Action against cuts in Bristol this September

On Saturday September 3rd there will be a 'Celebrating Public Services' march and rally in Southmead, Bristol, aiming to raise awareness ahead of the September 8th by-election.

The Bristol Anti-Cuts Alliance has published details of the social care cuts, which affect many care homes and day centres.

On Tuesday 6th September, a lobby will take place outside the Council House, College Green, to highlight the cuts being made to social care in Bristol.

The lobby will bring together workers in the council's services, voluntary sector groups, users of the services and other community groups.

A PDF flyer for the event can be downloaded here.

While Bristol City Council cut essential services, they are good at wasting money on unrealistic transport plans or overseas trips.

Picking up the "Winternational award for excellence" at the National Purchasing Institute of US conference cost the council £1,215 in 2008.

More recently, £1,069 was spent on a flight to New Orleans to attend a "social and interactive media networking conference" and "identify new markets for Bristol-based companies".

The protestors need to propose alternate ways of saving money, rather than just saying "no cuts" and suggesting curtailing overseas trips would be a good start.

Cotswold, Waveney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Cornwall,East Lindsay and South Holland district councils in Private Eye 1296

If you are a resident of the Cotswolds, Hammersmith, Fulham, Cornwall,East Lindsay or South Holland I strongly recommend picking up the latest issue of Private Eye (1296).

The excellent Rotten Boroughs column on page 11 reports on:

*The dumping of thousands of tons of soil into a lake at Keynes Country Park in the Cotswolds.

*Waveney district councillor Andrew Draper, banned for two years for driving after being three times over the limit. He was not suspended by his party, despite also kicking a police officer in the chest.

*Cornwall council's advertising of a development before a planning application was submitted.

*A private company formed by two councils, Compass Point Business Services Limited,which has not won a single outside contract in 12 months.

*A confidential report has criticised Hammersmith and Fulham council over the hiring of consultants and their tax arrangements.

More on these stories in Private Eye 1296, out now at only £1.50.

Charity launches activities in London for blind youngsters

Action for Blind People is launching a series of events over the coming months for blind and partially sighted young people, according to the Times Series.

The events will begin with an introductory golfing session at Alexandra Park School in Bidwell Gardens, New Southgate, London N11 2AZ, on Saturday September 3 from 11am to 1pm.

The nearest tube is Wood Green on the Picadilly Line, and the nearest National Rail station is Alexandra Palace Rail.

Available outings include a bowling session at Hollywood Bowl in Great North Leisure Park, Finchley (near Finchley Central tube on the Northern Line) on Saturday September 17 from 11am to 1pm.

For more information or to attend an event contact Samantha Hopkins on (07713) 080453 or email samantha.hopkinsATactionforblindpeople.org.uk (replace AT with @).

You can also find out more about activities run both in the UK and internationally at the Action for Blind People website.

Donate to Action for Blind People.

EU backs project to improve ATM access for disabled people

The European Union is contributing EUR3.41 million to a project caled APSIS4All, designed to make "public digital terminals" such as cashpoints or ticket vending machines more accessible to disabled people.

Only 38% of around 425,000 ATM's in the EU have voice options for customers with disabilities, compared to 61% in the US and nearly all machines in Canada.

Trials of suitable machines are taking place in Barcelona and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

More at Finextra.

Video of conference for people with learning disabilities

The Brandon Trust, a charity for people with learning disabilities, recently held a conference for service users and staff.

They discussed the four most important issues to them: Social Lives, Transport, Employment and Green Issues.

Brandon Trust also asked them to vote for the topic to champion over the next 12 months.

Watch a video of the conference below



Donate to the Brandon Trust

The Cimarons: Happy People

I've been feeling very low recently, the curl-into-a-ball-on-bed-and-close-eyes-for-hours-during-the-day kind of low.

The below Youtube video should help anyone who's feeling a bit low:

Emails reveal Care Quality Commission £1m funding cut

After the Winterbourne View care home scandal, questions were raised about the resources and funding of the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Now, a series of emails and documents have revealed how the government forced the CQC to cut nearly £1 million.

Savings have been accompanied by a dramatic fall in the number of inspections that are undertaken.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that there were only 5,331 inspections this year, compared to more than 48,000 inspections six years ago.

More at Access Docs, via Liberal Conspiracy.

Coalition minister in good idea shock

Via Inside Housing

Councils who encourage people to live on boats to ease the housing crisis will be given financial rewards, the housing minister has said.

Grant Shapps has told councils that residential boats will be eligible for the new homes bonus, where the government matches the council tax on a dwelling for six years.

He said the money could be used to attract further private investment and drive the regeneration of the land around parts of the country’s waterways.

Mr Shapps said councils should consider how new powers to localise control over housing provision could mean that more people choose to live in boats in areas where they would otherwise not be able to afford to live.

The UK’s current housing shortage requires around 60,000 new homes to be built per quarter for the shortfall to be met. Mr Shapps said that houseboats are an example of how ‘unconventional housing’ can be used to tackle the crisis.

I've always wanted to live in a houseboat, perhaps on the River Lea.

Paedophile jailed for 238 years, released after nine

Joseph McColgan, 69 was jailed for a record 238 years for repeatedly raping and beating his own children.

He attempted to force his then nine-year-old son to have sex with his seven-year-old daughter, and also abused all four of his children with cattle prods.

However, he served just nine years before he was released.

In June 2010, he was locked up again for just 30 months for possessing child pornography.

And now this evil man, who should never have been released, is on parole and staying at the Lawson House bail hostel in Plymouth, Devon.

The Daily Mail even spoke to him at a car boot sale in Plymouth, where the "Beast of Sligo" was chatting to children as well as adults.

If this country had a decent justice system, Joseph McColgan would be in a cell right now.

Sickening - both the man and the slaps on the wrist he got away with.

Disabled passengers left at Edinburgh Airport

An investigation has been launched at Edinburgh Airport after six disabled people were left stranded at the terminal as their flight took off without them.

The passengers said they had been told only to board the easyJet flight to Belfast once able-bodied travellers had taken their seats, but were "gobsmacked" when the queue disappeared and an airline rep came up to tell them the flight had gone.

Airport chiefs have expressed "disappointment" at the blunder and vowed a "full and urgent investigation" into the incident.

The passengers were offered overnight accommodation, and placed on to the next flight to Belfast.

Read more at the Edinburgh Evening News.

Greed has no political persuasions

Tim Luckhurst, professor of journalism at the University of Kent, calls himself "a connoisseur of socialist hypocrisy".

In the Mail on Sunday, he has a long rant about the left and greed:

As a connoisseur of socialist hypocrisy, I was not astonished that Jacqui Smith, our former Home Secretary, borrowed prisoners from Her Majesty’s Prison Hewell to prettify her house when they should have been working for the community.

Hers was a tawdry raid on the public finances, a bit like her husband’s claim for pornography on her parliamentary expenses. But her elevated sense of entitlement illuminates a problem that is prevalent on the political Left.

The delusion that the world owes one not just a living but a sumptuous one is intrinsic to champagne socialists of several varieties. Most prominent in recent years have been the New Labour luvvies.

He mentions Peter Mandelson, Bob Crow, Arthur Scargil, Nicolae Ceausescu and the Blairs.

However, Tim Luckhurst fails to mention those on the Right who have been equally greedy:

Neil Hamilton, Michael Brown, Tim Smith and Graham Riddick all succumed to greed during the farcial and damaging governments of John Major.

When the MP's expenses' scandal broke, among the naughty ones were:

Michael Ancram, the multi-millionaire former Conservative party chairman and ex-deputy leader, who claimed £139.50 for the cost of his TV licence.

He also claimed for a septic tank to be emptied twice (at a cost of £103 and £105 respectively), £2,000 of cleaning costs, an annual security maintenance (£931.80), an annual service of a fire alarm (£299.75), "renewal" of glass window panes (£39.43) and £1,197.92 worth of oil, according to the Guardian.

James Arbuthnot, the Conservative chair of the defence committee, claimed £43.56 for three garlic peeling and cutting fourpiece sets, bought from the shopping channel QVC.

He also claimed £6,630 for cleaning and £10,199.01 for service/maintenance, which included items such as opening up fireplaces in the bedroom and dining room, painting his summer house and "tree works".

Crispin Blunt, the Tory MP for Reigate, submitted a £400 claim to repair a water wheel at his Surrey home in January 2009.

Sir John Butterfill, Conservative MP for Bournemouth West, claimed £2,937 for building work in his kitchen, £646.25 for electrical work in his kitchen, and £2,279 for gas flooring, tiling and electrical works in his bathroom.

He was asked for a cheque for £800 after an overpayment in 2007. He was also late for claims for 2007-2008, including £34 for electricity and £180 on his gas bill. He claimed £396.75 for the supply and fixing of a blind in his bedroom.

I could go on - but it is clear that greed hits many politicians and those who work with them, whether left or right.

