Click here to view this media Our own John Amato made an appearance on Al Jazeera to discuss the “carnival barkers” and birthers out there that President Obama attempted to placate by finally releasing the long form of his birth certificate. The Al Jazeera anchor asked John if he thought it was a mistake for President Obama to produce his long form birth certificate. As John noted, when you’ve got 45% of registered Republican voters actually believing this nonsense that the President wasn’t born in the United States and when you tie that into very powerful interests like Trump who is out there touting this stuff, the administration decided they’d finally had enough of it and decided to attempt to put an end to this story. When asked if responding to these conspiracy theorists is just going to promote more of this stuff like asking about the President’s degree from Harvard or college records, John pointed out that people like Pat Buchanan who was questioning his college records and using the term “affirmative action president” are doing nothing but using code words to dog whistle the racist elements of the Republican base. As John noted, this obviously won’t put an end to the right wing questioning the legitimacy of our President and what a sad case this is and what our political dialog has become when we’ve got real problems we should be worrying about instead of this nonsense. The Al Jazeera host asked John why there isn’t more outrage from Democrats and from the White House and why they don’t just come out and call Trump what he is, a racist. John pointed out that President Obama, as the first African American President has always been in a precarious position with this since he’s tried to be the president of the United States, and not just the president of African Americans and the poor. Sadly as John alluded to here, it really didn’t matter how President Obama has governed. There is a large segment of our population that was never going to accept that a black man was elected president. The “carnival barkers” like Trump and Buchanan have just laid that fact bare with their idiotic and racist remarks.
Continue reading …NPR’s Media Reporter Falsely Claims Vieira ‘Passively’ Dealt With Trump’s Birtherism
April 28, 2011 No Comment
On Wednesday's All Things Considered, NPR's David Folkenflik erroneously claimed that NBC's Meredith Vieira ” notably failed to contradict Donald Trump or others casting doubt on where Mr. Obama was born. Vieira … acknowledged those remarks passively .” In reality, the Today show challenged the billionaire about the birth certificate issue, twice asking, ” Do you believe he's [Obama's] lying? ” [audio clips available here ] The media correspondent began his report by noting how “there comes a moment in almost every American presidency when the commander-in-chief turns media-critic-in-chief.” After playing two clips from President Obama's press conference earlier in the day regarding the release of his birth certificate, he continued, “Mr. Obama said that for too long, the nation has been distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers. Notice, however, the President's words didn't criticize the carnival barker. He criticized those who get distracted, like the press corps sitting in front of him.” [ View video clips from Vieira's April 7, 2011 interview of Trump below ] Folkenflik then singled out Vieira, along with ABC's Christiane Amanpour, for their supposed timidity in pressing the most prominent birthers in interviews: FOLKENFLIK: Some television interviews recently- and there have been a bunch- notably failed to contradict Donald Trump or others casting doubt on where Mr. Obama was born. NBC's Meredith Vieira and ABC's Christiane Amanpour acknowledged those remarks passively. Amanpour did not challenge the Reverend Franklin Graham when he said this- REVEREND FRANKLIN GRAHAM (from ABC's “This Week”): The President, I know, has some issues to deal with here. He can solve this whole birth certificate issue pretty quickly. I don't know why he can't produce that. Notice that the NPR reporter didn't support his claim by playing sound bites from specifically from Vieira or Amanpour. In the case of the NBC host's interview of Trump, it is abundantly clear that transcript doesn't support Folkenflik's assertion: MEREDITH VIEIRA: Recently, you spent a lot of time talking about President Obama's birth certificate, or lack thereof. You don't seem convinced that he has one. DONALD TRUMP: No, I'm not convinced that he has one. I've had very smart people say, 'Donald, stay on the China issue, stay on the Saudi Arabia issue, stay on the India taking our jobs and the Mexico, which is NAFTA, which cleaned out New England.' VIEIRA: Get off the birth certificate issue . TRUMP: Get off the birth certificate issue. VIEIRA: Why don't you? TRUMP: Because you know what? Three weeks ago, when I started, I thought he was probably born in this country, and now, I really have a much bigger doubt than I did before. VIEIRA: But based on what? TRUMP: And you know what? His grandmother in Kenya said he was born in Kenya and she was there and witnessed the birth, okay? He doesn't have a birth certificate or he hasn't shown it. He has what's called certificate of live birth. That is something that's easy to get. When you want a birth certificate it's very hard to get. VIEIRA: But it's considered.