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| Choo Choo Stupidity | Gallimaufry & Chips | |
| 168 wheels good, two wings bad. The morons who run the transport policy in this corner of Euroland (and that includes the Useless Tories and UnLibDems) have just published this abortion on toast of ahigh speed rail linkfor Scotch MPs from London to their second, third or fourthhames. One of the "benefits" of splurging £20 billion to compete with the recently upgraded (for a mere £9 billion) West Coast Mainline is that journey times from Birmingham to London in ideal conditions will be cut by 30 minutes to 49 minutes. Whoopidoo! What the fuckwits don't say is whether the last train on the new line will depart later than 11:30pm to enable Midlanders to enjoy the overpriced London Theatres without an Olympic race to Euston once the curtain falls. The funniest thing is the route section south of Coventry. Under Prescottian diktat Warwick District Council and Coventry City Council are required to build x-zillion houses. Very sensibly they plonked the new estate right on the border of Coventry and Warwickshire. Next to the proposed railway route.Trains are a nineteenth century technology. Aircraft are more economic and more flexible. One final point: thanks to the same anti-carbon religion preached by the trainophiles, UK electricity generating capacity is decreasing and there will be a gap. Hey, let's run the new trains on electricity. Madness. | ||
| Email To My MP Ref: Remembran... | The Blog of Kev | |
| I have just written to my MP asking him to support Patrick Cormack's bill about Remembrance Sunday (Closure of Shops) which I have just blogged about earlier. | ||
| Remembrance Sunday (Closure O... | The Blog of Kev | |
| I believe that th bill being brought in by Patrick Cormack should become law the bill in called Remembrance Sunday (Closure of Shops) which he introduced yesterday in Parliament. | ||
| Trust has to be earned | The anger of a Quiet Man | |
| I got a letter today from Medway NHS about the Summary Care Record which is a secure electronic summary of crucial health information which could make a major difference to my care if I'm unable to tell NHS staff the details myself.I suspect they will fool a lot of people into opting into it by default, as opting out requires downloading a form and taking it along to your local GP (by June 10th 2010) telling them not to bother putting you on it.Personally I'll be opting out for the simple reason I don't trust the government and by proxy the NHS with my personal data either from abuse or simply just leaving it for anyone to find on a bus, train, taxi or landfill site.Telegraph. 2007 figuresA record 37 million items of personal data went missing last year, new research reveals.Most of the data was lost by government officials but councils, NHS trusts, banks, insurance companies and chain stores also mislaid or published personal information about staff or members of the public.Many losses were caused through CDs going missing in the post, laptop thefts, and inadequate security systems that failed to stop hackers reading information stored on computers.The details lost included those of names, addresses, passports, bank and mortgage accounts, credit cards, hospital records, dates of birth, national insurance numbers, driving licences and telephone numbers.Data Loss Examples in 2008:NHS: The NHS lost a lot of data in 2008, with a selection of examples below:9 NHS trust admit losing millions of records.4 out of 5 NHS trusts lose medical recordsList of NHS losses produced by the Freedom of Information Act (its a long article!)45,000 medical records lost21,000 medical records lostThe NHS also moved a lot of records out to other company with 300 million medical records moved out of the NHS and the patients data being shared with council Sooner or later you'll all get a letter like this, it's up to you as to whether or not you trust them, personally I don't and I'd reccomend you don't give them the data either.And what's with the having to download the opt out form? Some people don't have internet access still. Sounds like a con to make sure we all sign up regardless.Trust has to be earned, quite frankly they can't be trusted if past efforts are anything to go on. | ||
| It is not the voters who are ... | ContraTory | |
| ?Mr Brown's act of hypnosis is to make us ignore the facts about what will become of Britain should he be left in charge for much longer: economically relegated, permanently crippled with debt, addicted to public spending and big state interference, reliant on ever higher taxes and ruled by the trade unions.? Gordon Brown has voters in a trance - it's time for a wake-up call ? Benedict Brogan |
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| Nick Clegg Looks Both Ways on... | Iain Dale | |
