Ian Plimer is what many would regard, from looking at his CV, as a very reputable scientist. He has a PhD and as worked in academia since 1991, most recently as Professor of Mining Geology at the University of Adelaide ( Read more... )

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

I tend to alternate between the broadsheet newspapers and have recently noticed an increasing disconnect between them on the reporting of global warming issues. In particular, the Daily Telegraph seems to have a much more sceptical stance than other newspapers. Much of this seems to be led by the articles of its columnist Christopher Booker ( Read more... )

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has recently sponsored an investigation into minimum income standards. Details can be found here. I thought it would be interesting to review their conclusions for a single working age male, in particular comparing my own annual expenditure against their derived budget.

( My comparison ... )

( My annual update ... )

I've reviewed last year's resolutions by adding comments to this post.

I haven't had much time today to think of resolutions for the forthcoming year. However, I've come up with the following.

(1) Always put on an extra layer of clothing when cold.
The goal here is only to use the central heating as far as necessary.

(2) Always use a timer when ( Read more... )

Tonight Nick Griffin (leader of the British National Party) and David Irving (discredited historian) are speaking at the Oxford Union. Some politicians (such as Conservative MP Julian Lewis and Green Party principal speaker Derek Wall) have condemned the invitation. However, others (such as Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris) are standing up for the ( Read more... )

How to test your vocabulary and do something useful at the same time:

Click here

The London Assembly voted today:

"This Assembly calls on the Metropolitan Police Authority to take the necessary steps to bring to an end the debate on the position of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, which is to the detriment of policing in London and bring his appointment to an end, if necessary obtaining the consent of the Home ( Read more... )

The Green Party is currently balloting its membership on the question as to whether to change its structure to create a post of leader (albeit with much more limited powers than the leaders of other UK political parties). Having considered both sides of the argument, I am against this change. I was preparing to post my reasons for the record. ( Read more... )