"He's 'In' with the "IN" Crowd ..
He knows what the "IN" crowd knows .."

"We breeze up and down the street .. We get respect from people we meet,
Other guys try to imitate us .. But the original's still the greatest !"

When re-elected, Dr. Taylor could well become the Leader of a coalition of Independent MPs in Parliament. 
He is already involved with IN, the Independent Network which provides support for MPs able to think and act for themselves and who are not forced or cajoled to obey a particular 'party line' on all topics.

Former Independent MP for Tatton, Martin Bell ("the man in the white suit") is already advising 26 potential Independent MPs on running a successful election campaign.
Terry Waite, the former envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury - who suffered four years (1987-91) as a hostage in Beirut - is another of the group's advisors.

"If I am re-elected and there are more Independent MPs, I would certainly take on the 'leadership' to make them become more effective in Parliament.
It wouldn't be 'leadership' in the sense that we're all going to follow a certain policy; but if they wanted advice, I'd be there, and on occasion, speak as the 'senior' elected Independent.

If I am re-elected then it would be perfectly natural for me, after nine years in office, to show other Independents 'how things work' in the House.

I would love there to be more Independents: but 'IN' should not be seen as a coalition - because Independents should remain just that - Independent - of each other and of political parties.

We have the great privilege of choosing to support the government if we think it is right .. and of opposing them, if we do not !"

With MPs Expenses hitting the headlines, yet again; the problems that MPs are having with the bureaucracy which is supposed to be the solution to the (over) payment of expenses would seem to indicate that the 'solution' is not much better than the original 'problem'.

• DUP MP Gregory Campbell is now "behind" with his re-payments .. because the House of Commons Department of Resources haven't bothered to act on instructions to deduct the outstanding amount (just £3,673.38) from his salary
• Montgomeryshire MP Lembit Opik, who's appeal has been allowed by Sir Paul Kennedy (the judge brought in to arbitrate on disputed claims), is now technically owed £40 by the Commons authorities.
• Jeremy Browne, Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman, was initially ordered to repay £18,000 for interest payments made on a mortgage he increased when he became an MP in 2005, and has won his appeal.
  "My name has been cleared and my reputation restored with the confirmation by Sir Paul Kennedy that I acted 'openly and honestly'."
  [So Legg got that one wrong, then_Ed]
• Almost 80 other MPs have challenged Sir Thomas Legg's demands.

Vs

Both contestants claim to be dedicated to bringing "equality" to the people
_______________________

                                 ________________________

The Pope's visit to the UK was likely to take place in September, with further details of the official itinerary expected in early March. He is expected to visit Birmingham (as part of the planned beatification of Cardinal John Newman) as well as Scotland.
                                 ________________________

"Welcome to 'The New Social Order' .. " a particularly Orwellian cadence.

The Equality Bill being championed by Harriet Harman (the Labour deputy leader) is described as a 'consolidation measure' bringing different strands of anti-discrimination law together while, at the same time, implementing EU directives.

In reality it is deeply ideological legislation in which Ms. Harman indulges in her favourite occupation of social engineering, in her 'last gasp' attempt to mould the sort of nation that Ms. Harman would like to see, before electoral changes.
Last week in the Lords, the Government was defeated on several crucial amendments (principally by the Lords Spiritual) and aspects of the Bill that the churches find objectionable were removed. It is still open to ministers to reverse those defeats in the Commons

The Bill imposes a legal duty upon all public bodies to address the gap between social classes when implementing policies and allocating resources.
To achieve this, they will need to "build a bias into their funding allocation to discriminate against the better-off".
Ms. Harman has called the Bill "an opportunity not only to build a new economic order, but a new social order as well".

"We will discriminate against you .. because we want to be fair !" 
How can that possibly be right ?

---

More Spin Than Tony Blackburn ! 

Quote of the Week

"The Chilcott Enquiry will make as much difference as ..
.. a desk-fan in a blizzard .. !"

Officials of the Iraq Inquiry completely under-estimated the length of time they needed to question Arch Spin-Doctor Alastair Campbell.

Whereas it had been expected that a three hour morning session would suffice, the hearing rolled on for a further two hours, into the afternoon, with Campbell given ample opportunity to defend both Tony Blair's premiership (they are STILL regarded as 'an item' behind-the-scenes) and the decision to take Britain to war in Iraq.

At this rate, two days rather than one will be needed when Mr. Blair arrives to present his evidence - in two or three weeks' time.

It is interesting that on this day the Chairman, Sir John Chilcot, took little part in the day's session, leaving the questioning to his four colleagues.

BBC World Affairs correspondent Peter Biles commented that, for once, there were some quite lively exchanges - as the committee "sought to 'square' Campbell's version of events with some of the earlier evidence heard".

[Oh, heaven forbid, let's not go there .. _Ed]

---

Lib-Dem 'pipe-dreams' go "up in smoke"

• Extending Free Childcare

• Free Personal Care for the elderly

• a "Citizen's Pension"

• Tuition Fees being 'slashed'

These are all now unachievable aspirations which 'Young Nick' has "shelved" 
[Now there's yet another word which is due to be re-defined after a politician has perverted its meaning_Ed]

And just think of all that hot-air wasted at Party Conference after Party Conference
[Hardly ecological ?_Ed]

And what does Nick Clegg offer instead ..?  
                                                            He offers .. "credibility and hope".
[Now what does that remind me of .. .. a-hh, yes .. 13th May 1940_Ed]

"I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.

