Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary at risk of closure due to lack of funding

The Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary in Watlington Road, Stadhampton, Oxfordshire, may have to close due to lack of funds, which may mean animals being put down.

The Oxford Mail reports that the centre was in its worst financial position since opening in 1967 due to spiralling costs and falling donations, according to manager Ron Heath.

If you would like to adopt an animal, information is linked here, but please remember that an animal is a big responsibility.

Animals have feelings and need to be fed and exercised on a regular basis.

Donations to the Sanctuary can be sent to The Village Green, Watlington Road, Stadhampton, Oxfordshire OX44 7UB, and there is a Gift Aid form on the site.

The Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary also has shops in Didcot, Witney and Oxford.

The Didcot shop is 114 Broadway,Didcot,Oxfordshire,OX11 8AB, the Witney shop is 29 Corn Street,Witney,Oxfordshire,OX8 7DB and the Oxford shop is 36 South Parade,Oxford,Oxfordshire,OX2 7JN.

Facebook breastfeeding row continues

A Facebook group set up to protest the social networking site's policy on breastfeeding pictures now has almost 100,000 members.

Facebook's policy of banning any images of breastfeeding that show nipples, has caused the creation of a group by protestors - or"lactivists" - called "Hey Facebook, breast feeding is not obscene".

On Saturday 23 December, members of the group, which is been going for a year, had a "virtual nurse in", where members were asked to change their profile picture for one day to an image of a nursing mother or animal, according to tampabay.com.

They were also asked to change their statues for a day to "Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!"

While some people cite that Facebook as a social networking site can enforce whatever rules it wants, others make the point that breastfeeding is natural. Today, Lini posted "How does the amount of photos with breastfeeding mothers compare with the amount of sh*tfaced students?"

According to American news channel Fox News: "Facebook has said that it has no problem with breastfeeding but photos that showed nipples or areolas were indecent and had to be removed."

My personal view is that Facebook is being over-zealous.

The site could always ask anyone with photographs of breastfeeding showing nipples to set their profiles to private, which is a good idea in any case if you post personal information on your Facebook page.

If a photo of a nipple also has a baby in it, it's obviously not pornography, and if people find them offensive, maybe they should find something else to worry about.

They could always donate some money to a charity to take their mind off it.

Database of everyone's correspondence to be set up

Are you happy that the Government propose to ask a private company to run a database with details of everybody's telephone calls, emails and internet use?

I'm not. It seems like "terrorism" is being used as an excuse to increase surveillance.

No content will be collected according to the Home Office, but they'll still know who you rung/emailed/messaged and when.

European Union condemns UK database plans:

The Independent reports that Europe's human rights commissioner Thomas Hammarberg has condemned the plans, as has Liberal Democrat spokesman on home affairs Chris Huhne.

No doubt some people will say "If you've done nothing wrong, you've nothing to hide." Well, given that this government has been responsible for data losses, I don't trust them with my data.

Thoughts on the Gaza air strikes

In response to rockets being fired by Hamas into Israel, killing Israeli civilians, Israel launched air strikes this weekend in order to punish Hamas, killing Palestinian civilians.

Numbers of the latter killed are disputed. One side, Hamas, claims 312 civilians were killed.

The other side, the Israeli government, claims that only two civilians died.

The United Nations uses a figure of 57.

So what happens next? Will we see more suicide bombings in Israel followed by more air strikes against Palestine, and even a ground invasion.

I'm not an authority on the Middle East, like so many people are in the debate. One thing has struck me though, that most people taking part in the debate support one side or the other.

At first this might seem like an obvious thing to say, but there seem to be very few people supporting a group of people on both sides of the conflict with few weapons and who always suffer most: civilians.

People on the pro-Israeli side, such as Melanie Phillips, claim Israel is not targeting civilians, and some accuse Palestinians of being responsible for their fate by voting for Hamas.

What about those Palestinians who voted for Fatah, another party or did not vote?

Was it their fault for not campaigning loudly and long enough for an alternative to Hamas?

On the pro-Palestinian side, people such as George Galloway tend to gloss over the deaths of Israelis by Hamas rockets and suicide bombers and focus on the Israeli action.

They usually regard Hamas as having been demonised, despite its founding charter, which says: ""The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews)" and blames "Zionists" for the French revolution, the Russian revolution and both world wars. Nothing anti-semitic about that then (!)

Call me naive, but people are people everywhere.

I'd like to see less debate about which side is right and which side is wrong, and more about how we can find a solution that keeps innocent people on both sides safe and alive.

One way could be for the international community to work with Fatah, which has been helping the Israelis destroy Hamas.

A moderate Fatah government would take a diplomatic approach towards Israel.

No doubt people on both sides of the debate will be offended by this post, but all I am saying is that ignoring one people's suffering while castigating another's is not going to help.

It's part of the reason why I felt so disappointed about the Stop The War Coalition, given their decision to take one side rather than protesting deaths on both.

I admire Tony Benn and have all his Diaries, but I don't accept that "The Israeli Government...now represents the greatest threat to security in the Middle East".

The threat to security in the Middle East is all those who want one side to win as opposed to stopping the bloodshed, as well as those who feel killing the other side is the only way to secure a future, blinded to the reality.

Ratemydoctor.com? New government health plans

The BBC reports that patients will be able to comment on the performance of their doctor on the NHS Choices website.

The Department of Health stress that the comments will be monitored for defamation and the identification or rating of individual doctors.

But if individual doctors cannot be identified, the system is surely flawed.

For many surgeries have a mixture of good and bad doctors.

Someone could have a bad experience with one doctor and give a bad rating to a whole surgery.

However, I'm not sure I'd like individual doctors to be identified either.

The website RateMyTeachers.com allows students to submit comments on their teachers anonymously, which has upset many teachers.

At the moment, NHS patients are able to comment on their hospital treatment, which seems fair enough to me.

This is because there is far less risk of a bad reputation being attached to a small group of people in a hospital than a doctor's surgery.

Only four or five doctors work in a surgery. Hundreds of medical staff work in a hospital.

You can see some typical comments here, on Yorkshire's Rotherham District General Hospital.

Like RateMyTeacher.com, these comments are often anonymous.

One person calls himself "Anon Treated in the endoscopy suit today".

Unless he changed his name for a joke, I think it's safe to say he didn't want to give his real name. Some people do, though.

Many of the comments have been replied to by the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust.

So who is going to monitor this site to make sure there are no defamative comments?

Will the Government hire a lawyer, or will they just stick a copy of McNae's in front of a PPS and ask him to take a look every few minutes?

Will GP's monitor the site and take feedback on board? Will a surgery spokesperson be allowed to reply like NHS Foundation Trusts seem to?

I think this is a bad idea, as do the British Medical Association.

Police blogger PC Bloggs also remembers this idea being announced before.

Russian Federal Space Agency plans 39 space launches in 2009: a world record

Russian Federal Space Agency head Anatoly Perminov has told the media that 39 space launches have been scheduled for 2009, a record.

Not sure if space launches are the most important use of government money, giving the world financial crisis.

I realise that it is important to explore space, but Russia should be helping its own citizens get through the downturn.

This seems like competition with America and Europe.

Russia's Glonass satellite program will also continue unchanged.

Anatoly Perminov says that the Russian Federal Space Agency: "will conduct two launches with three satellites each to increase the Glonass orbital grouping by six satellites."

More at RIA Novosti

Free course for American journalists and bloggers on Medicine In The Media

Cyberjournalist reports that America's National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers a free three day course on Medicine in the Media for journalists that welcomes citizen journalists and bloggers.

The course runs from June 24- June 27, 2009 and is located in Bethesda, Maryland. Applications for close on January 30 2009.

Medicine in the Media website here.

2008 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures episode 1 on Channel Five

Last night's Royal Institution Christmas Lecture was on the subject of microprocessors.

Professor Chris Bishop, chief research scientist with Microsoft Research and Professor of Computer Science at Edinburgh University, explained how computers had involved from Space Invaders consoles due to increased processing power.

Computers have been doubling in speed every two years for the last fifty years, which is exponential growth.

A microprocessor is very fast.

Professor Chris Bishop projected a very complex sum and said the microprocessor could do that sum in a nanosecond.

He then asked firearms expert Hamish McCloud to fire a .22 air rifle through two circuit boards thirty centimetres apart.

The shot took 2 million nanoseconds to pierce both circuit boards, and the microprocessor could have done 2 million calculations in that time.

Microprocessors may have reached the limits of speed. Each one is made up of semiconductors, switches either on or off.

The first semiconductor was invented by Michael Faraday, who used silver sulphide.

Transistors switch the current on and off, as demonstrated by Professor Chris Bishop.

He used a model of a transistor to show how it worked, first removing the silicon layer and copper electrodes.

This insulation layer is only four atoms thick.

The integrated circuit meant that four transistors could be placed on the same piece of silicon, and under Moore's Law the number of transistors on a chip ahas doubled every two years.

Making a microprocessor:

The bottom layer is layer of silicon. We have already created the insulation layer.

A pattern of light, corresponding to the pattern of copper we need, causes a chemical change.

A layer of copper is laid across the insulation layer, and an image of the copper wire is projected onto the top.

The microprocessor is then washed in acid to dissolve the copper.

Workers must wear special suits to avoid getting dust on the microprocessor.

A smaller transistor is a faster transistor, as it can fill up with charge quicker!

The clock speed is the rate a transistor can switch on and off. The faster the transistor, the faster the transistor, and therefore the faster the clock speed.

However, making transistors smaller also means they produce more heat per unit area. Therefore, heat limits microprocessor speed. Manufacturers are now trying two cores on the same chip.

A carbon nanotube could be used to build transistors, and would switch a thousand times faster than a transistor made of silicon. Professor Chris Bishop also suggests DNA.

The next episode is today on Channel Five at 7:15pm.

Watch again on Demand Five, Channel Five's watch again service using embedded Windows Media Player.

French economy holds up, unlike the British economy

Gordon Brown may want to take some lessons from Nicolas Sarkozy.

Despite fears that the French economy would enter recession in third quarter, it in fact grew 0.1%, according to the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE).

However, INSEE has predicted that the French economy will shrink by 0.8% in this quarter and will contract again by 0.4%in the first quarter of 2009.

The French government maintains its forecast of a expansion in 2009 of 0.2 to 0.5%.

I think that is unlikely.

Probable reasons for France avoiding a recession so far include the lack of personal debt and the fact that less people own their own home in France, meaning that fewer people have defaulted on their mortgage.

If we do see a "new capitalism", as Robert Peston predicts, I hope that new capitalism follows the current French system as opposed to the current American or British capitalist systems.

Ann Leslie: Killing My Own Snakes: A Memoir

Having met Dame Ann Leslie at the Woodstock Literary Festival, I can attest that she is a living legend, and one who is always happy to talk to people.

Her memoir, Killing My Own Snakes, is essential reading. Ann Leslie has had an exciting, varied and eye-opening life.

Starting out as a trainee reporter in the Daily Express' Manchester office after university, under the resentful Tom Campbell, Ann was plucked from writing on Lancashire teenagers (including the then unknown Beatles) to write a column at Fleet Street.

Leslie also wrote showbiz features, and interviewed several famous people a week including Peter Hall, Rex Harrison and Roman Polanski. She moved to Queen magazine, run by Jocelyn Stevens.

Her move to the Daily Mail allowed her to write many fascinating features from around the world, and the gutsy Leslie details her interviews with the powerful, including Imelda Marcos, " the Red Duke" Vojislav Seselj of Serbia, George W Bush (where she secured an interview through well timed gossip on Air Force Two) and former KGB head Vladimir Kryuchkov.

She has also reported on events such as the Manson murder, the OJ Simpson trial and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison.

Ann Leslie pays tribute to the many fixers who have helped her, guides who have assisted her in getting stories in some dangerous places, including Communist East Germany and Russia.

She feels that the worse crime a journalist can commit is to betray their fixer.

Killing My Own Stakes also details Ann's childhood and adventures in Mexico and Spain, where Salvador Dali was rather obscene, as well as her time on Stop The Week, which allowed her to gain the trust of a source used to arrest the leaders of the Cultural Revolution, who always listened to the radio programme.

If you are looking for a memoir full of fascinating detail on world events, gossip on figures from Bill Clinton to Germaine Greer (who Leslie does not have a good opinion of) and riveting revelations about journalism in the sixties, then this book is a must-read.

Killing My Own Snakes is out now in hardback at £20 and published by Macmillan.

Costs of Sally Murrer investigation revealed

Press Gazette, the UK media's trade publication, reports that the costs of an investigation by Thames Valley Police into Milton Keynes Citizen Sally Murrer,cleared at Kingston Crown Court last month of aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office, has been revealed under the Freedom of Information Act.

Before legal fees at Crown Court were taken into consideration, the cost to the taxpayer was £205,000.

Nick Cohen has written a good column on the case, which I agree is an attack on press freedom.

As a resident of the Thames Valley area, I can attest that there is plenty of actual crime to solve without picking on a well respected reporter.

I wish Sally Murrer, who I met briefly while on work experience at the National Union of Journalists in January, all the best.

Crime maps for American and Canadian university areas: UCrime.com

Resourceshelf reports on UCrime.com, which publishes crime maps for areas around universities in America and Canada.

For example, if I click on the list of the University of Alaska's Anchorage campus, I can see a trespassing report on the grounds, including street and date reported.

Two clicks take me to the webpage of the university's Police Department, which seems to enjoy using pdf's to display information.

It is difficult to find the information, but this is due to the University of Alaska, not Ucrime.com.

Crimes are broken down by type, with the option to just see one type of crime. In Jacksonville University's Kinne University Centre, as an example, there was an alleged aggravated assault on November 7th.

The site also allows university students to report crime, and for anyone to give feedback. A blog gives updates on crime maps and university crime events.

European Union information service seeks entries for online calendar competition

The Europe and European Union information service, based at Aberdeen's Central Library, wants people to submit an image of their favourite landmark or building in any European Union member state for an online calendar.

A selection of entries will be added to the "Europe Direct Aberdeen - Serving the North East's 2009 online calendar", with prizes awarded to the best three entries. The calendar will be available to download for free from here.

The Europe and European Unioninformation service provides information on every aspect of Europe.There are now over 470 Europe Direct centres throughout Europe, making up the Official Network of European Commission Information Relays.

The closing date for entries is Monday, 05 January 2009.

Entries should be sent with name, address, phone number and email address plus age and parental consent if under 16 to:

Calendar Competition, Europe Direct, Information Centre, Central Library, Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen AB25 1GW.

Remember to include details of your image.

Images need to be no larger than A5 and can be an original colour photograph, painting or drawing.

Prizes
1st Prize - £20 Voucher
2nd Prize - £10 Voucher
3rd Prize - £5 Voucher


Rules:
The competition is open to everyone and entrants can submit more than one image.

Copyright of the image remains with the individual, but winning entrants agree that their image can be published in the calendar.

Any photograph which contains individuals or groups of people must have the permission of those individuals prior to the photograph being entered.

