Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

The two men - Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie - convicted in the Neil Lennon bomb plot are clearly a few egg sandwiches short of a picnic. But their stupidity is no excuse for their actions - which deserve to be punished to the full extent of the law - not least because both men lied all the way through the court proceedings - and took no responsibility for their behaviour. If their stories and the pleas of their expensive defence lawyers had been believed - they would be walking the streets of today - as free men, no doubt emboldened by the experience. Thankfully they are heading to jail - and hopefully for a long time. During which they can reflect upon the bigotry and sectarianism - which seems to have preoccupied much of their lives - so far at least. Here are some interesting insights into the case from the BBC web site: "Police enlisted the support of shadowy agencies and covert operatives, but it was old-fashioned policework which cracked the ca...

'Stupid is as stupid does' - was one of Forest Gump's favourite sayings - and it's still hard to argue with all these years later. Sometimes there's no accounting for people's stupidity - and a case in point is the woman from York who has reportedly suffered severe burns - after trying to decant petrol in her kitchen while cooking the evening meal on her gas cooker. Now I notice that at least one of the newspaper's has tried to lay the blame for this at the government's door which would - of course - be completely ridiculous. Governments and politicians - past and present - are responsible for many of the country's ills - but I draw the line at holding them to account - for the actions of individual citizens who act like  idiots. So while I'm as sorry as the next person to learn that someone has been badly burned in an accident - you have to ask yourself what possessed this woman to behave as if she had lost her mind -...

'Dr' Ozzy Osbourne has had some troublesome cases to deal with recently - which would really test the mettle of your average GP - I have to say. But this ageing rocker seems completely unfazed by whatever issues or problems people throw at him - from sleep disorders to people crashing their cars because they own a cat - Dr Ozzy seems to have the answer. Dear Dr Ozzy I’ve read that sleep disruption can lead to ‘multiple personality disorder’. As a stressed-out dad who hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in years, should I be worried? Dayton, Edinburgh Nobody wants to go to bed as John and wake up as Jim. Or worse, Jane. But from what I’m told, this is an issue for psychiatric patients who are bouncing off their padded walls, to the point where they’re hallucinating, not the average bloke who gets up a few times to use the can. And thank God for that, or there’d be 800 different Ozzys by now. I think one’s enough. Dr Ozzy Dear Dr Ozzy I’ve been told that having...

I can't get that terrible image of George Galloway out of my head and  in desperation I have gone back to the original song - to see if that helps cure the terrors. 'What's New Pussycat?' was a smash hit for Tom Jones back in 1965 - the song having been written for a film of the same name by Burt Bacharach - the doyen of famous American songwriters. So here's a link to the old Welsh warbler belting out the words to his hit song - on You Tube. If this doesn't work I'll need some kind of therapy to get the Big Brother image out of my head - because it's a waking nightmare - no kidding. http://youtu.be/Ga3I5DTIA-E

Here's an excellent article on the race to become London Mayor - written by Philip Collins for yesterday's Times newspaper. Now I don't know Philip Collins - but I know how he feels and if I were still in the Labour party and living in London - I'd feel exactly the same way too. Because Ken Livingstone is a self-centred, hugely divisive character - and it says all you need to know about the nature of London Labour - that the party couldn't come up with a more credible candidate. Maybe a woman or even someone from a ethnic minority background - but yet again the people's party gets stuck with Ken  - only this time he's a limited company (K4L Ltd) - just to add some extra spice and intrigue. So to celebrate - or commiserate depending on you point of view - here's a clip of Topol belting out his famous song from Fiddler on the Roof. http://youtu.be/jJ_-CmwHWPo "I’m a Labour member, but I can’t vote for Ken" ...

The news wires have just reported that the two men charged with sending parcel bombs through the post - to the Celtic manager Neil Lennon and two other high-profile fans - have been found guilty. A good thing too I say - because what a farce the trial had become - as some witnesses tried to withdraw previous written statements given to the police.  While the two accused men - Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie - did their best to give the impression that they couldn't spell the word 'bomb' - never mind build one. Dumb and Dumber will be sentenced at a later date - but the jury took only a very short time to see through their tissue of lies. Pity the same couldn't be said for the men's defence team - Gordon Jackson QC and Donald Findlay QC - two of the most expensive lawyers money can buy in Scotland. Quite why the public purse has to shell out so much money to defend these two idiots - who probably have difficulty tying their shoelaces - is beyond me.  B...

