Just found this on the BBC website, my particular favourite part of it is the quote from the tory official that say "As shadow immigration minister, Mr Green has, on a number of occasions, legitimately revealed information which the Home Office chose not to make public".
Now maybe its just me but I would think that if the Home office which is the organisation that is in charge of the fight against crime and terrorist activity as well as the Immigration Department has decided not to release something to the public then maybe its not a conspiracy maybe they actually have a good reason.
You know the sort of thing, ongoing criminal investigation, not wanting immigration rings to know stuff, you know the sort of thing whats it called again, aye that's right PROTECTING THE PUBLIC.
Clearly doing that is the last thing on this tories mind.
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Statement from the Prime Minister on the attacks in Mumbai
Gordon Brown has spoken of his shock and outrage at the terror attacks that took place overnight in Mumbai and pledged assistance to British nationals caught up in the violence.
Speaking to journalists in Downing Street, the PM said that British counter-terror officers were on their way to the Indian city to assist local authorities and that a crisis centre had been set up at the Foreign Office for concerned friends and relatives.
The PM said:
“I think I speak for the whole world - shock and outrage at the tragic destruction of innocent lives. I have already sent my sympathy and support to Prime Minister Singh of India and to say we will do everything we can to help the Indian government.
“Our first duty is towards British people caught up in this terror in Mumbai…it is too early to say any numbers for the numbers of people who are injured - we will give that during the course of the day - what I can assure you is we are doing everything within our power.”
A number of terrorist gunmen launched coordinated attacks in various locations in India’s financial capital last night, including at the Chatrapathi Sivaji rail station and the Taj Mahal hotel. Reports suggest that more than 100 people may have lost their lives.
The Prime Minister pledged to “root out terrorism” and called for the sharing of information between countries on the activities of suspected extremists. The world “has to come together to fight these terrorist groups”, he said.
The 24-hour Foreign Office helpline is +44 (0)20 7008 0000. More information can be seen on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website
Speaking to journalists in Downing Street, the PM said that British counter-terror officers were on their way to the Indian city to assist local authorities and that a crisis centre had been set up at the Foreign Office for concerned friends and relatives.
The PM said:
“I think I speak for the whole world - shock and outrage at the tragic destruction of innocent lives. I have already sent my sympathy and support to Prime Minister Singh of India and to say we will do everything we can to help the Indian government.
“Our first duty is towards British people caught up in this terror in Mumbai…it is too early to say any numbers for the numbers of people who are injured - we will give that during the course of the day - what I can assure you is we are doing everything within our power.”
A number of terrorist gunmen launched coordinated attacks in various locations in India’s financial capital last night, including at the Chatrapathi Sivaji rail station and the Taj Mahal hotel. Reports suggest that more than 100 people may have lost their lives.
The Prime Minister pledged to “root out terrorism” and called for the sharing of information between countries on the activities of suspected extremists. The world “has to come together to fight these terrorist groups”, he said.
The 24-hour Foreign Office helpline is +44 (0)20 7008 0000. More information can be seen on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website
News from Anne Begg MP
Dear Friend,
Are you fed up of Christmas shopping?
Do you want an excuse to get out of the library and also help the Labour Party in the process?
Then I have the perfect opportunity for you!
I will be conducting a leafleting session to deliver my Council Cuts Survey on Saturday 6th December, with a free lunch provided afterwards.
Everyone will be assembling at the Unison Office on Victoria Street (west end of Union Street) at 10am with the leafleting session concentrating on the Ferryhill, Rosemount, Peterculter and Queens Cross areas of the constituency.
While I realise that you will already be very busy with your studies at this time of year, all donations of time will be gratefully received.
Anne Begg MP
Are you fed up of Christmas shopping?
Do you want an excuse to get out of the library and also help the Labour Party in the process?
Then I have the perfect opportunity for you!
I will be conducting a leafleting session to deliver my Council Cuts Survey on Saturday 6th December, with a free lunch provided afterwards.
