Curb press freedom

Total number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan = 350

 

Too little or too much freedom for journalists?

One of parliament's undiscovered treasures, Ian Liddell Granger MP challenged conventional wisdom in the Council of Europe today.

Journalists in Hungary are being denied their freedoms dearly wrested from the communists in 1990. Denial of rights is now coming from their neo-fascist Government. The raving right-wingers have passed a law which allows the Government to 'edit' the news. Even more worrying is that six journalists were murdered last year in Europe. One was on the Turkish relief boat to Gaza. The others were killed to ensure their silence.

Ian Liddell Granger bravely said that press freedom is sometimes abused in the United Kingdom. The steeling on the disc on which all MPs expenses were listed was a criminal act he said. So was the hacking of phones by the Murdoch press et al.  Never one to play to the gallery Ian is splendidly independent.

I wonder if Europe is ready for him?

 Think again Cameron

The case for a re-think on Newport's Passport Office jobs grows stronger

NEWPORT was named a 'vulnerable' city which will be badly affected by government spending cuts.

 

The research group Centre for Cities said while cities like nearby Bristol are bouncing back from the recession, five cities including Newport were not..

Alexandra Jones, chief executive of the Centre for Cities, said: "During 2011, the UK cities most dependent on the public sector, and which have seen slower economic growth over the last decade, will find it more difficult to rebalance towards the private sector. These cities will need realistic plans of action to ride out the spending cuts and create jobs - but they will also need additional financial support from central government.’’

There is a breathing space of two months for the Government to reconsider its devastating assault on Newport jobs. I will have a slot to raise the issue in parliament  again next Wednesday.

I hope the Government is listening.

Comments

[Kay Tie]

"So the reason for the ban, given by the Health Sec at the time, was fraudulent? Yes? Yes."

Very likely. It was all about "sending a message" apparently.

"I wonder what the next fraudulent ban will be. Something to do with alcohol perhaps?"

Almost certainly. "Beer cheaper than water" blah blah blah.

[Junican]

@ Kay Tie.

So the reason for the ban, given by the Health Sec at the time, was fraudulent? Yes? Yes. I wonder what the next fraudulent ban will be. Something to do with alcohol perhaps?

@ DG.

The 'Kaydear and the fur bikini' were a silly bit of self-amusement on my part. You would need to go back over several posts to see the significance. It is of no importance.

Time to move on, I think. Presumably, normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Good fun, chaps. I wish you all well.

[Kay Tie]

"I say this only because no one with any intelligence could possibly accept that SHS is significantly harmful."

We've gone through this ad nauseum: SHS is a red herring. The ban is fully justified based on the non-health effects on non-smokers that cause significant irritation (in just the same way we don't tolerate people playing music loudly in a park).

[Kay Tie]

"The fact that pension schemes give preferential rates to smokers is additional evidence that smoking is pretty harmless."

Ho ho ho ho!

Annuity schemes give higher payments to smokers because they aren't going to be around as long and hence the total paid out would otherwise be less.

Interestingly, they don't seem to do medical tests to verify smoking, so a life-long non-smoker could take up smoking for the day the annuity was taken out then give up again.

[D.G.]

Junican, is there a reason why you're refering to Kay Tie as "Kaydear" and talking about her wearing a fur bikini?

I appreciate that there may be some context I'm not aware of, but you might like to know that you come across a bit sleazy and condescending without it.

[HuwOS]

Junican, you dismiss as ludicrous and wrong that which you have failed to comprehend.

I can only suggest you reread until comprehension occurs.

A clue however is that paying out more money on a regular basis, only makes sense if you expect to be paying it out for less time, paying out earlier does not come into it.

"Is it surprising that I was not sure to what she was referring? Her statement was very broad." - Junican

All I can say is that I knew to what she was referring which surely leaves only a finite number of possibilities and I assure you that
possibility 1: that HuwOS is a particularly gifted and super-intelligent being is really quite unlikely.
What the other possibilities might be I leave up to others to determine,
but clue number 2 is that a google search using the terms
"Einstein Human Stupidity" brings up a heck of a lot of results and every single one of them on the very first page are about that quote, the terms don't seem to be too terribly broad.

Why do I post here?

Paul is my constituency MP.

Are we all supporters and/or employees of ASH? and
Are you deliberately targeting MPs blogs in order to further your agenda?

If you search through the many posts and comments on this site you will find that a startlingly small number are about smoking or the smoking ban.

Which leads us to why are you posting here and posting with such tedious confusion on anything at all as long as you can shoehorn the ban on smoking in public places into it?
Although credit for branching out to create conspiracy theories involving the W.H.O. as well as slipping in the odd bit of racism and misogyny.

[Junican]

Damn it! It has happened again! I got the message, "Were sorry. This data cannot be accepted". That was on the 'spying threead. I have no alternative but to emit it here.

