Tag Archives: Politics

Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray Make Who’s Who

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Who’s Who in 2013?

The new edition of Who’s Who is out with some exciting new entries. Including some of Britain’s brightest athletes.

The 165th edition of Who’s Who brings together over 33,000 autobiographical entries from people of, influence and interest in every area of public life. Featuring just over 1,000 entries new for this edition, Who’s Who 2013, published on 3rd December 2012, celebrates the achievements of British Society. An invaluable research tool and a unique way of measuring social change, it is the longest established and most comprehensive general biographical reference book. An invitation to appear in Who’s Who recognises lasting distinction and influence. An entry in Who’s Who is for life.

Preface by Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief at the Huffington Post Media Group, is a new biographee for the 2013 edition. She has written this year’s foreword, in which she considers the ways in which technology is rapidly transforming the media.

Olympic Idols

Included for the first time in the 2013 edition is Heptathlon darling, Jessica Ennis, who won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games. At just 26 years old, her impressive resume includes an Olympic gold, two World Championship medals, two World Indoor Championship medals, a European Championship medal and a Commonwealth Games medal.

Double Olympic gold medallist, Mo Farah makes a welcome entry this year, as does professional tennis player and Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray. Born in 1987, Murray is the youngest non-hereditary new entrant.

Entertainment

Presenter and journalist, Gabby Logan is a new addition to Who’s Who 2013. She represented Wales in rhythmic gymnastics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, before carving out a career in broadcast where she recently presented at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Included in the 2013 edition is author and Times columnist Caitlin Moran, who was named Critic of the Year and Interviewer of the Year at the 2011 British Press Awards. She lists her recreations as ‘hair biggening, cava, eyeliner, The Struggle’.

Comedian and songwriter Tim Minchin, who composed the music for Matilda the Musical is included in Who’s Who for the first time, as is fellow comedian Richard Ayoade. Richard starred in The IT Crowd and has directed music videos for the Arctic Monkeys and Super Furry Animals, amongst others.

Cooking Sensations

Two star Michelin chef, Michael Caines is a new biographee for the 2013 edition. Head Chef at Gidleigh Park in Devon and Bath Priory, Michael appeared in Celebrity Masterchef 2011 and is one of Britain’s most acclaimed chefs. He is joined by Nathan Outlaw, another South West based chef, who enjoys ‘collecting cookery books’. Star Wars fan Nathan is a two star Michelin chef who has two restaurants at the St Enodoc Hotel, in Cornwall.

Family Connections

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s brother Leo, Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Sustainability and Climate Change and sister Rachel, Editor-in-Chief of The Lady, are new names for 2013. Boris, another brother Joseph and father Stanley are already in Who’s Who making them one of the most successful families in the yearbook.

Another well-connected new entrant is Rachel Wolf, Director of the New Schools Network, who began her career as a researcher for Boris Johnson and whose mother and father are both already in Who’s Who.

Trivial Pursuits?

Lord Haskins, former Chairman of Northern Foods and Express Dairies plc, has updated his recreations to include ‘only-in-emergency harvest tractor-driver’, while Zai Bennett, Controller of BBC 3, and a new entrant for the 2013 edition, reveals his pastimes to include ‘impersonating primates for baby daughter’.

Writer and broadcaster on architecture and design, Thomas Dyckhoff’s recreations include ‘gluttony, staring out of the window, butchery and pie-making’ and Antonia Romeo, Director General of Transforming Justice at the Ministry of Justice, enjoys ‘Star Wars, Lego’. Host of Radio 2’s The Art Show, Claudia Winkleman, is another welcome addition to the 2013 edition. She lists her recreations as ‘sleeping, cuddling and bothering the children’.

Who’s Who in Numbers

4.5 tonnes – the weight of Who’s Who if all the UK’s inhabitants were in it (the weight of an Asian elephant!). It would be 94 metres thick, which is the height of the O2.

