Tag Archives: News

The Wright Wing

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Disclaimer: While this man has an A-Level in Government & Politics (and a degree but it’s in Film so no one really cares) his opinions should essentially be ignored. By everyone. Always. His views are his own and not the opinion of Frost Magazine who like to use logic and reason to form their conclusions. Richard has a natural logic and reason avoidance technique he’s cultivated over the years and now his opinions are largely not worth the air they use to come out of his mouth. Enjoy.

 

Hello. My name is Richard Wright and let’s take a walk with the news.

 

I was talking to a very middle class girl the other day who got a bit upset talking about the colour of the new paint on her bedroom walls….yeah it was totes emulsh!

 

Speaking of bad jokes the Government has announced plans that Obese people on Benefits will have them cut if they refuse exercise. Define exercise please because one of the best ways to lose weight is to walk. And you walk all the time. So are we talking serious exercise? Which isn’t walking while listening to the 1983 Labour Party manifesto. No. That’s very dull exercise. Under the scheme it would be Doctors telling them how to exercise, which I suppose is better then someone who works for the DSS but it’s still not great. The reason this has me quite wound up is I am “technically” obese. I say “technically” I am also obese in reality. I have in the past been obese while claiming benefits. My life right now is changing because i have gallstones so I am on a diet, I am losing weight, at what point could I claim benefits? Is that going to be a dietary goal now? Turn up to weightwatchers and they’ll tell you that you can now claim heating allowance but you’re still a half stone off help with your council tax? I knew there was benefits to working out but this might be taking that idea a little too literally. But hey I’ll take this idea as seriously as Eric Pickles does. Yeah. We all know what I mean by that without having to lower this to the point of Eric Pickles is a tubby tubby man jokes.

 

In other news David Cameron’s attempt to successfully re-boot the Thatcherite franchise of Government seems to be coming into full effect as we are once again at odds with Argentina over the Falklands. Now The Sun, and you know anything can be helped by the addition of the carefully thought out and reasoned approach of The Sun, have weighed in with a rather helpful advertisement in an Argentinean newspaper telling Argentina in a diplomatic and well thought out way to get their “hands off” the Falklands. One of the things Argentina is bringing up in their renewed panties in a twist over the Falklands is a UN Resolution from 1965 saying that we should resolve the dispute. I’m not a diplomatic expert but you might have wanted to have brought that up a bit sooner really. It’s almost as if it’s not really about the UN resolution. It’s almost as if that doesn’t really play a factor and is something to help legitimise their claim. Again, I’m not a diplomatic expert.

 

Just in case it looks like I am only kicking The Conservative Party I am always amazed whenever Nick Clegg decides to “take a stand” on something. It’s like a tiny voiced child shouting from the back of a crowded bar fight that surely fighting isn’t the answer but yet not leaving the bar but handing the people having the bar fight chairs to hit each other with. Being admonished by Nick Clegg is a like when you get told off by a toddler. It’s cute and amusing but you know you can pretty much just ignore it. Nick Clegg has the moral authority of a custard cream. No that’s not quite right. Of a rich tea biscuit. I like custard creams.

 

As for Labour they have said they would offer the long term unemployed, whatever that means, a guaranteed 6 month job if they were in power. That sounds like a great vote winning policy. But wait, don’t go screaming Ed Miliband’s name in passion quite yet. They have also said they could not commit to the scheme if they won the 2015 general election. So this is basically the opposition’s  New Year’s resolution. No one should pay any real notice to it as it would clearly never happen. Just like that gym membership you say you’ll get just in case you loose your job. Apparently this is Labour setting out their idea for what should happen. This is the drunk uncle style of policy making. You know the Uncle who knows exactly how your life should be run. It’s very difficult to take anything Labour do or say seriously as you always get the impression that Ed Miliband is like a temp leader. Like he’s never sure when his contract will be terminated and so therefore isn’t taking the job as seriously as he might do. He also kind of comes across as a work experience leader. As soon as Harriet Harman signs his letter for school he’ll be out of there. Overall I would say the leader of the opposition isn’t really much of a leader but that’s he’s perfect for the current political climate because Labour aren’t really much of an opposition

 

 

That’s it. See you next week when I will be laying out my thoughts for how the story of John Major could be turned into a serious motion picture with Peter Capaldi as John Major, Helena Bonham Carter as Edwina Currie, Rowan Atkinson as John Redwood, Benedict Cumberbatch as Peter Lilley and Stephen Fry as Ken Clarke. More cast details next week. Sadly I wouldn’t be able to use my working title for the John Major film of “Where’s wally?”

