LibDem Blogs - Archived!

It would he an insult to the integrity of salami to describe the current slicing up of our civil liberties as ‘salami tactics’. That implies some intelligent design. Instead we stagger from debate to debate on disjointed bills without considering how it all adds up,. Fore example, on January 1st legislation comes into force basically making all putative offences arrestable on the self-definition of the Police. Is this really irrelevant to powers on combating terror? Surely the implications of this must be debated as new legislation is proposed? Can’t say I have seen anything relevant. Separate current proposals ...

I haven't written as much as I'd hoped I would when I started this series off. That, in its own way, is disappointing. Whilst I have devoted a lot of time and thought towards what remembrance really means, how society as a whole is shaped by these rituals, and think about my own personal attitudes to war, I haven't been able to give them the rigorous checking that I'd intended. Partly, that's because remembrance of war is a very troubling subject. A tour of the battlefields of the Great War is one of the most affecting experiences imaginable, because there ...

Ian at Canadian Polemic has written one of the most touching things I've seen with regard to Remembrance Day. It's in the form of a letter to his great-uncle.

Now I know bloggers like their PageRanks values, plus an error picture. If you want the button for your own blog, leave a comment as I can either provide you with the full php code (which should work on most servers), or add your url to the safe list.

The Observer reports that the Prime Minister's next crisis will be over identity cards. It seems that when the Bill gets to the House of Lords this week peers will seek to render the scheme toothless by blocking plans to make the cards compulsory for every citizen and sabotaging the requirement to make Britons store their personal details on a national register, which would underpin the cards. Rebel Tory and Liberal Democrat peers are expected to win a vote on amendments which would allow a vote in both houses before every citizen could be forced to have a card. ...

A legislator in South Carolina is currently investigating how to send television executives to Guantanamo Bay. Not for anything as simple or mundane as encouraging terrorist activities, or anything like that. No, the crime is far more heinous - failing to show the University of South Carolina's college football match against Clemson. Now, if I can only find a similar means of treating the college music society for switching the TV off at half-time during the England-Australia match, then I'll be happy...

Does this mean that the government will be trying to get rid of all of the Murals. (The link is to the Bill as it stands on the parliamentary website.)

Tim Worstall has published his 39th round-up of the best of British blogging. Read it here.

I'd been puzzled by the (numerous!) comments by Labour about how popular their plans to lock people up without trial for 90 days were. My post bag has been pretty 50-50 on the issue - and this is even despite me having gone forth with all sorts of media coverage standing in for our Shadow Home Secretary Mark Oaten - who's been ill. I know - you need to take with a pinch of salt what your postbag

by Peter Charles Clarke used a letter to the Daily Telegraph to confirm that he contacted the Association of Chief Police Officers on November 3, suggesting that chief constables should offer to inform their local MPs on police attitudes to the 90-day proposal, (Scotsman). Kennedy was surely right to complain about this Mr Kennedy said he did not think it was "legitimate" for the police to take a "particular view in a particular way and put it out there in the political arena". And he added: "When the chief of the Metropolitan Police ...

I always attend the Remembrance Parade in the centre of town. It has been held in Centenery Square for some years now. I took a few photos this year. It is sad really that noone does a digital portfolio as it is an important part of Birmingham life. There are remembrance parades in other parts of the city, but the city centre one is the key one. Liz Lynne presents a wreath on behalf of the

Tim Worstall's BritBlog Roundup is a bumper edition this week, and it surpasses even its own normally high quality. I'll link back with a few of the best pieces later, but go and check it out.

Tim Worstall, the master of the UK blogosphere, (OK, so I haven't yet appeared in his weekly Britblog roundup) has created Wikablog - a wiki directory of blogs. So go over and add yours. I've created an e-Democracy category and added my blog - it would be good to see more in there.