Member countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Europe Direct Aberdeen
Information Centre
Central Library
Rosemount Viaduct
Aberdeen
AB25 1GW
01224 649483

E-mail europedirect@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Book Reviews: Tim The Tiny Horse and Tim The Tiny Horse At Large by Harry Hill

Harry Hill's books on the stoic horse Tim are marketed for children, but can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

Each book contains a series of well written adventures that Tim and a cast of supporting animals embark on, including "Tim The Tiny Horse Falls In Love", where Tim lies on a bed of rose petals in a parody of American Beauty, and "Tim Does Some Cooking", where the tiny horse tries to make a fudge bar.

Hill's drawings are also lovely, with two to four sentences to a page broken up by doodles of Tim, his friend Fly, and the adventures they embark upon.

At the end of Tim The Tiny Horse at Large, one of Tim's pets dies, prompting a moving evaluation of the death of someone that you treasure.

The books are uplifting, with Tim and Fly staying positive no matter what happens. Sometimes sad, always funny, these books are further proof of Harry Hill's talent.

The word slated: American and British use

The word "slated" seems to have a different meaning in America then Britain.

I have Microsoft PressPass in my Google Reader, and the top link says: "Microsoft Announces Quarterly Earnings Release Date and Upcoming Event for the Financial Community. Events with Microsoft leadership slated for January."

Oh dear. Then I typed this word into Google and compared American and British uses.

British newspapers, such as the Mirror, use the word negatively. "Sauce Police Slated" when reporting on airport security preventing airport workers from taking yogurt on board aeroplanes, or "Walsall Council slated over dismissal payout" regarding a £650,000 payout for whistleblower Peter Francis.

In America, the word slated is used to refer to scheduling an event, hence the Microsoft press release strapline. Headlines such as "New council slated to elect Mayor tonight" or "Rahm Emanuel, the man slated to be Mr. Obama’s chief of staff" from The Bulletin, a Pennsylvanian newspaper.

Other countries seem to prefer using "slated" in a negative sense, with the Irish News offering me "Council slated over stadium" as their headline to a snippet of free news, and Radio New Zealand International reporting "Papua New Guinea police slated in report from American watchdog group".

Curious little word.

If you're interested in learning more about the Microsoft slated event, it's a Financial Analyst Briefing at the 2009 International CES Conference on Thursday, January 8, 200, 3:00 p.m. PST.

The event is hosted by Robbie Bach, president, Entertainment and Devices Division. Webcast will be on the Microsoft Investor Relations webpage.

Financial education for the whole country

One of the very, very few positive aspects of this biting recession is how many people are becoming educated about financial matters.

Taking the bus from Kidlington to Oxford yesterday, I sat behind four teenage girls, who were loudly talking about the latest gadgets they hoped to get cheaper in the sales.

No surprise there: but they then had a detailed discussion about what shops were in administration, being able to name all of them including Whittards (which has now been bought by Epic) and The Officers Club.

Once the business news was seen as the preserve of City boys in red races driving flash cars around.

It has been only recently that people have made connections between problems in the City of London and job losses in their company.

This is because of the lack of financial education in most schools. How many people, a year ago, would know what the FTSE was, let alone follow it?

Now Robert Peston is the most well known face on the BBC ten o clock news, and financial headlines are on the front pages four days out of five.

People know that their fate is linked to the decisions of Alistair Darling, the Bank of England and banks.

A good Government would ignore Sir Jim Roses' daft primary education reforms and have half an hour a week of financial education, explaining how events in the City affect us and how we can avoid financial problems.

This would counteract the propaganda from banks and doorstep loan merchants preying on the poorest.

BBC News: Website age ratings 'an option'

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham is considering the introduction of film-style age ratings for websites.

The problem is, though, that there is no-one to enforce them. There is no online shop assistant asking to check ID.

This system is also open to abuse - we don't know who is in charge of rating sites and how much influence the government would have over them.

Video sharing sites:

Much of the content ministers are worried about is on video sharing sites such as Youtube. You can't give Youtube a 15 rating because 15 videos out of millions are unpleasent.

I assume this blog would get a Parental Guidance rating, or possibly higher.

Medianetwork: BBC Persian Service “conducting illegal activities” - Iranian minister Mohammad Hossein Safar Harandi

Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hossein Safar Harandi has accused the BBC Persian service in Tehran of "conducting illegal activities", the same week his president's speech was broadcast by Channel Four.

In related news, a New York City man has pleaded guilty to broadcasting Hezbollah TV, seen as providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Twitter brings back Name Search, but limits it

The popular microblogging service Twitter, which I use to tweet my posts, has finally brought back Name Search, as discussed on the Twitter Blog.

However, what the Twitter Blog doesn't mention is that the number of searches is limited to around twenty, as reported by Rodney Rumford.

NORAD and tracking Santa

Some interesting comments from Brian McClendon of Google on helping North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) track Santa (Link plays music when opened).

Merry Christmas and a happy 2009

Merry Christmas

No posts on Boxing Day but probably some at weekend

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to give Alternate Christmas Message on Channel Four

I won't be watching the Queen's Speech or the Alternate Queen's Speech this year, as neither interest me.

Sadly I won't be able to hear this message from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Questions of "where do you draw the line" are raised. If we broadcast a non-newsworthy speech by a homophobic Holocaust denier, where do we stop?

Should Nick Griffin's odious comments be broadcast?

Transcript from Ch$ linked via Harry's Place.

Zavvi enters adminstration

First Woolworths, then MFI, then Whittards, then The Officers Club and now Zavvi.

The chain of music and video shops has gone into administration, with 3,500 jobs at risk.

Woolworths, whose unit Entertainment UK was a major supplier of Zavvi, has been cited as a probably cause.

According to the BBC, the chain was formed after a management buy out of the Virgin Megastore division of the Virgin Group in September 2007.

RIP Harold Pinter (10th October 1930 - 24th December 2008)

Yesterday playwright and political activist Harold Pinter died at the age of 78.

Pinter wrote plays including the Caretaker and Betrayal, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature and the French Légion d'honneur.

He was also opposed to many recent conflicts including the 2003 Iraq invasion, has been active in International PEN and an active delegate of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, as well as joining the International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milošević (ICDSM),which appealed for a fair trial for the Serbian dictator.

On a side note, this is probably the only blog to mention Slobodan Milošević on 25 December.

Guns and Roses album banned in China

Article 19 reports that rock band Guns ’N‘ Roses' new album Chinese Democracy has been banned from importation into China.

State-owned China National Publications Import and Export Group has warned local shops not to import the album, which includes lyrics such as "sitting in a Chinese stew" and "If your great wall rocks, blame yourself".

The album has also been censored from Chinese search engines and the album’s official website, www.chinesedemocracy.com has been blocked within China.

The organisation also reports on oppressed artists around the world, including Burmese musician Win Maw, who received a six year sentence in a closed court for "sending false news abroad", and Ibrahim El Batout, whose documentary Ein Shams (Eye of the Sun) has been banned from screening in Egypt for the crime of not being "Egyptian".

His film follows a taxi driver in Iraq before moving to the Ein Shams suburb of Cairo.

In Turkey, singer Bulent Ersoy has been acquitted of charges of criticising the Turkish military, after reportedly saying on television that she would not want her own children to join an army battling Kurdish rebels.

Turkey partially amended a law in 2008 banning criticism of "Turkishness", to join the European Union.

ArtVenture prize:

The ArtVenture prize, launched in 2008 by philanthropist organisation ArtVenture in partnership with ARTICLE 19, have been won by Zimbabwean playwright Mhlanga for his repeated challenge of the Mugabe regime through political satire, and Burmease comedian and director Zarganar, sentenced in November 2008 to 45 years imprisonment for "creating disaffection towards state and government" by collecting donations for the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

The youth art prize went to City of Rhyme, a hip-hop group from northern Brazil, whose lyrics condemn violence.

Planning approval recieved for Isle of Dogs Crossrail station

Work on the Isle of Dogs' Crossrail station will begin in early 2009 after Canary Wharf Group plc (CWG) agreed today to contribute £150 million towards costs, as well as designing and building the new station.

They will be paid a fixed price of £500 million for the work.

The Isle of Dogs station is expected to be completed by summer 2012, and the first trains are due to run in 2017 when Crossrail opens.

Planning consent was granted for the station's retail areas and rooftop park scheme by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on 4 December 2008 and ratified by Boris Johnson,the Mayor of London on 17 December 2008.

Transport Minister Andrew Adonis said: "This deal with the Canary Wharf Group once again demonstrates the commitment of business to this vital project.

"It will provide a boost of at least £20bn to the UK economy, as well as creating around 30,000 much-needed new jobs in this difficult time.

"This vital new link will directly connect the heart of London's financial districts and Canary Wharf to Heathrow Airport, significantly improving existing public transport links and giving people a real choice about how they make their journeys into and across London."


It would be nice if further improvements were made to South London public transport once Crossrail is finished.

How about extending the Bakerloo line or the Tramlink?

Bus diversions during Crossrail works in the Tottenham Court Road area:

In related news, the Charing Cross Road bus lane between Denmark Street and New Oxford Street will be closed from early January 2009 to allow building work on Tottenham Court Road Underground station and the new Crossrail station.

Route 176 will start and finish at Tottenham Court Road, instead of Oxford Circus, from 3 January 2009, while southbound routes 14, 19, 24, 29, 38, N5, N19, N20, N29, N38, N41 and N279 will also be affected by the building work from 10 January 2009.

Tfl reports that Routes 24, 29, N29 and N279 will be rerouted via Bloomsbury Street, Princes Circus to St Giles High Street, Denmark Street and left in to Charing Cross Road.

Routes 14, N5 and N20 will be routed via Bloomsbury Street, Shaftesbury Avenue and at Princes Circus will carry straight down to Shaftesbury Avenue to Cambridge Circus

Routes 19, 38, N19, N38 and N41 will continue along High Holborn, and then down Shaftesbury Avenue.

New bus stops will be created in St Giles High Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, and new and relocated stands will accommodate terminating buses in St Giles High Street and Earnshaw Street.

Passengers should allow for delays on these routes.

Look who it is! :Alan Carr My Story

I took this book out of Kidlington library for my sister, but decided to have a read of it for myself, and was surprised how well written and detailed it was.

I've never been a big fan of Alan Carr, I have to confess. I'm sorry if that sounds pleasant, his comedy just doesn't interest me.

However, the person examined in Look who it is! is far more likeable and deep than the person I catch a glimpse of on the Friday Night Project when someone else is watching it.

Alan's story is one of real hard work. The son of football manager Graham Carr, he was useless at games and was bullied for being camp.

He grew up in Weymouth, Dartford and Northampton, moving around whenever his father got a new job at a football club.

Look who it is! has blackly funny tales of his cat Big Puss, holidays with his grandmother and his teachers.

In 1990, Graham Carr got a job at Blackpool City Football Club and Alan moved to the Vegas of the North.

Alan Carr lost his virginity when he was 17, but had to run home the next morning as his parents were having their carpets laid.

He went to Middlesex University in North London to study Theatre Studies, getting a job in Tesco Brent Cross to raise money.

In his final year, he chose the Stand-up Comedy module and performed comedy routines at "Downstairs at the King's Head" in Crouch End.

A successful performance might have given some hint of his future career, but Alan Carr tried to apply for acting roles before getting a factory job.

In 1999, Alan and his friend Catherine took a round the world trip, including a jounrey through Mexican shanty towns, where Alan was accused of breaking a toilet, San Francisco and its "full on" gay areas, and Sydney.

When Alan Carr got back, he was offered a room in Manchester, and after a series of low paid jobs decided to perform at an Open Spot night at the Briton's Protection.

The lack of non-performers present led to a poor reception, but he did much better at his next gig in Fallowfield, leading to him entering the Citylife Comedian of the year award.

This led to him getting an agent, and Alan's stand up blossomed. He performed at the Edinburgh Festival and did a corporate gig for Abbey National Building Society in Birmingham, where he had to present the raffle after calling abusive audience members "w**kers" when they threw Mini Eggs at his face.

He changed agents to Off The Kerb and was asked to do the warm up for Jonathan Ross' Friday show. More live work was offered, as well as "I Love 1976", Flipside and "Law of The Playground", where he met Justin Lee Collins.

At the end, Alan Carr has a "thank you list", including his family, friends, Justin Lee Collins and Manchester.

Unlike some stars who gloss over their earlier life while devoting five chapters to their best work, Carr's honest discussion of his life is funny, sometimes sad, sometimes disturbing and mostly heart warming.

I recommend this book - and you can't miss it in the bookshops with a picture of Alan Carr's face on one of those seaside cut-outs. It's £18.99.

Panorama: The Year Britain's Bubble Burst (with lots of Robert Peston)

After the usual introduction by Jeremy Vine outside the BBC, a Panorama examining the recent banking crisis.

Slightly daft introduction of Robert Peston followed by a showing of his audition tape.

Peston's breaking of Northern Rock's problems led to a run, leading to accusations that he'd helped to cause problems.

He told Panorama that he did not expect queues around the bank as a result of his story and that savers should know what goes on, while Sir Simon Jenkins said that financial journalists should consider how their reporting would affect the markets.

Then footage of Robert Peston receiving an award at the Royal Television Society as a result of the Northern Rock coverage, before an exploration of 2008.

Peston interviews Hector Sants, who feels that no-one could have prevented Northern Rock's collapse.

Sir John Gieve, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, tells Peston "We did see something coming...we didn't think it was going to be as severe as it did turn out to be...lowering interest rates would have held down production in other parts of the economy."

Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman, felt that he was dismissed when he first tried to raise the problem.

More Peston:

Then some more background on Robert Peston's life, including footage from Highgate Wood School where he studied.

After university, Peston took a job in the City and then moved to financial journalism.

Lehman collapse:

The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September was a huge shock to the financial system. Alistair Darling told Panorama that "never again must we allow part of the baking system to collapse".

Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) was in talks with Lloyds TSB for merger. Peston's reports caused HBOS shares to soar, casuing further questions about his power in the business world.

Peston's blog is read by 650,000 people a day, and it was hear he correctly predicted Bradford and Bingley would need to be rescued by the government

A bank can collapse in two days. It can lend to people who can't repay them or borrow from people who want their money back at a moment's notice.

On 7 October, Robert Peston found out that Halifax Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland were talking to the Government about support and blogged it. The banks' shares dived and questions were raised in the House.

The next day, a £400 billion plan was launched to save the UK banking system. On October 10th, London stock markets fell 20% and it was felt that RBS might not survive. Sir John Gieve said "If you just delt with one, you'd leave the others in an exposed position."

The Bank of England was ringing up the RBS's creditors to make sure they knew it wasn't going to collapse.

He is shown round the room where a deal was created by Chancellor Alistair Darling.

If banks did not take Government money and give the Treasury a shareholding, they would need to raise capital themselves.

Barclays refused to be part-nationalised, but £37 billion of taxpayers' money was invested in RBS, Lloyds and HBOS in return for stakes.

Hector Sants now feels that the period of the market losing confidence is behind us, and that the actions of global authorities have reassured investors.

Interest rates have been slashed, hurting borrowers, which Peston says is "unfair".

Unsurprisingly, Alistair Darling blames those in the boardrooms of major banks.

Some interesting shots of the inside of the BBC, but I feel the background on Robert peston's life was a bit superfluous.

He's an interesting person and a good reporter, but I would have preferred a half hour program presented by Peston entirely on the banking crisis. I admit that the coverage of his reporting was relevant though.

Peston's blog on 2009.

