Firefox Download World Record Day
The people behind the Firefox web browser want to set a world record on 17th June by getting the most downloads ever for the launch day of Firefox 3, Kiwiblog has more information about it HERE. Sunday 15th June 2008
11:52 pm
The people behind the Firefox web browser want to set a world record on 17th June by getting the most downloads ever for the launch day of Firefox 3, Kiwiblog has more information about it HERE. 
11:21 pm
20 Questions to a Presidential Candidate
Later this year we will all be invited to vote for a new Party President. Simon Hughes has set the bar high. So far we have two declared candidates, Baroness Ros Scott and Lembit Opik MP. Regular readers will know I have a genuine dilemma about who to support - so I have written to both with 20 questions which I hope will help me, and others, decide. I have heard from Ros that she is happy to answer my questions and I trust Lembit will do likewise - watch this space! 11:02 pm
The Terrible Tale of the dog and the sweeping machine?
Did you hear it? How dreadful. Someone who was left holding his dog's lead as it was sucked up into a sweeping machine and killed. 10:47 pm
Quote of the Week
'Our history has shown us that insecurity threatens liberty. Yet, if our liberties are curtailed, we lose the values that we are struggling to defend.' The 9/11 Commission Report by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States Found it on Liberty on wikiquote. It certainly speaks a lot of truth when thinking of 42-days. It's sort of letting the terrorists win, by destroying our own liberties, letting them get the better of us. In the US of course not long after this would have been said, Bush introduced the patriotic act and surpressed a load of american ... 10:32 pm
How much does it cost to fly a US President?
I found using mybloglog that someone typed in 'cost to fly president of the us' into google search and found an entry I did second. I spoke of huge costs that must be involved with getting Bush around the World in his private jets and helicopters. (Even Brown goes on passenger jets). The person must have disapointed as they found no answer to the question they asked. Anyway I'm investigating and have posting a question on yahoo answers. 10:26 pm
Falling on deaf ears....
Last November, I blogged about the campaign to get a discounted TV licence for deaf people. Blind people get a 50% discount; deaf people get none. The campaign included a Downing Street petition which I signed. Today we got their response. "We note the point that deaf people should receive a licence fee discount by analogy with [...] 10:09 pm
Work Experience
This week I have Work Experience. Worcester News would only offer me two days of work experience. I have the other 3 days at Worcestershire County Hall in the Legal and Democratic Office. Tomorrow I may be meeting the leaders of Labour and the Conservatives on the council, but apparently not the Liberal Democrats. 9:40 pm
Building Liberal Communities
Lib Dem Voice went to the combined ALDC and LGA conference yesterday - and had a marvellous time. It's a shame the event seems to have gone largely unremarked on the blogs. Maybe our councillor corps are still licking their nibs whilst deciding what to type. So you can judge for yourself what a [...] 9:40 pm
Italy deploys troops to it's own streets
I remember when I was 9 standing in a Que for something behind a police officer in Los Angeles. I was quite disturbed because there at her belt was a gun. (Of course at the time I didn't realise that 1 in 3 households have guns in the USA, so everywhere was dangerous). I have got past that stage and don't feel fear about security officials. But it certainly helps that the majority of our police just have batons to knock you out rather than shoot you dead. Some people aren't comfortable with security officials with powerful weapons. There's police ... 9:31 pm
Winning the Argument for Europe
There are two excellent editorial and op-ed pieces in today's 'Observer', in response to the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. It's reassuring to see that at least one British Sunday newspaper publishes sense. The lead editorial — 'The Irish vote must not thwart a better Europe' — correctly notes that 'British governments in particular [...] 
