Here’s the link to the interview The link to the intervirw

Don’t know about everyone else, but it feels like my sporting summer – the biggest sporting summer since the Olympics – which I was very excited about, was cut short and finished before it properly began!

I was looking forward to the World Cup and England at least making it past the groups’ stages. Then Wimbledon’s nasty surprise, now all that’s left in my ‘sporting summer’ is the Commonwealth Games.

Not sure if I’m alone here but there are certain sporting events you can’t carry on watching after your team is knocked out. In my case major Football and Rugby events are not worth watching if England is not competing.

Tennis is a new thing; in the past I used to easily follow all of Wimbledon then half way pick someone to root for. But since Andy Murray’s rise my Wimbledon expectations changed. Murray not making it to the finals put a damper on the whole Wimbledon experience. Now all is left of summer 2014 is the Commonwealth Games. Which luckily I will follow in full regardless, especially Track & Field events, as they are my absolute favourite sporting pastime.

I know my attitude makes me tribal. That tribalism also shows in my politics. Some think it’s uncool to be this tribal, but I think life is full of Greys and overlaps and it’s good to have some clear cuts, some black or white and an either or in certain things. Don’t you think?

My clear cuts are mostly in some sports and all of my politics what are yours?

It is sad to hear about Detroit’s heavy debt of more than $18bn and unavoidable bankruptcy. The city that was once called the ‘Paris of the Midwest’ is now in ruins. The scale of decline of what once was a beautiful metropolis is frightening. After years of mismanagement, rising crime and chronic poverty Detroiters fled the home of Motown and its population dropped from 2 million in 1950s to a little over 500,000 today.

Nothing is working in the Motor City it seems. Only a third of its ambulances are in working order, it takes the police an hour to respond to calls, forget about sanitation workers and building maintenance almost half the streetlights are broken and 78,000 buildings stand empty and abandoned some with trees growing through their roofs.

A sad picture by all accounts, but I am positive Detroiters shall overcome. They are Midwesterners and Detroit is the comeback city.

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On a personal note, my weeks just keep get busier and busier; I just hope there is a rainbow with a pot of gold waiting for me at the end of it all.

Posted once and it had lots of what I like to call ‘quite hits’ that means loads of visitors but no comments. Also an old post is still getting lots of hits so I added it to this week warp- up. Have a great weekend and say a prayer to Detroitres.

• The Zimmerman Martin trail left me sad but also confused
• “Liberal bigotry is worst of all, because it thinks it’s so enlightened”

The week started with the Gay Marriage Bill splitting the Tories yet passing to the next stage. One thing I never understood about gay marriage supporters is how they regard themselves as progressives, fair and right while view all opposition to them as backwards, unjust and wrong. Why can’t it just be different strokes for different folks?

Midweek London saw its first terror attack since 7/7. It was a lone wolf attack carried out on a single unsuspecting off Duty solider. It was brutal and disturbing, and will stay with us all for a very long time. I suspect many lessons will be learned from Drummer Lee Rigby’s senseless killing. May he rest in peace and may God give his family the strength to live on.

And it ended with Sally Bercow being found liable for her “innocent face” tweet. Some might say Twitter made her and at the end broke her. But I say she paid the price of tweeting without thinking, or maybe thinking she is too clever and cute to be punished for her tweets. I ran into Sally a couple of weeks ago and she told me “now Twitter is boring and not what it used to be.” I bet this week she will add and “too expensive!”

It was another busy week; my two posts were rated as follow by readers and visitors;

• The day I felt ravaged, attacked and robbed.
• Is Lord Feldman the next Andrew Mitchell?

This week was quite eventful. It started with Cameron and Prince Harry flying the flag and warmly welcomed in the US. Harry was even offered a marriage proposal and Cameron told reporters he was relaxed about Tories voting to amend the Queen’s Speech.

It ended with Farage showing us he is not cool with rejection and not afraid to show it. Then totally lost it when he discovered neither he nor UKIP are welcome in Scotland by nationalists.

Like sprinkles on a cupcake, some not so clever Cameron chum described Tory activists and association members AKA the backbone of the party both financially and as foot-soldiers, as “mad, swivel – eyed loons”. Just because they don’t approve or Gay Marriage and want a Referendum on the EU!

It was a busy week for me too but I managed two posts, reader and visitors rated them as follow;

• Winners and Losers ~ May 15, 2013
• Football, Cameron and Capital Punishment

Did this week go by very fast or is it me? One minute it was Monday, next it was Thursday and before log the week was over.

This week I became elated. On Monday I wrote an open letter to David Cameron asking him to reinstate Nadine Dorries, and two days later she gets the Conservative whip back. I know one have nothing to do with the other but, nonetheless I’m proud of my timing.