Two days until Christmas Day

It is the 23 December, two days until Christmas, and the old cliche is being heard whenever I walk to the shops or meet people "I don't feel very Christmassy."

With a devastating recession increasing the jobless numbers daily, it's hardly surprising that many people are not wanting to celebrate.

Takings are down in shops despite drastic reductions. I was on the Oxford Espress (sp) on Saturday and Sunday (which is why I blogged so little, which Google seems to have penalised me for).

It took longer than usual to get out of the centre due to buses and taxis dropping off shoppers to buy designer clothes and expensive food that tastes similar to other food but is presented in a much nicer way.

Despite "70% reductions" stuck to high street shop windows across Britain, there is still concern over profits in retail.

Information services firm Experian calculated that last weekend saw High Street "footfalls" down by 8.7% on 2007. Their website brings up pop up adverts, so careful if you visit it.

Hugh Pym, economics editor for the BBC, wrote one of many stories highlighting the misery many people face this year.

"There was no ray of starlight to illuminate the blanket of gloom in the labour market...The fall in financial and business services jobs, down 1.1% in the quarter, was almost as big as the decline for manufacturing where the number of posts fell by 1.4%."

In Aberdeen, Christmas spirit was ruined by vandals who attacked the Christmas tree in Castlegate market on Sunday December 14, removing its star.

Dawn Schultz,Aberdeen City Council's marketing and events manager, said: "The tree is given into the care of the citizens of Aberdeen in recognition of the strong relationship the two cities have established over the years so it is very sad to see it treated in this manner when it is there for the enjoyment of all."

Of course, Christmas is meant to be a special time where everyone gathers together. It would be nice if there was another Christmas miracle and the economy magically improved in 2009, with Robert Peston writing a happy post on his excellent blog.

Still, at least most people in Britain are not starving to death or dying of cholera, like in Zimbabwe.

Despite the job losses, incompetent government and soaring fuel bills, I saw people out and about today happily greeting each other and stocking up for a Christmas feast.

Maybe it's a return of the Blitz spirit.

Wouldn't it be nice if 2009 marked a new kind of capitalism, where people only borrowed in emergencies, where doorstep lending was finally outlawed, where greedy bankers repented and where public services were not sold off like the utilities were under the Tories.

Merry Christmas.

No congestion charge in London from 25 December to 1 January

There will be no congestion charge in London between Christmas and New Year.

TfL's Director of Congestion Charging and Traffic Enforcement Graeme Craig said: "Lighter traffic levels over the festive period mean that we are able to suspend the Congestion Charge during this time.

"We would like to remind motorists, however, that the Congestion Charge is in operation as usual from Friday 2 January."

Tube lines not running over Christmas:

No tube, overground or DLR lines or stations will be open on 25 December, Christmas Day.

Please note that all the Metropolitan Line and Jubilee line will not be running on the 26th of December (Boxing Day).

On the Northern Line on 26 December, there will be no Mill Hill East service.

Borough, Goodge Street, Mill Hill East,Mornington Crescent, Totteridge & Whetstone and West Finchley will be closed.

There will be a reduced DLR service and no London Overground.

The Metropolian Line will be closed from Uxbridge to Aldgate and Northwood to Aldgate on 27th to 28th December. The other two branches will be partially operational on those days, but you won't be able to go beyond Northwood.

The Jubilee line will be closed during the 27th and 28th of December from Stratford to Stanmore.

Buses:
There will be no buses on Christmas Day or Tramlink.

The Ascent of Money: Episode Six

Sadly this week's episode of the Ascent of Money was the last one.

Professor Niall Ferguson focused on a concept touched on by Rory Bremner in Silly Money, a series covered elsewhere in this blog, Chimerica.

In 2006, the world stock markets were worth $119,000,000,000,000. Financial globalisation has taken place.

Globalisation is vulnerable to financial and political tremors. Ten years ago, there was an emerging markets crisis.

Now, American borrowers have been relying on Chinese savers.

Many of today's emerging markets are really re-emerging markets. Overseas investment is risky as it is difficult to see what foreign investors or governments are doing.

Before 1914, the solution used to be to send the Navy in, or gunboat diplomacy.

William Jardine and James Matheson set up a trading company in 1832, shipping government-controlled opium to China.

The opium was confiscated by Chinese officials, and in 1840 British gunships landed in Hong Kong Island. South West China was under British control and opium became endemic.

By 1900, Jardine Matheson Holdings diversified into insurance and railways, and is listed on the Singapore Exchange.

The First World War caused liquidity to reduce, halting globalisation.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank were set up in 1944 by the Allies. Money would go from government to government under regulation.

Western bankers were desperate to invest oil money from the East, and controls were relaxed.

Latin America borrowed millions of dollars, and when Mexico declared that it could not repay its debt the continent was almost bankrupt.

The IMF and World Bank were in charge of getting the money back, and there was concern that these institutions were propping up dictators and causing economic problems via economic programs, leading to the anti-globalisation movement.

However, Professor Niall Ferguson does not believe that the IMF is a force for ill.

The coming of hedge funds led to a new breed of hit men. Globalisation was speeded up as hedge funds only put money in for weeks.

George Soros' theory of reflexivity says that financial markets cannot be perfect or rational, going through boom and bust cycles.

His quantum fund made millions through short selling, where currencies are bought and sold on the calculation they will lower in value.

On September 16th 1992, Black Wednesday, the British pound was linked to the German mark.

Soros calculated that the chancellor Norman Lamont would have to withdraw from the Exchange Rate Mechanism, betting $10,000,000.

Lamont announced the withdrawal of Britain from the Exchange Rate Mechanism. Soros made $1 billion.

In 1993, Fischer Black and Myron Scholes came up with option contracts.

A stock worth $100 today and that may be worth $200 in 2011 could give an option to buy in three years.

They came up with a formula for pricing options (seen at www.jsoftware.com):

C = SN(d1) - Xe - rTN(d2)
P = Xe - rtN(- d2) - SN(- d1)
d1 = (ln(S/K) + (r+v2/2)T) /v√T
d2 = d1 - (v√T)

Key:
C = Theoretical Call Premium S = Current Stock Price
P = Theoretical Put Premium X = Option Strike Price
r = Risk-Free Interest Rate v = volatility, or Standard Deviation of Asset Price
T = Time in years until strike date
N = Cumulative Standard Normal Distribution
ln = Natural Logarithm

Long Term Capital Management, their company made money by selling options that buyers had guessed wrong.

Additional leverage allowed them to increase assets to over $100 billion.

Long Term increased options and sold them cheaply, estimated the risk of going bust at 1/10 to the power of twenty four.

In October 1997, the pair were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Summer 1998 saw the collapse of the Russian stock market, and the government defaulted on its debts.

The company lost 15% of its entire capital and failed to find someone to help them. Soros felt it was too dangerous.

The New York Federal Reserve brokered a bank bailout.

Long Term Capital Management failed to factor in the 1987 stock market crash or the last Russian financial shock in 1917.

China:
Chongqing, western China, is the fastest growing city on Earth, where bridges and railways are constantly being constructed. The aim is to turn Chongqing into the financial capital of the world.

China has avoided crisis by financing much of its own investment, and now the Chinese are lending money to Americans, creating "Chimerica".

In the South Western Stock Exchange, Chongqing residents come to invest their savings.

Chinese savings are so plentiful that capital is flowing from East to West.

Last year, America needed to borrow $8 billion. China had a surpuls of over $2 billion, much of it lent to the USA.

China's exports to America needed a weak currency, so the country bought millions of dollars via currency markets. This was thought to be mutually beneficial.

Outsourcing to China has been seen as a way of increasing profits by multinationals such as IBM and Wal Mart.

Chimerica was thrown into doubt by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis.

However, China has been relatively unscathed. No Chinese banks have gone bust like in America (Lehman Brothers) or had a run (Northern Rock in 2007).

By 2027, China's GDP is predicted to be bigger than America's.

However, Germany and Britain were seen as having a similar relationship a hundred years ago, but fought two world wars after the breakdown in political relationships.

A conflict between China and America, whether financial or military, could reshape dramatically the current financial landscape.

The big crisis come seldom enough to be forgotten by those in charge of companies.

All six programmes are on 40D: (4 on demand).

A wonderful series. You can also read the book: The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Professor Niall Ferguson.

Thoughts on the police state: A response to James Hawes' article

I don't know if you read yesterday's Times, but there was an interesting column by James Hawes, senior lecturer in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes.

Hawes discussed his experiences of anti-social behaviour and the alleged failure of police to deal with it. These experiences were used to argue against the existence of a police state, which he described as a theory of the "Idiot Left".

Aside from the irritating branding of a section of the political sphere as idiots (so are they stupid for their thoughts on a police state or more generally?), I feel James Hawes' argument is flawed.

When people talk about a police state in Britain, they are not talking about anti-social behaviour.

The phrase is used in two ways. Firstly, to highlight repression of political demonstrations or activists by the state using the police.

Secondly, as a whinge by people when the police catch them breaking the law "You ticketed my car for parking on a yellow line! It's like living in a police state."

The second speaks for itself, but the first I feel has some validity.

James Hawes does not debate the use of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 to prevent people demonstrating outside Parliament Square, the use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 by councils, as investigated by the Daily Telegraph, and the detention of Walter Wolfgang when he tried to re-enter the Labour Party Conference after being removed for shouting "nonsense" once at Jack Straw.

Mr Hawes may not feel these instances are very serious, indeed he may dismiss anti-globalisation protesters and Walter Wolfgang as the "Idiot Left".

However, many of the issues that people demonstrate on are important, such as climate change.

Though some may think they are only going to bother "middle class hippies", they will affect all of us. Secondly, even if one does not agree with the views of protesters, one should defend their right to protest.

If the Government succeeds in making protest as difficult as possible and then passes laws that directly affect James Hawes, how will be show his disapproval except by direct action?

I, like many people, am concerned about anti-social behaviour as described in his article.

I support increased use of Anti Social Behaviour Orders (but only for criminals, not to use against protesters as they have been), police discretion, increased police pay and funding, more closed circuit television in town centres and more prisons, as long as the right people are inside them.

But I also oppose the use of anti-terrorism as a means of curtailing protest that embarrasses the Government, and strongly support any changes in these laws so they only target those who want to kill us, not those who want to protest.

Police states in literature:

My argument that the police state does not affect those who do not embarrass the government is backed up by literature.

Aside from a few telescreens in places that might become hiding places for wavering party members, the proles in Nineteen Eighty Four are not under surveillance. They can murder and burgle each other without the Thought Police worrying.

The same is true in Stephen King's The Running Man, where residents of the slum areas of Co-op city are ignored by the police until they travel uptown to register for a gameshow and risk their health.

World Wide Web Consortium announces new accessibity standards

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has announced new standards to make sites more accessible to older and disabled people.

As Geoff Adams-Spink reports, these guidelines apply to text, images, audio and video.

The standards recommend providing text alternatives for non text based media, which will ensure it can be changed into large print, braile or simple language.

Captions and sign language should be provided for all pre-recorded media, while there should be audio-only options.

It is also recommended that it should be easy for users to separate foreground from background on images, and that users should be able to surf the site via a keyboard as opposed to a mouse or ball.

Adhering to these guidelines will be important for me during my new job, although most of them I would have considered essential anyway. I'm not sure how I can apply them to this blog, although most browsers allow you to resize text or hear parts of a site.

Greek riots this Saturday

A flash mob was used to demonstrate at the Sintagma square in Athens, with reports from Indymedia that 150 people "froze" for about 10 minutes, before the government-funded Christmas tree was covered in rubbish.

Riot police tried to protect the tree from vandalism. You can see photos here and here.

At 9pm, thousands of people gathered in Exarchia, where Alexis Grigoropoulos was shot, for a rally.

There was also a demonstration at the occupied Polytechnic University, where riot police fought with protesters around the University and the Exarchia square.

The protesters made barricades and set them on fire while police fired chemicals and tear gas, making arrests. The protest lasted until well after midnight.

In Thessaloniki the city's mayor was attacked by protesters occupying public land, who threw a box of pastries and plastic bottles of water at him while shouting slogans.

More on the riots in Greece here.

Flash mobs and protesting:
I wonder if flash mobs will be used more often in protests. I think they'd be effective.

There have been many articles of flash mobs doing "wacky" stunts for a laugh causing chaos in rail stations or shopping centres.

Imagine a flash mob outside BAE Systems.

Kalish visual editing workshop for American journalists in June 09

The Kalish visual editing workshop will be taking place from June 12 - June 16 2009 at Ball State University,Muncie, Indiana, as reported by Cyberjournalist.

According to the course's website, the workshop is intended to "design a bridge" between online news organizations and newspaper organizations.

It includes hands-on exercises and discussions, the creation of a page one newspaper page with accompanying inside pages for a picture story.

Participants will be expected to take a set of pictures, marry them with sound and produce an effective web-based slide show, as well as being able develop a story board which will lead to a video production.

Topics for discussion include managing resources across platforms, demonstrating leadership qualities at staff level, mid-management and senior management levels, as well as a panel to answer questions.

Applying for the course:

The deadline for applications is February 28 2009, and accommodation must be applied for by May 20.

Each applicant must submit a brief statement of background and reason for applying. Participants will be selected for a good "mix" of people, and there is a registration fee of $500 and a deposit of $100.

The balance is due on May 1 2009, after which no refunds will be given.

More information.

Purple squirrel seen near Meoncross School in Hampshire

The Telegraph reports that children and teachers at Meoncross School in Hampshire saw a purple squirrel through the window.

Friendface: social networking parody on the IT Crowd episode five

Last night's episode of the IT Crowd parodied social networking, with fake site Friendface mocking the control social networking sites have over users' data, as well as the contemptuous reaction that people not using such sites have, played well by Richard Ayode as Moss (a number of people in the media seem to have this reaction!)

Interesting examination of online advertising and effects (the cola game) as well as social networking addiction (although I don't think Moss, Jen and Roy are representative of most site users.)

Jen's decision to use Friendface to meet old school friends backfired when she found that her friends are more successful than her, so she asks Moss and Roy to help...and everything becomes crazy.

It's best not to be lured into a false sense of reassurance by social networking, even though you don't have to confront people face to face.

Have a mental picture of them sitting at a computer reading your post.

Watch the IT Crowd episdoe five on 40D.

Help puffin chicks on St Kilda

The BBC reports that people good at sewing are being sought by the National Trust for Scotland to make small cotton sacks for puffin chicks, or pufflings.

Pufflings become confused by lights from buildings on the island of St Kilda and head towards them instead of the sea.

Rangers, who live on St Kilda during the summer, rescue pufflings by placing them in cotton sacks before releasing them on the coast.

Anyone interested in helping produce the sacks should contact Susan Bain of the National Trust for Scotland on (01463) 232034.

Labour give the poorest in society a kicking

The Labour Party have decided to allow credit unions to run some of the emergency state loans given to the very poor, meaning they will be charged interest from 12.68% to 26.8%.

If these were banks we were talking about, they'd get a government bailout.

Lord Kinnock, who was Labour leader between 1983 and 1992, has attacked the idea.

When Kinnock gave that excellent speech two days before polling day in 1983, saying: "I warn you that you will have poverty – when pensions slip and benefits are whittled away by a government that won’t pay in an economy that can't pay. I warn you that you will be cold – when fuel charges are used as a tax system that the rich don't notice and the poor can't afford...

