Queen moves to Aviemore

Click to view larger image

Now I know Aviemore has had a wee bit of an investment recently but the website shown here seems to think it's a major city in the UK. I quote

Aviemore; one of the world’s most important business and cultural centres, with worldwide influence in many spheres. There is a huge amount to see in Aviemore, and a huge amount of Aviemore accommodation to choose from, weather you are looking for a Aviemore flat to rent for a weekend break, or a Aviemore house for a few weeks. Aviemore’s culture is hugely varied with over 300 languages spoken, and the atmosphere changes from street to street. Aviemore has a huge depth of historic attractions, including 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Tower of Aviemore, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.

Aviemore also boasts a variety of active attractions and galleries. The Aviemore Eye is a great starting point to get your bearings in this massive city. The Aviemore Dungeons, British Museum, National Gallery and the Tate Modern Gallery are all huge attractions in their fields. The River Thames is the heart of Aviemore, and taking a cruise down the River also lets you see many of Aviemore’s most renowned points of interest.

Not the Aviemore I remember from last weekend!

Update 1: As Big Bro says Aviemore appears to have moved to England as well.
Update 2: The website has been changed to be a bit more like the right place but still in England. The image still show the original

Aviemore Holiday Rentals, Aviemore Holiday Rentals by Owner England-UK

42 days may be illegal - Brown turns a blind eye

Seems strange that only the Scotsman has picked this up, but apparently MP's have ruled that the law changes proposed to the detention rules to extend them from 28 to 42 days may be illegal as they don't comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.

This is not the first time that a proposed new law has faced this problem but it does seem to be something that Labour keeps falling foul of.

The report says the longer period could be triggered too easily, noting that under the Convention this should happen only when there was a

"public emergency threatening the life of the nation".

There was no new judicial protection preventing suspects from arbitrary detention, and the government had failed to provide evidence that the terror threat was growing.

Andrew Dismore MP, the committee chairman, said:

"The proposed extension to 42 days would almost certainly not be lawful."

What this means to the Prime Minister is that even if he does manage to get these laws through the Common he may still face attacks on them from two other places as it is highly likely that the House of Lords will reject the changes as well.

What I don't understand is why the Prime Minister is fighting this fight. It does nothing for him. It does not show him being a man of "courage" or "strong" all it shows is an obstinate fool who can't take advice from others.

The Prime Minister just not have the courage to admit when he is wrong as we have seen on a number of occasions. This is a deeply worrying trait in a man who could be in charge of the country for a further two year. I worry that when the Tories do get elected to govern that this country will be in an almighty mess because of the rule of this deeply flawed supposed Leader.

John Kampfner writing in the Guardian puts it nicely

For all Brown's more emollient style, the end result will be the same. Britain will continue its sleepwalk to becoming one of the most policed, bugged, watched and imprisoned "democratic" nations on earth.

What is most tragic is that I have seen no evidence from people close to Brown that he actually believes any of this. He has been sucked into this position by fear, by his habit of media triangulation. Instead of standing up for what he believes to be right, he seeks to second-guess one or two influential media barons. In that respect he is indistinguishable from Blair, except that Blair's personal hubris gave him more leeway. Politicians who lack moral courage are rarely rewarded. Forget the policy; this is stupid politics.

MPs rule terror law changes are illegal - Scotsman.com News

MoD accused of Chinook 'cock-up'

This is not a new story but the National Audit Office report is due out in public today on the £422m waste of money that are 8 Chinook Mk3 helicopters that have never seen active service despite being ordered in 1995. In 2004, an NAO report described the purchase as

"one of the worst examples of equipment procurement"

it had seen.

It is worth remembering that these 8 Chinooks (now being converted back to Mk2's) are amongst the 14 helicopters that were promised as additional support for our Troops in Iraq/Afghanistan by the current Labour Government in 2007. These are not now due in service until late 2009/10, which based upon the prior history is perhaps a little bit of wishful thinking. A written ministerial Statement on May 20th 2008 has more details.

For a good discussion on the problems and issues see here.

Also worth looking here to see what helicopters we have available for use in the Forward Fleet. This shows that only roughly 60% of helicopters are available for active use. Table is produced below.

Helicopter Type	Departmental total (total fleet)	Number available (forward fleet)	Number current and qualified pilots
Chinook	48	29	109
Merlin	70	41	108
Puma	45	34	95
Sea King	135	69	223

For the purposes of MOD reporting, the definition used for the number of helicopters available for use is the number in the Forward Fleet. This figure excludes any aircraft undergoing programmed upgrades, major repair or awaiting disposal.

BBC NEWS | UK | MoD accused of Chinook 'cock-up'

Britishness Holiday - Another Labour Cock Up

LIAM BYRNE: 'Just trying to promote a debate on issue.'

Early on yesterday the Guardian reported that

The August bank holiday could be turned into a "Great British weekend" that would allow people permission to celebrate everything they like about the country, and help frame the "progressive case for controlled immigration".

In a speech today Liam Byrne, the immigration minister, will set out the proposals drawing on Home Office research which shows public support for a Britishness day running at two to one.

Nowhere in this article did it mention that the August Bank Holiday weekend is not celebrated at the same time in Scotland - Oops. Perhaps Mr Byrne and his staff didn't realise this, but you would have thought that when dealing with something about Britishness they might have done some basic checking.

This is typical of Labour's attempts at being British and a god send to the likes of the SNP who complained later in the day that Scotland has it's August Bank Holiday on the first Monday in August rather than the last as it is in England.

In the Herald Liam Bryne is quoted as saying

"I myself have become convinced that the August bank holiday - what someone has called the Great British Weekend' - has the virtue of being in the summer and already being a bank holiday."

In fact even the SNP are wrong as the August Bank Holiday is not even celebrated in all parts of Scotland as many regions and cities such as Aberdeen take other holidays as each local authority in Scotland has powers to designated certain days as 'local' public holidays rather than celebrating the "National" holidays.

The Scottish Government has this to say on the difference between bank holidays and public/local holidays

It is important to draw a distinction between bank holidays, and public or local holidays in Scotland. As the dates for bank holidays are set out in statute or are the subject of proclamation, it follows that they are the same across the whole of Scotland. On the other hand public or local holidays in Scotland are determined by local authorities, based on local tradition (not statutory authority) and after consultation with local business interests.

There is no legal or statutory definition of public holiday in the United Kingdom and it is questionable whether public holidays exist in Scotland. The term is often confused with bank holidays. In England and Wales a bank holiday tends automatically to be a public holiday, in that the majority of people have the day off and the day is generally observed as a holiday. In Scotland this is not always the case.

So even if the UK government decided on a Brittishness Public Holiday it still might not apply in Scotland.


August bank holiday could be celebration of Britishness | UK news | The Guardian:

Injured Troops must get Better Treatment

A British soldier patrols the northern suburbs of Basra. Photograph: Dave Clark/AFP/Getty images

The Telegraph reports that Lieutenant-General Louis Lillywhite, the Surgeon General, has said

Double the number of troops are now surviving serious injuries than would have done during the Falklands conflict. But while they receive high-quality emergency care while still on the frontline, the focus now needs to shift to improving follow-up treatment in British hospitals.

