The case for Gary McKinnon’s extradition
LET’S explode some myths on this one, shall we? MYTH #1: Computer hacking is not a serious crime. Yes it is, and it causes millions of pounds of damage every year. People who hack into other people’s computers should be charged and tried. If convicted, the sentences should be severe. MYTH #2: McKinnon was pursuing a harmless obsession about UFOs. In that case, why did he leave this message on one of the US Defense Department computers? US foreign policy is akin to government-sponsored terrorism the

Dropped from Question Time? I feel your pain
LIBDEM MP Jo Swinson has revealed through her Facebook page Twitter that she has been dropped by the Beeb from tonight’s Question Time panel. I know how she feels, though in my case it was a senior minister who ordained that I should not appear, despite the Beeb actually wa

Arise, Lord Griffin of Barking
I CAN JUST see it now: cheers among the Chatter 88-types as Parliament finally agrees that the Lords are to be elected by some form of proportional representation. Then outrage as Nick Griffin announces that, following his defeat in Barking at the general election, he will instead stand as a BNP candidate in the new “Senate”. And then, with a depressing inevitability, the howls of anguish as he takes his seat in Parliament. “Ah,” the retort comes, “you can’t stop the BNP by gerrymandering the electoral system. You have to beat them with argument.” Yeah? And how did that work out in the European elections? Here’s a fact

Gaudy, trashy and ugly: welcome to Christmas in George Square!
IN OLDEN days I used to enjoy taking my young son (now 18) to look at the Christmas lights in Glasgow’s George Square. It was something of a tradition for us and for many families. The famous square, on a cold, clear winter evening looked beautiful. Christmas lights, by definition, are rarely tasteful, but Glasgow did it well. In the run-up to Christmas, there really was a great atmosphere in that oddly peaceful setting. No longer. Narnia was not as the children remembered it

Jack Straw’s golden touch
AND SO the Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, has decided that the Lords will be elected by proportional representation and that the Commons should be elected using the alternative vote. Years ago, round about the time the dinosaurs were wiped out, Jack was a fierce proponent of first-past-the-post. Then, as Home Secretary, he used the Parliament Act to overturn the Lords, who were valiantly attempting to obstruct the introduction of PR for European elections. That’s when some of us started to entertain some dou