| Nick Clegg has said some things on Afghanistan in his interview with The Economist today which appear to be at odds with things he said in his interview with The Times in November 2009 ?? We hope that the cross party consensus remains on this issue. (13th November 2009, The Times)? I have become increasingly frustrated by this tongue-tied consensus for a conflict (11 March 2010, The Economist)? Our first priority should be to stabilise the Afghan Government and build up Afghan security forces, not to pull out before that is done. (13th November 2009, The Times)? I just came to a very stark feeling that we either do this differently, and do it properly, or we do not do it at all (11 March 2010, The Economist)Some meat for Brown and Cameron to get their teeth into during the TV debates? | ||
| Speaking with one voice? | Is there more to life than shoes? | |
| Did anyone listen to London MEP Charles Tannock, bravely defending the national sovereignty of this country on the Today programme yesterday?If you didn't I can summarise for you by saying that when talking about the first appearance of the highest paid woman in world politics he 'wished her the best of British' as we all had to speak in one voice.Addressing the Parliament for the first time in the 100 days since she's been appointed the job of EU Foreign Minister, she spoke about the need to, well, remove any concept of nation states within the European Union.She's the highest paid female politician in the world. I like the way she earns that money with her little school ground impression at the end of the speech.Later on in the day, UKIP MEP William Dartmouth was escorted from the chamber during a debate on EU Arctic Policy yesterday when he said"But an EU Arctic policy is perhaps not so bizarre as the appointment of the supremely unqualified Baroness Ashton, the Sarah Palin of the ex-student left.Chair of the 'debate' was Lib Dem MEP Diana Wallis, no fan of democracy or debate.. I don't wish to be rude, but maybe ugly women stick up for each other?This is now a situation where an organisation which costs you £45 million a day can remove elected MEPs because they don't like what they say. I don't like what most MEPs say and, given that the Liberal Democrats came fourth in the European Elections last year, it would appear that most people in the country do not like what Liberal Democrats say. If you think that elected politicians should be allowed to speak their, and those of their supporters, beliefs, perhaps you should write to Diana and let her know what you think.diana.wallis@europarl.europa.eu | ||
| Snatched | Iain Dale | |
| The Prime Minister constantly tells us he has given the military all the equipment they have ever needed or requested. How he can say this without his nose growing a few inches longer is anyone's guess. Let's just take the case of Snatch Land Rovers, whose use has caused to many unnecessary deaths at the hands of IEDs in Afghanistan. Parliamentarians have been asking about these vehicles for some time. These Hansard quotes illustrate that it is not a new issue.(June 2006)Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, we on these Benches, too, extend our condolences to the family of the soldier killed in Afghanistan yesterday. Our thoughts at this time are also with the two soldiers who were seriously injured yesterday, and we wish them a speedy recovery. I thank the Minister for his reply and understand completely that any answer that he gives must not prejudice troop protection, but the Snatch Land Rover is not remotely adequate for patrolling areas where insurgents use landmines. Can the Minister assure the House that the Government will provide our soldiers with equipment that is fit for this role? What assessment have the Government made of the RG-31 which, with its V-shaped undercarriage, has a greater resilience to IEDs and which the Americans have bought in large numbers just for this role?Lord Drayson: My Lords, I do not accept that Snatch Land Rovers are not appropriate for the role.(26 June 2006)Mr. Ruffley: Nearly a quarter of the British soldiers lost in hostile action in Iraq were in Snatch Land Rovers at the time. Those vehicles are widely recognised to be inadequately armoured to withstand roadside bombs, and are consequently seen as a soft target for insurgents. In the interests of preventing unnecessary deaths, will the Secretary of State tell us which specific vehicles he is considering deploying as replacements for Snatch Land Rovers in Iraq?Des Browne: The hon. Gentleman has made a good point. The Snatch Land Rover was a popular option earlier in the campaign in Afghanistan, because it was mobile and a good all-rounder, and had the right profile to help our troops to engage with the people of Basra in Multi- National Division (South-East). I think Members will appreciate that a vision of our troops thundering down narrow streets with battle tanks was not exactly what we wanted to convey to the people of Basra and other parts of south-east Iraq. Things are changing. As I have said, the level of violence in Basra has increased. I will not go into detail for obvious reasons, but the weapons that the terrorists are using have changed radically, as I have seen for myself on visits. I have seen that that is a serious issue, and have asked for a review.Dr. Fox: Clearly, there is an increased