British MP's expenses scandal rolls on!

And it shows very little signs of stopping just yet! It is slowing, but still moving quick enough to prevent moss from growing on it.

Now, I could detail everything that has gone on with regards the scandal, but to do so would leave me typing well into the night, and my fingers will be worn to a nubbin! Therefore, I will just give you the skeleton of the scandal, and then my opinion (which is far more important!).

The scandal broke when the Daily Telegraph newspaper in the UK managed to get its hands on MP's receipts after battling the House of Commons and the Speaker of the House for access to them under the Freedom of Information Act. It is worth noting that MP's and the Speaker fought very hard to keep them private, rather than acceding to the law that THEY wrote, and releasing them.

Essentially, the scandal broke and revealed how MP's had been claiming on expenses for a massive amount of stuff. There is the rumoured "John Lewis" list which allows MP's to claim for stuff up to the value of what they are charged in the department store chain, John Lewis. And it can be on anything. TV's computers, clothes, soap, toothbrushes, tennis rackets... Anything.

They could claim help on paying for a second home in London. On the face of it, that is not too bad. Many MP's live beyond a sensible commute to London, so they buy a house so they can have somewhere to stay whilst they are working at Parliament.

Problem is, they can claim on the mortgage. They can also "flip" their home, and claim assistance on the home that costs more. Even if that was your first home in whatever town it is. This means that even though they may pick up a cheap home in London, that is small, they can claim back assistance on the mortgages on their fist home, in the constituency they serve.

We have had endless stories about MP's claiming for renovations on their home, pond cleaning, even the re-modelling of a duck house! 

This all sounds rather bizarre, and it is. To make it worse, all this was mostly legal! 

Hang on, then why is it a scandal?

Simple. Many MP's did not breach the rules, because the rules where so vague and flexible that it was easy to duck them. 

THIS for me, is the scandal. 

Plenty of people have said that we should lay off MP's, who has not tried to fiddle an expense form, etc. Problem with these arguments is that whilst many people do pass things through expenses that maybe they should not, these expenses rules are set by another organisation, namely, your employer. There is a clear division. I as an employee cannot claim for stuff that the firm will not pay for. With MP's whilst they did not breach the rules, they where the ones to MAKE the rules in the first place. THIS is the scandal. If I could make the rules on expenses, I would be tempted to make the occasional loophole.

A lot of people have been saying we need to pay MP's more money, they need help, etc. I agree. MP's earn £65,000 a year. A good salary, but not enough to pay for 2 houses. I have no issue with paying an MP for expenses, but the rules have to be clear, unequivocal, and not set by the MP's themselves. If it was made totally independent, then fantastic.

There is the issue of tarring all MP's with the same brush. Unfortunately, this is going to happen. I am sure there are many MP's who run perfectly reasonable and sound lives, with expense claims that are perfectly valid. For these MP's by all means, claim away.

For the rest, stop ducking, pay up, and get a bit humble!

Sumo: Yokozuna retires!

For those of you who understand the sport of Sumo, then you know that the top rank in the sport is Yokozuna. And today, one of the two wrestlers at that rank, has announced his retirement at the age of 29, after 25 tournament wins, and a very chequered career!

Am am referring to the Yokozuna Asashoryu.

Asashoryu hails from Mongolia, and is really named Dolgorsurengiin Dagvadorj. He came to Japan first as an exchange student, and trained at a local Sumo stable. He comes from a family that has a long pedigree in wrestling, and it has shown. He also trained in Judo back in Mongolia.

He was recruited by the former Ozeki Asashio of the Wakamatsu stable (now Takasago) and made his début in 1999. Within a year he was climbing the ranks, and broke into the elite Sekitori ranks. In January 2001 he was up to the Makuuchi division, and then by 2003, he was awarded the title of Yokozuna. At pretty much the same time Takanohana retired. Takanohana was the Japanese-born Yokozuna.

He then moved on to win 23 more tournaments, tie that with the 2 he won at lower ranks, and he has 25. Putting him at 3rd on the all-time list. And in 2005, he became the first wrestler to win all 6 Honbasho (Sumo tournaments).

In 2006, he fell awkwardly off the dohyo (mound) , and was subsequently out of action for 2 months. In 2007, he lost a few rounds, including to an up-coming star, Hakuho. Another Mongolian. Very quickly after, Hakuho was promoted to Yokozuna.