Everyone will be assembling at the Unison Office on Victoria Street (west end of Union Street) at 10am with the leafleting session concentrating on the Ferryhill, Rosemount, Peterculter and Queens Cross areas of the constituency.
While I realise that you will already be very busy with your studies at this time of year, all donations of time will be gratefully received.
Anne Begg MP
For our 50th post, an economics leson for Cameron
There's an excellent page at the labour homepage that dismantles the Tories ramshackle and disjopinted economic "policy". (Maybe George Osborne should spend more time thinking about the economy and less time with Russian businessmen.) Sadly David gets an F for this piece of work.
And through the power of the internet we can see quite how badly he did on this very site:
[Edit]: Well that was the idea at least, but it would seem that the blog isn't wide enough to display it properly.
Hopefully in the future we'll see a lot more of this excellent use of technology, and a fantastic and intuitive way of presenting the Labour message.
[Edit]: Well that was the idea at least, but it would seem that the blog isn't wide enough to display it properly.
Hopefully in the future we'll see a lot more of this excellent use of technology, and a fantastic and intuitive way of presenting the Labour message.
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
This week's schedule from the Club Secretary
For anyone not on our mailing list but still interested in the club this is the content of an e-mail sent out by peter, our Club Secretary:
Comrades [Editor: Peter going old school here]
Well here it is the eagerly awaited for weekly email from the Labour Club.
Just a short one this week as I know that lots of people are busy with essays.
The Big event for this week is our meeting on Friday at 5pm in the Hub, it will either be in room 2 or 3 which are situated round the back of subway. Our Guest is Johann Lamont MSP, Deputy Leader of Labour in the Scottish Parliament. So come along and if you have any questions for Johann I am sure she will answer them at the Q&A session.
The other big news is the Labour Students National Council the details follow.
So if you want to go, get in touch.
So see you all on Friday, remember 5pm in the Hub.
Peter
If anyone wants to contact us at anytime feel free to comment on this blog or send us an e-mail @ aberdeen[go away spambots]university[go away spambots]labourclub[go away spambots]@gmail.com.
Comrades [Editor: Peter going old school here]
Well here it is the eagerly awaited for weekly email from the Labour Club.
Just a short one this week as I know that lots of people are busy with essays.
The Big event for this week is our meeting on Friday at 5pm in the Hub, it will either be in room 2 or 3 which are situated round the back of subway. Our Guest is Johann Lamont MSP, Deputy Leader of Labour in the Scottish Parliament. So come along and if you have any questions for Johann I am sure she will answer them at the Q&A session.
The other big news is the Labour Students National Council the details follow.
Weekend of 13/14 December from 11:30am on the Saturday, and will close at 4pm on the Sunday. The event is a great opportunity for members to get together and meet people from across the country, hear from high profile speakers and participate in debates on issues clubs have raised. There will also be a series of elections for positions on Labour Students National Committee and the Labour Students Policy Forum, and the famed Christmas Social on Saturday evening.
The cost of the event is £30 for those requiring accommodation, and £10 for those who don’t. Club Chairs have all the relevant information regarding motions, elections and registering delegates, but please feel free to get in touch with us directly if you have any questions or require any further information.
So if you want to go, get in touch.
So see you all on Friday, remember 5pm in the Hub.
Peter
If anyone wants to contact us at anytime feel free to comment on this blog or send us an e-mail @ aberdeen[go away spambots]university[go away spambots]labourclub[go away spambots]@gmail.com.
The Labour Blogosphere: Blogorama I
I believe that Labour is the best party to lead Britain. I'm sure that a lot of people reading this agree with me. However, not everyone does. That's why communication of ideas and campaigning are so important in politics. The ability to reach out and affect the thinking of voters, and to persuade people to support you is key to any political campaign. During Barack Obama's year long campaign for the White House he was supremely successful at building up a grassroots network of supporters and fundraisers using the internet.
At the next general election, and especially as time goes by at future elections, the internet will play a far greater role in informing people about the policies of the Labour party, what we have achieved in office, and what we plan to do in the future. And that is what this post is about; using the internet to transmit ideas, mostly via blogging but also through e-mail and video.
