"I've Seen Sunny Days I Thought Would Never End"

The UK has had the sunniest February on record, the Met Office has revealed.

Sunshine totals up to 27 February reveal the UK-wide figure for the month was 106.1 hours - the previous record was 94.4 hours in 1970.

BBC forecaster Alex Deakin said "particularly long-lived" high pressure for much of the month had brought with it clear skies.

But, he said, the sunny spells were set to end, with windy weather likely to start March.

Linkage

GLOBAL WARMING!!! or not. In my opinion I like the sun. I really don't believe that global warming is as big of an issue as everyone seems to think.

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Immigration points system begins

A long-expected overhaul of the UK's immigration system has come into force with the launch of a point-based system for foreign workers.

The first stage of the system becomes operational on Friday - and will apply fully by the end of the summer.

Ministers say the changes are the biggest for a generation - and will allow the UK to better control migrants from outside EU.

But the Conservatives say they want an annual cap on the numbers allowed in.

Link

As an American it is always interesting seeing other countries deal with the same issues that America deals with. It shows that some issues are truly global.

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Front Line Harry

Prince Harry has been fighting the Taleban on the front line in Afghanistan, the MoD has confirmed.

Harry, 23, who is third in line to the throne, has spent the last 10 weeks serving in Helmand Province.

The prince joked about his nickname "the bullet magnet", but said: "I finally get the chance to do the soldiering that I want to do."

Story

Prince Harry has been on the front line for ten weeks according to the Ministry of Defense. I commend Harry for his bravery for it cannot be easy for anyone, especially one as high profile as a prince, to be on the front line.

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New Ferry Rates

A scheme aimed at cutting the cost of ferry journeys to and from the Western Isles has been announced by the Scottish Government.

The pilot scheme will involve three main island routes and will cost about £22m to operate over three years.

Locals said the current £140 return car fare from the mainland to Stornoway holds back tourism and development.

Read the rest of the story

Lowering the price of passage on the ferry should increase the number of tourists to the isles. It is a big step in helping their economies. No longer will people have to pay the equivalent of $280 to ride the ferry.

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Terror Recruiter Convicted

A man said to be one of the most important recruiters for Islamist extremism in the UK has been convicted at the end of a major trial.

Mohammed Hamid, 50, of east London was found guilty of training men in secret camps in the Lake District and New Forest to prepare them to fight abroad.

Among those to have passed through Hamid's camps were the four failed suicide bombers of 21 July 2005.

Convicted

This is a great step in the fight against terror in the UK. The world is now a safer place since he has been captured and now he will not be able to hurt any more people.

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Bellfield given 'whole life' term

A man who murdered two young women and tried to kill a third has been given a "whole life" sentence.

Levi Bellfield, 39, from west London, bludgeoned Amelie Delagrange, 22, and Marsha McDonnell, 19, after they got off buses in south-west London.

He was also found guilty of trying to kill Kate Sheedy, then 18, in 2004 and has been named as a prime suspect in the 2002 murder of Milly Dowler, 13.

Bellfield refused to attend sentencing because of "overnight bad publicity".

HEY LINK!!!

In this country, America, this man would probably be put to death. I am glad the UK is not doing such a gruesome act. This man deserves to be punished, and I am glad he is being punished justly.

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Call to halt cheap alcohol offers

The government needs to introduce tougher measures to limit the sale of cheap alcohol, doctors warn.

A British Medical Association report said pricing and promotion of drinks was fuelling an "alcohol epidemic".

It called for an end to happy hours in pubs and cut-price supermarket deals as well as improved access to treatment.

LINK!!!

So it is a health issue to have such accessable alcohol for people. Cheap alcohol is typically not the best for you and it is the most abused. It can caus liver diseases.

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Child obesity 'a major problem'

Almost one in four five-year olds and one in three 11-year olds is overweight or obese, according to the national child measurement programme.

In 2006/07, 80% of children in England starting and finishing primary school took part in the weighing scheme, compared with half the previous year.

Rates of obesity are worst in the North East, West Midlands and London, the NHS Information Centre report said.

Campaigners said awareness of what was a "normal weight" needed to improve.

The measurement scheme, which children can opt out of, came under fire in 2005/6 because only 48% of children were weighed.

Link

So children are fatter than they need to be. I am not saying it is a good thing however I think it is understandable. There are more entertaining things to do besides play outside these days, i have like 300 tv channels, that is a lot compared to the three there used to be. Also "back in the day" there was not a McDonalds around every corner. It is not good, just understandable.

