Tom Jackson Online

Manchester Proactive Policing

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:30:00 +0000

New video footage shows the moment officers from Greater Manchester Police's Tactical Support Unit caught up with looters after a night of violence in the city.

The officers have no hesitation in bundling their criminal suspects from their bicycles into an undignified heap on the ground, throwing in a few baton strikes for good measure. I commend them for their hardline approach and hope they don't hesistate to use the same force tonight if trouble persists.

Their tough tactics follow the Prime Minister's stern warning yesterday that mindless criminality would not to be tolerated on the streets of Britain. Directly addressing those at the centre of violence, theft and arson the PM warned: "If you're old enough to commit the crime, then you are old enough to face the punishment."

David Cameron addressed the nation again this morning, confirming the Government's resolve to dispense swift justice and meet the needs of the police. He confirmed senior police officers were already authorised to use baton rounds and water cannon could be deployed within 24 hours if needed.

With 16,000 Met Police officers strategically positioned around the capital the streets of London were much quieter last night.

Beneath Contempt

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:12:00 +0000

This amateur video footage is being broadcast by the television news channels this afternoon.

It shows a young man lying wounded in the street surrounded by a pool of blood. As he stands, apparently helped to his feet by a bystander, it becomes apparent that blood is coming from his mouth. He is clearly dazed and confused by whatever has just happened.

Just then another bystander calmly unzipped the injured lad's backpack, rummaged around the contents and then stole some personal electronics.

A truly despicable act of criminal exploitation.

The Met Police has this afternoon published CCTV images of people they want to speak to in connection with London's violent disorder.

London Riots: If I Were Cameron

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:53:00 +0000

For the third consecutive night terror reigned on the streets of London with criminals smashing, burning or stealing anything in their way.

Shops were looted, cars and homes burnt, years of priceless family history and hard work erased at the hands of arsonist scum. They indiscriminately targeted and wrecked property with such speed and ferocity that outnumbered police stood powerless to act. Like opportunist vermin they grazed the streets looking for easy pickings simply because they could.

I worry that the law abiding majority will see these images of carnage on their TV screens, the police stood impotently agog, and decide to take the law into their own hands. Vigilantism, though I'd completely understand their sentiment, could lead to an even greater escalation of violence as criminal retaliation came to the fore.

Prime Minster David Cameron is chairing a meeting of COBRA this morning. He will be advised by some of the sharpest minds in the business, yet they will be dipping their toes tentatively into unchartered waters. Never before has spontaneous violence on such a massive scale, orchestrated by mobile media, swept the streets of our cities.

There's no doubt that the Government has to take tough and decisive action, but they will want to avoid upping the ante by flooding the streets with riot shields and armoured vehicles.

If I was the PM this is what I would be doing immediately:

1. Recall Parliament: We might need to make rapid new legislation to deal with the unfolding situation. All MPs are to be back in Westminster within 24 hours.
2. Call curfew: Anyone on the streets of London without reasonable cause (e.g. medical emergency or legitimate employment) after 9 pm faces arrest and prosecution.
3. Authorise greater force: The police would be authorised to proactively target and disable (literally if necessary) those clearly identified as criminal aggressors. The public would completely understand and accept if petrol bomb and stone hurling yobs were bundled from the streets. Justice must be seen to be done. The images of unchallenged violence and looting is as damaging as the actions themselves.
4. Advise the judiciary: The courts are to deal with cases swiftly. Those found guilty of mindless criminality are to face the full force of the law with ruthless deterrent sentences. So what if the prisons are full? Imprison them in overcrowded squaller.

Good luck, health and happy hunting to the police.

Pandora's Box Releases Evil Over London

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:26:00 +0000

Tonight I am ashamed to be British.

Thousands of criminals are terrorising the streets of our capital. Their destructive rampage has seen windows smashed, homes burnt, shops looted and the innocent majority terrorised in their own homes.

Hardworking law abiding people stand helplessly as their properties and livelihoods are engulfed before their eyes. Irreplaceable memories, belongings and peace of mind disappear in flames as the police stand by seemingly doing nothing.