- TRUMP: Excuse me, excuse me. VIEIRA: The equivalent and in- TRUMP: It's not the equivalent. VIEIRA: No, wait, in the state of Hawaii, they said they have seen this document- TRUMP: Meredith, it's not the equivalent. VIEIRA: It is evidence that he was born in the United States. That's good enough for them. Scholars have looked at – TRUMP: A birth certificate is not even close. A certificate of live birth is not even signed by anybody. I saw his. I read it very carefully. It doesn't have a serial number. It doesn't have a signature. There's not even a signature- VIEIRA: Do you believe he's lying? TRUMP: And I'm starting to think that he was not born here. VIEIRA: Do you believe he's lying? TRUMP: He spent – listen, Meredith- VIEIRA: Donald, come on, just answer. TRUMP: Meredith, he spent $2 million in legal fees trying on to get away from this issue, and if he weren't lying, why wouldn't he just solve it? And I wish he would because if he doesn't it's one of the greatest scams in the history of politics and in the history, period. You are not allowed to be a president if you're not born in this country. He may not have been born in this country, and I'll tell you what: three weeks ago, I thought he was born in this country. Right now, I have some real doubts. I have people that actually have been studying it, and they cannot believe what they're finding. If this is Vieira “passively” dealing with Trump's birther claims, one wonders what it would take to put it on the “active” part of the spectrum, according to Folkenflik's standards. Later in his report, the NPR reporter did at least acknowledge that the President made a false claim of his own during that Wednesday press conference: FOLKENFLIK: Today, President Obama said that during the budget battle two weeks ago- OBAMA: The dominant news story wasn't about these huge monumental choices that we're going to have to make as a nation. It was about my birth certificate. FOLKENFLIK: Now, that would appear to be a flat-out exaggeration .
Continue reading …Radical plans to outsource all town hall services hang in the balance after a revolt by Tory backbenchers unnerved by public hostility to funding cuts Tory-controlled Suffolk’s much-vaunted “virtual council” experiment looks like it is grinding to a halt. The council’s radical strategy, unveiled last year, controversially promised to cut costs by 30% by outsourcing everything it does to private companies and local social enterprises and charities. But now, after what is seen by some as a “backwoods” Tory councillor revolt, the prosaically named New Strategic Direction (NSD) is in tatters: the leader of the council who introduced the plan has stepped down; his annointed successor was unexpectedly defeated by a putative Stop-The-NSD candidate; and the highly-paid CEO who masterminded NSD finds herself under constant attack from a hostile media, locally and nationally. The jury is still out on whether the changes amount to a u-turn or something less fundamental – a “pause” in the NHS reforms sense – while the council takes stock of the speed and scale of the NSD, and comes up with something more palatable to the public. But what is clear is that this amounts to perhaps the first notable Tory “cuts revolt” we have seen in local government as councillors start to feel the wrath of local voters. Interestingly, it appears to be micro-politics that have scuppered NSD: for all the political class grumbling over “privatisation” it was the council’s stubborn determination to cut entirely the county’s £180,000 school crossing budget – a tiny if highly symbolic fraction of council spending – that crystalised public unhappiness. That act caused Tory backbench councillors – sick of what what blogger (and Suffolk Lib Dem councillor) Craig Dearden-Phillips has described as months of “getting it in the neck at parish council meetings” – to mutiny. Dearden-Phillips explains Suffolk’s “Lollipop Lady” policy disaster eloquently as a kind of “how not to” guide to major organisational transformation (which has fascinating echoes of the Coalition’s disastrous approach to NHS reform): “This wasn’t, of course, about saving money. It was a Big Statement, to say, this is what we are doing – and it’s up to communities now to pick up where the state is leaving the stage. Many of us sensed that, regardless of the merits, this was Bad Politics – and a really daft way to get people signed up to major change. But the Administration pressed on, despite an outcry. Rather than pull back and say ‘We’re listening’, they ploughed on, leaving many on their own side, privately, very upset.” The first thing the new council leader, Mark Bee, did after being elected was to suggest that school crossing patrols will be saved . The NSD, which has been portrayed as a “Tory flagship” model of municipal reform, might be less vulnerable had its leadership not had to deal with the consequences of Communities secretary Eric Pickles’ relentless attacks on council chief executive “Fat Cats” . The media’s sustained and often personal pursuit of Suffolk’s colourful £218,000 a year CEO Andrea Hill (she published this extraordinary and lengthy defence of