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Missing Girl Seen

Detectives searching for a missing nine-year-old girl are treating a reported sighting of her the day after she disappeared as "significant."

Shannon Matthews, of Moorside Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was last seen leaving school in the town on Tuesday.

Det Supt Andy Brennan said police had spoken to a witness who believed he had seen Shannon on Wednesday morning.

Linky

The young girl has been missing since Tuesday. It is odd that someone has seen her but did nothing to help. Also, the fact that Shannon said she wanted to run away is interesting. Could it be another case of a child running away or is it something worse?

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British Airways Pilots on Strike

British Airways pilots have voted to go on strike in a dispute over the airline's plans to launch a new transatlantic subsidiary.

The British Airline Pilots Association says the airline plans to staff BA OpenSkies with crews on inferior terms to those of existing staff.

Balpa, which represents 3,000 BA pilots, says 86% voted to strike. Turnout was 90%.

Click here.

Pilots are afraid that their terms and conditions will be affected by this new subsidiary. BA has said it will not, thus squabbling has ensued. However, if the pilots are stalwart in their cause, much like the writers in the U.S., they can get what they want.

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Dylan, Here Are a Few Links

Beware Liberty Without Democracy

Hoppe on Democracy: The God That Failed

Early release for foreign inmates

Foreign prisoners are to be released earlier because of overcrowding in jails in England and Wales, the government has announced.

Justice Minister David Hanson said foreign inmates could now be deported 270 days before serving half their sentence - rather than the present 135.

The Ministry of Justice said all those freed would be deported, not released onto Britain's streets.

Last week, the prison population reached a record high of 81,918.

LINK:

If your prisons are overpopulated it is time to move some people out, especially if the population reached a record 81,918. It is never a good thing to release dangerous inmates, but you have to do what you have to do.

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Gas Profits Jump Dramatically

Energy supplier British Gas has reported annual profits of £571m at its residential arm, up from £95m in 2006.

The news came as Centrica, British Gas' parent company, reported a 40% rise in operating profits to £1.95bn.

Trade union Unison said the profit was "obscene", coming so soon after British Gas raised the amount it charges for gas and electricity by 15%.

Story

This proves that gas is an expensive commodity everywhere, not just the U.S. However, it doesn't have to be this outrageously expensive. With energy problems prevalent, the gas companies are able to turn record profits. They are benefitting on the public's lack of knowledge. It isn't right and will not stop until a large group of citizens finally take a stand.

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Olympic boycott has 'no purpose'

Any call for a boycott of this summer's Beijing Games would be counter-productive, the Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell has said.

Her comments come after a group of Nobel Prize winners, international athletes and politicians wrote a letter to the Chinese president.

It asks him to use his influence in Sudan to end the conflict in Darfur.

Tessa Jowell said calls for a boycott Were a "great pity" and Britain was still committed to attending the games.

Linkage

I understand that yeah... the conflict needs to end, but the Olympics have not been boycotted since i believe the eighties, in the cold war. That is going backwards.

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Police are told they can use Taser guns on children???

Police have been given the go-ahead to use Taser stun guns against children.

The relaxing of restrictions on the use of the weapons comes despite warnings that they could trigger a heart attack in youngsters.

Until now, Tasers - which emit a 50,000-volt electric shock - have been used only by specialist officers as a "non lethal" alternative to firearms.

However, they can now be used against all potentially violent offenders even if they are unarmed.

link here:

So now the British Police can tase small inocent children, what is going on? If a child is an imminent threat okay, but come on!

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9/11 case pilot can claim damages

A pilot wrongly accused of training the 9/11 hijackers is entitled to claim damages, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Judges said evidence suggested police and prosecutors were responsible for "serious defaults" in detaining Lotfi Raissi in jail for nearly five months.

The ruling means the government has to reconsider the 33-year-old's claim for compensation, which it had refused.

Mr Raissi wants an apology and says his claim may run into millions of pounds. The government has said it may appeal

Link:

I would be ticked off to if someone said I knowingly trained terrorists and i hadn't. We will see what this mans fate will be. I don't think he will get anything, the country was just looking for someone in a time of panic.

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Diana Saga Continues

Former Met police chief Lord Stevens has demanded an apology for criticisms of his report into Princess Diana's death, as he testified at her inquest.

He led an inquiry into the 1997 Paris crash in which the princess died, which ruled it had been a "tragic accident".

Lord Stevens said over the years he had been accused of being negligent and being influenced by other parties.