At the Labour homepage you can access membersnet the homepage for members of the Labour Party. Here you can browse a directory of members' blogs. I think that the widespread involvement of members in actively discussing politics is something to be encouraged. So every Wednesday from now I intend, conditions permitting, to introduce the readers here to a new Labour blog. This new weekyl segment is to be called Blogorama.
For the inaugural Blogorama we are going to visit the remote, rarely travelled reaches of darkest West Lancashire, specifically the town of Bickerstaffe. The blog in question is the Bickerstaffe Record, which is written by the local Labour Councillor, a man whose supreme intellect and refined tastes are shown by the fact that he has read posts and commented on this very blog. ("One month on" and "Why do we do it?" for those who are curious.)
In particular I wish to draw your attention to a very good post he did in the last few days about unemployment figures. A topic which may seem very dry, but is of the utmost importance not just to those who have unfortunately lost their jobs, or are in danger of unemployment, due to the current global economic problems, but also to those of us that wish to refute the untruths propagated by the Tories and others. Specifically that the current economic situation is as bad as, or getting to be as bad as, it got during Thatcher's time in office.
That quote from the blog links back to a previous post he did on the subject which explains what the problem is with regards to the reporting of unemployment figures:
The Tories would like people to believe that Labour's strong record on the economy (In large part thanks to our extremely capable Chancellors) is not as solid as it seems. They aim to do this by their manipulation of statistics to make labour's record seem as dismal as their own, but as this post so ably demonstrated that just isn't the case. One of the major differences between Labour and the Tories as I noted in the post yesterday is the manner in which we react to unemployment and insecurity in the job market. We do something about it, the Tories simply close the shutters and sit snugly in the warm whilst those left in the cold have to fend for themselves.
Recently when John Prescott was in Aberdeen he gave an excellent speech about campaigning which was attended by members of the Labour Club. One of the things he stressed was getting the truth out about Labour's record in government. That's what this post from the Bickerstaffe Record does. It may not have the readership of a national newspaper but it is directed and engages with local people. All we need is a blogger in each constituency providing direct and accurate information about all that Labour has achieved and all we can achieve and to refute Tory and SNP misinformation, and we can make sure that we are ready for 21st Century campaigning, and we can make sure that we are ready to Go 4th and win again.
At the next general election, and especially as time goes by at future elections, the internet will play a far greater role in informing people about the policies of the Labour party, what we have achieved in office, and what we plan to do in the future. And that is what this post is about; using the internet to transmit ideas, mostly via blogging but also through e-mail and video.
At the Labour homepage you can access membersnet the homepage for members of the Labour Party. Here you can browse a directory of members' blogs. I think that the widespread involvement of members in actively discussing politics is something to be encouraged. So every Wednesday from now I intend, conditions permitting, to introduce the readers here to a new Labour blog. This new weekyl segment is to be called Blogorama.
For the inaugural Blogorama we are going to visit the remote, rarely travelled reaches of darkest West Lancashire, specifically the town of Bickerstaffe. The blog in question is the Bickerstaffe Record, which is written by the local Labour Councillor, a man whose supreme intellect and refined tastes are shown by the fact that he has read posts and commented on this very blog. ("One month on" and "Why do we do it?" for those who are curious.)
In particular I wish to draw your attention to a very good post he did in the last few days about unemployment figures. A topic which may seem very dry, but is of the utmost importance not just to those who have unfortunately lost their jobs, or are in danger of unemployment, due to the current global economic problems, but also to those of us that wish to refute the untruths propagated by the Tories and others. Specifically that the current economic situation is as bad as, or getting to be as bad as, it got during Thatcher's time in office.
"IT ISN’T! THE WAY UNEMPLOYMENT IS MEASURED HAS CHANGED, roughly by the same proportions that we changed from inches to centimetres, but which didn’t mean we suddenly got people who were 20 feet tall."
