Words fail me.
We now hear that Peter Hain, he of the moral high ground and perma tan forgot to declare a donation of £5,000 from .. Jon Madelsohn? He of the I am Gordon Brown's chief fund raiser.
We have Harriet Harman's team on the verge of war with Gordon Brown's over her donorgate donation as they seem to have passed it on.
This is just getting to bizarre for words.
All politicians are sullied by this. Let us not forget that. As a Conservative party we can't promise to be purer than pure or whiter than white, that is impractical, however we can aspire to deliver. It is better to under promise and over deliver than to be caught in this latest sleaze storm.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Gillian Gibbons jailed for insulting Islam?
You are having a laugh surely? The people who are insulting Islam, the Prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him and religion in general are the horrendously loony people who have been offended by anything she has done.
Mohamed is a normal name in the region, and there is no sane reason why a child's cuddly toy can't have a normal name.
Mohamed is a normal name in the region, and there is no sane reason why a child's cuddly toy can't have a normal name.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Donorgate: Has it got worse?
The donorgate scandal will not only not go away but seems to be getting worse.
According to this article in today's Telegraph people are beginning to question how a man of David Abrahams apparent means and wealth could donate quite as much as he has through third parties.
There is speculation that he is just a front.
If so, where does the money really come from and what influence is it trying to buy?
This could get worse. Hard to believe I know, but it could.
According to this article in today's Telegraph people are beginning to question how a man of David Abrahams apparent means and wealth could donate quite as much as he has through third parties.
There is speculation that he is just a front.
If so, where does the money really come from and what influence is it trying to buy?
This could get worse. Hard to believe I know, but it could.
Mohamed the Teddy bear: An insult to Islam?
I have to say that I was not surprised at the arrest of Gillian Gibbons after the naming of a class teddy bear Mohamed. I had presumed that it was primarily to get her off the streets as there are some veritable nutters in the Sudan. I had up until now bought the Sudanese foreign ministry line that it was a storm in a teacup.
The issue has not become far more serious as she has been charged with "insulting religion" and "inciting hatred".
This is utter contemptible tosh.
Let us be straight. People call their children Mohamed, who may go on to do great things, or go on to be infamous criminals.
A child's toy on the other hand will always remain a hero in the minds of the children.
The world, and in particular the Muslim world needs to tell this lot of lunatics that in fact they are talking utter tosh. There is no breach of any law.
The BBC has this.
The issue has not become far more serious as she has been charged with "insulting religion" and "inciting hatred".
This is utter contemptible tosh.
Let us be straight. People call their children Mohamed, who may go on to do great things, or go on to be infamous criminals.
A child's toy on the other hand will always remain a hero in the minds of the children.
The world, and in particular the Muslim world needs to tell this lot of lunatics that in fact they are talking utter tosh. There is no breach of any law.
The BBC has this.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
From Stalin to Mr Bean: A remarkable transformation!
This is how Vince Cable described Gordon Brown at Prime Ministers Questions.
Very very funny.
He went on to say that he brings chaos out of order rather than order out of chaos. The house fell about laughing.
Very very funny.
He went on to say that he brings chaos out of order rather than order out of chaos. The house fell about laughing.
Just how bad can it get?
Look, there I am, busy with other things, like sorting out my garage, and Labour appears to be in absolute collapse.
We now learn (For example in this article in the Daily Mail) that one of the people use to channel funds to Labour, Janet Dunn knows nothing about it, it has not passed through accounts she controls, is upset about it, and is a Conservative voter.
Clearly there has got to be a serious suspicion in the part of the police that a criminal offence has been committed. So who will make the complaint?
We now learn (For example in this article in the Daily Mail) that one of the people use to channel funds to Labour, Janet Dunn knows nothing about it, it has not passed through accounts she controls, is upset about it, and is a Conservative voter.
Clearly there has got to be a serious suspicion in the part of the police that a criminal offence has been committed. So who will make the complaint?
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Conservatives gain biggest poll lead since 1988!
According to this poll in the Independent.
It gives the Conservatives 40% (-1), Labour 27% (-6) and the Liberal Democrats 18 (+2) which according to the article would give the Conservatives a 64 seat majority and the largest turn over in seats of any party coming in to power.
The article does say this is after Gordon Brown's worst week. Well, those events have not settled in, and Labour are embroiled in a growing funding scandal. Its only Tuesday, this week could be worse than last week!
