Joining in on Visited Countries

A couple of people on Lib Dem Blogs have had a go at this so I thought I would join in.



create your own visited country map
or check our Venice travel guide

Prescott, Prescott and more Prescott

What a busy day for Prescott fans

First it is reported that he thinks President Bush's foreign policy is "crap"

I agree with him on this although it appears that he omitted to mention that our foreign policy as the 51st state is almost identical. Oh well open mouth, insert foot business as usual from John Prescott.

In the same article it is reported that "he called the US President a cowboy with his Stetson on". Oh well I guess it takes one to know one. It was only a few weeks ago that he was fantasising about being a cowboy himself!

Then it is reported that following a freedom of information request "the Cabinet Office has refused to say how often the Cabinet committees chaired by John Prescott have met"

Tricky one this. Damned if you do and damned if you don't I suspect.

Finally it is reported that a TV Drama is to depict John Prescott's fall from grace

Surely this cannot be a TV Drama? A comedy yes, but a TV drama? I think not.

Loss of community spirit?

This survey was conducted by ICM and commissioned by Community Service Volunteers (CSV) for Make a Difference Day. They highlight certain findings which they believe could be in part addressed through volunteering in general and through Make a Difference day in particular.

I am not sure that I entirely agree with the headline in the Guardian piece which exclaims "Report reveals loss of community spirit" I think that this can be read in a more positive light in that people are concerned about these issues. It seems to me that it is not good that there is dwindling support for young people or a lack of dignity for the elderly but it is positive that "40% of the population say they are concerned about dwindling support and guidance for young people growing up and 25% say they are concerned about older people losing their dignity."

This survey certainly provides some useful hooks for Liberal Democrat policies.

Instant Justice = No Justice

So here we go again. Further plans to undermine the concepts of fairness and justice which we rightly hold so dear. We have already seen some small steps in this direction with the powers the police already have. Now they are proposing that this should be taken further with more powers to dispense instant justice. The end result of all this is that the police become prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner all in one. This is not good for justice and in the long run this will not be good for the police.

There is a trend developing here where the debate starts over the principle as a result of which the proposals (say detention without charge) get watered down. Nonetheless the principle becomes established. Later on the government comes back with further proposals and the debate gets sucked into the detail rather than the principle. The ninety day detention is probably going to be back on the agenda after recent events and we will end up seeing the debate conducted over the detail of whether or not it should be ninety days rather than over the principle of whether or not we should be detaining people without charging them. I hope our parliamentary team will be focused on bringing the debate around to the principles

Government booze stash

According to Don Foster the government has a "hospitality" stash of booze which contains some 35,000 bottles of wine, beer and spirits worth some £647,000! Quite what they need such a large amount of alcohol for I do not know. I always find the local shops, supermarkets and off licenses well stocked with such items. We could have a brilliant party with that lot and so could they always assuming of course that they know how to organise a p*** up in a brewery

Disappointing but signs of promise

Leeds threw away three possible points this afternoon at Crystal Palace. However despite the loss there were some very positive signs. Leeds went down to 10 men after 15 minutes when Horsfield was sent off but held on until the 91st minute when Morrison score for Palace. For much of the game Leeds looked comfortable on the ball particularly in the last 30 minutes of the first half when some good chances when begging. The struggled more in the second half but still looked worthy of a point and Westlake and Stone were brilliant

1 Point gained 2 lost

I guess four points from six at the start of the season is not to be sniffed at especially given the disrupted pre-season and late signings at the back end of last week. Some poor defending allowed QPR to snatch a point. Oh well early days I guess

A small step in the right direction

At long last some commonsense prevails and the Ordnance Survey is going to put details of security sensitive sites on the map. This is an issue which has always seemed barking mad and slightly offensive to those of who live near to nuclear sites such as the Atomic Weapons base at Aldermaston. To look at the map and see green fields where patently a large military industrial complex sits has always been at odds with reality.

I used to sit on the Atomic Weapons Base Local Liaison Committee in my days as a councillor and raised this very issue on a couple of occasions. I was told initially that it could not be done for reasons of national security. I then produced a map of the base (kindly sent to me by some anonymous party) and asked whether or not the Committee could instead be supplied with an up to date version of my map. Queue apoplectic fits on behalf of the AWE Staff who wanted to know where this classified map had come from?

I pointed out that given the leaks from inside the base of radioactivity and documents and the name of the adjacent village (Aldermaston) it would not take a rocket scientist to locate the base. Several years later it was conceded that it would not be a problem to apply to have Aldermaston put back on the map. Finally some action appears to have been taken - It is not absolutely clear from the article in the Guardian but it looks as if the Weapons Base at Aldermaston will be restored to Ordnance Survey maps and at last I may be able to obtain a reasonably accurate map of the local area.

Great - the season is underway and 3 points in the bag

Excellent start to the season after last seasons disappointing trip to Cardiff. I must admit I was nervous about this one - expecting Norwich to be stronger than last season and thought that a hard fought draw might be a possible outcome. Still this win sets us off on the right foot for a long hard season ahead. It is good to see some activity on the transfer front despite the fiasco with Livermore with three more players arriving in the last couple of days. According to the preview on Leeds United Life this win keeps a great run of opening day results going - "Our last opening day defeat was the 5-2 loss, away at Newcastle, on 19 August 1989, the year we won the old Division Two title. Since then, we have won nine and drawn seven and yet nine of those sixteen games were played away. This will be our eighth successive home game on opening day and we are looking for our sixth win in that time."

Hospital fined for treating patients!!

So basically the hospital in question had spare capacity and got on and treated the patients that were waiting. Brilliant you would think what a good idea.........but oh no hang on a minute loads of these patients they treated were seen earlier than the 122 days they were supposed to wait so there is no way the PCT's are going to pay up. So patients get treated quickly without having to wait 122 days (4 months) and the PCT's who are short of cash in the mad world that is the NHS these days weasel out of paying. It is good to know that all these reforms are working so sensibly!!

Mad goings on at Elland Road

21st July - David Livermore signs for Leeds from Millwall for £400,000

1st August - David Livermore joins Hull for an undisclosed fee

Well he obviously impressed in training then!! The official line from the club is "At the time of signing David, Kevin Nicholls and another potential midfield target weren't available to us. We then managed to acquire Kevin and things have now opened up on another target. With everyone fit, David is unlikely to play - so when the opportunity came up for him to talk to Hull, we gave him that choice."

This is so bizarre it beggars belief and doesn't bode well for the coming season which kicks off on Saturday. The clubs line on the acquisition of Kevin Nicholls might hold some water if it were not for the announcement on the official site the same day (yesterday) that Nicholls earlier injury was being described by the manager as "serious" see link here.

And why the undisclosed fee lets hope it is because Hull don't want to admit that they have paid more than £400k for a player who cost Leeds that amount less than two weeks ago. The alternative is that Leeds have made a loss on the player.

Roll on Saturday - but I fear a long hard season ahead

Election Commissioners Jailed

Thailands election commissioners have been found guilty of allowing unqualified candidates to stand in last Aprils elections and have been sentenced to four years in prison. They will appeal against their sentences. However, I guess that this will resolve the impasse caused by the refusal of most of the Election Commissioners to stand down and is another step towards (hopefully) successful elections in October

So now we can fly flags legally!!

I must admit I missed this one as I wasn't aware that it was illegal to fly a flag in the first place. All this probably fits in with the politically correct barking mad world in which we currently live. See also my post during the world cup on this sort of nonsense.

I was probably too closely involved in watching the world cup to notice that someone was being threatened with prosecution for displaying the national flag.

Anyway hats off to Yvette Cooper for displaying some common sense - a trait which is all too frequently missing from many government departments.

Sadly we won't be allowed to display our flags until April 2007 - I may just reinstate the flag on this blog as presumably that won't require planning permission.

15th October it is

At last a date has been set for the rerun of Thailands elections. I hope that the pending court cases can be resolved as quickly as possible to give a clear run in to the new elections. Then lets hope that all the parties participate in the elections and that everyone accepts the results

Thai Rak Thai and opposition face fraud trial

Thai Rak Thai and the Democrats will face court in the fraud trila relating to Aprils elections. However, according to this piece from the BBC it is thought unlikely that Thailands main parties will be dissolved. These issues clearly need to be resolved a.s.a.p so that there is some certainty in the run up to the new elections in October

This is a monster!

