The good news is it's Friday night and we should be out pogoing and dancing and fings!

The bad news is I'm working tomorrow?

Going to the swimming baths first. I swam 600 metres last Saturday and 800 metres on Thursday at Thornaby baths. Will try and do 800 metres tomorrow but a bit quicker.

Couple of political items that caught my eye. IBM is looking like it is going to close down its final salary pension scheme. I'm in a final salary pension scheme and due to retire in 15 1/2 years. Don't think it's likely to happen though. I've stuck at my crap job with crap pay because of the promise of a decent pension at the end of it and it looks like being taken away from me.

Employers think they don't have to offer decent working packages to the general workforce anymore and use veiled threats to scare us into thinking we have to accept what we are given just to stay in our job.

1 They argue they have to remain competitive.

2 They say they can't afford it because of lower investment returns.

3 The looming threat of shipping the work off to other countries like Poland or India or,

4 Employing migrant workers in this country who are willing to work for poorer pay and conditions. Not a racist comment by the way. I welcome migrant workers but all workers are entitled to the same fair pay and conditions. The capitalists will of course argue market forces...

With the help of the likes of the Daily Mail spouting off to the country about pampered public servants and their gold standard pension. "Why should they have it when nobody else can?"
The question they should be asking is, "Why can't every worker have a final salary pension?" Britain is the 5th largest economy in the world. Behind USA, Japan, Germany and just taken over by the splendid Democratic Republic of China. Are you telling me this country can't afford to pay people decent pensions? I'll tell you why it can't. Because the large companies are more concerned with lining the pockets of their directors and pandering to their greedy shareholders.

Socialist government eh? Who will do better not the Lib Dems that's for certain. After the Oaten revelations the other day another leadership candidate Simon Hughes has admitted he is gay.

Now that doesn't bother me in the slightest but what I cannot forgive Hughes for is the distasteful homophobic campaign that he led against the Labour candidate Peter Tatchell in the 1983 Bermondsey by-election . You might remember it if you were around then. What an utter contemptible wanker .

And on that bombshell....