It gives the Conservatives 40% (-1), Labour 27% (-6) and the Liberal Democrats 18 (+2) which according to the article would give the Conservatives a 64 seat majority and the largest turn over in seats of any party coming in to power.
The article does say this is after Gordon Brown's worst week. Well, those events have not settled in, and Labour are embroiled in a growing funding scandal. Its only Tuesday, this week could be worse than last week!
Labour general Secretary resigns as funding scandal goes nuclear
Its true that today Gordon Brown promised more nuclear. I am not quite sure this is what he had in mind.
Peter Watt, the somewhat youthful general secretary of the Labour party resigned today after having admitted that he knew that the secret donations came from Mr David Abrahams. His defence was that he was not aware of the law, and after the scandal broke sought legal advice.
Nice try Peter, however ignorance of the law is no defence.
What is scary though, is that someone could be placed in such a position without the knowledge or training to do the job. It would be a bit like putting a university history lecturer in charge of safety at a nuclear plant. Bound to lead to disaster.
It goes deeper though. This "arrangement" of which Peter Watt was aware appears to have been going on since before he took over. Did the previous general secretary know?
It gets worse (I kid you not) in that there was a "secret" donation to Harriet Harmans campaign. Did she know?
And worse still, David Abrahams company Durham Green Developments Ltd have been granted planning permission after "negotiation" with the highways agency (Then run by "wee" Douglas Alexander) for a £60 million pound development.
When this story first broke, I though that this could get embarrassing, but that it was the work of a rogue donor. It now appears to be getting worse by the day. What is more, the press are still furiously digging. One of the conduits for the laundered donations is a solicitor apparently who ought soon (if that is the case) to be an ex solicitor. We have the property deals, though wee Dougie has denied that he had anything to do with it, but most importantly of all, we have the fact that this appears to have been a long standing arrangement to subvert the law.
You just could not make this up!
Guido has this, the Telegraph has this, the Times has this, and the Daily Mail has this.
Peter Watt, the somewhat youthful general secretary of the Labour party resigned today after having admitted that he knew that the secret donations came from Mr David Abrahams. His defence was that he was not aware of the law, and after the scandal broke sought legal advice.
Nice try Peter, however ignorance of the law is no defence.
What is scary though, is that someone could be placed in such a position without the knowledge or training to do the job. It would be a bit like putting a university history lecturer in charge of safety at a nuclear plant. Bound to lead to disaster.
It goes deeper though. This "arrangement" of which Peter Watt was aware appears to have been going on since before he took over. Did the previous general secretary know?
It gets worse (I kid you not) in that there was a "secret" donation to Harriet Harmans campaign. Did she know?
And worse still, David Abrahams company Durham Green Developments Ltd have been granted planning permission after "negotiation" with the highways agency (Then run by "wee" Douglas Alexander) for a £60 million pound development.
When this story first broke, I though that this could get embarrassing, but that it was the work of a rogue donor. It now appears to be getting worse by the day. What is more, the press are still furiously digging. One of the conduits for the laundered donations is a solicitor apparently who ought soon (if that is the case) to be an ex solicitor. We have the property deals, though wee Dougie has denied that he had anything to do with it, but most importantly of all, we have the fact that this appears to have been a long standing arrangement to subvert the law.
You just could not make this up!
Guido has this, the Telegraph has this, the Times has this, and the Daily Mail has this.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
It was no junior official!
The government line, spin, or more accurately downright lie, over the loss of 25 million child benefit records is that it was a junior official acting on his own against laid down, and by implication followed procedure.
This story in todays Sunday Times blows that completely out of the water as apparently there is a bot of security. There were only 3 people with the clout to have the passwords to download the data, and lets face it, they must have asked why.
This is clearly not a rogue and more a systematic failure.
This story in todays Sunday Times blows that completely out of the water as apparently there is a bot of security. There were only 3 people with the clout to have the passwords to download the data, and lets face it, they must have asked why.
This is clearly not a rogue and more a systematic failure.
Labour in another party funding scandal?
Labour are in yet another party funding scandal as the Mail on Sunday carries the new that a jobbing builder has donated Labour £200,000 without his knowledge nor I doubt the tax payments to justify his generosity.
The crux of the story is that Ray Ruddick who drives a battered transit van and lives in an ex council house he purchased from the council 7 years ago for £12,000 pounds is listed as having donated about £200,000, making him Labour's third biggest donor since Gordon Brown took over.
He initially denied donating at all, but has curiously admitted the last donation he is claimed to have made after some thought. That was for £80,000.