News

The tragic saga concerning Princess Diana's death continues. How long will it be before the people can accept that this event happened and it could have been an accident? As I have said earlier, it is JFK all over again.

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E.Coli Inquiry

A public inquiry into an E.coli outbreak which affected more than 150 people has opened with a minute's silence for a five-year-old who died.

Most of those who fell ill in 2005 in south Wales were children. Mason Jones, of Bargoed in Caerphilly county, died.

Butcher William Tudor, who supplied contaminated meat and was jailed last year, will not be compelled to give evidence, the hearing was told.

News

This was the largest E.Coli outbreak in Wales and it affected 44 schools. Tudor's company was shut down after the outbreak. It is sad that it affected children and took one's life.

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Illegal Downloads are Illegal

People in the UK who go online and illegally download music and films may have their internet access cut under plans the government is considering.

A draft consultation Green Paper suggests internet service providers would be required to take action over users who access pirated material.

Under a "three strikes" rule they would receive an e-mail warning, suspension, and then termination of their contract.

Story

The British are going to cut the internet access of those who download illegally. This seems to be a better idea than suing and hanging prison sentences in front of people a la the United States. It looks to be a more viable alternative to the US method.

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Bank cuts interest rates to 5.25%

The Bank of England's rate-setting committee has cut interest rates to 5.25% from 5.5% amid signs that the UK economy is slowing down.

Analysts had widely predicted the move, which followed recent cuts in the US, where the Federal Reserve has slashed its borrowing costs to 3% from 4.25%.

However, the Bank of England signalled it was unlikely to be as aggressive because of fears over rising prices.

Several mortgage lenders said the rate cut would be passed on to borrowers.

Link:

It is always important to keep up with the economy of your nation. All this shows is that economy is slowing slightly.

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Archbishop sparks Sharia law row

Leading politicians have distanced themselves from the Archbishop of Canterbury's belief that some Sharia law in the UK seems "unavoidable".

Gordon Brown's spokesman said the prime minister "believes that British laws should be based on British values".

The Tories called the archbishop's remarks "unhelpful" and the Lib Dems said all must abide by the rule of law.

Linkage:

This is a classic case of religion getting in the middle of politics. I don't know if things work differantly in thr UK dealing with things such as this, however my american bias sees it as inappropriate tha an archbishop can say things such as this.

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UK approves Abu Hamza extradition

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has approved the extradition of radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri to the United States on terror charges.

Abu Hamza, 49, of west London is wanted by the US authorities on charges which include providing support to Al Qaeda.

The Egypt-born preacher is currently serving a seven-year jail term in the UK for inciting murder and race hate.

Read rest here:

In this article the UK gives the responsibility of handling the extremist Abu Hamza al-Masri. Ptential jail time could reach 100 years if he is not exicuted.

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Streets of Glasgow

Glasgow is blighted by "epidemic" levels of drug and alcohol abuse and has the same number of teenage gangs as London, according to a think tank.

The right-leaning Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) said the city's economic recovery had been hampered by appalling levels of social deprivation.

Its report predicted that half of all families in Glasgow would be headed by a lone parent eight years from now.

Story

It is a sad state of events when a city is diagnosed with this kind of problem. The truly unfortunate thing is that in eight years 50% of families in Glasgow will only have one parent. That is the problem. The family is not strong in this Scottish town and that must change. If Glasgow wants the problem to be reversed then action needs to be taken immediately.

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Strike of the Intelligencia?

More than 120 schools in Birmingham have closed as thousands of council workers stage a 24-hour strike.

Up to 20,000 staff voted to strike over plans to restructure pay bands. Unions have claimed they were not consulted.

The walkout has also forced the closure of about 20 libraries and around 10 leisure centres and there have been no bin collections.

Read here.

The restructuring of pay bands could help 45% of those affected. However, according to the article, some others could lose 18,000 pounds. Therefore, council workers decided to strike without the consultation of the union. It will cause a headache for some, but for the children, it will be like a second Christmas.

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Police Bug Police

The ex-police officer who claims he bugged an MP's visit to a jailed constituent says his life is "at risk" after the case was leaked to the media.

Mark Kearney, a former police intelligence officer at Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes, says he did not think it was right to bug MP Sadiq Khan.

But he claimed the Met Police put him under "significant pressure" to do so.

Link

The Metropolitan Police are coming under heat for one MP bugging another MP. Khan did not know that he was being bugged at the time. It is interesting that the Metropolitan Police believe they need to bug their own members. I wonder how many times this has happened and for what reasons?

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Assessment Complete