How Sez Sees It

Today the Guardian had a response from the Readers Editor about the accusations that the Guardian employs too many Oxbridge graduates as reporters and therefore they have a biased view and should not be allowed to comment on politics, benefits, etc. I posted the following comment and thought more people should see it.  Please keep in mind when reading it that I am playing a little of devils advocate and also explaining an uncomfortable truth, we are all shaped from our socio-economic backgrounds and this includes where and how we were educated: 'The point is that the 'best' person for the job should be employed.  The problem is that where we come from can form our views on politics and how we view other people in a situation different from our own.  Oxbridge isn't really the issue, rather public education as this can form the individual's view on other people who are 'less fortunate' than themselves. Even here there is an issue though.  The school I att...

I am not a religious person but I can tell you that historically we have records of the existance of Jesus and his disciples, so we know they were real people. We have all now heard of Judas, whether from the Bible or the recent Lady Gaga song.   But where does the name come from?   Here are some suggestions: From the same source as the collective noun: ‘Jew’ Several Judas’ in the Bible and other places, including: -           Judas Iscariot – betrayer of Christ -           Judas Thomas Didymus -   St Thomas or Doubting Thomas -           Judas Thaddeaus – Son of James, one of the 12 Apostles -           St Jude – Jesus’s half-brother -           Judas the Zealot – identity unknown -           Simon th...

In a continuing story of greed vs nature this time it is the bosses of Ryanair and British Airways who would like to control the way of the world. A year ago the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland caused travel chaos after erupting for a couple of months and I myself was part of that when my planned trip to Dublin was cancelled due to no flights so I had a lovely holiday in Weymouth instead.  This year we see a repeat with the Grimsvotn volcano, but this time Willy Walsh and Michael O'Leary want to fly you through the ash. Apparently one of the BA planes has flown through the ash cloud and there was no 'visible damage'.  That isn't really the point.  The point is that the ash is very abrasive and will get into every space.  At, say, 36,000 feet the ash will stick to the engine turbines and under those temperatures form into a type of glass, clogging the turbines.  This can cause engine failure.  If you are lucky then after dropping around 15,000 f...

So a new study in London has proven that electrons are almost perfectly spherical.  So what?  So this means that we get a great understanding of the universe, or at least the particles within. The reason we feel the shape of something is because the electrons in the object push against the electrons in your hand.  If we had elongated electrons then there may be unknown particles with unknown properties in the future.  This discovery can affect research from all over the globe, including experiments taking place at the LHC in Cern.  Electrons have a negative charge within a particle, therefore to have one elongated would affect the nucleus of the particle with the positively charged Protons and the neutral Neutrons.  This could lead to changes in particles that we would no nothing about yet.  As it is the more spherical the electron the more confident we can be in conclusions about the make up of the cosmos, of you and me. So next time you we...

Ok.   I had to get this one out there as I may have been watching too much ‘Walking Dead’ recently but I do often sit and wonder what it would really be like if there was a Zombie apocalypse. I know from the films and TV shows we think of Zombies as dangerous and murdering flesh eaters who are essentially walking corpses e.g. ‘Walking Dead’ style.   In that show they are people who have caught a sort of virus that attacks the brain and kills someone.   They then return to life when only part of their brain fires back up, the basic animal brain, but the rest of their body is essentially dead.   They then head off on a quest for fresh meat and are hell bent on finishing off the human race. I don’t think it would be like that at all.   I think that if most of your brain had turned to mush and a lot of your cognitive abilities had been taken away you would be very laid back.   I think it would be more like being high all the time and you certainly wouldn’t be...

A disease that is supposed to be totally eradicated from the world yet we keep samples in tight lab settings just in case.   Since 1986 the debate has gone on about whether or not to rid the world of the samples of Small Pox.   No one needs to be vaccinated any more because the disease has totally gone.   The worry though is that it may return. Unfortunately the disposal of such a product could go awry and fall into the hands of people who want to use it for chemical weapons so we will need a spare sample in order to bring back vaccinations if needed. As Small Pox is the first major disease to be eradicated we do not know what to do with the samples we have left.   This is a debate that has been going on for 25 years, that is my whole life!   I have a feeling it is a discussion that will go on for many years to come.