Property companies Cost Design and UK Real Estate fined for flats "unfit for occupation"

The Manchester Evening News reports:

Developers have been fined for multiple safety breaches after students were housed in a block of flats branded ‘unfit for occupation’.

Property companies Cost Design and UK Real Estate were accused of putting students’ lives at risk and letting profit come before safety.

Concerns were first raised when the students tried to move into the flats on Grafton Street, Ardwick. As reported in the [Manchester Evening News], they found their new home to be little more than a building site.

Council surveyors found serious breaches of fire safety rules including a lack of self-closing fire doors and barriers which stop flames spreading uncontrollably through a building.

Windows required for smoke ventilation were obscured by scaffolding, rear fire escape routes passed through a building site and the property would have been difficult for firefighters to access, the council said...

Magistrates fined Cost Design £4,500 plus £2,590 in court costs while UK Real Estate was fined £4,750 plus £2,609 costs.

Not the biggest fine in the world for such an offence, really. No deterrent at all.

Manchester care home worker Stacy Matthews jailed for stealing from residents

A care home worker has been jailed after stealing gold rings and jewellery from vulnerable residents, including one aged 101.

Mum-of-two Stacy Matthews targeted three pensioners at the home – including two who suffered from dementia – because she was short of money at Christmas...

Jailing her for four months, judge Lesley Newton told her: “These were despicable offences, which are all too easy to commit. I have no alternative but to send you to prison immediately.”

The court had been told that the first victim was 101-year old Margaret Monk, who had two gold rings stolen.

When her daughter checked her belongings to make sure they had definitely gone, Mrs Monk told her: “Don”t do that. That young girl does that!”...

John Wishart, defending, said Matthews, of Brunswick Street, Shaw, Oldham, maintained she had not taken items from her victims’ persons, but accepted she had been guilty of breach of a high degree of trust.

He said: “People in such situations are paid low wages for the responsibility they bear. This happened shortly before Christmas, and she gave in to temptation.”

From the Manchester Evening News.

I agree care home workers need to be paid far more, but John Wishart's excuse is feeble.

She should have got two years in prison and been made to apologise to her victims, as well as be fined £3000 and be struck off.

Would he understand if a worker on low wages stole from him?

Four months is a crap sentence for Stacy Matthews - no wonder she's smiling in the Manchester Evening News photo.

Shows British justice still doesn't take crimes against vulnerable people seriously.

One of the groups Stacy Matthews likes on Facebook is "When you look back, i [sic] hope you regret treating me that way."

She is also a member of the group "I HATE CHEATERS, LIARS AND USERS!!!"

How ironic.

Hundreds oppose horse drawn carriage rides in Oxford city centre

Seven hundred people have signed a petition organised by PETA opposing the introduction of horse-drawn carriages in Oxford city centre, according to the Oxford Times.

Some fear that horses could lead to increased traffic queues, while animal rights campaigners claim the public and horses would be put at risk.

I have not noticed the petition and so have not been able to sign it, but I am against horse drawn carriage rides in Oxford city centre.

Oxford gets very busy on weekends and during the rush hour, and cyclists speed along the pavements, even on pedestrianised Cornmarket.

The city is quite polluted and I can imagine that horses would find the city very stressful and bad for their health.

Also, I am not sure how a horse and carriage can quickly get out the way of an ambulance with its lights and siren on.

Perhaps you have another view?

GameStop admits removing OnLive coupons from game boxes

The PC retail packaged version of computer game Deus Ex: Human Revolution comes with a free digital copy for streaming online game company OnLive in the form of a coupon, according to OnLive Spot.

An email from GameShop's field operations manager Josh Ivanoff has been leaked where he asks staff to remove the OnLive coupon from the PC copies of the game, which you can see at the OnLive link above.

GameStop PR representative Beth Sharum told OnLive:

"Square Enix packed the competitor's coupon with our Deus Ex: Human Revolution product without our prior knowledge and we did pull and discard these coupons."

BoingBoing comments: "Swiping coupons from game boxes: it really is just absurdly spiteful and stupid, isn't it?"

Consultation on proposed changes to South Kensington tube station

As South Kensington underground station is used by a lot of visitors to London, due to its proximity to many of London's museums, I thought I'd mention that a consultation has begun about proposed changes.

In order to reduce congestion and improve access for people who cannot use stairs, Tfl propose a lift from a new Thurloe Street entrance into an enlarged ticket hall, as well as new stairs and a lift to the District and Circle line platforms.

Step-free access to the Piccadilly line platforms cannot be installed as part of this scheme due to cost, but will be secured for the future

This scheme does not fund a lift to the museum subway.

Find out more information about the changes.

You can comment online or write to Tfl at:

South Kensington Consultation
Stakeholder Communications
London Underground
55 Broadway
London SW1H OBD

Public meeting to discuss the proposed changes:

Tfl are holding a public meeting at 19:00 on Wednesday 21 September, located at Kensington Town Hall (Committee Room 3/4),Hornton Street,London W8 7NX.

The nearest tube station to the public meeting is High Street Kensington.

Cancer charity ball in Ross-on-Wye,Herefordshire on 21 October

A masquerade charity ball is taking place at the Chase Hotel in Ross-on-Wye on October 21st to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The event,from 7pm to midnight includes an auction, a dinner, live music and a disco.

Auction prizes will include an Audi TT car for the weekend, a helicopter ride and a weekend away.

Dress code: Masquerade Optional.

Tickets are £30 and can be booked by ringing (01989) 768795.

The Chase Hotel is located on Gloucester Road and, for all you satnav lovers, has the postcode HR9 5LH.

Homophobic child custody ruling in Texas, USA

From Pink News:

In a case causing rising controversy in the US, a judge has told a Texan man he cannot leave his children in the care of the man he married...

A jury decided William Flowers’ ex-wife should remain in custody of the children, and that his visitation rights should continue in their prior form.

But the County Associate Judge, Charley E Prine, Jr, handed down a ruling which forbids Flowers from leaving the children alone with any man "not related by blood or adoption", including his husband.

The Houston Chronicle asked family lawyers to comment on the injunction. One lawyer, Jennifer Cochran, told the paper the order "strikes at the very heart of the fact that he’s gay … it’s judicial activism, legislating from the bench".

Flowers intends to appeal against the order.

An example of how soft sentences risk lives

In 2009, Martin McDonnell pleaded guilty to killing 14-year-old Adele Whiteside due to dangerous driving.

He only got an eighteen month suspended sentence, according to the BBC.

McDonnell, 22, from Garnock in west Belfast, was involved in another accident within 10 months of that sentence, hitting a minibus.

Prosecution lawyer Rachel Quigley told Belfast Crown Court that the driver of the mini-bus McDonnell crashed into said the car was "absolutely flying" along the road.

If Martin McDonnell had been banned from driving for life and recieved an eight year sentence, the punishment that I'd recommend, he wouldn't have smashed into that minibus.

North Korean citizens defy their government

Good news from the brutal dictatorship of North Korea:

South Korean TV programmes can now be watched even in the northernmost part of North Korea if the channels are adjusted secretly, according to Open Radio for North Korea.

The radio station claims it is possible as far North as Onsong, North Hamgyong Province, which is just across the Duman (or Tumen) River from China.

...Open Radio speculated that this became possible only last year. North Koreans were astonished when they first encountered South Korean TV coincidentally, and had to try to hide their delight.

Watching South Korean TV has become so prevalent that even when security officials find it out, residents stand up to them, telling them there is nothing worth watching on North Korean TV.

More at the Chosun Ilbo.

More Jubilee line weekend closures in September and October 2011

There will be four weekend closures of London's Jubilee line in September and October 2011, according to the BBC.

This may not sound like a lot, but as Londonist points out, the line has suffered from frequent weekend closures during for years, including a huge number last year.

Three of the four closures are due to work on the Metropolitan Line, which runs alongside the Jubilee Line and shares a depot.

Closure dates are:

September 3-4: Stanmore to West Hampstead.

September 18: Stanmore to West Hampstead.

October 1-2: Stanmore to Willesden Green.

October 15-16: Stanmore and Willesden Green.

Open day at Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, Waltham Forest, in September 2011

An open day will take place in September to find out about the history of Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, according to the Waltham Forest Guardian.

Visitors will be able to view archive material and find out about the new visitor's centre and Butler's Retreat tea room, due to reopen in October.

The free event will take place on the weekend of 17/18 September, from 12pm until 5pm.

Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, originally known as the Great Standing, was built for Henry VIII in 1543.

It was constructed to let guests view and participate in hunts, and also served as a venue for royal hospitality.

Location and transport:

Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge is located on Chingford Plain in the borough of Waltham Forest, at the corner of Rangers Road and Warren Pond Road.

The nearest National Rail station is Chingford, which is five minutes walk away.

The lodge has it's own car park but I am not sure how big it is, or if you have to pay.

No Underground stations are nearby, but you can take the Central Line to Liverpool Street and get the National Express East Anglia to Chingford.

The Victoria Line is not running that weekend.

