United Kingdom

Griff Rhys Jones isn’t laughing about a solar farm coming his way.

The actor and comedian Griff Rhys Jones has criticised plans to build a £20 million solar farm in the countryside near his home as “cack-handed and opportunistic”.

Mr Rhys Jones said that the scheme, which would be Britain’s largest solar farm and power between 4,500 and 5,400 homes, was part of a “mad series” of schemes by the Government and accused ministers of “riding roughshod” over localism.

Plans for the 94-acre site in Suffolk have been submitted to Babergh District Council and are under discussion by its planning committee. Hive Energy, the company behind the scheme, said it would help meet the Government’s targets on renewable energy and produce the equivalent power of 12 wind farms.  Read more »

In the UK authorities have raided petrol company offices on suspicioun of price collusion. If it is happening overseas there is a fair to middling chance that some sort of collusion is happening here.

Motorists may have paid thousands of pounds too much for their petrol over the last decade, after two of Britain’s biggest companies were raided on suspicion of manipulating oil prices.

MPs and energy experts tonight raised fears motorists have been “taken for a very expensive ride”, after officials searched the offices of BP and Shell for evidence of price-rigging.

The companies are suspected of distorting the oil price since 2002, meaning drivers have potentially been ripped off for more than 10 years.

Over that time, petrol prices have risen dramatically by more than 80 per cent to around 135p per litre.  Read more »

The Chinese cyber army are at it again, this time they have been busted.

Chinese cyber spies have been caught trying to steal the secrets of Britain’s most sophisticated combat jet, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

A covert unit within the Chinese Army has been using highly sophisticated cyber weapons in a desperate attempt to acquire classified information about the stealthy Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

Manufacturer Lockheed Martin claims it is thwarting tens of thousands of computer attacks every week to keep secure secrets about the jet – due to be in service with the Royal Navy and RAF by 2018.  Read more »

We think our politicians are troughers, well get a load of the UK politicians and how they want to extend the trough.

MPs have called for prices of alcohol to be slashed at Commons bars.

Despite prices for alcohol being kept cheaper than a nearby Wetherspoons pub at the four Palace of Westminster bars, MPs have suggested prices should be linked to pubs outside of central London to make them cheaper.

At the moment prices are linked, and kept lower, than a nearby Wetherspoons in Victoria Street, with pints of John Smith’s bitter costing £2.60 and Becks lager £3.20 – cheaper than many London pubs.  Read more »

Bereft of a navy, either sunk or turned turtle Argentina is now resorting to harassing cruise ships to try to make a point over the Falkland islands.

Britain has accused the Argentine government of being responsible for escalating tensions in the Falklands.

Four cruise lines recently cancelled scheduled visits to the islands following intimidation from  Left-wing groups and unions.

But new reports suggest the Argentine navy’s own coastguard is harassing ships in Falklands waters.

The British government believes the move marks an escalation of President Cristina Fernandez  de Kirchner’s campaign to ‘strangle’  the Falklands economy.  Read more »

There are some out there who think name suppression and a culture of silence is important when people are arrested. It is the same belief that leads celbrities and sports people before the courts to suddenly become afraid of their own names.

The other school of thought is that by naming suspects it could bring other victims forward. This is certainly the case in the UK where on-going investigations into celebrity sex fiends is cutting a swathe through the celebrity ranks.

The Stuart Hall case shows why suspects must be named when arrested or charged, open justice campaigners said yesterday.

At the time of his arrest, the shamed presenter’s lawyers criticised the Press for identifying him, citing the Leveson report which called for a ban on naming suspects held by police.

But Lancashire detectives confirmed that publicity surrounding Hall’s arrest led to further victims coming forward.

The former BBC radio and TV star, who had initially denied the allegations, later admitted a string of sex offences against girls.

Philip Davies, a Tory MP on the Commons culture committee, said: ‘This is a prime example and perfect reminder for people as to why an open system of justice where people are informed about who’s been arrested or charged is so important.

‘It can encourage other victims to come forward and make sure those people who are guilty of offences are brought to justice.

‘By maintaining any secrecy over arrests or charges, the only people who benefit from that are criminals who could use it to get away with crimes they have committed.’  Read more »

Now that Margaret Thatcher has died many of her famous lines are being recounted and you can really see just how effective a good sledge can be.

Edward Heath, who Thatcher deposed as the leader of the Conservative Party, had been powerless against the miners and their feared leader Arthur Scargill. When the Conservatives decisively won the election of 1979, Thatcher was unleashed. She said of Scargill, “Poor Arthur, he’s out on a limb, and all I have to help him with is a chainsaw.”  Read more »

The green taliban would have us all believe that fracking is incredibly dangerous and a huge risk…but is it?

The union bosses are getting touchy, and are now issuing orders to the Labour party.

Union boss Len McCluskey demanded the sacking of three Blairite members of the shadow cabinet yesterday as Labour’s biggest paymaster sought to impose his far left policies.

The boss of Unite threatened Labour with the loss of millions of pounds of donations unless Mr Miliband purges moderates and lurches to the left.

Mr McCluskey also boasted that he has stitched up the selection of candidates within the Labour Party – a process that has enraged more moderate Labour figures.  Read more »

Labour follows closely behind the UK in its policy making. In the UK they have the Fabian Society and a branch has been formed here in New Zealand for hard core Labour lefties.

Selwyn Pellett, Bernard Hickey and David Parker et al are all either members or contributors of the Fabians in New Zealand. One wonders if they will take the lead of the UK and implement a policy like that proposed over there…raising taxes off of the back of those filthy rich pensioners?

Pensioners’ taxes should increase, their benefits be cut, and a tax on property wealth should be introduced in order to share the pain of austerity with today’s hard-up workers, a think-tank said today.

The income gap between pensioners and workers has shrunk massively in the last few decades, so taxes should be raised on those in retirement, the Fabian Society said.

Middle-income working households enjoyed an income 93 per cent above that of middle-income retired households when Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, but that figure is now 37 per cent.

High-levels of home ownership among older people means the older generation are in effect far better off, as middle-income workers’ wages now stagnate and they cannot afford to buy a home.  Read more »