Category; Politics, Finance, Bristol
Bristol Council, in the South West of Britain, seems to have money trouble. It’s been revealed by the BBC that it is planning to raise £50 million in debt to finance a variety of projects – click here for the BBC website report.
That’s £50 million for the ratepayers of tomorrow, and for years to come, to pay for. Read the rest of this entry »
Category; Politics
North Korea has, in Kim Jong-il, a second departed leader to add to its pantheon; I was in North Korea a few weeks ago and, while it’s difficult to pick out a single strand from the fabric of that experience, nothing can prepare you for the extent to which Kim Jong-il and his father, Kim Il-sung, dominate the lives of the people.
Category; Politics
Two Political leaders have died within a few hours and the contrast between them could not be greater: Vaclav Havel and Kim Jong Il.
While I never quite met Havel, I got close to it and to adapt Cartier Bresson’s phrase about photography; it was a decisive moment. Read the rest of this entry »
Category; Finance, Politics, Bristol
It takes a throwaway remark by a part-time local politician in one of Britain’s smaller cities to illustrate that while the eurozone crumbles and the Western world’s economy faces deep recession, no lessons have been learned.
They are still at it.
The councillor responsible for transport in Bristol was talking about a new scheme to charge visitors to park their cars where it currently is free. This is what he had to say to the local BBC:
“He hoped the move would raise some £200,000 per year – allowing £3m in capital to be raised.”
BBC News 26 November 2011 – click here for the report; Ashton Court Parking
So how does £200,000 turn into £3 million? I’ve already discussed how this works here and then here, and here it is in operation. Read the rest of this entry »
Category; Middle East, Politics, Rowan Laxton
Rowan Laxton apparently has a new role: Website mareeg.com is reporting that he has been appointed Senior Political Officer to UNPOS - see here. It’s the UN office for Somalia.
A search of the UNPOS site and press releases reveals nothing, and a search of the UN site reveals nothing. The news does explain why he was meeting Somalis in Starbucks recently - click here – Read the rest of this entry »
Category; Criminal Law, Politics
© Getty
Someone I’ll call Suzanne was on my mind recently, while society watched, horrified, as the certainty of order disappeared.
Throughout Britain, smiling as they smashed in shops to take what they felt like or simply burn the place down, I saw lots of Suzannes.
I first met Suzanne because she’d been charged with theft. The childrens’ home she lived in, or rather was based in, had called the police after she had demanded a pound for an ice-cream and, when they had refused because of some rule infraction, she had gone and taken the pound anyway. They called the police because she took a pound. And the police came. And they arrested her. And the CPS charged her. And she was sent to court. Because she stole a pound for an ice-cream. Read the rest of this entry »
Category; Politics, Criminal Law
There’s an anguished debate in the UK, and much puzzled scrutiny from abroad, about the nature of the recent civil disturbances in the UK; it’s usually referred to as ‘rioting‘, but they weren’t really riots.
People can’t see past political motivation for such disorder; the Syrian Ambassador to the UN was even crowing that they mirrored what was happening in Syria – see here. Well, he would, woudn’t he…
It’s very simple. They were Flash Mobs with looting and/or destruction; a Flash Yob.
