11:50 pm
I guess like many Liberals at that time I was shocked and revolted at the conduct of the Chinese Government in moving against its own people in Tiananmen Square and the surrounding areas in 1989 and using the so-called People's Liberation Army to shoot them down in the streets. I would have hoped that by 2006 the Chinese Government would have begun the process of recognising that what had
10:42 pm
The past few days have been hell in the office because of the heat - the theory, so those who know the architects tell me, is that air conditioned cool air drifts down from the third floor to us on the second floor, and our hot air rises up to the top of the atrium, [...]
10:37 pm
For rehearsal five we left The Warehouse on the South Bank, and moved to a church just around the corner from the Royal Albert Hall. I was in a foul grump because being in rehearsal meant I was missing Cosi fan tutte about 100 yards away. So it’s as well the rehearsal went stormingly well, [...]
10:20 pm
“Twice as many people believe Charles Kennedy would be a better leader of the Liberal Democrats than his successor Sir Menzies Campbell, a poll suggests.” So says BBC.co.uk, following up an ICM survey commissioned for Newsnight. What are we to make of this news? Well, the first thing to note is that the poll is utter bollocks. In fact, a curse does it no justice; let’s try some alliteration. It
10:04 pm
This morning's Western Mail reports that the Chief Constable of North Wales now has his own blog. It took some finding but in the end I located it here. Personally, I think that this is an excellent initiative. It gives people a real insight into the life of a significant public figure as well as de-mystifying the job of Chief Constable. This sort of transparency and accountability should be encouraged. Other people in public life should follow suit instead of looking down their nose at the genre.
9:24 pm
Apparently, this clip will form part of Armando Iannucci's new TV series Time Trumpet and it's literally left me open-mouthed - I can't believe he will be able to get away with showing "Osama Bin Laden's latest attack on London" and the "Death of Tony Blair", to which Phillipa Forrester says jokingly, "Now how many of you are saying I remember that". Funny clip, but razor edge comedy: you've been
9:18 pm
Martin Rowson's cartoon in this morning's Guardian is brilliant. It also raises the question of what the British government would do if a British family were killed in Lebanon by Israeli action. If John Hemming is right in saying "essentially there is not a 'Rizla paper' between the Policy of the US government, UK government and Israeli government" - and I think he is, at least as far as that policy is expressed by the prime minister - then it would follow that our government would say the Israelis were entirely justified.
9:10 pm
The Independent's parliamentary sketchwriter now has his own website. Thanks to Chicken Yoghurt.
9:10 pm
As a scouser myself I feel able to post this photograph, which is the best of a collection I received by e-mail today. It is billed as a scouse keyboard. Humour me.
8:46 pm
I don't mean Ming: I think he did quite well in the circumstances last night. See Alex Wilcock for a fair-minded account. No, the person I am thinking of is Martha Kearney. Hectoring, refusing to let Ming answer questions after she asked them... she was the Davina McCall of political broadcasting. Nor was the bearpit format much better, with members of the public brought in to make their one point come what may. The whole thing was redolent of contempt for politicians and public alike. I think Ming would do well to steer clear of such spectacles in future.
7:31 pm
I am a friend of Israel, I am a passionate believer not only in the right of the Jewish people to state of their own but also in their right to defend it. Israel was founded amid the ashes of the concentration camps, its surrounded by hostile nations, it has fought 5 years in its 58 year history. It's a nation that is forever looking over its shoulder in fear. One cannot fail to understand its determination, indeed desperation to get its soldiers back. None the less I believe Israel must stop its bombing of Lebannon. This crisis ...
5:51 pm
This weekend I was on a sponsored walk with my tenant managed organisation (TMO) somewhere near Eynsford in Kent. Apart from developing a stripy British tan and being bitten by most of the inhabitants of the local insect population, some of the chat made me think once again about crime, how we are dealing with it and how we are communicating how we deal with it. A discussion, for example, started about the 'Hug a Hoodie' initative that had been in the press recently. Most people involved in the TMO are not political so have a more genuine grasp ...