9:11 pm
Comments
Just a quick post to say I've decided to turn on the comments facility on this site. Hopefully it'll give people a chance to have their say on my posts and turn the site into more of a conversation. I'm sure people won't abuse the facility - but we'll see how it goes. 8:52 pm
Michael Nyman Band: Chasing Sheep is Best Left to Shepherds
Something a little different this week: a live performance of Nyman's tune from Peter Greenaway's film The Draughtsman's Contract. The sleeve notes to one of my CDs tell me that it is derived from an instrumental interlude from Henry Purcell's opera The Fairy Queen. The Draughtsman's Contract is a sort of Restoration Blowup - it has a mystery at its heart that is never resolved, yet you feel that if you watch the film just once more all will become clear.The slightly manic tone of this music matches the film perfectly. Indeed at its best - here and in Drowning ... 8:04 pm
Father's Day thoughts
Father's Day, We hear how a 15 year old boy was in his house and heard the door broken down, men charging in, and his father shouting and screaming for mercy. The boy trembled in his bedroom, frozen with fear and not knowing what to do. Then there was a shot and the screams stopped. His father was dead. The boy ran from the house and was butted with a rifle as he ran, wounding him. Others... 8:00 pm
Throw out Bush
I am sorry but to see George Bush swaggering on British Soil has made my blood boil what a nerve of this man trying to advise the British Government as he is flying in. The Best thing that Gordon Brown could do is to show him the door and the sooner the Better. The George Bush record on international and domestic affairs is appalling and the less that the British Government... 7:59 pm
Street Festivals
Today was the third and best todate Widcombe Rising Street Festival. I love street festivals. They bring communities together, reroute traffic and have a real buzz as local people create their own carnivals. Widcombe has a range of creative talent and lots of it was on show today. The Naturals and Lady Margaret are always great fun. The Widdicombe warblers had us dancing in the street and... 7:55 pm
The Davis hissy fit continues...
If BBC journalists were starved of news on the Davis resignation as a result of the Tory Press Office directing them to the MP and vice versa, they should fear not. The Davis Press Operation is in full swing. Awake and back on track, Davis is now hurling logs at Brown, calling him 'gutless' for failing to put up a candidate. Bob Marshall-Andrews, The Usual Suspect, is facing a pointed gun with open arms by supporting Davis. A bit like aggrieved parents who have decided to ignore their wayward child, Labour and the Lib Dems are taking a backseat and ... 7:35 pm
Good Luck Morgan
Morgan Tsvangirai' s bravery and that of all MDC activists and supporters in the face of the brutality of the Zimbabwe regime is truly inspirational for all people round the world who believe in democracy and the rule of law. It is absolutely tragic how quiet the world's leaders are in the face of the brutality facing the MDC. Mugabe has even said he will unleash civil war rather than concede... 7:13 pm
Nick Clegg on 42 days and David Davis
Both issues featured heavily when Nick Clegg appeared on the Andrew Marr show this morning. You can watch it here. 6:50 pm
Government Officials loosing information regularly
The Labour Party run Government agencies and Departments are making a mockery out of us. The Government want us to give them more information so they can have a large database of information about us and they want to make ID cards compulsory but yet they are loosing sensitive information in file loads. Look at it like this First of all the two files that have been found in public places and contain sensitive information should not have left the office. Why are employees of the Government allowed to take these files out of the office. This government is making ... 6:36 pm
And you shall reap what you sow...
In the midst of the turmoil surrounding David Davis and the contentious decision not to stand against him by Nick Clegg there comes a poll, by ICM, reported on Political Betting. Much has been made of the 11% swing. The poll shows that people (wrongly in my view) believe his actions were principled but they still don't support the principle he is standing on. They agree by 59-33% that Britain is a 'nation of snoopers' but it is worth pointing out that this is a complaint made often by Daily Mail editorials so it doesn't show a mass epiphany in ... 6:23 pm
On the road again, but by train
Our weekend started with a dash to Birmingham on Friday evening arriving just in time for the start of the conference organised jointly by the Lib Dem Group on the Local Government Association and by the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors. I had been asked to co-host the dinner with Councillor Paul Tilsley who is our leader on Birmingham City Council, now in joint LD and Conservative control. I've known Paul since the LGA was first formed in 1997 and he was a member of the Transport Committee which I later came to chair. The venue, The Council House, is ... 6:18 pm
Bye bye Wendy?