6th – where Who’s Who would have come in the medal table if it had been a team at the London Olympics (12 golds, 4 silvers)

80 – the number of jumbo jets it would take to transport everyone in Who’s Who

91 – the age of the oldest new entrant in Who’s Who 2013, Professor Yoichiro Nambu, Emeritus Professor at the University of Chicago

Who’s Who 2013

Published by A&C Black, 3rd December 2012

Hardback £235.00

Print-and-online edition £325.00 (available from Oxford University Press, visit www.ukwhoswho.com

Politicians Get £400 Per Month Food Allowance While Families Go Hungry

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It has not been a good time for the general public recently. In the past few years we have learned that some of our politicians are corrupt (the expenses scandal), that some of the Metropolitan Police Force was on the pay role of News Corporation, and that some of the press dealt in illegal activities to get their stories. Is anyone on the straight and narrow these days?

While ordinary people feel the pinch along with everyone else MP’s are legally claiming £400 per month on food. In fact, politics is the only career that I can think of where your get a food allowance and also get your rent or mortgage paid. All by the taxpayer, who can barely afford to live.

Recently I watched a brilliant documentary that was on the BBC called Britain’s Hidden Hungry. This was along the same lines of an excellent Marie Claire magazine article that I recently read. The documentary focused on food banks in Coventry. Food banks are on the rise now as families tighten their belts. Their are 11 food bank in Coventry. They are called Hope Centres and are set up by a Christian charity. A voucher is given to you by social services if you are deemed in need. Each voucher gives you 3 days of food.

Two more food banks are opening every week. The food bank in Coventry fed 10,000 people in 8 months. These food banks are on the rise all over the UK. Sometimes people need them as they have fallen down a benefits hole. One young women in the documentary who was in full time education only ate one meal a day because she was not eligible for benefits. She was even told to have a child by an employee at the benefits agency so she could apply for benefits.

I know quite a few politicians and they are not all corrupt and horrible. Some of them go into politics to help people and do good. But you have to wonder why in the current economical climate they are making cuts to benefits and the price of everything is rising above inflation that MP’s still get their food and rent paid for them. Especially as their constituents will be surviving on the bare minimum. If they really want to make more cuts, maybe that would be a good place to start?

Some MP’s do not even seem grateful at being in the only profession I can think of that pays for your food and rent and are still taking advantage of the situation.

David Amess is one of 27 MPs who claim expenses up to £20,000 a year to rent a second home in London while letting out the property and pocketing the cash. But he is doing nothing wrong according to parliamentary rules, just moral ones then.

Amess’s constituency home is in Essex, a mere 41 miles from Westminster. One wonders why MPs cannot commute like the rest of us. Amess owns a home in South West London, rents another at the expense of the taxpayer AND was claiming expenses to stay in a hotel in London.

The MP hit taxpayers with 23 separate expenses claims for ­hotels since July 2011.

Is one of the reasons so many MP’s are happily pushing through more austerity measures, because the austerity never affects them? Maybe a dose of reality is in order.

Alison Jackson creates lookalike images for Channel 4 Dispatches

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Channel 4’s current affairs strand Dispatches has asked the award winning photographer and filmmaker Alison Jackson to create images to sit alongside a special edition of the programme called Nuclear War Games, about the tense relations between Iran and Israel and the possibility of a military confrontation.

The lookalikes of Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are pictured playing actual games including chess, backgammon, arm wrestling and computer games.

Alison takes figures who look like well-known people and places them in scenarios which often provide an engaging and pertinent commentary on real life situations and the public perception of her subjects.

Nuclear War Games has gained exclusive access to an Israeli ‘war game’, in which an Israeli attack on Iran is played out in detail. It will be broadcast on Channel 4 on November 5th at 8pm.

Alison Jackson said: “This shoot was the perfect example of getting someone who looks nothing like the famous person he is supposed to resemble and turning him into a spitting image. The Ahmadinejad lookalike didn’t even have a beard, but by the beginning of the shoot we had managed to make him look just like the Iranian president.

It’s always fun to put fake celebrities in unlikely situations, but somehow it’s even more fun when politicians are involved. We’re really not used to seeing them with their guards down and acting like normal people. They all take themselves so seriously”

Dispatches: Nuclear War Games will be shown on Channel 4 at 8pm on Monday 5th November

Photo credit Alison Jackson: www.alisonjackson.com

Boris voted as UK’s favourite political buddy

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The Prime Minister is left at the airport, as Boris Johnson is voted preferred getaway companion for UK holidaymakers

We all dream about the perfect holiday destination, but when it comes to choosing a holiday companion who would you pick? When asked about which politician they’d most like to go away with, more than half of Brits elected Boris Johnson as their ideal beach buddy.