You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs — Victory in spite of all terror — Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."

(Text transcription as originally read in the House of Commons)
It was the first of three speeches which Churchill gave during the period of the Battle of France. It was followed by "We shall fight on the beaches" on 4 June and "This was their finest hour" on 18 June.

---

Talk about a 'Single Issue' Party .. !

"Cameron launches .. draft manifesto for the NHS .."

"Over three years ago, David Cameron spelled out his priorities in three letters – NHS .. "

"As the party of the NHS .. "

So 'scream' the headlines on the Tories' website.

The opening salvo from the Conservative party in the first week of the run-up to this year's General Election shows what a 'single issue' party the Tories have become.

And to prove that its not the first time that they've been "quick-out-of-the-trap" on this issue, check-out the photo ..
"Conservative leader David Cameron visiting Enfield North to join campaigners in opposition to the proposed cuts to Chase Farm Hospital in October 2007 .. when it was believed there would be a General Election called within days."

[So, a word of warning to 'the lads' in Margaret Thatcher House .. careful with the old 'single issue' issue .. it's obviously the issue closest to the heart of "the great leader"_Ed]

---

ENVIRONMENT

Eruptions on 25th March 2010

Eruption site web-cam

Eyjafjallajökull lies just west of another subglacial volcano, Katla, which is much more active and known for its powerful subglacial eruptions and its large magma chamber below another glacier.

4,691 ft high Katla &  Mýrdalsjökull glacier

Each of the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull (in 920, 1612, and 1821-1823) preceded an eruption of Katla -although it is not displaying any unusual activity (such as expansion of the crust or seismic activity) during 2010.
Geologists have been concerned about the general instability of the larger volcano since 1999 and some geophysicists believe that an eruption may be triggered.
On 20 April 2010, Icelandic President Olafur Grimsson called on European and international experts to draw up plans to deal with a possible eruption of Katla

In 1982 a British Airways jumbo had the unnerving experience of having all four engines shut down as it flew through a plume of volcanic ash in Indonesia. The pilot recovered enough engine power to pull from the dive and plane with 'all souls' landed safely. That plane has only recently been withdrawn from service and broken-up for parts.

# This area is known for a series of small eruptions between 1821-23, and again from Christmas 2009 - when 500 farmers and their families were evacuated from the area. They returned on March 21st but were ordered-out of the area again on April 1st.
There were diversions in November 2004 following eruptions from the Grímsvötn volcano.

The Truth being 'forced' out of scientists

Monday's committee work included an interview with Professor Phil Jones of the University of East Anglia's (formerly) prestigious Climatic Research Unit.

The Science and Technology Committee, chairman Phil Willis, took evidence from the unit's director (currently on 'gardening leave') - and later on from arch climate-change sceptic Lord Lawson.

The integrity of climate change research is in doubt after the disclosure of e-mails that attempt to suppress data, a leading scientific institute has said. 

The Institute of Physics said that e-mails sent by Professor Phil Jones had broken “honourable scientific traditions” about disclosing raw data and methods and allowing them to be checked by critics. 
He had “written some very awful e-mails”, including one in which he rejected a request for information on the ground that the person receiving it might criticise his work.

The e-mails contained “prima facie evidence of determined and co-ordinated refusals to comply with honourable scientific traditions and freedom of information law”, it added. 
The institute was also concerned by suggestions in the e-mails that Professor Jones and other scientists had worked together to prevent alternative views on global warming from being published. “The e-mails illustrate the possibility of networks of like-minded researchers effectively excluding newcomers.”

The committee failed to press him about several of the most damaging e-mails he had sent, including one in which he asked a colleague to delete information that had been requested (he was considered close to a nervous breakdown).

Professor Jones' "stock" reply to many questions was .. “it hasn’t been standard practice in climate science for all data to be disclosed."

Which explains Lord Lawson of Blaby's statement .. “Proper scientists, scientists of integrity, wish to reveal all of their data and all of their methods. They don’t need freedom of information requests to force it out of them.”

"However much wrong-doing .. however many mistakes ..
Stay sceptical .."

Professor John Beddington, the government's chief scientific adviser says he is concerned that the debate on climate change was becoming artificially polarised and reminded scientists to be more open about the uncertainty of predicting the rate of climate change.

He was speaking in the light of reports that the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit had refused to hand over data for public scrutiny and that the Information Commissioner's Office had confirmed that messages obtained by hackers in November showed that requests by climate change sceptics under the Freedom of Information Act were "not dealt with as they should have been".

ECONOMICS

Minister for Finance, Mr. Brian Lenihan, TD

MPs north of the Irish border have warned that Irish banks doing business in Northern Ireland must protect assets in the province.

