Ruth's UK Blog

Chickens coming home to roost?

2011-01-18T09:14:00.000Z

I was very surprised to hear that the Chilcott Inquiry had not only reviewed Tony Blair's evidence - after all, nothing ever sticks to Teflon Tone - but had called him back for additional questioning.

So, on Friday Tony Blair will face the Inquiry again to explain the 'inconsistencies' in some of his statements.

Could it possibly be that a long awaited appearance at the Hague is now appearing on the horizon?

A tale of our times.....

2011-01-18T09:02:00.000Z

The Haircut

One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door..

Later, a police officer comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you , I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen doughnuts waiting for him at his door.

Then a Member of Parliament came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I can not accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Member of Parliament was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen other Members of Parliament lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the politicians who run it.

BOTH POLITICIANS AND DIAPERS
NEED TO BE CHANGED OFTEN
AND
FOR THE SAME REASON!

Nokia phones? I'd rather stick blunt pins into my eyelids - a purely personal perspective

2010-06-19T23:01:00.003+01:00

This is a purely personal view, fuelled by three months of frustration and bile. I'd actually be really interested in other peoples' feedback - is it me or is it Nokia and a complete lack of customer care?

For many years I was a devoted Nokia mobile phone user. From the real bricks to the - was it a 5200? A phone which I accidentally dropped on my hardstanding as I got out of the car, watching in horror as my screen, battery & the rest all flew in different directions. And which I was able to put together after a few moments fiddling and with a huge sigh of relief. A phone that had a great battery life, that always worked - a Prince among mobile phones. I still have and use a Nokia regularly - though not quite as old a model as that. I use it with local SIMS when I'm abroad - it texts, it makes and receives calls, it's got a flashlight for all those strange twists and turns in an unknown village - what's not to love about that?

However, in the real 9 -5 world of the UK, I got seduced by Sony Ericsson. Mainly because a very trendy colleague was moving onto the very latest model and offered me her old (twelve months old) one. After about a week of struggling with a different(non-Nokia) way of doing things and a lot of manual reading I was in business! Me and my SE faced the world - together! The two of us had a number of happy years together (it's still tucked somewhere in a drawer in my study) and then I decided to modernise - to the latest (at that time) SE. Again, many happy years followed until iPhones and Smartphones hit the scene. Being by nature cheap, I went for a Chinese Smartphone - I still haven't sorted out how it works although it continues to ring regularly on my TWO sim cards. Seeing that 3 were giving away free sim cards and talking about free phone calls on Skype (I told you I was cheap) I got a free 3 PAYG simcard - which worked in my old SE but that was (the SE I mean), unfortunately, incompatible with Skype.)

Going into a 3 shop one day, with the original intention of buying a £10 PAYG top-up voucher, I made the fatal mistake of asking 'So, what sort of deals have you got on offer at the moment?' Faster than a jackdaw at a diamond ring, the salesman was IN. In fairness, I cannot blame him, it was me - he answered the questions I asked and asked me questions about text and call usage and I ended up coming out of the shop with an 18 month contract and a Nokia 5230. The contract is a good deal, I'm very happy with it and will probably take out another contract with 3 when it finishes. The 5230 is very good for texting - with a virtual QUERTY keyboard (if you want it) and makes and takes calls sucessfully. You can also use it for Skype calls - as my grown up kids live away this is GOOD. HOWEVER...... I live a busy life but am very disorganised and find it hard to keep track of appointments, meetings etc. SO, I key all my appointments into my laptop on Outlook and my old SE had an application called SE PC Suite that copied all my contacts, deadlines and appointments onto the phone so that when asked, in the middle of a meeting, if I was available on such-and-such a date, I checked my phone and could answer immediately (and accurately) that I was - or wasn't. So this was a question I asked the salesman - could I copy appointments from my PC onto the phone? Oh yes, a disk comes with the phone..... Off I trotted, happy as a pig in the proverbial.

Until that is, I started checking and discovered that the 5230 now pairs up with an application called Ovi rather than with an application called PC Suite and Ovi is all singing and dancing and trendy - for the under-tens I imagine - and is not at all interested in your Outlook appointments. By chasing around Forums and Googling like a demented gibbon I discovered that Nokia PC Suite, although meant for older Nokia models can be loaded onto the 5230 and will work successfully on it. However, as someone else out on one of the Forums complained - to get the most out of your 5230 you need both PC Suite AND Ovi, although the 5230 documentation only talks about Ovi and presents it as the replacement of PC Suite.

However, life was about to get worse - much worse. One of the selling points bigged up by Nokia for the 5230 is/was free sat-nav maps and directions for life from Ovi. I managed - not without problems - to load up a version of Ovi Maps (think that's what it's called) - one that placed me round the corner living on another street.... However, a lot of it was accurate and as I wasn't actually using it as a sat-nav I could live with that. Today I got a text from Nokia inviting me to download the latest version to increase the speed - 'faster performance and more accurate positioning'. Always a glutton for punishment I started - to eventually be told that my memory was full and I needed to clear something out and that it couldn't be installed. Funnily enough, on subsequent re-tries, I was told that the new version was already installed - and, incidentally searching for where I am, I discovered that I'd moved about a mile away (more accurate?). My originally supplied document omitted any mention of what I could do to clear memory so - off to the Forums. Here I discovered that I needed to 'clear the cache'. Another half an hour or so and I discovered a) what that meant and b) how to do it - with thanks to the members on the various forums who had contributed to this. I then got a message that the installation was 'unable to delete file'. Yes, thank you, give me a clue here - perhaps the initial of the file you're unable to delete if you don't want to be too helpful and give the complete name? No? OK - should I delete each and every file on my phone in the hope of eventually selecting the correct one? Life as a 5230 owner went steadily downhill from there with weirder and weirder messages appearing that made no sense whatsoever and the application being totally unable to contact the existing files on my 5230. It's beginning to feel like the Chinese iPhone again - and its instruction manual. I've just left it, I'm going to go into 3 next week, complain bitterly that it's 'not fit for purpose' and ask for an exchange for another make.