Now I know that I like big bikes. My Harley Davidson Fatboy has a 1450 cc engine. I always fancied a go on a Triumph Rocket which has a 2294 cc engine.

But this beastie from Boss Hoss is just unbelieveable!!

It has an 8200 cc engine!! Oh and you can get them in the UK now from here. Now where did I put that spare £42,000?

Do we want to encourage Volunteers and Volunteering?

My attention was drawn to the issue of just what those on benefits can or cannot do vis-a-vis volunteering by John Hemmings post. He is concerned about the issue of expenses for those on benefits who are volunteering and specifically the statement that those on benefits "won't be able to claim for buying lunch" because "the amount of Income Support or Job Seekers allowance you get is already meant to cover the cost of your basic needs including lunch".

I start off from a very simplistic view of the world in that I believe that volunteering is a good thing. One charity I have been involved with in the past could not deliver anywhere near the level of services it does without the help of all the wonderful volunteers who give up their time. For many volunteers the act of volunteering also has a beneficial impact on their own development at the same time as assisting the charity. I know of volunteers who have developed so far that they have gone on to full time paid employment in the same charity.

So it now appears that if you give a volunteer expenses to cover the cost of their lunch that money will be deducted from their benefits. This is mad given that they may incur additional costs through purchasing lunch where they are volunteering rather than making themselves something at home. Of course charities can presumably get round this by providing food and drink for their volunteers instead of paying expenses but that of course assumes that they have already got the volunteer through the door. Alternatively of course they may have decided not to wade through the 49 page document from the DWP and may have given up on the idea of volunteering completely!!

Thailand is the most risky place for holidaymakers

I found this statistic from Norwich Union somewhat at odds with my own personal experiences in Thailand. Maybe I have just been luck and admittedly I am only one person whereas their report was based on some 60,000 claims. I have always found Thailand to be a safe and happy place. Apparently British holiday makers are most likely to suffer "food poisoning, theft, traffic accidents or the loss of belongings" when visiting Thailand. The traffic accidents I can believe although I have seen countries where the problem is worse. As for the rest - well I have seen no great evidence of theft being a problem and the food is wonderful. It certainly won't stop me going again. In fact the flights are already booked!

People with learning disabilities abused by NHS

According to the report by the Healthcare Commission and Commission for Social Care Inspection there was "widespread institutional abuse of 200 people with learning disabilities living at a treatment centre in Falmouth and in 46 houses around Cornwall". Some of the abuse described in this report is horrific but sadly in my personal experience (I was until recently a director of West Berkshire Mencap) these are not isolated incidents.

The NHS in other parts of the country has very real problems in dealing with people with learning disabilities. These problems may not be on the same scale as the proactive abuse described in the report but the impact of not doing something can be almost as devastating.

In Reading a cancer patient with a learning disability was left in severe pain for days on end because the staff at the hospital could not work out how to deal with her or communicate with her.

In Dartford a patient was repeatedly denied the physiotherapy which she needed because she had autism. The same patient ended up staying in hospital for the best part of three months whilst Social Services and the Health Authority argued over who was to provide funding for aspects of her treatment. By the time she was discharged she could no longer walk and indeed still cannot walk - all because she did not get the treatment she needed when she needed it. This cannot be a cost effective way of dealing with someone. Never mind the basic considerations of treating someone with respect and dignity and the long term implications for this persons quality of life!

My impression is that it is all too difficult for some medical practitioners. Don't get me wrong there are clearly some very good doctors and nurses out there as well but in a lot of areas there is significant work to be done if the NHS is deliver an equitable service to all its patients. Education and training will have a role to play as will the nominated advocates who are supposed to be in place at each Hospital. However, what is needed more than anything else is a sea change in attitudes so that those with Learning Disabilities are treated with the respect and dignity that any other member of the community would expect.

Congratulations are due to the local Mencap for getting a proper investigation into the problems in Cornwall.

The rest of the NHS across the country will need to have long hard look at itself and start treating people with learning disabilities with some respect especially as according to the BBC article "Checks will now be carried out on all services in England."

Thailand and Football!

This was too good an opportunity to miss. A chance to blog about two of my favourite things...Thailand and Football. It seems that the problem of absenteeism has spread even to the Buddhist monks in Thailand even though they are not taking part in the world cup. According to this piece from the BBC the monks "have to be awake at 5am every morning to collect alms from the local community. Because of the six-hour time difference between Germany and Thailand, many matches do not start until the early hours of the morning, and since the World Cup began there have been reports of monks sleeping in, leaving local Buddhists waiting in vain with their morning offerings."

Normal service may now be resumed - slowly

After an appropriate period of mourning the St Georges Flag has now been removed from my blog and normal service may now slowly resume. I will probably still watch the semis and the final though. Then a few days off before pre season begins in earnest.

Thai Rak Thai and Democrat party to be disbanded?

The fallout from the failed elections continues. The Constitutional Court now has to rule on whether or not these two parties should be forcibly disbanded for violating elections laws. It seems unlikely that this will happen but even if it did I cannot see how it would work in practical terms. The same groupings would probably reform even if under another name. Meanwhile no date has yet been set for the rerun.

Tracy Chapman at the Colston Hall in Bristol

We went to see Tracy Chapman last night in Bristol as she kicked off her European tour. I have seen her live several times and she was as ever absolutely brilliant. She played many of my old favourites and there were only one or two that I did not recognise. For me two songs really stood out. Her performance of “America” was so strong and powerful it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and her performance of “Behind the Wall” was absolutely awesome and you could have heard a pin drop as she performed this one. Anyone who wants to know more about Tracy can find a discography here

Pensions under threat again

Ok I accept that pensions is a big issue and a big problem facing all of us. But this article in Saturdays Guardian worried me. We may need to raise the retirement age, we may need to contribute more and we may need to find ways of ensuring that everybody contributes to their future retirement fund and not just through the state pension provision. But the argument put forward by Christine Farnish, the chief executive of the National Association of Pension Funds worried me. She argued that "employers should be able to cut retrospectively benefits built up by employees in "guaranteed" occupational schemes." If this is what she believes then I wonder why she is the Chief Executive of National Association of Pension Funds which says on its website front page "We work to promote an environment where people can save for their retirement, with confidence, in the workplace. " I am not sure how retrospectively stealing pension funds which have already been earned is supposed to give people the confidence to save for their retirement through workplace pension schemes.

More barking mad nonsense

This time in Torbay where they may have to consider removing their Palm Trees as they may constitute a safety hazard! I was really disappointed with the Liberal Democrat comment in the piece in yesterdays Guardian. Someone please tell me he was completely misquoted. This sort of mad nanny state stuff is the sort of thing we should be opposing. Yes we have responsibilities to protect people but we also have responsibilities as Liberals to fight against this sort of nonsense. Torbay is a beautiful area and as I write number one son is there imbibing a few small beers and watching the football with his mates. I will warrant that if he gets injured by a Palm Tree it won't be because the tree attacked him!!

The World Cup and politically correct nonsense

Please do not expect to get any common sense from me until after the 9th July. With two or three games to squeeze in every day until June 27th normal service is unlikely to be resumed for a while. I may blog about football, I may even blog about other stuff, but on the other hand I am just as likely to sit in front of the telly and forget all about blogging.

The two opening games in group A today will not have worried England as none of the four teams looked to be a huge threat and if England qualify out of Group B they will have to meet the first or second team from this group.

As for real life - well lets put it like this. Political correctness can be taken too far in my humble opinion. In a certain office a draw was run for the World Cup. Each team was allocated a World Cup team and each team was then encouraged to decorate their area in the colours, flags, shirts etc of their nominated team. The reason that this had been done was because they were worried that those non English people who worked for the company would be offended if the English people all put up the English flag. How about the English people who are offended by this politically correct nonsense!!