The article continues

Those who are capable of surviving, we are making survive. Three or four months ago that was our main effort. We have now got to turn to the quality of that survival. Adding it was impossible for all injured servicemen to be dealt with in military facilities because of a lack of manpower. There is much to do he admitted.

Apparently the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) now routinely logs every detail of injuries in theatre, from the type of injury and its severity, the length of time the casualty remained in a battlefield and, if deaths occur, whether it was possible to prevent them, given the safety of the scene and the injuries.

The figures show that by mid-February, the Armed Forces had suffered in Afghanistan,

• 87 fatalities
• 114 personnel were seriously or very seriously injured
• 1,133 injured personnel were admitted to field hospitals
• 880 were evacuated to the UK.

In Iraq,

• 212 had died by mid-February
• 212 were seriously or very seriously injured
• 2,695 were admitted to field hospitals
• 1,347 were evacuated to the UK.

These figures are probably the first to be released to the public showing the casualty rates in these two theatres for UK forces.

A journal published by the RAMC reported that of the 76 deaths from trauma related injuries which occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 12 months to April 2007, none could have been prevented.

Statistical evidence from Britain and the US suggested that the death rate from serious injuries was now between 12 to 15 per cent - roughly half the rate which occurred in the Falklands or Vietnam.

Most seriously injured service personnel brought back to the UK are treated in civilian hospitals at first, although many will later be transferred to the military rehabilitation centre at Headley Court in Surrey.

There has been repeated criticism of the standard of care servicemen - most of whom have suffered head injuries, severe burns or lost limbs - receive in the civilian system. At Selly Oak in Birmingham, troops have complained of dirty, mixed wards and of abusive treatment from staff.

Last month, Afghanistan veteran and paratrooper Capt Martin Hewitt said the "truth'' about the continued poor care for troops back in the UK had to be exposed as it was "unacceptable''.

Not only is standard of care unacceptable but the compensation paid to injured troops is also woeful. Take a look at this story on Rogue Gunner's blog, which highlights the case of

A hero British soldier left severely crippled by an Iraqi sniper has been awarded a paltry £35,000 in compensation from the Army.

Jon Le Galloudec, 27, was picked off on the streets of Basra almost a year ago. His brave comrade Rodney Wilson came to his aid and was shot dead in front of him. The bullet that hit Jon ripped through his spine leaving him paralysed in his left leg and from the knee down in his right leg.

Contrast this with the record £2million compensation to an Iraqi teenager paralysed by a stray British bullet or the £484,000 awarded to an RAF typist who injured her thumb.

Currently the NHS and this government do not do enough for out injured personnel. They are now relying on public donations and help to get vital rehabilitation facilities. Have a look at the very worthwhile "Help for Heroes" organisation's website which has now raised over £6m for facilities in just over 8 months or donate via the sidebar link.


Injured troops must get better NHS treatment - Telegraph

Union chief calls for oil windfall tax

Derek Simpson is co-head of the Unite union and has suggested that Gordon Brown should set up a Windfall Tax on the profits of Oil companies. The 57-year-old is a former Communist who has been a Labour Party member for the past 10 years. Unite are Labour’s largest contributor with 1.9m members.

Now obviously this is a good idea because Oil Companies in the UK are making billions of pounds of profit and this is not good for anyone especially the non-union (mostly) workers they employ. Mr Simpson reckons

This was the type of policy that would chime with the electorate, in contrast to more esoteric measures such as increasing terror suspect detention or giving workers more flexible working. “Neither addresses the concerns of real-life people,”

Of course what Mr Simpson hasn't quite worked out is that if Oil Companies are taxed like this then they will just change the course of their future investments and naturally enough they will change them to other countries that have a more stable tax regime. This will mean greater reliance on foreign Oil and Gas, reduced employment and lower Tax income. We have already seen this when Gordon Brown increased the Corporation Tax take from Oil companies back in 2005, the result, a cutback in investment just after he had asked for an increase in the supply from the same Oil Companies.

Also, a minor point that Mr Simpson might have missed is that Gordon Brown is already receiving a rather substantial £6bn windfall from the increased tax take that the increased cost of oil is currently delivering to the Exchequer. It is currently estimated by Vince Cable of the Liberal Democrats that Government tax revenues from North Sea oil could rise this year from £10bn (based on oil prices of $84 a barrel) to £16bn (at $128) mainly from oil company profits and petroleum revenue tax.

Then again this tax windfall might just be reduced if the SNP's Alex Salmond gets his way. He has sent Alistair Darling a£500m invoice, He reckons this is 10% of the windfall going to the Chancellor since basing his Budget on much lower oil prices than now prevail.

It is exactly this sort of short-term thinking that has caused many of the problems we are now seeing in our economy. Decisions taken for short-term gain versus long-term stability.

FT.com / World - Union chief calls for oil windfall tax

Jonah Brown Saves the World

Ok then it's only in a comic book but surely it'll soon be coming true otherwise why do we need 42 days detention.

Have no fear, Brown is here to help save the world - but only in new comic book 'Captain Britain' | Mail Online

Labour's legacy to GP's

Dr Crippen highlights the fact that Carole Malone is a dishonest, androgynous, peri-menopausal, publicity seeking, ex lard bucket after she wrote this column titled "Lazy Docs make me feel Sick" in the News of the Screws this week.

What he is actually doing is highlighting the fact that Journalists and the public are being invited to have a go at GP's nowadays beacuse this Labour govenrnment has in it's usual fashion managed to destroy the respect that GP's used to be held in.

They (the government) have managed to do this with their own truly spectacular failure to understand how the whole NHS system works and in particular General Practice. They have in the short time of 11 years managed to destroy many peoples faith in the system and to have reduced the system to a meanlingless litany of "targets" and dumbing down of the work of GP's. GP's are now to be the whipping boys for this failure rather than the government with its ignorance and denial of any wrongdoing.

This is strikingly similar to what they have done to the police as I said last week, it is also strikingly similar to what they are doing to the Ambulance Service. I have no doubt there are many more areas of Public Services that are in a similar situation.

We should, instead of castigating GP's, look at how we have arrived at this situation. The government have defined targets and set about molding the GP service to how they thought it should be run rather than taking the advice of those who knew how it should be run. Now having been caught out with this wholesale destruction they make the GP's the target of their failures. This is typical of Gordon Brown's view of Courage.

The only good thing is that the public have now become wise to Labour's failures and have started to look behind the headlines at the actual detail. The detail that shows it is not "Lazy GP's" but lazy and stupid government that is the problem in this case. Unfortunately there are still lazy and stupid journalist out there who do not have the intelligence to actually check up on the details that they have been spoon-fed.

This is the problem with Labour they keep going for the targets and style rather the substance and actions. They have now been caught out too many times and the public have become wise to their inadequacies.


