http://www.annaraccoon.com A jaundiced view of the mainstream media. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:39:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/global-warming-again/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/global-warming-again/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:39:54 +0000 Thaddeus J. Wilson http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7364 Yes, folks, global warming strikes again. Although it make be that global warming is on strike again, I can’t really be sure. Thousands of commuters were left scrambling for an alternative way to get home after the blizzard forced the suspension of bus services in Barcelona and the closure of five suburban train lines in the [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/global-warming-again/feed/ 1 http://www.annaraccoon.com/reflections/where-is-your-daughter/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/reflections/where-is-your-daughter/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:02 +0000 Thaddeus J. Wilson http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7360 It’s rare that I see something that makes me positively queasy, but this little snippet certainly managed it: Although a rise in teenage pregnancy rates is no longer a big issue in western society, a new trend is emerging in England and Wales regarding early conception that would still shock Britons. According to data from the Office [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/reflections/where-is-your-daughter/feed/ 3 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/brown-sugar-and-other-euphemisms/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/brown-sugar-and-other-euphemisms/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:26:18 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7346 Southern voters might be surprised to learn that the Labour heartlands are not the romanticised ‘green valleys’  surrounding the far from romantic pit villages of the Rhonda Valley that the wind-bag Neil Kinnock liked to promote as the seat of Labour Power. Nor are they the teeming back alleys of Liverpool surrounding the now redundant Mersey [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/brown-sugar-and-other-euphemisms/feed/ 35 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/dog-bites-man/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/dog-bites-man/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:57:41 +0000 Thaddeus J. Wilson http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7339 Once again our glorious government has (dare I say it?) screwed the pooch with some new, knee-jerk legislative proposals: Every dog owner in the UK would have to take out insurance against their pet attacking someone under government proposals to tackle dangerous breeds. Police and local councils could also get new powers to force the owners [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/dog-bites-man/feed/ 20 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/consider-this/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/consider-this/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:00:26 +0000 Thaddeus J. Wilson http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7336 The BBC says that the Met Office says that there is much stronger proof that man is causing climate change. The Met Office says that it will no longer be offering seasonal forecasts “because it’s very difficult to forecast that far in advance”. Despite them being proven wrong over the weekend (forecast on Friday for Saturday [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/consider-this/feed/ 3 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/mobile-mendacity/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/mobile-mendacity/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:28:17 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7325 A Freedom of Information request has revealed that a stunning £450,000 worth of mobile phone bills belonging to employees of Notts county Council are being paid by taxpayers. Why? Councillor Reg Adair, the county council’s cabinet member for finance and property, said the mobile phone was an essential tool for day-to-day work for many council employees. He said [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/mobile-mendacity/feed/ 8 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/a-little-gem-to-cheer-your-monday-morning/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/a-little-gem-to-cheer-your-monday-morning/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:13:41 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7319 Sometimes I get up in the morning and feel that I cannot face another rant at dishonest politicians who take every opportunity to relieve us of our money to fund their increasingly bizarre ideological beliefs. I had to double check the date on this press release three times before I could bring myself to believe that [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/a-little-gem-to-cheer-your-monday-morning/feed/ 9 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/saul-on-sunday-4/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/saul-on-sunday-4/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:59:32 +0000 Saul - Cub reporter http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7313 The fall out over the failure of the Russian Olympic team rumbles on. Vladimir Putin is calling for an investigation into the allocation of funds. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100305/158106139.html The head of the Olympic committee has already resigned and the sports minister is expected to follow him as well. The Vancouver Games were Russia’s worst, with the team winning just [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/saul-on-sunday-4/feed/ 7 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/demonising-the-inadequate/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/demonising-the-inadequate/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:13:00 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7303 During the 1960s it was fashionable to loudly declaim the Victorian institutions where those who did not possess the wherewithal to avoid transgressing society’s mores lived in peace and security. The inhabitants of these spacious and airy model villages were described as being ‘deprived of their liberty’, never as being protected from the demands of the [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/demonising-the-inadequate/feed/ 8 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/saturday-evening-posts-worth-smoking/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/saturday-evening-posts-worth-smoking/#comments Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:00:06 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7297 The Filthy Smoker filters the law. Dick Puddlecote kicks butt. Simon Clark rolls up the news reports of the 5% Tax increase. The Third Estate stubs out any notion of left/right divide in the support. Katabasis smokes out the best comments on the Hogan affair. Old Holborn proves