Tonight a very grave situation is unfolding on the streets of London. Decisive action must be taken to stop the continuing terror of these rampaging thugs. Their primeval animal instincts demonstrating the very worst of humanity.

They commit their heinous acts because they know they can. The laws of this nation, eroded by years of political pandering to minorities, impotent to distinguish between what's right and wrong. The fundamental human rights of the victim come after those of the aggressor. The law excessively enforced on the compliant majority, yet habitually flouted by the criminal minority.

That this abhorrent minority integrates seamlessly into society is an offence to all right minded British people. That they accept our hospitals, schools and welfare state with one hand, yet destroy that same society with the other is an outrage.

Pray that good people are safe in their homes tonight.

Tonight I am ashamed to be British.

Tottenham Riots

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 11:10:00 +0000

The streets of Tottenham saw the worst civil unrest in a generation last night, with hundreds of troublemakers committing arson, theft and public disorder on a massive scale.

The protests stem from the death of local man Mark Duggan last Thursday, who was killed in an armed confrontation with Metropolitan Police officers after one of their colleagues was shot. The circumstances surrounding Mr Duggan's death are the subject of an ongoing Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation.

Mark Duggan... making funny finger gestures.

Several hundred family and friends of Mr Duggan gathered for what was billed as an evening of peaceful protest outside Tottenham Police Station, which sadly degenerated into an all out riot as darkness fell.

News of the trouble broke shortly after 10 pm last night, with the 24 hour news channels carrying live coverage soon after that. By midnight Tottenham High Road was strewn with burnt out vehicles, shattered glass and broken concrete as several of the nearby buildings burnt helplessly. Missiles, including petrol bombs, rained down on police lines as the protest escalated into the early hours.

Buildings burn on Tottenham High Road.

Hooded louts were seen goading the police and hurling bricks at the passing riot squad vans and fire engines.

Demonstrating the worst of humanity, local criminals exploited the chaos by looting the homes and businesses of their neighbours. As morning broke whole families, including children too young to know the wrongness of their actions, were seen pushing trolleys of stolen goods away from looted shops.

A middle aged woman calmly removed stolen trainers from JD Sports, took them from the box and slipped them onto the feet of her son right before the camera crews. Elsewhere ordinary hardworking families were left destitute as the remains of their homes and belongings smoldered into dust.

A family outing to steal from JD Sports.

I find it rather sickening that the animal instincts of criminal scum come to the fore with such spontaneity. The sad thing is that the police know who the majority of these people are, but are bound by red tape and inane political correctness from dispensing rapid summary justice. If last night's rioters ended up in traction today they wouldn't be so keen to reoffend tonight.

Tonight the police will be ready for them and I wish them the best of luck for a safe and productive hunt.

The End of the World

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 00:01:00 +0000

Britain's leading Sunday tabloid rolled off the presses for the final time last night, as the News of the World came to a sudden and premature conclusion.

The newspaper, famed for its hard hitting investigative journalism and barbed headlines, has been embroiled in accusations that former employees illegally hacked into the voicemail messages of high profile personalities and the victims of crime.

Ironic that the NoTW, which has exposed the criminal wrongdoing of countless individuals, stands squarely in the dock accused of criminal wrongdoing.

Last week it came to light that police were investigating whether the voicemails of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler had been hacked by NoTW journalists, giving her family false hopes she was alive. The investigation is also focusing on whether the dodgy journalists snooped on the messages of British service personnel killed in action.

These latest twists in the phone-hacking scandal sent the NoTW's popularity into freefall, with several of their leading advertisers pulling the plug. With the brand irreparably tarnished parent company News Corporation decided to call it a day, bringing down the shutters on 168 years of tabloid history.

Heinous as the NoTW's phone-hacking actions were it is a sad day for the British free press. Not to mention all of the honest journalists tied up in history through no fault of their own.

There is a feeling that media mogul Rupert Murdoch has sacrificed the NoTW to save the skin of News International boss Rebekah Brooks, who occupied the editor's chair at the peak of the paper's phone-hacking activities.