NHS Blog Doctor: Carole Malone : the dishonest, androgynous, publicity seeking, ex lard bucket in the News of the World

Labour's Legacy to the Police

According to a report from the think-tank Civitas, The Institute for the Study of Civil Society,

Police officers are being forced to target people for misdemeanours so they can meet government targets,

The report also says

Political interference meant incidents that might previously have been regarded as innocuous were now treated as crimes. Police performance is measured in "sanction detections", which means officers have detected or cleared a case by charging someone, issuing a penalty notice or giving a caution.

It continues on with the following

"In order to meet targets police are now classifying incidents as crimes that would previously have been dealt with informally, classified differently or ignored."

One officer said he warned his own teenage son to take extra care at the end of the month when police were looking to fill their detection quota.

Another said: "We are bringing more and more people to justice but they are the wrong people."

Complaints against the police have risen and much of the increase comes from law-abiding people who no longer feel the police are on their side, the report said.

It called for an end to targets and proposed a local tax to pay for policing, with commanders selected through local government or direct elections.

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "This is an indictment of Labour's ­target-driven culture."

This is Labour's Legacy from the past 11 years of interfering in the Police Service. Targets, Targets and yet more Targets but little in the way of results. None of this report will shock or be news to most people but the public is now beginning to lose faith in the Police, this must not be allowed to continue.

This is the problem with Labour they keep going for the targets and style rather the substance and actions. They have now been caught out too many times and the public have become wise to their inadequacies.

'Police putting targets ahead of serving public' - Telegraph: "Civitas"

Caution Terry Ahead

I notice big bro' has not said too much on the subject of Chelski recently. He may not then approve of the following warning.



BBC SPORT | Football | Europe | Man Utd earn dramatic Euro glory

Jonah Brown hits New Low

I don't often post on Polls but this one makes for some interesting reading if you are not a Labour supporter (and there are now fewer of them than ever).

In just one short year our "Jonah" has taken a Labour party to it's lowest level of support since polling began. A superb achievement that merits some sort of reward, can I perhaps suggest early retirement and disappearing back to Fife to reflect on his legacy to us.

Perhaps the most interesting bits of the Poll are as follows:

• 75% of people survey were dissatisfied with Gordon Brown as prime Minister
• 60% of those polled thought that even replacing "Jonah" wouldn't help Labour. 32% thought it might. Jonah has contaminated Labour to the voters.
• With a forced choice over Conservatives and Cameron and Labour under Brown the Tories lead by 54% to 29%.
• The Lib Dems are stuck in nowhere land with 18%. They really should be challenging Labour by now.
• Brown’s personal popularity on a par with Major’s low.
• Labour’s lowest score under Foot was only 23.5

In a further article in the Telegraph, Anthony King, professor of government at the University of Essex, makes the point that there is now no way back for Gordon Brown. He says

Most of the electorate has now fallen so far out of love with Gordon Brown and New Labour that a divorce between the two seems all but certain to be finalised at the next general election.The findings of YouGov's latest survey for The Daily Telegraph suggest the break-up could be an angry no-holds-barred affair. The chances of a reconciliation look slim.

All in all a very satisfying poll for the Tories. As Nick Palmer Labour MP so elequently put it on Political Betting:

Brrrr!

Need I say more.

Labour: Gordon Brown support slumps to its lowest since polling began - Telegraph

Jonah Brown and North Sea oil.

Edmund Conway Economics Editor of the Daily Telegraph has a good analysis of how our "Jonah" Brown has landed North Sea Oil in "Choppy Water".

In it he says the following

The Prime Minister cannot be blamed for the fact that Britain's oil production peaked at precisely the wrong time, nor can he really do anything meaningful to the oil price - despite his pledges yesterday. However, the rising price has underlined just how fast the North Sea is declining, and raised questions over
whether Mr Brown's policies have served to accelerate its demise.

He follows this up later on with an analysis of the changing tax regime that our "Jonah" implemented. Initially what looked like a good idea has, as usual, been fiddled with and changed so that now it is just another tax on us. Edmund says

However, the Government is culpable for its management of the tax regime. Some years ago Mr Brown switched the system to a more modern scheme, charging oil companies a supplement to corporation tax for their North Sea profits, but allowing them to offset the investment they poured in.It was a sensible change, designed to encourage companies to spend more on finding new fields. However, in 2005, the Treasury suddenly and unexpectedly raised this supplementary tax rate.

As I pointed out yesterday it is these sort of changes in the fiscal and tax regimes that cause major problems to Oil and Gas companies that are making large investment decisions based upon the current conditions and likely changes. All businesses are reluctant to invest in a region if they fear its tax policies will change suddenly and without warning. Edmund continues

Crucially, the tax cut announced yesterday affects only older oil fields, which are covered by a separate tax regime, and does not reverse this new windfall tax.
This is hardly surprising. Over the past decades the North Sea has become one of the Government's biggest corporate tax cows, generating more than £230bn in revenue since 1968. The Treasury is expecting to make around £10bn this year from oil revenues, though experts at Grant Thornton think this could rise as high as £16bn due to higher oil prices.
However, this windfall has come at a price. If, as thought, it is responsible for depressing production in recent years, it has helped make the UK a net oil importer two years earlier than expected

Note that last sentence "It has helped make the UK a net oil importer two years earlier than expected". This is a telling statement and shows how much our "Jonah's" short sighted changes have cost the UK and its taxpayers. Edmund then says

Not only does this have serious implications for energy policy, it has pushed the current account deficit sharply higher and contributed to a weaker pound. It has meant that whereas a few years ago Britain was well positioned to benefit from a high oil price, the implications today are far more damaging for the economy.

This just goes to show that despite our "Jonah" trying to sell himself as a wonderful Leader and former Chancellor he is nothing of the sort. He has dug the UK into a deep hole and now has nothing to extract us from it.

Gordon Brown landed North Sea oil in choppy water - Telegraph

Brown to meet oil industry chiefs

Just so typical of our beloved Leader to stage this Publicity stunt of meeting the Oil Company leaders so that he can palm the blame onto them for all the problems with the price of oil when yesterday we had the fuel protests in London which caused major disruption to London.

He tries this sort of stunt every time to divert the news away from the fact that it is his handling of the economy that causes many of the problems. Whilst acknowledging the large increase in the cost of oil on the global market we also have to look at some of the reasons the costs are so high in this country and why reinvestment in the Oil and Gas sector in the UK has been so low.

Now just over two years ago our Gordon increased corporation tax on the Oil and gas sector so that the effective rate of corporation tax on this industry beacme 50%. This was just weeks after berating oil-producing nations around the world for their failure to invest in oil and gas and urging them to do more. It is this sort of blinkered approach that has caused the reduction in investment just at a time when it is needed most. Oil companies will not invest in countries that do not have a faor and stable tax regime. Similarly the idea of a windfall tax on the Oil and gas companies in the face of increase profits is again likely to only cause a longer term problem.