"There must be no attempt to sell off northern assets more quickly or at lower prices than in the south. Hard-pressed Irish taxpayers are now rescuing the banks from the consequences of their greed and folly. 
In return, we must now insist that they go back to basic business, and that means keeping every fundamentally profitable company in business."
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell, SDLP South Belfast MP

Ireland's taxpayers will hand-over €8.5bn (£7.6bn) to buy the toxic loans of the country's crisis-ridden banks and also nationalise a second bank* - it was announced (30/03/10).

Ireland will create a 'bad bank' – called the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) – in order to rescue stricken lenders as the Dublin government attempts to clear-up after years of reckless lending that has brought-about the property crash. To do this, it has demanded a 47% discount on the loans, which have a book value of €16bn. Most of the loans relate to the property market, which has halved in value in Ireland over the past two years; but some (more than €3bn of loans) relate to deals in Britain. NAMA will absorb €81bn of distressed property loans - 'freeing' the books of the remaining banks.

*The Irish state will also become the majority shareholder in the republic's largest bank, the Allied Irish Banks, as the government clear up the mess from that has capsized the country's economy. This is the second major bank the government has in effect nationalised since the financial crisis began.

NAMA will now try to recover as much possible .. but the Irish taxpayer might still have to repay billions because the banks will only absorb an extra €5bm of losses: so, if NAMA only retrieves €6bn for those loans, the programme will cost the taxpayer another €1bn.

Tax Increase will help Petrol hit a record of 
120p a litre 
in a matter of days

With the average petrol price across the country - 
115.9p for a litre of unleaded and 116.6p for a litre of diesel - 
the Treasury is due to add a further 3p on April 1.
[And that's NO April Fool_Ed]

The predicted high will overtake the previous high of 119.7p - which motorists suffered from in July 2008 (when the surging price of crude oil hit its own record of $147 a barrel).
The current price of oil is little more than half of that level.

So why the increase ?

• "wholesale gasoline" – crude oil that has been refined and ready to be distributed to petrol stations - has climbed 17 per cent
• speculators have moved into the commercial market
• the weak pound had forced up the price because petrol is bought in dollars
• there is a a shortage of supply with some refiners closing their sites in Europe or looking to sell them as a result of the recession
• at the end of winter petrol has to be refined differently to make it less volatile to stop "engine lock", when a car can stop running. 
  "There is a chemical basis why it costs more at this time of year"
• refiners, both in Europe and America, have cut back production in the face of the recession, leading to a fall in supply

Add to that - all taxes rise exponentially on the top of the production price - and Gordon now adds an increase to the top tax band.

And, for those of an older generation .. that's £5.46 a gallon ! ! 

The PIGS are bring the (€) Euro down

There are fears that the fragile global economic recovery could be de-stabilised - or become a ""double dip" recession - as a North/South Eurozone split looms.

The PIGS are to blame - that's Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain; 
and British banks face a near-£100bn exposure to these floundering European economies, threatening to tear yet another hole in their balance sheets. 
Shares in banks throughout the European Union have been the hardest hit: Lloyds Group shed almost 5 per cent yesterday.
________
Demand for Portuguese government bonds was exceptionally weak following the government's budget defeat in parliament. 
Opposition MPs however passed their own bill that will permit autonomous regions to develop even more debt.
________
Ireland’s deficit is set to be 12% of GDP this year (and that assumes that the Government’s budgetary arithmetic holds up with a stagnant economy) - this is equal to 15% of GNP. Compare this deficit to that run-up by the UK government in 1976 when they had to call in the IMF - when it was then a mere 6-7% of GDP.
________
Greek government bonds and the Athens stock market have been mauled. 
Greek tax officials went on strike on Thursday.
Greek Finance Minister, George Papaconstantinou blames foreign speculators with an "ulterior motive" to destroy the eurozone by picking on its "weak link". Greece has to raise a further €31bn (£27bn) over the next few weeks.
________
Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Zapatero, told reporters while in Washington that Spain's economy is "fundamentally sound", words that usually act as cue for dealers to press the sell buttons. "This is not an easy moment; there are fundamental economic challenges of great magnitude for Spain and other countries."

Spain's Banco Santander, owner of Abbey, 'Bradford and Bingley' and 'Alliance and Leicester', has lost 16 per cent of its value.
There are already high unemployment rates of up to 20 per cent in Spain.
_________
The world's biggest bond fund, Pimco, last month warned that UK bonds were "resting on a bed of nitroglycerine". 
Few believe UK gilts would be immune from the onslaught which would spell higher interest rates in Britain, benefiting investors but also adding hundreds of pounds a month to the average mortgage bill.
________

The possibility of a break-up of the eurozone is being openly discussed. 
The EU has no formal process to deal with a national debt crisis because it was never anticipated. 
The Maastricht Rules, designed to reassure German voters and framed in the "infamous" 1993 treaty which laid the basis for the euro - have been widely flouted.
German Economics Minister, Rainer Bruederle, told the Bundestag that "some euro states are showing dangerous weakness."

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Drone Strikes Are Legal, U.S. Official Says

As Robert MacKey has written in the <The Lede> blog at The New York Times, his colleague has Charlie Savage reported Harold Hongju Koh, 
高洪柱 , the US State Department’s top lawyer (who has been mentioned as a possible nominee for the Supreme Court), outlining the Obama administration’s legal rationale for targeted killings in the Pakistan 'tribal homelands' using drone strikes.

