LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Saturday 1st September 2007

Islington Labour MP embarrassed over house purchase

I missed a good posting from Andy Mayer earlier in the week. It seems that the Islington Labour Party has been campaigning against the Lib Dem council for selling off some houses to finance the building of the first new council properties in the borough for 25 years. Now one of those houses has been bought by the husband of Emily Thornberry, who is one of Islington's Labour MPs. There is more in the Islington Tribune and on the Islington Working Class Association site.

Fitting a quart into a pint pot

On the train back from London last night, I wrote a list of the things I need to do this weekend. As usual, it was a case of fitting a quart into a pint pot, or to be metric, a litre into a 25 cl pot. So today, I was in our office at 9am printing surveys to give to Peter Maughan at 10am so he could take them to his ward team in Dunston Hill and Whickham East. I then went off to visit some of my

Fran Lyon's website

The link is to Fran's website about the attempts by the state to steal her baby.

Cameron makes case for all-elected second chamber; "Lady" Warsi

...or at least his party does, much more eloquently than any of the debates on the subject in either house of parliament: In ConservativeHome's current poll of support amongst Tory members for their leader's choice of Shadow Cabinet Davis tops shadow cabinet league table again with Warsi at bottom. Listed below are the rankings given by 1,274 Tory members for twenty-seven shadow cabinet ministers 1. David Davis: +79% | 88% satisfied, 9% dissatisfied ... 27. Sayeeda Warsi: -20% | 19% satisfied, 39% dissatisfied Now, I am perfectly willing to concede the distinct possibility that she could have got +19% just ...

Eurovision Dance Contest - Stupid TV show and idiotic camera work

I've just been watching some utter drivel served up by the BBC called "The Eurovision Dance Contest" which I would urge you to avoid. In the first instance, who on earth believes that what the viewing public really want is another "Eurovision" event, marred by countries voting for their allies, friends and neighbours rather than the "best" act. the Song contest is ruined as a spectacle because of the voting, and I would suspect the same of this show too. Secondly, which even sort of idiot is directing the cameras. In what is a dance competition, the director seems to ...

Humber bridge - more like a barrier

I was delighted to be able to join in the day of protest at the Humber Bridge this morning. A new campaigning group, Humber Action against Tolls, held a protest on the south side of the bridge with balloons and banners, there was excellent coverage in the local papers and the Yorkshire Post all week and a good chunk on the local BBC TV news this evening. Personally I agree with those who say the Humber Bridge is a barrier rather than a bridge. Individual car journeys cost £2.70 each way and so create extra expense for family and friends ...

Iain Dale's new logo

Tory blogging supremo Iain Dale wants a new banner for his website. He's asking his readers to have a go at designing one for him. In the true spirit of Lib Dem helpfulness, I've had a crack at it. Here's my suggestion, Iain: Well, I can dream!

Caravanners bite back at Clarkson

A friend of mine is a caravanner. (He has also been a Boy Scout troupe leader but we won't go into that). On a Top Gear trip to a Dorset caravan park the campsite was described as "not a holiday, it's a concentration camp", and Clarkson told viewers: "We proved there is no upside to caravanning and they clog up the roads - when we come to power caravanning is going to be banned." The

Are the public actually quite liberal on law and order?

UK polling report came out with this article a while ago which certainly raises some interesting issues. usually as liberal democrats we tend to be rather timid on putting our view on law and order forwards, fearing that we will get squashed by the likes of the Daily Mail. But if these poll findings are true then we've probably got a lot more going for our party than we think. Looks like a job for Nick Clegg to me!

Deploying Spyware

BBC News is reporting that the German government plans to email suspected terrorists Trojan attachments. Aside from the obvious privacy implications, any half-competent terrorist, let alone PC-using individual, is going to have anti-spyware and anti-virus software on their system. It'll be a case of here today, gone tomorrow for whatever the German tech-boys come up with.

Campaigning in the Brandwood by-election

Today I was in in Brandwood in south Birmingham to campaign in the upcoming by-election there. Turnout was good and most of the ward was delivered with the second leaflet of the by-election.

brandwood by-election campaigning

Today was a successful day for us in our campaign in the Brandwood ward by-election. We had visiting help from Euro hopeful, Colin Ross, and fellow blogger from Sandwell, David Nikel. This enabled us to polish off the leaflet delivery, before stopping for lunch in the Red Lion. Colin went off to Nuneaton in the afternoon to help in the by-election there, while David did some campaigning in Sandwell. Thanks to Dave and Colin for coming over to help.

