http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4851594.stm

Lets hope a result that engenders a compromise and peace settlement occurs.

Wandoo's poll tonight asked....

Should British civilians be prevented from entering Iraq?
Yes
83%
No
17%

Norman Kember's Wife said he was "silly" to go to Iraq. Mr Kember himself has said that he needs time to reflect as to whether he was "foolhardy or rational".

My immediate thoughts on it all, is that there needs to be serious humanitarian aid work in Iraq however, Norman Kember and his Christian group seem to be entirely ignorant and foolish in what they are doing/have done in Iraq.

The very fact that his church apparently asked armed forces to only intervene when they were sure that no one would be hurt is beyond stupidity and had the potential to compromise the operation. Further Mr Kember’s actions have cost the tax payers an absolute fortune considering that his house has been under 24hr security for months and this is likely to continue now he is back. I was one of the millions of people who said a silent prayer for him when his capture was announced, however I am still highly critical of his beliefs and total lack of an ability to grasp reality.

If groups are going over there to help the people who need the support such as the children and the sick, then as long as they are aware of the threats and well trained then I think they should be allowed into Iraq. But to those who go to Iraq preaching peace and Christianity to people who at the moment are not ready for it need to seriously look at themselves and their own beliefs.

Kinda strange this blog paid no attention to Golden Brown's recent budget, I guess people were busy - that kind of time of the term. Anyway, more expansive coverage could have been found on other blogs and websites. I will just say I think David Cameron did very well in the Conservative "response", touching on all the main points.

One thing that really caught by eye though was the below graphic from Conservative Home:



It separates income taxed and income we take home, and shows how much of the year we effectively work solely for the government. The graph I think really puts into perspective just how obscene our current tax levels are - and to make matters worse, shows how "tax freedom day" will go back 3 days this budget, to June 3rd.

I demand a picture of Steve Vaught to be placed on every school notice-board, on every fitness clubs changing rooms and in every fast food restaurant in the world. He may dismiss attention, he may not see himself as a hero but Mr Vaught should become a role model to everyone. Slightly drastic one might say to exploit an ex 30-stone heavyweight however sometimes we need inspiration.

In an age when we are kicking racism out of our society, ending poverty worldwide and preaching about cleaning up the environment let us also add the issue of obesity to this list. Jamie Oliver was a start, but cutting obesity goes so much further than just eating the right food. Its about reversing the un-defendable and horrendous number of school playing fields that are sold every year. Every school should have immediate access to a playing field and should not be held to ransom to use it! I used to live next door to playing fields. Now half of it is closed off, another has been built over with an astro court, which you have to pay to use. This is unacceptable, god knows what my mates and I would do now if we were kids and wanted a kick about as we did most days...

It shouldn't stop there. Why are children aloud to sit out of PE lessons because they forgot their kit? Surely it cannot be too hard to buy a couple of spares and keep them in the school to then shove at the kids who try to get out of sport. And why don't comprehensives have more inter group sports? It is time we get serious about this and stop pretending we are doing something when quite clearly we are not!

And this is why Steve Vaught really touched me today. A man that despite his size has set off on a personal mission and using exercise to burn off the pounds. And wait a minute it actually seems to be working....no need for any of these money making schemes that can cure you in a month. Nah all it took was a bit of exercise..

The 2012 Olympics games gives Britain a real chance. I fear unless a political party starts to take seriously the issue of obesity then the opportunity of a life time will be lost. But its more than that, its not just grasping the issue and encouraging kids to play sport, its about providing all children and adults safe areas to exercise with. Now that is something that I believe no government is serious about and that is a very sad day for all.

Rant over…

Hi guys,

Just good luck to Paul in his role as Chaormand and Jo and hopefully Adam if selected as well as he offerred valid ideas and like me has a track record in the real world.

James

David Cameron announces new proposals for campaign reform:

• A cap on donations from individuals, trade unions, corporations and institutions set initially at £50,000. This will end parties' reliance on a small number of large donations and address concerns about donations buying honours or influencing policy;
• Tax relief on donations of up to £3,000;
• A ban on all forms of loans to parties, except from financial institutions on fully commercial terms, should be imposed. The Electoral Commission must oversee these to ensure that they cannot become disguised donations;
• Additional state funding based on the number of votes a party received at the previous General Election;
• Off-setting reductions in the cost of politics by reducing the spending on General Election campaigns from £20m to £15m. We also offer a number of further proposals for reducing the cost further;
• And substantially reforming the honours system and appointments to the House of Lords.

Its this kind of thing that just, well, angers me. Its not just that capping how much private individuals can give to parties is in my mind no different than restricting their opinions, nor that state funding of political parties is inherently wrong (parties are individuals, not tools of the state. Plus can you imagine the conditions imposed so that parties with "wrong" opinions don't recieve public money?) Rather, what gets me is the pure opportunism involved, yet another attempt to leap onto a bandwagon.