Mr. Koh, who was a human-rights official during the Clinton administration and who then became Dean of Yale Law School (the Martin Flug Professor of International Law) during the Bush administration, has previously been an outspoken critic of government policy on detention, interrogations, surveillance and other issues; writing in 2004 that America’s disregard for international law after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, had earned the USA a place along with North Korea and Iraq in “the axis of disobedience.”

However, Mary Ellen O’Connell, professor of law at Notre Dame University remains unconvinced and has repeated that she thinks the attacks are illegal

This study carries a Creative Commons license, which permits re-use of New America content when proper attribution is provided - 'Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann's drones database at the New America Foundation'.

Holland left Leader-less

Christian Democratic Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced that the Labour Party was quitting the government following their consideration of a NATO request for Dutch forces to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2010. 
The Labour party, Holland's second-largest coalition party, has opposed the move.

There are just under 2,000 Dutch service personnel serving in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan since 2006, whose deployment has been extended once, already .
21 have been killed.

The troops should have returned home in 2008, but they have stayed on because no other NATO nation has offered replacements. 
They are due to return home in August 2010.

"Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together"
Jan Peter Balkenende

[And before anyone starts winding their underpant's elastic too tightly, remember those 21 Dutchmen .. and then read the words of this song .. it might give you an idea of a Dutch point-of-view .._Ed]

"My sister and I remember still a tulip garden by an old Dutch mill,
And the home that was all our own until ... but we don't talk about that.

My sister and I recall once more the fishing schooners pulling into shore,
And the dog-cart we drove in days before ... but we don't talk about that.

We're learning to forget the fear that fell from a troubled sky.
We're .. almost happy .. over here, but sometimes we wake at night and cry.

My sister and I recall the day we said "Goodbye," .. and then we sailed away.
And we think of our friends who had to stay ... but we don't talk about that."

"My Sister and I"
- a song written by Hy Zaret, Joan Whitney & Alex Kramer, recorded by Jimmy Dorsey.
It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 7, 1941.

HEALTH

Another success at Westminster

"I am pleased to be able to report that Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People at the Department of Work and Pensions has taken on-board recommendations which I made at a recent IT / Health seminar, and that 'Atos Origin' has included them in their <program> for use by healthcare professionals.

So, not only do some of those 'in charge' listen to good advice .. they can actually do something about it, as well.

DWP letter

Good work all round."
Dr. Taylor.

Dr. Taylor "signs The Pledge"

• Appointment of a National Clinical Director

• Raised Patient and Public Awareness

• Better Clinical Training

• Speedier Diagnosis and Treatment

• Improved Information on Spending and Outcomes

Copy and Photograph courtesy of ARMA

Yet another NHS "I.T." debacle .. !

A blunder by NHS Blood and Transplant which came to light in 2009 (and has just been revealed) is of donors, who had been written to to confirm their agreement with donation arrangements, writing back saying that the information was incorrect.
The NHS transplant authority has since confirmed that in some 21 cases over the past six years, the wrong organs have been taken from donors.
Now we are told that up to 800,000 people who are on the UK donor register may have had their wishes about which organs they wished to donate recorded incorrectly.

• An independent report into the practice of Dr Sabah Al-Zayyat (a consultant locum employed by Great Ormond Street, examined the toddler two days before he died on 3 August 2007)

• details of GOSH management of paediatric services in Haringey

were not submitted to the original serious case review - nor considered by the subsequent Joint Area Review* (JAR) which had been ordered by the government.

*This report concluded that the unusual bruising to his back and neck and an infected lesion on his head should have alerted an examining doctor to abuse, and have the child removed to a place of safety.

Great Ormond Street Hospital (which took six months before they commissioned the independent report) said that it had shared the report with all "appropriate" bodies. Haringey Primary Care Trust originally told the case review that no actions by its staff could have averted Peter's death.
The summary contained recommendations including • Improving the level of medical staffing • Reviewing guidelines for assessing children suspected of being abused • Employing a highly qualified nurse • Ensuring an appraisal review as to whether doctors were up to date with child protection duties.

The full report detailed wider problems with the community paediatric service in Haringey - where Great Ormond Street were the employers and managers - and questioned whether the hospital should have appointed Dr Al-Zayyat (suggesting she did not appear to have the "competencies" to deal with child protection cases).
She did not have 

• appropriate specialization - her specialism was neuro-disability,

• the recognised certification,

• sufficient experience in child protection,

• training to achieve competency within six months,

• fulfill her conditions of employment.

The report, written by Professor Jo Sibert, of Cardiff University, and Dr Deborah Hodes, a senior consultant paediatrician in Camden, & completed in May 2008, contained_

• references to the health service's (GOSH) failings, 

• a high-light of a shortage of consultants, 

• demonstration of poor communication with North Middlesex Hospital, where GOSH also managed the paediatric consultants, 

• expression of surprise that there was no separately named doctor for child protection at St Ann's 

• demands for one to be appointed "urgently".

These findings were not included in the JAR ordered by Children's Secretary Ed Balls at the height of the controversy (Nov. 2008). Hundreds of documents (including 17 previous drafts of the JAR) were released last week. 
The DCSF said it could not comment because of continuing legal action and in classic 'bureaucracy-speak' said ..it received the report while the joint area review was being done .. "but that it was not deemed relevant" .. "Joint Area Reviews focus on how well services are working and working together at the point of inspection."

