Hair and beard shaved to raise money for help for heroes!

I will be having my hair shaved to a grade 3, and my beard shaved off to raise money for Help For Heroes. I have not had a hair cut since 1993!

I will be having it done at 8 PM on Friday the 28th of May 2010 at the Talbot inn, High street Cuckfield Sussex.

There will also be an auction for who gets to cut the pony tail off on the night!

If you can't make it there, then you can donate via my just giving site here.

BBC article on blogging

The BBC have published an article on political blogs here.

It covers my views and the views of 4 other bloggers on the election. They are:

Bob Balls

Thinking Muslim

Malc in the Burgh

Opinions of Tobias Grubbe

There is even a picture of me on it!

Interesting prison blog

One of the interesting things about blogs is less blogs like mine which discuss what is going on and more blogs like Night Jack*, and NHS blog doctor which give you an idea of what is actually going on at the coal face.

Well, here is Prisoner Ben's blog.

I have read all of it and found it quite enlightening.

Prisoner Ben murdered a friend at the age of 14, handed him self in to the police and pleaded guilty etc and got a tariff of 10 years. He has been inside for 30.

*We can of course thank the Times for ruining that one, the useless nasty MSM.

Sorry about the lack of posts, I am back to dealing with things.

Sorry about the lack of posts, I am back to dealing with things. In particular things of a legal and litigious nature.

Temporary technical problems

Due to technical problems I have had to remove a couple of my blog rolls as the server serving them was taking an age so holding up the loading of the site.

The links will be back soon.

Flash Gordon! Aha... No, its just Stalin

Thunder Dragon has this fantastic parody of the new Satchi and Satchi advet for Labour.


Says it all really.

Thunder Dragon's blog is here.

A Clarification on the "Arms Dealer" Story

I Chris Paul has written up his comments on my story which cribbed from a report in the Sunday Times. I said that the times had reported that Imrand Khan had donated money to labour via a group called the "Muslim Friends of Labour" which is similar it seems to the Midland Industrial Council.

I note that, but frankly don't care, my gripe is that Labour really don't like the Midlands Industrial Council so should not be caught in similar circumstances.

I also note that said Imrand Khan has been linked in the report to an arms dealer/salesman. In these circumstances Labour folks seem to go off on one if it is a Conservative donor, but as yet appear not to have in this case. Again, I personally do not have a problem with this trade any more than I would have with a knife salesman. Guns and knives are tools that we make extensive use of, and it is only if someone is trading them irresponsibly that an issue arises and there is no such allegation here.

The point of my story is not that I find Imrand Khan has actually done anything wrong, because as far as I can see it, he hasn't. The point is that had he been a Conservative donor rather than a Labour one, then people like Chris Paul would have gone off the deep end.

Chris Paul hopes I have insurance. Presumably for libel. Well, in this case I would not need it, as even if my facts are wrong I am not accusing Mr Khan of doing anything that is either wrong*, or indeed should attract opprobrium from anyone, it certainly does not from me. In order for there to be an actionable libel you have to make an incorrect statement** about someone which would damage their reputation amongst right thinking people. I can't see that it would, and obviously I exclude Chris Paul from this, as he thinks many things that are legal are wrong.

So my story is not an attack on Mr Khan, but on Chris Paul who insists all sorts of things are bad, but when it is pointed out to him that his own side does it seems to be a tad silent.


* According to the Times report the Electoral Commission are investigating the Muslim Friends of Labour. That does not mean there is any wring doing there, though obviously they may find some.

**Technically you can say something about someone which is true, and still be found guilty of libel. For example you can bring up a criminal conviction which is spent under the provisions of the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders act. There is a defence that to raise such a conviction is in the public interest, and also if I remember correctly the claimant would have to show malice.

Labour getting money from arms dealers shocker!

Labour is potentially about to get involved in a new sleaze row involving money. The Sunday Times reports that Labour has its equivalent to the Midlands Industrial Council which Labour party supporters have complained about bitterly.

It gets worse, however, one of the key figures in their equivalent, the Muslim Friends of Labour, Imran Khand has set up businesses with a Pakistan based arms dealer.

What would Chris Paul say? Chris who? You know, the Labour blogger who thinks Michael Gove can't be our shadow Schools Minister because he happens to have spent some time in private education. Alas Chris "double standards" Paul has not as yet called for Ed Balls to be moved whose whole secondary education was private.

Well, Chris also wrote this article about someone who had donated money to the Conservative party, and has links to the arms trade. Obviously Chris Paul will be be getting on his high horse about Labour getting dirty money. Or perhaps not, as he does seem to have double standards.

Blogging will be lite next week

As I will be on holiday.