 

Disclaimer: He’s rubbish at sticking with these things so you never know you might see him real soon and you might not. Let’s find out.

We Need To Talk About Gun Control

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The news of mass shootings in America has become a depressingly common occurrence. Each time the same thing happens: the debate on gun control.

This year two of the worst shootings happened in America, in a Colorado theatre and a Connecticut elementary school. This excellent Washington Post article has a run down of shootings in America for 2012. What is really interesting about the article is that it tells you what type of gun was used in each shooting. Some of these shootings were done with military assault rifles or automatic weapons. To have a gun is one thing, but for a civilian to buy this type of weapon, which only purpose is to kill people, is something that should be re-examined. In fact it was former President George W Bush that allowed a federal ban on assault weapons to expire in 2004 when he was president. President Obama has previously mentioned his support for a ban on assault weapons.

Yes, I did say those guns are used to only kill people. Aren’t all guns for that? Well, no. Farmers need guns, guns can be used for shooting clays, or animals. For hunting and even for protection. I am not pro-gun, but I do not think the issue is as clear as the hordes on Twitter and Facebook think it is. If you make guns illegal in America then there is an obvious problem: you drive the gun trade underground and people who want to protect themselves would not be able to legally own a gun. I don’t want to live in a world where only the bad people have guns.

On the same day of the mass shooting in Newton there was a similar attack on children in China, but with a knife as a weapon instead. No children actually died in the China attack, but there have been fatalities in similar attacks. it does raise a point: a gun is only a weapon when a human being is holding it. But so is anything else when there is an intention to kill.

President Barack Obama promised “meaningful action”, after the Connecticut shooting. Also saying, “As a country, we have been through this too many times.”

The fact is that most gun legislation is set by states rather than federal government, and Connecticut has relatively tight firearms restrictions by US standards. Some people are saying that the shootings are a mental health problem rather than a gun problem, but what is abundantly clear is that tighter regulation is needed.

According to a 2012 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the US has 3.2 firearms homicides per 100,000 population compared with 1.6 for Canada, 1.0 for Australia and 0.1 for England and Wales,

There are an estimated 300m guns in America, nearly one for every one of the 315m Americans in America, and the National Rifle Association (NRA) has more than 4m members. America is a nation where guns are embedded into it’s very foundation, there constitution even declares the ‘right to bear arms’, even if guns were banned where would all these guns go? What is clear is that we have to talk about gun control, but solving the problem will not be easy.

DISPAIR London and Depaul UK unite to create limited edition product with a difference.

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Innovative men’s footwear brand DISPAIR London has embarked on an exciting new collaboration
with Depaul UK, the largest national youth homelessness charity in the UK, to offer the opportunity
for one young person to be a guest designer of a limited edition DISPAIR London shoe.

A competition to submit design ideas was opened to the young people helped by Depaul UK with
100% of profits from the winning design going directly to Depaul UK.

With inspiration originating from the laid back streets of Spitalfields, DISPAIR London fully endorses
individualism, and is ideal for those who don’t feel the desire to conform, who are comfortable to lead
their own way in fashion.

Depaul UK helps young people who are homeless, vulnerable and disadvantaged, and has helped
over 50,000 people since it was founded in 1989. While Depaul UK offers an immediate solution to
homelessness, Depaul UK protects young people who have become homeless, helps them to
progress beyond homelessness with training and employment schemes, and works with families to
prevent youth homelessness from happening in the first place.

The design competition proved to be hugely popular with well over the expected number of entrants.
The winner was chosen, a former resident of Depaul UK’s Simonside supported Newcastle
accommodation, with the design being put onto DISPAIR London’s most popular style, the
Winston, a loafer shoe with monk strap detailing.

DISPAIR London has since worked closely with Depaul UK and the competition winner on every
step of the process, offering the young person work experience in the fashion footwear industry and
being fully involved in the design process along the way.

The shoe will be part of DISPAIR London’s AW12 collection, available in navy, grey, off-white and
black. Hitting Topman stores in time for Christmas.