That quote from the blog links back to a previous post he did on the subject which explains what the problem is with regards to the reporting of unemployment figures:
"The BBC, then, carries as it’s headline figure the unemployment total (end of September) of 1.82 million. Responsibly enough, it also quotes the latest claimant count at 98,900, but this latter figure is likely to get less coverage in days to come as the media focuses in on the higher figure.
It’s important first to make the difference between the two figures clear. The unemployment figure (1.82 million) is based on the International Labour Organisation definition, which the incoming Labour government said it would use when it came into power in 1997. It is measured by the Labour Force Survey of (from memory 57,000)households, and even though it is based on a sample and there open to samplinig differences, it is generally reckoned to give a more accurate representation of unemployment because it measures the number of people who ‘want to work, are available to work, and are actively seeking employment’, whatever their benefit status (including those not claiming benefit).
As such, it is generally considered more accurate than the ‘claimant count’, which is simply the number of people seeking unemployment-related benefit, as well as being comparable internationally. For a summary of the differences between the two measures see here.
The important point is that the Conservatives used the less accurate claimant count when they were in government. Thus, when we talk about the ‘1 in 10′ jobless figure of the mid 1980s, we are referring to 3 million people on the claimant count alone. The ILO figure was much higher."
The Tories would like people to believe that Labour's strong record on the economy (In large part thanks to our extremely capable Chancellors) is not as solid as it seems. They aim to do this by their manipulation of statistics to make labour's record seem as dismal as their own, but as this post so ably demonstrated that just isn't the case. One of the major differences between Labour and the Tories as I noted in the post yesterday is the manner in which we react to unemployment and insecurity in the job market. We do something about it, the Tories simply close the shutters and sit snugly in the warm whilst those left in the cold have to fend for themselves.
Recently when John Prescott was in Aberdeen he gave an excellent speech about campaigning which was attended by members of the Labour Club. One of the things he stressed was getting the truth out about Labour's record in government. That's what this post from the Bickerstaffe Record does. It may not have the readership of a national newspaper but it is directed and engages with local people. All we need is a blogger in each constituency providing direct and accurate information about all that Labour has achieved and all we can achieve and to refute Tory and SNP misinformation, and we can make sure that we are ready for 21st Century campaigning, and we can make sure that we are ready to Go 4th and win again.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
The Tories say recession is good for you!
For those who don't know there is a Facebook group (link in the title) called Labour Campaign for a Fourth Term: Go Fourth (pretty self-explanatory I think). I would urge anyone reading this who has a Facebook to join up and show your support for a 4th term. As a member of the group you'll get regular updates from members of the Go 4th team such as this message, sent today, from John Prescott about the callous attitude the Tories have to the people of the UK:
Hello,
I had to share this with you to show that the Tories haven't changed. They're still the same old heartless Thatcherites who said there was no such thing as society.
Tory Health Spokesman Andrew Lansley - the man who frighteningly could be running our NHS in less than 20 months - has actually written an article on the Tory Party blog stating the following:
"On many counts, recession can be good for us. People tend to smoke less, drink less alcohol, eat less rich food and spend more time at home with their families."
Absolutely remarkable! These people never suffered the full heartless economic impact of the Tory Do Nothing strategy during the 80s and 90s recessions.
You may remember what Lamont said in 1992, with Cameron at his side.
"If higher unemployment is the price we have to pay in order to bring inflation down, then it is a price worth paying."
And John Major said "If it's not hurting, it's not working" – And he was a moderate Tory!
They've even dug up that old 1992 Tax Bombsell poster which may have helped them win the election, but was at the cost of 3 million unemployed and caused a great deal of damage to the roof of the public services.
As I said yesterday, there's clear water between our parties now.
Intervene for the good of the country and its hard working citizens or do nothing.
So do me a favour - forward this email onto your friends. Let them know how heartless these people really are and get them to join us on this Facebook Group.
Take care and remember to Go Fourth. I can’t wait to campaign even more!
JP
An absolutely spot on article, these quotes exemplify the Tories' attitudes. They have no idea what is means to struggle, for them a recession means cutting back on a few luxuries. They won't be counting every penny to try and stretch the weekly budget to cover enough food for their families, but that doesn't mean that they can't imagine what it would be like. And yet, they don't. They just don't, because they don't care about anyone apart from people like them. And that is why I will never, ever, vote Tory.