I'm curious as to why he rates her so highly.

Labour Warned of Economic Black Hole

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 14:35:00 +0000

Treasury advisers warned Gordon Brown and Ed Balls their spending plans were ill-conceived years before Britain's economy went into free fall.

The damning revelations, published in today's Daily Telegraph, show that senior members of the Labour Cabinet were told that "ineffective spending" must be "closed down" just months before then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, embarked on a £90 bn spending spree that he continued as Prime Minister despite clear advice to the contrary.

By the end of 2008 Britain was teetering on the brink of its deepest recession for a generation, with manufacturing down 7% and unemployment standing at almost 3 million. Gordon Brown's frivolous spending left the nation facing record nation debt, just as the global financial crisis was about to bite.

Yesterday the Telegraph published excerpts from private memos between Brown and Balls, criticising Tony Blair and discussing how to discredit him as prime minster. The treacherous duo then drafted a deal document, which they hoped would accelerate Blair's departure and Brown's bid for premiership.

Michael Fallon, deputy chairman of the Conservatives, said: "As recently as last year, Ed Balls and Ed Miliband were denying something we now know to be true. While Britain's debt doubled, welfare spending spiralled out of control and education standards fell, they were obsessing about getting rid of the elected prime minister and putting Gordon Brown into the position.

In an attempt to deflect from his party's habitual economic incompetence Ed Miliband, Labour leader, described the revelations as "ancient history".

Sonic Resurrection

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:32:00 +0000

Warning: Another nostalgic post coming up!

Step back in time two decades when the Iron Curtain teetered on the brink of collapse and the fall of communist USSR signalled a new dawn for Russia. Elsewhere, a coalition of 34 nations lay poised to strike Iraq in response to its invasion of neighbouring oil state Kuwait. Across the pond Nirvana struck a surprise hit single with Smells Like Teen Spirit, whilst in the UK legendary rock group Queen were riding high in the charts with hits like Innuendo and Bohemian Rhapsody.

Nineteen-ninety-one was a memorable year for so many different reasons, not least the birth of a modern day pixelated hero - Sonic the Hedgehog. I must have spent hundreds of hours helping Sonic battle the evil Dr Robotnik, preventing the egg-shaped villain from using Chaos Emeralds to take over the world. It was quite a big deal back then.

So I downloaded the Gens emulator and I'm reacquainting myself with games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Road Rash, Paperboy and Gauntlet. The ROMs (game files) are very easy to locate using Google.

That's me occupied until this time next week!

Follow Up - Winterbourne View Arrests

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 08:22:00 +0000

It is clear that last night's shocking Panorama programme, showing the institutionalised abuse of patients at the Winterbourne View specialist hospital near Bristol, has sparked widespread outrage across the nation.

That members of a so-called caring profession can take such pleasure in degrading, humiliating and assaulting those in their charge is truly wicked. Hopefully the law will show them the same level of compassion they have displayed in the course of their duties.

Within an hour of publishing my post last night I had received 5,000 unique visitors, with almost 200 people reading my article simultaneously. I also received around 30 blog comments, which I took the unusual decision to stop publishing when people started giving prime suspect Wayne's full name and address.

So aghast by last night's programme I forgot to mention that Avon and Somerset Police have made four arrests in connection with abuse at Winterbourne View. The police investigation is ongoing but the balance of evidence seems damning.

I somehow think Wayne and his fellow bad eggs will get what's coming to them.

The programme is still available on the BBC iPlayer, but for anyone outside the UK it has also been uploaded to YouTube. Be advised that it contains distressing images of patient abuse:

Panorama - Winterbourne View

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Tue, 31 May 2011 20:31:00 +0000

"Assaults at Winterboure View have become endemic."

That's the grim opinion of BBC Panorama's Paul Kenyon, as he reviewed shocking undercover footage showing a culture of patient abuse.

Tonight's programme followed the thuggish behaviour of some workers at the specialist residential hospital near Bristol. Winterbourne View, which is run by the Castlebeck care company, homes some of the south west's most vulnerable adults, with a range of learning disabilities, complex needs and challenging behaviour.

