From the BBC: The government should consider lending directly to businesses and mortgages as banks fail to live up to promises to lend more, Nick Clegg has suggested. The Lib Dem leader says the government has been “supine” and “weak” in not forcing banks to act, despite giving them billions of taxpayers’ pounds. Mr Clegg said these were “not normal times” and solvent businesses were being put at risk by lack of funding. There was “growing public anger” and urgent action was needed, he added. Mr Clegg says the government should lend directly to companies through the Post Office, local authorities or even by creating an entirely new bank. You can read the full story...

Sketrick House, a new serviced office costing £3m has opened in Newtownards, Belfast. The centre is looking to attract up to 30 businesses from the surrounding area.  The centre which is spread across 20,000 square feet with 90 car parking places has already secured 5 letting agreements. Leslie Ross, from Ards Business Centre said the latest technology...

An interesting article follows below from Time Magazine, Nov. 16, 2008. The bold emphasis is mine.   “Huckabee Finally Settles His Campaign Scores  by Michael Scherer Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is not the sort of politician who likes to bite his tongue. But that’s just what he found himself doing in the eight months following his surprising and colorful presidential campaign. What did he think was wrong with the Republican Party? What did he think of his former primary rivals? What was the best direction for the conservative movement? To each question, he would answer only in broad strokes, refusing to get too specific or pointed. He was writing a book, he would say. It would come out after the election. He would “name names.” Just wait and see. On...

(nb. I am not the Devil's Kitchen)So, Jon Gaunt has been sacked by TalkSport for calling a horrible little bigot "a Nazi". Apparently the station "received a number of complaints over the broadcast". They received a lot of e-mails of support for Gaunt, too, but they ignored them.As I made plain in my previous post, I don't listen to Jon Gaunt or, for that matter, TalkSport, but I wonder how many listeners to a show presented by a right-wing Sun columnist would really have objected to Mr Gaunt slipping into the vernacular when dealing with a man who would like it to be illegal for Britain's 13 million smokers to become foster parents.As was amply demonstrated during the ridiculous Ross/Brand furore - and before that, the Shilpa Shetty bollocks (remember her?) - complaints procedures are a...

The Free Website Template demos are now available again. We felt that these would be better than the screenshots that were previousley...

Could it be that British summer holidays cancelled by striking pilots will ultimately sink the ID card scheme? Labour’s cardboard coercion may yet be grounded on the runway of Manchester airport; at least, we can hope. The Indie reports that resistance is growing to government plans to pilot ID cards on, erm, pilots. Staff at Manchester and London City airports, along with overseas students, are among the groups being targeted first for Labour’s laminated gifts of joy. The British Airline Pilots Association is threatening strikes and the airline bosses, of the British Air Transport Association, are also annoyed that their staff are to be part of a “PR initiative”. Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne is quoted as saying: It is no surprise that pilots are up in...

“WICHITA, KAN.  - A Wichita, Kansas preacher says he will not remove a message on his church sign that says President-Elect Barack Obama is a Muslim. The sign is staying up despite the fact that Obama is a Christian. The sign at Spirit One Christian Center reads, “America we have a Muslim president. This is sin against the Lord.” Obama supporters reportedly got into a shouting match with parishioners outside the church on Sunday.”   [Article from here.] Although I think it is debatable whether Barack Obama is a genuine Christian or not, and also debatable whether he is a Muslim or not, or an unregenerate New Age interfaith ‘mongrel’ mix [which I think is the most likely] I find this church’s ignorance and short-sightedness outstanding -...

Yet another lawsuit has been filed against Apple.  Nassau Country resident, Mr Avi Koschitzki complains that Apple are ignoring hairline cracks in the iPhone handset’s enclosure, namely at or around the camera module. Mr Koschitzki says, “Although Apple was and is aware that the iPhones were and are defective, and that consumers have experienced repeated instances [...] Related posts:Apple iPhone Price Slashed - rumours of a new model iPhone Shoppers who are still sitting on the fence...Apple iPhone Reviewed: Does it Get the Gadget Stamp of Approval? The hype is now over in the US for the...LG KE850 vs Apple iPhone Looks like Apple may have another thing to worry about... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin....

The XO laptop sponsored by the One Laptop Per Child organisation (OLPC) has hit the European market this week. The computers will be sold via the Give One, Get One scheme that has already been operating in the US market. There is a big feel-good factor in the scheme which means that when buyers purchase [...] Related posts:‘LiveLappy’ - $100 Laptop Production Begins for Children in Developing Countries The idea was proposed five years ago and although...Want the latest ATI Drivers on your Laptop? Well now you can If you’re like me a hard core gamer, you’re always...Review: Toshiba U400-145 - The Perfect Office Laptop Overview Need a new laptop for your office work, but... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin....

