New Articles on The Daily Dust today

Posted: 22 Nov 2008 08:13 AM CST

The songs of youth will ring around Europe this evening.

Tonight, live from Cyprus, is the sixth Junior Eurovision Song Contest. With 15 countries represented by the best young singer-songwriters (all aged between ten and fifteen), all the fun of Eurovision is going to be on show, from two exuberant hosts, crazy songs (just watch out for Georgia’s entry is all I’m saying), the delights of voting, and a winning song that’s not from the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately, we’re not entering JESC (as the fans reduce the name to) even though I can think of a bundle of kids that were on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ that would be perfect candidates, so you’ll need to choose another country to get behind. The Netherlands are the closest to our shores, although Daniel Testa (Malta) is the sole song in English. And with no singer, there’s no voting for us either.

Final gotcha is that it’s not being broadcast on the TV. Junior Eurovision will be streaming live over the official website (www.junioreurovision.tv/esctv for the broadcast) so get the beers in, microwave the popcorn, and settle in for some fantastic spectacle.

There’’s no Terry Wogan on this stream - in fact there’s no commentators whatsoever (boo…) but I’ll be on Twitter, along with others. Search on #jesc or follow me, and we’ll get through it together.

Gallas - Down and Now Out

Posted: 22 Nov 2008 06:35 AM CST

William Gallas, Arsenal Captain told to get out of the club

Gallas, 31, stunned Manager Arsene Wenger this week by revealing the secret incidents in the Arsenal dressing room.

He claimed he had to break up a fight between Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott at half-time during the 4-4 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last month and he also claimed there was a “grass” in the Emirates camp who everyone dislikes, many believe it is Emmanuel Eboue.

Wenger furiously stripped Gallas of his captaincy and told Gallas to get out of the club telling him that if he doesn’t want to be there, he can go right away. Gallas is also dropped from this weekend’s game at Man City.

Arsene Wenger is having his worst spell as manager at that club since he joined over ten years ago, with a dramatic loss of form and behind the scenes fighting, this is surely make or break time for the French boss.

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood said: "Baring all these things in public is no help for anybody."

Especially if you are manager of an under-achieving team..

Diana and Eoghan - True Love or Calculated Move?

Posted: 22 Nov 2008 06:18 AM CST

Diana Vickers in the X Factor tonight

So this morning, as news of Diana and Owen’s Eoghan’s secret romance became public, we at the DailyDust feel something more sinister is going on.

It appears Diana, 17, and Eoghan, 16, have been secretly dating behind the scenes at X Factor and even though Miss Vickers has a boyfriend, sources say they are all over each other away from rehersals.

Diana, who sensationally missed a show with her “sickie” on Mariah Carey night, was devastated that her throat caused her to nearly be evicted, yet she in fact avoided singing on a night that she would not have coped with and coincidentally led to her number one rival, Laura getting dismissed. Does she now have her sights on her next nearest rival, Eoghan?

Snogging with a throat infection with the intention of passing the germs over..? Who knows, one thing is for sure, tonight’s show will be full of tension.

£1,000 fines for out-of-date ID card details

Posted: 22 Nov 2008 04:46 AM CST

People who fail to keep personal details up to date within three months face fines of up to £1,000. Home Office regulations published yesterday stated that rules will come into effect when the national identity card scheme is up and running.

Regular offenders could ultimately be enforced by baliffs.

Detailed regulations for the ID card are clear that no penalty will be enforced upon those who refuse to register for the card in the first place. Though those who register or make a new passport will automatically be issued with an ID card.

The shadow home secretary, Dominic Grieve, said: “The home secretary has confirmed the worst element of the scheme - a single, mammoth and highly vulnerable database exposing masses of our personal details to criminal hackers.

“Worse still, she has magnified the scope for fraud by allowing spot fines to be issued by email,” he said.

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New Laws to Ban Happy Hours and Drinking Games

Posted: 22 Nov 2008 02:54 AM CST

Happy hours, drinking games and all-you-can-drink deals will be banned. According to The Daily Telegraph, plans will be announced in 10 days time.

Alcohol abuse costs £25billion annually, with the cost of £2.7 billion a year to the NHS. The annoucement by ministers will coincide with the beginning of Christmas party season. During this time, police force and hospitals are under heavy burden to cope with the sharp increase in alcohol related offences.

Health minister, Dawn Primarolo, said earlier this year that the drinks industry had failed to curb binge drinking voluntarily, so regulations must be enforced.

Don Shenker, Chief exec of Alcohol Concern, said: “If introduced, these measures will not go far enough to tackle binge drinking. Some of the biggest culprits in fuelling binge drinking and anti-social behaviour are supermarkets and off-licenses who sell alcohol very cheaply.

“The biggest rises in affordability of alcohol have come from the off-trade, so the Government needs to crack down on this too or the practice of pre-loading on cheap bought-in booze before hitting the town will continue.”

What do you think? Will banning happy hours really curb binge drinking culture?

Food recycling bin scheme for all households

Posted: 22 Nov 2008 02:31 AM CST

Every household in England could soon have to keep seperate bins for food scraps. This is a measure councils say will enable them to recycling millions of tonnes of diodegradable rubbish and reduce landfill.

Critics say the food recycling is just an excuse to end weekly bin collections.

Residents taking part in the trial scheme have complained about odours from food waste which attracts pests.