The Church and Forced Adoption

It has been pointed out to me that the Bible (see link) is opposed to the stealing of children from single mothers and the poor. I wonder, then, why the church seems to support the current system in England and Wales. See Job 24:9 (that's in the link) The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.

Proud of Prestwich!

I cannot believe that another year has gone by - a whole year since I was last at Prestwich & District's Horticultural Show - this year I'd been asked to be one of the show's patrons. So I was there to assist at the start (our deputy Mayor opened the event) and again at the awards ceremony at the end - I was delighted at the number of women grower and prize winners too. This evening its a

How safe are children in foster care?

The link is to another story about a Foster Carer who abused children in his care. What I am particularly concerned about is how the state gags children in foster care. Workers in one London Borough have threatened children in care that they won't get flats when they leave care if they speak out about their treatment. The system is evil in so many ways. That does not mean that there are not

United cap the Hatters to make it minus 3

26,856 watched a tense thriller, at Elland Road, as Leeds United make it four wins out of four - their best start for 23 years. Tresor Kandol scored in the final moments of the first half as once again his link up work with strike partner, Jermaine Beckford, proved crucial for United. Kevin Blackwell and John Carver lost it at the end of the match refusing to shake hands with Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet. Interviewed on Yorkshire Radio, after the match, Dennis claimed that former Leeds caretaker manager Carver grabbed him by the throat. Blackwell, who under the circumstances, ...

Here Comes Nothing

Whooooo hooooo!!!! Another win for the mighty whites of Leeds United Four games into the new season Leeds are now just one more win away from the heady heights of zero points. The 1:0 win against Luton Town today means that Leeds have now won their first four games, the only team in the whole country with a 100% record (actually, that's not quite true... Sheffield Wednesday also have a 100% record, but Leeds are the only ones with a 100% winning record) We would be top of the league, ....... if we weren't bottom of it! Added to that, ...

Charles Kennedy? Hyperactive??

Liberal Democrat Voice points us to a reassuring article about the prospects for Ming Campbell and the Lib Dems that appeared in the Scotsman earlier this week. Unfortunately, it does not quote the line that must have had the paper's better-informed readers choking on their porridge: Taking over from the hyperactive Charles Kennedy was always going to be a difficult task.

Shock Horror: the right wing press fear-mongers about environmentalism!

I've always had my suspicions. With people like Melanie Philips (Daily Mail) believing climate change to be some sort of socialist conspiracy and the Sun describing environmentalists as 'green hippy lunatics' its easy to feel sceptical towards these papers when they talk about green issues. If one ever wanted proof though of the absurd lengths these papers will go to to stop action on climate change then go no further than this weeks private eye. It has an excellent story showing the amount of trash that came out of these papers preceding the heathrow protest. Read on and enjoy. 2. ...

Lib Dems: about to collapse, or on the up?

Two very alternative takes on the party’s fortunes have appeared in the press in the last few days. For those who like to drink from the glass half-empty, you can sup happily from today’s leader in the Tory-supporting Daily Telegraph: Liberal Democrat support is quite simply collapsing. The party currently attracts only 14 per cent of [...]

Ming's official email to party members on being carbon neutral

Today Chris Huhne and I launched our new proposals to make Britain zero carbon by 2050. With these policies we will be the first major British party to map out the route to a carbon neutral Britain. We Liberal Democrats have been talking about the environment and tackling climate change long before it became fashionable. We know that pollution doesn’t respect national boundaries and that climate change is a global problem that requires an international solution. Britain should not be a bit player in finding that solution; we should be leading the pack. Under our proposals, which we will be ...

First Month Done

That's a month of blogging now and whilst it seems generally well received, there has been criticism of the content and, indeed, style. And now some tips on improving my image. Seems I should :- 1. Run slower 2. Learn to play the guitar 3. Support Wolves. If I ran any slower it wouldn't be running. Many years ago I ran in a 10k race. I was pottering along when I heard this slap slap noise behind me. Then a little old lady wearing green flash plimsolls overtook me. 'Keep going, you're doing well' she said. That was a low ...

My First Academic Publication!

"The Burden of Inheritance Tax" [2007] CSLR 114 (ATHENS account, or other means of accessing HeinOnline, required).