"I warn you that you will borrow less – when credit, loans, mortgages and easy payments are refused to people on your melting income.", I doubt he realised how apt his words would be for Gordon Brown's leadership.

University of Exeter in Private Eye

There is a disturbing story in the latest Private Eye (1226) about Paul Jones, a postgraduate student suing the University of Exeter after allegedly being left in charge of teaching an entire undergraduate module.

He was paid £5184 a year for being a graduate teaching assistant, but did not realise that he would have to teach a module on consumer research by himself after his supervisor Professor Jonathan Schroeder left for Australia on sabbatical, along with fellow lecturer Dr Janet Borgerson.

The University of Exeter has offered a goodwill payment of £3,500 in tuition fees, but Paul Jones wants full funding to transfer to another university, claiming the extra work and the lack of face to face support left him unable to finish his PhD.

More in this week's Private Eye on page 29.

According to Flisolo, Jones has complained that he has suffered "a bitter and spiteful campaign by the University administration", and that his complaint was treated "with contempt, hostility, and unfairly."

He has now launched a website campaigning for justice and needs £20,000 to take his case to court.

Please donate.

Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk launchs "catch up" service

Austrian public broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) will launch catch up service ORF-Mediathek in February 2009, as reported at Medianetwork.

ORF’s online director Thomas Prantner says that the new service will be "a very important step in the development of ORF.at into a multimedia platform"

All five terrestrial stations and Sky have them in Britain, as do German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.

Which other broadcasters worldwide have a service similar to the iplayer?

Los Angeles Times creates homicide map

On this blog I've reported on police crime maps created by London and Wales forces, but the L.A. Times has created a homicide map to accompany its chronicle of murders in Los Angeles, the Homicide Report.

A list of murder victims is given under the Google Map, and you can click on a victim's name in the list to see details.

Clicking on "More" on the bubble takes you to the homicide report for the murder.

You can filter results by cause of death, day of week, age, race, gender, and there is also a photo area of victims.

In 2008, there were 592 murders in L.A.

Independent.co.uk: Secret nuclear sell-off storm

Britain no longer has any stake in the production of its nuclear warheads, after the Government secretly sold off its shares in the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston in Berkshire.

So much for claims our nuclear deterrent was independent, unlike France's force de frappe.

The fee paid by American company Jacobs Engineering, which bought the warheads, has not been disclosed.

Investigative journalists giving talk at Oxford Film and Video Makers next month

Investigative journalists Gem de Silva and Zoe Broughton will be speaking at Oxford Film and Video Makers, 54 Catherine Street, OX4 3AH on Wednesday 28 January 2009 at 7:30pm.

Gem de Silva's company "Tracks Investigations" offers a worldwide investigation, campaign and media production service for environmental and animal protection organisations.

He won this year's RSPCA's Special Investigative Award for his investigation of the international primate trade.

Gem de Silba has worked in the charity sector for the last 12 years, where his roles have included Special Projects Manager for Compassion in World Farming and Director of Investigations for the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.

He has also been an independent film and video director, producing programmes on environmental and social justice issues.

Zoe Broughton is a human rights & environmental campaigns video journalist who has worked for Undercurrents - the organisation that brings you ‘news you don't see on the news’ - and recently has been working on a project about disadvantaged teenagers in Oxford.

Zoe films direct action videos for Greenpeace and has been asked to make a film for the Quakers about keeping protest non-violent.

Entry to the event is free, and doors open at 7:00pm.

The talk is part of "Reel One", where local filmmakers, screenwriters, digital artists and crews meet up.

Debate on libel laws at TheyWorkForYou.com

Denis McShane says it better than I ever could

"The practice of libel tourism as it is known—the willingness of British courts to allow wealthy foreigners who do not live here to attack publications that have no connection with Britain—is now an international scandal.

"It shames Britain and makes a mockery of the idea that Britain is a protector of core democratic freedoms.

"Libel tourism sounds innocuous, but underneath the banal phrase is a major assault on freedom of information, which in today's complex world is more necessary than ever if evil, such as the jihad ideology that led to the Mumbai massacres, is not to flourish, and if those who traffic arms, blood diamonds, drugs and money to support Islamist extremist organisations that hide behind charitable status are not to be exposed."

Welcome support from Norman Lamb and Michael Gove, and a comment from Edward Garnier, which I cannot repeat here due to the libel laws!

Via Martin Stabe.

Streaming media companies form alliance

A new industry forum, the Internet Media Device Alliance (IMDA), has been formed by streaming media companies.

The Internet Media Device Alliance says that one of their key activities will be to define a series of end-to-end technical standards, functions and profiles to encourage the development of a wide range of Internet media devices.

Other objectives include the promotion of Internet-connected device technology to consumers and retailers both within and outside the IMDA.

Membership is open to consumer electronics OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), retailers, radio broadcasters, content aggregators, online music service providers, device manufacturers and technology providers.

The decision to form the Internet Media Device Alliance was taken at the 2008 Internet Radio Summit, hosted in London by the BBC.

The inaugural General Assembly Meeting of the Internet Media Device Alliance will be held on 9 January 2009 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show. Interested parties will be able to join the IMDA there.

Via Andy Sennit's Medianetwork

Bailout likely for Jaguar: where next?

Robert Peston is convinced that the government will give Jaguar Land Rover state aid, saving 15,000 jobs.

However, does this mean that other car companies will receive future bailouts? Any why didn't Woolworths receive state aid?

The company employs twice as many people in Britain and some would argue its products are less damaging to the environment.

There is going to be a fierce debate over the next year about which companies should get state aid and which ones should not.

I have no doubt we will see many requests for bailouts across the British economy.

Alex Brummer in the Daily Mail complains that the firm is foreign-owned and was bought during a time of high oil prices.

He also holds Tata Consulting Services, part of Jaguar-Land Rover's owners Tata, responsible for "British jobs [being] lost to Bangalore."

While I would not choose a car company as a priority for bailing out, I am very concerned at rising unemployment. The Government have gone quiet on plans to create jobs.

It should be noted that Jaguar Land Rover deny the aid they are asking for is a bailout, calling it "short term support".

Sorry for the lack of financial news posts recently.

Be wary of bogus recruitment emails

Unemployment is rocketing to two million, and some fraudsters are trying to take advantage of this by offering bogus jobs.

Today I received an email from someone pretending to be from BHP Billiton, a company involved in natural resources including oil and steel.

The From address was info_bhpbilliton101@yahoo.com.hk, with a different reply-to address, billitonplcuk@hotmail.com.

Clearly, a real company would not need free email accounts! (And why would a company not located in Hong Kong have a .hk email?)

The email was also not addressed to me and asked for my full name, another sign that it was fake. No doubt this con artist has thousands of emails he tries.

Also check the presentation of the email. BHP Billiton would not have spelling mistakes or wrongly capitalised words.

If a job advert asks you to send them money, it's a scam.

If a job advert asks you to email your bank details before meeting, it's a scam.

Be wary. Stick to recognised job boards and don't give out your bank details or date of birth to people you have not met before.

Obama campaign logo development

Interesting post over at Logo Design Love showing some logos that were considered by Sol Sender,principal of design agency Sender LLC, hired to develop a logo for Barack Obama's campaign.

Interviews with Sol Sender here, including the social media aspect of the campaign.

I like the Barack O-Lantern (video 2).

The Money Programme: Last Orders: Calling Time on Pubs? (also notes on Oxford pubs needing your support)

Last week Max Flint examined the pub industry.

By 2012, one in eight British pubs will have failed and more than 4000 pubs will go out of business by 2010.

To the tune of the Specials' wonderful "Ghost Town", an apt national anthem for recession-hit Britain, he visited Tony Blyth of the Duke’s Arms in the village of Woodford, whose taking have almost halved since 2007.

They also had to spend money on a shelter outside for smokers due to the ban.

The White Horse, owned by Admiral Taverns, is run by Giuseppe Gatto, who lost £25,000 doing repairs when he took over.

He accuses the company of failing to help him fix the pub, although they deny the pub represents the quality of their estate.

Giuseppe plans to leave as soon as possible.

The Prince of Wales, owned by Punch Taverns, has been run by Alan Peel for six years.

He is struggling to keep the pub going. Takings have stayed the same while costs have gone up.

Rent is £400 a week rent and pays £145 for a barrel of Guiness, while Tony Blyth can pay £115 for a barrel.

Chief executive of CAMBRA Mike Benner says the British pub is "part of our culture" and that for many pubs "food is now a bigger part of their business then drink sales."

Lucy Townsend runs a successful pub, the Anchor Inn. It is a food led pub, and has been aided by the smoking ban.

In the village of Woodford, Tony Blyth told Max Flint that many customers were switching to cheap supermarket alcohol and drinking at home.

161 million fewer pints were sold in summer 2008 than summer 2007.

Max spent a day behind the bar learning how to become a publican, and was surprised by the lack of customers on a Wednesday night.

He describes relating to customers a "six hours of forced laughter."

Managed or chain pubs, including Wetherspoons or All Bar Ones, number 700 and have cheaper food or alcohol than other pubs.

In 1989, breweries were criticised by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and pubs were sold off by the beer industry.

Leased pubs have to buy beer from the pub companies, which is more expensive

Hamish Champ, City and Business editor of The Publican, said beer companies were seen as "ripping the heart out of pubs", and said that the beer tythe was causing problems.

In Kent, The Ivy House landlord Colm Powell went on hunger strike after Enterprise Inn fined him for breaking his tythe.

Powell said he would not have survived otherwise.

Andrew Bracken, divisional manager of Enterprise Inns, says he feels thee company has done all that it could do.

Mark Hastings, of the British Beer and Pub Association, denied pub companies were responsible and costs were balanced out.

Thriving pubs:

The Old Crown at Hesket Newmarket is a co-operative pub owned by locals. Each paid fifteen hundred pounds for a share in the pub.

Since 2006 the Old Crown has increased trade by over forty percent. Malcom Hawksworth said the secret was "to give our public what they want."

In Ravenstonedale, the Black Swan has opened a shop within the pub, selling essentials. It was helped by the Pub is the Hub initiative, started by the Prince of Wales.

The Black Swan has seen its turnover treble from £200,000 to £600,000 a year.

A recent survey by financial experts recommended investors to avoid pub company stocks.

It said the beer tie "looks increasingly archaic" and that a sizeable proportion of pubs are paying too much rent and may not be able to survive long term.

Cheap supermarket beer, bad weather, high rents, big taxes and the smoking ban are crippling the pub trade.

With the economy struggling for the foreseeable future, time could soon be called on part of British life.

On the iplayer until 7:20pm today.

Pubs in Oxford that need your support:

Tony Goulding, pubs officer from the Oxford branch of Camra (the Campaign for Real Ale)has named a number of pubs in Oxford that need support.

1.The Jolly Postboys, 22 Florence Park Road, Oxford OX4 3PH (near Cowley).

2.The Ampleforth Arms, 53 Collinwood Rd, Headington,Oxford OX3 8HH.

3.The Eagle Tavern,28 Magdalen Road,Oxford, OX4 1RB.

4. The Chester Arms, Chester Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX14 1SN (Abingdon).

The Economist: World Trade: Barriers to entry

Interesting article on world trade from The Economist.

Teenager wounded by bullet in Peristeri, Athens

Reports are coming in of a high school student being wounded by a bullet in Peristeri, Athens.

Police have said that no officers were in the area at the time of the shooting.

Deputy Education Minister Andreas Lykourentzos said "Unfortunately another unpleasant incident has been added to the recent sad events that torment the sector of education".

Lykourentzos claims that "the incident will be assessed and evaluated calmly without being blown out of proportion...[these are]hard times that demand responsibility and cooperation to ensure the preservation of democratic normalcy, social peace and the uninterrupted continuation of education's work."

The Labour Centre in Patras and a Cretan TV station have been occupied.

Wednesday in Greece:

Yesterday in Greece, ticket machines in Athens were vandalised while a police van stopped at traffic lights was torched.

There are also reports of demonstrations in Iraklio and Chania. In Patras a new pirate radio station run by the protesters started transmitting.

The riot police's headquarters were also torched

More info here.

Patch issued to fix Internet Explorer security flaw

The BBC reports that Microsoft has released a patch to fix a recent serious security flaw in Internet Explorer.

As mentioned by the Telegraph, McAffe blogger Rahul Mohandus has more information on Internet Explorer 7 attacks.

If you want to read an in-depth debate on Mozilla Firefox versus Internet Explorer, go here. An interesting point is made:

It's harder to avoid than you seem to think. If you use Windows help to view .chm files, you're using IE. Usually they stay local, but many help files do include
links to web pages, and then you're out in the real world.

McCanns issue new plea for help

Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeline went missing last May, have issued a new video appealing for him.

A voiceover tells viewers ""This will be our second Christmas without our daughter, Please help us make sure we don't have a third."

I don't really know how much more people can do to find Madeleine. It's been over eighteen months now, and there have been no developments this year.

Far better to concentrate on other missing people.

Police forces in Wales launch crime maps

Three Welsh police forces have launched crime maps for the local area.

South Wales Police, Gwent Police and North Wales Police's maps went live today, while a fourth force, Dyfed-Powys Police, will launch theirs on Friday when translation is completed.

(Wales, for those unaware, has its own language, Welsh, spoken alongside English. The police are called Heddlu in Welsh. South Wales Police is therefore Heddlu De Cymru)

The maps do not show an overall picture until a location is entered, but once this is done the information is detailed, including crime increases or decreases, relative crime and by type.

For example, South Wales Police's crime map tells me crime in Neath Port Talbort is below average compared to the rest of the area, crime has decreased by 11.8% compared to 2007.

You can also subscribe to an RSS feed, meaning that you can receive regular updates without visiting the map each time, and data can be downloaded as a .csv file. Most spreadsheets open .csv's.

The search function needs a little work but I am impressed with the Welsh crime maps (the Met might want to incorporate some of the features) and hope that other forces will add crime maps. Only North Wales', which also shows police stations, has a Youtube or Facebook link.

I can't find out how to access a Welsh version of the map, and Gwent Police's Getting Started link goes to the map. Hopefully these bugs should be solved.

Labour MP resigns government post over Royal Mail plans

Jim McGovern has resigned from his role as parliamentary private secretary to business minister Pat McFadden over plans by Lord Mandelson to part-privatise Royal Mail.

A man of integrity. 50,000 jobs could go if the Royal Mail is sold to TNT - the firm which was accused of losing child benefit disks as well as DWP data.

With unemployment rising to 1.86 million, I doubt those 50,000 workers would easily find new jobs. I

Indeed, it is hard to find new jobs during growth, and the recession will probably last until mid-2010 at the earliest.

Half of the Royal Mail's 71 sorting centres would be closed.

The unions will resist this sale, and rightly. CWU general secretary Billy Hayes echoes my concern about TNT:

"It is incredible that the British Government which has lead the world in overhauling banks need another European postal service to rescue the Royal Mail. Especially one which has already been disgraced by losing sensitive data disks in the mail.

"This was meant to be a report about competition but Mandelson has ignored the damage done through irresponsible liberalisation and advocates more involvement by private companies."

With so much opposition from backbenchers at unions, can Lord Mandelson succeed? He'd also have to break a manifesto promise.

