AP reports that drivers in The Netherlands will, from 2012, be charged by distance driven rather than paying an annual road tax and a tax on newly purchased cars. The base rate will be set yearly, with a higher tariff at peak times increasing until a 2018 review of the scheme. Overall, it’s projected that [...]

“Christina Turner feared that she might have been sexually assaulted after two men slipped her a knockout drug. She thought she was taking proper precautions when her doctor prescribed a month’s worth of anti-AIDS medicine … Only later did she learn that she had made herself all but uninsurable.” The Huffington Post reveals yet another [...]

Before I write it, I can tell you this post is going to sound cold and heartless – but I’m going to say it anyway: Jacqui Janes  is doing nothing for her son’s memory other than belittling it. Calling in The Sun to make a political point and dragging his name through the papers for [...]

The BBC reports on a bullshit proposal by the Government to give higher grades to school students from poorer backgrounds. I’m aware that I’m about to sound like a raging Tory (I’m not) but I can barely articulate how much this idea outrages me  Not only is it grossly unfair and unethical to even think [...]

The Washington Post reports on the lobbying force of the families of 9/11 victims, and their wide range of views – from the relative who says that inmates have it easy (“They’re in the Caribbean on a beach, getting three meals a day”) to those ardently in favour of trying detainees in US courts; and [...]

“For Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca, a sociologist at Madrid’s Cumpletense University who specializes in ETA, the answer to why ETA continues its violent fight is more chilling … ‘They have no theory of violence anymore. For the past three or four years, it’s been purely reactionary. It’s all they know how to do.’ “ The Basque separatist [...]

Tim Ferguson, writing on Silicon.com, rightfully defends the BBC against criticism of yet another useful service. After rows over BBC iPlayer and Canvas, jealous media organisations are once again complaining that the BBC has innovated before they did, this time in allowing newspapers to use BBC video on their websites. Yes, the BBC is funded [...]

Incredibly, decades after the legal and official end of segregation, The New York Times reports that the practice of divided proms is alive and well in the American South. In states such as Georgia, it’s common practice for black and white students to attend separate proms. While officially open to all, the two separate nights are in [...]

“The Commons Speaker will convene an urgent meeting of party leaders later to discuss reforming MPs’ expenses, as he battles to hold onto his position … Michael Martin has been fiercely criticised by some MPs and faces calls to quit over his handling of the row.” – BBC News While snivelling speaker Martin did indeed do everything [...]

Sri Lankan leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has officially announced the end of the civil war which has raged there for the last 26 years and killed 70,000 people. The separatist movement were defeated after a bloody offensive by the Sri Lankan army which, despite achieving their aims, ignored international calls for restraint and has been accused [...]

“One of the top planners of the US war in Iraq gave President George Bush secret intelligence briefs headlined with biblical quotations, in a bid to boost his standing with the deeply religious president but one that risked sparking a conflagration in the Muslim world if the papers leaked.” The Guardian reports on the shocking [...]

Ars Technica reports on a US court case, where the judge ordered a professional code review of breathalyser software in a drink-driving case. The examination found serious bugs, complex and ill-maintained code, a lack of safeguards and other bad programming practices. While the case is a US one, the issues it raises are global. Why do we [...]

“Since when has the UN been a children’s tea party? It can’t help for powerful countries to give the impression that they cannot make the arguments that need to be made against Ahmadinejad and his ilk. And these arguments need to be addressed to a wider world audience.” Anthony Lerman on the part-boycott, part-walkout at [...]

“The Phorm system learns your interests by snooping on your internet web traffic. Your ISP does the necessary wiretap in exchange for a cut when advertisers pay a premium for learning precisely what to try and sell you. It’s rather like the postman getting money to peek at your letters, so you can receive a [...]

The Observer reports on a radical change in America’s foreign policy towards Afghanistan, moving away from the “brute force” approach which has dominated up to now, towards one supplemented by negotiation and diplomacy. Ideas floated by the US aim to bring the Taliban into the democratic process through several channels of dialogue and possible political [...]

Time reports on the “dash for Burma”, as major Asian powers fight to access resources in the military dictatorship, cosying up to a the regime to mine and exploit fossil fuels, minerals and precious metals. Although not altogether surprising given the human rights records of China, Malaysia and others, this is disgusting. Countries are trampling [...]

Over the last decade, civil liberties and human rights in Britain have been eroded like never before. Centuries of hard-fought democratic freedoms are being diluted and outlawed. The government uses any pretence it can – from fighting terrorism to social order – to justify the increasing oppression and silencing of the British public. At the [...]

“Since 1948 Palestinians have lived in perpetual humiliation. They can’t breathe without permission. They have lost their country, their land, their water, their freedom, their everything.” Eduardo Galeano writes an impassioned criticism of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians. While there are parts of the article which make me wince and cringe, with its complete and [...]

BBC News reported on Friday that Al Gore and Dot Eco are submitting a proposal to create a new TLD, with the .eco domain reserved for sites ‘supporting environmental causes’. While the aim of promoting environmental causes is laudable, the new TLD is a bad idea on several levels. First, it adds yet another domain extension [...]

“US President Barack Obama is expected to lift restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem cell lines, according to reports … Officials say Mr Obama will authorise the move by executive order on Monday. “ Obama has reversed yet another Bush policy which denied potentially life-saving medical treatment for millions of people, this [...]