Hello,
I had to share this with you to show that the Tories haven't changed. They're still the same old heartless Thatcherites who said there was no such thing as society.
Tory Health Spokesman Andrew Lansley - the man who frighteningly could be running our NHS in less than 20 months - has actually written an article on the Tory Party blog stating the following:
"On many counts, recession can be good for us. People tend to smoke less, drink less alcohol, eat less rich food and spend more time at home with their families."
Absolutely remarkable! These people never suffered the full heartless economic impact of the Tory Do Nothing strategy during the 80s and 90s recessions.
You may remember what Lamont said in 1992, with Cameron at his side.
"If higher unemployment is the price we have to pay in order to bring inflation down, then it is a price worth paying."
And John Major said "If it's not hurting, it's not working" – And he was a moderate Tory!
They've even dug up that old 1992 Tax Bombsell poster which may have helped them win the election, but was at the cost of 3 million unemployed and caused a great deal of damage to the roof of the public services.
As I said yesterday, there's clear water between our parties now.
Intervene for the good of the country and its hard working citizens or do nothing.
So do me a favour - forward this email onto your friends. Let them know how heartless these people really are and get them to join us on this Facebook Group.
Take care and remember to Go Fourth. I can’t wait to campaign even more!
JP
An absolutely spot on article, these quotes exemplify the Tories' attitudes. They have no idea what is means to struggle, for them a recession means cutting back on a few luxuries. They won't be counting every penny to try and stretch the weekly budget to cover enough food for their families, but that doesn't mean that they can't imagine what it would be like. And yet, they don't. They just don't, because they don't care about anyone apart from people like them. And that is why I will never, ever, vote Tory.
Monday, 24 November 2008
One Month On...
It is now one month since we started blogging and I think we've made a good start. After only 31 days we are coming up on a half century of posts.
In order to build on this start I would like some feedback. What do people like about the blog, what don't you like, what do you think we should cover? Please feel free to leave any comment that you like.
Also, this is a collaborative effort. If you want an article about a particular topic or you want to write your own blog post please e-mail us at aberdeenuniversitylabourclub@gmail.com.
Thank you and please comment.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
A mixed bag - a few entertaining articles from my blogroll
Britain's* Black Women Overcome Pay Gap. I found this article through Feministing's Weekly Feminist Reader, and i thought it seemed interesting.
*In the original article it says "England's" but it's referring to Britain as a whole so I altered it.
Also at that site I found an article entitled McCain to Be in the Obama Cabinet?
And from the Friendly Atheist is news of a church that can be summed up simply by its name; Madonna of Orgasm Church.
A quote from the priest; "The orgasm is God, the orgasm should be worshiped".
And finally, again from Feministing's round up is "The Bitch and the Ditz", a very good article about the two women in this year's Presidential election. I'll let you guess which one is which.
Friday, 21 November 2008
Blogging and Google Reader
I have a confession to make; I love Google. I love the search engine, I love Gmail, I love the fact that they supported the no vote on Proposition 8 (If anyone want to know what Prop 8 has to do with the Labour Club and why I care about it, it's because it's about equality and that is an important issue to Labour.) but most of all I love Google Reader.
Google Reader collects the posts of all my favourite blogs in one place for me to read. Best of all it means that I can easily stay up to date with whatever is being posted here or at the Labour Party's own news feed. That's why I would recommend Google reader to the readers of this blog. It's an easy way to keep up with Aberdeen University labour Club's news and events; plus with the Labour news feed you can stay tapped into what the Party is saying and doing.
Aside from talking about Google reader, I'd also like to hear about the readers of this blog. What are your interests? What other blogs do you visit online?
