2009 October 20

Time Running Out For Keane

October 20, 2009 By simonc88 Leave a Comment

Simon Crosbie

Darlington 2-1 Shrewsbury. It may not have been one of the most glamorous fixtures in the weekends football calander but the result was a significant one. Darlington, the club bottom of the Football League recorded their first win of the season on Saturday, meaning that Roy Keane’s Ipswich Town are now the only team in England still without a win this season.

Roy Keane arrived at Portman Road not just with a big mouth but also with a big reputation. When Keane took over at Sunderland the team were languishing second bottom of the Championship but by the end of the season – under Keane’s guidance – the club had secured not only promotion to the Premiership but also the Championship title. Keane was a hero. Things eventually turned sour at Sunderland however. Keane spent millions on players who could only be described as “Fucking bollocks” as ‘Keano’ would say (Paul McShane anyone?), results began to suffer and rumours of fallouts between Keane and several of his first team squad surfaced and Keane and Sunderland eventually parted company in December 2008.

In April 2009 Roy Keane was appointed as Ipswich Town’s new manager replacing Jim Magilton. Famous for his brutal honesty and no nonsense approach, Keane seemed an ambitious appointment and Ipswich fans were quietly confident for the future. Keane made a promising start winning his first two games in charge, Ipswich’s final matches of the season, including an impressive 3-0 victory away to Cardiff.

Unfortunately for Ipswich that has been as good as it ever got. Despite being tipped by many for promotion during the pre-season predictions, the club are now the only team in England without a win after 12 league games and are suffering their worst ever start to a season in their history.

Fans have lost patience and Keane has already recieved the dreaded “vote of confidence” from Ipswich’s chairman and owner Marcus Evans. Once again Keane has spent big on mediocre players (a combined £2.7 million for Carlos Edwards and Grant Leadbitter from Sunderland, £1.7 million on Tamas Priskin and another £600,000 on Jon Stead plus several others). Big money in terms of the Championship.

According to the manager Ipswich are, “making progress”, and in fairness there were signs of improvement in Saturdays draw with Swansea, however in football managers are judged by results. If they do not win games then they will pay the price and end up looking for another job.

The ‘Tractor Boys’ face Watford in a crucial match at Portman Road tonight. Ipswich may be bottom of the league on just 6 points and without a win after 12 matches, however only league leaders West Brom have had more attempts on goal this season. Unfortunately for The Tractor Boys though they have the worst defensive record in the division. It is clear to see then where their problem problem lies.

For Ipswich’s sake, we can only hope Roy Keane isn’t too busy walking his dogs to do something about it.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Football, Ipswich Town, Roy Keane, Sports

Public Distaste at Proposed Illegal Download Laws

October 20, 2009 By gemmashaw17 1 Comment

By Gemma Shaw

Source: current.com

Photo courtesy of Current

A survey published by YouGov yesterday gave the public’s reaction to the news that the government are planning to cut off the internet of illegal downloaders.

The vast majority (68%) of the 1967 people surveyed would rather a court case where evidence was provided before an internet cut-off to an immediate ban. 19% said that losing their connection would completely disrupt their ability to work, with 23% feeling that their work would be fairly disrupted. 73% would either be fairly or completely disrupted in their ability to use essential commercial services such as internet shopping and banking.

Of the people surveyed, 44% would be less likely to vote for a party planning to endorse this proposed law.

These plans are proposed despite previous public resistance to the proposed laws, accusing them as a violation of human rights. A similar scheme in France was later dismissed on these grounds, as the EU constitution states that internet access is a basic human right. The government still plan to go ahead with the scheme, over several other available options, but say that the cut-off of citizen’s internet is not their preferred option. Dismissed possibilities include a ‘three-strikes’ system, and restricting filesharers’ bandwidth.

Filed Under: All Politics, Science and Technology Tagged With: Illegal downloading, law, public opinion

Giving Voice to Children with the Swine Bug

October 20, 2009 By carolinef1 Leave a Comment

By Caroline Fraser

As parents, carers and teachers fret about what effects the dreaded swine flu bug will bring next, the young victims speak of their illness.

With at least 12 schools closing their doors across Scotland headteachers are worried about their pupils’ education. In addition, parents across the nation are terrified they too will succumb to the virus. However, are the young people who are missing out on vital education voicing an opinion or have they simply become another statistic?

This is apparently the case. Simply type ‘swine flu’ into any search engine and within seconds, your eyes will be blinded with facts and figures and ‘concerned’ headteachers around the country. But, where is the 15- year- old school pupil and sufferer’s comment: nowhere to be seen.

5th year pupil Laura Fraser at Culloden Academy, Inverness, told Edinburgh Napier News, ‘The school handled my swine flu very well. The staff were very understanding and sympathetic and wanted me to be fully recovered before I returned. In this case, I think the school made the right decision not to close as there were only a few cases of swine flu among us pupils.’

Fraser continues, ‘I think that too many schools are closing across Scotland. I think schools should only close if it is absolutely necessary as closing the entire school means the majority of pupils are missing out on learning.’

