Sign error may mean speeders let-off

Thousands of motorway speeding convictions could be overturned because the font used to display the numbers on some variable speed limit signs may not have complied with traffic regulations.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the signs showed mph numbers taller and narrower than they should have been.

Some lawyers and traffic consultants now want any penalties which were handed out over the course of the six years the signs were in place to be quashed, arguing they are not legally enforceable.

What a load of bulls**t, if someone was caught speeding on a motorway then regardless of the size of the sign or the narrowness of the numbers, I really have never heard anything so ridiculous, then they should be punished.

Forget the stupid criteria if the number on the sign was visible then there shouldn’t be anything to complain about, and if anyone pulls an Arsene Wenger and says they didn’t see it then they should be made to have an eye test.

South Dakota to allow armed teachers

The US state of South Dakota has enacted a law allowing school districts to arm teachers and other school staff.

The law’s backers say it will prevent mass school shootings like the December massacre in Connecticut that killed 26.

The measure does not force school districts to arm teachers and will not require teachers to carry guns.

But it allows each school district to choose if staff could be armed. It takes effect in July.

This new law is crazy, there’s no other word for it.

The politicians in South Dakota have decided that the best way to prevent gun violence in schools is to legally allow guns in schools.

I’m just thinking about when I was at school and how if someone shot their way into my classroom, the percentage of trust I would have had in one of my teachers to protect us would have been a big fat zero.

This really is a dreadful idea.

Osborne plans to weaken bankers’ bonus cap

Chancellor George Osborne is in Brussels determined to water down the European Parliament’s proposals to curb bankers’ bonuses.

But EU finance ministers in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) are expected to approve last week’s proposals.

They include limiting bonuses to 100% of a banker’s annual salary or to 200% if shareholders approve.

The City of London fears the rules will drive away talent and restrict growth.

Right let me get this straight having said at various points that he would get tough on bankers’ bonuses George Osborne is meeting with other EU members to stop them capping bankers’ bonuses.

I get the argument that if you squeeze bankers too much it will drive talent away etc. But it doesn’t really work here, because if these proposals are approved and are put into place across the EU where would all the bankers go, they can’t all go to China, America etc.   

And however you look at it a bonus of up to 100% of their annual salary or 200% if the shareholders approve, is still a very generous deal.  

Cardinal sorry for sexual misconduct

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the former leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, has admitted his sexual conduct has at times “fallen beneath the standards expected of me”.

He apologised and asked forgiveness from those he had “offended”.

In a statement, he also apologised to the Church and the people of Scotland.

The cardinal resigned last Monday after three priests and a former priest had made allegations of improper behaviour against him dating back to the 80s.

He is expected to face a Vatican inquiry as a result of his admission.

The inquiry into the former head of the Catholic Church in Scotland is not likely to begin until after a new Pope is chosen.

Having read this story what I want to know is why the words police and investigation were not mentioned at any point.

Why isn’t this being dealt with by the law, I can’t foresee the Vatican being overly keen to damage their reputation further on this issue, meaning he’ll probably get away with a minimal punishment.

If the Catholic Church is serious about stamping out this kind of behaviour then let the law deal with it, because it doesn’t exactly project transparency when announcing you’ll be investigating yourself.   

Obama signs $85bn budget cuts into effect

US President Barack Obama has signed into effect a wave of steep spending cuts which he has warned could damage the US economy.

The cuts - known as the sequester and drawn up two years ago - will take $85bn (£56bn) from the US federal budget this year.

Last-ditch talks at the White House to avert the reductions before Friday's deadline broke up without agreement.

This news is just baffling, these cuts were designed to be so severe that it would force the politicians in Washington to negotiate a better deal, and yet somehow they still haven’t managed to.

There problems could and should have been sorted out long before the midnight deadline and now, having shot themselves in the foot, the Republicans and Democrats could potentially have caused a setback for the recovery of global growth. 

All it would have taken was a little compromise, but what the hell. 

Lib Dems hold on to Eastleigh

The Liberal Democrats have won the Eastleigh by-election, with the UK Independence Party pushing the Conservatives into third place.

Leader Nick Clegg said the party’s candidate Mike Thornton had pulled off a “stunning victory” which had been secured “against the odds”.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said it’s best-ever performance in a Westminster poll showed it had “connected with voters”.