OK, back to less introspective and existential matters. Could this be the last straw for Wendy Alexander's leadership of the Scottish Labour Party? 5:55 pm
Pressure grows on Tory to stand down
As I predicted here, the logic of Alun Cairn's position in accepting that his comments on Italians amounts to a resigning issue with regards to his Assembly posts but not his parliamentary candidature in the Vale of Glamorgan, is under challenge. Two Labour MPs have now called for Mr. Cairns to stand down as a PPC, whilst Tory Central Office has suspended him as a candidate 'pending an investigation by the party chairman'. Alun's problem with regards to this particular investigation is that he has effectively pre-empted its conclusion by resigning as Tory Education Spokesperson and Chair of the Assembly's ... 5:54 pm
Bishop Gene Robinson to visit Glasgow
I was absolutely delighted to see that Bishop Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire, is going to be visiting Scotland in August to preach at St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. Bishop Robinson is the only Bishop not to have been invited to the forthcoming Lambeth Conference with the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the only Bishop to acknowledge that he is living in a gay relationship. I am glad that he is going to receive a warm welcome here in Scotland. I know Kelvin Holdsworth, the Provost of St Mary's - he is one of the warmest, most genuine, ... 5:46 pm
Read All About It! Read All About It! Largely Inconsequential Blogger Says What He Thinks About The Davis Thing - Three Days Late.
Julian H is getting old. You are getting old too, but sometimes you don't know it. Here are some things people have said about how you know when you're getting old: "You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there." "You know you're getting old when it takes too much effort to procrastinate." "You know you're getting old when you can live without sex, but not without glasses." The first is from writer and comedian George Burns. The second is from prolific blog commentator 'Anonymous'. Neither ... 5:24 pm
Cutting the cash to Labour MPs
What a joy it was to read that the GMB union is no longer to waste its members money on handouts to various Labour MPs. I was particularly interested to see that Durham City MP Roberta Blackman Woods has been politely told to take her financial demands elsewhere. I am interested in that case as my friend Carol Woods is the Lib Dem candidate there and Roberta Deadwood's majority over CW is only 4:38 pm
New dentist practice in Haringey
Yesterday saw the opening of a new dental practice - Crystal Dentist Practice - in Durnsford Road. Hurrah! We need more dentists - and yes - it took them two years but they managed to get funding for some NHS work as well as private. Having consulted with local residents - they realised that there was a huge demand for an NHS dentist locally and decided that they would wait to get the NHS contract and not just go ahead as a private dentist. So well - done! Well done to Mr Ali and his son Sayid for the design ... 4:33 pm
The Moravian Church, Hornsey
Last stop on Friday was the 100th Anniversary of the Moravian Church in Hornsey. They have a wonderful priest in the form of Joachim who makes sure that not only is the Church vibrant for its members but reaches out into the community. The Church has a number of events this year - this was to launch an exhibition of the history of both the church itself and also the Moravians history worldwide. Such a lot of work goes into these events - well done to all who spent the last three days in non-stop activity to make this happen. ... 4:28 pm
Am I wasting my time?
After watching Country File on BBC1 today, I turned over to avoid the normally dreadful Politics Show. Instead, I switched to BBC Parliament where every Sunday lunchtime they have three hours of programmes on American politics, courtesy of C-Span. This week was a bit different from normal. Rather than having speeches or campaign events from the presidential candidates, it featured a discussion - sponsored by Google, YouTube and the National Review - on how blogs and new media generally are transforming election campaigns in the States. This featured three people with varying involvement in new media, plus people who had ... 4:26 pm
Miss Great Britain Party
It seems that after the 'success' of her campaign in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, Miss Great Britain has now established her own party. A candidate from the Miss Great Britain Party will stand against David Davis and two candidates are standing in Henley. The latter is what caught my eye. Apparently, the party is already split between a blonde and brunette faction. In Henley representatives from both wings are standing. This level of splitting is what one expects from the Left. On the other hand the issue of split ends must be of great concern to Miss Great Britain ... 4:24 pm
Getting the wheelchair you need
After several hours of angst at Friday surgery - it is pretty draining sometimes - I go off to the Bernie Grant Centre to give a speech on Primary Health Care in the borough. This event is hosted by Camidoc - who are the current providers of Out of Hours Service (OOHS) in ours and three other boroughs. Their contract has just been extended to September '09 - but this service will be up for tender at that point. My fear is that Haringey Primary Care Trust will use a private provider - perhaps some big company - that has ... 4:16 pm
Crouch End CPZ and road safety measures
Thursday saw the AGM of the Haslemere, Waverley and Christchurch Road Residents Association, which was in Sue Hessel's garden. And how lovely it was as she provides refreshments so it is social as well as business. My Liberal Democrat colleague Cllr Lyn Weber was there too - as was Sergeant McGrath from the local Neighbourhood Team. So - after drinks etc - the three of us sat to take questions. The big issue was the CPZ. What shocked me was that many people there had not received either the consultation on the proposed CPZ nor the consultation on Coleridge School ... 4:09 pm
FOCUS 63 : Save Nethergate Post Office!