Zonealarm will hand out its Zonealarm Pro software for free today. To be precise, it will be free starting at 6 AM PDT on Tuesday 18 (that’s 2PM for us in the UK) and will remain so for the next 24 hours. The url with the free offer will go live at the same time which [...] Related posts:Prevention is Better Than Cure With ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 7 You've probably heard it in the news over and over...Get Your Free Copy Of T3 Or 4 copies for �1 For this month only, Dixons.co.uk has teamed up with...FREE: Satmap Online Route Planner and Route Share Forum. I’m a great believer that organisation and planning makes life... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin....

Many thanks to Brad who directed me to this article by Michelle Boorstein, from The Washington Post, November 16, 2008 - “In Va., a Powerful and Polarizing Pastor A Loudoun Minister Inspires Loyalty From Followers, Anger From Ex-Members With Torn Lives and Moral Pain Rob Foster was 16 when his family unraveled. He had told his parents that he wanted to leave Calvary Temple, the Pentecostal church in Sterling the family had attended for decades. But church leaders were blunt with his parents: Throw your son out of the house, or you will be excommunicated. And so that December two years ago, Gary and Marsha Foster told Rob that he had to leave. They would not see him or talk to him. “I was devastated,” he said. For more than three decades, hundreds of families have been...

US Investment bank, JP Morgan, have completed a deal to secure nearly 2 million square feet of office space on London’s Docklands, which will be the company’s new European HQ. The deal saw the company outlay almost £250m for land on which to build the new development.  The new scheme will be situated on the Riverside...

I want a potato as our MP too, It'd do a much better job than that lesbian we have...

The Voice is indebted to James Graham for alerting LibDig.co.uk readers to this article on the BBC website: Britain’s political leaders are naturally keen to be seen as Barack Obama’s political soulmate - but can any of them truly compare to the US President-elect? How do they measure up? A tantalising intro… here’s what Brian says about the Lib Dem leader’s policies: Barack Obama: Was against the Iraq war from the start and backs phased withdrawal of troops. He wants a “surge” in troops in Afghanistan and is open to negotiations with Iran. But it was the economy that defined his Presidential campaign. Plans targeted tax cuts for low and middle income families. Scrap Bush tax cuts for better-off households. Wants to reform healthcare and renegotiate free...

From Time Magazine, Peter Beinart’s take on the Obama Presidency: it is “just the beginning… Shifting attitudes about government will make Democrats the ruling party for a generation” The death and rebirth of American liberalism both began with flags in Grant Park. On Aug. 28, 1968, 10,000 people gathered there to protest the Democratic Convention taking place a few blocks away, which was about to nominate Lyndon Johnson’s Vice President, Hubert Humphrey, thus implicitly ratifying the hated Vietnam War. Chicago mayor Richard Daley had warned the protesters not to disrupt his city and denied them permits to assemble, but they came anyway. All afternoon, the protesters chanted and the police hovered, until about 3:30, when someone climbed a flagpole and began lowering the...

Exclusive: Star Trek Official Movie Trailer is here! This is the new movie trailer for the new Star Trek XI Movie, for release on May 8 2009. (wide) Take a look. More Star Trek (coming...

For the next 5 weeks, Eburyites will be at your service for all of your personal book shopping needs. Send your Christmas book quandary to eburyblog@eburypublishing.co.uk and and one of us will have the answer. Let us know a bit about the gift receiver, and we’ll scour our catalogue for the best presents money can buy. One question we’ve had in already… Hi Ebury, My granny is a right old raver. I’ve tried buying her mohair bed jackets and heated slippers, but she always says she’d rather be out downing martinis with Daniel Craig and wants a present from Ann Summers. I can’t face buying lingerie for an 85 year old - HELP! Spoddy Granddaughter —- Dear Spoddy Granddaughter, Congrats on having such a groovy granny! There should be more like her. Fear not, we have exactly...

12th November 2008 saw HTC and Scartel launch the world’s first integrated GSM/WiMax handset – the HTC MAX 4G. Scartel (brand Yota) are a Russian mobile WiMAX provider, founded in 2007, in order to provide mobile services of the most up-to-date mobile broadband access technology (4G). “The introduction of the HTC MAX 4G represents the culmination of [...] Related posts:James Bond Style Mobile Phone Watch Gathering dust at the bottom of my jewellery box, I...Get Paid to Watch Ads on Your Mobile Phone I don't know about you but I simply can't...Back up your Mobile Phone…Mobyko Style Mobyko have just partnered with us to offer Gaj-IT.com readers... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin....

