A Literate Cynic..

Re the recent Newsnight/ Saint Emily bias story, BBC clearly #SorryNotSorry Definitely time to end the grossly unfair licence tax! "Thanks for registering a complaint. We would like to make absolutely clear that Emily Maitlis was not ‘removed’ or ‘suspended’ from the programme on 27 May, despite much speculation to the contrary. She herself has tweeted that she ‘asked for the night off’.  The BBC must uphold the highest standards of due impartiality in its news output. We reviewed the entirety of Newsnight on Tuesday May 26th, including the opening section, and while we believe the programme contained fair, reasonable and rigorous journalism, we feel that we should have done more to make clear the introduction was a summary of the questions we would examine, with all the accompanying evidence, in the rest of the programme. As it was, we believe the introduction we broadcast did not meet our standards of due impartiality. Our staff have been reminded of the guidelines....

And a rebuttal of comments by 'George the Poet.. [Mr Cameron's remarks about…]  the painful legacy of colonialism could not be further from the truth and they reveal a disappointing lack of historical judgment. The British Empire in India, known as the Raj, was the greatest experiment in paternalistic imperial government in history. By the time the British left India in 1947 they had given the subcontinent a number of priceless assets, including the English language, but also a structure of good government, local organisation and logistical infrastructure that still holds good today. Far from damaging India, British imperial rule gave it a head start. At the centre of this was the Indian Civil Service, the 1,000 strong "heaven-born" group of administrators that ran the country. Their role in laying the foundations for strong, efficient government in India has never been accorded the respect and admiration it deserves. While history has recorded that the ICS w...

Letter to my MP on the present #BrexitShambles.. " Dear Ms Whately I don’t write often to my MP, but in view of the complete shambles that has become of the UK’s departure from the EU, I have to put ‘finger to keyboard’! I believe very strongly that there now remains only one ‘Brexit’ option acceptable to the 17.4 million people who voted to leave the EU and that is for the UK to leave as soon as possible and deal on World Trade Organisation terms with the EU until new trade (and other) agreements can be made with it. Whilst the EU has never truly negotiated with us in good faith - and our negotiating stance has been at best feeble - Parliament has repeatedly failed to make firm decisions on - or move towards - our departure and it is clear to most people that a great many MPs, not least a number of Conservatives including the Speaker, are trying very hard to prevent any meaningful Brexit at all. Despite the protestations of the Remain camp, both sides and all voters kne...

Why, oh why does the left seem so desperate to see North-Western Europe overrun by migrants from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, North Africa and the Horn of Africa and points South and East? By most measures and certainly in comparison to the regions whence the migrant streams originate, North-Western Europe is wealthy, prosperous, safe, socially, educationally, technologically and industrially advanced. It offers a fabulously high standard of living, with free healthcare, free schooling and damn near full employment. Minorities enjoy rights across Europe that they would not even dream of in most of the countries of origin of the migrants arriving today. Equality of gender, sexuality and race and freedoms of expression, assembly and religion are well established. The rule of law works pretty well. In contrast, the regions from where hundreds of thousands are setting off on often expensive and perilous journeys towards this perceived utopia are under-developed socially, industrially and ...

Mrs Ann Barnes Police and Crime Commissioner Kent Police Force Headquarters Sutton Road Maidstone Kent ME15 9BZ 15/ 8/ 2013 cc: Ian Learmonth – Chief Constable cc: Beverley Newman – Head of Legal Services Dear Mrs Barnes Information Sharing Agreements with RSPCA I understand from media reports that Kent is one of a number of UK police forces that has signed an information sharing agreement with the RSPCA. I should like to express my very serious concerns that an organisation, which is not an official prosecution authority and is only able to bring private prosecutions over instances of animal cruelty, should have access to a vast range of personal information about individuals. This, I understand, includes information about age, employment, home address and details of parents as well as details of a person’s vehicle(s), police history and details of any firearms licensing. I believe there is no legal basis whatsoever for providi...

Older, none the wiser and UKIP have given the Tories a fright. Good.