WUFOOB … (Jul – Sep 2013)

Scientists 95% sure humans causing global warming

BBC, Friday 27th September 2013
A landmark IPCC climate report says scientists are 95% certain that humans are the “dominant cause” of global warming since the 1950s. The panel warns that continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all aspects of the climate system.

Activists call for direct action against badger cull

Gloucestershire Echo, Friday 20th September 2013
A woman who flew in to Gloucestershire all the way from Pittsburgh, USA, to protest against badger culling was among three people arrested yesterday. Drew Pratten, from campaign group Stop the Cull, has been out on patrols daily in a bid to halt the marksmen. He said: “The support for our cause has been amazing. We’ve had people from as far as France and America, and it only goes to show how wrong the cull is. We are stopping the marksmen, and I’m quite sure the cull is not going very well at the moment.”

Judge allows Muslim woman to wear niqab

BBC, Monday 16th September 2013
A Muslim woman can stand trial wearing a full-face veil but must remove it to give evidence, a judge has ruled. Judge Peter Murphy made the ruling at Blackfriars Crown Court in London where the woman is due to stand trial accused of intimidating a witness. The 22-year-old woman, from Hackney, has refused to remove her niqab and reveal her face in front of any man.

Calls for more transparency in political party funding

BBC, Thursday 5th September 2013
The government’s lobbying reforms should be improved, a committee of MPs has concluded. A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “This bill is about creating even greater transparency in the way people and organisations interact with government and politics, to give the public more confidence in the way third parties interact with the political system.”

BBC wastes millions on needless golden goodbyes

BBC, Saturday 7th September 2013
BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten warned he is ‘looking forward’ to his face-off with former director-general Mark Thompson when the warring pair are grilled by MPs next week over the ongoing severance pay scandal. Lord Patten’s remarks came after Mr Thompson accused him – and BBC trustee Anthony Fry – of peddling ‘specific untruths and inaccuracies’ in earlier evidence to MPs investigating controversial golden goodbyes.

Middle lane hoggers and the law of unintended consequences?

TRL, Friday 16th August 2013
Motorists who hog the middle lane on the UK’s motorways will be given on-the-spot fines from today (August 16th).

Wind turbine rotors use airplane wing design

Howstuffworks
Modern [wind] turbines use sophisticated aerodynamic principles to capture the wind’s energy most effectively. The two primary aerodynamic forces at work in wind-turbine rotors are lift … and drag. Turbine blades are shaped a lot like airplane wings – they use an airfoil design.

Archbishop of Canterbury declares war on Wonga

The Independent, Thursday 25 July 2013
The Archbishop of Canterbury has vowed to put payday lenders out of business by using the Church to build up Britain’s network of credit unions. The Most Rev Justin Welby said: “I’ve met the head of Wonga and we had a very good conversation and I said to him quite bluntly ‘we’re not in the business of trying to legislate you out of existence, we’re trying to compete you out of existence.'”

Pensioners are pushing many cities and states towards financial crisis

The Economist, Friday 26 July 2013
Pensioners are pushing many cities and states towards financial crisis.

William and Kate ‘working on a name’ for royal baby

USA Today, Wednesday 24 July 2013
The Prince of Cambridge has spent his first night at his new home at Kensington Palace with mom and dad, but his name is still a work in progress.

LibDems call for end to continuous at-sea nuclear deterrence

The Herald, Wednesday 17 July 2013
The Liberal Democrats have called for a historic scaling-back of the Trident nuclear deterrent, despite warnings it could put the UK at risk and claims it would save just £50 million a year. Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said it would be wrong to blindly continue with a system he denounced as the last bastion of the Cold War. Announcing the results of a Coalition review into alternatives to Trident, he called for an end to one of deterrent’s key principles – 24-hour patrols.

Alex Salmond criticised for waving the Saltire behind David Cameron at Wimbledon

BBC News, Monday 8 July 2013
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said the Saltire he waved after Scots tennis star Andy Murray’s Wimbledon win had been in his wife’s handbag. He and his wife Moira celebrated after Murray beat Novak Djokovic. Some national newspapers had criticised the first minister for waving the Saltire directly behind Prime Minister David Cameron’s head.