And if you want to see more nonsense have a look at this one

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand celebrates 60 years on the throne

He is the worlds longest reigning monarch - what an achievement. Those who know me will know that I am not renowned for being a monarchist but from my visits to Thailand it absolutely clear that the Thai people have the utmost respect for their monarch. The Nation has also produced a special website to mark the occasion - click here

So Rooney goes

But it appears that he is not going with the blessings of M****ester ***. What a surprise - oh and if he gets injured again they may sue. All down to money again.

Cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women

According to Britains oldest war veteran that is the secret to a long life. For the full story click here

Tax Policy - where do we go?

I have read two interesting blogs on this subject over the last couple of days. First of all at QuaeQuam Blog and secondly at Jocks Blog. There was also a piece in yesterdays Observer and another one in today's Guardian. All of this has set me thinking about which bits I like and which bit I don't (bearing in mind of course we are yet to see the actual proposals). I am not keen on dropping the 50 percent tax rate simply because I believe that those who are substantially better off can afford to contribute more to the pot and that a society where the gap between the richest and the poorest is so large is not healthy. There may be an argument that we have pitched the starting point for this higher rate too low but I would not want to abolish it. The increased emphasis on green taxes is to be welcomed although initially I was concerned that those who were worse off would penalised for aspiring to a foreign holiday. Assuming that the comments in today's Guardian about the support of charter firms is accurate then I am reassured. I agree that some form of progressive property tax would be the way to go and like QuaeQuam blog I worry about the problem of looking like we are giving with one hand (through cuts in the rate of income tax) whilst taking with the other (through the introduction of local income tax). I am also not sure that cutting the basic rate from 22p to 20p is the way to go. It may be more marketable but would it not be better to help those who most need it by spending that money on raising the threshold at which you begin to pay tax?

World Environment Day is on June 5th

World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. World Environment Day is hosted every year by a different city and there is an international exposition in the host city. The 2006 World Environment Day is to be held in Algeria and the topic for 2006 is Deserts and Desertification. According to the UN site "World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways, including street rallies, bicycles parades, green concerts, essay and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, recycling efforts, clean-up campaigns and much more." In the UK the Environment Agency has a page where you can Promise the earth for World Environment Day. I think that most of these should be doable for most people. Certainly 1 to 7 should be easily achievable without any significant additional effort or expenditure although I am not sure if sharing a bath counts for item 1!

Haditha the US "Mai Lai" moment in Iraq

The massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha may turn out to be the Americans "Mai Lai" moment. It looks as if there may have been some form of cover up which will not help the overall impression. The Mai Lai massacre was believed to have been a key factor in undermining support for the Vietnam war and it remains to be seen whether or not this incident will have a similar impact on US public opinion. George Bushs opinion poll ratings have not been good of late fluctuating between 31% and 37% approval over the last couple of weeks. If you want to track what happens go here. Currently 37% of Americans think the war with Iraq was worth fighting and 32% of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq. To track these numbers go here.

Prescott to give up Dorneywood

Just heard this on Sky News. So a house and a few croquet mallets have been thrown to the circling pack. What remains to be seen is whether this will be enough for the parliamentary party to call off the dogs.

The game is up in Iraq

Great piece in todays Guardian about the continued presence of British troops in Iraq. Leaving aside the question of whether or not we ever had a right to be there in the first place this piece makes it absolutely clear that we will have no right to remain there beyond the end of 2006. I must admit I had missed the news that we had been asked to leave last week by the new Prime Minister of Iraq. However, it is incomprehensible that Blair has decided to reject an exit strategy when he has been offered one on a plate. I hope that the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party will take every opportunity to raise this question. It is certainly something which should play to Mings strongest suit at Prime Ministers Questions.

Once you are the story it is time to go

Or at least that is my paraphrasing of Alistair Campbells position as mentioned in the BBC report. Prescott appears to be seriously damaged and in real trouble particularly with the Parliamentary Labour Party. However, Blair wants to hold onto him particularly as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party to prevent triggering an election for Deputy Leader which might lead to calls for an election for Leader. Is there a possibility that Prescott will go but only in his capacity as Deputy PM and not in his capacity as Deputy Leader? If so who might Blair pick to be interim Deputy PM? I think my money would be on Reid or Beckett.

The Jowell Mills saga continues

At least according to this piece in today's Sunday Times. The article implies that Tessa Jowell may have known about the gift / income earlier then she says and if so she should have declared it. My reading of the article however does not necessarily lead to the same conclusion. Mills could just as easily have been alluding to how he thought Tessa would react if an when he were to discuss it with her. What riles me is not the possibility that she knew early (which is debatable) but the approach which Mills takes to these matters as witnessed by his own statements. The article quotes Mills as saying - I kept it to myself. It was a big problem for me. I didnt want to worry her about it. I only told her about it when I had decided that I would pay the tax. Brilliant I wonder if I can get away with making decisions about what parts of my income I should pay tax on. Somehow I doubt it!

Thaksin to return

Reports in The Nation indicate that Thaksin Shinawatra is to resume his duties as Prime Minister after standing down in April. He feels that the vacuum needs to be filled. He originally stood down pending the formation of a new government. However, a new government could not be formed as the elections were not completed due to a number of unfilled constituencies. The courts annulled the election results and ordered a re-run within 60 days. The Electoral Commission has however decide the elections should take place in October. Meanwhile the court has decided that the Electoral Commission should resign and that the date is illegal. The Prime Minister could legitimately argue that as the election results were annulled and as he stood aside pending the formation of a new government he has every right to resume his duties. However, his opponents will be likely to argue that he has resigned and therefore cannot resume his duties and so the acting Prime Minister should remain until a full set of elections can be completed and parliament can appoint a new Prime Minister. Don't be surprised if we see the protests starting up again.

Gutted

Absolutely gutted by yesterdays shambles of a performance by Leeds. Quite simply most of the team did not turn up on our big day. We defended poorly and lacked any real creativity and pace. Congratulations to Watford - Their whole team did turn up and did them proud. Quite simply the best team on the day won. Good luck in the Premiership

An interlude will now occur

Cannot get my head around blogging about anything much at the moment. Head is too full of football and too nervous and excited to think about anything else. Normal service will be resumed sometime after the Play Off Final on Sunday after a period of celebration or depression. Got our two tickets and will be setting off very early on Sunday. Cardiff here we come

The BBC Preview can be found here

But for a Leeds view you cannot beat Leeds United Life

For Leeds United Life view of the Leeds Team Selection click here

or for the Leeds United Life view of the Watford Team Selection click here

We are Leeds, We are Leeds We are Leeds
We are Leeds, We are Leeds We are Lee-eeds
We are Leeds, We are Leeds We are Leeds
We are Lee-eeds WE ARE LEEDS

Mixed messages on energy

Blair wants nuclear although his statements appear to prejudge the governments own energy review due out in July. Elliott Morley the former environment minister wants renewables and I tend to agree with him. Meanwhile perhaps the best news of all is that Yvette Cooper minister of state at the new Department for Communities and Local Government is to announce plans to revamp designs for a new town of 10,000 near Cambridge and according to this article in the Guardian "among the ministerial demands for the buildings are good insulation, solar energy devices such as roof-mounted collectors for hot water, large windows on south-facing walls, water recycling, water-efficient fittings, and porous paving to keep rainwater in the ground rather than running into drains". Good news indeed but I just wish the government would stop taking baby steps and start to make some serious inroads into this issue by making these sorts of things compulsory in all new build.

Thailand - more poll chaos

Further chaos with regard to the rerun of this Aprils General Election ordered by the courts. The Election Commission has picked a date of 2nd October. The court had suggested that the elections should be rerun within 60 days i.e by early July. Just to add to the confusion the courts had suggested that the Election Commission should resign but they do not appear to have the power to remove them. They have now said that the meeting which was held and which agreed the October date was illegal as not all the commissioners were present. Just to add to the problems this piece from the BBC seems to suggest that the Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has started to resume some of his duties despite standing aside a few weeks ago.

His and Hers Fatboys

Just had to post up a photo of the "his and hers" Fatboys posing together. Sadly Purple and Black does appear to clash a bit with Pink and Blue but they are both beautiful machines and in the long run the Purple and Black beastie will look a bit different. The plan is to switch the double seat for a single seat and give the paintwork a completely different look which is currently in the research and design phase. Meanwhile the latest catalogue of potential customisations has turned up. It is about 800 pages long so that should keep me quiet for a while!!