The 97,179,212,313,379,397,385,444 and 505 buses stop at Chingford station.

For more information contact the visitor's centre on (0208) 508 0028.

Accessibility:

The ground floor is wheelchair accessible, but the upper two floors are only accessible by stairs.

Staff, on request, will bring objects downstairs to show and discuss.

There is a disabled toilet in an adjoining building.

Banbury man with 89 previous offences guilty of making a fake bomb threat and abusing police

Darrell Parker, 44, of Hearthway, Banbury, rang 999 seven times in one afternoon and abused the call handler after officers had arrived at his ex-partner’s home, according to the Oxford Mail.

In one of the calls, Parker said that he was a big IRA supporter and would blow the police station up.

Unbelievably, this idiot, who has 89 previous offences, including being jailed for a bomb hoax, got away with a year’s supervision with a specified activity which will be decided upon by the probation service.

Prosecutor Trudi Yeatman said: "The defendant made a call to his ex-partner and mother of his child to say he would call round with a birthday present for his son.

“There had been a history of domestic violence, so she called the police."

Parker then left the scene and made seven 999 calls between 5.09pm and 9.45pm.

Alistair Grainger, defending, said Parker was drinking "five to six cans of strong lager, topped with two two-litre bottles of cider a day".

Is that his defence? What a fantastic argument. "Go easy on him, he was drinking lots of alcohol each day."

Recorder Burrows admitted "showing a degree of leniency to give this final opportunity."

Aggh! He's had 89 convictions! He's not going to learn!

Investigation launched into prison inmates painting Jacqui Smith's Redditch house

An investigation has been launched into how two prisoners on day-release were allowed to do painting work for former home secretary Jacqui Smith, according to the Guardian.

Smith made a contribution to charity after the offenders spent a few hours decorating a room at her home in Redditch while they were on release from jail working in the community.

The former MP said she would be happy to answer any questions about the incident and that the two men came to her house because they did not have any other work to do.

A spokesman from the prison service told the Guardian: "The decision to provide prisoners for this work was taken without consultation with HMP Hewell or the Ministry of Justice and was a mistake."

Gorilla stolen from St Werburgh's City Farm in Bristol

A WOW! Gorilla that was decorated by school children has been stolen from St Werburgh's City Farm in Bristol, according to the Bristol Evening Post.

The blue sculpture, named Werburt, was stolen between Friday night and Monday morning from the farm on Watercress Road.

The city farm's administrator Fiona McDonald told the paper: "The children of St Werburgh's Primary School who worked very hard to create him will be extremely upset if he is not returned.

"We hope that someone might have a conscience and return it, or someone might know where it is and tell the police."

Avon and Somerset police are appealing for anyone who knows who stole the gorilla, or the thief, to get in contact with them as soon as possible on 0845 456 7000, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

Two-thirds of council chief executives had pay rises in 2010

Two thirds of Britain's highest-paid council bosses won pay rises last year, some as much as £17,000 despite Government orders to slash their salaries, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The paper also lists some of the CEO's who have had pay rises this year, such as Joanna Killian, joint chief executive of Essex and Brentwood councils, who received £289,143 in 2010, an increase of £4,000.

She previously promised to cut her pay by 5 per cent.

Town hall chief executives have seen their pay packets rise by as much as £17,000 while cutting front-line services, including libraries, care for the elderly and bin collections.

An analysis of the accounts published by 128 of the largest councils in England and Wales has found that almost 70 per cent of town hall bosses earned more than David Cameron's £142,000 salary last year, while nearly half of them took home more than £200,000.

Of the 25 highest paid council chiefs, 16 were given pay rises...

The average pay packet of the chief executives surveyed was £186,872

More at the Daily Telegraph.

Exhibition about Walthamstow's EMD Cinema in September 2011

There will be a "People's History of the EMD/Granada Cinema" exhibition on show in Waltham Forest next month, organised by the Save Walthamstow Cinema campaign.

It will explore the historic Grade II listed building's eight decades of history including everything from its legendary doorman 'Uncle' Ernie, who worked their for 50 years, to when the Beatles played live at the venue, according to the Waltham Forest Guardian, which has information on other events taking place in the borough next month.

The exhibition will be held at The Mill community centre in Coppermill Lane on September 3 and 4 between 12-4pm and at Daisy’s Coffee and Gifts shop in Hoe Street on September 10 and 11 between 10am-4pm.

Getting to the venues:

St James Street is the nearest rail station to Coppermill Lane, while Walthamstow Central and Walthamstow Queen's Road are a short walk away.

Both Walthamstow Central and Walthamstow Queen's Road are also a very short walk away from Hoe Street.

A number of buses also stop at the bus station nearby, including the 48 and 97.

Fraudster family jailed for £27.5m boiler room scam

A family of fraudsters were jailed this week for a total of 19 years for masterminding a boiler room fraud that took £27.5 million from up to 1,700 investors.

Tomas Wilmot, the ringleader of the operation, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court, while his sons Kevin and Christopher were given five years imprisonment each.

All three had been convicted of conspiracy to defraud following an investigation by the City of London Police, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Eurojust.

The Wilmots controlled a syndicate of 16 boiler rooms that sold millions of low value, worthless and sometimes non-existent shares to victims in the UK.

Many of the victims were elderly and, in some cases, suffering from serious illnesses.

The boiler rooms were based predominantly in Spain but the back office, accounts and companies used in the operation were from Malta, Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania, Austria, Andorra, Brazil, Belize, Dubai and a number of Caribbean islands.

Detective Superintendent Bob Wishart, from the City of London Police, said:

"The Wilmots were the architects of a major network of criminality that ruthlessly targeted some of the most vulnerable people in our society, stealing their savings and ruining their lives. Thanks to this multi-agency investigation their international boiler room fraud has been dismantled and they are now facing several years behind bars."

What is a boiler room scam?

A boiler room scam is where investors are cold-called by bogus stockbrokers and persuaded to either buy worthless or non-existent shares, or to buy genuine shares at vastly inflated prices.

New Scope survey for disabled people and parents of disabled children

The disability charity Scope has set up the Disabled People’s Poll to help ensure that disabled people’s voices are being heard.

Scope will use the outcomes of this survey, which takes 10 minutes to complete, to raise awareness and inform their work to create a society where disabled people have the same opportunities as everyone else.

All responses will remain anonymous, and Scope would like as many disabled people and parents of disabled children to take the survey.

Topics covered in the survey include experiences of looking for work and house or flat hunting, as well as the respondant's thoughts on the Paralympic Games.

Click here to take the survey.

The survey is being conducted on Scope’s behalf by the market research company ComRes in accordance with the Market Research Society Code of Conduct.

Racism at Al Quds Day 2011

Al-Quds Day is the annual anti-Israel march in London organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC).

This year, Shabbir Rizvi read out a racist poem about US President Barack Obama, calling him a "coconut" and an "Uncle Tom".



Harry's Place has a transcript:

O Bright African! Your Morals are Adrift

O Bright African! Your Morals are Adrift

You talk like a white man, with forked tongue...

Uber Uncle Tom!

And a coconut is always white in the inside and black outside.

More reports on Al Quds Day 2011 from Harry's Place, Richard Millet and Azarmehr.

Cat murderers escape jail in West Midlands with suspended sentences

Samantha Browning, 21, from West Bromwich, has been given a pathetic 18-week jail sentence, suspended for two years, for drowning her friend's four cats in a bath in Tipton while high on drink and drugs and throwing their bodies into a neighbour’s garden, according to the Daily Mail.

So someone who murders four innocent cats gets a lesser punishment than someone who loots a bottle of water during the riots. This is the British justice system in 2011. It makes me sick.

The 17-year-old owner, who ran the bath, also receive the same sentence.

Helen Penning, defending Browning, claimed she was horrified with her actions and wanted to stop, but the teenager had insisted she finish the job.

What a pathetic excuse. Browning, unlike the cats, has the free will and power to resist another human being.

Magistrate David Payne said: "You caused prolonged suffering to these animals...
I hope this act will stay with you to think about for years to come."

It clearly won't, given the ludicrously short sentence given. They'll just go to another party and laugh it off.

On the comments board,Sgian Dub from Anywhere but Here, makes a very good point.

Sorry. The excuse that they couldn't afford to look after the kittens, and the ridiculous claim that 'sometimes I ate and the cats didn't' and vice versa doesn't wash.

They had enough money to buy drink and drugs and therefore made that choice instead of buying food.

The pair made a conscious decision to drown the cats after, I imagine, pathetic attempts to get the cats re-homed.

Shame on them and shame that they have been spared jail.

I'd like to see the age at which people can be named for their crimes reduced from 18 to 15, not just because of this case though.

I'd also like to see more done to prevent future animal murderers getting more than just a slap on the wrist.

Why don't animal rights groups protest this? Or are they still picking and choosing which causes will get them the most headlines?

