Judge Garzon in hot water over Franco investigation

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8606910.stm

I know this is slightly outside of my remit but I am truly appalled that this man is being targeted by the Spanish judiciary. He seems to be a man who cares deeply about the atrocities committed by Franco's forces and who seeks to expose them despite fervent attempts by right wing groups and the Spanish legal system to impede him. Read the story and hail his efforts, because he is almost sure to be censured and possibly lose his position. That seems to be inevitable for people who seek the truth and look to create a world without blinkers.

Aldi: German anti-trade unionists? Say it ain't so!

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2004/584/32414

This is an interesting article about Aldi and their now infamous anti trade union stance. The common argument you hear when you tell people about Aldi's basic lack of workers per store and absence of any significant trade union is that Aldi employees are paid loads and if you look at it from that standpoint, its true, they receive a greater financial reward than your average Tesco or Morrison's employee. In fact, they earn on average 20% more than workers in other supermarkets! Fantastic, you might say, well done Aldi for fostering a sense of employee loyalty through such a progressive pay scheme!

However, this ignores the fact that for every 600 metre square store, Aldi employs only 3 workers on a shift. That's three workers to man the checkouts, sort out the produce, stack the shelves, take in deliveries, clean up spillages, help with customers and all the other thousand and one myriad jobs that come up in a supermarket.

Anyway, the article outlines it in more detail. It's got quite a partisan tone but, hell, objectivity is for newspapers and the Beeb, not us on teh interwebz.

A stabber every 51 minutes? We've all seen the yellow boards....

http://knifecrime.blogspot.com/2009/05/knife-crime-statistics-for-london-may.html

Here's a link to a pretty cool blog that does the business, searching out various bits of generally un-discussed information regarding knife crime. The statistics are pretty scary but not surprising, which is the sad thing.

Also, I'm back after a two week hiatus due to a dead power supply in my computer! Working on my next post, so it should be a doozy, I hope!

Citric idiot, the radio excerpt!

http://www.robertpopper.com/2010/02/27/gordon-brown-calls-lady-a-citric-idiot/

Watch the video on this channel. News values at their finest.

"Robin, this is extraordinary!"

You citric idiot!!!

To alleviate the otherwise super-serious tone of this blog, I've thrown in a funny article I read in Private Eye about Gordon Brown's supposed citrus hurling antics. By supposed of course I mean completely false and swallowed hook, line and sinker by the Murdoch rags, The Sun and The Telegraph, which leads with the spectacular headline:

"GORDON BROWN ACCUSED OF THROWING A TANGERINE"

A hoax perpetrated by Robert Popper that became surprisingly popular in illustrating that zesty brute Brown's vicious bullying streak. Except it didn't happen. Modern journalism. The fourth estate is truly alive and well.

http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=street_of_shame&issue=1257

P.S. here is the original article in full....oh wait, the Telegraph seems to have taken it down for some mysterious reason...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/gordon-brown/7297028/Gordon-Brown-accused-of-throwing-a-tangerine.html

Waltham Forest Cllr Akram sets his stall out...with permission, of course.

http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.com/2010/03/councillor-afzal-akram-and-community.html

Councillor Afzal Akram has announced a crackdown on small groups setting out stalls in the Town Square of Waltham Forest, an East London borough with a slightly overbearing awareness of public safety if Cllr Akram's example is anything to judge by. The reason behind groups now having to ask the council for permission to use the land for stalls is that it endangers the safety of the public. Presumably sitting behind a desk on a chair carries some unknown lethality that only Cllr Akram is aware of.

The small piece photocopied into the blog that I have linked to is rather amusing but it does hint at another encroachment into peoples right to protest and the right to hold a stall in a publicly owned space.

Local councillor censured over trying to prevent attacks on women.

http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/newshastings/Hastings-councillor-censured.6144206.jp

Honestly. This made me want to weep into my glass of water and form a saline solution of sadness. Cllr Matthew Lock, a Tory representative and a lead member of Hastings Borough Council, has been disciplined for passing on concerns from a prospective member of the County Council about the lack of street lights on Clinton Crescent, St Leonards, where there had been a large number of attacks on young women. Cllr Lock was told there was no money in the county council budget for the lights and so took the matter to borough council offers, who have now arranged a walkabout prevention scheme for the street. This would seem like a fine example of local councillors dealing quickly, effectively and commendably with a potentially dangerous situation for their constituents but no, apparently it is an act that is frowned upon by some within the Council.

Cllr Lock's indiscretion, in the eyes of Hastings Borough council, appears to be that the councillor had letters sent to residents, praising Simon Corello (the prospective councillor) for his actions in bringing the issue to him. This was found to have "compromised the political neutrality of officers" of the council.

To suggest that Cllr Lock has acted to further his fellow Tory Simon Corello's career seems to be a joke to me. The man has acted with the utmost respect for his constituents and should have the right to praise Mr Corello's actions. Political neutrality is one thing but to avoid saying "this man has served you well and prevented young women in your area from being potentially attacked" seems to be ridiculous. Politicians are not always worthy of praise but in this case, disciplining an honest and responsible councillor for recognising a colleagues efforts and achievements seems maddening and counter-productive.

Would it have been better if Cllr Lock had stayed silent on the issue and done nothing for these women who had and might have been attacked? For his political career and in the eyes of Hastings Borough Council, maybe. A sad statement about local council politics in the UK.

Save Streatham Ice Rink Petition + Tesco Duplicity

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/keep-streatham-skating.html

Here is the petition for saving Streatham Ice Rink, in case anyone is interested in signing up.

This article is quite hilarious really. Tesco wanted a revision of the 2007 plans for the rink, which was originally intended as a hub for the local area. Citing such nebulous reasons as "The Credit Crunch" and economic downturn, they became increasingly reluctant to guarantee the safety of the ice rink to local campaigners.

"The Credit Crunch"? Tesco has shown itself to be Crunch-proof, with sales in 2009 topping £1billion a week and yearly profits of more than £3billion. Trading profits climbed 10% during the darkest days of the recession, for God's sake.Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy even suggested that the recession was "bottoming out" in the Guardian article at the bottom of this entry.

It seems more likely that Tesco's reticence to maintain the ice link as owner is profoundly misplaced. What could have been a coup for Tesco's (developing the local area, creating a hub in an area that desperately needs a developed centre) has been revealed as a marketing sham. Tesco seem to have stalled the development/reparation of the rink so that it becomes shabby and devalued in the eyes of the community.

"Imagine how happy they will be" you can imagine the Tesco marketing buffs saying to their shareholders, "Imagine how happy they will be when we get rid of that old, dilapidated, defunct ice rink and replace it with a gleaming new Tesco Express!".

What a fantastically unique vision for the Streatham community indeed.

Streatham Ice Rink threatened by Tesco and local council.

http://streathamlibdems.org.uk/news/000097/keeping_ice_rink_open_is_nonnegotiable_chris_tells_tesco.html

This is my new blog, where I hope to bring people stories that do not receive wider attention from the media but are of local and national importance. These stories may seem trivial (my first one is about the potential closure of an ice rink I used to live nearby) but we have to hold to account scheming corporations and morally lax local councils. This is a job the free press should be doing but is neglecting to do.

It's a sad state of affairs when a 23 year old with an email account has to bring this up to get a wider exposure for this sort of story.

Anyway, click on the link and read this article. I will be commenting on this soon and adding a little bit of extra information. Congrats to the Liberal Democrats in Streatham for fighting over this one!

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