""For heaven's sake, HewOS, how can discrimination ever be anything but negative? The fact that pension schemes give preferential rates to smokers is additional evidence that smoking is pretty harmless. IT IS A MARKETING PLOY! These companies have no way of knowing whether or not a person who says he is a smoker is indeed a smoker, or continues to be a smoker, or ever has been a smoker. This is obvious. When did a insurance company ever give someone at a higher risk a lower premium? It makes no sense. We must not forget that, if a smoker is at a higher risk of dying, then the insurance company (and that is what pension providers are, essentially) will have to start paying out earlier. Whatever - it is just another distraction.

What you say is really weird since I have already told you that I am a little old man who is retired. What would I want to take out a pension for?

I'm sorry - that was a bit cheap. I do understand what you mean, although I dispute it.

As regards the Einstein quote, I did not know about the Perle involvement specifically. I just knew that there were doubts about whether or not he said that; in fact, genuine histories do not mention that quote at all.

You quoted my response to Kaydear, but you have not quoted what Kaydear (in her solitude, wearing her fur bikini) said.

She said:

"And if you know Einstein well you'll know what he thought of human stupidity."

Is it surprising that I was not sure to what she was referring? Her statement was very broad.

Are you, patrick and Kaydear in cahoots? Are you employees and supporters of ASH? Are you deliberately targeting MPs blogs in order to further your agenda? I say this only because no one with any intelligence could possibly accept that SHS is significantly harmful. I would assume that even Mr Flynn has read up enough about the subject to know that.
For heaven's sake, HewOS, how can discrimination ever be anything but negative? The fact that pension schemes give preferential rates to smokers is additional evidence that smoking is pretty harmless. IT IS A MARKETING PLOY! These companies have no way of knowing whether or not a person who says he is a smoker is indeed a smoker, or continues to be a smoker, or ever has been a smoker. This is obvious. When did a insurance company ever give someone at a higher risk a lower premium? It makes no sense. We must not forget that, if a smoker is at a higher risk of dying, then the insurance company (and that is what pension providers are, essentially) will have to start paying out earlier. Whatever - it is just another distraction.

What you say is really weird since I have already told you that I am a little old man who is retired. What would I want to take out a pension for?

I'm sorry - that was a bit cheap. I do understand what you mean, although I dispute it.

As regards the Einstein quote, I did not know about the Perle involvement specifically. I just knew that there were doubts about whether or not he said that; in fact, genuine histories do not mention that quote at all.

You quoted my response to Kaydear, but you have not quoted what Kaydear (in her solitude, wearing her fur bikini) said.

She said:

"And if you know Einstein well you'll know what he thought of human stupidity."

Is it surprising that I was not sure to what she was referring? Her statement was very broad.

Are you, patrick and Kaydear in cahoots? Are you employees and supporters of ASH? Are you deliberately targeting MPs blogs in order to further your agenda? I say this only because no one with any intelligence could possibly accept that SHS is significantly harmful. I would assume that even Mr Flynn has read up enough about the subject to know that.""

Sorry, Mr Flynn, but I do not know what else to do.

[HuwOS]

Further to Andrew Crossley's statement

"I have ceased my work. I have been subject to criminal attack. My emails have been hacked. I have had death threats and bomb threats,"

No one has knowledge of his emails being hacked and it seems likely he is referring to having stored information on his webserver which allowed the information to get out to the public when his website was taken down in a ddos attack by anonymous.
None of that is hacking and I understand his firm is being investigated for breaching the Data Protection Act.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11418970

The police also have not been informed of any bomb threat.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8280714/Hacked-law-firm-abandons-filesharer-pursuit-amid-bomb-threat-claims.html

add to that
"He said that he had no connection with GCB Ltd beyond the fact that the founders of the firm had previously been employed at ACS: Law."

When it appears to have been a dormant company loaned to him by a friend.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110124/03182912787/mysterious-non-company-helping-acslaw-collect-fines-now-says-forget-whole-thing.shtml

People might come to the conclusion that Andrew Crossley is not a particular fan of facts or truth.

Now he and his company are likely in a lot of trouble, but only because they finally came before a judge, they caused a lot of fear and worry to a lot of people by threatening them with court and considerable expense and there is nothing to stop another company beginning the whole process again.

[HuwOS]

Paul, the legal blackmailing activities of ACS:Law (Andrew Crossley) have apparently come to an end.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12253746

Can we hope that perhaps members of parliament would consider changing the law to prevent these kind of shake-downs where thousands and tens of thousands of dodgy demands are sent to people on the flimsiest of evidence
or is it just a matter of time until some more reptiles take up the job.

[D.G.]

"The steeling on the disc on which all MPs expenses were listed was a criminal act he said."

If MPs had been held to the same standards as other claimants on the public purse, then "the stealing on the disc" would be a very apt phrase indeed.