Free electric blanket testing in Oxfordshire during October 2011

Oxfordshire County Council's Fire and Rescue Service and Trading Standards are urging people to get their electric blankets tested free of charge this October.

Testing electric blankets annually is important as all electrical systems have the potential to go wrong. Almost 40% of electric blankets tested in 2010 failed.

Testing is by pre-booked appointment only, with appointments allocated on a first come, first served basis.

If you would like to get your electric blanket tested please contact the Electric Blanket Testing hotline on (01865) 815607 or email trading.standardsAToxfordshire.gov.uk.

The electric blanket testing team will be visiting the following locations around Oxfordshire:

Oxford - Monday 3rd October
Banbury - Tuesday 4th October
Witney - Wednesday 5th October
Didcot - Thursday 6th October
Abingdon - Friday 7th October
Oxford - Monday 17th October
Bicester - Tuesday 18th October
Chipping Norton - Wednesday 19th October
Thame - Thursday 20th October
Wantage - Friday 21st October

Staying safe with electric blankets:

Ensure that your blanket is secured to the bed using the supplied safety ties which prevent the blanket from moving and damaging the elements.

When the blanket is not in use, store it flat or, if it must be folded, ensure that it is not folded too tightly.

Mind charity shop in Oxford appeals for donations - please help

A North Oxford charity shop has appealed for donations, according to the Oxford Mail.

The Mind Charity Shop in Walton Street has asked for donations of good quality items to sell.

Call the shop on (01865) 310990 for more information.

If you get off the bus one stop before Magdalen Street, where the stone bus shelter is, Walton Street is just a short walk away. It's just past the Oxford University Press offices and opposite the Co-Op.

As someone who has benefited from Mind's services, please, please, I urge you to bring your donations to the shop.

Items to be auctioned for child with cerebral palsy's surgery stolen in Manchester

The Manchester Evening News reports:

Callous thieves stole items which were to be auctioned off to send a young girl with cerebral palsy to America for life-changing surgery.

Items donated by Manchester City and Manchester United were among those taken from Canterbury Road Day Nursery in Davyhulme during the raid – which took place on the night of the riots in Manchester and Salford.

They were to raise funds for five-year-old Ria Lucy Stonehouse, from Dukinfield, so that she could cross the Atlantic for an operation that would hopefully allow her to walk unaided.

The thieves broke into the nursery between 6pm on August 9 and 6.30am the following morning.

Greater Manchester Police have a description of the thieves:

The first man was mixed race, in his late 20s or early 30s, and had dark stubble. He wore a distinctive light coloured hooded jacket with reflective strips on the arms and body and dark toggles on the hood.

The other man wore a hooded jacket with a large reflective Armani logo on the back.

Anyone with information should call Trafford CID on 0161 856 9168 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111

Please donate to Ria's Rainbow, a charity set up to suport Ria Lucy Stonehouse.

Could Cameron lose the 2015 UK election?

Guido Fawkes thinks it is increasingly likely that the Tories will not be in power after 2015:

Before the 2010 general election Guido had a sense that we were heading towards coalition government, stuck his neck out, and called it a month before the election.

Reading the runes again it seems to Guido increasingly likely we are looking at a one-term Tory-led government.

Right now the bookies favour no overall majority, polls suggest Labour could be the largest party, in that event the LibDems, probably without Clegg, will in all likelihood support a Labour government.

The primary cause will be the economy, the probability of a double-dip recession is rising.

The US economy is in trouble, the Eurozone is in turmoil, growth is faltering at home and abroad.

Inflation is out of control, real incomes are actually falling in the UK.

By 2015 the answer the electorate will give to Ronald Reagan’s “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” question may well be “No.”

More at Guido Fawkes' blog.

Doris Day - Enjoy Yourself

Liz Jones wouldn't agree, but the rest of us can all dance to this.

BBC's Casualty donates items to Bristol Children's Hospital Appeal

Fans of Casualty are able to purchase rare and unique memorabilia from the long-running BBC medical drama.

The series has donated items to Bristol Children's Hospital to be auctioned online to raise funds for Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal Charity.

The items – including framed signed cast photographs, a set of scrubs worn by Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson), the Holby Hospital external ED sign from the Bristol set, Ian Bleasdale's paramedic costume, characters' photo IDs, a Holby City emergency staff rota and the clapperboard from the last-ever Bristol-shot episode – will go under the hammer to raise money for The Grand Appeal's current Echocardiogram Appeal.

Launched earlier in the year, the Echocardiogram Appeal will support the expert staff in the hospital's cardiac unit by raising funds to provide state-of-the-art equipment to support their life-saving, pioneering work.

The new scanning equipment will speed diagnosis and treatment and will help save the lives of children from all over Bristol, Bath, the South West of England and South Wales who come to Bristol Children's Hospital for specialist cardiac care.

Casualty is donating the memorabilia as it prepares to close its Bristol base after 25 years of filming to move to BBC Cardiff's new drama village.

To bid on this exclusive Casualty online auction, please visit Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal's Casulty Auction.

Libyan TV presenter draws gun on television, issues propaganda warning

Hala Masrati,a presenter on Libyan state television created an astonishing on-air scene early Sunday morning, pulling out a gun and warning rebels that staff at the broadcaster were prepared to become "martyrs".

"With this weapon, I either kill or die today," she said, accding to a translation aired by Al Jazeera English, which has video of the incident below:



According to Media Spy, Masrati has become well-known in and outside Libya for making on-air pronouncements against those who have expressed opposition to Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

She was also a prominent participant in the smear campaign against the Libyan student Iman al-Obeidi, who told journalists that she had been gang-raped by Gaddafi's soldiers.

Hala Masrati, not so much a journalist, more a biased, lying, shower of shit. Still, she's got some fans on the British far far left.

London Evening Standard tastelessness over stuntman death

Nice text underneath a link to a story about the death of stuntmen Todd Green in the Evening Standard.

You can see the story on the page by clicking below, just to show I haven't made this up.

Liz Jones tells us all to stop moaning and have a hard life

Work harder, serfs! Put in six hours a week overtime, starve rather than accept any money from the State and make sure you buy your daily dose of hate, anger and shit via your purchase of the Daily Mail.

That's the message of controversial (read "simply employed to stir up the reader" Daily Mail columnist Liz Jones, who has excelled herself this week.

Let's deconstruct her piece paragraph by paragraph. Jones, who decided to include a sick-making depiction of oral sex in her book about moving to the country, would no doubt say "blow by blow":

I was talking at a debate at the Latitude Festival in Suffolk a few weeks ago. I was struggling, alongside old hands such as Tory MP David Davis and gay-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who had crib sheets and, regardless of the topic, just boomed out opinions as if on a soapbox.

Also, a rock band was playing in a nearby tent and, being deaf, I found it hard to hear the questions from the Left-wing, combative audience.

Liz Jones there, having taken the time to survey the political views of the audience. I suspect she just though "They don't like me! They must be Leftie Communist Scum! They should be shot"

One young woman addressed a question to me: ‘I’ve got a degree, but I’m finding it very hard to save for a deposit and buy a house. What does Liz Jones, with all her money and success, suggest I do?’

I couldn’t hear the question, so David Davis butted in instead. So here, belatedly, is my answer, because this is what I did.

‘Get a job washing up in a restaurant. Rent a bedsit with no kitchen facilities, and babysit four nights a week for the owner of the house, even though you can’t stand children, so you can pay the rent.

‘Share a bedroom during uni, as I did with my friend Karen, and get a job at night (I cycled every night from South London to the offices of The Times). Rent a house in Brixton’s most dangerous road, and take in a lodger. Buy your first house with your sister, in a slum- clearance area with a prostitute living next door. Get an interest-only mortgage, as I am doing now, and hope you die young.’

All fair enough - except my answer would be "Don't buy a house, rent instead but be careful who you pick as a landlord. Try and enjoy life, work towards a career, don't live in Brixton’s most dangerous road, and remember that Liz Jones doesn't understand sarcasm." I don't disagree that hard work is needed if you want to buy a house.

Young people who this week opened their A-level results may think they have it harder than every generation that preceded them, but is this true? Is there really any excuse for being bored and therefore destroying your own street?

When I was a teenager we didn’t have the internet, iPods or hundreds of TV channels. The highlight of my Sunday was Songs Of Praise. There has never been a better time to be engaged and well-informed than today. The difference is the sense of entitlement among young people.

All fair points, aside from the fact that thousands of children in Britain live in poverty and don't have a healthy diet or enough clothes, let alone the internet, iPods or hundreds of TV channels.

Then again, their parents don't buy the Daily Mail so why should Liz Jones care? I agree though that there is no excuse for "destroying your own street."

I have a friend, a single mother, who doesn’t have a job but nevertheless has been paying for her teenage daughter to have driving lessons.

This young woman has just passed her test at the fifth attempt. My parents didn’t buy me driving lessons – I passed my test in 1984, only when I had a job and could pay for the lessons myself.