Tinker Bell (also known as Tinkerbell or Tink for short), is a character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play and 1911 novel Peter and Wendy. She has also appeared the 1953 animated Walt Disney picture Peter Pan (Tink being one of their premier icons). Barrie bequeathed the copyright of the character to GOSH.

Hundreds march in Defence of THEIR Hospital ..

Defend our National Health Service
STOP CLOSURE WHITTINGTON HOSPITAL
ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY

No to cuts, closures and privatisation

NHS executives propose to close the Accident and Emergency department at the Whittington hospital. This puts at risk all those across North London who would have to travel further in an emergency. It would also threaten the future of other services at the Whittington as well as adding to the burden in other hospitals.

This has outraged thousands of people! A huge campaign is building up across North London. Please join the campaign and spread the word, protest, write to the press, sign the petition, and tell everyone you know about the demonstration.

DEMONSTRATE TO SAVE THE WHITTINGTON 
A&E DEPARTMENT !

Defend the Whittington Hospital Coalition: www.dwhc.org.uk defendwhittington@gmail.com

__________________________________

Saturday (27th) saw hundreds of protesters marching in a rally which culminated at the hospital in Highgate, organised by the Defend Whittington Hospital Coalition.

Their protest, against proposals to close the accident and emergency (A&E) department at north London's Whittington Hospital, follows the publication of NHS plans going out for consultation in which the hospital may have to merge its A&E with those of London's Royal Free Hospital.
This is part of a city-wide NHS review.

The Metropolitan Police reported between 200 and 300 people at the start of the march, with more than 1,000 people gathered for the rally.

"We need our local A&E.   People who have never been on a demonstration are here.   It's our hospital.   We need those services here."
Shirley Frankin, from the DWHC

Follow this link to sign their On-Line Petition.

_________________________

And there's also the Camden Campaign ('darn the Ol' Kent Road' ..) who have been protesting since 31/03/2008.

Camden Campaign

________________________

NHS London has revealed plans for more than 100 'polyclinics' across the capital over the next five years, which will offer a wider range of services in one place.

An NHS London spokesman insisted: 
"Polyclinics will not replace A&Es. They are being introduced to make it quicker and easier for Londoners to access to the care they need."

^O_O^O_O^{O
Olympic Gold}

Congratulations, Amy

Amy Williams, 27, from Bath, won Britain's first solo Winter Olympics gold medal, establishing a track best-ever time in doing so. (Three minutes 35.64 seconds.) Her victory in the women's skeleton has been 30 years coming.

Team-mate Shelley Rudman, who was seventh overnight, recorded her two quickest slides, including the overall fastest of 53.82 seconds on the final run, but could only reach sixth.

Amy was reserve in Turin four years ago and was used as a commentator on the event by BBC Radio 5 live, watching Shelley Rudman win silver.

"Never in a million years did I think I'd come here and win gold,. I don't think it will sink in for weeks and weeks.
It's amazing to do this for my country. I had nothing to lose here and I just went for it. I enjoyed every minute."

She will receive her gold medal in a ceremony due to take place at about 0300 GMT on Sunday.

[Britain does not have a full skeleton track to train on -  just a dry starting section near Bath_Ed]

LAW & JUSTICE

  "A Civ-il-ian's lot is not a hap-py one.."

A recently published review - and now available on-line - by 
Denis O’Connor HMCIC, (HM Inspectorate of Constabulary) has criticised Police Forces in England and Wales for failing to log reports of harassment, vandalism and verbal abuse adequately. 
In a quarter of incidents of anti-social behaviour, officers did not even turn up. 
Those that did had no way of referencing whether the victim was suffering repeated incidents or were previously categorised as "vulnerable".

This report comes as the Independent Police Complaints Commission investigates the case of Fiona Pilkington. Police were called 33 times in seven years to reports of abuse, vandalism and violence by local youths and lack of resolution of her difficulties led to her killing herself and her severely disabled daughter.

The Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Denis O'Connor_ 
"It is like going back to the doctors' surgery but you see a different doctor every time. The more times they suffer the less confidence people have. There are some heart-rending stories.
The distinction between crime and anti-social behaviour was "artificial" and urged police to take it more seriously. 
He said: 
"I think this undermines confidence if it is not dealt with seriously, confidence not just in the police but in general. It is partly an individual thing but it also has a wider effect on the community, it adds an air of futility in public."

Where police did attend, confidence in the police increased, although almost all the victims in these cases said they were dissatisfied with the explanation given.

The six top-performing Constabularies are_

Cleveland

Hertfordshire

Lancashire

Merseyside

Northumbria

Surrey

and the worst is_ Nottinghamshire.

A speed camera in a 50mph section of road-works on the M6 has caught-out more than 5,500 motorists in five weeks. 
In total, 5,569 motorists were caught, but only those who drove faster than 60mph - about 2,800 people - will be prosecuted - because of "limited resources".
They will each receive £60 fines, raising about £168,000 which will be passed to the Treasury,

"I can't offer an explanation for it. I can't understand why people haven't seen the signs and cameras and are continuing to speed."

