Switzerland invades Liechtenstein

Hat tip to Clowns to the Left of me. I love this one. Switzerland invaded Liechtenstein yesterday.

We've spoken to the authorities in Liechtenstein and it's not a problem," spokesman Daniel Reist said.

As well as the obligatory Swiss army knives, the troops were armed with assault rifles - however, they had no ammunition, Mr Reist said.

Officials in Liechtenstein, which is on Switzerland's eastern borders, also sought to play down the incident.

Markus Amman, an interior ministry spokesman, said nobody in Liechtenstein had even noticed the soldiers. "It's not like they stormed over here with attack helicopters or something," he said.

You've got to laugh.

Non-existent minister joins cabinet

An interesting one. Just think, most people sweat blood for decades and are then rewarded with a cabinet post. This fellow did nothing and got a cabinet post. "Did nothing" is understating it. He didn't even have to make the effort to exist:

Andre Kasongo Ilunga was the rising star of Congolese politics. Just 34, he had risen from obscurity to be appointed minister for foreign trade in Congo's first democratic government last month. Then, before he had even started work, he resigned. Sadly, Mr Ilunga will never be able to articulate the reasons why. For he does not exist.

The trouble with Guiliani

That is the title of a story today, as I continue my handy digest of "wot I have read in the Guardian today". I was fascinated to read some criticism of Rudy's 9/11 record, something I thought was Unamerican:

The most excoriating analysis comes from Wayne Barrett, a senior editor at Village Voice, and Dan Collins in their book Grand Illusion. They argue that quite apart from being the hero of 9/11, which they call a myth, Mr Giuliani failed to prepare the city for a major attack, leaving it fatally exposed. They investigate the faulty radio systems which put firefighters' lives at risk, and decry Mr Giuliani's decision to place the city's emergency command post, which should have been where the rescue mission was coordinated, in the worst possible position: 23 floors up the World Trade Centre, which was already known to be a favoured terrorist target.

Cumbrian rail crash

The remarkable thing about the Grayrigg rail crash were the photos of the aftermath.

Normally, rail crash photos show absolute carnage - smashed carriages, roofs torn off, sides buckled, debris all over the shop etc etc. However, the photos of this crash showed an intact train, carriages still linked, no smashed walls or windows. Sorry to sound like a Virgin Trains PR man (not a likely persona for me to adopt) but this seems to be a tribute to the new Pendolino rolling stock, with its strengthened walls and windows.

Moving to the dodgy points which are suspected to have caused the crash, I am staggered to read in the Guardian today that, according to Roger Ford of Modern Railways: "of the four stretcher bars at the site, three were unbolted and one was missing altogether. A visual inspection would have picked up a missing stretcher bar..." That visual inspection should have taken place on February 18th, but didn't. Oh dear.

Ruby Wax and David Cameron

I notice that Ruby Wax is pictured in the Guardian with David Cameron at some glitzy ball or suchlike. I said all along she was rubbish.

Peurvian government says "Adios to Manana" but turns up late

The Peruvian government is getting tough on lateness. It has launched a vigorous campaign to promote punctuality. This is in a country where "Peruvian time" means an hour late.

Unfortunately there is a slight snag, as reported by The Times:

Officials arrived 30 minutes late for an event to unveil details of their campaign against lateness.

My wife says of me: 'My husband doesn't do late'. The reason is I am genetically punctual is that I went to a public school where hell and earth came down on you if you were late for anything. I still have nightmares about not having the right books with me for lessons and possibly being a minute late for Double Maths.

The lessons of Estonia

Estonia seems to be at the cutting edge of technology at the moment.

During the week, the 'Safety Elephant', Charles Clarke, visited one of those three Baltic states swopped under the Treaty of Versailles which I had to learn for O' Level history. He was filming for a Channel 4 programme, Fighting Identity Fraud. The purpose of his visit seemed to be to "prove I was right all along" on ID cards. The official blurb for the programme said:

Identity theft is the fastest growing fraud in Britain. But how do you stop thieves stealing your identity? Former Home Secretary Charles Clarke believes strongly that ID cards are the key, and in a passionate polemic makes the case for the controversial plans to register the biometric data of British people on a national database. He's furious that people say supporters of the national database will help bring about a fascist state or British gulags.

In fact, there were some interesting observations coming out of the programme. It showed how Estonians can see who accesses their personal data and what it contains, and correct it, if they want. There were also some interesting comments from British A&E doctors who passionately want a better centralised database of health records, to allow them to treat us better.

Today the Guardian reports some more news from Estonia. It is the first nation to allow voters in a general election to cast their ballots online. Its parliament has already declared internet access a basic human right.