The findings emerged in a study carried out by social travel website Gogobot. 58.6% of the 1,400 people polled voted for the Mayor of London, with David Cameron coming in second place (14.5%), followed by Ed Milliband (9.9%) and Nick Clegg (9.1%) in fourth place. Despite coming in third, Ed can console himself with the fact that he beaten his brother yet again, with David coming in at fifth place.

What’s more, it seems that Boris’ charm spans the generations; he topped the polls across all age groups surveyed. He was most popular amongst 18-24 year olds, getting 65% of their vote. Young people also put Nick Clegg in second place putting David Cameron in third, perhaps suggesting that Nick would make a better drinking buddy? For holidaymakers aged over 65 David Cameron also slips into third place, behind Ed Milliband.

Men were more likely than women to choose Boris. He took 58% of the male vote, followed by David Cameron in second place with 15% of the male vote. Boris managed to pick up 54% of the female vote, followed by Ed Milliband (at 26%).

Across the pond the presidential election race is hotting up, but Obama is edging ahead in the holiday stakes. In a separate survey, Americans said they would prefer to go away with Barack Obama (54.6%) to Mitt Romney (45.4%). American women to dream of having Obama as their beach buddy; he collected nearly two thirds of their votes, whilst the male vote was split evenly.

Brits preferred the idea of a holiday with Barack Obama, with over 70% of people booking flights with the current President, instead of Romney.

Travis Katz, CEO of Gogobot said: “The survey shows just how important it is that your holiday companion has the full package; brains and the personality to match. This week Arnold Schwarzenegger backed Boris, clambering on board a Boris Bike to show his support for Boris as a Prime Ministerial candidate. Arnie seems to think it’s his intelligence and charm which make him a good political candidate, and It seems that it’s Boris’ sense of fun that makes him a popular great candidate for a holiday too!

Travis Katz continued: “There is so much choice when it comes to planning a holiday, whether it’s trekking in the Andes, shopping in New York or Skiing in the Alp’s, we all need someone there to make it memorable. Maybe Boris has a more relaxed travelling style than David, hopefully he’s got some travel recommendations he can share with us!”

Top five UK politicians to go on holiday with:

1. Boris Johnson (58.6%)

2. David Cameron (14.5%)

3. Ed Milliband (9.9%)

4. Nick Clegg (9.1%)

5. David Milliband (7.9%)


Top five UK politicians for men

1. Boris Johnson (63.3%)

2. David Cameron (13.2%)

3. Ed Milliband (9.2%)

4. Nick Clegg (7.3%)

5. David Milliband (6.9%)

Top five UK politicians for women

1. Boris Johnson (54.5%)

2. David Cameron (16%)

3. Ed Milliband (11.3%)

4. Nick Clegg (10.1%)

5. David Milliband (8.1%)

US presidential candidates

UK response:

Barack Obama (70.8%)

Mitt Romney (28.2%)

Men

Barack Obama (66.3%)

Mitt Romney (33.7%)

Women

Barack Obama (76.8%)

Mitt Romney (23.2%)

US response:

Barack Obama (54.6%)

Mitt Romney (45.4%)

Men

Barack Obama (51%)

Mitt Romney (49%)

Women

Barack Obama (58.1%)

Mitt Romney (41.9%)

Roman Abramovich Wins Court Battle

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The clash of the titans has finished and Roman Abramovich has come out on top, winning his legal battle against exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

The Chelsea FC owner was said “to be a truthful, and on the whole reliable, witness” by Mrs Justice Gloster.

Mr Berezovsky had said that Abramovich had intimidated him into selling his shares in Russian oil giant Sibneft and was claiming £3bn in damages. Mrs Justice Gloster said the 65-year-old had not been an “inherently unreliable” witness.