This friend moaned, too, about her other daughter, in her early 20s, who is finding it hard to pay for childcare. ‘Why doesn’t the Government pay for the nursery? She can’t afford it.’ I pointed out it was her daughter’s choice to have a baby in the first place. I don’t ask taxpayers to fund my hobbies.

I would suggest that Liz Jones and this "friend" (perhaps made up?) are not going to be friends much longer. If somebody wrote about me like this I'd sever all communication. Also, is it Liz Jones' business what this woman does with her money.

Given that the Daily Mail hysterically campaigned against cuts to Child Benefit for the middle classes, Liz Jones should perhaps tell her employer that parents shouldn't "ask taxpayers to fund [their] hobbies."

Also, being able to drive makes it easier to find a job, something Jones should applaud.

Everyone, especially today’s teenagers, has been fooled into thinking they can have exactly the life they want. You can’t. Life is hard and often boring. You have to get up at the crack of dawn and end each day so exhausted you can hardly move. Anything less and you’re just not trying.

Looking at the footage of the riots, I couldn’t help but notice how expensively dressed all the teenagers were and think how lucky they were to have computers and iPhones. Even my cleaner has a BlackBerry.

Good old Liz. We must all have hard lives, but she has a cleaner. Who is she to lecture us on austerity? I don't begrudge her her wealth, so why should she begrudge others?

The idea that having as hard a life as possible is a measure of hard work is odious. Then again, she is writing for Daily Mail readers.

Watching teenagers open their A-level results on the news on Thursday evening, they all seemed to be acting out the plot of American high-school TV drama Glee: hugging and kissing and extroverting all over the damn shop. I don’t remember hugging anyone in school.

You complain about the lack of stiff upper lip, yet you write for a newspaper which encourages the celebrity culture and the materilism that goes with it "Insecure Cheryl Cole would 'purge on lemon juice cleanses, go to the gym at 5am and smoke 20 a day', her minder reveals" is just one example.

Also, why shouldn't teenagers celebrate on their big day? Oh wait, they are not meant to be happy.

My worst experience of teenagers, though, was waiting to board a flight from Nairobi to Heathrow last week. The queue was populated entirely by young, blonde-haired, shiny, tanned, happy, smiling teens returning from gap years or ‘volunteering’. They all had ¬slogans on their T-shirts such as Classrooms For Kenya or Home Not Harm.

Travelling with me was an aid worker; we had come from a refugee camp where Somalis had fled the famine and the fighting in their country.

‘I can’t stand these kids,’ said my companion. ‘It’s all about enhancing their own confidence, sticking something on a CV, having glamorous photos to post on Facebook – not helping people.

‘We wouldn’t let them anywhere near the famine, let alone anywhere that might be dangerous. It’s patronising to think that a child can help or advise these people on how to live their diffi¬cult and complicated lives.’

Yes, I dare say that the Kenyans would have preferred they stayed at home and didn't build their classrooms. Why didn't her aid worker friend consider how the volunteers could help out with distributing supplies? Not all aid work involves giving help or advice.

I see the comments are closed for the article after two postings. Interesting...

Barbara Ellen writes rot about clearing in the Observer

Why does Barbara Ellen have her own page in the middle of the news section of the Observer, especially when the paper also employs decent columnists like Nick Cohen?

Sunday's effort is particularly bile-full and empty-headed:

"Clearing is one big wake-up call to the pampered" is the title, and the subheading is: "Most of them have probably had it too easy for too long – for one year only, it did them good to get a scare"

Aside from disabled students, students with mental illness, students who had been bullied at school and students who missed classes due to illness. Of course, students from inner-city comprehensives who the Observer pretends to care about also don't fit into the "pampered" category.

Ellen goes on to burble:

Why are newspapers always full of photographs of thrilled, successful young people on A-level results' day? Why don't they photograph sobbing unsuccessful young people, and their ashen-faced parents, as they go through clearing, probably still in dressing gowns, clutching cups of cold coffee, with phones glued to their ears, listening to busy signals? Perhaps a mite unphotogenic?

Perhaps because they don't want to give you the satisfaction of looking at unhappy young people?

Am I being too hard? Maybe. You could add hypocritical too, seeing as my own daughter resat. However, she was there, with the rest, waiting for her results this week. She knew that it was now or never, and another resit (more common than you'd imagine) wasn't an option. So, genuine pressure for my beloved firstborn… Great, finally! Is it so bad for the "spoiled git" division of the nation's youth to suffer real anxiety about their exam results? Not just moderate "OMG!" collywobbles, but genuine "no safety net" stress?

WAHAY STRESS! Never mind the effect on their mental health. WAHAY SUFFERING! Why not go and hang out with Liz Jones?

Indeed, let's shut up about the looters for once – the youngest of whom probably have some kind of excuse for their feckless behaviour. Look at our own offspring, the progeny of the relatively better off, who've been "looting" their own families (of cash and energy levels) for years.

Blimey. Looters have an excuse for their behaviour, while children who get lots of cash from their parents are just as badly-behaved but more privileged. This woman is a moron. Janet Daley is right about liberals like Ellen.

As for better-off kids, I wouldn't wish clearing on anyone, but most of them have probably had it too easy for too long – for one year only, it did them good to get a scare.

Nope - it really didn't. And are you some kind of cross between Nelson Mandela and Oliver Twist? I would say that you've had it rather easy since being employed by the Observer. Of course, you could spew out a tedious autobiography and prove us wrong.

simcal in the comments section refutes Jones' arguments in a nicer way than I have.

Well I don't think they need a wake up call. These kids have worked so hard to pass their A levels. As a parent, I was more than happy to shoulder some of the stress with helping and advising, even though my daughter knew far more than me on the whole business.

Luckily, she got her grades but for a few hours on Thursday morning it looked like she might have missed them by a few marks. Of course resitting and remarking are important. If you have studied for years and invested all that time, emotion and planning, should you just give up on your dream because of a setback?

Cut them some slack, and concentrate on the next generation who won't get EMA to help them through. Shame on all those politicians and elites who never paid a penny towards their degree's who now deem it right to deprive so many children of the chance to get theirs.

I agree with Janet Daley shock

You'll have to excuse the poor headline.

I'm still shocked from actually agreeing with part of a Sunday Telegraph column by Janet Daley, who makes Peter Hitchens look like Billy Bragg.

Writing about the rioters, she says:

The Left-liberal camp is in overdrive in its campaign to rewrite history (or, in its own vocabulary, to alter consciousness): you did not see thousands of jubilant thugs rampaging through the streets, destroying livelihoods and property for the sheer exultant joy of it.

What you saw were society’s victims responding to any or all of the following: bankers’ bonuses, MPs cheating on their expenses, unemployment, government spending cuts, poverty, social inequality, etc, etc.

Their crimes were simply part of the same package of callous selfishness displayed by (as one particularly bizarre equation had it) tabloid phone hackers.

What is not ludicrous and insulting to common sense in these propositions is contradictory in its own terms.

There are indeed views of the human condition which hold that all species of wickedness are connected, because they are all rooted in the fact that man is a fallen creature.

But somehow I doubt that the ardent liberal secularists who were piping up last week were believers in original sin or the machinations of the Devil.

The moral equivalence that they wanted to establish between looters and arsonists on the one hand, and the perpetrators of any other kind of bad behaviour you can think of on the other, was rooted in ideological, not theological, orthodoxy.

The rioting gangs could not simply be what they seemed – what they so obviously were – because that would be a devastating victory for the judgment of popular opinion over the fantasies of liberalism.

Where I would disagree is that all people who are liberals or on the Left think this way. After all, most of my views are liberal.

Daley often sees the Left and liberals as one homogenous block, however.

Public money spent on buying artwork for government ministers

The Telegraph reports:

figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph reveal that the GAC has cost more than half a million pounds in the last year.

George Osborne, the Chancellor, has decorated his office with an etching by Grayson Perry, the cross-dressing artist, aptly titled Print for a Politician.

It depicts a battle scene with warring tribes carrying labels such as "provincials", "agnostics" and "homosexuals".

The office of Ed Vaizey, the Culture Minister, is decorated with a cartoon entitled The Mystery of British Culture by Adam Dant, and two prints by Tracey Emin, Margate 1 Sand and Still Love You Margate.

The Government spent £541,000 on the GAC in the last year, and has faced criticism for continuing to purchase art, despite the economic downturn.

Emma Boon, campaign director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: ""It is double standards to be cutting public spending while at the same time spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on art for Downing Street and ministers' offices when there is already a vast collection of works for them to choose from."

More at the Telegraph.

While cuts are made to services used by the poorest and most vulnerable across Britain, we pay for artwork for wealthy Cabinet ministers.

Disgusting - why isn't there more of an outcry about this?

Volunteers sought for sponsored walk to help Oxford community centre stay open

The staff at Rose Hill and Donnington Advice Centre, located in one of the poorest areas of the city fear that if a funding grant from Oxfordshire County Council is not renewed they will have to rely on fundraising to stay afloat.