risk. Lord Drayson told the other place recently that in Iraq, the Snatch Land Rover ?provides the mobility and level of protection that we need.?? [ Official Report, House of Lords, 12 June 2006; Vol. 12, c. 2.] Fusilier Gordon Gentle was killed by a road-side bomb way back in June 2004, and since then other soldiers have been killed who would have survived if they had been in properly armed vehicles. Snatch Land Rovers do not offer the level of protection that our troops need in Iraq, yet we continue to use them. Why are our troops not given the level of protection that they need, and which American troops already enjoy? Commanders cannot deploy vehicles that they do not have.Des Browne: As I have already said to the House, it is open to commanders to deploy vehicles that have heavier protection than the Snatch Land Rover and they have to make? [Interruption.] Other vehicles are available to them; there is a choice.(16 Oct 2007)Ann Winterton: ...The fact is that those at the top of the military seem to have become obsessed with high-tech, high-priced, overcomplicated new equipment. Let us take the case of the FRES vehicles; they were originally expected to be on stream by about 2010, but we will be lucky if it is 2020. It may even be later than that.Mr. Kevan Jones: Rubbish.Ann Winterton: The hon. Gentleman says ?rubbish?, but I think that the point was even admitted at the Dispatch Box in debate last week. In the meantime, there is a great hole; we have insufficient numbers of the right vehicles.Mr. Jones: I wish that the hon. Lady would do her research, and that she understood what she was talking about when making statements such as the one that she just made. I have pressed the Defence Committee hard on the subject that she raises; I am the one who has been pressing for an in-service date. Lord Drayson, the Minister with responsibility for defence procurement, has made it clear to the Committee on numerous occasions that 2012 is the in-service date. Having seen the rapid progress that he is making with that programme, I now have more faith that it will be in service by 2012. To say that may not happen until 2020 is absolute rubbish.Ann Winterton: The hon. Gentleman expresses his opinion. We will have to wait and see who is right. I hope that we are both in the House in 2012, and that we will recall this conversation on the Floor of the House. In the meantime, the real needs of the present have been overlooked, and the hard-learned lessons of the past appear to have been forgotten. So many people thought that Iraq would be another Northern Ireland, where the use of Snatch Land Rovers was appropriate, but they were completely wrong, and many people have lost their lives or been maimed as a result. I have always given the Government credit for the provision of, and improvements to, equipment such as helmets and body armour, and surveillance equipment and electronic countermeasures that use the latest technology. That is in addition to armoury for the infantry. It is in the provision of larger equipment that things have gone horribly wrong.(wikipedia, today)FRES: Programme restructuring:After General Dynamics had its preferred bidder status withdrawn in December 2008, the Ministry of Defence decided to restructure the programme. The utility vehicle programme has been scheduled to restart towards the end of 2010.[15] The UK MoD's Defence Equipment and Support agency has focused its attention on the tracked variants of the FRES programme; most notably the Specialist Vehicle. The FRES Integrated Project Team (based at MoD Abbey Wood) has disbanded. The UV element has been put on hold; its future hangs in the balance of the Strategic Defence Review, scheduled for early 2010. The SV element has joined with the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) to form a new Medium Armoured Tracks Team (MATT). The two programmes share the Common Cannon and Ammunition Programme; whereby a new 40mm Cannon will be the main armament to both the upgraded Warriors and the new Specialist Vehicle.This week the Prime Minister said 200 new vehicles would be provided to replace the Snatch Land Rovers, which are so vulnerable to IEDs. He was told that 400 were needed. | ||
| Quote of the day | Letters from a Tory | |
| “I find it quite unusual for people to criticise me for doing what I consider to be my duty. …This was nothing to do with partisan politics.” - Gordon Brown, who said today that the criticism he received for visiting Afghanistan a day after giving evidence to the Iraq war inquiry was “incredibly unfair”. During his Chilcot inquiry [...] |
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| FRAIL ECONOMY NEEDS ANOTHER S... | Socialist Unity | |
| The Conservative party’s calls for immediate cuts to the economy have been met by a growing chorus of criticism, warning that this risks sending the economy back into recession (Report, 8 March). The government was right to stimulate the economy with a variety of measures last year and so offset some of the worst effects [...] | ||
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