Fee charging cash machines - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4428958.stm
More and more cash machines in the UK are charging people to access their own money. While I don't like the machines that charge, the people who use them only have themselves to blame. There are still plenty of non-charging cash machines around or you could get cashback at the supermarket. I have chosen not to use fee-charging cash machines and I've managed to get by OK. So if people whinge and whine about the machines and then use them, then it's their own fault for being so bloody stupid.

Bus deregulation threatens hospital - http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16359797%26method=full%26siteid=50061%26headline=bus%2dservice%2dto%2dhospital%2dunder%2dfire-name_page.html
Liverpool Women's Hospital is under threat because many of its patients cannot get there due to inadequate bus services. This wouldn't happen in London, because London's bus network is still planned by the local authorities to meet the needs of the city. The rest of the UK has to make do with what the private bus companies think is profitable plus the few filler services that local authorities can afford to subsidise. The problem is that when local authorities are strapped for cash, some vital non-profitable bus services are slashed and people are left stranded. Authorities across the country need to be able to plan their local transport networks again, contracting out individual routes to the companies that are best able to provide a reliable service. Either that or London's public transport should be deregulated so that Londoners can sample the chaos that the rest of us have to put up with every day.

Girl attacked by school gang - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/4433488.stm
Yet another case of violence at school perpetrated by bullies who think they can get away with anything. This is now happening so often across Britain that the government needs to take control and put a stop to it. Send all the violent kids to prison until they learn the error of their ways. Sod their human rights! What about the human rights of the rest of us not to have to live in fear of violent thugs? Lock their parents up too, cos they are obviously a danger to society, the way they're bringing their brats up. These bullies have had their way for far too long.

Victims of Shell's Nigerian escapades remembered - http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/11/327741.html
10 years after Ken Saro-Wiwa and others were murdered by the Nigerian government for daring to oppose what Shell was doing to the Ogoni tribe in its quest for oil, protesters hung 9 nooses from the headquarters of Shell UK on Thursday. Good on them for keeping the events in people's minds. Shell's name will always be tainted with the blood of the Ogoni tribe.

More bankrupts than ever before - http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/180/180658_going_bust_hits_record.html?rss=yes
Personal bankruptcies at running at record levels in the UK. It's the symptom of years of over-borrowing which has kept our economy afloat. While spending other people's money, so many have forgotten that they eventually have to pay it all back. Bankruptcy does seem a bit like a cop-out - a way to not have to pay back your debts while everyone else still does. Doesn't seem fair somehow. Still, if you are bankrupt, your credit rating will be rock bottom for years. If it's not, it should be.

Honour killing in Oxfordshire - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/4407728.stm
A man was murdered by his girlfriend's father and brothers because she was pregnant. The family in question was originally from Iran. I'm all for multiculturalism and tolerance towards others, but my tolerance stops when people think they can use violence with impunity. I hope the perpetrators are sent to prison for life and are never let out. Honour killings are a problem in so many countries, even here in Europe, that there needs to be a global effort led by civilised Muslims (because they DO exist) to make the practise unacceptable. I don't care if it's been going on in some countries for hundreds of years - that doesn't make it justifiable in this day and age. Slavery went on for hundreds of years but a stop was put to it. The same must happen to the custom of honour killings.

Lords leader wants fewer restrictions on TV parliament coverage - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4403814.stm
Baroness Amos wants to abolish several restrictions that dictate where cameras can be placed in Britain's houses of parliament and what they may show. Makes sense, and I'm sure it would be a step in the right direction. Parliamentary coverage is unbelievably dull - hardly anyone watches it. Allowing TV the freedom to show it in a more contemporary style will definitely make people feel more connected to it. What will make people even more connected to it is if the number of votes cast for each party is reflected in who sits in those parliaments. Far too many votes are irrelevant under first-past-the-post. We should also have a system whereby if the turnout is 70%, then 70% of the seats in parliament are filled. The empty seats will serve to remind MPs of the proportion of society that they have failed to inspire enough to vote.

Call for speed restriction devices in all cars - http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=2194012005
The devices would be set to physically stop cars being able to go faster than the speed limit. Seems like a great idea to me. Most motorists have shown time and time again that they have no intention of obeying the law when it comes to speeding. The only way to stop them is to either throw them into prison where they belong or adapt the cars so that they physically cannot drive at illegally high speeds. Anything that finally says to drivers 'No, you are not above the law' has to be good.

Welsh company directors help themselves to pay rises 3 times what they give their workers - http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=16330326%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=directors%2ddefend%2dpay%2drises-name_page.html
Do they improve their yearly output more than 3 times what their workers do? I doubt it. It's just a case of greedy bastards with nothing to stop them helping themselves to more cash. The only thing that will stop this situation is legislation to cap bosses' pay in line with that of their employees. Everytime most workers want a pay rise, they are asked to justify it through better efficiency and/or higher output. Why on earth should this not apply to bosses? Too many bosses are intent on rewarding themselves for failure while punishing the people who do most of the work.

Bush not welcome in Argentina - http://www.guardian.co.uk/argentina/story/0,11439,1634791,00.html?gusrc=rss
Argentinian people have been protesting against George W Bush's visit to their country. Football legend Diego Maradona reflected public opinion by calling Bush a "fascist" and a "terrorist". Bush is there for a summit that is meant to promote "free trade". That'll be the kind of free trade where George tells third world countries they're not allowed to subsidise their farmers and have any kind of food security, while Bush hands megabucks to US farmers to make surplus food that will then be sent abroad to destroy any kind of farming and food security that other countries have. I only hope Prince Charles told George Bush how important he believes food security is to nations when they met the other day. George Bush will never fully understand just how much pain and suffering he has created in the world.

Danish free speech defies religious fanatics - http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/04/wcartoon04.xml
Thousands of Muslims have demonstrated and 11 ambassadors of Muslim countries have criticised the fact that a Danish newspaper printed cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. "I will never accept that respect for a religious stance leads to the curtailment of criticism, humour and satire in the press," said the Danish Prime Minister and I agree with him 100%. For too long throughout history, people of all religions have been able to get away with persecuting people for daring to disagree with them. As long as people are not inciting violence and people who disagree with their stance have a right to reply, then people should be able to say or portray anything they like.