They are seeking volunteers to join a sponsored walk which they hope will highlight the charity’s work and bring in much needed money, the Oxford Mail reports.

The route runs from Iffley church hall over Donnington Bridge, Meadow Lane, Magdalen Bridge, Christ Church Meadow and Folly Bridge, returning along the towpath to Iffley.

The walk will start at 10am from Iffley Church Hall on September 17.

For details of how to sign up to the walk, email HelenFATFranklins-Solicitors.co.uk.

Centre manager Carole Roberts told the Oxford Mail: "A lot of what we do is give money advice, advice on claiming benefits and debt relief. We also help as a sort of channel to put in applications with charities which have the ability to make grants.

She said confusion from changes to the benefit system, along with an increasing number of people recently made redundant, had heightened demand on the charity. Her team dealt with 989 cases between April and December 2010, more than the entire year in 2009/10. More than half were about debt.

Centre manager Carole Roberts said: “A lot of what we do is give money advice, advice on claiming benefits and debt relief. We also help as a sort of channel to put in applications with charities which have the ability to make grants.

She said confusion from changes to the benefit system, along with an increasing number of people recently made redundant, had heightened demand on the charity. Her team dealt with 989 cases between April and December 2010, more than the entire year in 2009/10. More than half were about debt."

More at the Oxford Mail.

Senior military officers "use helicopters like taxis"

A dossier obtained by The Mail on Sunday reveals scores of trips enjoyed by senior military chiefs, including the head of the Army and a Royal Navy admiral, who used a helicopter from the Royal Flight for a 16-mile journey at a cost of nearly £700.

The country’s most senior military leaders are also spending a fortune on chauffeur-driven cars, which in one quarter alone cost the taxpayer more than £400,000.

Topping the list is Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, Commander-in-Chief Fleet, who cost taxpayers £31,852 in travel costs last year.

Read more at the Mail on Sunday.

Julian Coman on Labour, the Right and the failings of capitalism

Excellent and thought-provoking article from Julian Coman in yesterday's Observer on Labour's attitude to capitalism contrasted with the Right:

To paraphrase Aretha Franklin, when it comes to the critique of capitalism, the Tories are doing it for themselves.

Appalled by the greed of the financial markets that leveraged the world economy to the edge of catastrophe; astonished by the ease with which bankers milked western taxpayers before going back to their bad old ways; uneasy at flagrant displays of unmerited wealth, intellectuals of the right are delivering withering judgments that the Labour party has not dared make for a quarter of a century.

As one influential figure on the left of the party told me ruefully: "Over the past two months of tumultuous events, when has anyone in the parliamentary Labour party or the shadow cabinet got close to making arguments as far-reaching and profound as Moore or Oborne? There's not even the expectation of it anymore."

European conservatives have caught the mood too.

Last week, exasperated by the short-term speculators who have merrily made hay out of the woes of the eurozone, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, floated the idea of introducing a financial transactions tax.

The "Tobin tax" – named after James Tobin, the late American economist who dreamt up the idea in 1972 – could raise hundreds of billions of pounds in revenue, a potential boon for the ailing economies of the eurozone.

Read more at the Observer

Pilgrim Hospital in Lincolnshire under investigation by Care Quality Commission

Police are investigating reports of neglect and abuse of patients at the Pilgrim Hospital in Lincolnshire, according to the Daily Express.

A 37-year-old woman staff member has been arrested and officers are talking to other workers, patients and relatives.

They acted on information from the Care Quality Commission, which started an inquiry at the Pilgrim Hospital earlier this year.

The inquiry raised concerns that patients suffered dehydration and malnutrition and were not being checked properly by staff.

Workers voiced fears about staff levels and the quality of operating theatre staff.

Last year the hospital was named as one of 25 NHS trusts with a very high avoidable death rate.

More at the Daily Express.

Starbucks settles lawsuit for firing worker with dwarfism who asked for a stepladder

Starbucks has agreed to pay $75,000 (£45,000) to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought on behalf of barista Elsa Sallard, who claimed she was fired because she has dwarfism.

Sallard was sacked after three days of training at her job in El Paso, Texas, North America.

She had asked to use a stool or stepladder to help prepare orders and serve customers but was ignored, according to the Guardian.

Later that she was fired, with the company saying she would pose a "danger" to customers and employees.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) tried to reach an out of court settlement with Starbucks, but this failed.

Joel Clark, trial attorney for the EEOC, told the Daily Mail: "Employers cannot blithely ignore a request for a reasonable accommodation by a qualified individual with a disability.

"Starbucks flatly refused to discuss Ms. Sallard’s reasonable request.

"Instead, they assumed the worst and fired her. The ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] was enacted to prevent that kind of misguided, fear-driven reaction."

CCTv released of shots fired at police in Birmingham during riots

West Midlands Police have released the below video of criminals shooting at unarmed police on the ground and in a hovering helicopter while they tried to control the disorder in Newtown, Birmingham on August 9.



Anyone who can identify any of the people in the video should phone 0345 113 5000 or speak to the anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.

Winterbourne View abuse reported to Care Quality Commission two years before Panorama screening

The BBC has learnt that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had been told of mistreatment at Winterbourne View up to two years before the alleged abuse of patients was exposed by reporters at BBC Panorama.

The linked news report gives examples of a care worker "getting rough when angry" and concerns about the use of restraint being reported to the CQC.

Watch the BBC news report on this revelation.

In related news, Castlebeck will be closing a third home, Arden Vale, in Meriden, by the 25 August.

The company has also been told to improve the level of care given at Croxton Lodge, in Melton, by Friday, September 2, or face further action, which could include a fine or prosecution.

Pressure needs to be kept up on the Care Quality Commission and the government to stop abuse of care home residents.

Palestinian satirical television show ordered off air

The popular satirical television show Watan ala Water (Country on a String) has been ordered off the air by the Palestinian attorney general after public servants and officials complained they were being ridiculed.

According to Palestinian media reports, complaints about the show were made by the head of the Palestinian Medical Association, the chief of police and the head of the anti-corruption authority.

The show's star and scriptwriter Imad Farajin told the Guardian last year that he had come under "tremendous pressure" to abandon the programme, saying that the show touched on "traditionally taboo issues.

More at the Guardian.

Argos sacks man for complaning about his job on Facebook

David Rowat, 56, has worked for Argos in Romford for thirteen years, starting work at 3:30 am each day unloading heavy lorries, and during this time only missed a fortnight of work, for a serious leg operation.

This excellent record was ignored by the company when it sacked him for comments posted on his Facebook, according to the Evening Standard.

However, Mr Rowat did not even name the company in his comments. Managers at the East London store, who seem to have too much time on their hands, decided that posting ‘Had a great day back at work after my hols who am I kidding!!’and then calling the company a shambles amounted to gross misconduct.

So a loyal staff member who worked his way up to become a stock room leader is marched out of his former workplace by security guards for letting of steam online without damaging the brand - had he mentioned them by name he would have done, and in that case I would have understood the sacking.

Perhaps Argos Romford should consider if any other members of staff are unhappy or if Mr Rowat has ideas to improve efficiency rather than sacking him.

Mr Rowat, who has cancer of the lymph nodes, is now consulting Acas.

I will be boycotting Argos unless Mr Rowat is not reinstated with an apology and compensation - and I urge you to do the same.

Clearly, it's best not to comment about your workplace online or in a public place offline at all.

CCTV released of Clapham Junction assaultduring London riots: Do you know these people?

The Youtube video below shows a man trying to stop a large group of people from smashing the Carphone Warehouse shop window in Battersea, South London, further.

They attack him with a fire extinguisher, spraying it directly in his face.



The Metropolitan Police would like to hear from the victim who is yet to be identified and would also like to speak to anyone who witnessed the incident.

Anyone with information relating to any aspect of the incident is asked to contact the Operation Withern incident room on 020 8345 4142.

If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Pink Festival in Bicester, Oxfordshire on Sunday Aug 28 to raise money for breast cancer charity

The Hobgoblin pub in Sheep Street, Bicester, will host a Pink Festival featuring local rock bands on Sunday August 28 from 2pm, according to the Oxford Mail.

Proceeds from the day will be donated to the Breast Cancer Campaign charity.

Student Dina Al-Hakim, 24, of Heron Drive, Bicester, organsied the event as one of her aunts is undergoing treatment for breast cancer in Saudi Arabia, and another aunt, who lived in Holland, sadly died from the disease.

So far nine local acts including Zero Hour, Serotonin, CJ Quinn, Charlie Gannon, Captain Dale, Gareth Gwynn and the Carvell Rock Show, have signed up.

The S5 bus runs from Magdalen Street in Oxford City Centre via Summertown and Gosford to Bicester Town Centre. The stop near the Tesco Metro is in Sheep Street.

When you go down to Long Beach, California, be careful what you snap...

For Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell has confirmed that detaining photographers for taking pictures "with no apparent esthetic value" is within police department policy.