My overall complaint is that there is no one piece of documentation nor one Nokia-funded site (and I think this is quite important because after all they're the people who are selling this piece of rubbish and are making a nice profit out of it too) that can guide you through all the pitfalls and all the 'best practice' of getting a 5230 that actually does do what it's meant to do. Maybe it's because they sell to so many different countries? Don't know but I never had these problems with SE who, presumably are also international sellers. Could it be that like Microsoft at one stage, Nokia are beginning to believe their own publicity? Until people started moving to Apple and Linux that is. Each to their own preferences and this blog entry has been a very personal rant of frustration but I, personally, will never, ever buy another Nokia phone.

UPDATE

Despite my best intentions, I didn't get into a 3 shop after my recent rant. Instead, I received a message that there was a new firmware release available for the 5230 - ever the gullible, I downloaded & installed it. The phone still worked so in a moment of unwarrented optimism I wondered whether the new firmware might allow me to download & install the long promised 'sat nav for life' - NO!

Eventually, I was down in my local town last week so I went into the 3 shop & had a bit of a moan. The helpful assistant offered to try & download the application for me - he got the same result as me. He suggested that I leave it with him for an hour or two and he would look at it again, offering a worst case scenario of returning the phone for repair. Naturally, it turned out to be worst case. However, he didn't have a phone he could loan me so he suggested returning it to another 3 store where they would be able to lend me a phone. After almost an hour trailing through the backed up traffic I was seriously fed up. The phone has gone for repair - with dire warnings that if I'd dropped it or got it wet I would have voided the guarantee & would be responsible for any repair bill. They also could loan me a phone - I've used it once & am beginning to consider whether or not I actually need a mobile except when I'm abroad.

A New Beginning?

2010-06-10T12:43:00.009+01:00

Back in April I blogged about how intimidated I felt on returning to my homeland & being greeted by three 'layers' of officialdom at a small provincial airport. I have escaped to Europe again but my return this time was not so depressing.

Landing at Innsbruck on my way out, we were once again met by the lone security guard checking our passports, with a polite 'Danke' as he handed it back. Thereafter I spent a week in small Tyrolean villages where bars allowed smoking. Although smoking was forbidden in the hotel rooms, there was a balcony which held a table & chairs and an ashtray. Like Spain, it appears that the Austrians acknowledge the EU but obey its rules (or not) as they see fit.

On a trip to Germany, we were advised to carry our passports but there was no perceptible border (Schengen?) & we never needed to use them. In Austria I saw a police car travelling through one of the villages - no other police presence. In Germany, police on the beat were more common but they seemed to be more 'keeping an eye on things' rather than anything else. Returning home I had already warned my travelling companion of what to expect. Yes. the zigzag was still in place, yes the three desks were still in place but they were fronted by a smiling young lady who asked if we'd travelled together & suggested we should go to a desk together. Here again we were greeted with a friendly smile and a polite 'Thank you' on completion. Beyond the desk, the way lay open to the luggage retrieval area. Is this the effect of the new government? If so - good for them. It was a much more friendly experience than the one I had at Easter and I really felt I was returning to a 'new' country.

The one sign of my earlier trip was the notice 'remove your passport from its cover....' without any 'Please' or 'Thank you'. I expect to be travelling though that airport again very shortly. This time I'll be carrying a black marker pen & I shall print a big 'PLEASE' at the top of the notice & an equally large 'THANK YOU' at the bottom.

Just a few questions. Mr/Ms Candidate

2010-04-19T19:14:00.003+01:00

YouTube - The Crow on The Cradle

A friend of mine sent me the following by email today:

Thought you might find the following useful if any candidates visit you:

1. What is in your manifesto concerning the State Pension? – we receive amongst the lowest state pensions in Europe and are well below the national poverty level of £165. 00 per week.

2. What is in your manifesto about single sex wards in hospitals?

3. What is in your manifesto regarding free UK wide travel on all forms of public transport (buses, trams, and rail) for OAPs, to encourage independence and greater mobility, as well as helping the environment and reducing demand on care services?

4. Why are we still sending our soldiers to Afghanistan and Iraq when it is none of our business? The terrorist threat is here in England.

5. What is in your manifesto about getting rid of the regional assemblies?

6. What do you propose to do about the broken promises made by Gordon Brown and Tony Blair? –

Pensions in line with Europe;

No means testing for pensioners;

Further education for everyone;

Cutting crime;

More NHI dentists.

7. Tony Blair said in his election speech that he did not want to live in a country where people had to sell their homes for health care – where do you stand on that?

8. Where do you stand on MP's and councillors’ salaries, pensions and expenses?

I wouldn't have thought of asking many of those questions - I will now!

A future fair for who,Gordon?

2010-04-13T10:07:00.013+01:00

Gordon asks us to look at his achievements. Where? What? Bankrupting the country?

A future MORE than fair for those MPs accused of fraud over their expenses as taxpayers will pay all their legal fees

A future more than fair for this family too

A future not so fair for the families facing Gordon's 'secret tax'

Labour's unfair use of NHS employees' email addresses to try & force them to sign a pro-Labour petition

Labour's unfair use of personal NHS data to send alarmist mis-information

Perhaps a future not so fair for pregnant women in Britain?

These people don't think Labour are providing 'a future fair for all'

Welcome to Britain?

2010-04-07T09:23:00.002+01:00

I've been out of the country over Easter - only to other EU countries - but the sense of freedom there is fantastic compared to the UK.