A spokesman from The Local Government Association (LGA) said: “Many councils are already collecting food waste separately and are keen to expand these services, but this is not something that comes without a price tag. Specialist equipment is required to collect and dispose of it, which can be very expensive.”

Mark Wallace, campaign director at the Taxpayer’s Alliance, added: “With council tax bills putting such a heavy burden on families already suffering from the recession, councils must be extremely careful about the potential cost of this scheme.

“There are much more affordable alternatives which include encouraging home composting.”

Food waste accounts for 20% of all waste sent to landfills, creating thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Around a third of the food bought in the UK is thrown away, even though most of it could have been eaten.

Scoop6 Saturday

Posted: 21 Nov 2008 01:17 PM CST

This Saturday could turn out to be very lucky for some punters around the country with a huge prize approaching £4million available in the Scoop6, which involves picking the winner of six chosen televised races - unsurprisingly the hardest ones!

Like the majority of punters, I’ll be throwing my hat into the ring and having a crack, along with backing several other thoroughbreds in singles, including Chomba Womba (1.55) in the Ascot Hurdle at the Berkshire track.

This prestigious race is being shown live on Channel 4 and past renewals suggest siding with a hurdler aged from six to nine, with plenty of experience, and who is likely to emerge from the first three in the betting.

Chomba Womba fits all those credentials and impressed in taking the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton two weeks ago, an event that was won by two previous winners beforehand.

Channel 4 are also beaming the Amlin Handicap Chase live an hour later, where Mahogany Blaze (3.05) is the one to beat.

Once more, history is a useful guide as previous renewals of the event tell us those that finished first and second last time out did well, and Mahogany Blaze filled the runner-up spot almost three weeks ago in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter, as did the 2000 winner of this, Upgrade.

Those that like to get a thrill when placing a bet need look no further than the action on the all-weather at Lingfield, where Muktasb (12.00) can take the opener. Sky channel 415 Attheraces will be showing the action.

This sprinter has really caught the Myers’ eye on his last two outings, flashing through all too late at Kempton. However, this venue at Lingfield is more obliging to those leaving things late and Muktasb can swallow them up on the line.

Similar comments also apply to River Kirov (12.55) two races later in the second division of this sprint.

This five-year-old is back on his A game at present, almost following up his victory at Kempton over six furlongs at the same track and trip earlier this week when a fast-finishing second. He was given too much to do that day, but is partnered today by Richard Hughes, who was on board when successful.

The final bet on a hectic day comes at Huntingdon in the opener where Bonikos (12.05) stands out for the in-form Nicky Henderson yard.

This gelding made an encouraging racecourse introduction in March when making late gains into second at this venue, and is expected to improve for that debut on his hurdles bow today. The yard do well here too, with an impressive 41% strike-rate in hurdle races during the past five years.

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Patterson Joseph To Be Announced As The Doctor On Sunday?

Posted: 21 Nov 2008 11:43 AM CST

Does the evidence add up to Sunday being the biggest birthday present for Doctor Who?

Speculation continues to be drawn around the identity of the actor destined to take over from David Tennant as the next actor to play The Doctor in the hit BBC series; and fans are wondering if the decision will be announced this Sunday.

The rumours are gathering around character actor Patterson Joseph. Best known to the public for his role in Peep Show, he’s also a genre favourite having recently been in Hyperdrive and Jekyll, along with capturing the hearts of fantasy fans since his role as the Marquis in Neverwhere (above) in 1996.

So what’s the evidence for (a) Joseph being cast and (b) the announcement happening on Sunday? First up, Joseph has been on pretty much everyone’s list since before Tennant stood down at the National TV Awards. Secondly, he is already known to new show runner Stephen Moffat (who previously helmed Jekyll), and he;s in the right age range, with dashing good looks, and lots of stamina. He’s also been happy to talk about taking the role, but never denying he’s not been cast. Plus BBC news reported that on their site - something they’ve not done with other actors mentioned, such as Sean Pertwee.

Oh and a fellow cast member from the new TV series, Survivors, almost let the cat out the bag on News 24…

So that takes care of the Who. Now what about the time? Well, there are a lot of good reasons to get the announcement out the way well in advance of the new series (not least so nobody finds out via a grainy cameraphone when filming starts). And this Sunday is a vital date.

Firstly, it’s the première of the aforementioned TV show Survivors, so any news around Joseph would make the ratings soar like an eagle above the tunnels of London.

Secondly, this Sunday, the 23rd of November, will be the 45th anniversary of the very first episode of Doctor Who. What better time to emphasise that the cutting edge nature of Doctor Who is alive and well by announcing the new actor.

Time will tell…

Quarter of British men think wives need boob jobs

Posted: 21 Nov 2008 10:19 AM CST

Findings from a poll of 2,000 married men reveal that 25% think their wives need better boobs.

1 in 5 British men say plastic surgery could save their marriage.

Only 35% of the survey said they would never tell their wives she needed plastic surgery.

The survey commissioned by Opera North was created ahead of Armando Iannucci’s operetta, Skin Deep.

A spokesman said: “It seems that a lot of men think their wives could do with surgery to enhance their looks but looking young and gorgeous isn’t the be all and end all to a marriage.

“Plastic surgery is so much more on people’s radars and the survey shows a lot of men do actually see it as a viable option to spruce up their wives. It’s particularly amusing that very few men would be prepared to do the same thing.”