The English don't want a Scottish PM

So doubtless all English electors will refuse to vote Lib Dem or Labour at the next election. This just proves that you can get opinion polls and statistics to say almost anything you want. Note how the question was loaded. According to the article they were asked whether it was right for a Scottish MP to be prime minister now Scotland has its own parliament. A pity they did not then go on to ask whether or not a Scottish MP as leader of a party at a general election would be sufficient cause for them to change who they voted for.

Thailand praised for response to bird flu

See link. Good news indeed. Must admit we did think about it a bit when we visited in January - not that it would stop us from visiting this lovely country.

Give the guy a chance

I didn't vote for Ming in line with my policy of never voting for the winner but the sight of people laying into him or briefing against him at such an early stage is not appealing. Unless we are yet again at the stage where the parliamentary party knows things which the rest of us do not (and I doubt that is the case) then we have to give Ming our support and give him a chance to grow into the job. Lets not forget how rough a start we had to the year and how well we have done to recover to where we are now.

Email received, credit card debited

Email from Leeds United this morning confirming I have a ticket. Checked the credit card and it looks as if they have taken for all three tickets I applied for on Wednesday.

Cardiff here we come

Super, super Leeds,
Super, super Leeds,
Super, super Leeds,
Super Leeds United

Leeds to take part in most lucrative game in world football

Unless of course anyone knows different. I don't think any single football match anywhere in the world is as lucrative to the winners as the Championship playoff final. Kevin Blackwell described it as a £40m game bit I calculate that it could be worth over £47m to Leeds


The figures are made up as follows :

• Share of Sky Revenue £9,000,000
• Overseas TV revenue £6,500,000
• Live matches £1,750,000 (say 5 at £350,000 each)
• Central Sponsorship £500,000
• Locally negotiated sponsorship £2,000,000
• Gate Receipts £9,660,000 (say a 12,000 increase to 35,000 at £35/person say 19 league games + 4 cup)
• Other £4,000,000 (perimeter advertising, merchandising and merit payments £475,000 per place)
• Parachute Payments £14,400,000 (over following 2 seasons if relegated)
  
  Grand Total 47,810,000

And this is if the promoted club is relegated back to the championship the following season. If not then the parachute payments will not be payable but according to The Observer the clubs share of TV money will rise to £28m a season from 2007/08 onwards. Of course this also means that next years play off final will be worth a further £19m valuing this one off game at over £66m!!

We are Leeds, We are Leeds We are Leeds

We are Leeds, We are Leeds We are Lee-eeds

We are Leeds, We are Leeds We are Leeds

We are Lee-eeds WE ARE LEEDS

Shambles at Elland Road as fans rush for tickets

Meanwhile chaos at Elland Road yesterday. The website said that the queue for tickets would close at 7pm. I hot footed it up the motorway to get tickets for myself and a colleague who is a Season Ticket holder. I arrived at 3.45pm to be told that the queue was closed. Near riot and after two hours about 200 of us were told to join another queue. Ten minutes later and we were told that we should not have joined this queue as it too was closed. Queue second riot and arrival of Radio Leeds who got the Chief Executive out to answer questions. Credit to him for coming out I guess but not much credit for such a complete and utter shambles.

A few small suggestions for the club should they be faced with a similar situation in the future.

1. Offer season ticket holders priority (I am not one) they deserve it

2. Don't offer season ticket holders 2 tickets

3. If you decide not to do 2 then do 1 and then do 4

4. Offer members 2nd priority after the initial period for season ticket holders

5. Finally if and only if there are other tickets left after season ticket holders and members then open sales up to the general public.

6. Do not under any circumstances allow people who are not a) season ticket holders or b) members to join as new members on the first day of sales and then promptly sell them play off tickets!

7. Open up the phones lines so that people can buy tickets that way. (Incidentally this also saves the environment from people like me who making 400 mile round trips)

8. Use internet sales - again saves the environment

9. Put on extra ticket office staff when you know you are going to have a rush

10. Don't put one thing on your website and then do something else

11. Communicate openly and honestly with the fans (For instance in each sales period explain how many tickets you have left and how many people fall into the relevant categories)

12. If you do put statements on your website which effectively say its every man jack for himself and its first come first served then do not be surprised when the world and his wife turns up.

Oh and incidentally the upshot of my attempt to buy tickets was that I have left completed postal applications which I have been assured will be fulfilled. Ho hum

Thai court acts to resolve position of Election Commission

The Thai Supreme Court has asked the commissioners to resign and has effectively stated that it will take control of the rerun of the election. The commissioners could in theory hang on but I find that hard to believe given that the King asked the Supreme Court to sort the mess out in the first place. The opposition has agreed to take part in the elections which will probably take place in early July given that they have to take place within 60 days and also given that one of the reasons for annulling the results of the previous elections was that they had taken place in too short a timescale so disadvantaging smaller parties.

Tag Thailand

Local Election Analysis Part 2

Newbury Liberal Democrat Paul Walter has produced a brilliant summary and analysis of the local elections results. Part 2 below looks at the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats

Beat Labour in the national vote with a 27% share. This is a 22% (or 5 percentage point) improvement on their share of the vote at the general election in 2005. This is only the second time that the Liberal Democrats have been ahead of Labour on that measure. A remarkable achievement for a party written off just a month ago.

The Liberal Democrats gained Richmond council from the Tories – winning a staggering 17 seats from them. The Liberal Democrats now have twice as many councillors as the Conservatives who used to run the council before the election!

The Liberal Democrats gained control of St Albans with 31 seats against the Tories’ 18.

The Liberal Democrats gained control of South Lakeland gaining 9 councillors while the Conservatives lost 2. The Liberal Democrats now have 31 councillors against the Tories’ 18.


The Liberal Democrats gained four seats in Waltham Forest, overtaking the Conservatives to become the second party on the council, which remains under no overall control. The Conservatives lost 3 seats in this London Borough.

The Conservatives still do not have a single seat in Gateshead, while the Liberal Democrats won a seat off Labour to consolidate their position as the second largest party on the council.

The Conservatives still do not have a single seat in Knowsley, where the Liberal Democrats gained a seat off Labour.

Lib Dem gains in Brent were very impressive, Lib Dems taking 13 from Labour and 3 from the Conservatives to become the council's largest party there.

Liberal Democrat gains from Conservatives resulted in the Conservatives losing control of Harrogate and West Lindsey (Lincolnshire).

And the Conservatives lost their last seat on Cambridge Council, with the city joining Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Oxford and others as Tory-free zones.

Lib Dem Chris Maines moves the party up to second place in the Lewisham Mayoral contest, beating the Conservative candidate.

Four Lib Dem gains in Gosport took away the Conservatives' majority there.

The Liberal Democrats held Sutton against a strong Conservative challenge.

The Lib Dems won 3 seats on Woking to become the largest party on the council, while the Conservatives are only in second place.

The Lib Dems gained three seats off the Conservatives in Worthing.

The Lib Dems remain the largest party in Bristol, where they gained a seat. The Lib Dems have more than two and a half times as many councillors as the Conservatives in Bristol.

The Lib Dems gained two seats in North East Lincolnshire, overtaking the Tories to become the largest party.

The Liberal Democrats outpolled Labour in Haringey in terms of votes cast, although narrowly (30-27) fail to take control of the council from Labour. There were 11 gains for Lib Dems from Labour. The Conservatives still do not have a single councillor in Haringey.

Lib Dems made 10 gains in Lewisham, south London, depriving Labour of overall control of the council. The Conservatives only have a measly three seats here.

Three Lib Dem gains from Labour in Oldham remove Labour's majority. The BNP fail to win a seat on the council, which they had targeted. The Conservatives lost a seat so that they only have one remaining seat in the town where Winston Churchill was the MP.

The Lib Dems also won half the seats in Rochdale, narrowly missing out on overall control. The Lib Dems now have three times as many seats as the Conservatives in Rochdale.

In Salford, the Lib Dems gained two seats. The Conservatives failed to gain a single seat and have lost their straight second place on the council.

The Lib Dems gained a seat in Solihull where the Conservatives failed to gain a single seat.

