| 14 August 2007
Well, it is August, after all, the month in which desperate journalists try
to persuade men to bite dogs on Brighton beach, politicians call in their tabs
by staying at industrialists' mansions in the Hamptons, and it rains in London.
So if there aren't any good news stories, just blame the calendar.
Also to be seen on Brighton beach, though, and providing innocent amusement
for the children now that Punch and Judy has gone the way of Noddy and that
unmentionable marmalade sticker, was the UK's Secretary of State for Culture,
Media and Sport, James Purnell, doing his inimitable rendering of King Canute
in a set of flowing robes worthy of Charlton Heston.
One Thousand Offshore Gambling Websites Face UK Marketing Ban, screamed the
tax-news headline. What a coincidence though that the only two offshore jurisdictions
to be given the kiss of life happened to be the only two UK inshore islands
with gaming sectors, the Isle of Man and Alderney. How they must be chuckling
in Whitehall's Palace of Culture that they have pulled a fast one on the other
20 islands dotted around the globe whose livelihoods depend on gaming.
But of course, it's all a waste of time. Despite the UK government's evident
intention of having a cctv camera in every living room, it has failed so far
to come up with a way of stopping you from patronising a Caribbean web-site
if you choose to do so, and Google won't stop listing offshore gaming sites
just because the brits don't like them.
What it does do, though, is to add another country to the black-list of destinations
best avoided by the owners and operators of Costa Rican gaming businesses. They
have learnt not to go to the US, if they don't want to spend 20 years contemplating
their navels in Fort Leavenworth, and like all businessmen they know not to
go to France or Spain, where the judiciaries just love to pounce on unsuspecting
company directors just for the hell of it. Now they will have to avoid Heathrow
as well (quite a relief, probably) or be prepared for a cameo role as a master
criminal on News At Ten.
You have been reading an entry on the following blog:
Jeremy Hetherington-Gore Unleashed
Jeremy tackles the difficult issues head on!
Contact: jeremy@lowtax.net
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