Iran: Neda posters pulled down by state officials according to the Telegraph newspaper

Iranian security officials have begun pulling down posters of Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman who has become the face of the country's pro-democracy uprising after her death in Tehran was captured on video.

Relatives said images of Neda Agha Soltan, 27, who has been described as Iran's "Angel of Freedom" after she was apparently shot dead on Saturday, had been targeted by plain-clothed officials.
They had removed any material commemorating the 27-year-old student that had been erected near her home by sympathisers in the Iranian capital. Read full story Here.

Heating that harnesses the Earth's energy and may help to slash greenhouse gas emissions

Below are excerpts from an excellent article in the Telegraph by David Waller

"Last summer, Richard Soper became one of the first homeowners in the country [UK] to install a type of eco-friendly heating system that experts believe has the potential to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr Soper: Our annual heating bills are now virtually nothing, whereas we were paying over £1,500 annually for running our oil boiler.
It works by deploying the technology used in a refrigerator to absorb warmth from the ground to provide heating and hot water.
Although ground source heat pumps are commonplace across much of northern Europe, Mr Soper is one of fewer than 5,000 homeowners to have installed the technology in the UK......

....Although the technology, which was supplied by Worcester Bosch, can't be described as cheap - Mr Soper's system cost £11,500 - the savings are substantial.
"Our annual heating bills are now virtually nothing, whereas we were paying over £1,500 annually for running our oil boiler. As the heat pump runs on electricity, we have seen an increase in our electricity bill, but overall the saving is massive........................"

Champagne Music of Abba is timeless much to the chagrin of critics

It has always been fashionable in some circles to rubbish the music of Abba. Much of this criticism stems from an insecurity or snobbery on the part of some scribes and critics. Due to the success of the movie version of Mama Mia! , a musical written around the Swedish group ABBA's greatest hits, the 1992 album "ABBA Gold Greatest Hits" has risen to the top of the British album charts after sixteen years.
This twin success has brought the anti Abba brigade out in force. Neil McCormick in the Telegraph writes a particularly acerbic article. Somehow I think that he may be writing tongue in cheek. An interesting article on the group- appeared in the Telegraph on 10/7/2008. Titled "Abba - the music: why everyone loves Abba",it was written by Ivan Hewett and delves successfully into the reasons for the group's stunning success-even if it is unfair to the band members themselves. It is a must read for all Abba fans.

Clip from Mama Mia below

The Telegraph snipes at Ireland and its economy as usual

The following is posted by grumpylarry in the Telegraph

“The Irish it would appear are not as well served by the EMU as they would have us believe. Or could it be that they don't understand money and finance quite as well as they think. In my last blog I highlighted the problems some of their east European labour was suffering due to the downturn in the Irish economy. It would appear that the many of the 'New Irish' now find themselves broke, unable to speak the language, depending on charity to eat, struggling to keep a roof over their head or homeless, and too ashamed to go home. They may well be joined by the native inhabitants of the emerald isle, and this time they wont have the wicked British to blame…”

It is accompanied by a picture from the late 1800s or early 1900s which gives an image of abject poverty. The picture has the caption ”YOU CAN'T BLAME US THIS TIME.” The gloating is based on ignorance.

The Telegraph has never got over the fact that we are an independent people since 1921/22. Of course there are serious problems in the Irish property market. I have documented them from time to time. Nevertheless there is not a scintilla of evidence to suggest that Anglo Irish Bank, AIB or Bank of Ireland face collapse. These banks are robust and quite profitable.

It is a bit rich to listen from lectures from the UK on Irish problems.

Has not grumpylarry heard about Northern Rock, the UK bank that got a £25bn bailout from the British government recently?
Has he forgotten the Lawson boom/bust?

Clinton claims on Northern Ireland an enormous sack of gas.

Hillary Clinton makes grandiose claims in relation to her foreign policy experience. These can be taken with a grain of salt. She has attempted to magnify her role in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Toby Harnden, who used to be the Telegraph's Ireland correspondent:
“Hillary Clinton had no direct role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland and is a "wee bit silly" for exaggerating the part she played, according to Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former First Minister of the province. "I don’t know there was much she did apart from accompanying Bill [Clinton] going around," he said. Her recent statements about being deeply involved were merely "the sort of thing people put in their canvassing leaflets" during elections. "She visited when things were happening, saw what was going on, she can certainly say it was part of her experience. I don’t want to rain on the thing for her but being a cheerleader for something is slightly different from being a principal player." Trimble is speaking from a Unionist perspective.


Tim Pat Coogan, an Irish historian who writes from a republican perspective on Northern Ireland, said that the first lady did not play a decisive role in negotiations to resolve the conflict."It was a nice thing to see her there, with the women's groups. It helped, I suppose," Coogan said. "But it was ancillary to the main thing. It was part of the stage effects, the optics.


In short Hillary met with cross community groups but took no part in the peace negotiations. Hillary had no central role in the peace process. Clinton has peddled myths in relation to her alleged foreign policy experience for far too long. Waltermitty springs to mind.