The Lib Dems gained a seat in St Helens where they now have more than three times as many seats as the Conservatives.

The Conservatives failed to win a single seat in Stockport where the Lib Dems remain in control with more than three times as many seats as the Conservatives.

Despite David Cameron holding up Trafford as a shining Conservative success, the Tories actually lost a seat to the Lib Dems on this council.

The Conservatives came a cropper in Walsall where they lost two seats to Labour.

Despite David Cameron holding up Wigan as an example of Conservative greatness, they are only narrowly the second party there with only one more seat than the Liberal Democrats.

The Conservatives made no gains in the Wirral, while the Liberal Democrats gained a seat.

In Camden there were 13 gains for the Lib Dems, making them the largest party with 20 councillors to Labour's 18. The Tories are a distant third.

Kingston-upon-Thames was held by the Lib Dems, restoring the three council 'band of gold' in south and south-west London with Sutton and Richmond.

The Lib Dems retained control of Islington on the mayor’s casting vote.

The Liberal Democrats retained control of Cambridge, Eastleigh, Liverpool, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Pendle, Stockport, Sutton, Three Rivers and Watford

The Lib Dems still have nearly twice as many councillors in Liverpool as Labour, in this, Labour’s former traditional heartland.

Dorothy Thornhill retains the mayoralty in Watford. Dorothy became the first Lib Dem directly elected mayor four years ago, and this time gained more than half of all votes cast to retain the post.

Good news for Lib Dems from two university cities. The party hold Cambridge and overtake Labour to become the largest party in Oxford, for the first time ever.

There were 2 Lib Dem gains in Jack Straw's Blackburn council which would have removed Labour's overall majority but for the recent defection of an independent councillor to Labour.

There were four Lib Dem gains in Warrington which deprived Labour of control of the council.

Lib Dems have held Stockport and gained St Albans. The latter was previously run on the chairman's casting vote - now Lib Dems have a majority of four.

Lib Dems have increased their majority on Newcastle-upon-Tyne Council to 18 seats. Lib Dems have also increased their majority in Three Rivers Council in Hertfordshire, as well as holding neighbouring Watford.

Four gains for the Lib Dems in Derby deprive Labour of their majority on the council. The Lib Dems have a third more seats than the Tories here.

Lib Dems have held Pendle Council in Lancashire, retaining a majority of 11. Also in the north west, Lib Dems have gained three seats on Rochdale, giving the party exactly half the councillors on the authority.

The Lib Dems are now the largest party on John Prescott's local council, Hull, having made four gains to overtake Labour.

The Lib Dems won a seat in the heart of Labour territory in Reading.

The Lib Dems won a seat on North Tyneside council.

We are Leeds, We are Leeds, We are Leeds

What a night. What a game. The players did Leeds proud. They fought for every ball and every square inch. Slowly they earned the right to play and then two goals in five minutes secured the right to play at Cardiff on 21st May. Sadly two players were sent off and will miss the final - particularly sad as Cresswells dismissal came just minutes before the end for a second yellow after kicking the ball away.

We're Leeds - and we're proud of it!
We're LEEDS - and we're proud of it!
We're Leeds - and we're proud of it,
We're Leeds and we're proud of it...

Thailand - elections annulled

The Constitutional Court has decided to annul the election results from the 2nd April and has determined that a new general election will be held. Quite where this leaves things is uncertain. A new general election will need to be held (date not clear yet) and it is by no means certain that the opposition parties will take part in this one either. Nor is it certain that Thaksin Shinawatra will not be involved given his popularity in the rural areas which adds so much to the support for his party Thai Rak Thai. If the opposition parties do take part and the election can be completed there is no certainty that Thaksin will feel obliged to stand by his resignation as Prime Minister. In any case it is not clear what the path will be for agreeing and implementing democratic reforms. Additionally the position of the Election Commission must be somewhat perilous given the courts ruling but where they to resign or be removed there appears to be no way to constitutionally replace them!

Local Election Analysis Part 1

Newbury Liberal Democrat Paul Walter has produced a brilliant summary and analysis of the local elections results which I will reproduce here. Part 1 below looks at the Conservatives and Part 2 (which I will post tomorrow) looks at the Liberal Democrats.

The Conservatives

Their national share of the vote was only two percentage points more than that achieved when Michael Howard led the party in 2004, which was followed one year later by the Conservatives losing the general election with 158 seats less than Labour.

The BBC’s Nick Robinson, himself a former Conservative, has said that there is no truth in the assumption that the Conservative party have demonstrated a broadening of their appeal. He explains that they have merely consolidated in their heartlands in the South, with no reaching out to broader areas of voters. Robinson says that “Traditional Conservative voters are simply no longer embarrassed to vote for their party.”

Robinson’s interpretation is borne out by the BBC’s estimate that the Conservatives had a swing of 4% to them across the South, but they remained static in terms of votes cast across the north of England.

This lack of even the beginnings of a breakthrough is further supported by the fact that there is still not a single Conservative councillor in Manchester, Liverpool or Newcastle. The Conservatives made no gains in Sheffield where they have only two councillors. The Liberal Democrats have 36 councillors on Sheffield City Council, as well as 38 in Manchester, 47 in Newcastle and 59 in Liverpool. The Conservatives have only 2 councillors in Hull, where the Liberal Democrats have 22.

It is remarkable that there were no Conservative councillors elected in Liverpool, bearing mind that David Cameron took his whole shadow cabinet there shortly before the elections, amidst much publicity. Likewise, the Tories held their Spring Conference in Manchester, with an identical flat-lining amongst their public support there.

There are also no Conservative councillors in Oxford.

The Conservatives lost their last councillor on Cambridge City Council, so that there are now no Conservative councillors in our two great University cities.

In London, most of the Conservative gains were in West London, traditional Conservative territory – not in the East of the capital, where the Liberal Democrats did very well.

Thailand chaos continues

It seems that this saga is going to run and run. At every turn there are problems and it is very hard to see a way out of this. There is a Prime Minister who has won an election but has been forced out of office yet still leads his party. The election is incomplete and so potentially invalid and yet many candidates have been legitimately returned. Parliament cannot convene and elect a new Prime minister. The Election Commission is under threat and yet Senators cannot be confirmed and if the Election Commission were to resign then there would be no mechanism for replacing them. If they do not resign how could they be trusted to administer a new general election. Watch this space.

Leeds vs Preston - still all to play for

After a long trip to Elland Road last night (returning at 3am) there is still all to play for in this tie and effectively it starts at 0-0 on Monday night after the 1-1 draw last night. In my opinion (although slightly biased) Leeds were unlucky not to win this match. The referee was diabolical (both ways) and Leeds should have had at least one penalty. Preston clearly think they have the contest won especially judging by the behaviour of their manager at the final whistle and hopefully this will play into our hands. I felt Leeds gave it a really good go last night I was impressed with Kelly particularly in the first half and I thought Stone was a great addition when he cam on in the second half. If he can last the full ninety minutes ( and I am not sure he is fit enough yet) then he should start in my opinion. Meanwhile Watford have just thrashed Palace 3-0 at Palace in the first leg of the other semi final and look like tough opponents for whoever reaches the final.

Cheaper Fuel Prices? Maybe

The more observant of you will have noticed a new button on my sidebar just below the Lib Dem Blogs button. This button takes you to Pipeline which claims to now have 340,000 members and is attempting to negotiate a discount with a major fuel retailer with the aim of offering its members a discount of between 5p and 7p a litre. While this scheme is getting off the ground it may be worthwhile visiting petrolprices.com to see what the best deal is in your area. All in all worth considering as I start my 400 mile round trip to Elland Road for the play off semi final tonight.

Government tables changes to abolition of Parliament Bill

At least according to this piece from the BBC but I guess we will have to wait for the details to see whether or not these changes are the substantial ones that would be required to make this piece of legislation even half way acceptable.

There is no plan B

There is no plan B for Wayne Rooney's injury at least according to the BBC and Tord Grip. I find this absolutely gob smacking in the extreme. Even if Wayne Rooney were to be fully fit there surely must have been some form of Plan B given what happened in the European Championships two years ago once Wayne was lost to injury.

