Safety engineering for banks

The Financial Times magazine on Saturday 15th January ran a fascinating feature discussing how the disciplines of safety engineering for nuclear power stations could and should be applied to the kind of financial engineering that provoked the financial meltdown. It was a persuasive thesis. But there is a a fundamental difference. If you are in charge of a nuclear reactor that goes haywire, then, guilty or not, you are likely to suffer serious personal consequences - even death. If you are in charge of a failed bank - even if you are guilty as hell, you will emerge richly rewarded.

Evenhandedness

Lifted from the 'Stop the War Coalition' supporters Email is "SATURDAY MARCH 12TH: CONFRONTING ANTI MUSLIM HATRED, A CONFERENCE WITH SPEAKERS FROM BRITAIN, EUROPE AND THE US. Speakers include Tariq Ramadam, Robert Lambert, Mehdi Hassan, Salma Yaqoob, Peter Oborne, Lindsey German and leading Muslim and anti racist activists from France, Germany, Scandinavia and the USA.10 –5pm March 12th, London Muslim Centre, 92 Whitechapel Road, E1 1JX. As a supporter of this organisation I'm all for this initiative but it MUST go hand in hand with an initiative - led by the vast majority of those in the UK Muslim community - which unequivocally also condemns the hatred of fanatical Muslims for Christians and anyone else with whom they disagree. If traditional British tolerance is to be sustained to the widest number of cultures and faiths it is not acceptable for 'leaders' to make excuses for transgressors of basic civilised behaviour on the basis of religion & culture. No exceptions.

No home for Lib Dems in Labour Party.

In the year 2000 Chief Executives got 47 times the national average pay. By 2010 this had risen to 81 times. If you are a left wing Lib Dem distressed at some of the things coming out of the Coalition please don't delude yourself that you have a spiritual home in the Labour Party. Their record on social justice made even Thatchers jaw drop open.

The 'Dunce of the Year Award' - to the Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph is an arch opponent of the Murdoch empire so what does do? Why it hires some people to do a 'sting' the publication of which results in the decision on whether or not to curb Murdoch's ambition being removed from the one man who might oppose such ambition. Clever stuff huh!

Ill informed punditry gets trashed by events.

A certain Bill Carmichael, who seems to be given column inches in the National press in which to air his opinions, wrote in the Yorkshire Post on 24th December: " It is precisely the same reason why the Business Secretary was so easily seduced into making a fool of himself in a Christmas special of 'Strictly Come Dancing'. This was written before the show was aired and it is not clear whether Mr Carmichael had seen it. In the event Vince Cable and his partner came second in the judges vote and one judge gave them a perfect 10 score. One might venture to suggest that it was not the Business Secretary who made a fool of himself on this occasion.

Mad and cruel

There is neither sanity or fairness in an asylum system that allows a failed asylum seeker,who has somehow escaped deportation and who kills a girl with a car that he has no business to be driving in the first place, to stay in Britain. Especially when desperate people with young families who have done nothing wrong, can work, want to work and want to integrate are deported. I feel deeply ashamed as well as very angry. It is high time that the insanity and injustice of our system was dealt with.

Stupid Student

Cambridge history student Charlie Gilmour, photographed climbing the Cenotaph, has apologised (good). However he is reported as saying that he didn't realise it was the Cenotaph. If that is true how did anyone so appallingly ignorant ever get into Cambridge & should he not be sent down?