In 2008, the wheels began to fall off the cart here. His performances where not up to the standards of before, and in July, after a lacklustre start, he pulled out of the tournament, citing elbow pain. The September tournament followed a similar pattern, with him pulling out of the competition with a medical certificate detailing elbow pain. Shortly after, he returned to Mongolia to recuperate, and did not enter the October competition stating he did not want to have to pull out. This did lead to a 2 tournament suspension from the Japan Sumo Association!

Upon his return in January 2009, Suo saw an increase in TV numbers and ticket sales as Asashoryu rolled on declaring himself "To be back!" He suffered a bruised chest, and damaged knee ligaments. Despite all this, he won more tournaments and climbed to 3rd on the all-time list.

His final tournament win came in January 2010. Despite a a 13-2 record, he had the wins to claim the January Tokyo tournament.

Asashoryu has had an amazing and storied career, however, he has been dogged by controversy along the way. He has been tied to a match-fixing scandal by the Shukan Gendai newspaper which claimed he was paying wrestlers about $10,000 a time to throw fights. Not surprisingly, Japan Sumo Association took the paper to court. And for the first time, a Yokozuna appeared to give evidence. The JSA won, and the court was ordered to the paper to pay well over 40 million yen in damages.

Back in 2007, with his injuries, he returned to Mongolia. However, whilst in Mongolia, he was videoed as he played in a charity football match. This proved too much for the JSA as he was supposed to be recuperating from injuries that should have prevented him from playing. He was ordered back to Japan, and told to go through his rehabilitation by limiting himself to his home, the stable, and the hospital. This punishment proved tough for Asashoryu, and he was then diagnosed with an acute stress disorder. After some more treatment, and a lot of time in an onsen, he came back, and apologised in public.

Back in 2003, he committed one of the major no-no's in Sumo. He pulled another wrestlers "mage" or top-knot. This resulted in the first ever disqualification of a Yokozuna. To make things worse, he reportedly then brawled with the other wrestler in the bath after.

In 2004, he had a row with his stablemaster over the plans for his wedding. The end result was a public display of drunkenness. This may not sound a lot, but Japan has a lot of social rules, and these are especially tight for Sumo, and then even more so for Yokozuna.

Another few issues for him have been wearing a suit (remember those strict rules? They have to wear traditional clothing, not suits!) Sumo wrestlers are also expected to take Japanese citizenship, something he refused to do. Also, he has challenged the referees, as well as not showing due deference to his stablemaster.

Many of his stable-mates also refuse to train with him after he ended up injuring Toyonoshima during an intense training bout.

He has also been criticised for his in-ring performances as well. Shoving opponents out of the ring after he has won the match, as well as celebrating. Rather than remaining calm in victory, he has been punching the air.

Another issue has been his training regime. He has become famous for training hard, when he wants to. And for pursuing contracts outside Sumo, where he ended up taking a contract with Fanta, and performed as a "schoolboy" in a series of commercials.

The final moment came when, during the January 2010 basho, he went out with his manager and got very drunk. It was initially reported that he got so drunk he punched his manager. It later turned out that Asashoryu punched a restaurant employee and broke his nose. There where no charges, and everything got settled. However, Asashoryu did ultimately decide to retire and try to calm things down by "falling on his sword."

So, Asashoryu. The bad-boy of Sumo. Causing endless headaches for the JSA. His out of the ring activities flew in the face of all current Sumo traditions. However, rather than allowing the JSA the opportunity to quietly shuffle him away, the man had the skills to take him to the top. It drove the JSA crazy, as well as the fans. A man loved and hated in equal measure.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Well, its been a while since I last posted on here, so to everyone, I say "Happy New Year!" I hope all is well in your world. Also, been very busy over the Christmas break relaxing and sleeping, then straight back into work. Also, through January, there was not a lot to get me really excited, until last night.

Europe, Asia, and North America has all been hit by a very bitter, cold winter. snow has been dumped all over the place in vast quantities. Dallas has been hit hard. A city that gets snow once a blue moon. Usually, England will get a little bit of snow. A light dusting. However, this year has seen feet of snow drop, causing utter havoc. Shutting roads, and causing chaos on the roads where cars have no snow tyres or trains.

Germany has been hit, and is still suffering today.