Lead needed for people to live a greener lifestyle

I will admit that I have never heard of the Sustainable Consumption Roundtable. Apparently it is a joint initiative between the Sustainable Development Commission and the National Consumer Council and has been funded by Defra and the DTI.

Anyway they have produced a report entitled "I Will If You Will" which recommends that the government needs to take the lead if significant progress is to be made. It also concludes that people are generally happy with measures which bring positive environmental benefits as long as those measures are applied fairly. They also specifically recommend two things which I have banged on about here before namely;

• Making on-site energy generation common in homes and public buildings
• Rolling out "smart" meters to raise awareness of energy consumption

If anyone wants to download the report then go here

Learning Disabilities, Relationships and Sex

This my contribution towards Blogging Against Disablism Day.

The whole issue of sex and relationships for those with disabilities is a difficult one.

Those with a disability have just as much right to happy and loving relationships and sexual experiences as the rest of the population.

Of course in practice this is often not the way it turns out. Their disability can get in the way both in terms of how others see them and in more practical ways as well.

Added to this is the issue of how those who care for those with a disability feel about getting involved in facilitating such relationships particularly where they may be sexual in nature.

The issues I have outlined above become even more complex when the person concerned has a learning disability.

A few interesting points come to mind

• The majority of women with a learning disability have sex standing up. Why? Because the opportunities to have a sexual relationship in "normal" surroundings do not exist and liaisons have to be snatched as and when they can.
• Masturbation is a big issue for those dealing with teenagers with a learning disability. Pretending otherwise will not make the problem go away.
• There are examples of couples who have been "going out" with each other for years and yet neither has visited the other ones home. Why? Because the carers or the system will not enable to happen.
  

Sometimes they may suffer from physical disabilities as well but the key issue becomes one of consent. Obviously where people are vulnerable we need to ensure that they are protected from abuse and abusers. The important thing is can the person understand the issues involved and can they be helped to make informed choices?

However, just as importantly can we as a society accept that they have a right to happy relationships and a fulfilled sex life just as much as anyone else. Can we find ways to help them to make informed choices and enable them to act upon these choices once they have made them?

So what needs to be done?

1. The issue needs to be talked about. People with learning disabilities and those who care for them and support them and work with them need to discuss this issue. We need to gain a better understanding of the issues involved and the current state of play with regard to various areas which may have an impact as this issue is taken forward such as the law and current research

2. Information and Training needs to be designed and made available. This needs to be aimed at both those with learning disabilities and those who care for them be they parents, carers or those involved through charities and social services. This information should help those with a learning disability to make informed choices and support their carers or parents in helping them to act on the basis of those informed choices

3. Research needs to be done. Admittedly I am not sure what has already been done in this area. However a number of bodies could get together and pool current knowledge / research before deciding what gaps need to be filled. I would like to see some specific research on the benefits of long term relationships and the benefits of a healthy sex life to those with a learning disability. I would hypothesise that those who were enjoying a healthy sex life and /or were in long term relationships would find a number of benefits to their life. I suspect that their health would be better; I suspect that they would be happier; I suspect that they would require less medication and I suspect that they would be more able to partake in other activities.

4. Campaigning may be needed to ensure that the research is funded, to ensure that legislation is changed and ultimately to ensure that appropriate resources are made available to ensure that those with a learning disability have an equal chance of forming happy and healthy relationships

This is undoubtedly a very difficult area but just because it is does not mean that it should not be tackled.

Majestic Reading break record

Reading finished off the season with a 2-1 win over QPR. Their football was not quite the flowing stuff we have been used to and they failed to get the third goal which would have made them the first team ever to get 100 goals and 100 points in the same season. They did however break Sunderlands record for the highest number of points in a league season finishing on 106. The last goal of the season was a penalty scored 7 minutes from full time by Graeme Murty readings Captain and right back and the only first choice outfield player not to have scored this season. As we left the ground after the presentation of the Championship trophy my son and I agreed that were unlikely to ever see such a season again. We have been truly privileged to see such a side and watch some awesome football.

Meanwhile the Leeds United manager seemed determined to worry only about the playoffs and not about who had the home leg first. He made numerous changes effectively playing a reserve team by dropping Rob Hulse, Sean Derry, Eddie Lewis, Liam Miller, Gary Kelly, Stephen Crainey and captain Paul Butler. It remains to be seen whether or not this will pay off in the play off semis. On the plus side some key players will be rested and on the down side confidence may have been damaged and home advantage for the second leg has been forfeit.

Update on Reading records this season taken from Hob Nob

League Records Records beaten Highest points 106
Consecutive games unbeaten (outside top tier) 33
Consecutive away games unbeaten 17
Earliest promotion to top tier 25th March
Fewest defeats in a season (46 games) 2

Records Equalled

Most home wins in a season (2nd tier) 19
Highest away goal difference(2nd tier) 23
Highest points at home (2nd tier) 60

In addition to the above there were club records as well

Club Records Records beaten

Highest goal difference 67
Highest away goal difference 23
Fewest goals conceded in a season 32
Fewest away goals conceded in a season 18
Most wins in a season 31
Consecutive games scoring more than 1 goal 13
Consecutive wins by more than 1 goal 8
Fewest games with more than 1 goal conceded 6

Lazy and deceitful - Mr Clarke that is

So says Rachel from North London. I have been reading her blog on and off for a while now and she is linked from my blog as well. She was caught up in the 7/7 bombings when a bomb went off in her tube train very close to where she was. She has been blogging about all sorts of 7/7 related stuff ever since and I take my hat off to her. She has met Mr Clarke and appears to have finally reached the end of her tether with him.

Blogging Against Disablism Day - 1st May 2006

See this link for an interesting idea to get people talking about an issue. I for one have signed up and will post something on Monday

Thailand - Courts suspend elections

The top judges from the three main judicial institutions in Thailand (the Supreme, Administrative and Constitutional courts) met yesterday and decided to suspend todays by-elections in the 14 unfilled seats. According to this piece on BBC online they may nullify the whole election process and order a complete rerun of the April 2nd elections.

Labour on the ropes

What a day yesterday was. The Lib Dems on 24 % or as much as 28% in the areas that will matter next week according to Bob Worcester.

Then the Labour Party starts to self destruct in front of our eyes.

The "two shags" story will probably disappear as fast as it appeared unless there are further revelations. Prescott is in any case (in my opinion) a bit of an exception. Partly because nobody takes him that seriously, partly because everybody assumes he will go when Blair goes and partly because a lot of people seem him as a quite amusing "jack the lad" who can be relied upon to mangle the English language at the drop of a hat.

The issues surrounding the NHS are unlikely to go away quite so easily despite all the extra money put in by this government. Patricia Hewitts reception at the Royal College of Nursing conference in Bournemouth was hardly surprising but add to the overall picture of an embattled government in crisis. And this issue will run and run. The cuts in staffing and the resolution of the deficits in the National Health Service will take some considerable time to resolve.

As for Mr Clarke he is being urged to resign. He should resign if only because of the 288 foreign offenders that were released after he knew about the problem in July 2005. However he shows no signs of being willing to go and it looks as if Tony Blair wants to hang on to him.

What Next?

Tag Politics

Thai judges to meet to resolve crisis

It now appears that the judges will not await the outcome of the run off on Saturday. Instead they will meet on Friday at the request of the King who has asked them to resolve the constitutional crisis

Lib Dems up to 24%!

Excellent news when you consider where we were just some three months ago. Also at last it appears that all Labours recent woes (The Mills scandal, Loans for Peerages, the problems with various pieces of legislation and the troubles in the NHS) are starting to be reflected in the opinion polls.

Tag Politics Lib Dems

More by-elections in Thailand

The latest from Thailand is that 13 seats were unfilled last weekend and there will probably be run offs this weekend according to the BBC. According to The Nation (see here) There will be a further election in the 13 seats on Saturday after which the Electoral Commission will declare the election over regardless of the outcome. Only then will the political parties approach the Constitutional Court for a ruling.

