The blog with no name

The British system is a bit weird, everytime you need to prove your identity you need to dig out utilities bills, letters addressed to you, payslips and so on. It can be a real pain.
I know that in other countries you can simply prove your identity by showing an ID card which seems rather simple and convenient.
Unfortunately the ID cards plan has failed to convince me as it's too orwellian, expensive and I think not very well thought out.
I do not believe for a second that ID cards would prevent crime, it might just prevent some underaged drinking, as most crime is either done on the spur of the moment or planned out in advance therefore ID cards just becomes another hurdles that can be overcome. I fail to see how they could stop terrorism and no one has managed to explain me how they would, Charles Clarke himself said they would not and he was supposed to be the expert

I don't like the idea of a database holding all my data, I work with them and know how unreliable any IT system can still be.
I don't like the idea of having to go to see a doctor and being told that they cannot find me on the database, and although they know me very well they might say to me "sorry, but this is the procedure".
I don't like the idea of various public or private companies, assorted quangos, you name it, it accessing my data at will. I'm getting far too much junk mail as it is, thanks.
I don't like the idea of having to pay a fee everytime I need to update my information or paying a fine if I don't.

But also I don't like that all this should come from a man who only 10 years ago said this:

"Instead of wasting hundreds of millions of pounds on compulsory ID cards as the Tory Right demand, let that money provide thousands more police officers on the beat in our local communities"
Tony Blair

I tend to respect consistent people even when I don't agree with them. Or people that have the courage to remain consistent no matter what it entails. I'm asking too much, I know.

I find this very funny:

Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez arrives in London today with an extraordinary promise to offer cut-rate heating oil for needy families in Europe, modelled on a similar campaign in the US which has been seen partly as a bid to embarrass President George Bush.
Full article

He is a hopeless utopist with no doubt, but he has a point. American style capitalism is only working for a minority of people, it even fails millions of Americans. It is corrupt and quite often immoral.
And multinationals have had far too much power. There have not been any alternatives to this although I think a newer approach is needed soon. I'm not sure how things will turn out to be but I can see them changing, if we are not prepared to do it ourselves, planet Earth will make us do it.

I was reading about the eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia and I found that it is called a Decade Volcano.
There are 16 Decade Volcanoes in the world which are those identified as having a history of very destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas.
There are four Decade Volcanoes in Europe: Etna, Vesuvius, Santorini and Teide in the Canary Islands.
Given the size of Europe we must have the highest concentration of Decade Volcanoes.