The West End LibDem team has been out today delivering the Nethergate and adjacent area - and speaking with residents - to campaign against the Nethergate Post Office closure, as proposed by Post Office Limited. It is clear that residents fully back the campaign to save Nethergate Post Office, just as we have found in relation to the other proposed closure - Lochee Road Post Office. You can download FOCUS 63 by clicking on the headline above. 3:52 pm
More trouble for Caroline Spelman as story changes
Today's Sunday Times headline sums it up: Tories backtrack over Caroline Spelman's payments to nanny As more details are coming out, her initial defence is looking less and less sure. Although part of the initial defence was about how swamped she was when she became an MP and desparately needed someone - almost anyone - to help [...] 3:33 pm
The most unlikely by-election candidate suggestion so far
So you're thinking of running a candidate against David Davis because you support 42 days detention without trial. And you think it would be a good idea for that person to be the victim of an act of terrorism. Who do you think of? Umm ... in this case, someone who has actually been a [...] 
3:28 pm
42-Days uproar and thoughts on political courage form the USA
An uS commentator thinks we are doig ratehr well fighting for our civil liberties in contrast to the supine attitude of many opposition Democrats in Congress. The Glenn Greenwald 'SALON' column says: 'The sacrifices now being made by British politicians of all parties in opposition to expanded government detention and surveillance powers is, with a few noble exceptions, exactly what our political elite in the Bush era have been -- and still are -- too afraid or too craven to undertake.' Greenwald notes that Labour MP Bob Marshall Andrews is now defying his own party leadership in order to support ... 3:03 pm
Sex in the City
Don't worry no spoilers here. Caroline, Sarah and I went to see Sex in the City earlier in the week - I have been a great fan of the series' so was very much looking forward to the film, it was good not great though there are some classic moments I fear they tried to over-reach. 2:58 pm
Fight hard at Henley and forget Haltemprice and Howden
I have just paid my 8th visit to Henley and I am pleased to say we are going great guns on the literature front. There is a new Blue leaflet asking who electors would prefer to look after the beautiful local countryside. After last week's revelation, I think we know the answer. Please help the Henley team if you can - details are here. Andrew Rawnsley writes very well about David Davis here. I 1:57 pm
The Scouts in Haringey
On Thursday night I went to the AGM of London North Scouts at the Scout Park which is in my constituency - although the group also covers several others. It is a fine organisation - and this was a timely visit as Haringey Council has decided to withdraw the very paltry support funding it gives them. I am fighting this , particularly as it has been taken away and the Scouts told to get funding from the Youth Opportunities Fund. However, the object behind that fund wasn't to replace what local support there was - it was meant to be ... 1:55 pm
David Davis, three days on
So the nasty Tory party is back in full force turning its briefings in vituperative fashion on (or rather - against) David Davis. Much of the Conservative Party's establishment seems to wish to infer that he is mad or sad or bad. I think he is none of these things and take it on face value - he really does feel passionately about this issue and felt something dramatic was required. The issue of detention without charge is of such high import in terms of the fundamental values we hold dear in this land that it is worth taking a ... 1:53 pm
Anne Frank
On Tuesday I hosted the Anne Frank Trust's 10th Anniversary of the Anne Frank Declaration event at the House of Commons on Tuesday. Sorry so late writing it up - but it was quite astonishing. First and foremost the Trust does extraordinary work with the Anne Frank story - using it to help young people everywhere. The Trust brings a timeless story which is seminal in its message to the world about fighting wrongs - but in the real world of a young teenager. There was a video telling of their work, various speakers (including me) but most astonishing was ... 1:36 pm
Are the Conservatives as popular as the polls lead us to believe?