New Blog Design

Having fiddled about a lot myself I have brought in an expert to gave the blog a professional makeover

Changes include : -

• The new header
• A move back to one sidebar
• A consolidation of all the links into drop downs
• The introduction of categories or tags

Hope everyone likes it - let me know what you think

Thai elections still deadlocked

Today was the day for the rerun in those constituencies which failed to elect an MP on 2nd April. Many voters stayed away again and according to the BBC it looks as if at least 10 constituencies have failed to elect an MP this time round. This is a problem because parliament is supposed to convene within 30 days of an election but it cannot do so unless all 500 seats have been filled.

However a report in The Nation indicates that the election commission may consider its job done and refuse to hold further elections leaving the political parties to petition The Constitutional Court about convening the House of Representatives without all the seats filled.

Tag Thailand

The new Fatboy

This is my wifes new Fatboy which should be with us soon. As you can see it has been repainted in Pink and Blue and as soon as the Sportster is sold we will have room for it. Somebody is bouncing around the ceiling in anticipation.

Tag Harley-Davidson Motorcycles

Three cheers for Lembit

Great piece in this weeks Lib Dem News by Lembit Opik on the issue of how we supply our energy needs in the future. For me he hits the nail on the head with his three key points although I am willing to admit that I was not aware of his second point (see below)

His key points were

1. We need to use less and a carbon tax would help. He also rightly points out that we are all guilty of this and need to be vigilant in switching things off

2. Power needs to be generated and delivered locally. Apparently two thirds of the energy we generate is lost through transportation before it reaches the consumer. That figure is absolutely stunning. If we could generate and deliver power more locally we would need a hell of a lot less of it.

3. Switch to renewables. He also points out that we need to explore the full range of renewable options and stop focusing on wind turbines

Finally he mentions the Centre for Alternative Technology. Ok ok it is in his constituency. But this place is amazing. I have visited myself and can highly recommend it to anyone who is in the area. Otherwise visit their website by clicking here

Tag Politics Lib Dems Environment

Voters Revolt

I was sent a link to a relatively new site this morning.

The site is called Voters Revolt and claims that it "was born out of deep anger and frustration at a political establishment which over the decades has increasingly treated the British public with contempt"

I have not yet explored the whole site but I find much there that I agree with.

If you want to see their site click here.

Tag Politics

Why people vote

Psychologists have come up with this formula as part of the Electoral Commission's attempts to get more people to vote in the local elections this year. Anything which can get some of the very low turnouts up has to be worth a try I guess.

Tag Politics

Why a Harley Davidson Fatboy?

We are somewhat fans of the Harley Davidson Fatboy in this house. I have owned one for four years and my wife is in the process of acquiring one (pictures to follow sometime soon). If you read this review from American V you will see why.

Tag Harley-Davidson Motorcycles

My own town for a mere $1,750,000

Now all I need to do is win the lottery and get pre approved to bid. No problem then! What an amazing ebay auction. Just click here to see it.

Reading reserves easily beat Stoke

In some senses this was a nothing game. Reading had already secured Premiership status for next season and the Championship title for this season. On the other hand there was still much to play for as Reading went into this game on 99 points and having scored 93 goals this season. The all time record of 105 points is within their reach and they could still become the first to do a double 100 by reaching 100 points and scoring 100 goals in the process.

Reading started the game unusually in a 4-3-3 formation with what was in effect a reserve team with 6 first choice players not starting many of whom were not even on the bench. Once the three substitutions had been made Reading were down to two first choice players on the pitch and three players who were making their league debuts. Despite this Reading looked comfortable throughout the game with the fans in party mood as they cruised past Stoke.

Reading now sit on 102 points with 96 goals. A win and a draw and four goals from their next two games and they will have broken just about every record going!

Tag Reading Football

Ming sticks it to the Tories

Ming laid into the Tories in an interview on ePolitix.com (see link). I feel this is good ground to be on. Cameron drafted the last Tory manifesto and the Labour Party and the Conservative Party are squabbling over who can run the shop best. If we can sharpen up our act and get our alternative message across we can make some headway.

Tag Politics Lib Dems

Britain is eating the planet

Rather like the day on which we start earning money for ourselves as opposed to for the tax man today is the day on which the UK stops living off its own resources and starts depending on imports from elsewhere. This is according to a report from the New Economics Foundation showing how dependent we are on resources from elsewhere in the world. Fairly stunning if not totally surprising and fairly indicative of the sorts of things we as a nation need to do if we are to change this. Growing and selling more of our own food and supplying it locally would be a good start. As would make use of natural sources of energy.

Tag Environment

Sheffield Up but Leeds draw with Champions

Congrtaulations to Sheffield United who are up thanks to Leeds only drawing against the Champions Reading. According to Sky this was a fair result. Leeds still need to find an edge somewhere if they are to finish in third. Still a goal was good news and a draw against the champions should give the team some confidence as the play offs approach.

Tag Leeds Reading Football

Generals want Rumsfeld to go

I would be happy about this if it were not for two things

1. He probably won't go.

2. If he does he will probably be replaced by someone just as bad

Government climb down over abolition of parliament bill

The government appears to be climbing down over some of the provisions of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill. Well at least they have started to realise that they have a problem with this one. However, as David Heath points out giving the power of veto to a select committee which will itself be packed with government back benchers is not sufficient. There needs to be something with some real teeth to prevent any abuse of this legislation. Even better just drop the whole bill

Tag Politics

Harley-Davidson moves into the Chinese market

They have just opened their first dealership in China on the edge of Beijing. It will be interesting to see how sales go given the price of the bikes. Still I am sure that it is a market that HD will be desperate to crack given its size and long term prospects. Also another country to try and get a Harley-Davidson T-shirt from

Tag Harley-Davidson

Non Tories to help select Tory PPCs

Brilliant! Whatever next. They are just so desperate. It will be fascinating to see how this one pans out in reality. I somehow suspect that not many local constituency parties will want to take up the Central London option. So that leaves the "primary style" selection. Candidates will be questioned by local community leaders and the public and this session may be moderated by a local journalist. Then an executive panel of local Tories will make the decision. Cue dissatisfaction from party members who will be disenfranchised from the process and great opportunity for local opponents to make mischief with the process and argue about who performed better on the night of the selection.

Tag Politics

Are we due a stockmarket crash?

The FTSE 100 is back over 6,000 points for the first time since 2001 and people are charging £85 for a sandwich!! Yes for a sandwich not for a three course meal for two. And people are foolish enough to pay it. I am just waiting for bar staff and shop assistants to start tipping shares.

And the Tories have not moved on either

Yesterday I was blogging about the Labour Party fighting like ferrets in a sack. I also mentioned that the honeymoon was over for the Tories and that they were failing to make real progress. No wonder when you read this article (see link). The candidate concerned says she does not believe what she said. So thats ok then. Cameron says she is in the wrong party - but noticeably has not taken any steps to remove her from his party!

Tag Politics

Ferrets in a sack again

The Blairites hate the Brownites and Milburn might stand (although I doubt it). The Brownites hate the Blairites. The two of them just managed to be polite to each other for their local election launch before civil war broke out again. At least (from their point of view) Brown is out of the country. It is starting to look like a plan to ensure that one or other of them is out of the country at all times. Hattersley has helpfully weighed in over the weekend with his opinion and the unions are now getting stuck in as well. Meanwhile the Tories are struggling to make any progress. Life is looking up!

Tag Politics

Wikimeme

Having seen this meme via various people who have posted and who feed into Lib Dem Blogs (http://www.libdemblogs.co.uk/) I couldn't resist - You type in your birth date (but not year) and it then comes up with a whole host of events that happened on your birthday.

My list includes the following :

Events

490 BC - Athens defeats Persia at the Battle of Marathon

1609 - Henry Hudson discovers the Hudson River.

1953 - Nikita Khrushchev is elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

1953 - John F. Kennedy marries Jackie Bouvier.

1962 - President John F. Kennedy declares the USA will get a man on the moon, and bring him back, by the end of the decade.

Births

1913 - Jesse Owens, American athlete (d. 1980)

1951 - Bertie Ahern, Irish politician

Deaths

1977 - Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist (b. 1946)

Leicester crush Palace

Leicester (currently in 18th place) beat Crystal Palace (currently in 5th Place) 2-0 on Friday night. It now looks increasingly likely that the playoffs will be contested by Watford, Leeds, Palace and Preston. For anything different to happen now would require a phenomenal collapse by probably either Preston or Sheffield United who now look almost certain to secure 2nd spot and automatic promotion.