In the hour long show, often painful to watch, we saw members of staff strike patients without provocation, drag them from their beds, pin them to the ground and deprive them of their personal belongings.

In what can only be described as institutionalised bullying we saw one care worker, tattooed thug Wayne, goading patients into harming themselves and belittling them with taunts about their families.

In one particularly venomous abuse of trust we saw Wayne pour ice cold water onto patient Simone, as she shivered uncontrollably on the cold ground outside.

Absolutely horrendous and I hope Castlebeck and the employees concerned face the full weight of the law. They aren't fit to run kennels.

Tory Peer Taylor Jailed for Fraud

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Tue, 31 May 2011 12:15:00 +0000

Conservative peer Lord Taylor of Warwick has been jailed for 12-months today, despite empassioned pleas in the dock to save his own skin.

The 58-year-old corrupt lawyer, who was the first black member of the House of Lords, fraudulently obtained more than £11,000 worth of travel and subsistence expenses by claiming for journeys between a phantom second home and the capital.

It later transpired that the Oxfordshire property at the heart of Taylor's dishonest claims actually belonged to his step-nephew Robert Taylor and, far from residing there, the disgraced peer had only visited it twice.

As part of his defence Taylor maintained that false expenses claims were widely accepted practice within Parliament. Mohammed Khamisa QC, representing Taylor, claimed his client was role model to young black people and should be spared jail.

Passing sentence at Southwark Crown Court Mr Justice Saunders told Taylor he had ruined his life "not by one stupid action but by a protracted course of dishonesty".

Goodbye to bad rubbish. I never did like the slimy chap.

Twitter Sued for Revealing Imogen Thomas Love Rat

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:32:00 +0000

Thought for the day: Now the entire English-speaking world knows which greasy Premier League football star was adulterous with Imogen Thomas, what does he hope to achieve by suing Twitter.

Does he think he's going to propel himself any further up in people's estimations?

Answers on a postcard please.

They're good these super-injunctions.

Arriva North East - The Epitome of Customer Disservice

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 16 May 2011 07:57:00 +0000

Having previously been stranded on broken down buses, ignored at bus stops and delayed innumerable hours, I'd probably be forgiven for thinking I'd seen the worst aspects of Arriva North East customer service.

Apparently not, because today for the first time I encountered blatant dishonesty and miscommunication by the north east's largest public transport operator.

It started at 7:33 am this morning when I was waiting for the 505. The minutes ticked by, as they often do with this service being habitually late. Using my mobile I decided to browse to the Arriva North East Facebook pages, where their Commercial Manager Mark Ellis goes by the name of "Arriva Bod", in the hope that a realtime update would be posted there. Fat chance, with some of yesterday's tripe about Saltwell Park adorning the top of their Wall.

By 8:10 am the bus still hadn't arrived so I decided to call the misleadingly titled Arriva customer services hotline. They might have a phone line, but there's certainly nothing hot about it. The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. I rang again at 8:15 am and again the phone rang. It rang for so long, at least 3 minutes, that I'd pretty much abandoned any hope of being answered. Just as I was about to hang up someone picked up at the other end.

"Hello, Arriva Customer Services" bold as brass, as if I hadn't been waiting for her to finish her bacon sandwich as the phone rang off the hook. I explained the problem and she told me that no disruption had been reported, but she would contact the depot to see if they knew anything.

A few minutes of silence (Arriva are apparently too tight or disorganised to provide canned music) later she returned with the news that she'd spoken to both the Ashington and Jesmond depots and been told that several buses were off the road due to mechanical problems that morning. As a result they had withdrawn some services. My bus had been one of those hit by these unfortunate circumstances.

I didn't consider this to be a satisfactory explanation, considering the arbitrary way they had inconvenienced their stranded passengers. Somehow I managed to maintain my cool and posed the question: "So if you've known about this disruption for the last hour, how come it hasn't been posted on your Facebook page so people can try to make alternative arrangements?" She explained that the depot had been so busy sorting things out that they'd not had a chance to do that. I relayed the message to the lengthening queue of irate passengers standing at the stop alongside me.