David Cameron said the Tories would recover from a “disappointing” result.

I think Clegg should tone down the victory celebrations as this was a seat already under Lib Dem control, and let’s not forget that this by-election was held because Chris Huhne had to resign for lying about driving offences, so Lib Dems you don’t have that much to shout about.

While UKIP have clearly performed very well and gained 24.2% of the vote, and pushed the Tories into second, they didn’t win and even if they did it would have brought their number of seats to a grand total of 1.

So can everybody calm down about UKIP becoming this major political force because at the moment their just not.

Finally I think that candidates who run for parties like, Monster Raving Loony or Elvis Loves Pets (not making that one up) should really stop, they were a funny novelty for a while, but that novelty has worn off.

Nine of the 13 candidates who represented the non-mainstream parties between them polled a whopping 4.94% of the vote, I reiterate it’s not funny anymore and their just wasting everybody’s time, including their own. 

British drivers uncertain for new F1 season

With the new F1 season less than a month away it’s a good time to assess which teams and drivers we can expect to see fighting for the title, however it seems we can discount the British drivers who are not so confident they’ll be in the mix.

Following his move to Mercedes Lewis Hamilton has admitted that his new car is not fast enough and doesn’t expect to be winning races anytime soon; instead he expects to be fighting for top 10, which makes you want to re-ignite the debate as to why he left McLaren in the first place.

That is until you read Jenson Button’s comments that it’s been a tricky winter for McLaren and he has concerns about his new car.

So does that mean we can expect another Vettel-Alonso scrap for the title this year? Probably.    

UK loses AAA credit rating

The UK has lost its top AAA credit rating for the first time since 1978 on expectations that growth will “remain sluggish over the next few years”.

The ratings agency Moody's became the first to cut the UK from its highest rating, to Aa1.

Moody’s said the government's debt reduction programme faced significant “challenges” ahead.

Chancellor George Osborne said the decision was "a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country".

Osborne is absolutely right when he says this downgrade is a reminder of the debt problems; however it’s also a reminder that he’s not dealing with them properly.

Admittedly both the US and France have shown losing the top rating isn’t as damaging as everyone might have expected as it appeared to be damaging only in a symbolic sense, but this is certainly another blow to Osborne and his economic strategy. 

FIFA ok’s goal-line technology for 2014 World Cup

FIFA has confirmed goal-line technology will be used at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The system was successfully trialled at the Club World Cup in December, and is being used for this summer's Confederations Cup.

A FIFA statement said: "After a successful implementation of Goal-Line Technology (GLT) at the Club World Cup in Japan in December 2012, FIFA has decided to use GLT at the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Finally FIFA are beginning to bring football into the 21^st century and in line with all the other sports, technology wise.

I think it’s worth mentioning the fact that this technology has been available for quite some time yet it has taken until now to implement, but given FIFA’s track record you’d have to call this real progress.

All they have to do now is build on this and address the other glaring problems in football, like racism and club finances.  

Police under investigation over dog witness statement

Police dog handlers are all too aware of how crucial their four-legged colleagues are in the investigation of many crimes.

However, when the CPS demanded a witness statement in the name of a force dog, officers realised that it would be taking their canine skills a step too far.

They wrote back explaining that PC Peach was in fact PD Peach, stressing that PD stood for police dog but to no avail.

Eventually, the exasperated handler completed a form as if it had been written by the Alsatian, signing it with a paw print.

The statement read: “I chase him. I bite him. Bad man. He tasty. Good boy. Good boy Peach.”

It stated that the age of the witness was four and that his number was PD4341.

One officer took a photograph of the statement and it soon appeared on Facebook and on several police Twitter accounts. 

The CPS, however, failed to see the funny side and complained to the police that their mistake had been turned into a very public joke.

I’m not exactly sure why the CPS is so upset, because this whole incident has been caused by their own stupidity and could have been avoided in someone there had an ounce of common sense.

Who was it exactly that when told you can’t have a statement from this officer he’s a dog went, I want one anyway.

While I’m not exactly the biggest fan of social media sites, in fact I can’t stand them, but in situations like this they are a good way of publicly highlighting the idiotic nature of the world at times.

Hopefully the CPS has learnt their lesson, and police terminology, and next time won’t ask for an eye witness account of what happened during a riot from a horse.