlords have found the time and money to produce two "jolly" little films explaining to kids how they should play with toys that only have the CE label.

BTW, as austerity bites on the continent, it is "reassuring" to know that our EU overlords have managed to protect their gravy train (eg MEPs are entitled to an annual - unreceipted - entertainment allowance of around £90K).

All Hail Our European Overlords!



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