Roman Abramovich Wins Court Battle

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The clash of the titans has finished and Roman Abramovich has come out on top, winning his legal battle against exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

The Chelsea FC owner was said “to be a truthful, and on the whole reliable, witness” by Mrs Justice Gloster.

Mr Berezovsky had said that Abramovich had intimidated him into selling his shares in Russian oil giant Sibneft and was claiming £3bn in damages. Mrs Justice Gloster said the 65-year-old had not been an “inherently unreliable” witness.

The judge said in her ruling “On my analysis of the entirety of the evidence, I found Mr Berezovsky an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable, witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept, which could be moulded to suit his current purposes.”

She dismissed Berezovsky’s claims that 45-year-old Abramovich had broken a promise on a deal which involved the Russian aluminium company RusAl “in their entirety”.

Mr Berezovsky said he was “shocked” at the decision and that Mrs Justice Gloster had rewritten Russian history.

There was a certain amount of mud-slinging during the three-month trail with Berezovsky calling Abramovich a “gangster” and Abramovich saying Berezovsky was “something of a megalomaniac”.

Abramovich was not in court but in a statement issued on his behalf said: “There were many serious allegations made against Mr Abramovich by Mr Berezovsky, including attacks on Mr Abramovich’s honesty and integrity.

“We are pleased that the judge has firmly rejected all such allegations and has described Mr Abramovich as a truthful and frank witness who showed a responsible and honest approach when giving evidence in this case.”

At one point the Queen watched the trial and talked to Mrs Justice Gloster

The Week in Syria

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There seems to be no let up for the people of Syria after another brutal week. Even Foreign Secretary William Hague described the situation as “bleak” and said that a peaceful resolution to the 17-month conflict looked “unlikely”. Kofi Annan quit as United Nations’ envoy to Syria.

Hague spoke as Syrian forces clashed yet again with rebels in Aleppo. Hague has yet to persuade Russia and China to back any international efforts for a path to peace.

Hague did not dismiss talks of Tony Blair to replace Kofi Annan. Annan said that his mission had failed.

Hague told Sky News: “It is a bleak time for Syria. This is, I’m afraid, the situation we warned about for some time. We won’t give up on the diplomatic work but given the situation we will of course step up our humanitarian assistance.

“We don’t want the situation to be resolved by violence. We want a peaceful transition in Syria. Sadly, we do not have the unity in the [UN] Security Council to put the decisive pressure on the Assad regime.

“Kofi Annan will be carrying on with this work until the end of August. Whoever takes on that role, it is going to need some change in the circumstances on the ground for Russia and China to change their position.

“If persuasion and argument was going to achieve a change of position, we would have done it by now.

“It might only be a further change of the circumstances – the further collapse of the regime, greater bloodshed – which brings Russia and China to change their mind.”

Hague said that the support Britain has given to Syria so far has been “non-lethal” and that Syria is now in a full-scale civil war.

“Here is regime that for 17 months now has waged war against its people. It has in many cases driven people to warfare and conflict.

“The prime responsibility for this situation lies on the regime. We are on the side of people who seek their freedom anywhere in the world.

“I do think it is right to support democratic movements in favour of the people.”

Meanwhile things have gotten worse in Aleppo as more than 20,000 government troops amassed around Syria’s second city, as the government warned the “main course” was yet to come.

Government artillery bases have fired mortars and rockets into the rebel held districts and in rebel-held Saheddin district, jet planes dropped bombs.

“The battle for Aleppo has not yet begun, and what is happening now is just the appetiser… The main course will come later,” a senior government security figure warned.

“All the reinforcements have arrived and they are surrounding the city… The army is ready to launch its offensive, but is awaiting orders.”

Should You Read That Text?

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New phone app protects people’s moods

Computer scientists have developed the world’s first mobile phone app which automatically colour codes messages so people know before reading them if they’re likely to make you feel good or bad.

The development, for Android phones, could mean the end of people being surprised by an angry or hostile message, whether it’s from Twitter, Facebook or text.

It would also allow smart phone users to prepare for bad news and allocate time to receive it.

Master’s student Lorraine Chambers and her supervisor, senior lecturer Mohamed Gaber, both at the University of Portsmouth’s School of Computing, will present their breakthrough at a conference in Spain in September.