Disabled woman left on bus overnight at Wearside Service Centre

Nick O'Shea, MENCAP Lewisham Chairman and Lewisham Central resident, has been taking up the extraordinarily worrying case of a woman with learning difficulties who was being taken home from the Leemore Centre, Clarendon Rise and left overnight on a Council bus at the Wearside Service Centre depot in Wearside Road. All this happened in Lewisham Central ward. Lewisham Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Mark Morris circulated the report to all Lewisham councillors (see my addendum blog for the text and recommendations) . But Nick O'Shea says that the report doesn't go far enough. He wants someone in the Council to take ...

Google Flight Simulator

The latest release of Google Earth features more than just Google Sky, their much vaunted star map. TechCrunch points me towards Google Flight Simulator, an Easter Egg accessible to Windows users by pressing Ctrl+Windows+A (for some reason, both TechCrunch and Google say it's Ctrl+Alt+A, but this doesn't work) whilst inside the Google Earth application. It's a basic flight simulator that allows

Learning new skills

I've just heard about the exam results for Adult Education this year - and they're pretty good. It seems that languages have been particularly successful. It's years since I took an Adult Education class but they offered a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills. At various times I have enjoyed learning textiles (weaving), yoga and cookery. New courses start in the next...

This blog is officially one year old today

Just a quick thank you to all the people who read this blog and my sympathies to people who read it regularly. This blog was started a year ago today. I think I had some time to kill and believed that it would take me a few minutes every day. It has rather snowballed from that. With nearly 1200 individual posts from me and more 75,000 hits from readers in the last last year, this blog has more than met my expectations. I did worry that I would run out of things to rant about, but luckily I could moan ...

What a glorious history the French army has (not)

Mass desertions in 1917, a complete collapse in 1940, attempts to form a breakaway state in Algeria in the 1960's, to be honest, the French army has a history in the last 100 years that can hardly be matched. However, the latest report on the French army and their active involvement in Rwanda 13 years ago makes everything that the French army have done before pale in to insignificance. The report claims that the French army were involved in the mass rape of Tutsi women in Rwanda and actively armed, planned and trained those Hutu groups who set about the ...

Bring The Troops Home

General Sir Michael Jackson, the now retired head of the British army during the Iraq invasion has described the Bush Administration's post-war policy as "intellectually bankrupt". In a Daily Telegra...

Sometimes you just can't demean yourself

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be lots of things. An ex body builder, a poor actor, a molester of women (allegedly), but there comes a point in everyone life that you just think to yourself, "I'm sorry but I really can't do that. My reputation is at stake". Arnie has obviously reached that point.

Respect and internal disputes

The link is to a page on "Socialist Unity", which always strikes me as a bit of an Oxymoron, and describes current stress in Respect. Respect have, in Birmingham, split the anti-Labour vote and allowed Labour candidates to beat the Lib Dems.

Week Round Up!

An exceptionally busy week both with my day job (as I am running a large conference next week) and with City Council and West End matters, so here’s a brief summary! * Tait’s Lane : Had complaints about the general tidiness of the lane and the pathway that runs from the lane to Peddie Street and I have had favourable responses from the Waste Management Department and from Dundee Contract Services. The latter are going to tackle the overgrown weeds and I have also asked Economic Development if they can do something about the sadly neglected seating at the grass ...

Day 2434: Mysteries of Doctor Who #11: So DOES Paul McGann Count?

Saturday: Well, in SPITE of the current Whopremo being Mr Russell Television Davis, the SAME Mr Russell Television Davis who included THE LINE in his RISQUÉ drama series "Queer as Folk", the OBVIOUS answer is YES. Mr Dr Paul has appeared (or will appear) in over forty adventures playing the role of Dr Who, twelve of which have been broadcast by the BBC. Oh yes they have: "Time Waits for No Man" aka "The Sensational TV Movie Staring Paul McGann" (obviously) back in 1996; then "Storm Warning", "Sword of Orion", "The Stones of Venice", "Invaders from Mars" and "The Chimes ...

Opinion: Re-Think Annual Conference

Hull East won’t be represented in Brighton this year. I’m one of our two representatives, but we can’t afford to go, and we’ve never been to an autumn conference. We’ve been to Harrogate for the last three years – just about affordable, and very worthwhile. And we had planned to go to Blackpool two years [...]

Running on silent

It may be quiet in here for a while.

Saturday 1st September 2007

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