Here in the west of Japan I have finally seen snow! And in vast quantities. Snow up to my elbow! It started out steadily a few weeks ago on a Tuesday, then by Thursday night it was ankle deep. Then the taps opened.

Huge snowflakes.

And LOTS of them!

We went from ankle deep to just over waist high in under 24 hours! It was a blizzard of huge fluffy flakes! Wonderfully beautiful! Annoying as all hell! Had to walk everywhere. Could not use my bike at all!

Though, the snow did give everything a wonderful cotton candy effect!

Now. This all sounds fun. But how do the Japanese keep going in all this?

Simple. Diggers. Lots and lots of diggers. The city government has a number of small and very large machines which you can see trawling around as soon as the snow hits pushing snow to the side of the road, or at least, flattening it down. The heavy treads on the diggers also help break up the surface of the snow to give cars grip.

Many of the main roads have a strip down the middle which consists of many small sprinklers. As soon as the snow comes, the city starts pumping water through. The run-off then keeps the snow from sticking, and washes a lot of it into the large gutters. If the snow keeps coming, then the slush will build up at the sides, to be kept in check with a digger passing by. Otherwise these roads stay quite clear. Despite pedestrians getting soaked!

For the rest of the main roads, if the diggers cant get round often enough, the snow builds up, and with all the cars, it gets packed down over a few days. As you can see in the picture above. It gets to an inch or 2 deep. Because it is packed down and near ice, diggers dont dig down to scrape it up, it would take too long. That comes in the dead of night when there is less traffic, and the digger can take its time.

Usually they will scrape this snow-ice flat. Their wheels will dig in and break it up, and the snow tyres on the car will do the rest. The result? Well, just be a little careful, but its just like normal. A little slower, and more bumpy, but no problem!

What about pedestrians? Well, you could get the shovel out, and many do. This will help clear your car park or specific area, however, the city council will clear the main sidewalks. With a very nifty bit of kit!

The city government will send out these small jointed vehicles which has a snow blade on the front. It is jointed to get round the pavements sharp corners, and just wide enough for a person to follow with a couple of shopping bags. This vehicle will simply plough through the snow and dig a path in the snow. Or should we say channel?

So, in the end, you end up with snow piled up in corners, washed away, and channels dug out. The Japanese try to shift just enough to allow things to keep moving. It is quite a common sight for cars to disappear as people will only dig when they need to. Which is fine. And lets me take pics of cars that have nearly vanished under the snow!

As everyone knows, Japanese car companies are famous for turning out little K cars, or box cars. Tiny things which can seat a full 4 person family!

In Kashiwazaki, a lot of these little box cars have little, but thrashy engines and do shift. And best of all, many people opt for 4WD! OK, the environmentally concious of you will be up in arms over that, but YOU try living here and doing everything a Japanese housewife does with a 2WD box car! In the snow! It would be impossible!

I just drive my girlfriends car. A Nissan X Trail. I like 4WD! My hat is off to the guy who came up with that. I have decided if I win the lottery, my car will be a Range Rover.

An extra trick to keep traffic moving is to buy a second set of wheels for your car. Namely snow tyres, which feature a deeper, wider tread than usual wheels. Very good. Trucks and buses dont have snow tyres. Because a set will be very, very expensive! So, they all strap chains on! This has an extra benefit as these chains help to keep the snow from packing smooth by breaking the surface up.

The Japanese do use salt, but its use tends to be limited to trunk roads. Cant really pipe water round, and whilst heavy traffic will keep it mostly clear, night time will see the snow build up. If it builds up during the day, they will send diggers on the highway to keep it clear. And because the diggers work in tandem over all the lanes, they operate as a rolling road block. In order to keep traffic down, the highway will shut down alternate junctions. Because all highways are toll roads, it is easy to lock the barriers to stop traffic.

The only problem is local railways. These are narrow gauge, and can get shut if the snow builds up. However, the Shinkansen network is not allowed to stop. Ever. And the Japanese try to think of everything. And another reason why the system is so good, is that they lay pipe all along the rout, fitted with sprinklers. The tracks are lifted off the ground and set on rubber pads to help with vibration, and the sprinklers help to clear the snow before it gets up to the rails.

So, there is plenty to keep Japan moving, both on the roads and off them. That only leaves me with one last job.

Get myself down to the ice rink! Once I have fought my way through the snow...