The judge said in her ruling “On my analysis of the entirety of the evidence, I found Mr Berezovsky an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable, witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept, which could be moulded to suit his current purposes.”

She dismissed Berezovsky’s claims that 45-year-old Abramovich had broken a promise on a deal which involved the Russian aluminium company RusAl “in their entirety”.

Mr Berezovsky said he was “shocked” at the decision and that Mrs Justice Gloster had rewritten Russian history.

There was a certain amount of mud-slinging during the three-month trail with Berezovsky calling Abramovich a “gangster” and Abramovich saying Berezovsky was “something of a megalomaniac”.

Abramovich was not in court but in a statement issued on his behalf said: “There were many serious allegations made against Mr Abramovich by Mr Berezovsky, including attacks on Mr Abramovich’s honesty and integrity.

“We are pleased that the judge has firmly rejected all such allegations and has described Mr Abramovich as a truthful and frank witness who showed a responsible and honest approach when giving evidence in this case.”

At one point the Queen watched the trial and talked to Mrs Justice Gloster

Mike Nicholson Interview: The Truth About Hillsborough.

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Frost Magazine has an exclusive interview with Mike Nicholson, the director of a new Hillsborough documentary. Mike has worked very hard on his documentary and it is definitely one to watch. Read our amazing interview to find out more.

How did the documentary come about?

I took a documentary makers course at Raindance when I first bought my video camera, and the tutor said that your first film should be about something you know a lot about, and something you are passionate about. That was it for me; it had to be about Hillsborough.


Do you think that people know the truth?

I think the people of Merseyside know the truth, and many people outside the area do as well of course. Even as the disaster was still unfolding, Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, who was in charge of policing Hillsborough on that awful day, set the lies in motion. He gave the order to open a perimeter exit gate that allowed thousands of supporters into the ground at once, and he also failed to cut off access to the tunnel that led to the already full central pens. Once the enormity of his decision started to dawn on him, he lied, and said that Liverpool fans had forced the gate causing an inrush.

Duckenfield later admitted to that ‘disgraceful lie’ as it was called in the Taylor Report, but it had already set the tone for many media reports, and by the time he retracted it the damage had been done. I still meet people today that believe the lies printed all those years ago. I just hope that the findings of the Independent Panel are reported widely, and in headlines, so that the wider people who only say the lies will finally see the truth.

What did you think of the Taylor report?

I personally think that the Taylor Report was very thorough, and correct in its findings. Lord Justice Taylor found that a breakdown of police control was the main cause of the disaster, and rejected claims from senior officers who appeared to be in arse-covering mode that Liverpool fans wee ticketless, drunk or aggressive. As I said before though, the general publics don’t read such reports to get their news, so its findings are largely invisible to the wider public.

What is the legacy of the Hillsborough disaster?

All seater-stadia. You can never say never, and we should always guard against complacency of course, but I can’t see how another disaster of this magnitude could happen in today’s game and that’s great.

Daughters, sisters, brothers, father’s and sons all died at Hillsborough, and all they wanted to was to enjoy the national game with their family & friends. Today’s game looks after its supporters so much better than it used to, and that has got to be a good thing.

At least three people who survived the Hillsborough have committed suicide. Do you think more could and can be done to help?

I don’t know if more could have been done. I am no expert on post-traumatic stress disorder or grief, and I wouldn’t like to say to be honest. I can say that fantastic organisations such as the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, who still to this day have a shop on the Walton Breck Road opposite the Kop, offer counseling and help for those who are struggling to come to terms with their experiences at Hillsborough.


It has been over 20 years since the disaster now. Do you think there is risk that people might forget?

The families and friends affected will never forget.

What is the aim of your documentary?

I understand that some of the big TV companies are currently working on broadcast documentaries on Hillsborough to coincide with the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report, which is due this September.

TV content tends to be guarded by rights though, and it is rarely open and freely given away online for anybody to see after it has been broadcast, and if it is, it is for a short window of time.

I want this documentary to be online forever; so future generations searching for the Hillsborough Disaster will be able to find something factual that in the main was told by those who were there. I won’t charge a penny for it, and it will be freely available to anybody with the will to learn the truth. I just want the truth to be told really.


Who did you speak to?