Resigned to the fact the bus wasn't coming I decided to waste another hour of my life and catch the 9:10 am instead. This later bus, service 501, took a slightly different route so I had to walk to the bus station. On arrival at the bus station I was greeted by fellow stranded, frothing at the mouth with anger as they recounted their experiences that morning.

They too had attempted to catch the 505 earlier on, only to discover it had been cancelled without warning. Comparing excuses, of which Arriva have a book full, I quickly learnt that the people waiting at the bus station had been given a different explanation for the morning's derisory level of service. Instead of being told the bus had been cancelled, one of the Alnwick-based Arriva employees had told them that it had actually started further along the route at Felton, thus bypassing us folk closer to its timetabled origin.

Having received comments from former Arriva employees, I can fully believe that they were unable operate a full service this morning due to the woeful maintenance of their vehicles. What I struggle to believe is that a bus company, supposedly customer oriented, is so incompetent that it cancels services at the drop of a hat, fails to tell anyone and subsequently trots out a range of different explanations depending on who they're speaking to.

Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. Time and time again in my experience Arriva has set consistently low standards, which it fails to achieve.

Arriva North East really are the pits. Pathetic excuses, abysmal communication, inconsiderate drivers, poorly maintained vehicles and zero concept of customer service. I can't think of any better advert for buying a car.

Defective Cable Threatens to Short Circuit Coalition

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sat, 07 May 2011 13:57:00 +0000

A senior Liberal Democrat member of the Government has branded Conservative Coalition partners as "ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal."

Dr Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, made the controversial statement on the BBC Radio 4's Today programme with John Humphrys earlier today.

His embittered comments follow the collapse of Lib Dem support in the recent English council, Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliamentary elections. The pro-electoral reform Lib Dems also suffered a humiliating defeat when the nation decided overwhelmingly to reject the Alternative Vote system of election to the Westminster Parliament.

Despite Dr Cable's obvious reservations about the Coalition agreement, he reinforced Deputy PM Nick Clegg's assertion that the Government would continue for the next four years.

Dr Cable told the BBC News Channel: "The basic reason for going into coalition wasn't electoral reform, but the economic crisis. We still have one."

"Some of us never had many illusions about the Conservatives, but they have emerged as ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal.

"But that doesn't mean to say we can't work with them. I think they have always been that way, but you have to be businesslike and professional and you have to work with people who aren't your natural bedfellows and that is being grown-up in politics. We are going to continue to do that."

Another Liberal Democrat member of the Government, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne, reportedly had a Cabinet room bust up with Conservative PM David Cameron about the way the "No to AV" campaign had been conducted. He has also publicly targeted Conservative Chairman Sayeeda Warsi over her support of the campaign, citing First Past the Post as the electoral system of choice for the British National Party.

There has never been a better time to silence the Liberal Democrats by calling a General Election and bringing this limp and conciliatory Coalition to a grinding halt.

Let the people decide and let's have an unequivocal Conservative mandate to govern.

Conservatives Hold Their Ground

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 06 May 2011 17:44:00 +0000

AV referendum results: yellow = areas voting no to AV,
purple = areas voting yes to AV (not many).

Usually on election night I'm glued to the gogglebox until the early hours of the morning watching the results roll in.

Last night I turned off at the modest time of 10.30 pm expecting the Conservatives to get a pasting on the back of their essential but electorally unpalatable national economic reforms. It hasn't happened, the electorate instead targeting their venom at that most worthy of recipients the Liberal Democrats.

The Conservatives are four English councils and 81 councillors to the good, with the Lib Dems having lost nine councils and 695 councillors at the time of writing. The Conservatives have also gained two members of the Welsh Assembly, with the Lib Dems losing one. The only fly in the ointment, not unexpectedly, is that the Conservatives lost five members of the Scottish Parliament. Oh well, if Alex Salmond has his way Scotland will be a completely different country within a decade so who cares?