And where is this camera located, you ask ?
It is installed between junctions 43 and 44 of the M6 (from 29 January) and will stay in-place while bridge repairs are carried out.

     "True British heroes 
and a source of national pride for all of us'' 

Sir Nicholas Winton (now 100) and Mr. Denis Avey, 91, will receive the 
"Hero of the Holocaust" medal, a solid silver medallion inscribed ''in the service of humanity'' and, on the reverse, ''in recognition of ____ whose selfless actions preserved life in the face of persecution''.

''It is right that we reflect and learn from the past as we go forward in the future. 'That is why I was pleased to create a new award to recognise those amazing British individuals who through extraordinary and selfless acts of bravery protected and rescued Jews and others in the Holocaust. These individuals are true British heroes and a source of national pride for all of us. They were shining beacons of hope in the midst of terrible evil because they were prepared to take a stand against prejudice, hatred and intolerance. We pay tribute to them for the inspiration they provide now and for future generations to come.''
The Prime Minister

Ladies and Gentlemen, we salute you all

    "Let Right be done"

Jon Venables - now aged 27 - the convicted killer of toddler James Bulger, is still 'sheltering' behind Jack Straw's (skirts) undisclosed reasons ("to ensure that allegations are properly investigated").
[Please note the use of the plural _Ed]

Venables .. or whatever he is called .. the UK's youngest murderer .. has breached his bail conditions and been recalled to prison because of "extremely serious allegations", according to the 'Justice Secretary'.

The Sun newspaper claims that Venables, who was released in 2001 on licence with a new identity after serving just eight years for the 1993 murder, is alleged to have committed a serious sexual offence.

The Telegraph however cites repeated visits to Liverpool during which he enjoyed drunken nights-on-the-town at clubs such as Krazy Horse, Funky Box, Bar Fly and Walkabout, drinking up to 8 pints of strong lager, 'cocktails', and taking ecstasy, methadone and cocaine.
He was apparently cautioned in 2008 for 'possession of cocaine', and has also been arrested for 'affray' with a work-mate.
[Oh, and he's also been seen supporting Everton F.C. .. so that's got to stop _ED]

The Sunday Mirror, however, claims Venables had sparked concerns by using drugs and revealing his past to people - but that the main reason for his recall was on suspicion of child pornography offences - involving 'Class Four' material.

"I said on Wednesday that I was unable to give further details of the reasons for Jon Venables' return to custody, because it was not in the public interest to do so.
Our motivation throughout has been solely to ensure that some extremely serious allegations are properly investigated and that justice is done."
Jack Straw

Now that his present identity is 'known' to other inmates in jail, he will presumably have to be given (yet) another new I.D. - at a cost to the taxpayer of £250.000.
And this by a Government dedicated to the abolition of I.D. 'scams' !

[Oh Yes, we quote Terence Rattigan's legal epithet from 'The Winslow Boy' .. ..
"Let Right be done."_Ed]

Harassment IS bullying

It was good to hear Christine Pratt bring National Bullying Helpline to the nation's consciousness:

http://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk
Helpline 0845 22 55 787
Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm - Saturdays 10am - 2pm

This week's evidence has revealed a third and, until now, un-publicised draft legal advice, seen by the Foreign Office in February 2003, which stated that there should be a further security council resolution before military action in Iraq.
Declassified for the first time on Tuesday, it was returned by the office of Jack Straw with an instruction that the attorney general "carefully consider" his views.
    'The implications for a lawyer's advice to be returned by the client with 
     instructions to reconsider are clear.'

Wednesday's hearing ought to concentrate on how Lord Goldsmith arrived at the legality, or otherwise, of the invasion.

Elizabeth Wilmshurst CMG, fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House and Professor of International Law at University College London. She resigned on 20 March 2003, three days after Lord Goldsmith's final advice reversed her legal opinion that the invasion was illegal without a second United Nations Security Council Resolution to SCR 678.

Tuesday's evidence centred on ­process – what systems were in place to ensure that government policy was compliant with the law, and a list of the breaches in the events leading up to the war. Michael Wood (Foreign Office chief legal adviser at the time of the decision to invade Iraq) and Wilmshurst (his deputy) affirmed that it was their view too that there was no legal basis for war without a further UN security council resolution.

OK Lord 'H' .. Why the big State Secret ? 

In a secret and highly unusual order, Lord Hutton, chair of the controversial inquiry into government scientist Dr Kelly's death, has barred the release of all medical records, including the results of the post mortem, and unpublished evidence, for a seventy year period.

This move, coming just days before Tony Blair and Gordon Brown appear before the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War, will provoke fresh speculation about the true circumstances of Dr Kelly’s death and revive claims of an establishment cover-up.

"Do you promise to tell the truth, ..
a half-truth, ..
or whatever you want to disclose about the truth .. ?"