I have just come back from a canvassing session in Chigwell Row. A by-election has been called after a parish councillor resigned two weeks after May 1. I was surprised by the reaction of a few people towards the Conservative party. Although the party is riding high in the polls recently, many residents who said they usually voted Conservative were really thinking about where they were placing 1:31 pm
One thing I just don't get about David Davis
I don't doubt for one moment the sincerity of David Davis on civil liberties. He has proven himself to be an articulate, passionate, resolute opponent of Labour's unceasing efforts to subjugate the ordinary man and woman to ever more draconian laws for the greater good. And yet he is also an advocate of the death penalty, saying in his first interview as the Tories' shadow home secretary back 1:24 pm
Afzal Anwar PPC in Pendle
Afzal Anwar is the Liberal Democrats PPC for the Next General Election in Pendle. The professional barrister and community resident has been selected by the Liberal Democrats as the Prospectus Parliamentary Candidate. Mr Afzal is a resident Nelson the heart of Pendle and unlike Andrew the saviour Mr Anwar is actually a local man and not a outsider who has got rented accommodation until the election. If Andrew the Saviour looses do you actually think that he is going to stick around that is why he has got a rented house because if he looses he can do a runner ... 1:24 pm
Knife crime and arches: are the police getting things wrong?
The police placed a metal detection arch at Turnpike Lane a few days ago - and a colleague phoned me to tell me about it. He (being a lawyer) walked around it and challenged the police as to whether they thought they had the powers to make him walk through. In the end, when he walked around the arch, not through it, no one stopped him or followed him. Rather a mess of a situation if you ask me! His legal view (and that of others I've spoken to also) is that the police have no powers to make people ... 1:06 pm
Davis: I quit to stop Tory U-turn on 42 days
In the first hour after David Davis quit as an MP last Thursday, I suggested the reason underpinning his decision: Mr Davis recognised that the Tories' influential neo-cons in the shadow cabinet, George Osborne and Michael Gove, would much rather have backed the Government over 42 days: only tactical considerations of defeating Labour in the Commons [...] 12:59 pm
David Davis: Don't Count On My Support
David Davis' triggering of a by-election in his constituency has quite plainly happened for two reasons: firstly, to make a principled stand against 42-day detention without trial; secondly, to force the Tories into supporting his position and to tie them to opposition of the measure. It looks like it'll be a David Davis vs Kelvin McKenzie scrap, though, as it's doubtful that Labour will put up their own candidate and Nick Clegg has declared that the Lib Dems won't be putting one up either. The most important thing to remember in this whole bizarre affair is that the enemy of ... 12:53 pm
Opinion: Why we should stand against David Davis
It is no secret to any regular reader of the comments on these pages that I am bitterly disappointed by the decision that the Liberal Democrats will not be standing against David Davis in the upcoming by-election in Haltemprice & Howden. Often in the heat of debate points get lost and come out half-formed and [...] 11:52 am
Out on the 'Shandy Run' with Lembit and Stephen
One of the attractions of the Henley constituency has to be the picturesque villages, liberally sprinkled with equally picturesque pubs, so it was fun to finish my day there yesterday joining Lembit and Stephen Kearney on the 'Shandy Run' - touring said establishments until they closed. Apparently it was Lembit who recruited Stephen to the party and they have been friends for 12 years. As you may expect Lembit's high recognition rate meant he was instantly engaging with the punters, but what was more impressive was that nearly as many people recognised Stephen and were happy to talk about the ... 11:34 am
Two Very Intensive Days
Liberal Democrats have always been the party which most values local government and our local government conferences are always well attended. This weekend was no exception. Councillors from all shapes and sizes of local authorities gathered in Birmingham, along with MPs with a special interest in local government. Although not of direct and detailed interest to the residents I mention 11:25 am
Lembit 'Shandy for lunch' Opik