Gordon Brown has an article in the Guardian today where he expounds on how he sees the problem being global and having nothing to do with him. It is full of the usual Tractor Production statistics but is basically Gordon saying "not my fault" rather than tackling the problem which has been around for many years. Long Term problems need Long Term solutions not just short term actions. The problem is that Gordon and Labour have not tackled the UK's long term problems with Energy Supply but pandered to the renewables lobby as, it is, or rather was a vote winner.

This is the problem with Labour they keep going for the targets and style rather the substance and actions. They have now been caught out too many times and the public have become wise to their inadequacies.

P.S I see Guido and the Spectator Coffeshop Blog have cottoned onto this.

BBC NEWS UK Brown to meet oil industry chiefs

Typical Labour Spin - Raising "Toffs"

This is a typical example of the new lows this Labour government can get down to.

The spin here is that kids can be educated like "toffs" at Eton and Marlborough because the MOD is wasteful and pays such "High" allowances to its employees. The charge is that the allowance that is paid to parents is too high and for just a few more thousand they can get their children educated at schools such as Eton and Marlborough.

The maximum allowance is 7,700 pounds per term , which of course sounds rather high but when factored against the average cost of Boarding Schools which is running at over 20,000 pounds per year, suddenly becomes a little bit more understandable. The maximum available to MOD personnel is a lower figure of 5111 pounds per term and is also subject to a minimum 10% parental contribution from parents. Also remember that many of the people receiving this allowance may be "other ranks" it is not restricted to Officers only.

Also as I have just found out the maximum allowance of £7628 is payable only to special needs children. The normal maximum being the £5111 mentioned earlier.

Let's not forget that the people who could receive this allowance could be anyone in the forces who are posted to slightly out of the way places where the type or standard of education available is not suitable for UK children.

I and my brother were among those who were in this situation back in the early seventies when my father was posted to a couple of out of the way overseas locations where there were no longer any suitable local schools. Luckily we were at or just about to go to a State School that had boarding places so my father was relatively little out of pocket for providing our education.

There are currently only about 35 state schools that provide boarding, many of these boardings schools are over-subscribed and may still be selective so the choice is limited particularly when the cost of boarding at these schools tends to be considerably lower than the Eton's and Marlborough's.

The real story here is not the amount of the allowance but that Blunkett and his cohorts in the Labour Cabinet have been told to squeeze the coffers as the money has run out. Spinning this as an attack on Toff's is just part of Labour's typical nasty spin. Maybe the Government will be using the money saved to finance MP's allowances instead, because they are worth much more than the education of service brats.


David Blunkett Calls For Review Of School Grants Paid To Government Employees |Sky News|Politics

Ten Kinloss pilots left RAF over Nimrod safety fears

According to the Independent

At least 10 pilots and crew have quit their posts at RAF Kinloss in the past decade because of safety concerns over the ageing Nimrod fleet

This is a based upon reports from David Morgan a newspaper Editor in Forres and apparently an Aviation Expert.

Not a statistic the MOD or RAF has advertised.

Despite this the same avation writer contends, in the Scotsman, that the Nimrod is not "un air-worthy" but rather that the aircraft should just have been grounded.

Now I'm not sure exactly what the difference between being un-airworthy and requiring to be grounded is. Both should mean the aircraft does not see service again until all the faults have been rectified. The un-airworthy verdict applies to the fact that the Nimrod had for all it's flying years a fault that was waiting to be exposed, the grounding means that that fault has now been exposed alongside others that mean the aircraft should not now be in service.

David Morgan when asked what should be done with the aircraft said

There's no doubt that the aircraft are in desperate need of retirement becausethe systems are so complex and difficult to maintain that there is really no
option but to release them.

The Press and Journal also reports here that not all the faults identified in the Nimrod have been fixed. It has the following

Moray MP Mr Robertson asked Mr Browne how many of the 30 recommendations in a Nimrod fuel system safety review of October 2007 had been complied with.

He replied: “Twenty-one have been accepted and are being implemented, three are being considered for implementation and a further six are on hold as they relate to air-to-air refuelling.”

Mr Robertson said yesterday: “Who are we to believe when the coroner says Nimrod are not airworthy and the defence secretary says they are, but admits that vital safety changes, recommended by his own safety review, have not been made?”

He added: “Des Browne needs to give a very good reason to why the Nimrod fleet should not be grounded until all these requirements have been fulfilled.

“If he cannot satisfy me that the safety recommendations have been fulfilled, I do not see how the Nimrod fleet can continue to operate.”

More blogs by me on this subject here.

Ten Kinloss pilots 'left RAF over Nimrod safety fears' - Home News, UK - The Independent

Everybody Hurts - Take comfort in your friends

James (Jim) Curran 1935-2008

The following song was always a favourite of mine because not long after it was released, over 15 years ago, I was going through a rough time with many things going on in my life. The song just captured what was happening to me. It also showed to me who my friends were at that time, in particular, my wife Chris and her family who helped me so much to get through the bad times.

Now the shoe is on the other foot. Just about 3 weeks ago Chris, her family and I lost one of our greatest friends. Chris's dad Jim died at the age of 73 after fighting Leukaemia with his typical "guts, drive and determination" for the past eighteen months. Jim was a friend to everyone but particularly to his family who he cared for and nurtured at all times. Perhaps some of how highly he was regarded can best taken from the fact that his funeral was conducted by four priests ( a fifth was already at another funeral) including one of nearly 90 years of age and was attended by over 300 people over half of whom had to sit outside the small church in Aviemore.

Now I am hurting from Jim's sad death but I know Chris and her whole family are hurting much more. I hope I can be as much of friend and comfort to them in the coming months as they were for me back then.

"Everybody Hurts - R.E.M."

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on.
Don't let yourself go, everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes.

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along.
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on.

Everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends.
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand.
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on.

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes.
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on. (repeat & fade)
(Everybody hurts. You are not alone.)

Can we ban the RAF Nimrod from British Airspace?

The Press and Journal has the following to say after the verdict of the Coroner into the the crash of the RAF Nimrod XV230 yesterday.

The Government’s record of looking after its own forces in Afghanistan and Iraq has been called into question repeatedly, but the deaths of 14 Nimrod crew was its darkest moment.

Ministers last night refused to bow to pressure from bereaved families and the coroner who called for the entire Nimrod fleet of aircraft to be grounded.

The Government claimed that modifications to operational procedures now made the aircraft safe to fly. This might well carry a hollow ring to it given the Ministry of Defence’s previous record of looking after Nimrods, which was condemned by both the inquest and an RAF board of inquiry. Had new corporate manslaughter laws been retrospective in nature the Government could easily be facing extremely damaging and expensive legal action.

Critics will suspect that the Government is taking a huge gamble that its new procedures will work.

If there is any further loss of life by Nimrod crews for similar reasons, there will be a clamour for manslaughter charges to be brought.

I can only agree and perhaps go further and ask if we can ban this plane from British Airspace?

If the Coroner's verdict is that it should be grounded surely the Civil authorities can ban it from our airspace and particularly from landing and taking off from such airports as Aberdeen.