The Times has this: Leaders of the far-right party believe that their hardline message will chime with voters when, as expected, crime rises during the recession. They can be expected to exploit fears of crime caused by migrant workers in places where immigration from eastern Europe has been high. Winning seats on police authorities would give the BNP influence over forces’ budgets, the appointment of chief officers and the allocation of resources. Senior officers and police authorities are alarmed at the proposals for direct elections, which are supported, in differing forms, by Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. They fear that elections for police authorities would frequently have low turnouts, leading to the election of extremists and single-issue......

posted by Cptn We’re always keen to hear about witty and practical solutions to everyday problems, especially when they demonstrate applied knowledge, which is why Peter Widera’s design and build of a cow-shaped postbox caught our eye. And we’re not the only ones, Peter is up for an Excellent in Exeter award, which takes place tonight [Monday, November 17]. Peter came up with the idea while his family were looking to replace the postbox at their farm near Ottery St Mary. He set about researching, designing and building a brand new box during his IT and Design Technology class at Southbrook College. When Peter first went to Southbrook he suffered from low self esteem and battled against his leaning difficulties and a visual impairment. Once there, he excelled in IT and...

This article is entirely uninteresting. I only stumbled across it by chance. But one thing about it did excite me: at the bottom there is the following statement: An earlier version of this story mistakenly suggested that British programmes were responsible for 53% of global television output. The figure actually relates to the increase in sales of British format ideas. So what you might say. The BBC made a mistake, happens every day. So what? The BBC made a mistake and acknowledged it, instead of simply changing it and airbrushing the mistake out of history. Is this a one-off or a change in policy? I’ve not noticed any other acknowledgements like this. It may be sad to get excited by this, but the BBC’s practice of maintaining they are always right, at all times, even...

I shall be republishing most of the old blog posts and comments over the next few days. Hopefully this shouldn’t cause too many problems but if it does, please accept my apologies in advance. I’m sure everything will settle down very...

With Lauren Dyson tipped for the top. The People’s Republic of South Devon weekly news round up for the winners and losers of the week’s news from the South West. GOOD WEEK Musical Youth… Wee uns aged from four months will be able to tap their toes with Devon’s first fully licensed Musical Steps teacher, Caroline Badcott who is offering a free music class in Sidmouth. Dyson whirlwind… Oreston’s own Lauren Dyson is gearing up to battle it out for the Christmas number one slot with her appearance on Basshunter’s latest tune and video, I Miss You. But it’s only the start. “I have big plans for 2009,” she told Eleanor Radford on What’s on South West. “You’ll have to watch this space.” Bovey Climate Action… The environmental action...

I was totally shaken to see how gorgeous Baby P looked before he became a punch bag. Don’t you just want to squeeze those chubby cheeks and bounce him on your lap, sing a nursery rhyme, clap hands and laugh together. That’s what most mums would have done with this bonny boy. But not Baby P’s mum. Instead of enjoying this kind of happy childhood, the blond haired, blue-eyed toddler was brutally battered to death at his home - a place which should have been his place of safety. It doesn’t matter to me who gets sacked for this - and I’m sure it won’t be long before Sharon Shoesmith, Haringey’s Director of Children and Young People’s services, is deservedly given the boot. Baby P, who was 17 months old, suffered more than 50 injuries while...

Recently, Lib Dem Voice has been snowed under with hits and comments from new readers, all expressing their anger in the face of the Baby P tragedy. (If you’re a regular, you won’t find anything in this post you don’t already know - fear not, normal LDV service will soon be resumed, but this does...

Qataris were up in arms yesterday after a proposal by the government to limit household to a maximum of two domestic workers, according to a story in the Peninsula.As Qataris themselves point out, not every Qatari is rich. But with salaries of domestic workers starting at just QAR600 ($165 or GBP100) almost every Qatari family can and does have domestic workers.To Westerners, coming from a culture where only the super rich can afford domestic workers, this may seem spoilt. However, many families could just not manage without help. An increasing number of Qatari women work nowadays, and with both parents in work by seven, even the school run becomes unfeasible without help.Add to this the fact that large families are the norm, with familes often having six children or more, and you can see...

posted by Cptn At least those South Devon Humanists will get their next talk out of the way before the rest of us start opening our Advent calendars. David Love will be explaining why it is that stories about the birth of Jesus should not be taken entirely seriously, at Birdwood House, Totnes on November 27 at 7.30pm. “Many New Testament scholars now accept that the birth stories of Jesus are probably entirely legendary, and were added to the Jesus story later,” the Torquay-based astronomer told the PRSD. “However, though these views are now widely accepted by historians, such information has not been allowed to percolate down to the ordinary churchgoer,” he said. We’re reliably informed that David will explain a little about how and when the books of the New Testament...