I started off by flying into Valencia, Spain. Heading for Passport Control I lined up to show my passport to one lone security guy in a kiosk & then walked to pick up my bags from the luggage hall. That was it - security checks over - the pleasures of Spain and the rest of Europe lay open at my feet.

Over the weekend I saw very few police and didn't see any drunkeness or fighting in the streets either. I went into both smoking & non-smoking bars. Over there, despite the grip of the EU, freedom of choice still exists.

I flew back into a small local UK airport, negotiated about 10 zig zags to reach the entrance to 'Security'. This was represented by three men & women in white shirts/dark trousers that we had to show our passports to. Behind them were 3 or 4 big blokes in suits standing with their arms folded. Behind THEM were about 8 - 10 men & women in black or navy outfits standing across the entrance to the luggage hall. Big notices 'Remove your passport from any folder' - obviously the mother of whoever designed these notices forgot to teach him/her the basics of British good manners and the use of the word 'Please'. Another round of notices saying it was 'forbidden' to take any photographs - the mantra of 'Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Fear' doesn't seem to apply to officialdom being observed by us plebs.

When we went into the luggage hall, the men & women in black/navy continued to circulate around that area eyeing the passengers up and down. They had flash tags on their uniforms which I think said either 'Border Agency' or 'Border Control Agency'. Looking back, I saw one passenger who had been 'passed' by the passport checking person being stopped & pulled to one side by one of the blokes in suits - he was subsequently allowed to continue into the luggage hall.

Amongst the passengers were some ex-pats returning for a visit - they made some very scathing remarks and I don't imagine they'll be visiting again any time soon. 'Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Fear' is the great Labour mantra. I had nothing to hide but I certainly felt I had something to fear in that a supposedly democratic country considers it's quite OK to greet visitors to the UK and its own citizens in this impolite and intimidating manner. The airport is in a supposedly tourist area. As a tourist I would have been repulsed by my initial sight of the UK. I doubt I would ever bother to visit again. Why not visit and spend my money in a country that welcomes me with smiles and open arms?

As a resident, I looked around and felt a wave of depression sweep over me at the thought of what Britain has become under Labour and its totalitarian Socialism/Communism. Will May 7th bring any good news with it?

Eleven Million Voters Can't Be Wrong

2010-02-26T18:07:00.023Z

Pension Decrease April 2010

When Alistair Darling gave his Pre-Budget Report he said that State Pensions would be rising by 2.5% in April. He omitted to mention that the rise would apply to the basic element of the Pension only and not to any contracted out payments/SERPS, or any graduated benefits.

Local Pensioners' Groups, in partnership with the National Pensioners' Convention have decided it's time for the worm to turn and are sending the letter below to Alistair Darling.

If you're a pensioner or you've got family or friends affected by this - please get involved & contact Alistair. Together we CAN bring about change. There's eleven million votes in it........

Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ

Dear Chancellor

As a pensioner in receipt of graduated pension and/or SERPS I am writing to express my anger at your decision not to uprate this part of my state pension in April 2010.

Some years ago the Government committed itself to a guaranteed 2.5% minimum increase in the state pension, and your decision to only award this to the basic element is both unprecedented and extremely damaging. Furthermore, when making your pre-Budget statement in the House of Commons you did not make it clear that this year’s increase in the state pension would only be partial.

Millions of pensioners in receipt of an additional pension rely on this to maintain a modest standard of living, and believed that when contributing to SERPS they were entering a contract that would guarantee an additional pension that would be subject to an annual increase. You have now reneged on that contract and as advocated by the National Pensioners Convention, I urge you to reverse your decision in the forthcoming Budget.

Yours sincerely

Now you see it, now you don't

2010-02-26T15:57:00.010Z

I've got your money

So Gordon Brown feels he can laugh about a £500bn bailout of the banks? But guess who's paying for it and guess who helped get us in this disastrous situation?

I'm sure I heard on the radio this morning that every radio, TV & news media company were poised with bated breath expecting Gordon Brown to finally announce the 2010 General Election date over the weekend.

I've been listening again since I got home this afternoon - zero, zilch, nada.

Did I dream it or has Mr Indecisive bottled out again?

Remember Dunblane?

2010-02-16T01:34:00.021Z

At the time of the Dunblane shootings there were all sorts of rumours that it and the perpetrator, Thomas Hamilton were linked to a paedophile ring right at the heart of the Establishment and this was why some of the files were to be sealed for 100 years.

Be that as it may, there have now been more disturbing stories about child abuse in Scotland, particularly from a young woman called Holly Greig, who claims she was abused, as a child, by an Aberdeen paedophile ring and attempts to cover this up by the authorities - culminating, just before the weekend in the arrest of an investigative reporter - who was doing just that - investigating. Here is what he has to say (this video has now been pulled by YouTube, however you can still see it at Fausty's ).

Old Holborn & Dark Lochnager have blogged about this much better than I ever could - read their accounts, follow their links and see what action you think needs to be taken.

UPDATE 27/02
The Palestine Telegraph is running with this story.

Tears of a Clown?

2010-02-07T16:59:00.006Z

It is a long time since I have been so angry with any politician's action as I was after reading about Gordon & Sarah sobbing publically on TV about the death of their baby daughter and their son's ill-health.

Are there no depths that this self-serving couple will not sink to in an attempt to gain sympathy and votes from the public?

The death of a small child is always tragic for the parents and they do have my condolences for that - but to use that death as a vote catcher beggers belief.

Don't forget, this was the man who said his family were private and off-limits - until he needs some extra votes to continue his 'fat-cat' lifestyle it seems.

If this subject is really so gut-rending for Gordon and Sarah surely they would have told Piers Morgan beforehand to avoid the topic completely? Or even said, in response to his first question on the subject, that they didn't wish to talk about it?