Tag Football Leeds

Thai Rally celebrates and protests at the same time

The rally in Bangkok today was celebrating Thaksin Shinawatras resignation but was also protesting and demanding his full removal from the national political scene. He remains leader of his party in parliament and the protestors are worried that he will continue to pull the strings. Remember however, that his party won 57% of the vote and according to the latest report some 87% of Thais now want the protests to stop.

Tag Thailand

Correction - Thai stand off may not be over

A couple of days ago it looked as if the problems were over and peace was starting to break out. The Prime Minister had agreed to stand down and the opposition parties had agreed to stop the protests.

The Prime Minister has temporarily handed over to the Deputy Prime Minister but he in turn will not be able to become Prime Minister as he is not a member of parliament.

Thaksin Shinawatra also remains leader of his party Thai Rak Thai and the opposition parties are clearly concerned that he will remain in power and in control even if he is not the titular Prime Minister.

If and when all 500 seats are filled then parliament will need to choose a new Prime Minister but this looks under threat as it now looks as if the by-elections will also be boycotted by the opposition.

Given that Thai Rak Thai won 57% of the vote the democratic process in Thailand is starting to look very shaky

Tag Thailand

UK offshore wind at crossroads or should that be sea lane?

At least according to this article on BBC news online

Offshore wind energy is unlikely to reach its full potential unless there is additional support from the government. Well what a surprise.

The study says the fledgling industry is at a "critical stage" and economic and environmental opportunities could be lost without further assistance.

According to the article the study warns that "only about 2,000 MW is likely to be built without further support from the government" but then goes on to say "There is a huge amount of activity in the sector with more than 8,000 MW of schemes in development"

Confused - I certainly am.

Whatever lets hope that the government takes this sector seriously in its energy review and presumably offshore is better than onshore as it may keep the turbines further away from the nimbys.

Tag Environment

Berlusconi Mills Jowell scandal rumbles on

David Mills claims he was used as a stick to beat his wife but then goes on to attempt to give everyone else some sticks to beat him with. According to the article he describes the saga as "very exciting". "It's like a thriller, all of this" I wonder whether his wife feels the same way about these events as they unfold.

He then goes on to talk about a payment of £2m from a Berlusconi company. I must have missed this one along the way and become focussed on the £350,000.

Anyway yet again poor Mr Mills seems to be confused. He is quoted as saying that he saw this £2m as a "windfall" for him but says he had intended to give £50,000 or £100,000 to each of his three partners. Nice windfall. And why the uncertainty over how much he proposed to share with his partners? Was it £50,000 or was it £100,000?

Never mind what is £50,000 between friends.

He then goes on to claim that his other partners insisted on treating the payment as partnership profits as a result of which Mr Mills was left with less than £500,000. Oh dear how sad.

As an international lawyer one would assume that he would know which work would count as work done by the firm in which he was a partner and which work would not. Indeed one would assume that the documentation for the partnership would make this clear.

In fact I assume that it did as a result of which Mr Mills had to split the profits with his other three partners. It all comes back to the documentation again - an area which Mr Mills seems to have some trouble with!

Tag Politics

Thai stand off may be over

The Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has just gone on Thai TV and announced that he will not take the premiership in the next government.

He said his decision was aimed at restoring unity in the country.

He apologised to the 16 million people who voted for him in the election on Sunday.

He will however remain in the position as caretaker Prime Minister until the Parliament is able to select a new prime minister.

This should allow the by-elections to go ahead on 23rd April in the 38 unfilled constituencies and hopefully after that all 500 seats will be filled.

This should allow a new Prime Minister to be selected following which discussions on reform can begin.

Opposition parties appear to have agreed to stop their protests and have agreed to take part in the next set of elections following reform.

Tag Thailand

Tories want to ban abortion

At least according to this bill (see link) which according to my research was introduced by the Conservative MP for Tewkesbury - Laurence Robertson. Many politicians and religious leaders have suggested that it is time to have a review of the current situation and for parliament to have another look given that is is over 16 years since parliament last voted on the issues. Most of these suggestion seem to centre on the idea that the debate should centre on whether or not to reduce the time limit for an abortion from 24 weeks to 20 weeks. This bill suggests that all abortions should be banned unless the womans life is at risk or the pregnancy was caused by rape. Luckily this has virtually no chance of becoming law as a private members bill but it is important that people think through the logical consequences were such a piece of legislation to be passed. According to LibertyCentral "one of the immediate effects of South Dakota's new prohibitionist law on abortion was a massive surge in Google searches for advice on how to carry out DIY abortions, a consequence that most reasonable people would prefer not to have to contemplate"

Tag Politics

Thai election problems continue

The election commission has announced that enough results are in to declare the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra the winner. However, they have already determined that by-elections will need to be held in 38 constituencies where candidates failed to win the 20% vote threshold. As all the seats need to be filled for a government to be formed there is likely to be a mexican stand off unless a compromise can be reached between the Prime Minister and the opposition parties. The election commission says there is enough time to run two rounds of by-elections in the 38 constituencies but if the opposition parties continue to adopt the same stance then the results may be the same. The commission claims to have a plan in the event that the 38 seats cannot be filled but has not disclosed what that plan might be!

Tag Thailand

Scotland seems a nice place to live

All in all this article about plans to provide free eye tests in Scotland got me thinking. Why is it that in Scotland they do things so much better?

Tuition fees were abolished in Scotland.

Free personal care was introduced for the elderly.

The system for buying and selling houses is so much simpler.

Now they are introducing free eye tests and have a plan to introduce free dental checks next year.

Yes I know the answer about devolved power and the Lib Dems being part of the administration and the sort of policies we have been pushing but I guess I just wish we could get some common sense into English politics and start delivering some improvements in the quality of life for people down south.

If it wasn't for the fact that my family and employment are all in the south I would seriously think about moving to Scotland where quality of life seems to be a real political issue.

Tag Politics

Thai Polls close

The polls have now closed in Thailand and according the BBC article preliminary results will be available later today with full official results not expected until Tuesday.

The BBC also produced a Q&A guide and I have reproduced some key bits from that below :

The Thai constitution technically allows for a one-party election. But to
win a seat the sole party contesting has to show it has won at least 20% of all
eligible votes.

Observers say the outcome of the previous general election, held in
February 2005, shows the Thai Rak Thai party may have difficulty in reaching
this target in at least 60 constituencies.

Under the constitution, all 500 parliamentary seats must be filled for the
lower house to convene, and there is no precedent for what happens if this does
not take place.

The constitution only states that a full parliament must convene within
30 days of the election. All parliamentary seats must be filled for a prime
minister to be elected and a government to be formed.

The Election Commission Secretary General Ekachai Waroonprapa recently
warned that the election might not produce a parliament. "We have prepared
several options to be ready for whatever the election results are," he told a
local Thai TV station.

It looks as if we are headed for an inconclusive election result and I would love know what the options are but I guess we will have to wait and see.

Champions -at a canter and in some style

Back from the Reading game. Reading are promoted as champions and they did it in some style after battling away for 60 minutes in a fairly even contest the flood gates opened. Reading took Derby apart and absolutely battered them for the final 30 minutes running out 5-0 winners. The fans celebrated in style as the mexican waves circled the stadium with even the Derby fans joining in. The final whistle saw a massive pitch invasion and huge celebrations. The players could not get back out onto the pitch but eventually appeared in the directors box along with Steve Coppell and John Madejski as the champagne was cracked open. Meanwhile Leeds screwed up and missed a good opportunity to gain ground on Sheffield United - Its looking like the playoffs for them.

Tags Football Reading Leeds

Elections tomorrow - Uncertainty continues

The general election in Thailand is tomorrow and it looks as if this may leave the country no nearer to resolving the political crisis. The Prime Minister seems determined to stay on providing he believes that he has a mandate. The election or at least parts of it may be declared unconstitutional. This means that the lower house may not be able to sit as not all 500 seats will be filled. As I understand it the lower house is the body that will elect the prime minister and form the government and for this to happen all seats must be filled! Interesting times.