Merry Christmas and happy New Year

Dear Readers,

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very happy 2010.

From: Deepak Mukerjee

Andrew Dismore MP and further expense row

Dear readers,

Further to my yesterdays posting regarding this subject, you might also be interested to know that Mr Andrew Dismore Labour MP is also the London’s most expensive MP who drew £147,650 in expenses last year on top of his salary of £54,725. Nevertheless his attendance record is pretty poor, despite being a London MP he manages to come in the bottom half of attendees, missing a third of all votes. The 35 minute journey on the Tube would cost £20 a week if he came in every day – which he clearly doesn’t – so for the period parliament sits it would cost around £700 – yet his travel expenses are £4,959. Mr Dismore, the MP for Hendon, north-west London, claimed £2,144 for mileage in 2007-08. MPs can claim 40p a mile for travelling to and from Westminster and around their constituencies.

This meant that Mr Dismore claimed for 5,360 miles — the equivalent of 487 journeys between Parliament and his constituency home 11 miles away in Burnt Oak. During that year the Commons sat for 145 days. Since 2001, the MP, who has consistently opposed reforms to the MPs’ expenses system, has claimed more than £30,000 in travel allowances — far more than his neighbouring MPs.

The London Evening Standard says the Labour member for Hendon pushed up his total by spending £38,755 on stationery and postage – six times more than most colleagues – equivalent to the cost of 133,320 second class stamps, or about 800 letters every day the Commons was sitting – two per year to each of his north London constituents.

From: Deepak

Conduct watchdog MP in expenses row

Dear Readers,

Another member of the committee that regulates MPs' conduct is facing questions over his expenses. This time Andrew Dismore MP (Labor, NW London) reportedly claimed £34,000 in second home expenses for a west London flat that hosts his girlfriend's homeopathy surgery, while declaring a property just a few miles away in his north London constituency as his main home.

Mr Dismore - who serves on the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee and is Labor MP for Hendon - then allegedly "flipped" his second home designation to the north London property and claimed a further £31,000.

He split a total of £65,000 in second home allowances between the two London properties over an eight-year period, according to the Daily Telegraph.

From: Deepak

The Greenhouse gases, the fuel and our future

Dear readers,

You might be interested to know that US researchers have genetically modified bacteria to eat carbon dioxide and produce isobutyraldehyde - a precursor to several useful chemicals, including isobutanol, which has great potential as a fuel alternative to petrol.

The modified bacteria are highly efficient and powered by sunlight, so a future goal is to set up colonies near to industrial plants. This would allow greenhouse gases to be recycled into useful chemical feedstock - supplying several hydrocarbons that are typically obtained from petroleum.

Cyanobacteria and microalgae that consume CO2 have been identified for a long time, but none produce any liquid molecules that can easily be used as fuel. In the past, attempts have been made to engineer these organisms to produce hydrogen or ethanol, but making the process efficient is still an achievable challenge. There are still much work to be done before the process can be commercialized.

From: Deepak

The Rememberance Day 2009

Dear readers,

The death, on the eve of Remembrance Day, took the number of British troops who have died in Afghanistan since the mission began in October 2001 to 231.

Of those, 200 were killed as a result of hostile action, the Ministry of Defence said.

The remaining 31 have died from illness, non-combat injuries or accidents, or a cause of death has not been determined.

From: Deepak

BBC Children in need appeal 2009

Dear readers,

This year BBC Children in need appeal is on Friday 20 November from 7pm on BBC One. Presenting the evening will be the legendary Sir Terry Wogan, Tess Daly and Alesha Dixon and there will be special performances from Westlife, Paolo Nutini, Pixie Lott and Annie Lennox amongst others. There will also be an exclusive premier of the Dr Who Christmas special as well as a musical extravaganza from the cast of EastEnders. So make sure you reserve a space on the couch and join Pudsey for his Big Night In!