"What is it about David Kelly’s death which is so secret as to justify these reports being kept out of the public domain for 70 years?"
Dr Michael Powers QC, 
a medical and clinical negligence advocate campaigning to overturn the Hutton findings

"It is astonishing this is the first we’ve known about this decision by Lord Hutton and even more astonishing he should have seen fit to hide this material away."
Campaigning Liberal Democrat Norman Baker MP

• The body of former United Nations weapons inspector 
  Dr. David Christopher Kelly, CMG was found in July 2003 in woods close to his Oxfordshire home, shortly after he was exposed as the source of a BBC news report questioning Government claims.

• Lord Hutton’s 2004 report, dismissed by many experts as a whitewash, concluded that Dr Kelly killed himself by cutting his wrist with a blunt gardening knife.

"Lord Whitewash"

As we have published elsewhere on this page, a group of doctors (including Dr. Powers) has compiled a medical dossier as part of their legal challenge to the Hutton verdict.
They argue that Hutton’s conclusion that Dr Kelly killed himself by severing the ulnar artery in his left wrist after taking an overdose of prescription painkillers is untenable:

• the artery is small and difficult to access
• severing it could not have caused death
• painkillers (packet found on body) insufficient to have contributed to fatality
• "The bleeding from Dr Kelly’s ulnar artery is highly unlikely to have been so voluminous and rapid that it was the cause of death."
• "We advise the instructing solicitors to obtain the autopsy reports so that the concerns of a group of properly interested medical specialists can be answered."

In a letter leaked to a major national newspaper it has been revealed that a 30-year ban had been put in place on ‘records provided [which were] not produced in evidence’ (possibly witness statements which were not disclosed at the time).
It has now been established that Lord Hutton ordered all medical reports – including the post-mortem findings by pathologist Dr Nicholas Hunt and photographs of Dr Kelly’s body – to remain classified information for 70 years.

                 "Many dark actors playing games"
A quote from one of the e-mails he sent on the morning of 17th July 2003, the day he died, to New York Times journalist Judith Miller.

The then Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer used the Coroners Act to designate the Hutton Inquiry as ‘fulfilling the function of an inquest’ and so suspended any inquest into Dr Kelly’s death before it could begin.

• A spokesman for Thames Valley Police has said that it is not possible to search their records at this time.
• Lord Hutton has remained 'out-of-contact' to newspaper enquiries.

Some of the more vivid websites have mentioned some extreme 'conspiracy' stories; such as Russian Embassy cars (prefix 248D) being seen in Oxfordshire that day, and Detective Chief Inspector Alan Young starting a computer file in his office in Thames Valley Police Headquarters in Kidlington, on the death of Dr. Kelly - one hour before he died !

In one verdict - that of the Court of Appeal - Munir Hussain, 53, who had been sentenced to 30 months for grievous bodily harm with intent - was released under a supervision requirement for two years, having had his jail term was reduced to 12 months, suspended for two years. He had hit Walid Salem with a cricket bat following being attacked and tied-up within his own home and he and his family being repeatedly threatened with death by armed intruders.

The Judges and Law Lords who benefit from a life-style and personal security regime which 'protects and insulates' them from the fears and concerns which the majority of the population feel, were of the opinion that people who had been subject to such appalling violations should be in such control of their feelings and emotions that they can remember and comply with every nuance and sub-clause of the law (which takes a judge a life-time to assimilate).
i.e. to remember to chase an armed burglar out of the house .. but not down the street .. because "The burglary was over and the burglars had gone. No one was in any further danger from them."

Readers might identify more readily with the words of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson who said that people who put themselves in danger to tackle criminals should be celebrated as "heroes".

In the other case, Mrs. Frances Inglis, 57, of Dagenham, Essex, whose concern for her son's terrible injuries had driven her almost "insane", was sentenced to a minimum of nine years imprisonment for having ended his life and his suffering, calmly and quietly, by lethal heroin injection.

The circumstances of the case and of the unremitting and incurable pain which Thomas Inglis, 22, was suffering led Judge Brian Barker at the Old Bailey to say that the background of "tragedy and grief" will have struck a chord with all who had heard it. 
"It would be extraordinary if we didn't feel empathy with the family and what Mrs. Inglis had to face."

This case is tried just as Independent MSP (Menber of the Scottish Parliament)  Margo MacDonald's "Right-to-Die" bill for the terminally ill is to be published at the Scottish Parliament.
She is confident of making up the18 MSPs needed to have a bill considered by Holyrood.

These cases re-enforce the feeling that there is a gulf - sometimes insurmountable - between 'The Law' .. 'Justice' .. and 'Fairness'.

Frances Inglis is to appeal against both the sentence and the conviction.
Her solicitor, Katie Wheatley, criticised the sentence and verdict saying Inglis had been moved by "pure love".
"We, and Mrs Inglis, are extremely disappointed at the verdicts and sentence imposed. 
Both are utterly at odds with the fact that Mrs Inglis was moved to help her son by pure love and compassion."

Tony Blair's Foreword was .. "local colour" .. "asking for trouble"
Why can no-one use the 'L' word ?

Claiming Iraq had weapons of mass destruction which could be used within 45 minutes was a little "local colour" - so claims Sir David Omand, who was Tony Blair's former security co-ordinator.

Sir David, who was "Security and Intelligence Co-Ordinator" from 2002 to 2005, was asked by the Chilcott enquiry about the September 2002 dossier on Iraq's alleged (WMD) weapons of mass destruction and the controversial claim that they could be used within 45 minutes - central to the row between the BBC and the government.