With the victims of swine flu falling into the teenage and young professional age bracket, it seems that children are missing out on the most important parts of their learning. With Higher exams and prelims in the foreseeable future, Fraser added, ‘I was very worried I was going to fall behind with my work and would miss out on revision time. I know of other people who live elsewhere in Scotland and their school has been closed and they don’t even have swine flu. They missed out on work for no reason.’

The viewpoint of the school child is one that is worried about school studies and this is to be echoed throughout pupils all over Scotland. However, luckily for Fraser, Culloden Academy sent her work home to help her stay involved with what her fellow classmates were being taught as not to fall too far behind.

With outbreaks of swine flu across Scotland set to rise before they fall and with news that during the past week 13,800 people are reported to be ill due to swine flu, it is only a matter of time before we hear of more and more schools closing their doors on those who have the virus and unfortunately to those who do not. However, if schools do indeed close completely, those lucky pupils who are fighting fit, will have to put up with learning from home.

Filed Under: Life and Society, Science and Technology Tagged With: children, closure, Schools, swine flu

BNP On Question Time Could Incite Violence

October 20, 2009 By scottanthony1967 Leave a Comment

By Scott Norton

Widespread debate has begun over The BNP’s inclusion in Thursday night’s question Time. Nick Griffin has been given the opportunity to air his views live on national television and will face off against Jack Straw as well as other panelists including Baroness Warsi, the shadow communities minister, and the black playwright Bonnie Greer. Home Secretary Alan Johnston pulled out of Thursday night’s show and has recently defended his decision not to debate with the BNP leader stating that ” they should be confronted but their inclusion on Question Time gives them a legitimacy they do not deserve.”

Channel 4′s news anchor Jon Snow has openly criticised politicians, Alan Johnston in particular, believing it be ‘genuine cowardice’ that has led to his decision not to debate. Many agree with Snow’s sentiments and many believe that it is tricky question on immigration that have scared Johnston from the debate.

The BBC’s Director General, Mark Thompson, has stood by his decision to include the party regardless of the current investigation into the BNP’s illegal membership conditions. Many believe that their inclusion in the show should be put on hold at least until the court proceedings are finalised but Thompson believes that it is the BBC’s responsibility to hold all elected members of parliament to account. Downing Street today said that it was the BBC’s decision to make and that the appearance of Jack Straw on the show was “not a problem”.

The inclusion of BNP chairman Nick Griffin in Thursday night’s Question Time could damage the UK’s reputation as a tolerant multi-cultural society. Giving Griffin the opportunity to air his views live on national television may be viewed by many as an endorsement of fascism and could incite violence and divide communities. It may also damage relations with other countries and make us a fair target for extremists.

Filed Under: All Politics

“Interactive Crime Map” Launched

October 20, 2009 By falserodhull Leave a Comment

By Simon Brown

Picture courtesy of the UK Government.

Today sees the Government’s launch of a new digital map which will not only allow residents in England & Wales to check on their community’s crime statistics, but can also compare the figures for two areas as well as showing whether crime has increased or decreased year-on-year. This news follows the online publication of maps for individual police areas in January.

Policing and Crime Minister David Hanson MP said: “Crime maps are a key part of delivering neighbourhood policing and giving communities access to information like this not only improves public confidence but ensures police are responding to local people’s needs.

“We know the public want this information, which will allow them to hold the police to account and help create an even more responsive and effective service.”

Steve Mortimore, Deputy Chief Executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency, added that the crime maps were “a crucial way of improving the efforts to tackle local crime, since communities that are involved in policing help reduce crime and bring more offenders to justice.”

Filed Under: Courts and Crime, News in Brief Tagged With: Crime, digital stuff, map, online

Retailers Turn To Voucher Codes This Christmas

October 20, 2009 By ryanculling Leave a Comment

By Ryan Culling

With the continuing recession, it is little surprise that the spending habits of shoppers has changed. Recent research by ICM suggests that around a third of shoppers are prepared to spend less money this Christmas. Of those surveyed, 33% said they intended to spend less this Christmas, with only around 9% saying they would be spending more.

Retailers have now turned to voucher codes and offers in an attempt to win the online battle this Christmas. A new type of shopper, one who is more prepared to search around for the best possible price, has emerged from the recession. With greater access to the internet, it is now much simpler for the consumer to pick out the best possible bargain.

VoucherSeeker Director Neil Ainsworth says, “We are expecting more people than last Christmas to be on the lookout for discount codes for mobile phones and electrical goods such as Vodafone promotional codes and Currys discount codes this year.” “Consumers understand that the internet plays a significant role in bargain hunting.”

: Photo courtesy of VoucherSeeker

Retailers are set for a tough year in 2010, with Business Advisors BDO Stoy Hayward predicting more businesses going bust. Christmas is an important time for retailers, as it sees a boost in sales for the companies.

Stores with online offers and voucher codes are better equipped to deal with the recession, after customers turn to online voucher websites, such as VoucherSeeker.co.uk, in an attempt to save money this Christmas. In turn, websites like VoucherSeeker are likely to see an increase in customers as shoppers go online to find discounts.