Cameron featured again on Friday, this time I said what I have been thinking for a long time. He is not perfect however he is the best PM for the country and the best leader the party had since Thatcher. But can you tell men or even Theresa May that?

Politicians are a rare breed of people. They promise the public they are in it for others and making a difference yet routinely demonstrate they are in it for themselves, their personal advancement and self-ego. And have the nerve to get extremely upset when its pointed out to them!

Despite the showers, hayfever is still kicking my behind and I am still miserable (with the sneezing, itchy and runny eyes). Can do with a proper British rain to wash the pollen away.

Until next week, via visits and hits, this week readers and visitors rated posts as follow;

• Open letter to David Cameron asking him to reinstate Nadine Dorries as a Conservative MP
• Three points I feel will either make or break our party.
• Think we all need to take a minute and a long deep breath.
• What an interesting day!

Funny how you expect something to happen yet when it does you do a double take. UKIP’s poll success this week was expected but still took many, including me, by surprise. Well done and many congratulations!

This week was another four posts week; but the number one blog had three times as many readerships. Thank you everyone, your support is always appreciated.

On a personal note, this week was very, very special too. My daughter Tasneem, who works overseas, came home for a 48hs visit which was great fun. And my baby Lamees handed in her first end of year dissertation, I have to admit that was a little emotional. So the Idris – Yousif household was full of excitement and that is always a very good thing.

Via visits and hits, this week readers and visitors rated posts as follow;

• It’s unwise to insult UKIP and those we lose to them this week.
• Every once in a while Cameron reminds us what a shrewd operator he can be!
• I sincerely want to know when being privileged and privately educated became immoral.
• Lefties just want to run everybody’s life, don’t they?

Blogging and even tweeting this week were light. I am working on a couple of new projects and they are taking all my time and attention, plus my hayfever this spring is very bad.

On a more positive note, my 1000th post HERE from last week is still getting new visitors, thank you everyone. Also an older post on immigration HERE is still getting new traffic some from as far as Brazil. Thank you all and please keep coming and continue reading.

Have a grand weekend everybody, I am off up North for the rest of the weekend – hope hayfever is better up there. But leaving nothing for chance, I am armed with nasal spray, eye drops and antihistamine tablets.

Via visits and hits, this week readers and visitors rated posts as follow;

• Think maybe it’s time for May to rock the boat and stir things a little.
• Sometimes, you can’t help but wonder and ask yourself how come?

What a week!

In a simple yet moving ceremony Britain gave gratitude and buried one of the greatest Prime Ministers and leaders in the history of the world. As I watched Baroness Thatcher’s coffin draped in the flag of the country she loved and heard the clapping of the crowds lining the streets from the Chapel to St Paul’s, I was overwhelmed with a sense of patriotism and gratitude to Mrs T, but at the same time was filled with regret that I never got the chance to meet the great lady.

Also this week I reached my 1000th blogpost and it became the most read, a big thank you to those who read it especially as it was one of my longest posts.

This post about the Philpotts and welfare also received a high number of hits.

It looks like a gorgeous day outside, enjoy it and enjoy the weekend. I’m off to do Saturday things, like pamper myself do some errands and finish the day at my mom’s.

Via visits and hits, this week readers and visitors rated posts as follow;

• This is my one thousandth blogpost!
• This week’s BBC Question Time left me deflated and a little concerned.
• What nonsense!
• A Day of Reflection and Remembrance

A word of caution to those who think having two elected houses is democratic and will be better for our politics. On the face of it, it is democratic but scratch below the surface and it is neither practical nor sensible. Just look at the US, for the best part of four years the poor souls hardly passed anything. Not because they are incapable but because of politics, and make no mistake that will be us if we turn our upper house into an elected house. It will become a filibustering chamber, our law making mechanism will stall and nothing will get passed.

Now, we do have our share of ping ponging between the two houses, but still lots get done and many bills become law, they get amended and passed with the cooperation of the majority. However, if our Lords become elected, it will lose not only the ability to be pragmatic and cooperative but also the specialist expertise of learned men and women from all walks of life who are loyal to queen and country, not a political party.

As it stands, we have elected local councilors, elected regional assemblies, elected members of parliament and elected members of the European parliament. We most defiantly don’t need another elected body when many of our laws come ready made from Europe anyway!

There is defiantly no need for an elected Upper House!

However the Lords can do with becoming less of a chamber for those who failed electorally and those rewarded for political niceties and revert to being primarily a body of specialist knowledge that scrutinizes in greater detail bills that have been approved by the Commons. That expertise lent itself to knowledge but not political alliances and thus it should stay.

It will be wise to keep the Lords unelected, just reform how and why peers are appointed.