Instead they charged in, tear ducts at the ready to publically wallow in the topic. Vile and disgusting.

'Tears for Socialism' seems to be all the rage this weekend with both the Browns and Alasdair Campbell bursting into tears on TV.

Justice? What justice? I see no justice.

2010-02-06T22:01:00.011Z

With the Chilcot Inquiry well under way and with most of the cast of 'villains' having already made their appearance - and escaped unscathed - I'll leave it up to each person to decide which 'economies of the truth' graced the Inquiry.

However the video may jog your memory.

Eric Pickles Enquires?

2010-02-04T18:55:00.017Z

'Borrowed' this from Old Holborn (politicalspeak is SO easy)! Now who do you think is being 'economical with the truth' here? Peter Watt, Eric Pickles or Gordon Brown? I know who my money's on - and it ain't either young Peter or the gentleman from Ongar.

The Prime Minister
10, Downing StreetLondon,
SW1A 2AA3

February 2010

Dear Mr Brown,

At Prime Minister’s Questions today, you told the House of Commons that you knew nothing about the secret fund, worth a reported £50,000, which was held by the Labour Party for your benefit.

When asked why you did not declare this on the Register of Members’ Financial Interests (RMFI), you said specifically: ‘I know nothing about what he [the questioner] is talking about.’

This simply cannot be true.It is clear from Peter Watt, the Labour Party’s former General Secretary, that you were the beneficiary of a secret fund held by the Labour Party. He has said explicitly:‘Before becoming Prime Minister, Gordon went to some lengths to insulate himself and the Treasury from our financial troubles, setting up his own personal pot of cash at party HQ. This was money we could not dip into, since it was set aside for the Chancellor’s own pet projects. Murray Elder helped secure donations from the Chancellor’s supporters’ (Inside Out, January 2010, page 105).He went on to claim that it may have been used to finance your ‘long-term campaign to become party leader’ (Inside Out, Peter Watt, 2010, page 105).Mr Watt’s assertions were widely reported. Indeed, across several pages in the Mail on Sunday, Mr Watt claimed that you used ‘up to £50,000-a-year of Labour money to pay for private polling’ (Mail on Sunday, 17 January 2010).The allegations were explicitly confirmed as truthful by a Labour official who said in the same article: ‘It [the fund] was funded through donations to the Party.’

In the light of these allegations, my colleague, Greg Hands MP, wrote to you more than two weeks ago, on 17 January, to query why you had failed to declare the fund properly the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. This letter was publicised in several newspapers on 18 January. As you did not respond, Greg Hands submitted a complaint to John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner this week. I attach a copy of this complaint for your reference. Again, this complaint was reported.

Yesterday in a speech titled ‘Transforming Politics’, you said that you would ‘do all that is necessary to restore trust’ in politics and the conduct of MPs. If you wish to restore trust in politics, you should stop treating people like fools by claiming that you were unaware of this fund when all the evidence points to the contrary.

I therefore urge you to admit to this fund’s existence, apologise for misleading the House and co-operate with any inquiries that John Lyon may wish to make.

Yours sincerely,

Eric Pickles

Chairman, The Conservative Party

Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar

What will the outcome be? My money (sadly) is on it being swallowed up in the black hole that passes for 'transparency' in Westminister these days. The Sunlight Centre for Open Politics had already made an official complaint to John Lyons back in mid-January h/t Guido and nothing appears to have happened.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

2009-08-10T09:16:00.011+01:00

Having, through a mix of laziness, business & the 'we're all going on a summer holiday' feeling not blogged here for almost a month, I was kicked back into action by the report on Sky this morning that over the last year someone in Britain has been spied on by the 'powers that be' every minute.

That's right, every minute of last year someone has had their phone calls, their email, their text messages or their personal data 'snooped' on.

These surveillance powers were originally claimed by the government to be necessary to prevent terrorism. A laudable objective - saving lives & preventing another 07/07 has got to be good - right? Most of us would agree with that?

However, these powers were subsequently 'opened up' for the use of Local Authorities and a whole raft of of other groups - basically Uncle Tom Cobley and All - with the result that my local Council used surveillance powers meant to prevent terrorism, for checking where a 3 year old school place applicant lived and to spy on people shell fishing . Cambrideshire Council used these same powers to check up on paperboys' & girls' paperwork. It appears that Councils generally have been abusing these powers and are continuing to do so.

Back in February 2008, the BBC had this to say - and it looks as though things have only got worse. A worrying point, Google any of these links and the majority appear to be 2008 or earlier. Have these abuses become so commonplace that they're not even considered newsworthy now?

British people now live in the most spied upon state in the world (by its own government) according to an article & survey in The Register. Chris Huhne commented on TV this morning that the current government need to realise that 1984 was meant as a warning - not a blueprint.

So, under Gordon Brown we now have a surveillance state that Joseph Stalin could only dream about. Official snoopers that Erich Honecker and his East German Stasi would have given their eyeteeth for.

Peaceful protest appears to be no longer allowed with 145 complaints about police behaviour during the recent G20 protests and with at least one death under investigation.

Where did we go so badly wrong? Britain 2009 seems to be a million miles away from the country that Harry Patch and his friends fought for. How can we restore it?

Getting to grips with anti-social behaviour

2009-07-16T16:28:00.004+01:00

While this Govt of None of the Talents (GONTS) continues to ruin the country, it's nice to see that local jobsworths on the Councils are continuing to do their best for the crime statistics by targeting OAPs for 'crimes' of anti-social behaviour.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8153073.stm

Well, it's so much easier to threaten & harass OAPs rather than tackle thugs who might respond in a personal & anti-social way isn't it?

And they still get another box ticked, another crime solved.