Still, I can write the odd article from my phone.

Sorry about the lack of posts

hmm..

been busy at work.

Also need to write an article about an iritating zone alarm issue.

Yesterday I had been mostly fixing my computer

For some reason or other my computer collapsed yesterday.

Still, I had another one knocking around so have brought it up as a spare having copied over all the user settings and software.

So alls well that ends well.

Your top 20 political blogs

Iain Dale is running a competition to find the top 100 political blogs, instead of picking them himself. What he wants blog readers to do, is to list their top 20 political blogs, and email them to him your list to iain AT iaindale DOT com and type Top 20 in the subejct line or post them on the comments section of this article.

The closing date is August the 15th 2007.

As an incentive there will be a prize draw including all entrants, and the winner will get £100 pounds worth of political DVD's.

From this he will compile a list of the top 100, and it will go into a guide to political blogging.

Oh, and feel free to nominate me at number 1! :)

Sorry about the lack of posts, I have been busy

Well, busy keeping a close eye on Wimbledon and the Eclipse cup at Sandown park, making sure that I get free bets!

(I have done quite well on Wimbledon)

Ed Balls should not be Schools Minister says Labour blogger!

Yes, apparently Labour blogger, Chris Paul thinks that only those who have been in the state sector "can pronounce" on state schools, he said so here,* obviously he will now be campaigning to get Ed Balls replaced as Minister for Schools. Except of course he won't he was applying double standards and referring to the fact that Michael Gove had spent some of his education in the private sector (he also went to a state school) rather than the fact that Ed Balls went to an independent school.

Oh the double standards of the left.

Hat tip to Dizzy thinks, here.

*I will obviously ignore the point Chris Paul tries to make as it is daft. Yes obviously people with other experiences can bring their talents to different fields.

Felicity Jane Lowde jailed for 6 months today

According to this report in the Oxford Mail Felicity Jane Lowde jailed for 6 months today, been given a 5 year ASBO and has a restraining order against her. This follows on from persistent online harassment of Rachel North.

She was originally convicted in April in her absence as she did not attend court and had sacked her defence team. A warrant was issued for her arrest, hence the wanted campaign, and then arrested in an Internet cafe on Brick Lane on the 7th of June.

Regret ably there is no mention of treatment of help for any mental health issues.

Felicity Lowde did say she was appealing, a sentiment I do not share.

This blog is a year and a day old today!

This blog is a year and a day old today, has had 37,512 visitors and 54,865 page views and 2,175 comments!

I will be reproducing one or two early posts as some people seemed to have liked them, and there are a lot ore readers now than there were when I started.

Felicity Jane Lowde, Rachel North's cyberstalker Nicked!

According to the Oxford Mail police arrested her in an Internet cafe in Brick Lane, whilst someone kept her online and talking.

The Oxford Mail has this reporting it, whilst it has this prior to her arrest. Just read the comments in the second article and note the lack of posts defending her position since last night.

One does have to wonder? Or perhaps not.

She faces up to six months in prison, a £5,000 fine or possibly both. I suspect she could also do with psychiatric evaluation and possibly treatment.

Hat tip to Iain Dale and good news for Rachel North and all Felicity's other victims.

Update, 8th of June, 09:51

I have noticed that the Oxford Mal story has been edited and that the comments have gone missing from the second article. There were 115 of them.


Update 28th of June 2007 17:36

For the latest news on this story and news on the sentence please see here.

Sorry about the lack of blogging so far today

I have been fixing my car.

I will be back later though.

Off to a wine tasting in London

Well, this evening I am going to a wine tasting in London. Should be good. I will be blogging more later.

Wanted, Felicity Jane Lowde

Felicity Jane Lowde is wanted by police in connection with offences under the 1997 protection from harassment act, for stalking Rachel from North London.

She has been arrested, bailed, breached her bail conditions, been tried, in absentia and now there is a warrant for her arrest.

The picture It is circa ten years old. The police are unable to release her arrest photo, but say she has aged and put on considerable amounts of weight since it was taken.
Age 41 ( appears older). 5'8 tall.
Size 16/18 ( overweight for height)
Eyes brown/green with unusual squinting appearance in one eye

Hair mouse/light brown, possibly some grey
She usually uses internet cafes in London, usually between 4pm and 6pm.
Also likely to be found in public libraries and anywhere with cheap or free internet access. She periodically travels to North Oxford, where she lived before the trial

If you see her call Crime stoppers or the local police.

For more information see Rachel's post here.

Many thanks to Mike Rouse for the graphics, and Iain Dale for highlighting the issue here.

Update 28th of June 2007 17:36

For the latest news on this story and news on the sentence please see here.