Labour's 2005 manifesto said: "we have given the Royal Mail greater commercial freedom and have no plans to privatise it".

I want my postal service run by the public sector and providing as many jobs as possible, with increased funding and less pricey adverts.

Advertising is switching to the Net now. Television adverts are not as successful as they once were, and Royal Mail should develop new media branding. It would cost less also.

Underbelly: Episode Six

Spoilers:

Andrew “Benji” Veniamin, a suave thug, has been hired by Lewis Moran to kill Dino Dibra, who he believes killed Mark.

A friend of Dibra, Beji is reluctant to murder him until he believes he has proof, whereupon he shoots him multiple times in his own driveway.

However, Benji switches sides and decides to help Carl Williams, delivering a wounded Tony Mokbel to him and offering all his services. Carl is rattled after his house was shot at, although this had been done by Dino Dibra and his associate to convince Carl to be careful.

Meanwhile Steve Owen realises Carl is the killer and tries to prove that he could have driven to a nearby bar and appeared on CCTV, despite the disbelief of the other police. Eventually, after a trail run, he succeeds.

Sometimes you have to remember that Underbelly is based on true events. The idea of shooting out someone's windows to convince him to be careful is crazy.

I wasn't completely sure why Tony Mokbel insulted the biker (which led to his beating) but it might have been connected to the pill press that the Morans bought.

SNP applies for .scot domain

Finding Scottish websites could prove easier after the Scottish National Party government prepares to apply for a .scot domain.

Research carried out by the Office of the Chief Researcher found that 58 per cent of Scottish organisations and institutions would welcome a Scottish 'generic Top Level Domain', with 48 per cent in favour of .scot - a survey of international social and interest groups reported 82 per cent in favour.

'The time is ripe for the worldwide family of Scots to have their own domain, reflecting an online community defined by a shared commitment to Scottish identity, culture and economic promotion,' said First Minister Alex Salmond.

Via slewfootsnoop.

The Book People: best for cheap books in Britain

If you are looking to order books at a cheap price from a trustworthy seller and live in the United Kingdom, I recommend The Book People.

Although their stock is more limited than Amazon's, their prices are excellent. Recently, I ordered ten Penguin Classics, three novels by Graham Swift and three modern American novels for £20, with reasonable postage.

The books are delivered to your door and take around a week. You can also collect points redeemable for free books.

I have just enjoyed Jerome K Jerome's wonderful Three Men In A Boat, and look forward to reading Diary of a Nobody later this week.

Inquiry into British Libel Laws announced

Good news. Harry's Place reports that English PEN and Index on Censorship, two of the UK's free expression organisations, are launching a public inquiry into libel legislation.

The inquiry will invite submissions from publishers, writers, editors, journalists, lawyers and other interested parties.

It will hold discussions leading to a major conference next spring.

Leading human rights lawyer Sir Geoffrey Bindman, said:"There is a difficult balance to be struck between freedom of expression and the protection of the innocent from damaging falsehoods and invasion of legitimate privacy.

"In Britain, the pendulum has swung too far towards censorship. This comprehensive review of the law by two highly respected organisations is therefore very welcome."

The Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport is launching its own investigation, and Denis MacShane MP has secured an adjournment debate on the operation of libel laws on Wednesday 17 December at 9:30am in Westminster Hall, with cross party support.

I hope this inquiry has some effect. British libel laws, which I studied as part of my masters in journalism, protect the rich and the powerful from the British public.

It is a shame that none of the major parties have a manifesto commitment to changing them.

The Ascent of Money: Episode Five

This week, property.

The game Monopoly was invented in 1903 to expose the unfairness of tenants, but the version most play was created in 1933 by Charles Darrow, promoting property ownership.

Property has been held to be a safe investment, but this is not always the case.

Richard, Second Duke of Buckingham, owned 60-70,000 acres in England and Ireland, including the grounds of what is now Stowe School. By 1945, grain prices fell and so did rural property prices. He ended up having to auction off his property.

However, only one third of housing stock was owned by its occupiers as late as 1918.

In Detroit, America, redundant Ford Workers demanded unemployment benefit from the factory. They were shot at and five died.

The New Deal was created to avoid further unrest. Some customers of Savings and Loans would have their deposits guaranteed by the government.

A wall was built through Detroit. On one side, with mainly white residents, credit was offered, while the other side, with mostly black residents, did not receive credit.

These created prime and subprime borrowers. Primes had credit, while subprimes did not.

The 1967 riots saw many properties burnt by those angry they could not own property.

In the UK, the selling off of council houses during the 1980's was meant to avoid this.

However, the fight against inflation increased interest rates.

The Savings and Loans industry was hit by higher inflation and higher interest rates.

Restrictions were removed in 1982 by the Republicans.

In Dallas, Texas, Empire Savings and Loans' chairman did a deal with Danny Faulkner, and invested money from Empire's deposit accounts in his property. While Empire's assets grew on paper, the demand soon outstripped supply and many were demolished.

In 1991, Faulkner and Bain were jailed for fraud. Across America, 500 Savings and Loans Associations collapsed, costing American taxpayers $153 billion.

Both Bill Clinton and George W Bush challenged lenders to help "subprimes", with bad credit histories, obtain loans.

These loans were securitized by the banks they were sold to, meaning they were sliced and the top tier rated Triple A. The loans were sold to investors all over the world, including rural towns in Norway.

Many homes across America have been foreclosed, leading to auctions and repossessions by banks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were nationalised.

Between 1989 and 1995 in the UK, house prices dropped by 18%.

In Japan, Professor Niall Ferguson was shown round a flat for 2 million yen (£1,000,000). Between 1985 and 1990 prices rose by a factor of 3. The bubble burst and it burst, with prices falling by almost 75%. The flat we saw cost 6 million yen in the eighties.

The housing market has booms and busts. However, property ownership does provide collateral.

In Argentina, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto saw shanty towns as representing unrealised wealth. The people who live in them have no legal right to them and no collateral.

In parts of San Francisco Solano,squatters lobbied the government for legal rights to their homes, and improved them to ensure a good investment. However, this has not made it easier for them to borrow money.

Betty Flores runs a coffee shop in Boliva, and has borrowed money with no security via microfinance. She paid it all back to her lender.

Women are seen as a better creditor than men. Carmen Velasco set up Pro Mujer, which gives loans without security, and says women are proud when they repay their loan.

Professor Niall Ferguson says: "It's time to change the saying from as safe as houses to as safe as housewives."

Could microfinance be safer than property investment?

Final week: the globalisation of Western financial institutions

BBC News: Serious security flaw found in IE

A serious security flaw in Internet Explorer lets criminals to take control of people's computers.

Microsoft is preparing a patch, but in the meantime download an alternate browser such as Firefox, and make sure anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date.

If you want to stick with Internet Explorer (trust me, Firefox is better) than change Internet Explorer security settings to high and turn on Protected Mode if running Windows Vista.

Declaration issued on religious defamation and extremism

The four special mandates on freedom of expression today issued a Joint Declaration on "Defamation of Religions, Anti-Terrorism and Anti-Extremism Legislation", with help from Article 19.

These mandates are: the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights.

The declaration expresses concern about the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council on the subject of defamation of religions, calling on these and other international organisations to desist from adopting further statements on this issue.

The declaration also expresses concern about the , since the attacks of 11 September 2001, of anti-terrorism and anti-extremism laws.

It calls for the repeal of laws which restrict criticism of ideas and beliefs, including blasphemy laws, and wants hate speech laws to be limited to advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.

The declaration also seeks to define terrorism as the perpetration of violent crimes with a view to inflicting terror on the general public so as to influence the actions of public authorities.

However, it also has respect for the media’s role in informing the public about terrorism and acting as watchdog of government, as well as their right to protect their confidential sources of information.

Website of The Year 2008 awards announced

The winners of the Website of the Year awards have been announced.

Everyclick, an online fundraising site, won Best Website of 2008,with the highest average score on content, navigation and design, while Wayn.com, a social networking site with a travel theme, won Most Popular Website of 2008,with the highest number of votes.

223 websites were nominated over 18 categories.

Other sites that won awards included BBC New, which won Most Popular News Site, and MTV.co.uk, which won Most Popular Entertainment Site.

Over 1,500,000 people voted in the contest.

A full list of winners is here.

The awards' partners include DutchCowboys, an interactive marketing blog, and Mashable, a Web 2.0 news site.

BBC News: Northern Ireland has slowest broadband

Thinkbroadband.com has released a table of broadband speeds across Britain.

London had the highest, and Northern Ireland has the lowest.

More

I have a job

In the time since graduating from my course on November 11 2008, I have been job hunting.

Today, I have accepted the role of Online Networking Coordinator at ISEAL Alliance. I start on January 12th and am based in Aldgate.

Athens radio station occupied as tensions in Greece continue

Although rioting in Greece has been reported as dying down, the radio station of Athens 9.84 was occupied today for half an hour.

Yesterday a demonstration took place in front of the Greek Parliament.

Clashes between teenagers and riot police took also place in front of the parliament in Syntagma Square. There have been calls for daily protests.

Across the world:

In Berlin, banks in the Friedrichshain district were attacked and slogans supported the Greek rioters were sprayed on the walls.

A police station in Spain was also attacked by protesters, while an anarchist protest took place today outside the Greek Consulate in Birmingham, with a banner saying "Never forget, Never forgive – this is for Alex – @ Solidarity".

Blog censorship threatned in Vietnam

The Media Network blog reports that Information and Communication Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan wants "Internet giants" such as Google and Yahoo! to help "regulate" Vietnamese blogs.

Officals in Vietnam want blogs to be "personal diaries", and are concerned about bloggers criticising the government.

In September, Nguyen Van Hai, who blogged under the name Dieu Cay, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for tax evasion. Before his arrest, Hai had called for demonstrations against China's Olympic torch relay when it passed through Ho Chi Minh City in April and had also criticized China for its crackdown in Tibet. Vietnam is wary of offending its mighty neighbour.

Radio Free Asia reports that blogs will be checked on a random basis, with or without the help of Google and Yahoo, and "violators" could face up to U.S. $12,000 in fines and up to 12 years of jail time.

To me this seems like a way of preventing critical comments about the Vietnamese government. Despite recent promises to improve human rights, there have been criticisms surronding the arrest of pro-democracy activists.

In 2007, the human rights group International Christian Concern listed Vietnam as one of the world’s top ten worst persecutors of Christians

HarperCollins publishers put books on Nintendo DS

Following my post on online books, HarperCollins is offering a compendium of public domain books on the Nintendo DS.

For £20, you get one hundred books, including A Tale Of Two Cities and Treasure Island, currently in the public domain. You can download more titles using Wi-Fi.

The DS is easy to carry around and the screen is just big enough for quality reading.

The books will be released on December 26th for £18.

Will this take off?

Welsh Assembly Members' expenses

It must be nice being a Welsh Assembly Member (AM).

Salary of £50,692, the ability to make decisions affecting the future of Wales, and the ability to claim some rather odd items on expenses.

The BBC reports that two Welsh Assembly members,Nick Bourne and Alun Cairns have claimed ipods were office costs.

Perhaps they found them a good way of not having to hear awkward questions, such as "Do you really think someone earning £50,692 can justify claiming a portable music device on expenses?"

Deborah Summers in the Guardian also highlights that local government minister Brian Gibbons, paid a basic salary of £76,258, claimed £16.50 for a Royal British Legion wreath.

One wonders if Mr Gibbons (and what an apt name) also claims for the coins he drops in collection boxes.

Several AM's claimed for newspapers and magazines. What magazines? Women's Weekly or top-shelf rags?

Alun Cairns claimed for a "table fridge", while Jenny Randerson claimed £15 for the entrance charge to the Royal Welsh Show.

There is a serious point here. Most of these AM's claimed mobile phone allowances and travel costs - despite earning huge salaries.

Many people have to pay to get into work or have to use their own phone to contact the office, yet don't get reimbursed.

I can accept that AM's should not have to pay for office rent and office bills, but some of these items are ridiculous.

Why should we pay for their meals? They would be eating whether in their constituency, at the Welsh Assembly or on business elsewhere.

There is no justification for charging for ipods, or, as Conservative AM Nick Ramsey did, claiming £977.95 for a Sony LCD television and surround-sound system for his second home.

Expense claims should be scrutinised by an outside body, and a copy sent to their local party.

Article 19 celebrates its twentieth anniversary

The human rights organisation Article 19, which has reported on the safety of journalists around the world, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary with the release of a book, Speaking Out for Free Expression.

The book examines free expression since the founding of Article 19 on December 11th 1988, examining 34 countries with essays by international experts, comparing today’s reality with the situation for free expression two decades ago.

It's logo is "20" in Roman numerals, echoing the logo of Article 19, which is "19" in Roman numerals.

Zwelakhe Sisulu, a former political detainee and previous South African board member of ARTICLE 19, gave a speech at the book's launch on Thursday, saying: "ARTICLE 19 is an organisation that for many has made the difference between life and death, between pain and the ignominy of a lonely death... The men and women of ARTICLE 19 have worked tirelessly to expose before the whole world the brutality and man's inhumanity to man."

Dr.Agnès Callamard, Article 19's Executive Director, said: "It is extremely poignant to be commemorating our twentieth anniversary at the same time as the world celebrates the sixtieth year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

It reminds us that free expression underpins all other civil, political and economic rights and is the very oxygen of genuine democracy."

Russian entrepreneur tries to trademark emoticon

The BBC reports that Russian businessman Oleg Teterin claims that he has a trademark for the ;-) emoticon.

The "Superfone" president now promised to chase "companies that are trying to make a profit without the permission of the trademark holder."

I'm not sure what annoys me more, this latest attempt to trademark an everday part of communication among texters and instant messenger users, or the misspelling of "phone".

However, Russian news service RIA Novosti reports that Rospatent, Russia's state patent service, dismissed the claim.

Good to see common sense has prevailed.

Independent: Christina Patterson: Blog and be damned – and thrown into prison

Christina Patterson in the Independent on the repression faced by bloggers and writers around the world.

I had a lovely time in Syria in April: loved the art, loved the people, loved the sweets. Lucky, perhaps, that I wasn't there as a writer, or at least lucky that I wasn't there as a Syrian writer.

"I wanted to change the world with words," said Faraj Bagrahtar this week, "so I wrote poetry. I discovered poetry can't change the world outside, so I wrote articles. I became a writer for the Syrian communist party, and was arrested and imprisoned for 14 years." He grabbed a chair to show how he had been tortured, to show how placing the legs under the armpits, and leaving you hanging on the legs-turned-spikes, could turn a man mad.

.I do disagree with her view that British bloggers and commentators "[have] nothing much to say, but we [say] it anyway.

Most blogs I read don't talk about mealtimes (unless they are food blogs or discussing holidays), but have meaningful comments on politics, popular culture, and society. You can see some in my link list.

Postal strikes across Britain on Friday December 19th

There will be strikes at Royal Mail centres in Bolton, Coventry, Crewe, Liverpool, Oldham and Stockport from 6am on Friday 19th December.

The strike is over plans to merge depots, with concern over job losses. In Oxford, there is a proposal to move the Cowley depot to Swindon, although the strike there has been called off.

The Communication Workers Union, which represents postal workers, is also unhappy about the pressure that delivery workers are under to complete routes rapidly, including a new computer system calculating how much staff can deliver.