The leaders of Unite - the union - have very helpfully announced that strike action over Easter by fuel tank drivers - has been ruled out. Now as a statement of the bleedin' obvious - this takes the biscuit - because the union would have to have given 7 days notice of any intention to take industrial action - under the law. Which would have meant the union issuing such a notice yesterday - effectively - on order to commence strike action over the Easter holiday weekend. At certain times this great country of ours seems to take leave of its senses - and this is one - where newspapers headlines are full of talk about pasties - and where self-induced panic sets in over fuel supplies.  I am reminded of a famous cover from the Private Eye magazine - in September 2000 - the last time fuel hysteria gripped the nation. The front cover of the magazine featured the Labour leader Tony Blair and a 'speech bubble' which said: 'You cant f...

I am a man with a mission - as they say. I am trying to discover who is - or was - the brains behind the North Lanarkshire Council bonus scheme. Which resulted in £184,000 worth of top-up payments - to the council's most senior officials including the chief executive, Gavin Whitefield. I am told by a well placed source - one very close to the council - that this exercise was carried out entirely in-house - and was not farmed out to any independent third party. Which wouldn't suprise me - because it has all the hallmarks of a rather cosy in-house deal - which hasn't been subjected to much, if any, independent scrutiny. But if any readers can help me by providing further details - I'd be greatly obliged. Because I think this business of performance pay - for only the most highly paid officials of the council - is a complete scandal and a terrible waste of taxpayers' money. One clue that might help people is the reference num...

Here's a previous post from the blog site archive - which kind of speaks for itself. The last Labour Government at Westminster tried desperately to stop the general public getting to know about MPs' expenses - which led to the biggest parliamentary scandal of modern times. To my mind the present Labour leadership of South Lanarkshire Council - is every bit as bad. Because council leaders have abused the freedom of information process - which they claim to support - and wasted huge amounts of taxpayers' money in their attempts to stop people from learning the truth. Now what kind of way is that for a Labour-run council - a Labour-run council - to behave. South Lanarkshire Council (10 May 2011) Here's a copy of an e-mail sent today to the leader of South Lanarkshire Council - Councillor Eddie McAvoy. Earlier on today I posted contact details for the five constituency MSPs - whose parliamentary seats cover the South Lanarkshire Counci...

Here's an article from this week's Hamilton Advertiser which takes a big stick to South Lanarkshire Council - I think it's fair to say - over its attitude towards Freedom of Information. Not every local paper is interested in the fight for equal pay - but the Hamilton Advertiser has covered the issue extensively - and is inviting readers to have their say. So why not take the paper up on its offer - the local council election are only weeks away - and equal pay is a big issue for many people in South Lanarkshire - and their families. What are you waiting for - tell the Hamilton Advertiser and South Lanarkshire Council what you think. Not least because the present leadership of the council - has nothing to say for itself.    Equal Pay Court Dispute by Julie Gilbert - Hamilton Advertiser Judges have thrown out a bid by South Lanarkshire Council to block the release of data concerning their pay structure. Mark Irv...

I loved this article from the BBC web site. updated To my mind the person who thought up the strap line of - Red-hot Chile peepers - ought to be promoted to Director General off the BBC immediately - for their wit and imagination. The story itself may be out of this world - but for me the headline is the real star. "Red-hot Chile peepers: How to make a very large telescope" By Katia Moskvitch Telescope goes after first stars In the hot and desolate lands of Chile's Atacama Desert, seemingly lonely and lost, four huge metallic structures tower over the dusty summit of Cerro Paranal. Look closer, though, and you will detect a buzz of activity. The structures have names - Antu, Kueyen, Melipal and Yepun - and each encloses a telescope. Together they form the VLT, or Very Large Telescope, the world's biggest optical telescope facility. Every now and then, the VLT is in the news, when its astronomers make yet another discovery. Run by the European Southe...