This concentration on "sleaze" is a substitute for proper politics. New Labour should be voted out of office because it steals our money and spends it appaulingly badly, because it is selling out British independence, because it is destroying our education systems, because it is asksing our armed forces to fight and die across the world without being shown the slightest bit of respect, because it is damaging our culture, because it is crippling the dignity of the individual, and because it poses an utterly disgusting and obscene threat to our most basic civil liberties. Playing off the corruption inevitable of any administration after being in office such a long time as a strategy is entirely missing the point, and is pathetic.

Want to get ahead in politics? Or simply curious to know the byzantine and bizarre rules of the game? witty and illuminating insights into how to scale the Westminster ladders while avoiding being bitten by the snakes.

Gyles Brandreth became the Conservative MP for Chester in 1992 and three years later became a junior member of John Major's government. He lost his seat in the Labour landslide of 1997. His insight of Parliament and government was revealed in his acclaimed diaries of the Major years. And over four series of Sunday Supplements comes more advice for the wannabe politician.

Click on the link to listen to all his Sunday Supplements. You will learn so much about the workings of Westminister for all you wannabe Memebers of Parliament.

Rehman Christi to join the Conservatives

Ok I remember RC while at uni and this is welcome news. Rehman was driven to win and is determined with a succesful track record in elections since being called to the Bar. As an NUS delegate he was interested in the future at all times and was in the impossible position of calling

Does this mean that those who opposed the rightist ctte of those days stand a chance in the modern Tories. Or to put it bluntly can someone who has been sectioned get selected for Westminster or the assembly (me)?

Roll on the welsh parliament and a federal britain with an elected senate to counterbalance Blairs malignancy and lords [packing for payment. The last person who did this was LLoyd George.

Follow the link, read the post, and comment below!

After looking at the excellent new website Liberty Central, I come across this post originally made on a blog called two4tea. The post suggests New Labour's greatest legacy may be a written British constitution:

The UK has had a long history of muddling through in constitutional matters.

The primary reason that we have existed so long with an unwritten constitution is that there has been broad consensus on what limits the unwritten words place on the executive, parliament and the Judiciary. This is no longer the case.

[...]

When the inevitable abuses from the currant populist attacks on civil liberties become apparent, then there will be a backlash and a search for ways of protecting the people of the UK from a repeat of such stupidity.

One of the primary advantages of a written constitution has over an unwritten one is that it takes a large consensus to get a change. One person can not decide the “rules have changed” and suspend jettison constitutional safeguards that have existed for hundreds of years. But if there is a broad consensus that there is a need for change then the changes can be enacted.

There is something I just can't put my finger on, some abstract feeling which makes me think there is something "unBritish" about a US style written constitution. But then, what this government is doing, pissing all over hard fought liberties parliament once took the king to war over many centuries ago to establish, makes me think it would be by far the lesser of two evils.

Looking at the current state of our civil liberties, all I could do to end on is say this: If you're not OUTRAGED, you're not PAYING ATTENTION!!!

The death of the Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is a shock to many, it was for me anyway! Whether he committed suicide, was poisoned or died of natural causes is not really what I really want to point towards. Rather, I believe that we should look at this case and compare it with Saddam Hussein, learning from our mistakes.

I was speaking to someone in the party during the conference that said the worst thing Britain and America did during the Iraq war was not to kill Saddam when they found him. I see where he is coming from. As Jack Straw said about Milosevic: “What is important is that the region, the people of Serbia, now draw a line across Milosevic's past and his life, which was a malign influence on the people of Serbia and the whole region” Comparing this with Saddam, when a dictator is still alive people are still fearful and this causes great tension in society.

However I personally happen to disagree with my colleague. I think that people of Iraq and the Serbians will only break this fear when their dictator is found guilty and put behind bars for the rest of their life.

I’m also very pessimistic about international law and the ICC. The situation of the two dictators is so complex that there are too many loop holes over legitimacy, sovereignty and the rule of law. From 2001 till yesterday proved this by failing to bring justice. There was simply too much money spent on Milosevic and I think only the same thing will happen with Saddam.

We need to learn from this if we really are to succeed in Iraq.

On March 18th, Aber CF will be holding a meal at the Marine hotel with Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Cheryl Gillan. The cost will be £18.50 and cheques must be made out to the Aberystwyth Guild of Students. Anyone (Chris) who has not yet paid can you e-mail me asap so we can arrange a time and place to meet.

Cheers

The young and charismatic new leader like David Cameron seems to be putting Labour in a ‘spot of bother’. We all hear in the media that Gordon Brown is going to take over from Blair sooner or later. However, the current Brown is simply no match for Cameron, so the Labour spin doctors at work to try and ‘spice’ him up.