The committee has also been looking at the foreword to the dossier, in which Tony Blair wrote that he believed that 'intelligence' had established "beyond doubt" that Saddam Hussein had continued to produce chemical and biological weapons. 
Sir David said he thought he had not paid much attention to the foreword as it was a document produced by the Prime Minister under his own name. 
This had been "a mistake". .. .. .. A "big mistake". 
Including this in a dossier was "asking for trouble".

Sir David said there was "this psychological state of being unwilling to admit that actually it wasn't going to turn out the way that had been predicted" and outlined “a clear difference within Washington between the CIA (and its own analysts) and those inside the Pentagon.
When the inspectors started to report that they weren't finding what we thought was going to be found, the response, for example in SIS [the Secret Intelligence Service], was simply "to turn up the volume control."

British intelligence did not support the suggestions that al-Qaeda had links with Saddam Hussein and, "in the end" the CIA had to come to the same view.

[It has long been known that 'Military Intelligence' is a contradiction in terms_Ed]

Never mind the WMD .. WHERE'S THE BLOOD ?

As the 'Iraq enquiry' sits, the circumstances surrounding death of government scientist Dr. David Kelly are once again being called into question.

Dr. Powers, a former assistant coroner, has stated that the (self-inflicted ?) cuts to his wrists would not have caused him to bleed to death and the dose of co-proxamol in Dr. Kelly's body was 'normal' !

Michael Powers QC has said there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt he killed himself, disputing the findings of Lord Hutton's enquiry.

Six doctors are taking legal action to demand a formal inquest and have the issue considered at the High Court.
“ Any unnatural death has to be investigated properly. This has not ”
David Halpin. Trauma surgeon.
"Suicide cannot be presumed .. it has to be proven. 
From the evidence that we have as to the circumstances of his death, in particular the aspect of haemorrhage, we do not believe that there was sufficient evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he killed himself. 
The inquest should not have been left to Lord Hutton because he is not a coroner. There are many times in political life that the country needs to have an answer and the desire to have an answer overwhelms the desire to get the right answer."

Dr. Powers, together with trauma surgeon David Halpin, epidemiologist Andrew Rouse, surgeon Martin Birnstingl, radiologist Stephen Frost, and Chris Burns-Cox who specialises in internal general medicine, have instructed solicitors Leigh Day and Co to approach Attorney General Baroness Scotland in a demand for a coroner's inquest.

David Halpin said that his personal view was that it was "very likely" 
Dr Kelly was assassinated since it was known (via MP Norman Baker) _
#..that there were no fingerprints on the knife the scientist apparently used to slash his wrist, even though he was not wearing gloves. 
#..It was never made public how much blood Dr Kelly had actually lost and evidence at the scene suggested a low level of blood loss at that site. 
#..There was also very little co-proxamol in his body - three packets of 10 were found nearby with just one pill left - not necessarily a lethal dose for an adult.
________

David Christopher Kelly, CMG (14 May 1944–17 July 2003) was an employee of the Ministry of Defence, a leading expert in biological warfare and a former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq. 
The Hutton Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death accepted that Kelly had not in fact said some of the things attributed to him by the reporter Gilligan. The following day, 28 January 2004, the entire front page of The Independent was covered with a single word in giant letters:
                                   "WHITEWASH"

Following the death in Dubai of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, an alleged Hamas commander, doubts have been shed on the involvement of 
Melvyn Adam Mildiner,           Paul John Keeley,           James Leonard Clarke, Stephen Daniel Hodes,          Michael Lawrence Barney     and 
Jonathan Lewis Graham,      all men who have dual British and Israeli citizenship.

The Irish Republic's government has confirmed that numbers on three other  suspects' passports were legitimate; however, Dublin said they did not match records for the names of 
Gail Folliard,                           Evan Dennings          and    Kevin Daveron, 
which had been used. Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs were urgently trying to contact their three citizens who hold (or have held) passports with these numbers.

Both France and Germany were also raising doubts over the identities of two suspects involving use of a French and a German passport.

Salford-born Mr Hodes, 37, said he had not left Israel for two years and was 
".. in shock. I don't know who's behind this. I am just scared, these are major forces."

Mr Mildiner, 31, told the Jerusalem Post: 
"Clearly it isn't me. The details are not correct. The date of birth is wrong. 
I went to bed with pneumonia and woke up a murderer."

Be that all as it may, Mr. Mabhouh was murdered in his hotel room on the 20th January .. .. and its now 18th February .. .. and so, FOUR WEEKS LATER, we now get Gordon Brown on radio saying, not what he HAS done, .. not what he IS doing, .. but what needs to be done .. in the future !
"The evidence has to be assembled about what actually happened, about how it happened and why..". LBC 97.3 FM radio

And WHY ? 
To prevent International Terrorism ? NO .. 
                 To bring murderers to justice ? NO .. 
                                  To prove the innocence of British subjects ? NO !

Dave .. Don't worry about what Gordon said ..
the photo wasn't THAT Bad .. !

[OK  .. spot the TWO "COMPLETELY CLASSLESS", NON-ELETIST, budding Tory politicians_Ed]