Councils - don't you just love 'em?

Double glazing sales calls on your mobile?

2009-07-09T18:45:00.005+01:00

You may have already heard about this but, early next week apparently, 15 million UK mobiles will be on a directory which will mean that anyone with time & £1 to spare will be able to contact the owners of those numbers. It’s easy to unsubscribe but, again apparently, it must be done before the beginning of next week to make sure that you are ex directory. If you, like me, have an ex-directory, number witheld landline & subscribe to TPS (ah, bliss, no more double glazing sales calls as I start serving up dinner) you may want to suggest it to your friends and family who have UK mobiles or they could be swamped by unsolicited messages and calls. Removal is recommended by the BBC - see link HERE

To remove your number click on the link below, you'll need your mobile phone with you to do this as they text you a code
1, http://www.118800.co.uk/
2, Click on ‘Ex Directory’ at top right hand side of page, from there it’s straight forward (apparently).

Alternatively, you can text 'E' to 118800 from your mobile, they send you an SMS......... Funnily enough, I've sent them an 'E' today from both my UK mobile phones - have I had an SMS back? No, I haven't. So I've already drafted my email to the Information Commissioner's Office I'll hang fire until lunchtime tomorrow & then send it if I haven't had a response.

I emailed about this to some of my friends - one of them came back with the comment that by contacting the company in any way you were merely validating your mobile number & what happens if later on, they sell their whole database, complete with your validated number? His suggestion was just never to answer a call where the number is not already in your phone book. So, two different suggestions for dealing with mobile calls you may not want - the choice is yours.

UPDATE 17/07

I had tried emailing the Information Commissioner to complain but a) you have to fill in a long form & b) you have to have contacted the original company first & failed to get any result. Typical bureaucratic toothless talking shop it would appear - no wonder the govt are so light hearted about the continual losing of data - there seems to be no real punishment for flouting all the data/information protection laws.

So I emailed Working Lunch instead. They have had the 118800 boss on the program again - a different boss this time - and he explained how the new singing, dancing 118800 site would be all things to all men (and women). He also said that they were working their way through the 1,000s of opt out requests they've had. See the interview HERE

Armed Forces Day 2009

2009-06-27T07:07:00.008+01:00

Today is Armed Forces Day. Today is the day we honour our Armed Forces. Today there'll be parades - and bands - and celebrations. Today we'll hang out the flags - already the Union Jack & St George's Cross flags are fluttering from one of my upstairs windows. Today we'll wear our badges - I still have a Union Jack badge that the Sun sold back during the Falklands war to show support for our troops - and I'll be wearing it today.

Tomorrow the widows & widowers, orphans & bereaved parents of our Armed Forces will continue to cope with their loss. Service personnel who have returned home minus limbs, blind or horribly scarred will still be like that. Those who have returned with their minds torn & confused will waken to another day of bewilderment.

Today, while we celebrate, let's also remember tomorrow's people.

Iraq Inquiry

2009-06-27T06:37:00.004+01:00

With the promised Iraq Inquiry finally going to take place, you may like to watch this YouTube video HERE

Today's the Day

2009-06-04T03:19:00.013+01:00

Today's the day we have to decide - to vote or not? If we choose not to vote, are there any consequences? If we do vote, which Party should we vote for?

If we don't vote, we can hardly complain when the Same Old Party gets in & continues to run things in the Same Old Way - which didn't work before & will certainly not work now, with the country almost bankrupt.

I can't/won't tell you who to vote for - that's your decision - but perhaps before each of us votes, we'll take a moment to think about the sort of life we want and the sort of life we want for our children & grandchildren & vote for the Party we think can best provide that. Even if that means voting for a Party that isn't the one the family always supports and has voted for for generations.

Best of luck with your decision - and I hope we all make the right one.

E-mail to Gordon

2009-06-04T02:36:00.005+01:00

Over on Sky, there's an email that's purportedly going to be sent to Gordon from his not-so-very-loyal MPs begging him to stand down.

Unfortunately they waste time & words buttering him up.......

A much simpler & shorter one could be :

Dear Gordon,

We have supported you as our unelected PM for two years now. During this time you have made a complete dog's dinner of it. Sadily you are just not up to the job. According to opinion polls you are the most unpopular British PM of all time. You have completely ruined the British economy, firstly by selling off all our gold at a bargain basement price, secondly by borrowing, borrowing & more borrowing during the good years instead of saving for a rainy day, by not regulating the financial services properly & by not letting your appointed Ministers get on with their jobs without constantly micro managing over their shoulder. Now that the rainy day is here, you've mortgaged our childrens' & our childrens' childrens' futures to bail out greedy & incompetent bankers while hardworking British families are losing their jobs, their houses & their families. 'No more repossessions' has a fine ring to it but the banks & building societies are just ignoring you & throwing families onto the street. Thanks to you and your cronies (let's not forget McBride & Smeargate), Labour's standing at the polls has never been lower & today we are likely to get completely swamped in both the Local & EU Elections. A lot of that is due to the expenses scandals & we have to admit almost all our MPs have been caught out. However, you have also been complicit in this - how about claiming expenses for your flat when you also had a Grace & Favour residence in Downing Street?

For the good of the country, for the good of the Party you must stand down immediately. If you refuse to go quietly, we will get the Opposition to call for a vote of No Confidence & we will vote with the Opposition. It's your choice Gordon, but either way you are going. You have untill 12 noon to consider your actions. After that the No Confidence vote will be requested.

Your Backbenchers

Nadine Dorries - whatever happened to the right of free speech??

2009-05-25T15:33:00.011+01:00

It appears that Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire has had her blog closed down at the behest of lawyers working on behalf of the Barclay brothers, owners of the Daily Telegraph.