herself in the council newsletter last month) has left Hill and the council hierarchy wounded. Hill was the architect and driver of NSD: last month she was named the fifth most influential figure in local government by the Local Government Chronicle. But political support for her on the council seems to be fading as the controversy surrounding her grows. There are whispers that staff morale is low. The council has also had to deal with the recent departure of two senior managers , and the death by suspected suicide, of a third . The political heat in supposedly sleepy Suffolk has become intense, and not everyone likes this. As local blogger and Lib Dem parish councillor James Hargrave puts it: “Suffolk never asked to be an experiment in ideological political ideas be they from the left or the right. We just want the County Council to get on with running services the best they can, accepting that there need to be savings made. We don’t want the county we love turned into a laughing stock nationally, a byword for wasteful and overpaid local governement with the Chief Executive literally all over the national papers. At times I have maybe said that Suffolk is a bit too sleepy and behind the times. Can we go back a bit more to those days…?” So what will happen to the “Virtual Council”? The lessons of Suffolk will be studied closely by other Tory-led councils who share its ambitious dreams of municipal minimalism and have seized on the spending cuts as an opportunity to pursue radical change. Some Suffolk political bloggers – like Ipswich Spy – believe NSD must be scrapped; others, like Dearden-Phillips , argue that although momentum has been checked the direction of travel towards the virtual council will continue: “Interestingly, my hunch is that, once the dust settles the new leadership will embark on a path that isn’t much different from the New Strategic Direction set out by Andrea Hill. It will have a different name. It will be slower, more consultative and done with less pzazz. But the essentials of it – divestment of council services, the build-up of community capability and a new role for the council as commissioner rather than provider will, over time, prevail.” Public sector cuts Public services policy Local government Patrick Butler guardian.co.uk
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US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a shooting in January, is in Florida to witness the final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, commanded by her husband Mark Kelly The US space agency, Nasa , is braced for gridlock around the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Friday amid expectations that hundreds of thousands of spectators will flock to the area for the final flight of the space shuttle Endeavour . Among the spectators will be Gabrielle Giffords, the US congresswoman who miraculously survived a bullet through the brain when a gunman attacked a meet-and-greet session in Tucson in January, killing six people. She will watch the 8.47pm BST (3.37 ET) launch with President Barack Obama on what will be her first public appearance since the shooting. It is only the second time that a serving president has watched a shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral. Doctors gave Giffords, the wife of shuttle commander Mark Kelly , the go-ahead to attend the launch, despite having removed a large chunk of her skull to relieve swelling, and an ongoing, intensive rehabilitation programme. After the launch, Giffords will return to Houston to continue her therapy. The story of Giffords’ survival against the odds has been embraced by Americans in the aftermath of the attack by Jared Loughner, who killed her aide, Gabe Zimmerman, federal judge John Roll, and nine-year-old Christina Green. Giffords was shot through the left side of the brain, an injury that caused severe damage to areas that control language. Her daily routine involves hours of speech therapy and physical rehabilitation. On Wednesday, followed closely by an aide, she slowly climbed the steps to a plane bound for Cape Canaveral. Kelly, a US Navy captain and Desert Storm veteran, pulled out of training for the Endeavour mission to be at his wife’s bedside, but rejoined the crew a month later as her condition improved. On being told she could attend the launch, Giffords reportedly responded with one word: “awesome”. Kelly told reporters at Kennedy Space Station: “She’s been working really hard to make sure that her doctors would permit her to come, and she’s more than medically ready to be here and she’s excited about making this trip.” The mission will be his fourth flight aboard the space shuttle. Kelly will lead the six-member crew on a two-week mission to the space station to deliver a seven-tonne instrument called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station. The equipment – which cost $2bn and took 15 years to build – will analyse particles in high-energy cosmic rays in the hope they shed light on the nature of dark matter, the invisible substance that clumps around galaxies and makes up a quarter of the known universe. The instrument will also hunt for heavenly bodies, and even entire galaxies, made of antimatter. Among Endeavour’s other supplies is a platform