Leveson Inquiry

This week we have seen the publishing of the Leveson Report and now David Cameron, who commissioned the inquiry and the report, looks to be wanting to ignore Leveson's recommendations. So I find myself thinking, what the hell was the point in the first place?

At great expense to the tax-payer, this inquiry now appears to have been a big waste of time, money and the emotion of the victims of the press' unethical probing.

I say this because the illegal activities of the press are being, and would have been dealt with by the police anyway, so this inquiry really has been a waste.

Cameron says he wants to do things properly, to be fair - well letting the press off with their unethical and amoral behavior is not the way to go about that. In 1990 the Press Complaints Committee were faced with a similar situation and the press said they would behave, that those activities would never happen again - well they did and if Cameron does not bring in independent regulation, then there is a very good chance this is going to happen again in another decade or so. The press will behave for a short time (as they have done on the 6 previous occasions when something like this occurred), but that behaviour will slip and they will go back to their old habits.

Cameron needs to grow some testicles and talk the press by the bull-horn and bring in an independent regulator. Simple as that. this does not impinge freedom of the press, it does not prevent them from going after stories. It protects the public and prevents them from (or severely punishes them for) amoral behaviour.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a happy St Andrew's Day :D

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

A few things political

Firstly, congratulations President Obama - you are an amazing man who deserves to be re-elected :D

I meant to write this last week but was away. On last week's Question Time on BBC 1 and idiot in the audience wanted to know why, rather than using wind farming, we don't use nuclear fuels for renewable energy.

Sometimes the stupidity of people astounds me. Wind farms do not leave waste that we, as yet, cannot safely destroy. In fact, we have a job storing it safely and this is why there are not more nuclear power plants all over the place. I would ask this imbecile whether he would be happy to have one in his back garden. i know the answer would be no - the the politicians who make these idiotic suggestions would also answer no this this question. No, they would want these power stations somewhere like, oh I don't know - SCOTLAND, WALES< N ENGLAND, anywhere they think is out of the way. These people anger me on so many levels. They talk about wind farms being aesthetically unpleasing - who cares, they work and in a few years they will bring energy prices down. Like all new things, they need time to iron out the wrinkles, make sure they are working to their optimum. In the case of the nuclear power sugestion - we have been dealing with the same problesm for 40 years. A friend of mine is a nuclear engineer. She inspects power stations to make sure they are storing waste and other byproducts properly. She once told me that if the public knew what she saw they'd be terrified. THAT is why we do not want more nuclear power stations. The other thing I want to mention is this guff about ONE NATION that Labour and their ilk keep spouting. Nobody feels that we are one nation and how dare they try to make us so. Scotland is Scotland, N Ireland is N Ireland, Wales is Wales and England is England. We are all proud to be part of our respective nations and should not be made to feel like we are being imalgumated into this one nation nonsense. Leave the One Nation ideas to the Americans - they said it first. The Speaker of the Scottish Parliament today acidentally called Ruth Davis, Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Lamont (mixing her name with Labour's Joanne Lamont's). This was, in so many ways, very apt as the two parties are practically walking together hand in hand in their opposition to SNP. The thing that angers me about this is the sheer betrayal these 2 parties are offering to the people of Scotland. I do feel that independence is on the way. I also feel taht we will need parties after this happens. I for one will not vote SNP again after we gain this, as I do not agree with a lot of their policies. We will need parties we can feel secure in voting for (Personally, I don't feel anyone should ever vote Conservative but that's a personal opinion and I feel we are all entitled to vote for whomever we wish). Labour, in their denial of wanting Scotland to be independent, offer no alternative to this post 2014. Liberal Democrats also offer up this same betrayal. I find that hard to swollow as I was a LibDem voter until they declared they were against the referendum. The UK government got in on a 38% vote - that's no where near half the UK vote and yet they got in. none of these votes came from Scotland, which shows how little our voice is heard in Westminster. This is the main reason we need to have independence, so that we can choose out government and govern ourselves. On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback: The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Big business avoiding tax

Starbucks join the ranks of those large corporations avoiding paying Corporation Tax in the UK.