The thing that smells for me is that I can't see him being able to write a cheque that large in one go. That means that someone else should have been mentioned to the electoral commission, and that does not appear to be the case.
Update 12:39
The BBC now has this. It could get embarrassing
The crux of the story is that Ray Ruddick who drives a battered transit van and lives in an ex council house he purchased from the council 7 years ago for £12,000 pounds is listed as having donated about £200,000, making him Labour's third biggest donor since Gordon Brown took over.
He initially denied donating at all, but has curiously admitted the last donation he is claimed to have made after some thought. That was for £80,000.
The thing that smells for me is that I can't see him being able to write a cheque that large in one go. That means that someone else should have been mentioned to the electoral commission, and that does not appear to be the case.
Update 12:39
The BBC now has this. It could get embarrassing
Labour are doomed!
There is an interesting comment piece in the Times, from Saturday by Matthew Parris, who I appreciate is no Labour cheerleader.
However I did like this quote:
Brilliant!
However I did like this quote:
I am absolutely sure that Mr Brown hasn't got it, never had it, and won't get it. For those of us who always believed and wrote this, the prospect of writing him off is easier to stomach than for those who thought they detected buried treasure and are still half-waiting for it to be uncovered.
Brilliant!
Well, where to begin? the knives are out for Gordon!
I like politicalbetting.com, and I have to say it has a habit of having contributers who throw up some interesting stories.
Last week was not good for Labour or Gordon Brown.
Next week is set to make last week look like there best week ever.
Oh dear. (For Labour, me I'm lovin' it!)
Last week was not good for Labour or Gordon Brown.
Next week is set to make last week look like there best week ever.
Oh dear. (For Labour, me I'm lovin' it!)
Saturday, November 24, 2007
You have paid with money to use the pool? They have paid with limbs!
There is a disgusting nasty piece of work, believed to be a 30 year old woman who has in my view no right to live in this country, who abused injured servicemen whilst in a pool, according to this article in the Daily Mail.
She claimed she paid money to use the pool.
They paid in limbs.
She makes me sick. She makes me angry. Very very very angry.
She should be named and shamed so that we all know who this disgusting nasty low life is, and can look her in the eye and tell her what we think of her small minded ignorance.
She claimed she paid money to use the pool.
They paid in limbs.
She makes me sick. She makes me angry. Very very very angry.
She should be named and shamed so that we all know who this disgusting nasty low life is, and can look her in the eye and tell her what we think of her small minded ignorance.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Conservatives get biggest poll lead since 1992
According to Channel 4 news, the Conservatives have there biggest poll lead over Labour since 1992. The poll was conducted since the news broke of the data loss at the child benefit office.
the Conservatives get 41% (NC) Labour 32% (-3) and the Liberal Democrats 14% (+1). (From the last poll held on the 18th of November).
If you feed that into Anthony Wells election calculator that gives the Conservatives a majority of 12, with the Conservatives on 331 seats, Labour on 264, the Liberal Democrats 24 and others on 31.
Well, that does not look good for Labour.
Channel 4 has this.
the Conservatives get 41% (NC) Labour 32% (-3) and the Liberal Democrats 14% (+1). (From the last poll held on the 18th of November).
If you feed that into Anthony Wells election calculator that gives the Conservatives a majority of 12, with the Conservatives on 331 seats, Labour on 264, the Liberal Democrats 24 and others on 31.
Well, that does not look good for Labour.
Channel 4 has this.
Steve McClaren sacked Shocker!
In a moved which appears to have caught absolutely no one by surprise the FA has sacked Steve McClaren and Terry Venables.
The decision was unanimous apparently.
Now all we need is players (apart from Beckham) who play like they care. David Beckham already does.
The BBC has this.
The decision was unanimous apparently.
Now all we need is players (apart from Beckham) who play like they care. David Beckham already does.
The BBC has this.
Bank Chiefs deny delaying blunder announcement
One of the reasons why the government alleges it delayed the announcement of the child benefit data going missing is that "the banks had to get ready".
The Times reports on page three of this article as follows:
So someone somewhere is telling porkies, and it is not the bankers. They need to resign.
It does get worse though. According to this report they helpfully put the password on a compliment slip in the same envelope in some cases, removing the need for either a brute force attack or any other hacking method. Nice. The police are also looking at several other offences that staff wish to be taken into account.
It is clear this is not the fault of one junior official but a systematic practice which started when Brown was chancellor.
What a plonker!