5:12 pm
As the sun sets on a beautiful day in Tallinn and the crowds begin to leave the Raekoja Plats, I reflect on another trip to the Estonian capital. I shall be spending the weekend at the Viljandi Folk festival in the South of the country, so I will get a good blast of fresh Baltic air on the shores of Lake Viljandi. July 20th- the anniversary of the first moon landing in 1969. I still retain a fascination with the Apollo Programme- so many extraordinary things were achieved and yet at the end the enormous sunk costs were ignored and ...
4:55 pm
Tonight’s Avengers on BBC4 (7.10, or 11.30 tomorrow night) is one of the strongest, and arguably the most famous. While there are plenty of guest actors who’ll have you going, ‘Ooh, it’s him!’ – most notably villainous Michael Gough, with his marvellous voice and wolfish cast to the mouth – it’s not the humans it’s remembered for. This is one of the few distinctly sci-fi episodes, and despite several red herrings along the way it’s not much of a spoiler to say that it does what it says in the title. Tune in to see implacable armoured robots smashing things. ...
3:59 pm
I asked why the government don't want a ceasefire until the kidnapped soldiers are returned and was told "because it is very easy to return the soldiers". This means that essentially there is not a "Rizla paper" between the Policy of the US government, UK government and Israeli government.
3:22 pm
Walsall Council today had a 'Health Fair' for it's staff. I popped along and there is good news and bad news. The good news is my blood pressure, pulse and cholesterol are all okay. Bad news, but not unexpected news, is my weight is too high, as is my body fat percentage and body mass index - two choices are to grow taller (I think I may have actually shrunk by an inch too!) or lose some weight. Anyone who wants to write me a weight-loss programme or recommend one please get in touch.
3:13 pm
Not technically my local, but close enough (and very good), the Newbridge Fryer on Newbridge Crescent has made it to the area (Black Country and Staffordshire) finals of the National Fish and Chip shop competition area finals for the second year running.
3:08 pm
Last night a group of us celebrated Annemarie's birthday at the Masalla Merchant in Stirchley. I like the Masalla Merchant having been there a few times, it has good food at a good price (worked out £12 each most people had starters as well as main course). Sadly the Masalla Merchant has a tendency to break all the planning regulations going (or so I am told) and I expect Birmingham City Council to close it down eventually.
3:04 pm
rosie-winterton Originally uploaded by nilexuk. I took this rather nice picture of the Rosie Winterton MP, Minster of State for Health Services, the other week. It’s now in the public domain with an attribution, non-commercial licence, so if you want to use it, don’t charge for it and give me a credit. Large version [...]
2:47 pm
Last month Bristow Muldoon MSP for Livingston announced that he was challenging the Liberal Democrats tax policy. Something, which I said at the time, was due to a lack of understanding that we were aiming for fairness in taxation and not higher taxation. I asked the question then just what has Labour done to lighten the tax burden for the average citizen. Now Bristow is starting to offer
2:16 pm
I returned from Lunch today to see Iain Dale revelling in more political sleaze, this time to do with the Lib Dems and their £2.5m donor Michael Brown (currently staying at the pleasure of her majesty). Iain has recent form...
1:05 pm
Birmingham City Council has introduced a new initiative, known as Birmingham's H for Hygiene Award Scheme, to allow consumers to check the hygiene standards of food retailers and caterers in Birmingham. All food establishments in the city (including the Council House!) are inspected by Environmental Health Officers on a regular basis. This includes all restaurants, cafes, hotels, takeaways,
11:52 am
Ming Campbell was the subject of an unsympathetic piece on Newsnight last night, and Lib Dem bloggers are divided on how well he performed. Excuse me for not falling over with surprise at either of these facts. My view is that he was right to appear on it, and handled it pretty well. His biggest selling point was that he actually answered the questions, clearly and with substance. It won’t solve all his problems overnight, but to people fed up with Mr Blair’s shiftiness it may turn out to be a better answer than more evasions from another slick charmer. ...
