iand.net

Great video of Clinton being interviewed on the Fox network. The links on the page also show the Fox network interviews with the current US administration - a bit of a contrast. Nice to see an (ex) politician not letting journalists of the hook…pity more journalists don’t return the favour.

Two Scots politicians made the news this week. One told some lies, was totally back stabbed by his party but then gained respect in how he finally stepped down. The other has also told some lies (but no one can really prove when), has also been back stabbed by his old party and could only find respect by naming his new party after the word.

…just a bit of a dick.

So a well done and sympathies to Charles Kennedy who suffered a pretty messy execution by his own party. I actually thought he did well for the Liberals and took them to places they could only previously dream about. It’s also a ‘wish he would just go away’ to George Galloway who entered the Big Brother house this week. I remember when he was MP for Glasgow Kelvin - I thought he did nothing for his constituents then - how can he be serving those in Bethnal Green when he’s on a TV show bathing in his own self publicity. Murial Gray summed him up nicely in today’s Herald - just a bit of a dick.

Shamelessly stolen from Richard, make your own Tory poster. I’ve almost got ‘The Fear’ that the Tories might get a big vote tomorrow. Please vote - don’t let Michael win.

After a slow start the election is starting to get interesting. This time round there are some fantastic websites that really make you think. I’d started to group some links together for a post but plasticbag’s article says it all plus more so it’s a better starting point.

If you can’t be bothered reading the article then visit some of the following links. Political Survey 2005 is a series of questions that are then used to compare/contrast you with the rest of the electorate..well those that have bothered to take the survey. The results are great - highly recommended. Next up is Who Should You Vote For. This is a bit more simplistic than the Survey as it asks your opinion on 23 statements and from that determines who you should vote for. I’ve published my results at the end of this post.

Next up are some stat pages. First is The Public Whip which allows you to see how your mp performed in the House of Commons and also has some surveys to try. The Ministerial Whirl is superb and well worth a visit. For more detail on your mp and links to Guardian content try They Work For You. Some very telling stats including how much your local mp claims back in expenses. Shocker. There’s also a good search engine at the site for everything that has been said in parliament since 2001 although that can also be found at the Houses of Parliament.

The major news websites are also doing their best to explain in plain language exactly what each party stands for. This is partly based on the success of similar sites set-up during the American elections last year. The Channel 4 website has introduced FactCheck and also election blogs. FactCheck hopes to analyse each of the main parties claims and verify who is actually telling the truth seen here when analysing a George Galloway quote. The blogs are also a fairly good read and give an insight into some of the electioneering that goes on although not all of them are up to date.

BBC also uses a blog but for it’s reporters only though the reporting is more honest than the reporters regular news reports. BBC wins for it’s news coverage, seat calculators and poll tracker. Everything an election stat whore could dream of.

After all that if you still can’t be bothered to vote, at least register with Not Apathetic and let the world know why. Finally, my who should you vote for results are…

Your expected outcome:

Labour

Your actual outcome:

Labour -16
Conservative -29
	Liberal Democrat 39
UK Independence Party -9
	Green 24

You should vote: Liberal Democrat

The LibDems take a strong stand against tax cuts and a strong one in favour of public services: they would make long-term residential care for the elderly free across the UK, and scrap university tuition fees. They are in favour of a ban on smoking in public places, but would relax laws on cannabis. They propose to change vehicle taxation to be based on usage rather than ownership.

Take the test at Who Should You Vote For

Well done to Jamie Oliver as the government finally bows to public pressure over the amount spent on school meals. But did we really need:

If this is what the next 6 weeks are all about I’ll see you in June.