I realise that the Nimrod is of great use in Afghanistan but surely other countries could fill this position temporarily whilst the Nimrod if properly checke and updated to ensure it is safe to take to the skies again.

Is Government taking a gamble? - Press & Journal

Families react to Nimrod verdict - Bob Ainsworth a Disgrace

I'll let the families of those killed on-board Nimrod XV230 do the talking.

Follow the link to see what they think of the Coroners verdict and also the disgrace of a statement by Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth.

BBC NEWS | UK | Families react to Nimrod verdict

Coroner for XV230 says Nimrod fleet was 'not airworthy'

According to the Coroner

The RAF's entire Nimrod fleet has "never been airworthy",

For more information on Nimrod XV230 see here

BBC NEWS | UK | Nimrod fleet was 'not airworthy'

Appalling admission about doomed plane - Nimrod XV230

According to the "Press and Journal"

IT WOULD be wrong to attempt to prejudge the outcome of an inquest into the deaths of 14 RAF Kinloss crew in a Nimrod crash in Afghanistan, but the evidence which is unfolding will take a lot of explaining.

Statements by experts are becoming more incredible by the day. Yesterday, aircraft manufacturer BAE Systems’ chief engineer admitted, under intense questioning, that the doomed plane, the 37-year-old Nimrod XV230, was not airworthy when it went on active operations against the Taliban.

It is little wonder that this appalling admission brought gasps of horror at the inquest from bereaved relatives of the crew.

There have long been doubts about whether or not this illustrious, but ageing, fleet of aircraft was fit to perform at the required standard.

A previous RAF board of inquiry into the tragedy delivered a damning condemnation of maintenance and safety procedures. The inquest might easily follow suit, with the coroner having a number of possible recommendations at his disposal.

If we sidestep the legal niceties for the moment, the average member of the public will be left wondering how on earth the system running one of the most revered military organisations in the world was allowed to send this crew on what amounted to a suicide mission. One wonders whether or not they knew when they took off that they were in more danger from their own equipment than the enemy.

Whatever the coroner’s recommendations might be, the public must be reassured that current and future aircrew are never placed in the same position.

All I can say is my father would have been deeply distressed to hear what is happening to his beloved RAF.

Appalling admission about doomed plane - Press & Journal

Colours of the Rainbow

Last night the reds beat the blues to win, tonight the reds beat the blues again but the greens won, and early tomorrow the blues will do, what they haven't done for over 25 years, and will not only beat but humiliate the reds , humble the yellows and, hopefully, help to bring about the downfall of the Brown one.

Virgin Boss Dies Laughing

According to British Airways their new home at Terminal 5 is set to transform your travel experience.

According to the Daily Mash it also has caused the death of Richard Branson.

Meanwhile Heathrow has hailed the catastrophic opening of its new terminal five as an 80% improvement on a normal day at terminals one, two, three and four.

British Airways passengers had to wait only five hours to collect their luggage, compared to the usual 12, and only 300,000 pieces of luggage went missing over the day.Airport boss Bill McKay said an

'outstanding' first 24 hours had been marred only by a small riot and a handful of isolated knife fights.

He added: "It did turn a bit nasty when someone pointed out that the terminal was just a big shed that wasn't actually connected to any departure gates. Thank God for Alsatians, eh?"

The Daily Mash - RICHARD BRANSON DIES LAUGHING

Wendy says Soul-searching is Over

A couple of days ago I heard Wendy on the radio and wondered if she had had elocution lessons as her voice has considerably toned down.

Now we hear that, according to Wendy, Labour's soul searching in Scotland is over! Not if the image shown here is anything to go by.

One wonderful quote from the interview when asked How much support and help do you get from Gordon Brown?

Wendy Replies:

I talk to the Prime Minister when I have to. I suspect the last time I spoke to him was a month ago. It's not a daily conversation.

Seems to me she is trying to distance herself from him if at all possible.


Wendy Alexander interview: 'Soul-searching is over and we're on way back' - Scotsman.com News

Rousing the sulking, apathetic hordes

According to the veritable Polly Toynbee rousing the sulking and apathetic hordes who don't have an interest in Politics or want to vote is easy. Just give them the ability to vote for those who won't win in a straight forward first past the post election.

According to Polly

An alternative vote (AV), ranking candidates in 1,2,3 order, allows for a second preference to be redistributed from the lowest-scoring candidate's share until one candidate has more than 50% of the vote. It's hardly revolutionary, but it makes it worthwhile to vote for a smaller party as first choice, with a second-choice backstop to keep out whichever party you hate most: Greens and others can register their true support. It is such a small change it needs no referendum and should be done right now for the next election.

Notice how she says that the second vote can be used to keep out the party you hate most. Now I can't imagine that her desire for AV, as she calls its, is anything to do with the fact that the Conservatives now have a regular double digit lead in the polls.

Polly Toynbee: One small electoral change could rouse the sulking, apathetic hordes | Comment is free | The Guardian

Nimrod replacement under threat

How can we in this time of conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan continue to misrun and underfund projects in such a way that the lives of members of the armed forces are jeopardised every time they go out on Operations.

I have blogged about the problems with the Nimrods on a number of previous occasions. We cannot afford for this aircraft to be in active service for much longer without the likelihood of further casualties

The SNP MP for Moray, Angus Robertson said

"There are many legitimate questions about the increasing cost and growing delays in the Nimrod replacement programme.

"We cannot, however, lose sight of the safety dimension and the need to replace the ageing current Nimrod fleet. The tragic loss of the Nimrod in Afghanistan underlines the need for a replacement system as a priority.

"If the MRA4 is no longer the appropriate platform then which should it be, how long will it take to introduce and at what cost?"

Whatever decision is made it must try and ensure the safety of our Service Personnel on active duty.


BBC NEWS | Scotland | North East/N Isles | Nimrod replacement under threat

Ministers lay blame for Aberdeen’s cash woes on Liberal Democrats

Happily these days we are no longer living in Aberdeen as the council struggles to deal with a budget that is causing closure and cuts in a number of services, I must say I would tend to agree with the SNP who have said

...blame for the financial troubles at Aberdeen City Council was placed on the former Liberal Democrat administration yesterday.

This prompted claims that the accusation by SNP ministers will split the current Liberal Democrat-SNP coalition leading the city.

Spending watchdog, the Accounts Commission, has called a public meeting to investigate the council’s “precarious” financial position. It follows an Audit Scotland report that criticised staff absence rates, and the failure to introduce planned savings.

The furore over the council’s £27million budget cuts flared up in the Scottish Parliament yesterday.

The SNP in Aberdeen have inherited a precarious position from the Lib Dem's and now have to tighten the strings to get back to a decent financial position. Tough decisions have had to be made which the Lib Dem's preferred to brush under the carpet.


Press & Journal - Home Page - Ministers lay blame for Aberdeen’s cash woes on Liberal Democrats

Closure of "Rat Runs" in Aberdeenshire.

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

According to the Press and Journal

Minor roads in Aberdeenshire could be closed to prevent drivers using them as “rat runs” while roadworks are going on.

