Blogs

Conservatives slam parish council proposals for London

A shadow minister for London has slammed the goverment's recent proposals on reforming local goverment in London as a 'triple tax whammy.' Jacqui Lait's comments come as the goverment publish a white paper outlining proposals to introduce parish councils in London along with a parish council tax. Councils however, have fought back saying that there is not enough money to fund a third tier of goverment in London. The outspoken MP criticises the plans saying that London already has too many tiers of goverment.

Countdown to Des

A veteran entertainer has landed the role on a popular afternoon TV quiz show. Des O'Connor, 74, will replace Countdown's current host Desmond Lynam who announced he will step down after just 18 months in charge. Grandstand host Lynam quit after he was unhappy with commuting some 250 miles from his Worthing home in West Sussex. Comedian and entertainer O'Connor, who lives in Buckinghamshire, said he had had a 'fun' day in the production studios in Leeds working with arithmetic brain Carol Vorderman. Lynam took over from Richard Whiteley in 2005 after his tragic death.

Gunners fire down Reds

Fiery Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looked on top of the world tonight. His team romped home to a 3 - 0 victory over struggling Liverpool, who have still yet to break the away trap. Wenger's team win is a rest bite from all the antics of last weeks confrontation with West Ham boss Alan Pardew. His team's performance in the first half was dubious but the deadlock was broken when Mathieu Flamini managed to weave the ball past the Liverpool keeper to score only his second goal in the premiership.

The word on the street...Roll Deep

Chris Gaynor

Ambitious plans to eradicate the scourge of gun crime has been launched by the metropolitan police.

Operation Trident are turning their attention to music by introducing band Roll Deep'and music video director, Jake Nava to deliver an anti gun message.

'Badman,' is the music track which will attempt to make young people aware to the affects of gun crime. Nava, brought up in Hackney, but now living in America has directed music videos for artists such as Kellis and Beyonce.

X Factor judges continue slanging match

It was business as usual for the feuding judges on the X factor. But Louis Walsh came out on top this week as both his pop bands stay firmly centre stage. Two of Simon Cowell's pop acts were competing head to head to stay in the show. Ray continued his swing theme and Nikita sang 'Let's Dance,' but in the end was voted off by her mentor Cowell. The PR man was left speechless as two of his acts went head to head. In the end, he said: 'These two should never have been in the bottom two tonight.'

Tories unveil potential limits on immigration

Fiesty Tory leader David Cameron has unveiled potential plans to limit the number of economic migrants coming into this country. Plans for a quota style system to control numbers of migrants crossing our borders could be a welcome relief for thousands of voters. Former Tory leader Michael Howard backed a quota system at the last general election but was hammered in the polls. Cameron's shift from gimmick politics to potential sensitive policy could be the key to the Tories grabbing power at the next general election.

Fireworks: a pain in the backside

It takes on a whole new meaning of a 'pain in the backside.' A 22 year old man suffered serious internal injuries after trying to light a firework up his rear end. The Sunderland prankster was fooling around on Bonfire Night and it is claimed he had been trying to copy a scene from a movie or television programme. He was attempting to launch a Blackcat Thunderbolt Rocket up his bottom which backfired and injured him in the colon. A spokesman for the North East Ambulance Service said that the prank could have proved fatal.

Savannah Miscellany 2

Tourist Information.

In one of the tourist information places in downtown Savannah there is a skeleton sat on a chair, fully-dressed, wearing a cap. With the one exception - ie. that he is a skeleton - he looks like any other American.  As I browse through the books, leaflets and tourist tat, I keep noticing him out of the corner of my eye.  I keep thinking that someone is watching me ... but it's just a stupid skeleton.

  Tourist Information II.

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE - AN APOLOGY

Phil Simms writes: In recent years, in common with all other weblogs, religious fundamentalists and Saddam Hussein, I may have given the impression that the American people, following the election of George Bush as governor of Texas in 1995, George Bush's election to President in 2001 and his re-election in 2004, were in some way completely and utterly stupid and were about to commit yet another cataclysmic error of judgment in the mid-term elections.

Democrats nail Bush in mid term elections

Democrats are celebrating a sweet victory today in the mid term elections. The party that battled hard over the state of the war in Iraq seized the House of Representatives and are just a seat away in Virginia from grabbing power in the Senate. Across the nation people cast their ballot as the political landscape in America changed from Republican to Democrat. George W Bush junior is still in power but now faces tough opposition as the Democrats will have the will to scupper his conservative legislative process.

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