The millionaire Barclay brothers who own their own island, Brecqhou, part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, C.I., made the news recently over their actions in Sark HERE

Ms. Dorries, who was herself the target of some Telegraph finger pointing, had been complaining that the way the Telegraph is 'dripping' their disclosures is 'torture' for MPs & subsequently she queried the motives of the Barclay brothers on her blog. At which point, apparently, lawyers leapt into action, contacted her ISP & had her blog closed down & removed from public perusal.

I say 'appears' & 'apparently' because, with her blog closed down, Ms. Dorries is unable to communicate exactly what has happened.

As a taxpayer & member of the public, my feelings towards the tender sensibilities of MPs fearful of exposure via the Telegraph, is to repeat their favourite mantra of 'nothing to hide, nothing to fear' back at them.

However, also as a member of the public, I am very concerned that the words of an elected representative of the British people can be censored in this way by 'big business' - or by anybody, come to that.

Luckily, as I understand it, she can quote freely from her blog in Parliament, under Parliamentary privilege. That decision is up to her.

I may or may not agree with what Nadine Dorries has to say but I 100% support her right to say it. Isn't that what free speech is all about? Isn't that what democracy is all about?

Or has free speech & democracy become as dead as a dodo in Britain 2009? And if so, who is to blame?

Victory for Joanna & the Gurkhas

2009-05-21T16:19:00.011+01:00

Congratulations to Joanna Lumley for her work on behalf of the Gurkhas & for winning a stunning victory. She has been a brilliant tactician & has out-manoeuvred the Government & its Ministers at every turn. Now all we need is for her to get involved in politics as an MP & to fight for electoral reform in the same way that she has fought for the Gurkhas.

There are some honest MPs out there....

2009-05-18T17:31:00.006+01:00

Not my own MP, but an MP around my area, Annette Brooke (Lib Dem) does realise how appalled the general public is over the scandal of MPs expenses & has spoken out strongly in the local paper saying that MPs should not be above the law. She also talks about her own expenses in the same article.

Annette's stance is a welcome change from the attitudes of many at Westminster & proves that there are honest MPs about.

Mr Speaker shows himself up

2009-05-18T16:24:00.007+01:00

I have just sent the following letter to my MP, Robert Syms, expressing my opinion of the Speaker & his recent performance in Parliament:

'I have just watched Speaker Martin on TV. Never mind his apologies - they are far too little & far too late. He fully demonstrated his incompetence by having to ask the Clerks for advice. He is so arrogant & out of touch that he never thought he could be brought to book. He may not be responsible for how the MPs filled in their expense forms, however, he has certainly creamed off his own expenses as much as he could & has tried at every turn to block transparency of MPs' expenses - using taxpayers' money to go to Court to prevent it. He is despicable & needs to be sacked - NOW'.

He should not be allowed to remain in his position any longer. He has brought the position of Speaker, usually a respected & honourable one (e.g Betty Boothroyd) - into disrepute. He has in fact brought the whole House of Commons into disrepute through his incompetence & his obdurate attitude. He should not be allowed to resign at his own convenience - he should be sacked - immediately.

I notice Gordon Brown was, as ever doing his McAvity role & remained away from any involvement in the proceedings.

David Cameron calls for a General Election - ASAP

2009-05-18T15:20:00.004+01:00

I've just been listening to David Cameron launching his EU Election Campaign. I was pleased, though very surprised, to hear him calling for a General Election as soon as possible after June 4th.

In many ways he is following the wishes of at least some of the electorate (there are currently at least two petitions asking the Queen to dissolve Parliament), rather than being proactive. However, it shows that at least he is listening & reacting to the voters.

It is now up to all the Partys to show how receptive they are to voters' wishes to ensure that never again can there be a repeat of the thievery, cheating, venality & tax evasion that has been revealed in the pages of The Telegraph.

Human Rights for our Troops

2009-05-18T14:44:00.007+01:00

I was very pleased to hear today that the High Court has decided that British servicemen & women do have the protection of the Human Rights Act when they are on active service. As I understand it, this judgment would mean that the MoD has a legal duty to supply proper equipment.

Surely Britain must be the only so-called democracy that sends its troops out to fight with sub-standard or non-existant equipment? Has the MoD no shame? Has the Government - who funds the MoD - no shame? Of course, none of them are going to be at risk of being killed or injured.

Millions (or is it trillions) of pounds available for banks & their directors who have behaved disgracefully. No money available, however, to provide necessary equipment for our troops.

Oh, and apparently, the MoD will be appealing against the judgement in the House of Lords!

So while criminals - terrorists, murderers, drug addicts, rapists & child molesters - can claim the protection of the HRA, the MoD want to deny this same protection to our troops. Fair? Just?

Payback Time

2009-05-14T20:40:00.006+01:00

Of the three main Party Leaders David Cameron has, in my opinion, responded the swiftest to the concerns of the electorate. While Nick Clegg has tried to respond, he has been hampered by the fact that his MPs seem to want to argue the toss and therefore his proposals/orders haven't had the same 'grab appeal'.

As for Gordon, he's still wondering what his MPs have done wrong & hasn't yet realised that the majority of voters are white-hot with anger. He has taken some action, in suspending Elliot Morley - the MP claiming for a non-existant mortgage - but even that took until lunchtime, by which time Tory Andrew MacKay was dust. He and his MP partner, Julie Kirkbride had claimed expenses in a manner not dissimilar to Labour Ministers Balls & Cooper.

Meanwhile, MPs seem to be banding together against the Speaker. He has not filled the role of Speaker well. He has spent taxpayers' money trying to keep MPs' expenses secret. Why? Has he something to hide?

