"Out of touch" Conservatives u-turn on forests, say they're sorry

Just a quickie today, as I've been busy: BBC News reports that the British Government has decided to throw out the plans to sell off 40,000 acres of England's forests. Ironically, the government is composed primarily of members of the Conservative Party, whose logo consists of a tree - yet they had decided it was a good idea to sell off the nation's trees, which would probably result in many being cut down.

The party leader and Prime Minister, David Cameron, was humbled yesterday at question time - Ed Miliband asked whether the PM was happy with the plans to sell off the forest, to which Cameron responded with a simple 'no' and a bow of the head. It seems in this case, this Eton and Oxford educated arrogant man realised he wasn't always right.

Operation Dogfight: tracking down a Spanish guy who TORTURES PUPPIES

This puppy is not one of the harmed ones.

Operation Dogfight is the attempt to track down someone who has no excuse for their actions. This horrible individual, who lives in Badajoz, Spain, has recorded the deliberate torture and slow death of two puppies, and said he will post more. The videos are horrific (with a big Not Safe For Life stamp) so I'd urge you not to watch them - I wish I hadn't even attempted to.

I feel very strongly about the welfare of animals, particularly innocent baby animals such as these, and if you've got some spare time please visit the site and see if you can do anything to track him down and have him dealt with by the proper authorities, or blog this, and contact your local media and get this widely publicised, so justice can be done before another innocent animal is harmed.

http://operationdogfight.info/ is just a page of text but links to the aforementioned videos and has more information on the hunt for this guy.

Tahrir Square: Not so square - an interactive guide to the camp that took down the president

Click the image to see BBC News' interactive map of Tahrir Square, Cairo, where Egyptian people, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, have been protesting since the 25th of January. On the 1st of February it has been reported that over a million people gathered there.

The peaceful protest of this many people was enough to bring down the Egyptian government, by forcing President Mubarak to resign. Here in the UK the recent protests don't seem to have accomplished much, and the media only seem to cover the ones that turn violence, but it seems the Egyptians can inspire us all with what they have achieved.

Egypt is now under military rule, and the people are hoping for democratic elections to create a new government over the next few months. I wish the people of Egypt good luck.

BBC News - Egypt: The camp that toppled a president

Indeed I Have Read It

This newspaper from 1865 appears to be very similar in concept to a modern site on the internet that I used to visit. Unfortunately, this site 'Digg', lost most of its users when it was poorly redesigned - I heard they all went to another site but I have no idea where.

Where do all my readers find their news online?

(Credit to internet user aviopticus)

BBC News: Quiz of the week's news

Old news?

In the spirit of this blog, the BBC each week posts a quiz on the more light-hearted aspects of the week's news.

I scored 6/7, not recognising the true hairline of Margaret Thatcher, mistaking it for Meryl Streep's in the upcoming film The Iron Lady. How appropriate a time to make the film, when we're living in the UK under a government with Thatcherite policies, but probably even more devastating for the common person.

Who did David Cameron ask to be his Tory candidate for the Barnsley Central byelection - by doing so admitting his party has no chance of winning the election, as his choice couldn't possibly be a serious MP.

And in world affairs which country is inspiring women of Belgium to go on strike from having sex until a government is formed?

Take the quiz and see if you can beat me.