Is this the bravest woman in Britain?

This picture from today's Sun shows the widow of staff sergeant Olaf Schmid. He died instantly when a bomb he was trying to disarm blew up.
Christina applauded her husband's coffin as it rolled past in Wootton Bassett. He had disarmed more than 60 bombs, saving countless lives and his wife's courage yesterday matched his.
RIP Sgt Schmid.

Bring troops back, says poll

A YouGov poll for Channel4 reveals that 73 per cent of people want British soldiers to return home from Afghanistan.
Paddy Ashdown wrote in today's Times: 'Afghanistan must become the nation’s No1 priority or the people will withdraw their support.'
It now looks like they already have.

Why Cameron insults our intelligence

The Conservative party have vowed to repatriate powers from Brussels after a humiliating climbdown over the Lisbon Treaty.
Remember their promise that there would be a referendum on the treaty?
David Cameron vowed to Sun readers there would be a referendum.
Today he explains why he will break that promise and makes three other promises that he will break.
He says: 'First, bringing back powers over social and employment laws. While businesses struggle through this recession, it is outrageous that rules from Brussels add to their burden. And we can't afford the NHS to be mucked about by EU working time rules either.
'Second, we want a guarantee that the Charter of Fundamental Rights will not be used by EU judges to add to EU law affecting the UK. Third, we want to pull back powers so that EU judges can't gain creeping control over the British criminal justice system.
'And finally, we will enshrine Britain's independence in law by taking a Sovereignty Bill through Parliament. This would guarantee that the final word on our laws is here in the UK.'
Cameron knows none of these things are possible - EU law is tightly framed and any changes of this nature would take years to implement.
Even members of his own party don't believe him. It is merely tub-thumping to hold on to his share of the vote - shameless electioneering.
As Elmar Brook points out in The Independent: 'The biggest transfers of British sovereignty to the EU were made with the Single European Act and the Maastricht treaty – under the Conservative leaders John Major, and Margaret Thatcher.'
Don't insult our intelligence Dave.

Dead and alive

Wacky stories from around the world have a habit of turning up on our shores.
This tale of 'man turns up at own funeral' is a classic after the family identified a disfigured car crash victim as their kin.
The whole picture falls into place when we hear that the unfortunate Brazilian brickie Ademir Jorge Goncalves had spent the previous evening drinking pinga, a spirit made from distilled sugar cane, with friends.
I'm sure we've all had nights like that but walking into your own funeral must have been the ultimate sobering experience.

Funding key to Nutt's plan

Professor David Nutt is saying he will establish a new drug advisory body if the current one is disbanded.
The key here is who will be funding it as its independence and credibility depend upon it.
Nutt refuses to say where the money is coming from but any hint of cash from pharmaceutical sources will scupper this plan.
The BBC reckon the present Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs costs £150,000 per year to run.

BNP's Sellafield hubris

BNP posturing over what it can and cannot do is the price we pay for allowing these extremists into the political mainstream.
Sellafield refused to allow BNP leader Nick Griffin to visit the plant on the grounds that it could cause an 'unnecessary distraction'.
Predictably the BNP is reportedly considering legal avenues amid claims that the plant is undermining the democratic process.
It is sickening to see the BNP atop the moral high ground over any issue and this is no exception. But I'm sure this is not the last we will see more of this until they are voted out of the political arena.
Any black or Asian employees at Sellafield would no doubt be appalled to see Mr Griffin at their workplace.
Is that not reason enough to stop him visiting?

Have a go Bo Jo

Can Boris do no wrong?
Now he's seen off some would-be muggers on his bike.
Let's just put him in charge of the UK and the EU now.