Odds & Ends 17/7/08

More things which may have been overlooked - - -


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The Treasury admitted on Wednesday [9/7] that almost half of all 
drivers will be hit with significant rises in Vehicle Excise Duty 
(VED) on cars with larger engines
Less than 20 per cent will be better off because of tax cuts on cars 
with lower emissions.
(Yet last month in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister told 
David Cameron, the Tory leader, that if he looked at the VED plan, 
"he will see that the majority of drivers will benefit from it.")
(Telegraph 10/7/08)
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Tempers are said to be running high [amongst Labour MPs over the 
Vehicle excise duty row]  and Mr Osborne decided to have a go in the 
Commons and came up with a line with must be contender for best quip 
of the week.
"Do we have to wait for Heathcliff to come down from dithering 
heights before he abandons this disastrous plan?"
(Politics Home 10/7/08)
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Poll reveals that the public support plans [what plans?]  to 
introduce a nationwide youth curfew to help combat knife crime.  The 
Home Secretary due to outline plans for new parenting programmes, 
fresh police powers and shock warnings to youngsters [Eh? That a 
policy?]   .  As another two men die and a festival-goer lies in 
hospital, the Government rejects calls for custodial sentences  
(Sunday Times  13/7/08)   [If ever anybody needs locking up it's 
knife carriers -cs]
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Sats results delayed until September
Thousands of teenagers will have to wait until September to receive 
their Sats results after a string of administrative errors delayed 
the marking of exams. [Remember 2 weeks ago the delay was going to be 
"a week" ? ALL goverrnment computer projects are disasters -cs]  
(Telegraph 15/7/08)
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An ex-Belgium government
It has resigned. Now that it has ratified the constitutional Lisbon 
treaty, it is no longer needed   (EUReferendum Blog   15/7/08)
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Family escapes turbine tumble
A sleeping family had a lucky escape when a 16ft bladeibroke free of 
a wind turbine and smashed through the roof of their house.
The Chinese-built turbine, one of 11 built with European funding [eh? 
-cs] then fell apart and crashed to the ground.   David Campbell, a 
poultry farmer in Belfast Northern Ireland, said  the damage was done 
during a windy evening.
He said: "It was like a bomb hitting the roof of the house. It cut 
through the roof like a chainsaw"  [This is becoming commonplace.  
YouTube carried a video of a turbine breaking up in the same way! -
cs]  (Telegraph 15/7/08)
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Why the wait for the Standards Commissioner's inquiry into Gordon
Brown?
(- - - -) I noted that the inquiry into Caroline Spelman's payment of 
a nanny with Commons allowances won't be published until the autumn.
But what about the Standards Commissioner's investigation - 
instigated by Tory MP Greg Hands - into Gordon Brown for his alleged 
failure to declare that he was sub-letting a taxpayer-funded office 
in his constituency to his local Labour Party?
The Commissioner's inquiry began in February yet there is no sign of 
a report five months later.
"The inquiry is still going on," is all a spokesman for the 
Commissioner would say yesterday.
Why on earth is it taking so long?
(Telegraph Three Line Whip 16/7/08)
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Police get three hours to respond to 999 calls
Police will be told they must respond to urgent 999 calls within 
three hours and less urgent calls within three days, according to a 
leaked Government report.
The new targets are more than 60 times longer than the current 
targets used by some of some of the UK's forces.
At present each police force sets its own response target times. (the 
Metropolitan Police aims to respond to 90 per cent of urgent calls in 
just 12 minutes and 90 per cent of non-urgent ones within an hour)
(Telegraph 16/7/08)
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Illegal immigrants slip into Britain on army convoy
LONDON (AFP) - Five illegal immigrants were caught at a British 
military base after stowing away in a convoy of army vehicles 
returning from Kosovo, police said Thursday.- - - - - - - - - - were 
discovered Tuesday by soldiers at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks, in 
South Cerney, in western England.
Gloucestershire Police said they are believed to have climbed on 
board the convoy returning from Kosovo at the French port of Calais.
- - - - - - - the lorries were driven by civilian contractors being 
supervised by soldiers. The immigrants were found after protective 
canopies on the trucks were removed.
The five were - - - - - - handed over to the immigration authorities. 
Senior army officials have ordered a review of security arrangements 
at the base. [It's not at the base, idiots.  It's at Calais! -cs]  
(Yahoo News 17/7/08)