The Long Beach Post reports:

McDonnell spoke for a follow-up story on a June 30 incident in which Sander Roscoe Wolff, a Long Beach resident and regular contributor to Long Beach Post, was detained by Officer Asif Kahn for taking pictures of North Long Beach refinery.

"If an officer sees someone taking pictures of something like a refinery," says McDonnell, "it is incumbent upon the officer to make contact with the individual." McDonnell went on to say that whether said contact becomes detainment depends on the circumstances the officer encounters.

McDonnell says that while there is no police training specific to determining whether a photographer's subject has "apparent esthetic value," officers make such judgments "based on their overall training and experience" and will generally approach photographers not engaging in "regular tourist behavior."

Via Mick Hartley.

Hollaback website launched in West Yorkshire

Hollaback,a movement dedicated to ending street harassment, has launched in West Yorkshire.

The site was launched by Emma Romanowicz of Mytholmroyd and Louise Westbrooke, who told the Hebden Bridge Web News: "There is no specific research into the prevalence of street harassment in the UK, but USA statistics, our own experiences and that of friends suggests that between 90%-100% of girls and women experience it at some point, some on a daily basis."

Users of the site, which covers the whole county including Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford and Huddersfield, can upload and share their stories.

The site has its own Facebook page and Twitter account.

Hollaback, which began in New York in 2005, is a global movement, and in the UK sites have already been set up in Birmingham, Bristol, London and Manchester.

Let's hope Hollabeck continues to spread across the world.

You can watch Emma speak at the Leeds Slutwalk, a protest march against explaining or excusing rape by referring to a woman's appearance, below:

London Rider Skills Day attendees could win prizes this autumn

Riders who attend a BikeSafe-London or ScooterSafe Rider Skills Day between September and November 2011 could win a brand new motorcycle, scooter or protective clothing.

The prizes, worth around £20,000, have been provided to TfL by the Motor Cycle Industry Association at no cost to the taxpayer. Successful entrants could win:

*A motorcycle of their choice (up to a value of £12,000),
*A scooter of their choice (up to the value of £2,000),
*One of three sets of protective clothing (up to the value of £1,000 each),
*One of six helmets (up to the value of £500 each).

Book a BikeSafe London or ScooterSafe London course.

The Rider Skills Days look to educate London's motorcyclists and scooter riders, as well as ensure that rider documentation and vehicle standards are correct.

They take place at the London Gateway Services in Mill Hill, Barnet,North London or The Warren in Bromley,South London and are run by highly qualified traffic police officers.

Beginning at 8.45am and finish at around 4.30pm, they costs £45 per rider, which includes: lunch, a copy of 'How to be a better rider' by the Institute of Advanced Motorists and a BikeSafe-London high visibility vest.

Edinburgh arthritis sufferer targeted by cruel thieves

55 year old Walter Dods, who can only walk for about 100 yards unaided due to arthritis, has had his mobility scooter's battery charger for a second time in a month, according to the Edinburgh Evening News.

After the last theft he was confined to his home on St Clair Place off Easter Road.

Mr Dods, a former administrator at Midlothian Council, told the paper: "For it to happen once is strange but for it to happen twice is very weird.

"Why would someone want my £30 scooter charger? I can't charge the scooter and I can't even go out and use the buses.

"They must know they're stranding me here. I won't be able to get out to the shops.

"It was four or five days I wasn't able to get out while the new battery was delivered. I've got a few good friends who have been able to help me out and I happened to have quite a bit of food in the house."

Police have described the theft as a "particularly malicious crime" and have asked anyone who may have witnessed anything that night to get in touch.

You can contact Lothian and Borders Police's Communications Centre on 0131 311 3131 or your local police station.

Also, you can email Lothian and Borders Police: enquiriesATlbp.pnn.police.uk.

Community groups invited to appear on hospital radio in Waltham Forest, east London

Societies, charities and community groups are being invited to appear on Whipps Cross Hospital Radio,to discuss their work within the London borough of Waltham Forest, according to the Waltham Forest Guardian.

The station wants guests for its Focus programme, which broadcasts live at 8pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to patients and staff at the Leytonstone hospital.

Visit Whipps Cross Hospital Radio or call John Precious on (0208) 535 6997 for more information.

Tatchbury Manor Nursing Home in Hampshire heavily criticised in Care Quality Commission report

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have found that Tatchbury Manor Nursing Home was providing sub-standard care in squalid conditions, according to the Southern Daily Echo.

The home in Tatchbury Lane, Netley Marsh, was failed in 15 out of 16 categories, highlighting safety concerns, unhygienic practices, inadequate care plans and inaccurate records.

It is owned by Sewah Singh Adkar and managed by Helen Woodman.

Examples of poor practice included people being pulled by their arms, incorrect use of hoists and slings,scalding water in one of the bathrooms, and not all staff having the training needed to deliver care safely.

Hampshire County Council confirmed that its social services department and other health care bodies were no longer sending patients to Tatchbury Manor, and the CQC says the home could be closed down if it does not make satisfactory improvements.

Sherrie Martin, whose mother died after staying at Tatchbury Manor Nursing Home, told the Southern Daily Echo: "As soon as they opened the front door I was overwhelmed by the stench of faeces, vomit and urine

...It took them 20 minutes to bring my mother to me. When she arrived she looked like a lost soul.

I feel so sorry for the people who are still at Tatchbury Manor. I think it should be closed down or totally refurbished.”

It seems Britain has learnt nothing from the Winterbourne View Panorama.

Are we going to just let this issue disappear as the focus turns to the riots and a new series of Big Brother, or are we going to stand up for the rights of vulnerable people.

How housing benefit "reforms" hurt the disabled

"And I want to say to British people clearly and frankly this; if you are elderly, if you are frail, if you are poor, if you are needy, a Conservative government will always look after you" David Cameron 4 May 2010

A young woman with a life limiting, painful and severely disabling genetic condition faces the prospect of losing her home due to the changes in the way local housing allowance is calculated.

She has written to the Prime Minister and Chancellor.

Via The Broken of Britain. I will quote the text in full from the blog:

I have never felt lower.

Because of changes to housing benefit, I've been reduced to a worrying mess.

I face the possibility of being moved out of my flat that has an extra room for when I need a carer because the local housing allowance is dropping so much.

I'm entitled to a two-bedroom rate of housing benefit, but it's dropping so much, it will be lower than the one-bedroom rate I'm currently on.

I'm too severely disabled to work.

I cannot walk far, my condition is extremely painful, and I face unpredictable fluctuations in my disability where one day I may be unable to swallow properly, be able to get onto my feet, or even see properly.

It is difficult enough to look after myself on a day to day basis, yet you are making it harder.

I receive DLA, Income Support and even Severe Disablement Allowance.

Yet despite being acknowledged as one of the most deserving recipients of housing benefit, the office who deal with my benefit do not understand why I am to be one of the worst off, with no exception.

This morning I listed ten items to sell on eBay.

These were presents I received last Christmas and on my last birthday. The items I am selling are two well made winter jumpers, some DVDs of films I enjoy, and three handbags (from high-street stores).

I don't have anything of big value I can sell, and although I love the clothes and watching the DVDs I am selling,

I have nothing else nice that anyone else would want. I am looking around for other things to sell, as times are hard enough without the impending drop in housing benefit.

You and George Osborne said you would not leave the infirm without help. Well, you've let me down, and many others too. You have gone back on your word, and you are no man of honour.

Salford Tesco Metro staff fored to make up hours lost to UK riots

I don't like Tesco.

It's not the most ethical of companies, in my view*.

For example, you can read about their waste of food or their libel action against the Guardian and Thai journalist Nongnart Harnavilai, who claimed Tesco did not "love" Thailand.

Now the Manchester Evening News reports that staff at Tesco Metro at Salford Shopping City who were sent home early due to fears for their safety will have to make up the time later. This is company policy.

How lovely. I'm sure morale will be so high after this.

One staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It is disgusting they expect us to work the hours. It wasn’t our fault the store had to close."

A Facebook group has been set up in support of the staff.

I suggest a boycott of Tesco.

Aside from anything else, how can people be motivated to look for work when they hear about stories such as these?

And what kind of service would customers get from staff who are treated like this?

*If Tesco read this, I'm just stating my view and have given valid reasons. Plus, do you want the bad publicity that goes with suing me?

CQC report slams cleanliness of Merseyside ambulances

Almost three quarters of Merseyside’s emergency ambulances are too dirty, and only 60% of staff were found to comply with hand hygiene rules in the region, according to a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report.

Board papers seen by the Liverpool Daily Post read:

"...There is evidence that some areas are struggling to be compliant with the standards, particularly in relation to ambulance stations.

"The cleanliness care bundle still remains poor.

"Hand hygiene and adherence to ‘Bare Below the Elbows’ remains consistent at 84% but is still below the accepted target. This seems to be a particular problem in Cheshire and Mersey where there is only 60% compliance against 80% in the other areas."