At a time when big business needs to pay their dues to counter the recession, at least three large corporations that we know of are avoiding paying their taxes.

Starbucks: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19967397 Who used 'legitimate' ways to siphon money out of profits as a means to avoid paying tax. While these loopholes are legal they are not moral. The system is as much to blame as the companies who use them to avoid taxes.

Boots UK (ironically calling themselves UK, and yet stabbing the UK consumer and country in the back) and finally:

Apple and Ebay are also on this list.

While these laws allow the corporation to dodge taxes, it is up to the consumer to make them pay - by avoiding these shops/products where at all possible.

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Conservative Party Looking More and More Anti-Women

As the Conference progresses, The Conservative party are looking more and more to be 'old boys' together now than ever before!

To add to this, Cameron has stated he is for lowering the amount of time a woman can have an abortion and Jemery Hunt has advised 12 weeks! Many women don't know they are pregnant in the first 10-12 weeks!

If this was your daughter and she was 16, had been raped, would you condemn her to being a 'suitcase' for the rest of her term because you cannot abide the thought of a woman having control over decisions regarding her own body?

Women have campaigned for decades to have rights that men have had for a very long time. There is a definite backslide in the UK just now with regards to the rights of women. It is truly disgusting and I fear it will get worse.

All this from a government that Scotland/Wales and N Ireland did not vote for!

Shame on the Tories!

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Tax avoiders in big business

The overnmen are trying to cut the deficit by bleeding the poor dry, crippling those most in need and making them out to be criminals rather than tackling big business tax dodgers.

If anyone has been watching The Revolution Will be Televised on BBC3 (available on IPlayer), you will be aware of the fact that certain companies are making hundreds of millions in the UK but avoid taxes by putting ter offices in other countries, such as Switzerland etc.

These companies include Apple - a company that pays pennies to havetheir products made in China and charges hundreds of pounds in the UK (and elsewhere) to custom. Their profits are astrnomical!

I was surpised to learn that Boots the Chemist was also in his group of cmpanies that leech from the British public and do not give back. I have therefore stopped buying fom Boots and will not buy anoher apple product until tis is rectified.

These companies, and many others, should be charged with tax avoidance and billed. The figure given in the above show for both compnies was smethng in the region of £100,000,000. That wouldo quite a way to helpin bringhe economy in the UK back into balance.

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Today is the beginning of the Lib Dem Conference and we have seen MP after MP waxing lyrical about the state of the nation and what has been happening since they joined the coalition.

No one has, so far, mentioned (on the record, on the stage) that Nick Clegg should resign. They laud his apology, mas though this is enough to make up for the bare-faced lies the Lib Dems uttered to get the votes they received in the last election.

In order to survive beyond the next election, the Lib Dems must face up to the fact that Nick Clegg is viewed not only as damaged goods, but falty goods at that. No longer will the general public look on this man as honest, decent or anything other than the sell-out he is.

Here in Scotland, as I said in my previous post, the Lib Dems must break away from the national party if they are to survive beyond 2014. This is more than simple opinion, this is stating fact. They lost so many votes to the SNP and Labour that they will not gain any seats and will probably lose most if not all of their current seats in Parliament. This is what happens when you so blatantly go back on your word.

As I also mentioned in my last post, the fact that they are so against the independence referendum, let alone independence, is another blow to a great many Scots, given the show of force at the March for Independence in Edinburgh on Saturday, 22nd September. More and more people are now moving to a yes vote for independence, given what the tory government has done to the whole of the UK, a government that Scotland did not vote for. We have fewer tory seats than almost any other part of the UK.

Finally, I would like to mention the disgust I have for both the PM and for the minister, Andrew Mitchell, whom no one had heard of prior to today, for the latters outburst at the police and for the PM backing him.