Have you not noticed? The new shoes, the new suits, and the snazzy new tie! But there is a problem: it doesn’t work and it isn’t just me.

Take a look at the Populus poll:-



These are statistics we should be proud of and let’s hope they only get better. The new Brown looks as though he’s putting on a fake image. I think it wont be long till people realise that’s he’s screwed this countries economy up and if he was given PM status he would do an even worse job….

There is something I have to contend with though. I was listening to Radio 4 today and they said there is a clear difference between them. Cameron will spend a fortune to make his home economically green, while Brown will make a speech in America realising without them there is no point. I cant wait till these guy’s clash head on!

As Guido Fawkes Blog correctly says – “It is going to take more than Gordon smiling in a pink tie methinks.”

One of the issues David Cameron has rightly sort to place at the heart of the Conservative agenda is that of trade fairness and world poverty. A seeming lack of interest in the party on this issue has definately had a negative impact on how the party is percieved by the general public.

However, it is not very clear on what exactly needs to be done. The Monday just past, the 6th March, started 'Fairtrade Fortnight', which will see 2 weeks of campaigning to get people across the country to buy FairTrade - and at Aberystwyth University itself, I am told by the 'People and Planet' guys, will include attempts to get FairTrade goods into vending machines across campus.

I am sure the campaign will do well, especially here where students try to do play their part. There is no doubt of how much people care. However, we should be clear what our actions are and how they are intended to help before we press on .

You see, I am a huge believer in free trade. I do not believe Adam Smith's lessons on the mutual benefits of voluntary exchange somehow end at the waters edge. As the West has shown, the way to lift developing nations out of poverty is capitalism, capitalism and more capitalism.



Now, is this view compatable with the ideas behind FairTrade? At first glance I see no reference to protectionism in any of the campaign material or the website, so that is a good thing (although if i'm wrong on this please comment). Rather the idea seems to be to get local companies and multi-national corporations to agree to pay above market prices for farmer produce. This is voluntary and not related to government.

So will it work, and is this a good thing? I am not totally convinced. Playing by the market is always ultimately the best way to succeed. But then what on earth could be wrong with voluntarily agreeing to pay desperate third world farmers above market prices for their produce?

I haven't made up my mind on FairTrade, and would be grateful for any additional information on it so that I can decide. But regardless, the need to have this debate, to fully analyse different methods and policies, cannot be disputed. We do care about poverty, we just need to know what to do about it

... Instead of singing “Baa baa, black sheep” as generations of children have learnt to do, toddlers in Oxfordshire are being taught to sing "Baa baa, rainbow sheep".

C'mon guys what are you doing? Sheeeeesh

The Right Honourable Sir Menzies Campbell CBE QC MP is the first party leader in over 40 years to bear a title. Accepting his knighthood for 'services to Parliament' in 2004, Sir Ming had no way of knowing then that Charles Kennedy would be forced from the job of leader of the Lib-Dems over drinks problems. So the knighthood was meant to cap his career after being appointed aCBE in the 1987 New Years Honours List and becoming a Privy Counsellor in the 1998 New Year Honours.


The last titled leader was Sir Alec Douglas-Home who, in 1964, lost a 100-seat Tory majority to Labour 'moderniser' Harold Wilson. Like Campbell, Sir Alec was a 60-plus Scot with little political experience outside foreign affairs. Make your own judgement.

David Cameron has now decided that he wants a Wind Turbine on the top of his house. However, this has also come with considerable opposition. “Neighbours of Mr Cameron fear that his plans to install a wind turbine on his roof will blight "the trendy Notting Hill area of west London with 'architectural acne.’” This really is a sight to be seen!

“The D400 StealthGen model, alleged to be Cameron's choice of turbine, is matt black with translucent blades, and is, says Peter Anderson from manufacturers Eclectic Energy, virtually invisible when turning.”

The problem that I am worried about, although if I lived next to him it probably would be the blight of seeing one, is that are these really things he means? Does he really want to be come environmentally friendly or are they just political stunts to get back in power? Well to be awkward I would suggest both.

Not only this, but as an anti-Wind Farm protestor I believe these things would hardly do anything. “A single turbine can provide up to 20% of the electricity needs of an average family, depending on how windy it is.” And that is the biggest problem of them all “how windy it is”. Taking Notting hill as a classic example in London there is simply not enough wind for this happen. However, it's more the thought that counts and I think it’s a good idea!

First the Welsh Conservative Party Conference - an excellent time had by all I'm sure, some great speeches, and some awesome drinking. My tie is utterly ruined from beer stains and burnt holes from ash, I was introduced to 'The Game', and to top it off may I say good luck to the person who first discovers my underwear and shampoo that I forgot to retreave from under the bunk beds in our flat.