Talk on mending broken hearts at the Global Retreat Centre on 25 August

Anna Ziegler, who has been studying and teaching Raja Yoga meditation for 20 years, will give a talk entitled "Healing a Broken Heart" at the Global Retreat Centre, run by the Brahma Kumaris.

The centre is located at Nuneham Park, Nuneham Courtenay, Oxfordshire, OX44 9PG.

No booking is required, and the talk runs from from 7:30pm to 9:00pm.

The advert for the talk comments: "Try watering a pot plant leaf by leaf and see how long it lasts! Everyone knows that you must water a plant from the base.

"In a sense, all our hearts have become broken because we, too, have been 'watering' the individual leaves of this human world tree and not the whole.

"Is it possible that our fundamental perspective on who and how to love is the cause of our broken hearts?"

Double-dip recession looking more likely

Morgan Stanley has warned that the global economy is teetering on the brink of a recession, and has slashed its growth forecasts, according to the Guardian.

"While we had been calling for a 'BBB' recovery in developed markets all along, the path now looks even more Bumpy, Below-par and Brittle than previously thought," the US investment bank said in a note, adding that emerging markets were not immune either.

I think Morgan Stanley should probably get some new joke writers, or consider dropping gags from comments about the economy altogether.

Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income at Evolution Securities, told the Guardian: "The European sovereign debt crisis is likely to remain a feature of markets for some time, but if we see a sharp slowdown in economic activity it could threaten fiscal consolidation in core countries such as France and exacerbate the crisis."

He also noted that one bank borrowed $500m (£300m) for a week from the European Central Bank on Wednesday, the first time a euro area bank has borrowed dollars from the ECB since February.

Free tram travel in Croydon, South London, on 20 and 21 August

In order to boost riot-hit Croydon's local economy, trams will be free to on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 August, according to Transport for London

On these two days, Oyster users must not touch in and must not purchase a ticket.

All Oyster readers will be switched off, except for at Wimbledon.

Oyster pay as you go users using Wimbledon station will need to touch in and touch out as normal and an automatic refund will be applied to their card.

Passengers entering the station will need to the touch in at the gate, and again on the platform.

All those leaving the station will need to touch out at the gate.

In related news,residents of Manchester will be able to use the Metrolink tram service for free on certain days, in order to encourage more people to visit the city centre.

A well-written nail in communism's coffin

Ana the Imp has written an excellent blog post on the evils of communism:

Marxism poisons everything it touches.

As Sir Tony [Brenton] says, the civic spirit of Russia has still not recovered after seventy years of communist tyranny, which makes it all the easier for authoritarianism and corruption to flourish almost unchallenged.

Then there is the argument, he continues, that we have never had ‘real’ communism, that the revolution happened in the wrong places, that it will all be better the ‘next time’ around.

It’s all fodder for muddle-brains like Eagleton and those who fly under his wing, a fairytale for the unreflective.

The Marxist Utopia is predicated on the assumption that the world is a kind of cornucopia, forever pouring out the good things of life, ready to be shared with equality once the parasitical ‘bourgeois’ have been eliminated from the picture of perfection.

Time and again we’ve seen it; time and again we have seen the Lenin-style elites take the good things, always a scarcity, for themselves.

People who read Orwell’s Animal Farm and see it as a fable about Stalinism are wrong; it’s a fable about hypocrisy and greed.

Remember those wind-fall apples? The corruption did not begin with the triumph of Napoleon over Snowball; it was there from the outset.

The revolutionary vanguard are all pigs. Marxism is the alibi of pigs.

Via Harry's Place

Memory loss event in Waltham Forest, east London on September 14

Residents of Waltham Forest, East London,who suffer from memory loss problems and their carers are being invited to attend a drop-in event run by support charity Crossroads, according to the Waltham Forest Guardian.

The Crossroads Forget Me Not Cafe is being held on Wednesday September 14 at the St Andrews Centre in St Andrews Road, Higham Hill, Walthamstow,E17 6AR, between 1.30pm and 4.30pm.

No booking is needed.

Email michelleATcrossroads-leavalley.org.uk for more information.

The nearest Underground and London Overground station is Blackhorse Road, on the Victoria and Gospel Oak to Barking lines.

The W15 bus stops 3 minutes walk away on St Andrews Road, while the 230 bus stops outside Blackhorse Road tube, a 18 minute walk.

Gay rights group sues Missouri, USA school district over blocked websites

The Camdenton R-III School District in Missouri, North America, is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for restricting access to informative gay websites, which says that the district has ignored warnings that its actions are unconstitutional, according to Pink News.

The ACLU has been writing to schools and school districts across the country to demand that they cease filtering informative or supportive LGBT websites which have no explicit content.

The ACLU notes that comparable anti-gay websites are still accessible by pupils in the Camdenton R-III School District.

District superintendent Tim Hadfield said that the ACLU was mistaken about the type of software being used, telling LakeNewsOnline:

"...We do not specifically filter sites promoting alternative lifestyles. We do specifically block sites that are inappropriate and will continue to do so. We disagree with their position and turned the issue over to our attorney to address.”

More at Pink News.

Ugandan lesbian rights campaigner denied entry to Britain

Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, who faces death threats for speaking out for LGBT rights in her home country of Uganda, was invited to open the Foyle Pride Festival in Derry, Northern Ireland next week.

However, British authorities have denied her a visa, according to Pink News.

A petition has been set up to challenge this decision.

Foyle Pride chairwoman Shay Gillespie told Pink News: "Foyle Pride has invested heavily in bringing Kasha to Derry despite having a very limited budget and relying on donations and the support of local businesses, money and resources that will now be lost.

"I can’t understand why the UK is the only country to deny her entry and deny the opportunity for the people of Derry and Northern Ireland as a whole the chance to hear this inspirational woman speak."

You can watch a video of Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum 2010 about her experience as a lesbian in Uganda, below:

Warwick,Isle of Wight, Lambeth. East Riding of Yorkshire and North Hertfordshire councils in Private Eye 1295

If you are a resident of Warwick,the Isle of Wight, Lambeth, East Riding of Yorkshire or North Hertfordshire I strongly recommend picking up the latest issue of Private Eye (1295).

The excellent Rotten Boroughs column on page 11 reports on:

*The disgusting treatment of disabled pensioners Jenny Morgan and Neil Cope by Warwick district council, who wrongly claim the pair owe £13,000 "overpaid" council tax benefit.

The pair are seeing a civil restraining order against the council after four and a half years of harassment, including tapped phones and hacked computers.

When the couple were interviewed under caution, Warwick district council refused to hand over a tape of the interview, which is a breach of the 1984 police and criminal evidence act. Mrs Morgan was also followed into the toilet during the interview.

*How bigwigs at Isle of Wight council have managed to avoid being affected by £17m of cuts.

*How Lambeth council may award a ten year £60m contact to Capita to run its revenue collection and call centre services from Southampton (but of course).

Capita, also known as Crapita, runs Lambeth's housing benefit and council tax services. It failed to collect £51 m in 2010, £14 m more than the cuts Lambeth council must make this year.

*North Hertforshire council's sweetheart deal to redevelop Hitchin town centre, which would involve a four-story carpark being built in front of the 1,000 year old St Mary's Church.

*The tarmacking, detarmacking and tarmacking of a shared lane leading to local Tory MP Graham Stuart's home for free by contractors working for Tory East Riding of Yorkshire council.

All this and more in Private Eye 1295, for £1.50

Iran media exposed over UK riots lies

For the past few days, the odious Iranian regime has been smugly condemning "the violent suppression of the political opposition and the oppressed" in the UK riots and offering to send in an inspection team.

Now, Iranian bloggers have revealed that pictures published in the regime's news agencies and daily newspapers were not from the 2011 UK riots, but from events including the 2008 Notting Hill Carnival, and the 1984-5 miners' strike, the Guardian reports.

An Iranian blogger called Gomnamian has demonstrated where some of the pictures used by the Fars news agency, who supplied most of the pictures to Iranian media, were published beforehand.

First UK university joins the Worker Rights Consortium

Congratulations to the University of Sheffield, which is the first UK university to join the Worker Rights Consortium, an organisation set up to support garment workers through monitoring and investigations of their conditions.

This follows the affiliation of NUS Services Ltd. to the WRC earlier this year.

Josh Forstenzer, President of Sheffield Students Union, told People and Planet:

"I am very proud of the hard work put in by students and University staff to make this happen.

"To be the first joint University-Students’ Union to sign up to the Workers’ Rights Consortium in the United Kingdom is truly an honour.

Jim Cranshaw, Buy Right Campaign Manager at People & Planet, commented:

"Every day workers making garments for universities are beaten, abused, unpaid, and denied their basic human right to unionise.

"The Worker Rights Consortium is a means of doing something about these conditions. We commend Sheffield University and Student Union for joining the 180 US universities that have affiliated to the WRC.

"To be the first university in the UK to do so shows that Sheffield are a pioneering, socially conscious university who take their responsibilities to people seriously."