Former pop star Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, was jailed in 1999 after admitting possessing thousands of images of child pornography. He was the first celebrity arrested and tried as part of the police investigation, Operation Yewtree, into allegations of historical child and sex abuse. Thursday he was found guilty of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under the age of 13. Gadd, 70, is remanded in custody until February 27 when he will be back in court to hear his sentence. This time the sentence could mean he serves the rest of his life in jail. When Jimmy Savile was found dead at his Leeds' home in 2011 revelations about his sleazy past quickly made headlines. Almost with the blessing of authorities the eccentric celebrity had gained access to hospitals and vulnerable patients as part of his charitable fund-raising. Operation Yewtree launched other investigations as the scale of the abuse became clear. Various celebrities faced charges. Some have had their day in court and been vindicated but others are serving time in UK jails. Sex and child abuse that runs deep into the heart of the British establishment is proving slow to receive justice Wednesday New Zealand High Court judge Lowell Goddard was named as the head of a new inquiry into historical child sex abuse in England and Wales. Home Secretary Theresa May appointed two chairs last year but both resigned after anger at their links to the establishment. Goddard is as distant as any person can be. "Justice Goddard, who was appointed to the New Zealand High Court in 1995, said she was "committed to leading a robust and independent inquiry"." But the overdue inquiry will take time and will not complete before the May 2015 General Election Claims that the late Leon Brittan was deeply involved in the scandal raise questions about whether or not the Tories wanted to delay this investigation. He died in late January after a long battle with cancer. Jan 31, 2015, the Daily Mirror reported "Westminster child abuse scandal: KGB and CIA kept secret dossiers on Britain's VIP paedophile". Establishment pervs were flying fully visible on the radar of both countries who kept track for possible future use, such as blackmail. Rotherham council, Labour, was also making headlines Wednesday for their failure to protect children. "A report commissioned by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, Tory, said the authority was "not fit for purpose"." But as justice moves on the survivors of abuse are still waiting for the inquiry into allegations of a Westminster paedophile ring to get off the ground; abuse covered up for years by those in high places. In all sex and child abuse cases the abusers have been quickly named and shamed. That is how British justice works at this time; with the abused receiving anonymity, except for allegations relating to the establishment. We are still waiting to learn how deep this scandal runs at Westminster and beyond.
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Op-Ed: MPs on the Energy Select Committee have been questioning representatives of the big five comparison websites in the UK and the conclusion is that comparison sites do not always act independently nor point you in the direction of the best deal. On top of that all they earn a fee from energy suppliers if customers switch energy provider in their search for the latest best deal. Should any of this surprise us though? Comparison websites are a business when all is said and done and they need money to stay operational. What will cause anger though is the lack of transparency Under questioning they admitted that they did not always publish the best deal for new customers indicating they are yet another source screwing the British public. Mrs Thatcher's Tory government began the privatisation nightmare which has seen vital services outsourced to private and in many cases foreign companies. She dangled a carrot of free or cheap shares in front of the electorate of the day and Brits lapped it up. It did not take long for small shareholders to sell on and create a monopoly. Thatcher promised a better deal for consumers once competition was introduced into our energy companies but 30 years later, more or less, six big energy firms have the industry sewn up in the UK. Increases in fuel costs are instantly passed on to consumers but price drops take their time to filter through, if at all. In general election year in the UK though it could be a different kettle of fish Political party leaders know fuel poverty and energy prices are big issues in the UK. Will privatisation happy David Cameron and the Conservative pull an energy rabbit out of the bag? They may when Osborne delivers his last budget before the election which will be full of spin, vague future promises and more dross no doubt. As a reminder of how trustworthy they are we have used Cameron's image pledge in 2010 that if they did not deliver on key issues we should kick them out in 2015. As he has failed to deliver on his promises the choice is simple then; vote the Tories out of office. As for privatised energy and water services in the UK re-nationalising is the only way to protect British citizens from unscrupulous foreign investors and the sooner the better.