Mr Mitchell verbally attacked 2 police officers who were DOING THEIR JOB by not letting him in to Downing Street. They did not recognise him and followed procedure. He verbally attacked them, calling them 'plebs' in a show of utter disregard.

Many people may have noticed an increase in police activity in the last week, after the 2 WPC's were so awfull and sadly murdered. They have been putting on a show of strength and solidarity and this minister shows with audacity and unrespectful disregard how little he thinks of the police force. Shame on you Andrew Mitchell, Shame.

On another note, my second book, The Island of the Mist, is now available on both Kindle and paperback formats:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Mist-Kingslayer-Series-ebook/dp/B0092TUS7U/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346945410&sr=1-2

And paperback: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Mist-N-Roy/dp/147921292X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346506656&sr=1-2

and in the US: http://www.amazon.com/Island-Mist-N-Roy/dp/147921292X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346946271&sr=1-2&keywords=the+island+of+the+mist

Politics in Scotland today

I was watching the Daily Politics today and of course, Thursday is Scottish First Minister's Questions. I would like to say that I am glad these parliamentary pieces are far less like a tantrum and more like actual politics.

One thing that continually gets me is Joanne Lamont's use of a script. I understand the need for paper notes re statistics and quotes from other people but she blatantly reads a script as though there are no original or intellegent thoughts in her head. I'm not trying to have a go at her, I just think she needs to understand the issues (real issues, not having a go at one stupid point, but real issues) and know what stance her party has on it. I do think that this lady is a completely ineffectual party leader for Labour. I personally would not vote for them given her argumentativeness.

The average person wants our politicians to get along, to actually agree with good judgements and good policy and politely put across their own ideas if they don't agree. The spirit should be co-operation.

The Liberal Democrat Party and the Labour Party need to learn something. They cannot blindly ignore many voters and categorically state that they are against independence because they are starting to look more and more like ostriches with their heads in the sand.

I will let you in on a secret - I used to vote Liberal. When they stated they would not back independence I switched to SNP. If we gain independence there's a good chance I won't vote SNP ever again (that depends on the parties and their policies for the country's future). I also vote Green as my second choice, because I feel that we need to look after our environment if we want to continue to breathe lovely fresh air.

Willie Rennie is a great Liberal Party MP, he is intellegent, articulate and, well, liberal. I agree with a few of his views but I really feel that the Scottish Liberals need to cuts themselves away from the national party or they will never gain seats again. In fact, I would go as far as to say that there is a very good chance the party will cease to exist after the next general election given the betrayal everyone feels in their siding with the tories.

Later in the programme, Andrew Neil spoke with Leanne Wood, Party Leader of Plaid Cymru. She had a lot of interesting things to say but one thing I really picked up on and loved is that she said regardless of the outcome of the Scottish referendum everything would change after it and that we needed (by we she meant Scotland, England, N Ireland and Wales) a standing of equality. I thought this was a wonderful thing for a politician to say.

This is the main issue a lot of people do not realise. They assume that Scotland is anti-English and we want to break away from the union for that reason. This is utter rubbish. We want independence because we want to take responsibility for ourselves and to be on an equal footing with the rest of the UK. I have several English friends, some of whom will vote for independence and some who possibly won't. I do think that many English people in Scotland will feel somehow threatened if we gained independence. Scotland is a modern liberal country, we want equality in all forms and no-one is going to be excluded.

I also think that Labour, who are curently in majority in the Welsh Assembly, are not benefiting Wales in any way, shape or form just now. in fact, I feel that the voice of the Welsh is being lost in Westminster even more than that of the Scottish.

I have not seen anything recently re Northern Irish politics so I cannot at present comment on this area. I hope they are in a better position than the rest of the UK at present.

On a final note, England needs representation as England, not just as Britain. I do feel that the voice of the average English person is also being drowned out in Westminster. It seems to me that Westminster is filled with upper middle-classed men who are concerned first and foremost with their own money issues than anything to do with doing the right thing for the UK.

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin