Boris Johnson's decision to scrap the western congestion charge zone will make London dirtier, more crowded and less safe

On August 19th 2007, an oil tanker off the coast of Australia split in two, dumping 20,000 tons of crude oil.

Senator Collins, a member of the Australian Parliament, appeared on a TV news program to reassure the Australian public.

Politicians often think like Sen. Collins, but rarely do they articulate their thoughts with his directness and clarity.

Joseph Healy is co-convenor of Green Left, the ecosocialist current in the Green Party and the Green Party representative on the Stop the War Committee.

- You can donate to Islamic Relief's emergency efforts here. Their initial fundraising target of $3 million was met. However, due to the ongoing crisis and severe need of further funds, the Appeal has been raised to $10 Million.

This summary on health in Gaza is from the excellent people at Medact. Please write to your local paper, MPs, MEPs, embassies etc. This war must stop now.

Recent information directly related to health in GazaJanuary 4th 2009

MEPs from the Green Party and other parties have demanded an emergency debate in the European Parliament on the Gaza crisis - and have been rebuffed.

Jane, my long suffering partner pointed out to me how notably cheerful I had been over Christmas. This was in notable contrast to how I had behaved in the three months prior to this. This was because I turned of the computer and didn't look at it for two weeks, and even managed to stop thinking about residents parking for a week or so

Funny thing is, I spoke to another councillor on Monday night - who said his partner had told him exactly the same thing (about being cheerful, I mean).

I wonder - is there a theme emerging here?

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All of the following casualties were injured by the Israeli Defence Force. Can you spot which one is the odd one out?

Terrorist 1

Terrorist 2

Terrorist 3

Terrorist 4

It has been a delight hearing Clive James on the Point of View slot on Sunday mornings. Ok, I'm showing my age now, because rather than razzing it up on Saturday night and lying in on Sunday morning I often catch not only this essay at 8.50 but actually also Something Understood at whatever horrendous time that is on.

It's been a while since I had a post on how backwards Cambridgeshire can be. However picking up a copy of the Cambridge Evening News can reveal a goldmine of information on how dim people round here can be sometimes.