Thursday 3 May 2007

How was Democracy for you Today?

Polling Day. Did you find your Polling Station, or didn't you bother? Did your vote count? Tomorrow (Friday 4 May), the results of local elections will be made public. How will the outcome compare with Scottish local government elections, who are using the Single Transferable Vote for the first time? Why can't this government (any government) introduce STV in English local elections? Because they are afraid of true Democracy, and the power of the people. Take a peek at :

3 May 2007. An important day for democracy ... and for the electoral reform movement. People in Scotland will be voting today for their local councillors using Single Transferable Vote. A first on the UK mainland. Scottish voters: remember to vote 1,2,3 etc for your choice of councillors, and savour that moment. For a straightforward explanation and animation of how STV works – as a voter and at the count – see www.electoral-reform-scotland.org.uk

If you have a vote – and, outside of London, almost everywhere else has elections today – use it. We will be closely following all the election counts and results; looking both for examples of democracy flourishing and democracy failing. You can follow our progress throughout the night and during Friday by logging onto our website and blog www.makemyvotecount.org.uk/blog

Tuesday 1 May 2007

Memory Loss ? - The Gov't will Help You

Are there no limits to this government's proposals to control everyone? If you haven't read my profile, I mention a series of books called 'Left Behind'; this country is not that far away from doing something similar to keep tabs on us all. Look at the few examples pasted here from the No2ID website. Check the website for full details.

Another petition on the Downing Street website (that we certainly hope is a spoof) came to our attention this week. It calls for electronic tagging and entry into the DNA database of all citizens at birth. The proposal points out that some people may try to remove the chip and so proposes that "tags would be inserted in the hippo-campus area of the brain. Removing the tag would result in death or lobotomisation". Amazingly the petition has two signatures - perhaps by people who've already performed the removal procedure! See http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/human-chip/

A petition has been set up on the 10 Downing Street website calling on the prime minister "to legislate to require all UK Police forces to delete DNA data from persons not convicted of an offence". The Home Office is consulting on plans to massively expand the National DNA Database by taking DNA on arrest (e.g for dropping litter in shopping centres). Read more about the consultation on the GeneWatch website(www.genewatch.org/sub.shtml?als[cid]=551990). http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/StopDNAbystealth/

Minister proposes "tagging" for dementia - Kable 19/4/07 Science and technology minister Malcolm Wicks has suggested that tracking technology could help people with Alzheimer's to be more independent. Satellite technology could be used to help people with Alzheimer's and vascular dementia to live independently, Wicks told the Commons Science and Technology Committee.http://tinyurl.com/yplp8s(Please send me any items of interest you encounter - Editor newsletter@no2id.net

Sunday 29 April 2007

Whitby Beach Management Centre Lash-Up

Has anyone out there taken a look at Whitby's 'New Beach Management Centre'? It's taken almost 2 years to complete - and what a sight! The building won't last 5 minutes in a severe storm, especially like the one a couple of months ago. The exposed pipework and wooden cladding are prime targets for vandals, too. It was supposed to be open for Easter, which it wasn't, and the contractor had to draft in more men to make up for lost time (time spent doing nothing for months). More taxpayers money being wasted again - and no doubt more to put things right. Hopefully, I might get some answers at tomorrow's council meeting, 30 April. Take a look at the video link showing storm damage to beach huts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqaiMh8JjcU