The Telegraph has this over how the government was warned this would happen, whilst the Guardian has this on how this affects ID cards.
As a point of note ministers pop up with the untruth (for it to be a lie, they would have to have a clue what the truth is, and they don't) that our ID card data will be protected by bio metrics. Laughable. The fact is that government staff will be able to access your data without you having to unlock it, and on this lots form will be able to download the lot of it to disc and walk out with it.
Useless bunch.
The Times reports on page three of this article as follows:
Last night bankers reacted angrily to a suggestion by Mr Darling that he had delayed his announcement because the financial sector was “adamant” it needed time to prepare. A senior City source said: “By 9.30 on Monday we were ready to run. It is hard to fathom why any suggestion was made that any delay was down to us.”
So someone somewhere is telling porkies, and it is not the bankers. They need to resign.
It does get worse though. According to this report they helpfully put the password on a compliment slip in the same envelope in some cases, removing the need for either a brute force attack or any other hacking method. Nice. The police are also looking at several other offences that staff wish to be taken into account.
It is clear this is not the fault of one junior official but a systematic practice which started when Brown was chancellor.
What a plonker!
The Telegraph has this over how the government was warned this would happen, whilst the Guardian has this on how this affects ID cards.
As a point of note ministers pop up with the untruth (for it to be a lie, they would have to have a clue what the truth is, and they don't) that our ID card data will be protected by bio metrics. Laughable. The fact is that government staff will be able to access your data without you having to unlock it, and on this lots form will be able to download the lot of it to disc and walk out with it.
Useless bunch.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
England lose to Croatia 2-3 and are out of Euro 2008
And with regret I think we deserved it.
It is not the managers fault either. Fundamentally the players lack the spirit to win. The England Rugby team had spirit by the bucket load, this lot lacked any spirit what so ever.
The BBC has this.
It is not the managers fault either. Fundamentally the players lack the spirit to win. The England Rugby team had spirit by the bucket load, this lot lacked any spirit what so ever.
The BBC has this.
Gordon Brown is right: Alistair Darling should not resign!
Because it turns out that the decision to send all the sensitive data in the post, far more than the National Audit Office actually wanted was made in March when Alistair Darling was not Chancellor. Clearly the chancellor at the time should go as he can't run a whelk stall. One Gordon Brown.
Apparently a senior business manager decided that filtering out the sensitive data was too "burdensome". He needs to go as well.
Mean while, after the horse has bolted Gordon Brown has ordered a review into data security.
The BBC has this.
Apparently a senior business manager decided that filtering out the sensitive data was too "burdensome". He needs to go as well.
Mean while, after the horse has bolted Gordon Brown has ordered a review into data security.
The BBC has this.
25 Million records lost in the post! Its not about the money!
Well, we have 25 million records containing very personal data and it has gone missing.
It was sent unregistered in the internal post some say because managers skimp on these things (now there is a shock? not!) and when it did not arrive it was sent recorded.
This all misses the point.
No one individual, from PM to cleaner (Her Majesty possibly excepted) should have been able to extract this data in the first place, let alone be able to put it on a CD and be daft enough to send it anywhere, in particular, where they had not asked for that level of detail.
In short there is something very sick about how this government handles our data and its regard for us as individuals.
It was sent unregistered in the internal post some say because managers skimp on these things (now there is a shock? not!) and when it did not arrive it was sent recorded.
This all misses the point.
No one individual, from PM to cleaner (Her Majesty possibly excepted) should have been able to extract this data in the first place, let alone be able to put it on a CD and be daft enough to send it anywhere, in particular, where they had not asked for that level of detail.
In short there is something very sick about how this government handles our data and its regard for us as individuals.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
25 million records missing including bank details and national insurance numbers!
Apparently according to some reports of the statement given by Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, copies of 25 million records have gone missing.
This happened because some junior official sent it to the National Audit office, who sent it back. Then it was sent again by unrecorded post in October. It did not arrive so they sent it again by recorded post.
Can you believe that? Why on earth were they sending this data to the NAO in the first place by any kind of post?
This is a complete beach of the Data protection act.
The BBC has this on the statement of Alistair Darling.
This happened because some junior official sent it to the National Audit office, who sent it back. Then it was sent again by unrecorded post in October. It did not arrive so they sent it again by recorded post.
Can you believe that? Why on earth were they sending this data to the NAO in the first place by any kind of post?
This is a complete beach of the Data protection act.
The BBC has this on the statement of Alistair Darling.
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