To business: the highlight of the weekend was definately David Cameron's speech. Its always a great experience to see the party leader address the faithful. However being the irritating cynic I am, lets take a look at Cameron's reference to our party as the "modern, compassionate conservative party"

What does he mean by this? I doubt anyone particulary knows. But perhaps we could get a clue from looking at the politican who first used the phrase "compassionate conservative" at the forefront of an election campaign - George W Bush



Now how do "compassionate conservatives" behave on the domestic front?

- Become the highest spending president in US history, even beating Lyndon Johnson, and he had the Great Society and the Vietnam War to contend with.
- Create the Department of Homeland Security and the PATRIOT Act, bestowing unprecedented powers on the government and treating every citizen like a potential terrorist
- Restrictive new laws on the right to free speech and demonstration, creating "free speech zones" and other monstrosities
- Great new education initiatves such as 'No Child Left Behind' which display distain for localism and decision making close to the people
- Protectionist policies and steel tarriffs which hurt trade with developing countries

Now David, if this is your inspiration, if this is what you mean by "compassionate", if it is these kind of things that you want to replicate in Britain... then I for one don't want it

Liam Fox has told reporters that there could be a re-run of the Falklands War that happened in 1982. Speaking at the Scottish Party conference he makes the claim that Argentina is causing considerable tension: “doubling the size of their air force and fitting new missiles to their fighters and ground attack planes”

This is extremely worrying because Labour has been cutting back on defence spending. If you take the 1982 war we still found it considerably difficult because of the geographic positioning of the country Let alone today with the de-sized army!

However, like usual the Labour government denounce such a threat. “A Foreign Office spokesman said a fishing vessel had been boarded recently in international waters off the Falklands but there was no record of any serious security concerns.” Or if you read other sources: “Government advisers are demanding Tony Blair warn the Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner to keep his hands off”

Personally with the commitments of the British forces at the moment and the overstretched T.A. who have been re-assigned to help the current operations, I don’t think we are capable of securing the legitimate British territory. It’s early days yet but it is possible that such a war could happen. Even Venezuela’s president has called on Tony Blair to return the Falkland Islands to Argentina, accusing the Prime Minister of being a "pawn" of Washington. Although take this with caution as he is an outspoken critic of Tony Blair and his “imperialism” –but I don’t mind!

Today witnessed the devastating news for journalists that Annie's bar situated within the Houses of Parliament will be closed down.

"Apparently the only bar in the palace where journalists and politicians can meet on an equal footing just doesn't make enough money, so a review of catering facilities has concluded it must go". So why has it stopped making money? Well I think one should look towards the Labour PArty who banned their MP's going there due to the fear of them interacting with Journalists.

The bar famed for being the only place where politicians can meet with journalists informally and in comfort, has also raised significant money for charity, specifically through its annual pool contest.

For those outside parliament, this might seem a tad trivial, but for me it represents the way that Labour runs both its own party and the country as a whole. The bar which has done so much for raising money for good causes and promoting democracy has been dismissed due to Labour’s total fixation with control.

And so it is, the most youthful party in politics appoint a leader aged 64. King Ming has done it. I would like to be the first member of this blog to send my congratulations both to Ming and his loyal band of followers. A genius decision and long may he remain.

Only two days ago I sat in the kitchen preparing a bacon butty whilst listening to radio 5 live. And who was to come onto the radio...a youthful, intelligent, energetic and quite beautifully spoken man in the form of Simon Hughes. I once argued that he would take the Party so far to the left that it would be political suicide electing him. But listening as I did I found myself transfixed by what he had to say, as he spoke with confidence on a range of issues most notably of his beloved football club Millwall FC. It was at that point that I thought, Conservatives would be in trouble if Hughes won. Not only would he had clearly defined the Liberal Democrats policy manifesto but he would also have appealed to many voters with his laid back and approachable vibes.

Alas all my worries have gone. King Ming will lead the Liberal Democrats with honour and respectability, he will be whiter than white and carry a reserved and dignified manner. Unfortunately for him he is leading a party that is heading very quickly down hill. An older leader who preaches more center ground policies, I don't think Lib dems have thought this one through.

This is essentialy full on plagerism but its worth it on our blog because its very funny!



His wife Tessa Jowell may have been feeling a little happier this morning but David Mills was definitely having a bad car day.

He left his house to be greeted by the traditional scrum of photographers, cameramen and reporters and shouts about his business dealings.

To the confusion of all he said "check this out" and added the Italian word "strumentalizzazione", which apparently translates as manipulation.

Then he drove off in his silver BMW, running over the foot of a cameraman before smashing his wing mirror into the same unfortunate cameraman's open rear car door.

"I wonder who's going to pay for that then?" he asked - in English.

Good question.