What radiation?

Scottish First Minister adamant there is no evidence whatsoever that radioactive iodine from the Japanese nuclear disaster has been detected in Glasgow.

Opportunism

Surely no real surprise Red Ed turned up on the TUC stage at the weekend - after all if it wasn't for the TUC votes he wouldn't be leader of his party. As for his comparison of the current plight of todays' public sector workers to that of the suffragettes and victims of apartheid - do us all a favour and grow up . . . . . please !

Reminded me of the equally misconceived rabble rousing by Paul Boateng following his victory in the General Election in 1987 - "We can never be free in Brent until South Africa is free too.Today Brent South, tomorrow Soweto!"

But that's the Left for you.

Citius Altius Fortius

I didn't know we had a team but the British Olympic Assocation was proud to announce this week that following successful regional trials held in Skegness, Clacton-on-Sea, Rhyl and Blackpool, Team GB are to compete in the Olympic Beach Volleyball competition for the first time at London 2012.

For the record the our best womens pairing is ranked 40th in the world. 


Own that podium.

Gaddafi's escape attempt thwarted

Two good reasons

Patience is a virtue and some of us have long memories. Waited a long time for this.

Fill your boots boys, fill your bloody boots.

Apologies for any inconvenience

Normal service in Libya will be resumed very shortly. The Gadaffi regime thanks you for your (procrastination) patience.

One of a kind

Mr J (pictured) would like to pay his own tribute to the Best in Show Crufts 2011 - a fellow Flat Coated Retriever SH CH VBOS THE KENTUCKIAN. Speaking from his home in Herefordshire, Mr J added "about bloody time a proper dog won it instead of one of those poncy manicured freaky balls of fluff. Big up me breed".

Ferguson friends with media again

Until the next disastrous result

A matter of respect

Whether you choose to wear one or not, the poppy remains the eternal symbol of solemn remembrance to those who have, and continue to make the ultimate sacrifice in the field of conflict, for the sake of others.

District Judge Howard Riddle yesterday described the burning of replica poppies by a Muslim extremist on Remembrance Day last year as, "a calculated and deliberate insult to the war dead and those who honour their sacrifice”.

Well said indeed.

In finding Emdadur Choudhury guilty of an offence contrary to S.5 of the Public Order Act 1986, the Judge had at his disposal sentencing options of anything up to a maximum £1000 fine and/or a six month prison term. Plenty of scope, one might have thought, with which to set an example to the kind of people minded to defile the memory of those who have died in order to protect the very freedoms those same people routinely abuse. 

Choosing to hand down a fine of £50 with a further £15 ‘victim surcharge’, Judge Riddle conspired to add further grotesque insult to injury.

In these libertarian times Choudhury was not obliged to attend the hearing and learn of his fate. However for the purpose of means testing the paltry fine, his solicitor was able to inform the court that his client earned £480 a month and was in receipt of a further £792 per month in state benefits.

Howard Charles Fraser Riddle, 63, was appointed to be the Senior District Judge in November 2010, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, the Right Honourable Kenneth Clarke QC MP.

Makes you proud to be British.

Trivial Pursuits

You’ve got to hand it to them, credit where credit’s due, when FIFA, the worldwide governing body of football, decides to rid the game of one of it’s many ills, a problem so serious as to threaten the very existence of the worlds most popular sport, they quite rightly act swiftly, decisively and unanimously in the interests of the billions of fans around the globe.

Obscene wages, rampant racism, hooliganism, corruption inside FIFA, cheating players, goal line technology – the list is not exhaustive but just a few examples of issues you might have thought worthy of much attention at the FIFA International FA Board meeting in Cardiff yesterday. Fear not, goal line technology was on the agenda, obviously a five minute slot just before the lunch interval by the sound of it, as the easy option of more talks more tests ad nauseam was quickly agreed.   

No, the burning issue of the modern game causing sleepless nights for Sepp Blatter, some technical staff and people called secretary-generals, was finally eradicated in a landmark judgement. So outraged were they by the damage caused to the game, FIFA imposed a worldwide ban with immediate effect, wait for it . . . . . of the snood.

Joyously declaring their decision to ban the unbelievably offensive neck warmer, as unanimous and not even requiring a discussion, Sepp Blatter fatuously announced “a snood is not part of the equipment, it can be dangerous even like hanging somebody”. Incredible, as I was only thinking recently, it’s only a matter of time before Carlos Tevez, on a freezing cold day in Manchester, inadvertently snags his snood on the goalposts at Eastlands and is tragically killed.

Still, some people will be delighted by the FIFA’s decision – Alex Ferguson for one, who said of the snood, “they are for powder puffs”. This from a man who obviously has no problem with some of his prized assets (Rooney, Berbatov etc.) reaching for the reassuring comfort of their thermal gloves whenever the sun disappears behind the clouds.

Citizens of the World, your game is safe once more, FIFA has listened and passed judgement. The next time you hear about black players being racially abused you can be assured, it won’t be because they were wearing a snood.