To encourage a bit of disclosure here's my own personal blog roll (categories are in bold, my favourites are in italics):
Political
A Comrade in Ellon
Aberdeen University Labour Club
Bitch Blogs
Boiling Point Blog
Feminism/Popular Culture
Feminist Daily News
Feminist Finance
Feministing
johannhari.com
Labour Party News
ScienceBlogs: Politics
Science
Angry Astronomer
Bad Astronomy Blog
Good Math, Bad Math
Science Blogs: Physical Sciences
The Unapologetic Mathematician
erv
Real Climate
RESONAANCES
Skepticism
Secular Philosophy
a geocentric view
Friendly Atheist
Greta Christina's Blog
Pharyngula
RichardDawkins.net
Sam Harris
Daylight Atheism
UDreamOfJanie
Webcomics, I'll just list these to save space: Darths & Droids, The Last Days of FOXHOUND, The Perry Bible Fellowship, xkcd.com, Erfworld, Order of the Stick, QC RSS, Ctrl+Alt+Del, VG Cats.
So, now you know a little bit about me. What about you, the reader?
Any comments about blogging, my blogroll, this blog or just in general are welcome.
Google Reader collects the posts of all my favourite blogs in one place for me to read. Best of all it means that I can easily stay up to date with whatever is being posted here or at the Labour Party's own news feed. That's why I would recommend Google reader to the readers of this blog. It's an easy way to keep up with Aberdeen University labour Club's news and events; plus with the Labour news feed you can stay tapped into what the Party is saying and doing.
Aside from talking about Google reader, I'd also like to hear about the readers of this blog. What are your interests? What other blogs do you visit online?
To encourage a bit of disclosure here's my own personal blog roll (categories are in bold, my favourites are in italics):
Political
A Comrade in Ellon
Aberdeen University Labour Club
Bitch Blogs
Boiling Point Blog
Feminism/Popular Culture
Feminist Daily News
Feminist Finance
Feministing
johannhari.com
Labour Party News
ScienceBlogs: Politics
Science
Angry Astronomer
Bad Astronomy Blog
Good Math, Bad Math
Science Blogs: Physical Sciences
The Unapologetic Mathematician
erv
Real Climate
RESONAANCES
Skepticism
Secular Philosophy
a geocentric view
Friendly Atheist
Greta Christina's Blog
Pharyngula
RichardDawkins.net
Sam Harris
Daylight Atheism
UDreamOfJanie
Webcomics, I'll just list these to save space: Darths & Droids, The Last Days of FOXHOUND, The Perry Bible Fellowship, xkcd.com, Erfworld, Order of the Stick, QC RSS, Ctrl+Alt+Del, VG Cats.
So, now you know a little bit about me. What about you, the reader?
Any comments about blogging, my blogroll, this blog or just in general are welcome.
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Senatus Populusque Britannicus
-Dennis
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Wise words from Michael Palin there. I have been inspired to quote them by this article by Johann Hari in the Independent. It would seem that Prince Charles has decided that his position, achieved by birth, gives him the knowledge and expertise to make pronouncements on a variety of issues which he is at best partially familiair with.
However, as much as I could say about Charles' anti-science positions, including amongst others his campaigning to have "alternative" medicine practiced in the NHS (alternative because it hasn't been shown to work) at the expense of the taxpayer. But no, this post is instead a more general one. This is about the existence of the monarchy itself.
There are those who defend the monarchy, they say that spead over the 65,000,000 people in the UK the cost of the monarchy is very low. They say that the monarchy is a big tourist attraction and the Queen in an important ambassador for this country.
Well I say, I don't care. I don't care how much the monarchy costs, I don't care how much public work they do, I don't care how many tourists they bring in. I don't care because fundamentally for me this argument is not about logisitics, it's about ideals. It's about the idea that a person's status can determined not by their character or their achievements or by their own hard work, but instead that position can be determined simply by their birth. Be that birth "high" of "low".
I find it repugnant that in a modern country there is a family that by birth is set above all others. That there is a person who simply by birth has the right to decide who becomes PM, has access to government papers, and has direct access to a bully pulpit to propagate their ideas to the public and to politicians, no matter how asinine they may be. And not forgetting that it is a fundamentally discriminatory organisation; it is now 179 years since the passing of the Catholic Relief Act 1829 allowed catholics to sit in the House of Commons and yet still being a catholic, or being married to a catholic, makes a person ineligible to become the monarch. That is the reality of the monarchy, and such a thing as no place in a modern society.