Dr Gaber said: “We are increasingly sending and receiving information via messages on mobile phones. The rate of growth in this area has never been witnessed – everything from Twitter streams and Facebook messages to direct text messages are coming straight at us all the time on our handheld devices.

“This information has an immense power, whether we are reading a worrying social media news story or a warning email from our manager, messages can upset mood and increase stress level, just as good news and encouraging emails can cheer you up.

“The ultimate objective of this application is to make the user aware of the negative contents they receive so they are able to manage their stress in the best possible way. For example, if most of what is received from social media websites by a user on a particular day was negative, it is important that the user attempts to take an action in order to not get stressed, especially if this may affect the individual’s performance at work and/or their behaviour at home.”

The app works by automatically colour coding incoming messages as green for positive, red for negative and blue for neutral so a user can see before opening any message whether it is likely to be worrying or encouraging.

The Portsmouth researchers were inspired to research and develop the app after a visit by their colleague Mykola Pechenizkiy at the Eindhoven University of Technology, in the Netherlands, who had developed a similar capability for emails on desktop computers, together with his Masters student Erik Tromp. Mykola and Eric have worked with the Portsmouth researchers, Lorraine and Mohamed using state-of-the-art technology for sentiment analysis to classify ‘on the fly’ any textual input received on the user’s handheld device.

The researchers tested the technology on a range of Android mobile phones and find it works faultlessly no matter what each phone’s computational power and memory were. The researchers are working on ways to make it freely accessible via Android Marketplace.

If there’s sufficient demand, it will be made available to users of iPhones and iPads.

The results of the project are reported in a research paper that has been accepted for presentation at 16th International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems, to be held in San Sebastian, Spain.

The Week in Celebrity: TomKat Divorce, Adele Pregnant.

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This week was quite a shocker for celebrity news. Katie Holmes is divorcing Tom Cruise after five years together citing ‘irreconcilable differences’. Cruise has hit back by filing for divorce in California, a move which will hinder Holmes’ chance of full custody of their daughter, Suri.

Katie’s lawyer, Jonathan Wolfe, confirmed the news and told People magazine: “This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family.

“Katie’s primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter’s best interest.”

The couple married 2006 in an Italian castle after dating for only two months.

Cruise jumper up and down on Oprah’s couch stating ‘I’m in love’ in 2005. Watch the video.

Adele has announced she is pregnant via her website.

“I’m delighted to announce that Simon and I are expecting our first child together, I wanted you to hear the news direct from me, obviously we’re over the moon and very excited but please respect our privacy at this precious time. Yours always, Adele xx”

Adele’s 36-year-old boyfriend Simon Konecki runs the charity Drop4Drop. They have been together since January.

Rebekah Brooks & Husband to be Charged with Perverting the Course of Justice.

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Rebekah Brooks, the former News International chief executive, and her racehorse trainer husband, Charlie Brooks, are to be charged with perverting the course of justice during the phone-hacking scandal.

Mrs Brooks and her husband revealed the charger themselves in a statement which critiscised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decision.

They said: “We have been informed by the Office of the Department of Public Prosecutions that we are to be charged with perverting the course of justice.

“We deplore this weak and unjust decision. After the further unprecedented posturing of the CPS we will respond later today after our return from the police station.”

Four other people are also to be charged which includes the personal assistant of Mrs Brooks’s, Cheryl Carter and Mark Hanna, head of security at News International.

There are a few different charges. Mrs Brooks has three against her, the rest have one. The charges include conspiring to conceal material from Scotland Yard detectives, conspiring to conceal documents, computers and other electronic equipment from detectives and conspiring to remove seven boxes of material from the archive of News International.

Alison Levitt QC, principal legal advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions, revealed the details of the charges:

“The Crown Prosecution Service received a file of evidence from the Metropolitan Police Service on March 27 2012 in relation to seven suspects: Rebekah Brooks; Charles Brooks; Cheryl Carter, Mrs Brooks’ personal assistant; Mark Hanna, head of security at News International; Paul Edwards, Mrs Brooks’s chauffeur who was employed by News International; Daryl Jorsling and a seventh suspect – both of whom provided security for Mrs Brooks supplied by News International.

“All the evidence has now carefully been considered. Applying the two-stage test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, I have concluded that in relation to all suspects except the seventh, there is sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction.”