Ahmad Biasi is fast becoming the human face of the troubles in Syria.  He posted a YouTube video last month proving that he was Syrian and was there when security forces entered the town of Al-Bayda and began a series of brutal beatings.  The state had claimed that the footage of beatings was not even from Syria and was instead from Iraq.  Biasi took to the powerful tool that is the internet in his anger to contradict this statement. His actions, though brave, could have cost him his life.  Later reports stated that he had been arrested after posting the video and was being tortured in captivity to the point where he was electricuted and had lost consciousness.  Then a state film appeared of Biasi claiming that he was well treated and not tortured.  This could be propaganda but it shot the state in the foot.  Essentially they were admitting that the events did take place on Syrian soil after all. I know you will all agree that we want this young ma...

Yesterday the President of the United States, Barak Obama (or O'Bama as he claimed he wanted to be known as), visited Ireland.  Recently this country has had its troubles.  There is the big one, the collapse of the economy with thousands out of work and many empty houses after the housing bubble burst.  This has led to an international bail out, a change in leadership and many disillusioned people.  Also there have been attacks on police officers, general unrest, etc. Then the Queen of England went to visit to re-establish relations with our long distant neighbour.  This seemed to do the trick but many Irish people were kept well back and every event was staged to keep her away from trouble a this was still such a contenscious issue.  But hero of the hour Barak Obama turns up and the crowds go wild!  He can claim a distant ancestor lived in Ireland and he met his eighth cousin yesterday.  He also had a pint of Guinness in a pub named after h...

Well we had fun over the weekend.  Hedge End, which is close to where I live, had a Tiger scare.  Yup, you read correctly. Police had reports of a Tiger sitting in a field close to a golf course and the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground.  The players in both places had to be taken to safety, an expert with tranquilisers from Marwell Zoo was put on standby and police helicoptors were deployed to keep an eye on the developing situation. As the helicopter got near it filmed the events as they were about to unfold.  Then, one of the crew turned on the heat search camera and there was a sudden surprise.  The Tiger was sat perfectly still and was completely cold! Was this some alien being?  Was the Tiger dead?  No and no.  It was a life sized stuffed toy that some bored person had put there as a prank.  How much the operation all cost we do not know.  It was a waste of time and money...but you can't help but laugh at it. And that is about as ...

Just weeks after we found out that the ashcloud from the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano of last year could have caused plane crashes if the planes were not grounded we find another volcano threatening to put our planes out of action and annoy holiday makers. I would like to address a point that a couple of people have said to me.  This is the seismic movement of the tectonic plates causing liquid magma to rise to the surface and send sulphurous ash into the atmosphere.  This has been going on since the planet was formed roughly 4 Billion years ago.  This is not a sign of the apocolypse. Thank you.

So it turns out we are allowed to say who it was now.  It was Ryan Giggs.  Amazing what you can say once someone says it in Parliament. I have to say that I am disappointed that it was Giggs.  He had the family man image, was and still is an amazing player (and is Welsh...so bonus) and he has taken years to build up his reputation.  As they say though, it takes years to build a reputation and only moments to tear it apart. Still this is going to raise more questions about the power of the 'Super Injunction' against the power of Governement.  Anything said in Parliament is supposed to be safe from the law and from the outside world.  However, with rolling coverage of everything that happens in Parliament (e.g. with the BBC Parliament channel) you can access the chamber any time you want and hear anything you want.  The MP in particular who mentioned Giggs yesterday did so to highlight a valid point.  Yes, there was a Super Injunction, but when ...

Ok, so a Scottish newspaper has printed the picture (not name, although they are obvious) of the footballer who is involved in the Super Injunction against Imogen Thomas and the press announcing who he is... Now I live in England so I will not be naming the footballer, although if you go on Twitter today you can see who it is alleged to be.  However, this is not the only thing that I will be banging on about. So what is a 'Super Injunction'?  Well, the very basic version is that it stops not only the name of someone being leaked to the papers, etc. but also the details involved in the case.  Basically, first rule of Super Injunction is: don't talk about Super Injunction. Does this new celeb craze for them undermine the notion of freedom of press?  Does anyone care that yet another footballer has been a naughty boy?  Does this affect the general public?  Well, kinda yes.  How many people look up to the likes of footballers?  Will they take th...

To start, a personal victory.  I did not win the seat I was standing for in the Winchester local elections, but I did increase the Labour vote by over 50.  Sheffield has gone to Labour, kicking Nick Clegg in the preverbial and there have been major losses for them up and down the country.  Scotland has given Labour a kicking with a majority for the SNP and Labour loosing a lot of seats, but they have held on to Wales. AV is a difference story, but the exit polls suggest a 'No' for AV.