I find it repugnant that in a modern country there is a family that by birth is set above all others. That there is a person who simply by birth has the right to decide who becomes PM, has access to government papers, and has direct access to a bully pulpit to propagate their ideas to the public and to politicians, no matter how asinine they may be. And not forgetting that it is a fundamentally discriminatory organisation; it is now 179 years since the passing of the Catholic Relief Act 1829 allowed catholics to sit in the House of Commons and yet still being a catholic, or being married to a catholic, makes a person ineligible to become the monarch. That is the reality of the monarchy, and such a thing as no place in a modern society.
What I'd like to know is what everone else thinks...
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
BNP List
One of the main stories that has been about for the last 24 hours has been the publication of the BNP national membership list. Included on the list, which I saw before it was removed from the net, was a family from Aberdeen with the 3 children as members, the oldest of which was 18. Now it seems that some of the members are not happy that their membership of a party which believes that all people of colour should be asked to leave the UK has become public knowledge.
Now I talk about asked, but forceable repatriation is what they actually want; to force people to leave the country of their birth to return to a nation that many of them have only ever visited to see family.
I did that last year, I went to visit the place where my family comes from, its now in another country, so as my family are immigrants does that mean that I should be sent home. In my case it was Donegal in the Ireland but you see the point.
We are a nation of immigrants, we have become the country we are thanks to the work done over countless generations by people from different lands to build our country, from Ireland from Europe from Africa from Asia; they came to make Britain Great, and now a bunch of nationalistic nutters want to send them all away because they don't meet their view of what British is.
So I have a suggestion; if the members of the BNP don't like the way the UK looks why dont they leave, why should the rest of us have to go as its our country, it has its faults but its ours and we love it for good or bad, shame they don't.
Now I talk about asked, but forceable repatriation is what they actually want; to force people to leave the country of their birth to return to a nation that many of them have only ever visited to see family.
I did that last year, I went to visit the place where my family comes from, its now in another country, so as my family are immigrants does that mean that I should be sent home. In my case it was Donegal in the Ireland but you see the point.
We are a nation of immigrants, we have become the country we are thanks to the work done over countless generations by people from different lands to build our country, from Ireland from Europe from Africa from Asia; they came to make Britain Great, and now a bunch of nationalistic nutters want to send them all away because they don't meet their view of what British is.
So I have a suggestion; if the members of the BNP don't like the way the UK looks why dont they leave, why should the rest of us have to go as its our country, it has its faults but its ours and we love it for good or bad, shame they don't.
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Parallel Processing
>If you look at the bottom of the screen you will see a brand new gadget. That shows the amount of processing time given to the World Community Grid by members of the brand new Aberdeen University Labour Club WCG group. [Currently 0 but then it is a brand new group.]
I will let their own words stand as an introduction:
In short, by becoming a member of World Community Grid you can use the spare processing power of your computer to help perform research on numerous excellent causes: fighting cancer, AIDs and researching higher yield varieties of rice amongst many others.
All you have to help is sign up and download the software. [Joining the team Aberdeen University Labour Club would be nice too.]
I will let their own words stand as an introduction:
World Community Grid's mission is to create the largest public computing grid benefiting humanity. Our work is built on the belief that technological innovation combined with visionary scientific research and large-scale volunteerism can change our world for the better. Our success depends on individuals - like you - collectively contributing their unused computer time to this not-for-profit endeavor.
In short, by becoming a member of World Community Grid you can use the spare processing power of your computer to help perform research on numerous excellent causes: fighting cancer, AIDs and researching higher yield varieties of rice amongst many others.
All you have to help is sign up and download the software. [Joining the team Aberdeen University Labour Club would be nice too.]
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Whata Mistaka To Makea
I found this story in the Scotsman, and I mean if the SNP can't even buy the Saltires From Scottish companies then so much for them looking after Scottish Industry.