In 2013 Nestle CEO said Water Is Not A Human Right and Should Be Privatized. Comparison websites may now face some form of regulation. UK PM David Cameron attended an 'ask the leaders' session Monday and went on record to defend Saudi Arabia. He was asked to justify why Union flags were flown at half-mast in January when King Abdullah died. As the Daily Mirror says "Saudi Arabia has one of the worst human rights record in the world, with use of amputations, lashes and public beheadings as punishments. Taking a leaf out of almost any modern U.S. President he said his first priority was to protect the people of the U.K. and that is what he is doing by cozying up to Saudi, a country with a terrible Human and women's rights record. Cameron said "A piece of counter-terrorism intelligence supplied by Saudi Arabia "saved potentially hundreds of lives" in the UK." Whether or not you believe him is up to you. We must of course remember it is election year in Britain and Cameron's campaign has been underway for some time. Cameron went on to say "his first duty was to protect the public even if it meant doing business with regimes he "didn't always agree with"." Does that mean he would have ignored Hitler trying to wipe out Jewish nationals in Poland and Germany as long as that country was working with us? His ill-thought out words will hardly reassure. What his words seem to say is you can do what you like back home as long you work with us or do not harm us directly. But with so many wars fought supposedly to remove despots who were harming their own citizens or refusing basic rights back home what does he really mean? Does this confirm our suspicions that western interference in Arab Spring countries was only ever self-serving and never about helping the citizens of countries involved? If it does then the west got that one wrong big-time. The west went in to countries such as Libya covertly, with claims of no-boots-on-the-ground, supplied weapons and trained men to rise up; the same people who are now armed to the teeth with hate in their hearts for the west. We say that as there can be no denying now that many so-called militants in Iraq and Syria benefited from western, and in some cases Saudi, help. Mr Cameron said: "I can tell you one time since I've been prime minister, a piece of information that we have been given by that country [Saudi] has saved potentially hundreds of lives here in Britain. Perhaps now we should ask Mr Cameron then why people in Britain have never felt so unsafe before? Op-Ed: The boss of Boots the Chemist in the UK had decided to publicly campaign for the British Tory Party. He did this at the weekend when he voiced his concerns for the British economy if the electorate sees sense and opts to return a Labour government in May 2015, which he views as a "catastrophe", but were his motives purely mercenary and personal? Boots has grown since its days as a small pharmacy chain of stores. Their larger stores often sell a range of goods and cover a few floors; music, cameras, optician and photography services while you get your prescription dispensed. But it is not all good news for the consumer. Boots does operate a rewards scheme that allows you to build up points which are redeemed against goods but you have to spend a great deal of money along the way. As many of Boots products are way over-priced in the end you are rewarded with little if anything. But one big winner is tax exile Stefano Pessina who is the acting chief executive of Boots. He told Tory publication the Telegraph that Ed Miliband would be a 'catastrophe' for Britain but many hard-pressed British people who actually live in the UK will disagree; they will view the Tory led coalition currently running the country as a disaster. But Labour always knew the Tory big guns, those who profit from a Conservative government, would try every trick in the book to get the election result they want. Perhaps as Greece takes a huge step to the left, with Spain looking likely to follow suit, Pessina is running scared. Pessina thinks a Labour government would be a big blow for business in the UK but with Tesco and Morrisons already in trouble and shedding jobs he is off the mark. The billionaire boss of Boots lives in Monte Carlo, with a fortune estimated at £7.5bn. "Boots was targeted by tax campaigners when it moved its formal tax residence from Britain to Switzerland following Pessina’s private equity-backed buyout in 2007. Last year when Pessina merged Boots with US group Walgreens, there were plans to move the headquarters from the US to Switzerland for tax reasons, although the idea had to be abandoned in the face of a US political row and a potential customer backlash" reports the Guardian. Labour's Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, was quick to retaliate saying the electorate was unlikely to "listen to someone who does not live or pay tax in the UK." Telegraph readers may view him differently but not if they bother to uncover the whole picture. Miliband is accused of being anti-business but why would British people re-elect David Cameron is obviously anti-British people? There is already a campaign to boycott Boots in the UK. Boots is not a good employer although it may have been years ago. It offers some workers controversial zero hours contracts which could involve working abroad with little choice. If you refuse The Tory government has stitched up any chances you had of benefits until you find a proper job. Big Business and this government walk hand in hand. Paying the minimum wage Boots frowns on a Labour government who may increase that to a living wage. For this writer Boots is way overpriced and in reality that is the truth for all of the British electorate when all they do is take their profits elsewhere. |