Oh dear, Gordon...

When Gordon Brown finally became Prime Minister last year, he should have recalled the old saying:
"Be careful what you wish for"

In 2007 the PM appeared calm and statesmanlike in the face of the failed bomb plots in London and Glasgow, the summer floods and the foot-and-mouth crisis in South-east England (however this approach was somewhat undone by his dithering and eventual calling-off of the election-that-never-was).

Now Mr Brown appears beset by misfortune at every turn. He has the Grangemouth refinery strike to contend with, which experts has warned will cost the UK economy £50m a day.

Furthermore, despite his apparent U-turn on taxation, Mr Brown is still facing calls from some of his own MPs to explain the compensation package better to the low-paid workers and pensioners hit by the abolition of the 10p tax band. The PM also faces a backbench revolt over his plans to extend the length of time terror suspects can be held without charge to 42 days.

Meanwhile Tony Blair's ex-fundraiser Lord Levy has attacked Prime Minister Gordon Brown for not being a strong enough Labour leader.

Add the collapse of Northern Rock, plus millions of tax records lost, and last year's quip from acting Liberal Democrats leader Vince Cable about Gordon Brown's “remarkable transformation...from Stalin to Mr Bean” appears more perceptive each day.
Ministers back under-fire Brown

Tax and be damned...

The chancellor Alistair Darling has insisted there will be no government U-turn over the decision to abolish the 10p starting rate of tax.
Speaking today on the BBC, Mr Darling said the government had already announced plans to spend an additional billion pounds on helping families.
The policy has caused anger among some Labour MPs who say it will unfairly hit the least well-off in society.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged his party colleagues to look at the government's overall tax changes, which he says have helped low-paid families.
Darling: I can't rewrite Budget

It appears to me this debate is taking place one year too late. Where was the anger and fury from those Labour MPs when this change was originally announced by the (then) chancellor Gordon Brown? It was his decision to scrap the lower 10p tax rate...
Lib Dems slam Budget [2007] tax changes

Madonna's payday...

According to reports, Madonna is currently finalising negotiations to perform two concerts in Dubai, earning £12.5 million (approx $25 million).
Madge will pocket £7.5 million for one show as part of her forthcoming world tour, and it's said she'll earn a further £5 million singing for a millionaire at a private party.
Not bad for the Material Girl, who has been recently named the highest-earning woman in music. All a far cry from 1977, when she first moved to New York with a mere $35 in her pocket.
Whether a fan of her music or not, one has to concede that Madonna's chameleon-like career has spanned decades, and is still going strong (shame about her acting skills though).
And to think she's approaching her 50th birthday in August.....

Sam Fox is 42....

Another belated "happy birthday" - this time to ex-glamour model and singer Samantha Karen "Sam" Fox, who was born on April 15, 1966 in London. Definitely one of the best topless models to grace Page Three of the Sun tabloid newspaper, Sam was able to move beyond the confines of glamour modelling to make a career as a singer, selling millions of records around the world (although to some, songs like "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" won't be considered instant classics).
I still fondly remember her double act with Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood as hosts for the chaotic 1989 BRIT awards, thanks to a rogue autocue (according to Sam).
Samantha Fox (wikipedia entry)

Luxury Food

From the BBC:

"The price of rice has risen by as much as 70% during the past year, with prices set to rise still further, The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has warned.
Factors such as flooding, cold weather and urbanisation are depleting food supply.Already food riots are leading to concerns of political instability.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is calling on the G8 group to devise an international plan to deal with rising food prices."

I hope our Prime Minister and the other G8 politicians will avoid the usual rhetoric and hot air, followed by general indifference.
There has been civil disturbances around the world over shortages of food. Haiti, Egypt, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Mozambique, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Yemen and Cameroon have seen violent food riots or demonstrations. With the price of food skyrocketing around the world, the food riots could be a sign that we are approaching a breaking point.

Currently it's estimated there are 6.6 billion souls on planet Earth. If the population continues on its current growth trajectory, is expected to reach nearly 9 billion by the year 2050.
Q&A: Rising world food prices

Gutted...

Still upset about Arsenal's exit from the Champions League Tuesday night (actually, upset is an understatement).
Looking forward, the squad does need strengthening if they want to mount a serious challenge next season. However I take comfort (albeit on a small scale) that Arsène Wenger's team has such great potential.

Arsenal's day will come.....count on it!
Liverpool 4-2 Arsenal (agg 5-3)

Olympic torch protests

Thirty-five people have been arrested after clashes between pro-Tibet demonstrators and police as the Olympic Torch made its way through London.

Protesters tried to block the torch's path, snatch it and put the flame out with a fire extinguisher. Prime Minister Gordon Brown greeted the torch outside Number 10 despite coming under pressure to boycott the parade (and the opening ceremony in Beijing).
Clashes along Olympic torch route

Hmm.....its all very well for those involved with today's events to have lofty ideals about the Olympics being more about sport than politics. But I believe sport and politics will always be linked in spite of what anyone says - the apartheid South African Government was isolated in the 1970s and 1980s, thanks to a sporting boycott against their policy of racial segregation.

And considering that our Prime Minister was directly involved with today's events, those ideals seem rather hypocritical.

As for today's parade, it all looked rather farcical, really. All those boys in blue (and I don't just mean our policemen) protecting - a torch!

Mugabe & Zimbabwe...

According to the latest reports from the BBC, armed police have prevented lawyers for Zimbabwe's main opposition, the MDC, from entering Harare's High Court in a bid to release the presidential election result.
The MDC believes its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, defeated President Robert Mugabe in the ballot. Mr Mugabe's own party (Zanu-PF) has said it will back him if a run-off is called.
Zimbabwe's MDC court bid blocked

Robert Gabriel Mugabe will be remembered as a freedom fighter who defeated the racist rule of Ian Smith, only to become a despot himself. During Mugabe's 28 years of power, Zimbabwe has metamorphosed from a major tobacco producer and a potential bread basket for surrounding countries, into a nation crippled by international sanctions, high unemployment and shortages of virtually every basic survival commodity, essential medicines, fuel and foreign currency. Zimbabwe's economy is in tatters with inflation at nearly 165,000 percent - reportedly 50 million Zimbabwean dollars will get you three loaves of bread (or one American dollar on the black market).

Mugabe has blighted the lives of his fellow citizens, but (predictably) he won't go quietly.