The best result of the night as far as I'm concerned is a resounding NO to the Alternative Vote. Here in Northumberland of the 99,846 votes cast almost three-quarters, 72,500, were opposed to electoral reform. You don't get much more clear cut than that. Nationally the story was similar with 68% of the vote rejecting AV.

The Lib Dems, like opportunist flies swarming a warm dog turd, are out in force claiming the electorate didn't understand the question and the No Campaign was dishonest. A little humility wouldn't go amiss from the most yellow of Liberals including Chris Huhne, who didn't resist the question when it was first decided.

I also see some Yes Campaign mouthpieces on Sky News saying "if the question said would you prefer PR/STV then they would have voted yes, so we'll be pushing the issue again". Bollocks would they. Be magnanimous in defeat and give the people some credit. Voters understand perfectly well that four or five selections on a ballot paper are more costly and time consuming to count than just one selection. The vast majority of people know who they want to vote for and don't give a stuff about second or third choices. The electoral reform bird has well and truly flown and for this generation at least is peppered with duck shot. To coin a phrase from The Wizard of Oz - electoral reform is not only merely dead, it's really most sincerely dead.

The nation decided emphatically yesterday that First Past the Post was a perfectly acceptable means of electing MPs to Westminster. No second chances and no further compromises to the Liberal Democrats.

They have had way too much Tory benevolence already.

Make Your Mark in the AV Referendum

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Wed, 04 May 2011 20:13:00 +0000

Tomorrow is an important day in the democracy of our nation.

Every elector will have the opportunity to decide whether to keep the current First Past the Post system of voting, or replace it with the Alternative Vote system.

I have already voted to retain the current system. First Past the Post normally results in strong Government, which has the power to make sweeping reform and leave an indelible mark on the population. Contrast that with the weakened Government we currently have, which is bound into Liberal left compromise thanks to the hapless Coalition agreement.

As it stands at the moment the candidate that receives the most votes wins. What could be fairer than that? First Past the Post has served this nation well for the last century, producing strong Governments who were actually able to govern.

If it ain't broken then don't fix it.

Whichever way you intend to vote please do make the effort to make your voice heard.

Gillian Duffy - Thick as Pork

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:42:00 +0000

I got the fright of my life this morning when I opened the pages of my newspaper to find loony-left gobshite Gillian Duffy adorning page 3 - quite apt considering the tit she made of herself by tackling Nick Clegg yesterday.

Gillian, for the benefit of those with failing memories, tackled Gordon Brown on the issue of UK immigration during the 2010 General Election campaign. Brown grinned, said "I agree" in all the right places and was then overheard referring to Rochdale's most menacing pensioner as a "bigoted woman" as he drove away.

Like a preying mantis waiting to wrap her jaws around another photo opportunity Duffy took station at the engineering firm Deputy PM Clegg was due to visit. In what was clearly an orchestrated encounter Duffy was flanked by Labour officials. Sensing the oxygen of publicity she pounced, cameras rolling and gave it to him both barrels.

"Can I ask you one question before you go in because you're in such a rush? I don't want to take the limelight away from these people," Duffy said, her nose elongating with sincerity.

"Can you please tell me why you went with the Conservatives last year instead of going with the Labour (Party)?"

Clegg attempted to explain how the Conservatives were the only party that could form a working majority and that the UK needed strong Government to steer clear of its current difficulties.

Duffy winced, her teeth feverishly chiseling the skin from her bottom lip and brow furrowing at Clegg's elaborate answer.

She continued: "Can you honestly tell me now and look me in the eye and tell me that you're quite happy with all these policies what (sic) have gone wrong for you, for your Party?"

Clegg trotted out a perfectly accurate and plausible answer that the nation was in shit state thanks to her mate Gordon Brown and drastic action needed to be taken to fix the broken economy.

"I've just been listening to you on the television and I've been listening to you on the radio and that's just the same speech you gave out about an hour ago."

With that Gillian slipped into the darkness, hopefully blindly in front of a bus given her total inability to recognise Labour manufactured current circumstances.

Tyne & Wear Metro The Musical

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 08:33:00 +0000

After months of preparation and weeks of on-air hyperbole BBC North East and Cumbria's Metro the Musical has finally been unveiled.

