Catch up time

Sorry folks just a bit of catch up here, so just the links. There's alot going on behind the scenes and we'll tell you what's happening in a day or two when we've worked it out ourselves.

COLLEGE GIVES FILES OF CLIMATE CHANGE SCEPTICS TO POLICE

Stop and search UK: A Briton is interrogated by police every 20 seconds. 90% aren't even arrested

Britain's Giant Housing Market Property Bubble

The Bear Potential of UK Government Bonds Gilts

Debt Crisis Worries Shift To Portugal; Greece Borrowing Rates Back Near Highs

It’s Getting Colder, Not Warmer

Scientists predict colder European winters to come

U.S. Cities In Free Fall

The Pope, the people and the paedophiles

Flight ban could leave UK short of fruit and veg

Military vet kills himself with an assault rifle on the steps of a VA medical center in Dayton, Oh

Human genes to be injected into goats, cows, and sheep

Breaking financial news.

Goldman Sachs accused of fraud

The US government's financial watchdog alleges that Goldman Sachs misled investors by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in mortgage investments it sold as the housing market was faltering.

The SEC announced it had lodged civil fraud charges against the company and one of its vice presidents - news that sent stock markets worldwide reeling.

London's FTSE 100 Index plunged 1.4% in reaction, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average in America fell more than 160 points at one stage.

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Crowds cheer bomb disposal experts

They heartily deserve it. I've worked alongside a Royal Engineers Bomb disposal group and have the highest respect for what they do.

Thousands of people welcomed home 200 bomb disposal experts lauded as heroes for their work in Afghanistan.

The soldiers from the Counter Improvised Explosive Device Task Force (C-IED) were cheered as they marched through the streets of Didcot, Oxfordshire.

The small town came to a standstill for the parade, with shops closing their doors and local firefighters standing outside their station to pay silent tribute to the returning soldiers.

The unit has suffered heavy casualties, with the loss of seven men on this tour.

I wish them all well.

Whole article here

Teachers vote for tests boycott

Teachers have overwhelmingly backed a boycott of Sats tests, setting them on a collision course with a new government.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) have been balloting members involved in the administration of the tests - including headteachers, deputies and assistant heads - for the past month.

According to the results, 74.9% of NUT members who voted were in favour of a boycott, as were 61.3% of NAHT members who voted. Turnout for the NUT's ballot was 33.8% and for the NAHT it was 49.7%.

 

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Some hope as flight chaos continues

Aviation officials have opened up the possibility of some transatlantic flights resuming as the volcanic ash cloud continued to cause travel chaos.

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Bhutto assassination could have been prevented, says UN report
Pakistan's intelligence services have been condemned in a devastating report by a United Nations inquiry into the assassination three years ago of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Liverpool appoint Martin Broughton as chairman to oversee sale of club
Tom Hicks and George Gillett today formally announced the beginning of the end of their turbulent ownership of Liverpool with confirmation they have put the club up for sale and appointed the British Airways chairman, Martin Broughton, to oversee the process.

Court ruling may help contaminated blood victims win higher payouts
The government came under pressure yesterday to make higher compensation payments to thousands of people with haemophilia who contracted hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.

Stay out of Africa this time, Nelson Mandela's wife tells Britain
One of Africa's most eminent political figures has condemned Britain for taking a patronising "big brother" attitude to its former colonies.

Headteachers vote to boycott Sats tests
Headteachers in England today voted overwhelmingly to boycott national tests for 10- and 11-year-olds on the first day of a new government – a move likely to throw the primary school assessment system into chaos

Northern Ireland police left at risk by 'intelligence gap'
Two undercover police officers narrowly escaped being killed by republican dissidents in a recent botched surveillance operation in Northern Ireland.

Girl fatally injured in takeaway may not have been intended target
The family of a teenager who died after being shot in the neck by a bullet while in a takeaway restaurant spoke of their "complete devastation" yesterday, as police said she was probably not the intended target.

Trans fats should be banned from all UK sold food, urge doctors
The government should ban the use of manufactured trans fats from all foods sold in the UK, a move that could save thousands of lives a year, doctors say.


Hillary Clinton tells Israel to stop 'settlement activity' and provoking Palestine
The US Secretary of State urged "bold leadership" from all sides to resolve one of the world's most intractable disputes.

Sheep pigs arrive at zoo
Three woolly pigs have just arrived at a zoo as part of a programme to help save the breed from extinction.

Britain needs to spend £500bn on infrastructure, says IoD
Britain needs to spend at least £500bn on infrastructure over the next decade if it is to maintain its economic competitiveness, according to the Institute of Directors (IoD).

Stay indoors to avoid falling volcanic ash, says WHO
People with lung conditions like emphysema and asthma should stay indoors if volcanic ash starts to settle, a spokesman for the World Health Organisation said today

Children 'should be exposed to dust to build immunity to asthma'
Parents should expose their children to dust by buying them pet or sending them to nursery in order to build their immunity to asthma, according to scientists

Abortions 'could be offered in GP surgeries across England'
Women could be offered abortions in GP surgeries up and down the country under plans for a massive expansion of the service.

Fear of Tory win spooks Europe
A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of Toryism. From the celebrated opening words of the Communist Manifesto in 1848, it may seem a dizzy leap to the Conservative Party Manifesto 2010. All the same, European capitals are surveying the British election campaign with increasing anxiety. There is no recent precedent for a party so virulently Eurosceptic, or europhobic, as David Cameron's "New Tories" taking office in a large EU member state.

Supermarkets fined £225m for fixing tobacco prices
The competition watchdog has imposed fines totalling £225 million on retailers including Asda, Morrisons and The Co-operative for fixing the price of tobacco with manufacturers.

Runaway lives at risk as London’s only teen refuge to close this weekend
Campaigners are warning that the lives of hundreds of teenagers who run away each year may be at risk after the closure of the only emergency refuge for teenagers in the capital.

Funeral of Polish president Lech Kaczynski faces delay over ash cloud
The volcanic ash cloud engulfing northern Europe is seriously disrupting arrangements for one of the most high-profile funerals ever staged in Poland.

High Court clears way for Welsh badger cull within days
The shooting of badgers in west Wales is expected to begin within days of the general election following a High Court decision to give the go-ahead for the controversial plan.

Babies with three parents may be key to preventing genetic disorders
Babies with three biological parents could be conceived within three years after research that could stop children from inheriting severe diseases.

Single mother soldier who wanted £1 million wins £17,000 in discrimination case

A single mother soldier who won a claim of race and sex discrimination against the Ministry of Defence was awarded £17,016 by an employment tribunal today.

Tilern DeBique, 28, who was reported to have been seeking £1 million in a row over childcare, had argued that she was expected to be available for duty “24/7, 365 days a year”.

Read more......

U.S. Faces Second Lost Depression, Why This Recession Is Different and What To Do About It
The Business Insider has a very interesting presentation by Richard Koo on The Real Reason Why This Recession Is Completely Different. Market Oracle

Mayoress forced to apologise after making online joke about immigrants
A town mayor apologised yesterday after posting a joke on the internet comparing illegal immigrants to sperm because 'millions of them come in but only one works'. Daily Mail

Tobacco 'price fixers' get fines totalling £225m

Britain's two big tobacco manufacturers and 10 retail chains were today found guilty of price fixing and handed fines that came to £225 million.

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