I have spoken to survivors, the bereaved, professional people such as firemen and nurses who were their as fans that day, and ended up working in the most horrendous of circumstances. I’ve also contacted The Hillsborough Family Support Group, the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and Hope for Hillsborough. I have also spoken to fans who were at Hillsborough for previous semi-finals, and a professor who is one of the world’s leading experts in crowd dynamics. I still have some interviews to conduct, and I hope to have at least part one ready online by the end of September.

What can be done to make sure this never happens again?

I think football learnt its lesson after Hillsborough. The stadiums in the first two divisions at least are well maintained, they are all-seater, and there are no fences to keep supporters penned in like animals.


What do you think people don’t know about the Hillsborough disaster?

The truth. The South Yorkshire Police managed that event badly, and caused the deaths of 96 men, women and children, and as I have already said they started to lie about the cause while the fans were still dead and dying on the pitch.

I think I was naive enough before Hillsborough to believe that the Police are there to protect you, and they don’t tell lies, but that innocence went away after Hillsborough forever.

There is a lot of talk now about the freedom of the press, what with the News International phone hacking scandal, but while I agree that a free press is important, that can only work if they are responsible enough to tell the truth. When The Sun printed a headline that it later described as ‘the worst mistake in our history’ they caused unbearable pain and stress to people who were still arranging funerals for those lost on the 15th April 1989. The lies and the cover-up are often referred to as the second disaster of Hillsborough, and I agree with that sentiment.

Is there a charity that people can donate to?

There are three main organisations that I know of, and they each operate for slightly different reasons. You can visit their web pages here:

The Hillsborough Family Support Group – http://www.hfsg.net

The Hillsborough Justice Campaign – http://www.contrast.org/hillsborough/

Hope for Hillsborough – http://www.hopeforhillsborough.piczo.com/?cr=

When will the documentary be released, and where can people see it?

The documentary will be a three-part series, and I hope to have the first part live in September.

It will be released first at www.thehillsboroughdisasterdocumentary.com

For updates and news, please follow @HillsboroughDoc on Twitter of like the Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hillsborough-Disaster-Documentary/283632178348441

Lib Dems take major stand on low carbon growth

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Responding to a Lib Dem party conference motion from Danny Alexander supporting a legal commitment to a carbon-free power sector by 2030 as a means to support growth in the low-carbon sector, Joss Garman, senior campaigner for Greenpeace UK said:

“Danny Alexander deserves praise for standing up for our low-carbon sector, which generated a third of all growth in our economy last year. This issue goes to the heart of the coalition’s growth and infrastructure plans. A clear commitment to a carbon-free power sector by 2030 will boost clean industries, create jobs, get energy bills under control, and get us on track with reducing carbon emissions.”

Milk: The Carbon Footprint Culprit

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Milk poured down kitchen sinks every year creates a carbon footprint equivalent to thousands of car exhaust emissions, according to a new study.

Scientists say 360,000 tonnes of milk are wasted in the UK each year, creating greenhouse gas emissions amounting to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The University of Edinburgh study said this is the same number emitted by about 20,000 cars annually.

Researchers looking into the environmental impact of food production said eating less meat and cutting down on food waste would save significant greenhouse gas emissions. They also suggest the food industry could reduce emissions by seeking more efficient ways to use fertilisers.

Dr David Reay, of the university’s School of GeoSciences, who led the study, said: “Eating less meat and wasting less food can play a big part in helping to keep a lid on greenhouse gas emissions as the world’s population increases.”

Researchers also said halving the amount of chicken consumed in the UK and other developed countries to levels eaten in Japan could cut greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 10 million cars off the road.

The research team said figures show if average chicken consumption in developed countries fell from the current level of 26kg each every year to the Japanese average of about 12kg each by 2020, global emissions from poultry would fall below current levels, despite increased output from the developing world.

This would cut the predicted global output of nitrous oxide, a key greenhouse gas, from this source by almost 20%, based on current growth rates, they said.

The study, carried out in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen and partners in Europe and America, was published in Nature Climate Change.

The team arrived at their findings by examining data for global agricultural production of greenhouse gases together with consumption of food in various regions of the world.