10:32 am
The pressure upon Ministers to answer written questions, accurately and on time, is growing. During Points of Order yesterday anuother tranche of MPs attacked Ministers and the answers they had recieved. Ministerial answers are crucial to holding the government to account, but The Speaker is powerless to asist. This is a serious issue, with no obvious solution. Points of Order 1.39 pm Dr. Liam
10:13 am
Two weeks ago, I posted a brief entry on John Prescott, suggesting he would never leave. It is believed that today the Parliamentary Commissioner, Sir Philip Mawer, will "mildly rebuke" Mr Prescott for not declaring his stay at Philip Anschutz's Colorado ranch. I love this cartoon I can't help but feel sorry for Mr Prescott and feel that he has been caught up in an over-hyped media frenzy.
9:51 am
It seems Martin Bright of the New Statesman caused a bit of a stir with his Channel Four slot last week, in which he questioned the legitimacy of the highly political and sunni-dominated Muslim Council of Britain to speak for all Muslims in the UK, given that a clear majority of British Muslims are Sufi, and embrace an apolitical and moderate tradition which has largely accepted the necessity of secular society. This prompted the MCB to fire off an angry, rattled and rambling press release. Yesterday saw the launch of the Sufi Muslim Council, a body which has clearly pissed ...
9:32 am
What was surprising was Tony Blair's willingness to actually support a continuation of the war in Lebanon. Rather than stopping fighting and having a negotiation to resolve the situation with the prisoners he actually backed a continuation of fighting. It is quite clear that Israel does not want to stop the fighting. To that extent Hezbollah have played into their hands by not returning the
9:17 am
OK- so Tommy Sheridan is now legally toast. He has effectively admitted that he DID visit swingers clubs, so his libel action will fold. Why take such legal action, when you know you are on such a difficult wicket? How arrogant do you have to be? Galloway is much the same, and we all know about the allegations against him. Pretty sure that most of them are true. These perma-tanned lefties, reeking of hypocrisy, still believe that they can get away with it. Glad to see that Sheridan won't. Look forward to Galloway getting nailed... One day.
9:07 am
In her article on the Natwest Three [Sunday Herald 17/07/06] Muriel Gray makes a bitter attack on the defendants on the grounds that they happen to be comparatively rich. Surely it is a fundamental principle of a liberal democracy that all citizens are entitled to equality before the law, irrespective of personal circumstance? Owing to our government's craven attitude to the USA, US courts can demand extradition of UK citizens in circumstances where British courts cannot demand extradition of US citizens. That is worrying enough; to suggest that we should not care what happens to UK citizens in the hands ...
6:30 am
It was wonderful for Ming to get a decent period of exposure on Newsnight last night. I thought he made his points with real passion, conviction and eloquence. He answered the questions from the audience very fully. At the end you could see many of them nodding in agreement with him. In particular, I thought he brilliantly put forward the party's position on tax and the environment. It was
5:17 am
Over in the US at the moment, a bitter battle is reaching a climax. Joe Lieberman, Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 Presidential election, is being challenged for his seat representing Connecticut in the Senate - and not by the Republicans (yet), but in the primary election for the right to be the Dems' official candidate. Lieberman's not the most popular congressional Democrat with the grass roots of his party because of his habit of supporting President Bush and criticising fellow Dems, and a wave of bloggers is among many people backing his opponent Ned Lamont. ...
2:07 am
Rob Fenwick asks “is Ming Campbell the Liberal Democrats’ IDS?” Well, based on his performance on Newsnight this evening, the answer to that is most certainly not, and asking the question is to miss the real problem. IDS was a no-mark that the Tories elected in an act of self-immolation. Ming was a [...]
12:03 am
Television viewers in England and Wales (sorry those of you forced to watch the trash that is Newsnight Scotland, you’ll have to watch online instead) were treated to a 20 minute assault on Ming Campbell tonight on Newsnight. It’s hard to imagine what posessed Sir Ming to agree to this programme - yes, sure, work needs [...]
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