Bernie Mac Dies

The Mac is gone! Actor, but best loved as the comedian who could make you cry laughing in his stand up routines, my friends and family regularly run his lines ad nausem, especially from the routines in the HBO special “Original Kings of Comedy”.

So sad to see this one go, at age 50, Bernie Mac is survived by his wife Rhonda, his daughter and grand-daughter. He is said to have died of complications relating to pneummonia after being admitted to a Chicago hospital last week.

Bernie Mac has been acting for a long time but achieved global recognition most noteably as a result of OKOC, from which he got his own highly successful TV show, The Bernie Mac show. He also had high profile roles in the Oceans Eleven franchise and Charlies Angels, as well as having a hit in the film Guess Who, a remake of the 1950’s Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy, Audrey Hepburn classic Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner.

Bernie Mac will be missed. It’s a tragic loss for his family, one we can’t really imagine, however as his fans, we will miss seeing new material from this comedy legend, but at least we only have to put in a disc to hear and enjoy the large body of work he’s left behind.

Rest In Peace Bernard Jeffrey McCollough 1957 - 2008.

Weight Loss Diet Pill Acomplia (Rimonabant) Available on NHS

News announced today that the weight loss diet pill Acomplia (Rimonabant) is now available on prescription from the NHS. Acomplia, also known as Rimonabant, is an anti-obesity drug, said to aid dieters with weight when used in combination with exercise. It is said that people with weight issues can lose up to 10% of their body weight when taking the diet pill Acomplia.

News that Acomplia is available via prescription will be good news for some, but for others it may be quite worrying and it is sure to cause controversy, as Acomplia has been linked with depression and in some cases increased risk of suicides in those who take it. Acomplia has yet to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), due in part to these risk factors, however it was approved for use in the European Union (EU) in 2006 despite these fears.

Doctors are being issued with guidance as to how to administer the drug in cases where obesity is a problem, and are urged to ensure that the risks are mitigated by. Acomplia will only be available on the NHS to those who have had no success with other diet pills.

Do Diet Pills Work

Diet pills are big business and there are hundreds if not thousands available, with or withour prescription. With an increasing amount of people suffering from obesity, the market is huge and manufacturers make claims about the effectiveness of their diet pill over others, claiming the pounds will simply melt away.

In truth, there are diet pills available which work, however they are more likely to be more effective when taken with exercise, and when combined with a healthy, calorie controlled diet.

Diet pills contain substances and chemicals that act as inhibitors, enhancers, suppressants, stoppers and breakers? Sound like double dutch? Quite possibly, but in diet pill talk, what constitutes the pill or the combination is what makes it work. Whether it is one that enhances metabolism so that you calorie burn more efficiently or for longer, or one that suppresses appetite, and even those that stop calories being absorbed by the body, the choice seems to be quite overwhelming.

I could do with losing a bit of weight myself, but would I resort to taking a diet pill, I don’t know. It seems in all the stuff I have read, that diet pills alone don’t work, all seem to be most effective when combined with exercise so I guess the bike still needs to come out of the basement and further more out on the road with me on it, peddling like a gooden to shift those pounds.

Have you or anyone you know tried Acomplia? Let us know how you found it. Did the Acomplia (or Rimonabant) diet pill work for you?

Boris’ Ban Buggers Boozers

Mayor Boris Johnson’s ban on booze on the London transport system brought out the protest in people last Saturday as thousands of drinkers held parties all over the underground network. Although concentrated on the Circle Line, parties were also held on the Piccadilly line and others on the tube network. [Read more]

Boris, Mayor, Are You Kidding Me?

Boris Johnson is the new Mayor for London. Are you kidding me Londoners, you really voted for this guy to be Mayor of one of the best cities in the World. Forgive me American cousins, I don’t mean to pry into your business, but I feel like us Londoners have done this week what you guys did when you voted for George Bush to be prez.

Say what you want about Ken Livingston, but he has pedigree when it comes to doing things for London and Londoners. Boris doesn’t. I believe he’s just been handed one of the most important jobs in the country, and my impression of him is that he only does stuff to help himself.

I voted for Ken in this election, even though I think he needed to step down. For me the alternatives didn’t stack up. The Liberal democrat candidate doesn’t in my opinion have enough experience to run this city, and neither does Boris. Ken was in charge back in the good old GLC days.

When the GLC was crushed by Margaret Thatcher back in the 80’s, Ken was given a hard time, but grass roots Londoners loved him and what he did, because the GLC made available funds and services that we needed. In the past few years, I have felt that Ken and his team have to a degree waged war on drivers by increasing the congestion charge, extending the zone and creating difficulty conditions whereby you’ve had a hard time if you want to drive your car into the center. However on the flip side, he has increased the number of buses on the road and it is actually easier to get into central London using public transport.

My problem is that after eight years in office, anyone can become susceptible to the corrupting power that the position holds. I am not saying the Ken has become corrupt, but we see time and time again, that holding office for long periods of time, our leaders become out of touch with what is happening on the ground. The current Labour government is feeling the repercussions of that now, the previous Tory government got a bitch slap in 1997 after 18 years in power when they were tossed out by the people in an election that handed a momentous landslide victory for the opposition.

It was time for a change Ken. It’s a pity that you couldn’t have found a replacement that held similar conviction and love for London and Londoners as you did. Perhaps if you did, we’d be looking forward to having a Mayor that was going to carry on the good work that you have done.

I hope I am wrong and Boris Johnson turns out to be a good Mayor for London. I won’t be holding my breath, but I will be relieved if this turns out to be so.

Are They Playing With Our Money

In the financial news the Chancellor, Alastair Darling, has announced a proposal aimed at preventing a “Northern Rock” style run on banks in the future.

The proposal seeks, amongst other things, to allow the Bank of England to rescue troubled banks in secret, providing emergency loan assistance for a specific period before requiring the rescue package to be made public.

Under the proposal announced today, this period of “non-disclosure” would be allowed to prevent an “adverse impact ” on consumer confidence.

‘Run’ Leaves Bank Vulnerable

Consumer bank Northern Rock saw panic at it’s doors a few months ago, when its business practices left it short of a few bob and it became a casualty of the “credit crunch”, caused by the US sub-prime mortgages issue.

It has recently sold it’s equity release portfolio in an attempt to stablise and get back the business banking as usual. The situation is said to be the first ‘run’ on a British Bank in 100 years.

Will Proposals Help

Here in the UK, our banks, the Bank of England and the Treasury have all sought to reassure the British public that the sub-prime mortgage problem will not affect our markets as badly as it has in the United States.

However I am not sure that all the announcements being made, the current stock market conditions, and the slowdown in the UK property market, coupled with the proposals announced today in the news will have the desired effect.

Our mistrust of government and the perception that it lacks transparency may only serve to reinforce the fear that the worst is yet to come and dent consumer bank confidence even more.

The proposal put together by HM Treasury, FSA and The Bank of England, will now enter a 12 week consultation period.

In the meantime, we’ll have to wait and see whether these proposals are a help or a hindrance to consumers and banks in need of assistance.