loaded with spare parts that astronauts can use for basic repairs over the rest of the space station’s lifetime. Yesterday, Nasa forecasters said there was only a 20% chance that poor conditions would delay the launch on Friday. Should bad weather postpone the mission, it may not be rescheduled for two days to give Nasa workers time to get home and rest before returning for a second attempt. After the final flight of the shuttle Discovery in February, crowds estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands, congested roads and added hours to journey times for Nasa staff. Endeavour is the fifth and final space shuttle built by Nasa. It was constructed as a replacement for Challenger, which exploded with the loss of its crew soon after take-off in 1986. The last flight of the shuttle, Atlantis, is scheduled for 28 June. The space shuttle Nasa Space Gabrielle Giffords Barack Obama Ian Sample guardian.co.uk
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Coroner says jury would have to be sure police officer’s actions had been intentional and dangerous during G20 protests The jury at the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson has been told it can return a verdict of unlawful killing, but only if it is satisfied the police officer who beat him with a baton and shoved him to the ground acted deliberately and illegally. Judge Peter Thornton QC, sitting as assistant deputy coroner, said the jury of six men and five women would have to be sure beyond reasonable doubt that PC Simon Harwood’s actions had been intentional and dangerous during the G20 protests in central London two years ago.. Thornton said the jury could also consider verdicts of misadventure, death from natural causes and an open verdict. He said they would have to decide whether the 47-year-old newspaper vendor died from internal bleeding or a heart attack. Although Harwood – a member of the Metropolitan police’s territorial support group – initially claimed he had hit and shoved Tomlinson because he was “being defiant” and “encroaching” on a police line. But he conceded this was not the case when confronted with footage of the encounter. “PC Harwood said that [Tomlinson] was not a threat to him or any other officer,” said the coroner in his summing-up. “In evidence PC Harwood said his perception at the time was significantly different to what the CCTV camera footage shows … “s his perception, as he puts it, an honest mistaken perception of events, or is it an untruthful account of events put forward as a deliberate lie to try to excuse his actions? You will have to decide.” Thornton asked the jury to consider whether the force used in either the baton strike or the subsequent push was reasonable or excessive and illegal. “If you are sure that either a heart attack caused by stress from the baton strike and/or the fall or [an] injury from the push or fall causing internal bleeding were proved, you would find [one of the requirements for unlawful killing] proved,” he said. Turning to the medical evidence, the coroner said the jury would have to decide exactly how Tomlinson died. “[He] was more vulnerable than a normal person as a result of a number of factors” they include his diseased liver, his alcoholism, his input of alcohol that day and the condition of his left shoulder,” Thornton said. “But at the same time, the police officer [had] a duty to [protect] the more vulnerable, and also the mere fact that Mr Tomlinson was vulnerable cannot excuse the police officer from an unlawful act.” He reminded the jurors that they had heard two very different explanations of Tomlinson’s death. Dr Freddy Patel, the Home Office pathologist who initially examined Tomlinson’s body, had concluded he died as a result of a spontaneous heart attack, but other medical experts had suggested the cause had been internal bleeding. Patel had later made a number of important changes to his evidence. “Is there a good reason for these changes which justifies and supports his original cause of death, or is his credibility as an expert witness no longer intact?” asked the coroner. Although the jury had been told that Patel had been removed from the Home Office register of experts and is suspended for failings in cases unrelated to Tomlinson’s death, Thornton urged them to “not put this aspect of the case out of all proportion”. He reminded the jury that no one was on trial. “There is no indictment, no criminal charge – it is simply a way of establishing facts,” he said. “Come to your decision coolly and calmly and on the evidence. Your duty is to find the facts and conclude from the evidence, and from nothing else.” The inquest is expected to retire next Tuesday to consider its verdict. Ian Tomlinson London G20 Metropolitan police Sam Jones Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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Ambassador to UK was previously in charge of Bahraini agency that is accused of electric shocks and beatings The former head of an agency accused of torture and human rights abuses is expected to be a guest at Friday’s royal wedding, the Guardian has learned. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Ali al-Khalifa is a former head of Bahrain’s National Security Agency (NSA) and will attend the wedding in his role as the current Bahraini ambassador to London. British sources confirmed he had been invited and a spokesperson for the Bahraini embassy in London said he was expected to attend. Khalifa was head of the agency from 2005 to 2008. The pressure group Human Rights Watch alleges that in 2007 detainees in Bahrain suffered torture including electric shocks and beatings. On Thursday an invitation to attend the wedding was withdrawn from the Syrian ambassador to London because of concerns over domestic repression and human rights abuses. Libya is also excluded. Bahrain has in recent months been wracked by protests and its government has been accused of unleashing a violent crackdown on dissent. The concerns led to Bahrain’s crown prince declining to attend the wedding after originally being invited. However an invitation remains open to Khalifa, who became Bahrain’s ambassador to London in 2008. According to the ambassador’s biography on the embassy’s website, he was head of the NSA from 2005 to 2008 before taking up the London posting. A spokesperson for the Bahraini embassy in London confirmed the ambassador had been invited to the wedding and said: “I’m expecting he’s going to participate.” A spokesperson for St James’s Palace said: “All heads of mission in London from countries with whom the United Kingdom is in normal diplomatic relations have been invited to the wedding. We acted in consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.” A Human Rights Watch report on torture in Bahrain found: “Since the end of 2007 officials again have used torture and ill-treatment, particularly during the interrogation of security suspects. Human Rights Watch’s conclusion is based on interviews with former detainees and others, as well as its review of government documents. “Security officials appear to have utilised a specific repertoire of techniques against many of those arrested designed to inflict pain and elicit confessions. These techniques included the use of electro-shock devices, suspension in painful positions, beating the soles of the feet (falaka) and beatings of the head, torso, and limbs. “Some detainees also reported that security officials had threatened to kill them or to rape them or members of their families.” The report implicates Bahrain’s NSA: “Most of the former detainees who spoke with Human Rights Watch said that they had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment at the headquarters of the ministry of interior’s general directorate of criminal investigation (CID) … and/or at the offices of the NSA, also on the grounds of the ministry of interior.” The report tells of a group of men who claimed to have suffered torture at the hands of the NSA. “Seventeen of the men also identified one or more of the officers from the CID or NSA who they claimed participated in their torture.” The decision to rescind the royal wedding invitation to Dr Sami Khiyami, the Syrian ambassador, was made after the foreign secretary, William Hague, decided it would be “unacceptable” for a representative of the Syrian government to attend in the light of the killing of hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators. Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, crown prince of Bahrain, where at least 30 people have been killed in recent demonstrations, put out a statement on Sunday saying that with “deep regret” he had to decline his invitation, complaining that media reports about his attendance “clearly sought to involve my potential attendance as a political proxy for wider matters involving Bahrain”. The invitation had been criticised by human rights groups. Royal wedding Middle East Bahrain Arab and Middle East unrest Monarchy Vikram Dodd guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Rep. Allen West Continues To Purge His Town Hall Meetings Of Any Dissenters
April 28, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Another night where Allen West tosses out anyone who disagrees with him. He thinks he’s still in the military, and we all have to follow his orders: BOCA RATON, Fla. — Police escorted a number of people out of a town hall meeting Wednesday night. It’s the second night in a row that Congressman Allen West held what became a heated event. “I think they are a bunch of jerks,” said Anne Dion after police walked her outside. “That’s what I think about getting asked to leave.” Trouble was brewing even before the event started. Sign-carrying protesters were asked to leave private property. U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-District 22, warned the crowd about lashing out. “You see a lot of media cameras, and the media is here because they want to see a show,” he said. The warning did not stop supporters and critics from turning up the volume. “I don’t care who’s yelling at me, cursing at me, or whatever,” said West. “You are still in America.” “I feel like the country is going down the tubes, and it we don’t have somebody that does something about it, we are all in trouble,” said Karl Hotaling, a supporter. During the public question segment, Medicare proved to be a controversial topic. “I don’t think Medicare should be eliminated,” said David Torgersen, a protester. “I think it should be there when people need it.”