Confused? I know I am

2009-05-14T19:46:00.007+01:00

Like most people, I suspect, I have been following the errors & omissions of our Elected Representatives with bated breath since the Telegraph first started covering MPs' Expenses last week. Newspapers, radio, TV & blogs, all being constantly updated as yet another example of MPs' creative accounting is exposed - usually each one worse than the last.

There have been so many disclosures & exposures that I'm actually getting confused as to which MP has been involved in which particular piece of troughery.

Maybe I've led a sheltered existence but I continue to be shocked by the sheer venality, greed, mean-mindedness & avarice of our MPs. Men & women who earn 3 or 4 times the salary that I ever achieved (and I considered myself as well-paid at the time) are claiming for packets of Hob Nobs & Mars bars, in addition to bath plugs, pornography, expensive repairs to their partner's house, non-existent mortgages & Council Tax that they never paid. Not to mention Capital Gains Tax avoided by 'flipping' between main & second (or third, fourth, fifth or sixth) homes.

Didn't their parents ever teach them about lying, cheating & thievery versus ordinary decent law abiding behaviour?

Workers in the private sector taking such liberties with their employer's money would pretty soon find themselves jobless and probably with a criminal record to boot. Why should MPs be treated differently? Sauce for the goose is still sauce for the gander.

For MPs the mantra appears to be 'it's not against the rules' even when some of their actions very obviously are.

These are the people who feel it's quite justifiable to snoop into every aspect of our personal lives. Strangely enough, they're very unhappy when we treat them as they treat us.

Complaints have already been lodged with Mr Plod & the Inland Revenue - I do hope these are pursued, without the whitewash provided for Cash for Honours & illegal donations.

Gone to Soldiers Every One

2009-05-14T19:12:00.004+01:00

It was very moving yesterday to watch the people of Wootton Bassett standing in the rain to pay their respects to our latest four fallen soldiers as their bodies were taken through the town.

Whether or not one supports the Invasion of Iraq & the 'peacekeeping' in Afghanistan, it is impossible not to be saddened by the thought of all these young lives sacrificed, of parents left bereft, of widows & orphans.

The death of the Gurkha soldier, a young man with two small children, who had served in the British Army for - was it 12 or 13 years - emphasises - if there ever was any doubt, just how much we owe to & rely on the Gurkhas. It is poignant that a Gurkha has died fighting for Britain at a time when there is so much controversy over whether or not ex-service Gurkhas should be allowed to settle here.

From casual conversations I have had, it appears that the ordinary electorate would be quite happy to have them here, it is only the Government which remains obdurate.

Finally, wasn't it sad & disgraceful that with four dead soldiers returning, the Government couldn't be bothered to send a representative to pay their respects at RAF Lyneham?

Thank you to the people of Wootton Bassett.

Your Maj

2009-05-11T12:50:00.010+01:00

Over the weekend I've been reading the articles in The Telegaph and other newspapers & on blogs - all on the same subject - how when the economic picture here in the UK is grim with many of us losing jobs, homes & families our MPs have continued to feather their own nests at our expense.

No wonder Gorbals Mick - Mr Speaker to give him his official title - has worked so hard & spent so much of OUR money trying to prevent MPs expenses coming into the public domain.

Let's be honest, MPs stuffing themselves at the trough is not just a Labour problem, it's a problem across all Partys. However, at least David Cameron says he will 'investigate' & 'take action'. We haven't yet heard what Nick Clegg will do - Lib Dems expenses & troughers are scheduled for tomorrow in The Telegraph, as far as I know.

Gordon Brown meanwhile just claims 'it's the System' - presumably his Moral Compass has never told him that ripping off the taxpayer is wrong? I think we should each send him a small donation towards getting his Moral Compass repaired as obviously it's very badly damaged. Only a small donation mind, as he'll probably claim the rest on expenses!

Where do we go from here? I hear that certain public minded citizens have reported MPs to the Benefit Fraud Hotline, Mr Plod at The Met & HMRC. It all takes time - remember how 'Cash for Honours' dragged on & no one ever paid any penalty? Remember how David Abrahams' various donations, although judged to be illegal, were never even returned?

And how, despite 56,509 (and still counting) requests for him to resign, Gordon Brown is still claiming to be 'the right man for the job' and clinging on to his position by his bitten fingernails?

However, one of the powers still available to the Queen is to dissolve Parliament, which means there would have to be a General Election.

Accordingly, I have set up a petition asking the Queen to do that very thing - dissolve Parliament. It's HERE

Please sign if you are fed up being ripped off. Even if all the same candidates stand again, we can just not vote for the ones who have been stuffing themselves at the trough.

Joanna Lumley 1 HMG 0

2009-05-11T12:33:00.003+01:00

I've been really busy over the last few days, mainly reading about how our MPs have been fleecing us, the taxpayers. However, I had to comment on Joanna Lumley's audacious ambush of Phil Woolas the Immigration Minister on live TV. I don't think he knew what had hit him - which, presumably, was the intention.

I think, unfortunately, Ms Lumley has found that her comment 'I know I can trust my Prime Minister' has proven not to be the case.

Despite this, it looks as though Joanna & her campaign on behalf of the Gurkhas has gained so much publicity & so much public support that she will win through eventually. What a brave, determined & gutsy woman.

Jacqui Smith's at it again

2009-05-07T14:54:00.006+01:00

I see the Daily Mail are running a story that Second Home Secretary & Minister for Porn, Jacqui Smith pays full Council Tax on her Reddich house, base for her & her family (h/t to Blogger Old Holborn). Apparently this means it is designated as her first/main home - despite claiming all those second home expenses for it & claiming that her sister's spare bedroom is her main home.

So all her carefully crafted 'economies with the truth' will now, hopefully come back to bite her.

This shows up her very patronising comments re the Censorship Index - 'shared values' etc - for the complete & utter hypocrisy they are.