that he is the Tobacco King. ]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/saturday-evening-posts-worth-smoking/feed/ 4 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/more-wriggling-troughers/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/more-wriggling-troughers/#comments Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:44:40 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7289 John Baron MP has for some months been engaged in a war of words with his local paper, The Echo. It started in December when they alleged that his expenses claim ‘included £18.21 for a food parcel for soldiers in Afghanistan’. Baron said: The facts are straightforward: the Echo reported that I had claimed for a troops’ food [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/more-wriggling-troughers/feed/ 5 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/update-on-nick-hogan/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/update-on-nick-hogan/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:11:39 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7285 A quick update to let everyone know what the state of play is with Nick Hogan. The Blogosphere has reacted in magnificent fashion, the target has been reached in a mere 4 days. There are legal technicalities which Denise is fully aware of, which will be sorted very soon – and he will be home. I have [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/update-on-nick-hogan/feed/ 41 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/diesel-the-docker/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/diesel-the-docker/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:13:36 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7278 Time was when ‘Diesel’, as a nickname, was universally recognised as belonging to a Liverpool Docker. It originated in their habit of saying ‘Dies’al do Our Kid’ whenever a container load of trainers or some other hard to come by item split open at their feet, and they helped the clearing up process by absent [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/diesel-the-docker/feed/ 4 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/pursed-lips-on-purcell/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/pursed-lips-on-purcell/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:57:53 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7269 The Scottish Press are running for the high ground. Articles are printed and pulled within hours. We now know that Steven Purcell was riding ‘high’ as befits a Labour high riser on Thursday night when he joined Gordon Brown at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow for dinner. Who knows what was on the menu? Who knows [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/pursed-lips-on-purcell/feed/ 11 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/french-fry-lies/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/french-fry-lies/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:22:57 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7263 The Government have declared war on another front. The ultra-thin French fries. Apparently, they make you fat, unlike the good old King Edward sliced in half and lowered into a vat of lard until vaguely warm. Concerned about the vast quantities of surplus blubber currently wobbling between sofa and dole office, the Food Standards Agency are encouraging [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/french-fry-lies/feed/ 12 http://www.annaraccoon.com/uncategorized/kids-at-14/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/uncategorized/kids-at-14/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:58:08 +0000 Gloria Smudd http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7256 A Booker Prize-winning novelist celebrated for her ‘ability to inhabit her characters’ has revealed in an interview that she considers 14-year old girls to be mature enough to have babies.  Yeah, right. The novelist is Hilary Mantel.  She is 57 and childless, having had, for medical reasons, an hysterectomy aged 27.  She [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/uncategorized/kids-at-14/feed/ 16 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/ancient-artefacts-and-ludlow/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/ancient-artefacts-and-ludlow/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:05:38 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7247 I wrote a few days ago of the Ludlow woman forced to hand over a treasured memento left to her by her late Mother because a local museum had zealously pursued her and reported her to the local coroner, resulting in a fine, and the article being seized by the local Magistrates. Under The Treasure [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/ancient-artefacts-and-ludlow/feed/ 4 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/back-where-he-belongs/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/back-where-he-belongs/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:11:06 +0000 Thaddeus J. Wilson http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7241 There were many aspects of the Jamie Bulger killing that I found entirely incomprehensible: from the video footage showing the boys leading Jamie out of the shops by the hand to what happened subsequently to the very idea that these two people could be released back into society. Surely, someone capable of such behaviour at [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/back-where-he-belongs/feed/ 15 http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/preview-of-this-months-wikio-rankings/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/preview-of-this-months-wikio-rankings/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:47:53 +0000 Anna Raccoon http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7233 A Preview of this month’s Wikio rankings: Congratulations to Pickled Politics and SNP Tactical Voting for making it into the top 35. 1 Iain Dale’s Diary (=) 2 Guy Fawkes’ blog (=) 3 Liberal Conspiracy (=) 4 ConservativeHome’s ToryDiary (+3) 5 Labourlist (-1) 6 Liberal Democrat Voice (-1) 7 And another thing… (-1) 8 Left Foot Forward (+2) 9 Harry’s Place (-1) 10 Tory Bear (-1) 11 Old Holborn (=) 12 EU Referendum (+3) 13 The Devil’s Kitchen (-1) 14 Dizzy Thinks (-1) 15 Politicalbetting.com (+1) 16 UKPolling [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/preview-of-this-months-wikio-rankings/feed/ 5 http://www.annaraccoon.com/uncategorized/health-and-safety-gone-mad/ http://www.annaraccoon.com/uncategorized/health-and-safety-gone-mad/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:00:16 +0000 Thaddeus J. Wilson http://www.annaraccoon.com/?p=7227 We have all, over the years, read tales of unacceptable “risk management” from cowards using the recommendations of the Health and Safety Executive. And gradually, the nonsense of “Elfin Safety” has migrated from the shield of the coward into the ranks of the managerial culture that now rules Britain. And like most cultural norms, they [...]]]> http://www.annaraccoon.com/uncategorized/health-and-safety-gone-mad/feed/ 11