The proposal is one in a series of changes put forward by roads bosses at Aberdeenshire Council to address an increased number of complaints from commuters.

There are currently 27 routes temporarily closed for repairs, with around 300 closed each year — a figure “unlikely to reduce”, according to senior officers. Twenty-one complaints specifically relating to the closures have been received since 2006.

Head of roads Ken Morrison said the majority of roadworks are completed

“without incident or complaint”.

He admits problems have arisen in busy areas or where diversions have been “long and substandard”.

He said: “The disruption to traffic and the risk of a road accident has been significantly increased and is the cause of increased levels of complaint across the whole council area.”

One of the major concerns relates to the damage being caused to minor roads as a result of roadworks elsewhere.

Mr Morrison added: “There is increased concern about damage to minor roads used as rat runs when closures are in place. Signed diversion routes can often be lengthy and road users with a local knowledge will tend to use minor roads if it will save time.”

He said communities would be consulted before closures were approved.

Now this all sounds mighty sensible when shown in this context, nice orderly closing of roads whilst they are "improved" and reopening on time and without significant problems to the average motorist or the local residents. The line about complaints from commuters meaning "rat runs" will be closed is an absolute gem. I am sure the commuters who complained were not asking for the closure of the aforementioned "rat runs" but were complaining about how the closures are done and the poor planning and execution of these closures.

Let me take a quick look at one of the roads that has suffered the odd closure in the past few years, it is one close to my heart at the moment as it is a road I take twice a day on my 30 mile drive to and from work. It's a minor road and by its number, the B9119, it really sound very minor and perhaps you might think it could be one of those "rat runs".

It is in fact probably one of the busiest B roads in Aberdeenshire, or at least it would be if it stayed open for longer that a couple of months at a time. This road has now been closed on 5 separate occasions during the past three years for periods of up to 5 months. During this time 2 roundabouts have been constructed, drains have been laid on two separate occasions, and currently more work is being done to allow access to industrial premises. All of this on a stretch of road that is barely longer than a mile. It is now late opening again from what may or not be it's final closure for the current work with no sign of when the work will be completed.

Why have there been 5 separate closures, when with proper planning, this could have been done with one closure and all the work carried out in one go. This would have been cheaper, shorter and would have caused much less impact on the long suffering commuters in Aberdeenshire. The true cost of the roadworks on this single stretch of road is difficult to calculate but just in time lost for commuters it must be into the millions of pounds far less the knock on economic and environmental cost.

If as well as closing the main road the council then go on to close the "rat run" roads the cost would probably double or triple as the current "diversions" already struggle to carry the additional traffic, especially when they themselves have been subject to roadworks, some times carried out simultaneously with the main roadworks. The whole area would be at a stand still for both the morning and evening rush hours and other routes would also be brought to a stand still as the overflow of traffic moved onto use them.

Instead of closing the "rat run" roads what should be done is to make intelligent use of them by setting up one-way systems at certain times and restricting the size of vehicles allowed to use them. This would be safer and cause much less upset to people living along the roads. We have few enough decent roads in this area without taking away capacity just when it is most needed.

Of course I could also leave my car and home and let public transport take the strain. Well I could if there was any that provided a service to our rural area. The single bus to Aberdeen a day, taking roughly twice to three times as long as even my now delayed car journey. The train line was shut down by Beeching back in the far-sighted 60's. Or of course I could use the useful Park and Ride at Kingswells but it is a white elephant poorly used and now better employed as a Travellers camp site.



Move to close ‘rat runs’ during roadworks elsewhere.

Significant Failings of Browne

Rather than sort out the actual problems in Iraq I see Mr Browne of the MOD will instead attempt to stop Coroners from saying that there have been "Significamt Failings" as this Implies blame on the MOD.

What Mr Browne does not say is that there are "Significant Failings" and that the MOD should be blamed .

I cannot put it better that the Wiltshire Coroner David Masters who is currently tasked with conducting inquests into many of the deaths of British servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said

"I am unable to make any comment on this particular case"

Having said that, I do not consider that this will deflect coroners from conducting full, frank and fearless inquiries into the deaths that they are entrusted to investigate - those of people serving their country when they are killed abroad.

"If something needs to be said, I'll say it."

Browne In High Court To Stop Criticism Of Mod (from The Herald )

Dumbing Down at Cambridge

Cambridge University is dumbing down in order to try and meet it's target of having 60-63% of pupils from State Schools. In this case it will be dropping the requirement that students have passed a foreign language at GCSE ('O' level to oldies like me) level.

This is because nowadays in our dumbed down society less than 50% of Students from State Schools take a foreign language at GCSE level.

The university said one of the factors that has led to the review, was the fact that from 2004, children were no longer required to take a foreign language after the age of 14.

It said having a formal entry requirement that at least half of all GCSE students are unable to meet "was not acceptable in the context of Cambridge's commitment to widening participation and access".

Experts argue that many schools draw back from offering languages at GCSE because they are perceived as "difficult" subjects.

A Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesman said forcing children to study languages does not motivate pupils.

"This is a position strongly supported by Lord Dearing in his review of languages in schools, and by teachers and employers.

"We are providing a more diverse range of qualifications - like Language Ladders, which work in a similar way to musical grades - and better teacher training, to motivate and enthuse students.

"There is now over £50 million a year being invested in language learning, and from 2010 every primary school pupil will learn a foreign tongue - which will help instil a love of languages at an earlier age."

All I can say is that we reap what we sow in terms of what we are going to get out of our schools. If we don't teach subjects because they are perceived as difficult how can we expect students to do well at a good University where hopefully the subjects will all be "difficult".

As the product of a state school, albeit one of the best in Britain, I can only think of the horror some of my school masters would have had at the thought of this now being the case.

My whole class of 30 achieved a grade A at 'O' level French, whilst also studying two other Languages. This cost my French Master a total of £2:10 as he had to buy us each a Mars bar having bet against us all achieving an 'A' grade.

BBC NEWS | Education | Cambridge drops language demand

Line Out

Today Malcolm was playing at the the North Midi Finals at Ellon for Aboyne.
Aboyne did pretty well for one of the smaller teams at the competition winning 3 and losing 2 games. Malcolm is lifting at the front of the lineout on the left as Aboyne win the lineout.

Prescott: A real Pig in his Sty

Nice to see that ever lovely character John Prescott has managed to cause such a mess in his grace and favour sty that it has cost us £3320 to clean up his filth.

If You or I the regular tax payer had done this to a rented property we would have been labeled as filthy chav scum, but in his world this would seem to be the norm.

As a regular mover from house to house in my younger days, I know the lengths that my family and that of my wife's would have taken when we moved house in the services to ensure that everything was left behind spick and span.

Eric Pickles, the Shadow Communities Secretary, said:

"John Prescott left behind a shambles in Whitehall. Now, we discover his grace and favour flat could have done with a liberal dose of Shake And Vac' and, as usual, he is expecting the long- suffering taxpayer to clean up after him.