The nine-and-a-half minute video is a montage of Tyne & Wear Metro workers and passengers, mostly of dubious singing skills, charting the history of the distinctive cadmium yellow trains since their 1980 introduction.

Further exemplifying the BBC's political impartiality the song quickly highlights the dark days of unemployment, failing industry and Cold War uncertainty that shadowed the new decade.

Just then a ray of hope shines through as Metro, with its bright colours and geometric precision, emerges like a phoenix from the ashes of destitution.

In addition to its primary purpose of delivering people from A to B to musical shows some of the stories behind Metro - the relationships and conflicts that arise using the system. It also shows a lot of dancing and jolity, which is something you rarely see in reality.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I quite like it, but with six months in the making I dread to think how much it cost.

BBC Making the News - Badly

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:59:00 +0000

Viewers of the BBC's television news programmes will have noticed they have a new bee in their bonnet this week - the use of shotguns by children.

The Corporation sent Freedom of Information Act requests to Britain's 52 territorial police forces asking how many shotgun certificates they had issued to under 18-year-olds in the past 3 years.

Fifty one of the forces responded, confirming that 7,071 certificates were issued. Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed that it had given a shotgun certificate to a seven-year-old in 2008.

Cue BBC News scaremongering, with the implication that all children trained to use a shotgun run the risk become gun-toting, Post Office-robbing delinquents.

This morning BBC Breakfast wheeled out Lucy Cope, a Mothers Against Guns campaigner, to extol the evils of these heinous weapons plaguing Britain's streets. Cope's views, whilst heartfelt and impassioned, are blinkered by the grief of losing her own child to gun crime.

The unequivocal fact is that the vast majority of these young shotgun users become highly proficient and conscientious in their skill. They know how to handle and store their weapons safely and securely. They use their weapons for the perfectly legal pursuits of shooting game or targets on private land.

They have the right to enjoy their hobby without the persecution of well-intentioned but ill-informed busybodies.

Those intent on criminality don't bother to apply for a firearms or shotgun certificate.

Gaddafi: The End is Nigh

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 10:06:00 +0000

Despotic Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi is just a few hours away from UN backed airstrikes that stand to topple his regime.

Over the past month rebels opposed to Gaddafi's rule have occupied several large towns and cities towards the north of the country, including Libya's second city Benghazi. Gaddafi loyalists have staged a series of attacks on the rebel stronghold killing hundreds of civilians in the process.

On Thursday night the UN Security Council sanctioned a no-fly zone over Libya and agreed to "all necessary measures" needed to protect civilians from Gaddafi's forces short of an invasion. Crucially, the wording of Security Council Resolution 1973 gives legal backing to preventative airstrikes against Libyan forces and military infrastructure.

Last night, in a calculated bid to delay military action against his supporters, Gaddafi announced a ceasefire. As early as this morning, in another act of defiance to the international community, Gaddafi's forces were shelling the outskirts of Benghazi and buzzing the city with fighter aircraft. Huge cheers erupted as one fighter, apparently a Russian built MiG-23, fell from the sky in a trail of flames.

An international force led by France is amassing in the Mediterranean in preparation for strikes against Libya.

I'm expecting the first action at dusk tonight.

Fearless Fukushima 50

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 09:30:00 +0000

Reading Metro yesterday morning, I was struck by the harrowing messages posted by the Fukushima 50's families, as their loved ones battle to stabilised the stricken Japanese nuclear reactors.

The Fukushima nuclear plant suffered badly in last week's mammoth magnitude 9 earthquake, which was centred off the east coast of Tōhoku. As if the quake, the largest in Japanese history, wasn't damaging enough a 10 metre high tsunami swept coastal regions, obliterating everything in its path.

In an ironic twist of fate the Fukushima plant lost power, meaning water pumps cooling the superheated fuel rods ground to a standstill. Spiralling temperatures combined with the catalytic action of zirconium reactor casings caused the break down of water into an explosive mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. The gases reacted producing a powerful shockwave, further damaging the already fragile reactor casing.