Friday, 14 November 2008
Isn't it strange how two Republican Senators who won in the Polls this year now find themselves losing in the recount.
Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens, recently found guilty on seven felony charges for making false statements, won back his seat in the United States senate in this years election; or did he?
It was found shortly after the election that a few ballots had been mislaid, and so not counted...
...and when I say a few, I mean over 90,000. [That's about 29% of the total number of votes cast.]
Yes you did read that correctly, 90,000 uncounted ballots surfaced from the æther. Amazingly the newly counted ballots have so far demolished Steven's 3,257 vote lead and he now trails his opponent, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, by 814 votes.
Now in Minnesota, despite Norm Colman's best efforts to throw out votes, Al Franken's deficit in the polls has dropped to a mere 204.
It was found shortly after the election that a few ballots had been mislaid, and so not counted...
...and when I say a few, I mean over 90,000. [That's about 29% of the total number of votes cast.]
Yes you did read that correctly, 90,000 uncounted ballots surfaced from the æther. Amazingly the newly counted ballots have so far demolished Steven's 3,257 vote lead and he now trails his opponent, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, by 814 votes.
Now in Minnesota, despite Norm Colman's best efforts to throw out votes, Al Franken's deficit in the polls has dropped to a mere 204.
So, yeah.
This is Obama's chance to end the Star Wars fantasy
Another well written and thought provoking article from the Independent's Johann Hari:
The US has spent $160bn, only to increase the nuclear danger to itself and the rest of us.
The world is still pleasurably suffering from Woah-bama whiplash. Did he really win? Are we all awake? And would anybody mind if he starts a few months early? The need for decisions is rapidly piling up – and one of President-Elect Obama’s first choices is whether to bring to an end the strangest story ever told in American politics.
It is the tale of how a man with Alzheimer’s Disease came up with a physically impossible fantasy based on a B-movie he once starred in – and how the US spent $160bn trying to make it come true. These billions succeeded only in making some defence companies very rich, and making Russia point its nukes at Poland and Britain once more. Oh, and if Obama doesn’t decide to close this long-running farce now, it will make one more contribution to world history: the number of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the world will dramatically increase.
Read the rest here.
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Keith Olbermann on the passage of Proposition 8.
Keith Olbermann here delivers a Special Comment on the passage of Proposition 8 in California. I don't always agree with Olbermann, see for example his ridiculous rant about Senator Clinton supposedly raising the spectre of assassination, but in this instance he's spot on.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Arbeit Macht ein Douchebag
Just a quicky today beacuase I'm tired and I have work to do. Anyway over at Scienceblogs there's a fun story about some right wing stupidity.
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Obama Predict-o-meter
[Edit: I decided to remove the names for privacy reasons.]
Those of you who were at the Obama night may remember (or maybe not that whisky Peter brought was pretty lethal) that we had a predict-o-meter (excel spreadsheet if you must know). Well here's how many electoral votes everyone thought Obama would get.
AB 367
PS 337
CD 305
TPD 325
DL 327
AD 335
MF 320
NM 345
The final result for Obama was 365. So the winner was.......ME!!! Yay, go me. It had seemed like Peter would win, but North Carolina turned at the last minute and gave me a memorable victory.
[Pause for applause.]
While we're on the theme of the election, here's a picture of the US electoral map if the election had been decided by young voters.
Not a happy map for the Republican Party I think you'll agree.
Those of you who were at the Obama night may remember (or maybe not that whisky Peter brought was pretty lethal) that we had a predict-o-meter (excel spreadsheet if you must know). Well here's how many electoral votes everyone thought Obama would get.
AB 367
PS 337
CD 305
TPD 325
DL 327
AD 335
MF 320
NM 345
The final result for Obama was 365. So the winner was.......ME!!! Yay, go me. It had seemed like Peter would win, but North Carolina turned at the last minute and gave me a memorable victory.
[Pause for applause.]
While we're on the theme of the election, here's a picture of the US electoral map if the election had been decided by young voters.
Not a happy map for the Republican Party I think you'll agree.
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