"Serious questions must be asked about the growing cost of these luxury government flats left empty for long periods of time.

"And an answer is needed to one of the greatest political mysteries of all time: why does Gordon Brown's crony, Lord Malloch-Brown, need one?"

Prescott a true example of NuLab snouts in the trough.

3320 To Clean Prescotts Flat (from The Herald )

A Fairy Tale Degree in Selkies and Kelpies

The popular superstitions and festive amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland [by W.G. Stewart.]. By William Grant Stewart

According to the Scotsman you can now do a post-graduate degree in Scottish Folklore at Glasgow University.

Anyway I'm putting my wife up for this as back in 1822 her 4th Great-Granduncle, William Grant Stewart, wrote the above book.

At least there should be more truth in the book than there was in the Labour and Lib Dem Manifesto's from 2005 which are now proven to be true Fairy Stories.

Selkies and kelpies: The fairytale degree - The Scotsman

A question for my MP Robert Smith

I have a question for my MP Robert Smith. It is a simple question.

Why do you not honour your promises. Specifically your pledge to give me a Referendum on the European Constitution or as it is now known the "Lisbon" Treaty.

Back in 2003 and when writing about the then EU constitution in the Guardian, Nick Clegg, the present LibDem leader had the following to say about the need for a Referendum.

To consult the people, or not. That is the question. A question which is now setting pro-Europeans against each other. A question which is straining what is left of the cross-party pro-European alliance in British politics.

Cemented by a collective drive to urge both Tony Blair and the country towards the euro, politicians from all three major parties have worked more closely together in recent years than is often appreciated. Gordon Brown's grumpy refusal to budge on the single currency reinforced the common cause: to overcome the Treasury's myopia and allow the country to have its own say.

It is ironic, then, that the new source of internal dissent within the Europhile camp should be precisely the catalyst which brought the camp together in the first place: whether or not to hold a referendum. Yet the unity mobilised in favour of a referendum on the euro has evaporated when faced with the question of a referendum on the EU's new constitution.

Opinion on both sides is turning sour. The other day, a Labour colleague in the European parliament let slip the depth of feeling. "You're just playing straight into the hands of the Eurosceptics!" he wailed. We have worked together closely for years in an effort to drum up a bit of enthusiasm for the European project in our Midlands constituencies and rarely disagree on matters European. I admire him enormously and would almost count him a friend. This made his reprimand all the sharper.

Tony Blair, I'm told, has reacted with derision to the Liberal Democrat decision to call for a referendum on the new EU constitution. With that partly in mind, perhaps, he loftily declared in a newspaper interview this week that New Labour is "the only serious game in town". With his habitual amnesia he went on to assert that holding a referendum was out of the question since it was not consistent with British political "traditions". This from the man who gave us referenda on a Hartlepool mayor and Scottish autonomy. Never let the facts get in the way of a good political putdown.

The real reason, of course, why the government does not want to hold a referendum is the fear that it may lose. It is the same fear that has paralysed Blair on the euro for six long years. It is the same fear that led Peter Hain to camouflage the constitution with comic inaccuracy as nothing more than a "tidying up exercise". It is the same fear which has long restrained New Labour from expressing the courage of its meagre convictions on Europe. And it won't do.

The alternative, now unfolding before us, is infinitely worse: a false assumption that anti-Europeans are democrats, and pro-Europeans are not. By shilly shallying with semantic half-truths about the content of the constitution, and now haughtily dismissing all calls for a referendum, it is New Labour which is, to cite my friend, "playing straight into the hands of the Eurosceptics". By providing the hapless Iain Duncan Smith with a pretext to champion people's democracy, Blair is unwittingly doing more to reinvigorate Euroscepticism than John Redwood could manage in his wildest fantasies. Nothing will do more damage to the pro-European movement than giving room to the suspicion that we have something to hide, that we do not have the "cojones" to carry our argument to the people.

And our argument is strong. The constitution, assuming it emerges roughly in its present draft form, provides ideal ammunition to call the Europhobes' bluff. While it is no mere "tidying up exercise", it is galaxies away from the "blueprint for tyranny" laughably paraded by the Daily Mail. Even a cursory glance at the text - and I remain struck how few Europhobes seem to have bothered to read the offending document - would reveal that it is a significant reorganisation of how the EU will take decisions in the future, with some well reasoned pooling of sovereignty in areas such as a common asylum and immigration policy. It takes only hesitant steps towards greater EU coherence in foreign policy, and arguably weakens the position of key federal institutions such as the European commission. Far from being a Napoleonic plot to overturn centuries of plucky British autonomy, it represents a logical evolution in EU governance.

Compared to many of the previous steps in European integration, not least the Single European Act negotiated by Margaret Thatcher, it is fairly modest in scope. The bulk of the innovations in the constitution relate to the archane mechanics of the EU institutions themselves - the size of the commission, voting weights in the council of ministers, etc - rather than any revolutionary creation of new EU powers. The measured modesty of the constitution is precisely what is being obscured by the government's refusal to hold a referendum. In doing so, it has allowed the phobes to shift the argument away from the constitution itself and onto shriller claims about the democratic legitimacy of the whole EU. By forcing the phobes to argue on the substance of the text, a referendum would expose the hollow hysteria of their polemic.

Naive? Perhaps, a little. Inevitably, any referendum campaign is unlikely to be a scholarly examination of the legal content of a complex constitutional tome. It is possible that it will soon escalate into an unconstrained debate about the very place of Britain in the EU - in or out. So be it. A combination of outright isolationism, which remains the overriding instinct of the Conservative party and significant parts of the press, combined with mendacious claims about the constitution itself, will soon repel the vast majority of British voters. The electorate is not enthusiastic about the EU, that much is obvious from a volley of opinion polls. But, when push comes to shove, it is not prepared to countenance withdrawal, and more susceptible to reasoned support for European integration than is commonly assumed.

Blair has already jeopardised his place in history by failing to put the case for the euro to the British people. He now risks blowing it altogether.

Now in this new age when we look at the Lisbon Treaty Mr Clegg has changed his mind. Apparently the Lisbon Treaty is different, it must be, as according to him it is "smaller" despite being 8000 words longer, how did they manage this, oh yes they changed the line spacing. It is different despite being according to Parliament 96% the same (only 10 out of the 250 proposals have changed).

The following statements have been made about the "Treaty"

1. The author of the Constitution Valery Giscard d’Estaing has said that “All the earlier proposals will be in the new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way.”
2. Former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato has said that: “They decided that the document should be unreadable. If it is unreadable, it is not constitutional, that was the sort of perception... Should you succeed in understanding it at first sight there might be some reason for a referendum, because itwould mean that there is something new.”
3. Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht has said that, "The aim of the Constitutional treaty was to be more readable; the aim of this treaty is to be unreadable… The Constitution aimed to be clear, whereas this treaty had to be unclear. It is a success.”
   

So all three of the above has wanted to dupe the European public into believing this Treaty was not the constitution.