Since the tsunami struck the nuclear plant workers, nicknamed the Fukushima 50, have battled tirelessly to prevent the catastrophic consequences of the fuel rods melting down. Having lost their homes, families and belongings the way they selflessly expose themselves to lethal doses of radiation is truly astounding.

The daughter of one of the Fukushima 50 Tweeted: "My dad went to the nuclear plant. I have never heard my mother cry so hard. Please dad come back alive."

Another said: "My father is still working at the plant. He says he's accepted his fate... much like a death sentence."

The desperate attempt to cool the Fukushima reactors continues.

Pray for the brave Fukushima 50.

An Exercise in Futility

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:59:00 +0000

This evening I embarked on an exercise even more pointless than Police Community Support Officers. A task so obsolete that it should have been confined to the dustbin of history decades ago.

This evening I lost half an hour of my life by completed the Census form (unless you're reading from the Office for National Statistics, in which case I actually completed it two weeks from now on 27th March). Do I feel satisfied that I have done my bit to lubricate the wheels of Government officiousness? Not one bit.

We live in a nation where the average urban dweller is captured by CCTV no less than 300 times each day. As Britons we're in the unenviable position of being tracked as we walk the streets, tracked as we drive our cars and even tracked when we buy our daily newspapers.

The personal information of every legal entity in Britain already adorns numerous Government databases, so why can't they cross match the invasive records they already hold?

It's time to bury the Census once and for all.

Plus think of all the money we could save by getting rid of those ONS civil servants!

Dispatches - Secret NHS Diaries

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:48:00 +0000

Channel 4's Dispatches programme has been following the final days of three patients receiving NHS palliative care.

Tonight's programme was a montage of video diaries shot by the patients' nearest and dearest, chronicling their final days on this Earth. I found one of the stories, that of Harry and Lynn Pinner, particularly moving.

Harry had terminal emphysema after being exposed to asbestos at work. He was accepting of his fate and his only wish was to die at home with steadfast wife Lynn by his side. Harry's days became increasingly pained as nature took its toll. He needed more and more pain relief to make his final days with Lynn as comfortable and dignified as possible.

Lynn had to battle with local NHS services to get Harry the medication needed to end his pain. Something as simple and essential as setting up a syringe driver was a myriad of pointless and time consuming bureaucracy. Lynn lost irreplaceable time with her husband being bounced backwards and forwards between NHS agencies, each offering a different excuse for doing nothing.

The NHS Trusts involved can rightly hang their heads in shame. The quality of care they gave him in his final days was nothing short of a disgrace.

Housekeeping Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:53:00 +0000

Apologies to anyone who recently received an email purporting to be from me. Don't worry, I haven't taken up broken Chinglish as a second language, it wasn't really from me.

Some cyber-miscreant managed, somehow, to get into one of my Google Accounts. A quick whois on their IP address revealed the aforementioned miscreant was Chinese based (hope it wasn't you Renner). I now have my Google Accounts signed out, PC well scrubbed and passwords all changed. Given the amount of work I do online I've been pretty lucky to avoid such hiccups thus far. Hopefully there won't be a repeat performance, because I'm loathe to ditch an account with so much information in it.

If you received one of the emails and I haven't spoken to you for years then don't bother to get back in touch!

Cara Confused Sings Chain Reaction

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:34:00 +0000

You know, it's absolutely amazing how much interest a post can sometimes garner.

Last month I wrote about Cara Confused's rendition of Queen megahit Somebody to Love. This month Cara returns to the small screen for her take on the Bee Gee's Chain Reaction, as made famous by Diana Ross in the mid-eighties.

Cue lots of animated breast-wobbling, hip gyration and the amazing vocals of West End star Louise Dearman. Cara's skirt still resembles Mary Poppins' bag, with a large bunch of flowers and mobile phone being seemingly produced from thin air.

It's another great video, but it's missing one thing... the cute blonde with the ponytail that appeared in the first video!

Edit: Note to oneself: Don't ever, ever, ever use Internet Explorer to post on Blogger.