Continue reading …In a report designed to separate fact from fiction on Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, White House correspondent Savannah Guthrie decided to blur fantasy and reality as she compared President Obama's press conference announcing the release of his birth certificate to a moment from the 1995 movie, “The American President.” [ Audio available here ] After a clip was played of Obama declaring: “We live in a serious time right now, and we do not have time for this kind of silliness. We've got better stuff to do,” Guthrie proclaimed: “At that moment, the real president sounding a lot like that Hollywood one.” Then footage ran of the fictional President Andrew Shepherd – played by actor Michael Douglas in the liberal film – denouncing one of his Republican opponents: “This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your 15 minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I am the president.” Douglas, of course, narrates the introduction to NBC Nightly News. View video below Here is a partial transcript of Guthrie's April 27 report: 7:04PM ET (…) SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: The President has grown increasingly tired of the issue. With NBC's Brian Williams last year. BARACK OBAMA: I can't spend all my time with my birth certificate plastered on my forehead. GUTHRIE: Today, as [Donald] Trump held forth in New Hampshire, the cable TV split screen gave way to the President, who played his Trump card. OBAMA: We live in a serious time right now, and we do not have time for this kind of silliness. We've got better stuff to do. GUTHRIE: At that moment, the real president sounding a lot like that Hollywood one. MICHAEL DOUGLAS [THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT]: This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your 15 minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I am the president. (…)
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Ten singers who flew in for the Cornwall international choir festival landed in London but then disappeared A Nepalese choir that who flew to Britain to take part in a music festival has gone missing. The 10 men had been due to perform at the Cornwall international male voice choral festival which started on Wednesday, but they vanished after touching down at Heathrow. Immigration officials are investigating if the group has absconded or simply decided to give the event a miss. David Peters, the festival organiser, had arranged to have the group picked up from the airport in a minibus but was shocked when he discovered they had landed – and then vanished. He said the disappearance was a mystery. “They did arrive at Heathrow and it seems they have absconded. We kept on hoping they had missed the plane, but we have been in touch with the immigration authorities who are now investigating what has happened.” The group had been booked to perform in Penzance and other venues across the county as well as to take part in workshops in schools. Peters said: “We’ve had to reorganise everything they were involved in. We have 30 shows and the Nepalese choir were supposed to appear in most of them.” A UK Border Agency spokesman said: “We are aware of this group and are looking into the matter further. All of the group entered the UK lawfully at Heathrow on valid visas. Anyone in the UK on a visa who later fails to abide by its conditions faces having the visa withdrawn and will be required to leave the country.” The agency refused to say if the group travelled on tourist or working visas. More than 3,500 singers from more than 60 choirs are performing at venues across Cornwall. The festival finishes on Monday. Another choir will be absent: a Russian choir called Voice Message did not make it out of Russia. Nepal Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
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As campers descend on Clapham Common ahead of the wedding, another camping phenomenon has just launched, where you can pitch in a stranger’s garden for £10 a night Usually the only canvas to be seen on Clapham Common are the shelters erected by optimistic fisherman seated around the pond. But by tonight a temporary canvas village will have sprung up, complete with toilets, hot showers and of course, plenty of bunting. The gates to Camp Royale , which is billing itself as London’s Royal Wedding campsite, opened at midday Thursday. While the site has failed to reach its full capacity of up to 1,000, several hundred campers are expected by this evening, each paying £75 for a three-night stay. A few are forking out rather a lot more. A spokeswoman for Camp Royale said several of the maharaja-style tents, provided by Camp Kerala and offering proper beds with Italian mattresses and Egyptian cotton bedding, have been booked – the poshest for a mere £3,500. Whether campers are glamping or slumming it in a two-man, it will be a short stroll across the common to the garden party area where festivities – from fairground attractions to a Pimm’s bus and, of course, a giant screen for the live show – will kick off early on Friday morning. If the idea of pitching your tent in the midst of a three-day, Pimm’s-fuelled mass bender doesn’t appeal, how about the peace and quiet of a private garden? Campinmygarden.com is a new website inviting people to advertise their private garden to cash-strapped travellers. Owners can charge up to £10 a night to people who want to pitch on their lawn. At the time of going to press, two Londoners – one north of the river and one south – were advertising their gardens. Campinmygarden is pushing itself as the affordable accommodation alternative for sports events, festivals and exhibitions in the UK, although a quick mosey round the site reveals a distinct lack of gardens so far. However, founder Victoria Webbon is optimistic that the concept will take off. “I hope that one day there will be thousands of private gardens being offered as temporary campsites across the world,” says a quote on the site. Meanwhile, wheretosleep.co.uk , which launched this week, provides a more comfortable alternative to a hotel, offering short-term lets in private homes in 10 countries. This weekend it is advertising a couch in Westminster for £10 . Camping London United Kingdom Budget Travel websites Royal wedding guardian.co.uk
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