I can understand why Mr Brown does not have the courage to go for a Referendum. He knows that despite his pledge in June 2007 that

“The manifesto is what we put to the public. We've got to honour that manifesto.
That is an issue of trust for me with the electorate.”
(Gordon Brown, interview, 24 June 2007)

He cannot honour Labour's Manifesto Pledge (Page 84 of the 2005 Labour Manifesto) as he will lose.

So I ask you Mr Smith why you cannot have the strength of your convictions as laid down in the Lib Dem 2005 Manifesto that

Membership of the EU has been hugely important for British jobs, environmental protection, equality rights, and Britain’s place in the world. But with enlargement to twenty-five member states, the EU needs reform to become more efficient and more accountable. The new constitution helps to achieve this by improving EU coherence, strengthening the powers of the elected European Parliament compared to the Council of Ministers, allowing proper oversight of the unelected Commission, and enhancing the role of national parliaments. It also more clearly defines and limits the powers of the EU, reflecting diversity and preventing over-centralisation. We are therefore clear in our support for the constitution, which we believe is in Britain’s interest – but ratification must be subject to a referendum of the British people.

Do you no longer believe this or are you just a stooge for the party rather than the public who elected you. Have you as Mr Hague said yesterday about the Lib Dems become

"so shrill - they have become separated from their cojones".

This despite a promise from Mr Clegg that his Lib Dems would 'prove their cojones' on the issue of Europe.

Now, Mr Smith, I didn't vote for you, I voted for a party that has held strong on it's promise to vote for a referendum, but you are my representative in Parliament and I could at least support you on your promise to give me a referendum, so why have you reneged on this.

You could have done what you promised your constituents and voted for a referendum but instead you toed the party line, despite many of your fellow Lib Dem MP's having the cojones to vote for what they had been elected on.

At the next election I will try to ensure you are not voted in again. I may just even, for the first time in my life, vote tactically to ensure you are no longer my MP.

My MP is supposed to put his constituents first, he is their representative in parliament, You have failed on this basic task, so why do you deserve to be in Parliament?


We need an EU referendum | Politics | guardian.co.uk

The Greatest Single Failure of Cabinet Government

Well worth listening to this bit on Radio 4's PM programmme tonight about the Iraq War Cabinet minutes. It is about 6 minutes into the article.

Asked about the decision by the cabinet to go to war in Iraq, Professor Peter Hennessy Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary, University of London, first describes the Cabinet as

"Supine"

and then he goes onto say the decision to go to war was

"The Greatest Single Failure of Cabinet Government at least since the Suez Crisis"

He goes onto say he can't imagine what they were Cabinet Ministers for because if on something as profound as peace and war you don't speak up, insist on Proper discussion, Proper briefing, Proper sharing of the data including the legal opinion

"What is the point of getting out of bed in the morning and pretending you are a Cabinet Minister"

I just couldn't have put it any better.

BBC - Radio 4 - Listen Again page

Large Snouts, Large troughs

Over at the EU I see there is a secret report of how deep some MEP's have managed to get their snouts into the ever-increasing trough of OUR money.

Apparently the MEP Mr Davies was allowed confidential access to the secret internal audit report and immediately reported it to the EU's anti-fraud squad for immediate action.
According to Mr Davies

"This report is dynamite - and makes the Derek Conway affair at Westminster look like small change,"

"When I looked at this report my first reaction was to laugh at the outrageous extent of the abuses.

"Then that feeling turned to anger and the realisation that the police or the anti-fraud people should be looking at this."

Every MEP is eligible for about £130,000 a year to pay for staff. One case has the whole allowance being used but no staff being employed. One MEP who has seen the report said that direct payments had been made to political parties by MEPs. There are apparently many cases of MEPs failing to make social security payments for alleged employees.

Franz Bruner, director general of Olaf, the EU's internal anti-fraud squad, said he was launching an inquiry and had demanded to see the audit report by the end of this week.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Call for MEPs' cash fraud probe

Flabby and Bogus Strategic Thinking

Flabby and Bogus Strategic Thinking Just about says it all when it comes to this government's thinking on just about anything. Of course this could just be a few old buffers speaking again and they may be out of touch with the country today!

Rusi also says

"This is a problem worsened by the lack of leadership from the majority which in misplaced deference to 'multiculturalism' failed to lay down the line to immigrant communities, thus undercutting those within them trying to fight extremism.

"The country's lack of self-confidence is in stark contrast to the implacability of its Islamist terrorist enemy."

It added: "We look like a soft touch. We are indeed a soft touch, from within and without."

RUSI Defence and security put ‘at risk’ by ignoring parliamentary government

Antarctic Volcanoes a Possible Culprit for Glacier Melting

Listening to Radio 4's the Material World last night on the way home to see my beloved, I ended up listening to a programme about antarctic volcanoes and the affect they may be having on the thinning of Glaciers in the Antarctic. In this day and age I find it amazing that we keep discovering so much that is new about our planet and how it works. As the blurb on the Radio 4 web site says

You don’t really expect to find volcanoes under the polar ice caps, but this is exactly what scientists at the British Antarctic Survey say they have found.

Could evidence discovered using new radar techniques be proof of the biggest volcanic eruption in the Antarctic in the last 10,000 years?

I then poked around with Google to see more about this as it intrigued me somewhat.

Amongst the comments and articles was the following

Antarctic volcanoes identified as a possible culprit in glacier melting

Another factor might be contributing to the thinning of some of the Antarctica's glaciers: volcanoes.

In an article published Sunday on the Web site of the journal Nature Geoscience, Hugh Corr and David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey report the identification of a layer of volcanic ash and glass shards frozen within an ice sheet in western Antarctica.

"This is the first time we have seen a volcano beneath the ice sheet punch a hole through the ice sheet" in Antarctica, Vaughan said.

Volcanic heat could still be melting ice to water and contributing to thinning and speeding up of the Pine Island glacier, which passes nearby, but Vaughan said he doubted that it could be affecting other glaciers in western Antarctica, which have also thinned in recent years. Most glaciologists, including Vaughan, say that warmer ocean water is the primary cause of thinning.

Whilst agreeing that the Volcano may be causing some of the thinning he then says he doesn't think it is causing all the problems. Now if I had just discovered this Volcano, I know my thoughts might be where there is one might there not be more. Worth visiting the following site on Mt Erebus which is not far away and one of the few volcanoes on earth with a long lived lava lake.


This may be another piece of the puzzle in the Global Warming debate.

A press release on the matter is here and you can pay for the full paper here.



Press Release - First evidence of under-ice volcanic eruption in Antarctica - British Antarctic Survey

Our Boys in Pink?

Apparently the flying of the Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) flag above the Police HQ in Fettes Avenue has caused some concerns down in Lothian and Borders.

A former employee at Fettes said he had spoken to current workers about the flag. He said: "There are members of staff who feel this was insensitive for religious reasons. Some have deep personal convictions and this flies against that.

"One person has already walked out in protest at this."

Hopefully it was not one of the Police's cell customers
Boys in blue are in the pink as gay flag flies over police HQ - Scotsman.com News