Carl Webb, the union's North West regional secretary, told Sky News: "Royal Mail's aggressive action has led to the unfortunate timing of this industrial action.

"We sincerely apologise for it and would have preferred for it not to have happened, but management action and legislation have forced our hand."

CWU spokesman Mick Kavanagh told BBC News there could be further action at the end of December and early January but the door was "still open" for talks with Royal Mail.

No Snow in Thames Valley

I have seen some frost, but I cannot see any snow in Oxfordshire. Nor have I heard of any in the South.

Five ideas for Noel Edmonds' Broken Britain show

Noel Edmonds' show Noel's HQ, shown on Sky One, blames red tape, speed cameras, gang culture and the London congestion charge for ruining Britain.

Well, aside from gang culture, which is sucking away hope from teens, I don't think any of those are reasons for the crime ridden society. What can be called red tape varies from person to person.

Someone wanting to use a new pub might call disabled legislation red tape. Not so a disabled visitor.

As for speed cameras and the London congestion charge, its all too easy to act like car owners are an oppressed species.

Would Noel Edmonds prefer gridlock in London and boy racers striking children at crossings?

Of course Noel's show does do some good; it's one part ire stoking and one part cockle warming. Viewers are encouraged to donate bone marrow and to help Help the Aged and the Kiyan Prince Foundation, set up after 16 year old Kiyan Prince was murdered in 2006.

Here are five targets I think Noel should focus on:

1. The expensive and unreliable nature of deregulated public transport.

2. Poor quality schooling and lack of respect from children in classrooms.

3. Bad decisions by local councils (like Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs).

4. Poor grammar and spelling in popular culture.

5. Problems with how police forces tackle crime.

Graphic art exhibition at Brent Museum from December 6th to February 8th

Any North London residents interested in graphic art should love the free graphic art exhibition at Brent Museum.

Work includes comics by Marc Ellerby, Antonia Hazlerigg and Jenika Ioffreda.

The museum is in Willesden Green Library Centre, 95 High Road, London, NW10 2SF.

The nearest tube station is Dollis Hill.

Opening hours are 11am to 8pm on Mondays, 9am to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays,and 9am -6pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and the weekend.

Campaign launched in Mexico to protect journalists

The human rights organisations Article 19 and Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social (CENCOS) have launched the "What you don’t know can hurt you" campaign to protect journalists' rights.

A map shows in Spanish the areas where journalists have faced oppression, and the site includes sections on how to report aggressions, alerts within Mexico, and materials about how to document cases and the situation of freedom of expression in Mexico.

Poster from the campaign:

















Television advert:


In 2009, ARTICLE 19 and its Central American partners will seek to replicate the experience in Mexico to other Latin American countries, including Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The overall objective is to strengthen local capacities and build a continent-wide protection network.

Today is iplayer day on the BBC Internet Blog

Dave Lee on the BBC Internet Blog reports that this week marks the first anniversary of the BBC iplayer's launch.

From 9am, there will be hourly posts on the iplayer, including interviews with those who work on and with it.

People are invited to take part by adding pictures of the iplayer to the iplayer Flickr group or tweeting about the iplayer, with posts tagged with #iplayerday being streamed on the BBC Internet blog.

At around 11am, Erik Huggers, director of Future Media and Technology, will answer some Twitter queries, and his answers will be posted online.

You can also follow the blog on Twitter at @bbccouk.

Housing Association sends out eviction-themed Christmas cards

Tuesday's Telegraph reports on the Jephson Housing Association, which sent Christmas cards with ""Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way, please make sure you pay your rent, so in your home you'll stay" to 650 homes in the South West.

More.

Bit early for Christmas cards, unpleasant or otherwise.

Jephson's website says that "customers come first".

Maybe they'll send someone round in an Easter Bunny suit in a few months with "Pay your rent or to the streets you'll be sent" written on his eggs.

BBC iplayer portal for mobile launches in beta

The portal is now available on the Apple iphone, Nokia N96, Samsung Omnia and Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, and the Sony Ericsson C905 will be able to access it by mid-December.

Other mobile devices should be able to access the portal in coming weeks.

Simply find a wi-fi access point and go to www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer.

More from Future Media Controller (Audio and Music and Mobile) Richard Titus at the BBC Internet Blog.

Google Zeitguest 2008: Fastest growing search terms

The fastest growing and most popular regional terms have been published by Google.

Sarah Palin can take comfort that her name was the fastest growing global search term, and others include "wer kennt wen", a German social networking site and "euro 2008".

In Britain, Gordon Brown and David Cameron were the two most searched politicians, while the Large Hadron Collider became one of the ten most rising search terms since 2007.

To view more top terms of 2008, including the top ten crisis-related terms in Australia and the top Google News local searches in Singapore, click here.

Leeds public transport webchat Friday 12th December at Yorkshire Evening Post website

Dave Haskins, West Yorkshire Metro's assistant director of rapid transit, will answer questions on public transport in Leeds in a webchat hosted by the Yorkshire Evening Post on Friday 12th December.

Issues include Next Generation Transport(NGT),the rejection of Supertram and plans to create a trolley bus system from the proposed Stourton Tram depot to St James' Hospital.

Simply click here tomorrow to ask your question or watch the webchat.

You can also access the site in the meantime to receive an email reminder.

To be honest, regional transport sites such as West Yorkshire Metro need to be more proactive in publicising these events.

Perhaps if other areas had a Transport for London-style central public authority, there might be better communication. The Transport in Leeds site is more of a collection of links.

The West Yorkshire Metro site should have an RSS feed of news from their site and email alerts.

Energyhelpline.com calculates firms can afford 19 per cent price cut

Price comparison site Energyhelpline.com has calculated that energy firms should be able to pass on cuts of 19pc to consumers on standard tariffs next month.

Whether they will is another matter. Some gas suppliers have been hinting at price cuts, while Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has threatened that the Government will legislate if a fairer pricing structure is not created.

Via the Daily Telegraph.

Can you help an Oxford child bereavement support group with funding?

The Grieving Parents Support Group in Hawksmoor Road, Cutteslowe, which provides support to those across Britain who have lost a child, may have to close for 10 days between Christmas Eve and Saturday, January 3 due to lack of funds.

The Oxford Times reports that the group received over a thousand calls to their helpline in the past three months.

The charity also runs meetings for grieving parents several times a year at the Cuttleslowe Community Centre.

Between £250 and £350 is needed to keep their lines open.

Cheques should be made payable to Grieving Parents Support Group. Their address is 20 Hawksmoor Road, Oxford OX2 7UF.

There is also a Gift Aid form on the site.

You can also offer help or money to the charity by ringing (01865) 556566.

The group is a UK registered charity number 1120677.

If you are a parent needing support, Grieving Parents Support Group can be contacted on (08456) 034309.

Underbelly: Episode Five

Spoilers:

Mark Moran takes over while Jason is in jail, and informs on rival Tony Mokbel to a corrupt police officer.

I can never decide if Carl Williams is meant to be a dangerous man pretending to be an idiot or simply a dangerous idiot. Episode Five, "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly", reinforces the latter idea.

Williams needs Dino Dibra and his crony to teach him how to murder Mark Moran, and resorts to a powerful shotgun to do the job.

The death of Moran, as well as the earlier murder of Richard Mladenich, is investigated by the Homicide Squad, and Steve Owen is warned not to become fixated on Dino Dibra as a suspect in Mladenich's death.

Jason Moran seems to have been let out of jail to attend Mark's funeral, but is not handcuffed to a police officer as I would have thought he'd have to be.

He promises not to let the matter rest, while Steve keeps his promise to show Richard Mladenich's mother a crime scene photograph of her son.

Nice appreciation of Underbelly here.

General strike in Greece while protests continue over Alexis Gregoropoulos' death

Trade unions have called a general strike today in Greece.

Stathis Anestis, a spokesman for the Greek General Confederation of Workers (GSEE) told Reuters "Participation in the strike is total, the country has come to a standstill."

The Guardian reports that 10,000 people marched on parliament, while banks and schools were closed and hospital services restricted.

On Tuesday, 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was buried in Paleo Faliro (Παλαιό Φάληρο), Southern Greece. 6000 mourners, with white flowers, attended the service.

Amnesty International has called for an investigation into the boy's death, saying that accounts of police and eyewitnesses vary. Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Program director at Amnesty International, says: "Only a prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the full circumstances of the shooting can establish the sequence of events and the responsibility for the 15-year-old's death

"The killing of Alexis Gregoropoulos and the apparent disproportionate use of force in policing the demonstrations follow a distinct pattern of serious human rights violations by the police which includes excessive use of force, torture and other ill-treatment, misuse of firearms and impunity throughout law enforcement bodies."

Protests continue around the world. In Britain, the Greek embassy was blockaded on Monday for several hours.

Demonstrations also took place in Newcastle and Edinburgh, where fifty people handed in a petition to the Greek consul before marching to the city centre.

In Germany there have been protests outside the Greek embassy. Demonstrations also took place in Hamburg, Dresden, Bremen and Cologne, where the consulate was attacked with red paint. The same happened to the Greek consulate in Bologna, Italy.

Warning to Facebook users over Koobface virus

Newsbeat reports that Facebook users are being targeted by the Koobface virus, which spreads by sending a message to people's inboxes.

Delete messages from unknown people saying things like "you look funny in this new video", "look you were filmed all naked!" or "you look just awesome in this new video"

If you click on the link, a site similar to Youtube is loaded with a video calling itself "secret video by Tom".

If you do try and play the video, it asks you to install a Flash update. This is when the virus attacks your computer.

The virus has also been spread by emails and on Myspace.

The Facebook Security page suggests a number of online virus scanners, including Panda Security and Kaspersky.

Once the virus is removed, reset your password.

Manuel removal for PC's is here, but be warned.

The manuel removal process is risky and may cause your computer problems.

Telegraph and Wesabe partner for personal finance planner

The Evolving Newsroom reports that the Daily Telegraph has partnered with financial saving community Wesabe to create a personal finance planner for those who bank online.

Telegraph reporter Emma Wall on the site.

IBM-Harvard University solar research project

The Clean Air Project, a joint venture between IBM and Harvard University, has been launched to investigate was of providing solar cells and fuel cells based on organic molecules.

Those interested in taking part need to register at IBM's World Community Grid (make sure you read the End User Agreement first) and then tick the box for participating in the Clean Energy Project (leave the others unticked unless they also interest you).

As the BBC reports, software is then downloaded onto the volunteer's computer, and its processing power is used to perform chemical calculations on tens of thousands of organic molecules to discover which show the most promise.

Minimum system requirements are: at least 512 MB RAM (with virtual memory enabled),a 200 MB hard disk drive with at least 50 MB available,the ability to display 8-bit graphics at 800x600 resolution, an Internet connection with a minimum 40kpbs speed, and a Windows ME, 2000, XP, or Vista operating system.

No details have currently been given for Linux or Mac machines.

Japan’s NHK International to be available in UK

The Media Network blog reports that Japan's state broadcaster NHK International will soon be launching in Britain.

Those with Sky can store this channel until it appears on the programme guide. The station is identified as 51108.

Iran's Press TV launched in the UK on December 1st, and can be seen on Sky Channel 515. It has attracted some criticism.

NHK International's English language site.

The Ascent of Money: Episode Four

This week, Professor Niall Ferguson examined insurance.

He travelled to St Bernard Parish,New Orleans, where Hurricane Katrina had caused the water level to rise and flood the city.

Now, many people are unable to insure their houses. Lawyer Richard Scrubbs, whose own house was badly damaged by the flooding, is acting for thousands of New Orleans homeowners with claims turned down.

He calls for a "black box warning" on insurance informing what the policy does and doesn't do.

Although Scrubbs won many of his cases, the companies responded by refusing to insure large parts of the city.

St Bernard Parish has only one-third of its pre-Hurricane Katrina population.

Where did insurance come from?:

Two Church of Scotland ministers,Robert Wallace and Alexander Webster, invented the first insurance fund in 1744.

The pair were unhappy at the way widows and orphans of dead clergymen were treated.

Key was that premiums were paid to create a fund that was invested.

The dependants would be paid with the profits, and a prediction was made on how many would exist in the future.

The Scottish Widows and Orphans funds was set up, and grew into Scottish Widows.

Insurance was also used at the Battle of Waterloo, "giving a whole new meaning to the phrase take cover".

By the 19th century, all respectable people were insured.

However, poor people needed cover.

The first Welfare State was set up in Japan as a Warfare State, to obtain more soldiers in the war against America, and carried on after the ceasefire to create world-class health and education.

The nationalisation of risk also saw the British Welfare State, devised by economist William Bevridge.

The State would pay for education, illness, retirement and death.

Some feel that the Welfare State has removed incentives to make money and created "stagflation": low growth, high inflation.

Milton Friedman proposed the equation MV=PQ, part of the quantity theory of money. (M=Money, V=velocity, P=Price, Q=Quantity). This led to governments trying to dismantle the welfare state.

In Chile, the system of universal benefits led to a takeover of the entire economy in 1973 by Salvador Allende, resulting in a coup.

Friedman flew to the troubled country to meet the new President, the brutal General Pinochet*.

The general cut government spending by 27%.

The Chicago Boys,Chilean economists who trained under Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago,travelled all over the world to spread their doctrine.

Between 1979 and 1981, a new pension system was created in Chile and workers had a choice between this and the old. 80% switched to a private pension plan.

A new constitution was created and ten years later, in 1998, Pinochet stepped down as President. He died in 2006

Pension reform improved the Chilean economy. However, only those with a full-time job can participate.

Poverty rates are 15%, compared to 40% elsewhere in Latin America.

Japan:

The Japanese welfare state worked so well that life expectancy was the highest around the globe.

However, the cost of benefits rose by a factor of 4 in relation to income. Pension and health funds are running out of cash.

How else can risk be managed?

Hedge funds are a new way.

Ken Griffin of the Citadel Investment Group told Professor Niall Ferguson that the best hedge fund traders have "great instinct and hedge funds encourage capital investment"

They originated in farming, when merchants committed themselves to buying a farmer's crop at a certain price when it is brought to market.

The first futures exchange was established in Chicago, and options evolved. Derivatives allow people to hedge against a future.

However, the downside is that huge losses can be made with bad trading.

Housing investments were seen as another way of providing by one's future, but this hedged bet on the property market has been shown to have downsides in the last year.

Next week this theme is examined in a look at property.


*A good book on General Pinochet and his British supporters is Pinochet in Piccadilly by Andy Beckett.

We Will Not Fight: The Untold Story of World War One's Conscientious Objectiors by Will Ellsworth-Jones

Journalist Will Ellsworth-Jones examines the fate of those who did not believe taking part in armed conflict was morally right, in a fantastic and gripping book

With particular focus on the Brocklesby family, which had three sons serve in battle and another, Bert, refuse to fight, he tells the story of the consciousness objectors.

Background to World War One:

After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Bosnian Serb,war broke out between the two countries.

Russia was drawn in on Serbia's side and Germany mobilised in an attempt to invade France, and demanded the use of Belgian land for this.

This demand brought Britain into World War One against Germany.

The book itself:

Ellsworth-Jones' book is full of shocking revelations. He describes how many Britons were keen to volunteer for battle during 1914, with "Pals Battalions" forming of men joining up together.