From: Deepak

The Parliament today and the European Election on 4th June 2009

Dear readers,

In the parliament the ground is shifting beneath the MPs as they spoke. This is what a growing body of opinion believes could be happening - that we are witnessing the dying spasms of a centuries old and peculiarly British way of doing democracy.
Indeed, so shaken has the political establishment been by the expenses scandal that they are suddenly contemplating all kinds of ideas they had previously rejected as unwise, unworkable or hopelessly idealistic.

These include (but are not limited to):

• Proportional representation - Ending what critics see as the inherently unfair "first-past-the-post" system of electing MPs

• Fixed term parliaments - Ending the advantage to the ruling party of choosing the polling date

• A written constitution - Setting out voters' rights and limiting the power of government

• A fully elected second chamber - Ending the power of patronage and expelling the few remaining hereditary peers

• Curbing the power of the whips - Freeing MPs to to vote with their conscience more often rather than following the party line

• Fixed terms for MPs - So they do not become too cosy and complacent in their roles

• Boosting the power of select committees - Electing the chairmen rather than having them chosen by the whips and handing them greater investigatory powers.

Soon it could all over and become a changing phase of our British Democracy. Once there has been a clear out of the bad apples deemed to have broken the rules on allowances, things may well return to normal in the Palace of Westminster.

However, it is high time for us to concentrate on the European Election which is taking place on 4th of June 2009.

Please do not forget to vote on that day. Every vote counts.

The European Parliament Election on 4th June 2009

The European Parliament Election takes place in the United Kingdom on Thursday 4 June 2009. With nearly 500 million citizens represented, this will be the largest transnational election in history. 72 of the Elected MEP's will represent the 12 regions throughout the United Kingdom. Eight of these will represent the London Region.

The European Parliament is based in Strasbourg in France. Over the years, the European Parliament has changed from a purely advice-giving assembly into a fully law-making parliament. It now passes laws that affect everyone living in all 27 member countries. Nearly 80 percent of laws passed in the United Kingdom over the last five years began at European Parliament level.

72 of the elected MEP’s will represent the 12 regions throughout the United Kingdom. Eight of these will represent the London Region. Your MEP is your directly elected representative at the European Parliament. They represent your views for five years. They have the power to approve, modify or reject nearly all EU laws. They are also responsible for the budget and decide how EU money is spent.

Sarah Ludford, number 1 on the Liberal Democrat list for London, also introduced no 2Liberal Democrat London candidate Jonathan Fryer and no 3 Dinti Batstone, stressing the party's optimism that LibDems will win 2 London Euro-seats.

The Europe is good for London, the continent's top city, and for Londoners. Liberal Democrats will ensure that the EU delivers even more practical benefits of jobs, security and a clean environment for our city and its residents.

Finally the famous last words, ‘Do not forget to vote on the 4th of June 2009.

Every Vote Counts.’

Doctors warn of risks of climate change for the first time

Dear readers,

Climate change is the biggest health threat facing doctors this century, the first medical assessment of the dangers of global warming has warned. Until now the medical profession has not taken a position on climate change, considering issues such as world poverty, HIV and bird flu to be more pressing threats to human health.
However, a study by the University College London, published in the Lancet, concluded that the problems caused by climate change such as food shortages, heat waves and increased threat of tropical diseases such as malaria will kill billions of people.

The details are at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

The recession could be over in Britain by August, 2009

Dear readers,

According to the Daily Mail news paper, the international experts said yesterday that the recession may be over in Britain by August. The influential Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said output was still shrinking but there were clear signs of recovery.

Its predictions were backed up by a range of figures on the economy.
Surveyors reported signs of strong recovery in the housing market, while retailers said consumer spending picked up last month.

A big increase in the number of people wanting to buy a home has raised hopes Britain may be on its way out of recession.

A quick recovery would fly in the face of gloomy forecasts by the International Monetary Fund only a few months ago.

It said Britain was likely to suffer the deepest recession of any leading economy - although it has since said that other countries are likely to fare even worse.

The details are at:

Daily Mail, Tuesday, May 12, 2009- Page 2