Thursday, July 13, 2006

Two Jag's yes - Two wars NO!

BBC NEWS Politics 'Horror' at Prescott as acting PM

There is an irony here, Prescott can be trusted with Two Jag's but not two wars.

John Prescott: Traditionally stands in for Tony BlairOne of the UK's best known former Army commanders in Iraq says he is "filled with horror" at the prospect of John Prescott running Britain this summer.
Mr Prescott usually takes the reins when Tony Blair is abroad on holiday but Colonel Tim Collins says he should not be left in charge of two wars.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Coventry and Warwickshire Acute Services Review - NHS

Coventry and Warwickshire Acute Services Review - NHS

The local papers in Warwick & Leamington have stirred up a lot of controversy over the future of Warwick hospital over the past few weeks. From what I have read and the people I have spoken to, as far as I can tell, the reason Hospital is Millions of pounds overspent because the hospital attempted to meet government targets and bring down waiting lists, they undertook a number of treatments and the money to pay for all this work did not appear from the people who's job it is to pay for it.

Perhaps the people of mid Warwickshire are failing to follow Government guidelines by getting ill to often.

This emphasises to me, what I have long suspected, that the problems with the Health Service is not to do with the Doctors, or the Nurses (who in my opinion do not get paid enough for what they do) the problems are with how the whole thing is managed. If we are to find an answer to these problems, this is where we should look.

What has not been well publicised by the local press is the 'Acute Services Review'. This is a public consultation on how healthcare is to be provided in Warwickshire in the future. You can get involved by following this link. http://www.coventrywarksasr.nhs.uk/

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Amplifico Appeal to complete their first Album.


The Amplifico Webathon with www.nexuslive.com!

Amplifico are a fantastic talented band from Scotland. I admire their attitude to by-passing the record companies and promoting themselves. They played at a small bar in Leamington last year and after the gig went round collecting email addresses and selling their home made CD's and have stayed in touch. These guys are building and engaging with their fan base themselves. They do not wish to be shackled to a record deal that would cramp their creativity.

They started work on their first properly produced album and unfortunately ran out of cash, so they are conducting a series of fund raising events to raise the cash they need to complete the album.

This will culminate in a webcast live from the Bongo Club in Edinburgh, on Wednesday 19th July 2006 and will be broadcast live on the web you can watch for free at http://www.nexusliveshow.com/, 9pm.

It is worth checking these guys out for their quirky original and very talented music.

These guys deserve to do well.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Should we build more Nuclear Power Stations.


This is a debate that is starting to gather momentum.

There are many arguments for Nuclear power, on the surface it may seem to be a clean, efficient, carbon neutral solution to our energy problems. It is true that technology has moved on in the half century since the first power stations were built.

There are many arguments against, such as safety, radiation fears for those living nearby and the threat of terrorism, however there are two key arguments that clinch the argument for me.

Cost.

Firstly our nuclear industry has left us with a massive clean-up bill for historic waste of £56 billion and rising.

Secondly for a fraction of the cost of building the new nuclear power stations we would need could be used to build a range of different renewable power facilities across Britain in less time than it would take to build the Nuclear option.

This would have an added benefit in placing Britain at the cutting edge of the growing market in renewable technologies that would revitalise our industry.

By having a little imagination we can create something with a positive lasting legacy, rather than a huge cleanup bill for future generations.