However, by 1915 the number of volunteers was shrinking.

Some women took to "shaming" men into joining up by handing out white feathers.

I find the idea of those who could never be called upon to fight calling those who did not want to cowards rather odious.

There are some nice stories in We Will Not Fight of women with white feathers being given short shrift after mistakenly giving them to soldiers returning from the front.

When conscription was introduced in 27 January 1916 with the Military Services Act, tribunals were set up to examine conscientious objectors' reasons, including Bert Brocklesby's.

Some felt their occupation should exempt them, but many simply did not believe in armed conflict.

Unexempt men had to serve in the Non Combatent Corps (NCC), hated by some serving soliders but regarded with less anger by others.

Some conscientious objectors (COs) refused to carry out duties they felt would help the war and were imprisoned. Many died there, and some were sentenced to death only to have the sentence reduced to ten years in prison.

Many generals also hated the NCC, and it was only because of then Prime Minister Asquith that it was formed at all.

After the First World War, many conscientious objectors found it hard to get a job or be treated as equals.

Bert Brocklesby, a deeply religious man, was shunned by fellow churchgoers.

Ellsworth-Jones also provides a summary of conscientious objectors after World War One.

They were looked upon, surprisingly, in a much kinder light during World War Two, and although Britain no longer has conscription there are conscientious objectors in Russia and Germany.

There were also many in America during the Vietnam War.

Ellsworth-Jones gives an account free from bias of the conscientious objectors, and does not shy from depicting the madness of that period.

He humanises their story by focusing on the experiences of Bert Brocklesby and his brothers, who supported him despite their beliefs.

The often complex relationship between NCC members and their guards is examined, as is the nature of the military hierarchy of the time.

I strongly recommend this book, which has just come out in paperback. It is published by Aurum Press.

Chinese newspaper alleges abduction of dissidents

Rather disturbing report that the Beijing Times has accused authorities in Xintai, Shandong Province of abducting dissidents and holding them in mental hospitals until they withdraw their complaints.

Reuters India has the story of Sun Fawu, who was force-fed drugs and injections during his twenty day detention.

Riots in Greece over shooting of Athens teenager

The death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos,a youth shot by police who claim he tried to throw a firebomb at their car in Exarchia, Athens, has sparked three days of riots.

According to Al Jazeera, hundreds of youths in Athens attacked police cars with missiles, destroyed shops and set dozens of cars alight on hearing of the boy's death on Saturday.

The protests spread to Komotini and Ioannina in northern Greece and Hania in Crete, with thirty seven police injured.

This morning, there were further riots in Thessalonica, Greece's second city.

There are also reports that the Greek embassies in London and Berlin have been occupied.

University tutors have threatened a three day walkout and rallies are planned across Greece at dusk, according to the BBC.

Two police officers have been arrested over the shooting and Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has written to the dead boy's family with his condolences.

Pictures of the protests can be seen here.

It should be noted that Amnesty International claims it has heard eyewitness evidence which contradicts the police's claims.

Finextra: Firefox users targeted by bank password stealing Trojan

Financial technology news site Finextra reports on Trojan.PWS.ChromeInject, which usally sits in the Firefox Plugins folder and runs every time the browser is used.

The Trojan, discovered by Romanian security firm Bitdefender, labels itself as "Greasemonkey" (not to be confused with the legitimate add-on, which should only be downloaded from Firefox's official site) and sends information on bank and Paypal passwords to a server in Russia.

Users are advised to only visit sites they know and to install an anti-virus program such as AVG.

Bank or Paypal passwords should not be saved in Firefox either.

Downloading Spybot Search and Destroy also gives you some control over which programs run automatically.

While security firms such as Bitdefender obviously have a vested interest in virus-related stories, this is still important news.

Job losses at Gatwick

Despite insistance from British Airports Authority that we need a new runway at Heathrow, air travel demand continues to fall.

British Airways has announced that over one hundred workers at Gatwick have will be laid off.

BA plans to operate 15 per cent fewer departures at Gatwick next summer

Instead of trying to expand chaotic Heathrow and create more pollution, how about moving some British Airways flights back to Gatwick and improving access to that airport, including installing Oyster Card barriers at the London Gatwick Express platforms and running special buses accepting Oyster cards from Victoria and East Croydon to Gatwick and back.

A campaign could be launched to encourage tourists to use Gatwick instead of Heathrow, relieving the pressure on that airport.

Coaches from Luton and northern airports to London should also be publicised. Leaflets could be on offer at key tourism attractions and London Underground stations.

I doubt the demand for flights will increase that much when the economy finally gets back to normal either.

We don't need a third runway at Heathrow.

Times Online: RBS secretly charged 80% interest on loan

Rather shocking story from Georgia Warren and Jon Ungoed-Thomas about the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) changing accounts into loans with up to 80% interest.

There is also an extensive interview with Debbie and Duncan Birch from Devon, whose £8,500 loan rose to £100,000.

The pair claim that new accounts and loans were created using their name, although RBS claim the debts were never meant to be collected or even divulged to the customers.

Thoughts on the Speaker's role

For those readers unaware of the workings of the British House of Commons, the Speaker regulates debates in the House of Commons.

The current Speaker of the House, Labour MP for Glasgow North East Michael Martin, is under fierce criticism over his perceived failure to protect Damien Green MP's offices from being searched by the Metropolitan police.

One way of avoiding future controversy might be to have the role of Speaker only open to those who are not MP's.

The role could be advertised in national newspapers, and an MP could be given the role of drawing up a shortlist.

People eligible should have an excellent understanding of politics, have no unspent convictions and management experience. The post should last for two years per person, to avoid corruption.

A committee of MP's from across the political spectrum could then interview a dozen or so candidates for the role.

According to www.parliament.uk, Speakers must be politically impartial.

Yet there have been concerns about Speaker Martin's impartially, including from Private Eye and the Times, neither Conservative organs.

Guido Fawkes also accuses the Speaker of "packing" the committee investigating the raid on Damien Green with a Labour majority.

With both the Observer and the Telegraph calling today for the Speaker's resignation, and the BBC claiming that 32 MP's have no confidence in Michael Martin, it is time for a change.

Anti-BNP demonstration in Hove on Wednesday 10th December

A demonstration against the relaunch of the British National Party in Brighton and Hove has been planned for Wednesday 10th December.

The protest, called by Brighton & Hove Unite Against Fascism (UAF), and Love Music Hate Racism, will take place from 6:30pm outside Hove railway station, which the BNP are using as a "redirection" point to their meeting.

Although the list of those protesting is hidden on Facebook, around 37 people have joined a group publicising the demonstration.

Last month, Unite Against Facism organised a protest in Merseyside against the British National Party.

UAF say: "The BNP are not a party like any other, it is a fascist organisation determined to use the respectable cover of public office to incite and spread racial hatred.

"The BNP has been exposed for its links to fascist groups around the world. Several BNP members have convictions for possession of bomb-making materials.

"Their leader Nick Griffin has a criminal conviction for denying the Holocaust. It has leading members and supporters who have been convicted of racist violence."

The British National Party deny that they are fascist and describe themselves as "the party which stands up for the rights our folk and country" (sp).

Money Programme: Price Comparison Sites: Deal or No Deal?

Like me, you'll probably have seen garish adverts for price comparison sites while watching television.

The Money Programme this week have investigated how trustworthy these sites, used by six million a month, really are, and uncovered some alarming findings.

Construction student Paula Campbell, looking for an unsecured loan for her roof, volunteered to be a guinea pig for the programme, and was called by a number of loan companies after entering her details into several price comparison sites, including Secured Loans and Mortages(SLM), who knew her VISA card balance.

SLM also offer an unwanted £5000 loan secured against her home, and carry out credit check, despite not having permission. The company denies it has breached good practice.

Her details were passed on by Beatthatquote.com, which has terminated its contract with SLM and did not authorise a credit check.

Lord Lipsey, chair of the Financial Serives Consumer Panal, is concerned about price comparison sites and says some are used "as a tool to spark sales."

The Office of Fair Trading refused to be interviewed, even though it is reposbile for regulating loan companies.

Claudia Wood, from the financial charity Resolution Foundation, believes that tactics used by price comparison sites and those advertised by them may push people further into debt and even cause theyir homes to be repossessed.

With gas and electricity bills rising, Weston-Super-Mare resident Jack Luxon wants to save money. He tries Moneysupermarket.com, but the estimated saving is a negative. He would lose £100. Four other sites also shows a negative saving, with Homeadvisoryservice.co.uk calling this "great news".

As Jack says, the presentation of this news might be confusing.

Unravelit.com does not even ask for this current tarriff, but says he can save £68.75. The company says it will redesign its site.

Providers pay comparison sites for clickthroughs, and better paying providers may be listed higher up.

In Norwich, Professor Catherine Waddams from the University of East Anglia has organised a roadshow to help people save their money.

She says that price comparison sites are not showing all the options. Professor Waddams helps 74 people save around £200 each at the Norwich roadshow.

While she says that price comparison sites encourage switching "keeping supplies honest", she is concerned sites don't show all deals.

One website developer, who does not give his name, says that more expensive polices are often moved higher up a site, although the sites deny this.

Taha Idris, a charity worker, wants to cut his car insurance. Gocompare.com and Moneysupermarket.com give very different results, with the latter offering lower priced deals.

However, a Swiftcover deal for £148 turns out have a surcharge. The policy turns out to cost £218. Some insurance brokers "strip out" cover, meaning that surcharges are needed.

Swiftcover says charging for extras including a company car "allows consumers to tailor their policy."

Presenter Rachel Horne spoken to Moneysupermarket.com's provider Simon Nixon about this. Simon said "you can see it is based absolutely on price." The site has now been changed to make it more accurate, according to the price comparison company.

John Radford, managing director of One Call Insurances Services, says his company has had to strip out cover to be near the top of price comparison sites, and admits sites often do not compare "like with like".

Lord Lipsey wants more pressure from the Financial Services Authority, which has reviewed price comparison sites.

Dan Waters, director of retail policy and conduct risk at the FSA, says "We need to make sure the firms are playing according to the rules...We have seen some shortfalls...It's not perfect." He says people should use an advisor.

The three guinea pigs discuss their experience. Paula Campbell has been recieving many text messages and phone calls offering loans since using the sites, but Jack Luxon feels the sites are "the easiest way" to find a cheap provider. Taha Idris was concerned about the results her got.

As the Money Programme advises, don't just rely on one price comparison site and don't judge solely on price.

I'm not sure I'd use a price comparison website after this programme, and would recommend using an advisor or getting advice from friends instead. Anyone know a site which doesn't give your details to third parties?

This programme is on the BBC's iplayer until Friday 12th December.

BBC News: Icesave customers urged to claim

24,000 Icesave customers have failed to reclaim their savings, despite the Financial Services Compensation Scheme starting the repayment process last month.

The deadline for online claims is 30th December 2008.

After this, people can only apply via paper forms, which may take six weeks to be processed.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme director of claims Jonathan Clark told the BBC: "Those who have not yet claimed can do so by logging on to their Icesave accounts and following the instructions in the second email, which is posted on our website.

"The process only takes a few minutes and will avoid any further waiting or paperwork."

More details here.

New anti-drug campaign voiced by comedian David Mitchell

Comedian David Mitchell is the voice of a new government campaign against cocaine use.

He narrates the thoughts of Pablo the dog.

What follows is not suitable for children, unless they are taking cocaine, in which case they probably need to be shocked out of it.

The advert starts with Pablo the dog waking up dead, with his stomach open revealing the cocaine in his stomach.

He talks to a dealer, where the implication is that a gun makes him more violent, and "Mr Disco" a cocaine user. Pablo meets a user with a bleeding nose and one with a "heart beating so fast, you can't get a word out."

Pablo then phones Frank, the government's anti-drugs site, using a public call box (a dog clever enough to locate one not smashed up or decorated with adverts for prostitutes)

You can see it here (not work or child safe):


How effective is it?

I think the depiction of cocaine's effects (bleeding nose, dangerously fast heart and aggression) is the most effective bit.

The animal welfare issues might also make some rethink.

Karen Matthews had less opportunites than many. This does not mitigate her actions

A letter from University of Sussex tutor Dr Tim Wharton in the Guardian today criticises Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan (no relation) for this comments that Karen Matthews was "pure evil".

Dr Wharton blames Brennan, who led the investigation into Shannon Matthews' kidnap, for providing ammunition for tabloid leader writers and mentions Congo revels and Pol Pot as being far worse, which does not have any bearing on how evil Karen Matthews is.

He goes on to say:

Karen Matthews is clearly a far from pleasant person, but she is at the same time a victim of the poverty and lack of education, and hence lack of hope and respect, that has created an ever-growing underclass in this country for whom there is little or no future. "Pure evil" she is not, and someone in Det Supt Brennan's position should resist pandering to the tabloids.

Dr Wharton has a point in that Karen Matthews has suffered poverty and lack of education, though he fails to mention the doorstep loan sharks that prey on residents of the Moorside estate, who need to be tightly regulated in order to avoid desperate people slipping into debt.

However, I do not believe that most people in debt, however uneducated, miserable or poor, would drug their children and keep them prisoner while telling the outside world they had been kidnapped.

Someone might be tempted to steal from a supermarket if they were £1000 in debt.

There is a big line between that and holding your child for ransom.

I would also say that someone like Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan, who was closely involved with the Shannon Matthews case and spoke to Karen Matthews and her disgusting husband Craig Meehan, would know more about Karren's character than Dr Tim Wharton.

Many of the other residents on the Moorside estate were poor. No doubt some were on benefits. But they helped search for Shannon and raise awareness, even though there was no fiscal gain.

Karen Matthews' behaviour was evil, in my view. I have not heard a single good thing she did in her life. I'm with Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan on this.

West Yorkshire's Chief Constable Norman Bettison feels lack of personal responsibilty is the problem. I think he's got a point.

One addendum: most people on benefits are not like Karen Matthews.

This sorry tale should not be used to smear millions of decent people across Britain.

Canadian prime minister avoids no confidence vote

Here is an article from the ever-informative Economist about Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper's fight against a no confidence vote, which the opposition coalition was forecast to win.

The Canadian Parliament has now been suspended for over a month.

AirTEXT: Pollution alerts via your phone or email

Concerned about air pollution in London?

The website AirTEXT sends messages to your phone or email warning you about air quality.

Simply sign up to the site and select an area you would like to receive alerts about.

Twice a day at about 7am and 7pm, computers at Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants's forecasting office predict the air pollution on every street in London for the rest of the day or the next.

When air pollution levels are predicted to reach moderate or higher levels over more than one tenth of your zone, you will receive a text message, voice mail or email warning that pollution may be elevated.

BRAIN, Brent's community network, reports that the service is recommended for people with asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, heart disease and angina, who are more at risk from high levels of air pollution.

BBC News: The risks of risk management

Quantitative finance lecturer Paul Wilmott explains why risk managers in banks fialed to forsee the financial crisis.

You can hear more on this topic on BBC Radio 4's More or Less on Friday, 5 December 2008 at 1:30pm (repeated on Sunday 7 December at 8pm).

New Google Reader Look

As the Official Google Reader Blog reports, the Google Reader has been redesigned.

The most noticeable change is that the left hand menu of blogs and sites is no longer bue, but white.

Personally I preferred the blue as it made it stand out from the website displayed on the right.

It is good that the left hand menus can now be collapsed or expanded, and that unread counts can be hidden.

If you have a particular topic you are interested in, you can also subscribe to a "feed bundle" of sites created using a computer programme.

First Bus strike in Scotland set to go ahead Saturday 6 December

The BBC reports that a strike by First Bus drivers in Aberdeen will go ahead this weekend. Talks chaired by ACAS have failed.

As I blogged earlier, a 24 hour strike by FirstBus staff is planned on 3am Saturday 6 December, with the BBC reporting 48 hour stoppages on the following two Fridays.

FirstBus have not put any information on their site about this, indeed most of the "news" seems to be public relations pieces about FirstBus's achievements, including winning the best bus service in Scotland award for their Glasgow service.

Compass create Obama-inspired policy competition

The leftwing pressure group Compass has created a policy competition, where entrants can submit their ideas via a website.

The site was inspired by Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Recent submissions have included government subsidies for tidal power and giving people more control over the National Health Service.

Users can leave comments on the submissions, and a panal of experts, including Vice-Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission Rebecca Willis, Steve Richards from the The Independent and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, have agreed to "provide an expert view in a personal capacity" on the entries.

Compass also wants people to host ‘21st Century Ideas from your Living Room’ events, where people discuss ideas for the future in someone's house.

The group will also be organising a series of events across Britain open to the public.

Neal Lawson, Compass' chairman, says "These are truly historic times and it’s up to all of us to help build a body of ideas and a new vision for our future to bring about the kind of world we want to create. Let the debate begin!"

The group says it is "open primarily to people who are eligible to be Labour members, but we constantly seek to engage with all progressive members of society who support building a more equal and democratic world." It stresses it is independent of the party.

Question Tube bosses online on Tuesday 9th December

Between 4:30pm and 7pm on Tuesday 9th December, people will able to submit questions for two London Underground directors via the Transport for London site.

Richard Parry,Director of Strategy and Service Development, and Howard Collins,Chief Operating Officer, will be online to answer the questions from 5pm.

Simply log on here on the day.

Tfl say the directors may not be able to respond to all questions immediately, but everyone who includes an email address will recieve a reply within two weeks.

Chief Operating Officer Howard Collins said: "This is your chance to put those burning questions to us about the service we provide to you, to tell us what we do well and what you'd like to see from us in the future."

(Source: tfl)

I see that Tfl has also redesigned the front page of its website, with a easier to use menu.

Underbelly: Episode Four

Spoilers follow.

Underbelly is an excellent Australian crime series which I began watching a month ago.

Catch it on FX (Fox Extended, Virgin Media channel 157/Sky Channel 164), Mondays, 10pm or on FX+1, Sky Channel 165, at 11pm.

Nice to see Carl Williams get something resembling retribution from the Morans after being arrested for selling amphetamines.

He's now got to come up with $80,000 for a new pill press as well as impress love interest Roberta.

Jason might be a little distracted, however, by his two year prison sentence for the bar attack in episode one.

Meanwhile, drug dealer Dino Dibra is trying to blackmail the Morans and their rivals.

Along with an accomplice, he kidnaps a drug addict who was a witness to his shooting of a bouncer, but Moran is unwilling to pay the ransom.

Detectives, including Jacqui James, investigating the bouncer's shooting discover the kidnapped junkie in the boot of a car stolen by Dibra.

Upholding the law in Oxford

Good to see police officers in Oxford stopping cyclists from riding down Cornmarket Street today.

I have nothing against cyclists, but Cornmarket Street is a pedestrianised area. A cyclist riding through the hordes of pedestrians at normal speed is going to cause an injury.

Add to that the number of peddlers, buskers and Big Issue sellers standing on the pavements, and it would be difficult for him or her to find a safe route.

Police were also in operation in Queen Street, where buses congregate, making sure cyclists and other road users obeyed the law.

With two recent reports of people being knocked down in Oxford by brawlers, it's good to have a visible police presence.

Concern over attacks on Nicaraguan media

A number of attacks on journalists have been reported in Nicaragua recently.

On November 18th, reporters from La Prensa and El Nuevo Diario newspapers and the TV station Canal 2 were prevented from covering a demonstration against election irregularities.

The journalists were attacked by people carrying clubs and machetes with signs that read "love and reconciliation".

They were said to have asked the reporters where they were going and then threatened them, calling them "lying liberal media".

There are also reports of attacks on the premises of several local radio stations Radio Darío, Radio Metro Stereo, and Radio Caricias in the city and damage done to their property.

Two days after an attack on photographers Miguel Alvarez and Germán Miranda, representatives of the Nicaraguan Journalists Union arranged an emergency meeting to address the increase in violence against the media.

Elsa Gómez, the union's president, stated that members had come together due to their increasing worries regarding the situation.

The human rights organisation Article 19 calls on the Nicaraguan State to clearly demonstrate that acts of violence and intimidation of the press are clearly unacceptable and are not, in any way, condoned by the state.

The organisation says that Nicaraguan authorities should take all the measures in their power to investigate the attacks and threats, bring those responsible to justice, and ensure that such incidents are not repeated.

(Source: Article 19)

Guardian.co.uk: Living libraries

Interesting article by Saba Salman on a one-day living library event at Bournemouth Central Library, where people were able to "borrow" another person to talk to and discover their life.

The article as audio is here.

More information on the concept here.

New BBC blog started

Journalism Labs, a blog about BBC. online journalism in general, has just been launched.

It is written by BBC Future Media and Technology department staff.

So far the blog has two posts, one giving some background about its launch and one about the BBC.co.uk news story trial.

It's a good read so far, and I urge you to subscribe to it.

No White Christmas

No snow around!

Hard Work: Life In Low-Pay Britain by Polly Toynbee

I have had an idea for a Christmas present for James Purnell, aside from some polish for his sideburns.

He should read a copy of Polly Toynbee's Hard Work: Life in Low-Pay Britain to discover why a minority of benefit claimants are unwilling to take on low-paid jobs (though Purnell seems to regard them as the majority).

Having been set a challenge by Church Action on Poverty to live on £4.10 an hour (the minimum wage when the book was written) during the period of Lent, a forty-day festival where people give up something they enjoy to show devotion to God, Polly decided to compare life on low incomes with a similar experiment she undertook during the 1970's, when she wrote A Working Life.

Moving into a flat on the Clapham Park Estate with the permission of estate housing office manager Tom Bremner, she discovered that help for those living in squalor now took the form of crisis loans, not grants.

The abolition of Single Payments by the Tories, which listed essentials and gave funds to make up any shortfall, has been unchecked by loan-loving Labour.

When looking for work, Polly found that many temporary workers had to sign legislation agreeing that the 48-hour working time directive would not apply, a consequence of our opt-out of the EU directive.

Her first job was through Grange Executives as a temping porter at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital, where Toynbee also worked while writing A Working Life.

While Toynbee is relatively positive about this demanding job, she highlights the poor pay and lack of training, something I have heard from one or two contacts currently in low paid roles.

She then becomes a dinner lady, working with ServiceTeam, which are portrayed as unhelpful and rude. For £4.12 an hour, Toynbee worked in a Clement Atlee primary school's kitchen, which also heated up meals for others schools in London, as ServiceTeam had closed these kitchens to save money.

This made what could have been a bearable job hectic, and the staff had to rush lunch down to get finished on time or almost on time.

From there, Polly Toynbee details her experiences in a nursery for the children of Foreign Office staff, cold-calling with Clean Direct, and working at the Hazeldene care home.

She also debates the problems that residents on the estate suffer, including the lack of community and crime.

At the end, Toynbee interviews a chief executive of a care home company, who she does not name, and debates the change in fortunes of the poor, including the growing disparity in living standards.

Published in 2003 during the financial boom years, where the richest two thirds were encouraged by banks to take out dozens of credit cards, while the poorest one third were visited by doorstop lenders, Hard Work has even more relevance during the recession.

Wages and jobs are about to be cut, as will public sector funding. It will be difficult to make improvements to pay and conditions in low paid jobs to encourage people off Job Seekers' Allowance. Difficult but not impossible.

Labour needs to start by getting rid of the 48 hour opt-out.

Youtube search for world's first symphony orchestra

The BBC reports that classical musicians from around the world are being invited to audition in the Youtube Symphony Orchestra.

Those interested should perform their own interpretation of "Internet Symphony No. 1 'Eroica'" composed by classical composer Tan Dun, and a famous classical piece,, and upload it to the Youtube page.

The deadline is 28th January 2009.

Finalists will be chosen by a judging panel and YouTube users to participate in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra summit in New York and play at Carnegie Hall in April 2009, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony and Music Director.

According to the Offical Google Blog, they will also be able to consult with pianist Lang Lang.

The Ascent of Money: Episode Three

The rise of the stock market last night.

The price of a company's shares inform people how much it is worth.

Stock markets, however, and rise or fall due to the irrational behaviour of humans. Every so often, there is a stock market bubble.

John Law:

John Law once owned a quarter of the United States, but lost it all in the first stockmarket crash.

Born in Edinburgh in 1671, he killed a man in a London duel and was sentenced to death.

Law escaped from prison and fled to Amsterdam. The Dutch had introduced a national lottery to finance a war with Spain, the national bank and the company.

East India enterprises were set up to manage the Asian spice trade, as merchants had to pool resources due to the risk involved in the voyages. The government ordered the enterprises to form the Dutch East India Company.

Anyone who put money into the company received an "action", one of the first shares. Shares had to be sold to another investor, creating the first stock market.

Professor Niall Ferguson explained how the company had a private army to keep English and Spanish warships at bay.

Key to its success was its ability to reduce transaction cost and obtain information quickly. It was a networked company and established a virtual monopoly.

The company paid a 16.5% dividend.

Law felt the Dutch financial system needed to increase the number of shares and issue banknotes to the public.

He arrived in Paris in 1716, where the country was facing its third bankruptcy in a hundred years.

His aim was to establish a bank with paper money and to establish a "Company of the West", a monopoly trading company.

He explained his plans to the Duc D'Orleans. The French laid claim to Louisiana and the French were encouraged to buy shares in the company.

The Mississippi company's share price soared, creating many millionaires including John Law.

In charge of all indirect taxes, overseas trade, all France's mints and the French national debt, the Louisiana colony, Law was extremely powerful.

However, Law did not know when to stop. His scheme needed more money from shares in order to pay people, an example of a "Ponzi scheme".

The Mississippi Bubble was generated, with the city of New Orleans created and named after the then French regent.

The share price began to slide. The bubble burst, many people tried to sell their shares, and Law fled France.

He spent the rest of his life in Venice and died in 1729.

The first stockmarket bubble was not the largest.

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 saw the American stockmarket decline 86%.

Crashes happen due to herd psychology.

A bull market can see "irrational exuberance" as Alan Greenspan terms it. And when bull markets turn into bear markets, people are again carried by the herd.

Next week: hedge funds

Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age by Jeff Gomez

In this well-argued tome, Holtzbrinck Publishers' Director of Internet Marketing Jeff Gomez argues that the era of mass market printed books is over.

With declining sales and a decreased market share, he feels the electronic book will (and should) become the future of reading.

I was initially sceptical.Although I'm a daily used of new media, have a regularly updated blog and want to work in online journalism, I also buy and borrow a lot of printed books.

Indeed, Gomez's book formed one of my most recent five fortnightly choices from Oxfordshire's library services*.

I buy most of my books from charity shops but sometimes buy books new, indeed, I bought Chris Patten's new book last night after hearing him speak at the Oxford Union on Friday.

However, Gomez makes a persuasive case. He is not trying to claim that printed books will die out. Instead, he feels that they will become collectors items, rather like records often are.

Scorning the view of some in the literary world that electronic books (eBooks) will never catch on because you cannot read them in the bath, he claims the words, not the presentation, are important.

He makes a case for eBooks reducing piracy, as people would not bother to copy books onto the Internet for free if they already existed online for little money.

Gomez says that digital reading allows readers to share books or parts of books with others via social networks,emails or blogs, and will reduce the problems of finding books in bookstores. In time, he believes they will be as popular as the iPod.

He admits eBook takeup has been slow, but claims there is a Catch-22 between publishers converting books to digital and eBook sales. Mentioning an article by Andrew Marr about the benefits of digital reading, Gomez feels part of the problem is that few people have tried reading eBooks.

Gomez gives five reasons publishers will still exist: to find talent, to support talent, to edit talent, to market talent and pay talent.

The next generation of publishers will need to understand digital marketing, the blogosphere, SEO, social media and be creative.

If not, "Generation Upload" or the multimedia generation will lose interest. The decline in reading is attested to the rise in interactive websites and gadgets.

The ideal price of an eBook has been estimated at around $1 to $2 dollars (60p to £1.30) by commentators on a Business Week Online article.

Of course, most people read media websites and blogs online, and quite a few read books online. But eBook readers such as Amazon's Kindle are not as ubiquitous as the ipod, Wii or satnav. Maybe in another ten years eBook reader prices will fall and I'll be on the bus or train surrounded by Kindle users.

There are downsides to eBooks that Jeff Gomez does not cover.What about people who do not have iPods or PDAs and have to buy a reader? Won't the reader be more of a target for thieves than a paperback? What about the ebook reader breaking in transportation?

Another problem is the role of taxpayer-funded reading, or libraries. If printed books become a niche item, will libraries survive?

I reckon many branch libraries will close with the rise of eBooks, and we will have one library the size of a house in each town or city. Will there be council-funded eBooks to encourage people on low incomes to read? (Even if eBooks are only 60p, some people will still prefer to spend their money elsewhere.)

eBooks will become more popular over time, but I still believe there will be a good supply of printed books in charity shops (you can't sell eBook readers and laptops for £1.99) and in niche second hand bookshops and city centre libraries.

I'll buy an eBook reader when the time comes, but I'll still be using printed books as well, either from my own collection or from a supplier.

You can read and listen to excerpts from Print is Dead here. The complete book is well worth a read.

*Local residents:it's in the Central Library or you can order it for pickup at a branch library for 60p.

London Scottish Bank in adminstration

The Telegraph reports that specialist financial services company London Scottish Bank has gone into administration.

The glass is falling hour by hour...

First Bus strike talks in Scotland

While the Stagecoach Bluebird strike in Scotland has been postponed, there are currently talks between FirstBus staff and management, organised by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services (Acas), which tries to settle industrial disputes.

A 24 hour strike by FirstBus staff is planned on 3am Saturday 6 December, with the BBC reporting 48 hour stoppages on the following two Fridays.

British Gas is at it again

After coming back from the paper shop, I noticed another British Gas advert on my mat.

The advert takes the form of a fake boiler cover bill, with promotional material on the inside pages.

Although this one wasn't deceptive like the previous, I wonder how many people would think that the front page, with "Boiler Cover Repair Bill" was real.

Some might actually think they are being charged £7 a month.

The inside has "For once, we thought you'd like to see a boiler repair bill" (they thought wrong), but if anyone fails to unfold the thin advert, they'd just see the back, designed to look like the back of a bill, complete with indented pencil marks.

If someone was in poverty and terrified about their last £5, I don't think they'd see the funny side of a fake boiler repair bill on their mat. The line "£50 excess payable on completed repair" is also worrying.

I've got nothing against British Gas. I just think their advertising is unpleasant.