Just can't keep her snout out of the trough can she? And can't seem to remember which set of lies she's told either.

We're counting, Gordon

2009-05-07T14:22:00.008+01:00

Just checked the latest figures for the two petitions about Gordon's future, one asking him to stay, t'other telling him to go. The count for him to stay is 51 - (and I think some of the names are still dodgy), to go is 53,700+. Looks like the gap is widening Gordon!

In case you haven't voted yet but would like to, here's the links:

Stay

Go

A message from the Electorate?

2009-05-03T16:39:00.005+01:00

I've just been checking the numbers on the two No 10 Petitions about Gordon Brown's Premiership.

One petition calls for him to resign immediately - the current count is 46,936 votes.

The other petition calls for him to continue to lead the nation - the current count is 33 votes.

Perhaps just the slightest little hint there of voters' perceptions of Gordon Brown as PM?

Hurrah for Joanna Lumley

2009-05-03T15:52:00.004+01:00

Somewhat belatedly, I'd like to say a very loud 'Hurrah' for Joanna Lumley and her fight on behalf of the Gurkhas. As I understand it, she feels a sense of personal responsibility towards them because her father was a Gurkha officer. 'Personal responsibility' - now that's a novel phrase in Britain 2009. More often what you hear is 'It's my right, innit', usually in connection with expecting something for nothing.

Congratulations to MPs of all Parties for voting against the government's draconian proposals.

Ms Lumley takes her campaign to Parliament next week, where she has been asked to put her case to the House of Commons Home Affairs committee. I hope she is successful, the Gurkhas have served Britain well for many years and are much more deserving of British residency than many of the people the government appears to welcome with open arms.

One more time - hurrah for Joanna Lumley & hurrah for personal responsibility!

Happy St George's Day?

2009-04-23T08:21:00.020+01:00

In most countries there is a carnival atmosphere on the day of their patron saint. Here, in the UK, it isn't a Bank Holiday which means that the British, apart from the 2.03 million unemployed as at January 2009 (probably considerably more by now), the 1.39 people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in February 2009 see stats here and Benefits Claiments, will be working their normal hours.

I've listed the unemployed, Jobseekers & Benefit Claimants separately because although you or I might reasonably consider that they would be the same people this is not necessarily so under Labour's creative accounting - they 'massage' the figures a lot more than Maggie Thatcher ever managed.

Oh, and the pensioners will be having a holiday too, I'd almost forgotten about them. The pensioners who can afford to retire that is, after Gordon has raided their Pension Funds & refused, despite the Labour Manifestos of 1997, 2002 and 2005, to restore the pensions link that Maggie destroyed. The government say poverty level is an income of £165 per week. The basic State Pension is £95.25 per week. How many people do you know of 60+ who are still working? A rather high percentage I think.

So, as we take stock of ourselves and our country on this special day, what do we see? - a government that has run the country into the ground & that is mired in scandal. How incompetent does a Chancellor or PM have to be to bring a country to it's knees financially? A country that actually had money 'saved' by the Torys in our 'bank acount' for the proverbial rainy day, in 1997 when Labour took over. Now, 12 years later we have widespread unemployment, horrific house repossession rates and debt that equals - what is it? - 84% of GDP. The legacy of a 'prudent' Chancellor? I think not! Of course, according to Gordon, all these problems started in America - I hadn't realised America had set up the FSA? I hadn't realised America had allowed such slack supervision by the FSA (working as a branch of H.M. government) that we had the scandal of Equitable Life? .....and Northern Rock ...... and RBS ......and HBOS.

A government that promised us an EU Referendum, then said that as it was now called the Lisbon Treaty, we didn't need to vote - they'd decide what we wanted.

We have MPs - no, we have Cabinet Ministers - whose trotters are so deep into the trough that they claim 88p for a bath plug from the electorate on expenses - oh yes, and their porn films. And a PM who says that MPs expenses must be reformed and that he will remove the Second Home Allowance and instead provide an Attendance Allowance - which may allow MPs to claim even more than they've previously claimed on their Second Home Allowance........ A PM, incidentally, who has had the finger of suspicion pointed at him over one of his flats & his Second Home Allowance.

We have a police force that has been politicized, a private company, ACPO that decides police policy & one branch of the force that has received 145 complaints over their handling of G20 policing - including the death of one man.

We have had better St George's Days in the past & I hope we will have better St George's Days again in the future. Use your vote - if you sit home on election day how can you complain about the government we have? If all else fails, vote for the Party that you dislike least. And, in the meantime, you might like to join in the the Libertarian Party 'Taking the shirt off your back campaign'

Happy St George's Day to you all.

The Budget - Fiscal Competency?

2009-04-22T20:45:00.007+01:00

I'm no great fan of David Cameron's but I think he hit the nail on the head today when he said that this government could no longer claim to have any financial skills. As ever, Darling was shoved out front to perform like a tame monkey while behind him Gordon the Great Gurner sat & gurned & pulled the strings. It must be galling to have to admit to your errors of judgement in the very public view of the House of Commons. It must be even more galling to have to admit to the fatal errors of your boss and pass them off as yours. Yet another day when, as the country fell about his ears, Gordon sat & muttered his mantra 'It wasnae me, it wasnae me - a big boy did it & ran away'.

Tony Blair for EU President?

2008-03-31T11:39:00.000+01:00

Rumours are going around that Tony Blair is angling for the new position of EU President, backed by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Personally, I don't think that position is even needed, but if it is carried through, I certainly have grave doubts that Tony Blair is the man for the job - based on his performance record while PM of the UK. Apparently there's quite a few other Europeans that share that opinion & a petition has been started against him getting it:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stopblair.html

Some of the comments on the site really cause a sharp intake of breath!