Ros may be getting a few extra votes if this interview with Lembit Opik is anything to go by. 11:03 am
Spelman cover-up worsens
Caroline Spelman has now admitted that her nanny was on the public payroll for two years rather than a few months as originally claimed. I find it implausible that this could be a mistake. There is a significant difference between the first months of your parliamentary career and half your first term. Spelman boldly asserted it [...] 10:42 am
David Davis and Nick Clegg
I've been away, so sorry for this being a bit late. There seems to be a bit of an outcry on both LibDemBlogs and Facebook about the LibDems not standing in the Haltemprice & Howden by-election. However almost all of them have failed to realise that if Nick had said that we would stand against Davis during their private chat on Wednesday night, he would have shat himself and not resigned. Instead Clegg played a blinder making the Tories look weak, and Davis like a tax payers waste of money. 10:29 am
Caroline Spelman lied about her nanny
Oh dear. After all the effort last week by the Tories and Tory bloggers to defend Caroline Spelman when she employed, so she claims, her nanny as her secretary, it appears the situation might have become worse for her. Last week she claimed that she employed her nanny on expenses for just a few months after being elected from 1997 to 1998. Now, it turns out she lies and that her nanny was employed until March 1999. If she has done nothing wrong, why did she lie about this ? 9:48 am
The power and the glory
This may well be last week's news but Matt Withers poses a very pertinent question in this morning's Wales on Sunday about Wednesday's debate on my bid to give the Assembly the power to determine how local Councils are elected: The long-term aim of Peter Black, the Liberal Democrat AM who put forward the proposal, was for the Assembly to get power to change the voting system for council elections - and then bring in the party's beloved proportional representation (PR), giving them a better chance of success. But Labour members, long suspicious of PR, voted it down, with a ... 9:43 am
Damned Lies
The fundamental flaw of statistics is that they are quantative data. They do not show you the story behind the figures. When I learn that 100+ readers clicked onto one of my posts last week and that the second highest url is my whole blog, it shows that readers of Lib Dem Blogs have stopped clicking on individual post titles and are instead clicking on the url underneath. Therefore, 20% of my stats last week cannot be accounted for. This 20% is as much as the clicks for another post alone. I don't know what these readers read in my ... 8:13 am
Update: Haltemprice & Howden
Following on from my Friday post; Haltemprice & Howden, I see that there is now an online petition calling on the Lib Dem leadership to reconsider their position . Those interested in signing the petition should follow this link: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/daviddavis/ 7:44 am
Will the 4th Tory Leader in a year make a difference?
Cambridgeshire County Council is run by the Tories. Sorry let's start again. Cambridgeshire County Council is run by the officers, because the Tory majority on the Council are on their fourth leader in a year with a cabinet of none of the talents. It's unfortunate really. We are the fastest growing county in the country and deserve better governance. Some key decisions are due to be made over the next few months. There is always a chance they will make the right decision, even if it's for the wrong reasons, but that too is unlikely. It's not a failing council. ... 7:01 am
Westbound - Lochee Road
The City Council has advised me that from 17th June - for four nights - westbound traffic on Lochee Road between Blinshall Street and the North Marketgait roundabout will be prohibited between 7pm and 2am each night. I am advised that this is because of telecommunications ducting works and the alternative route is via West Marketgait/Hawkhill/Horsewater Wynd/Guthrie Street/Brook Street/Polepark Road. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained throughout. For further information, contact the Planning & Transportation Department on 433168. 12:47 am
Shoveling shit
I went to the Northern Regional Conference in Gateshead this morning, mainly to cover it for the North East Democrat (due out on Monday if all goes well - if it doesn't, publication will be put back a short while as I will be out of the country for a few days after that). Interesting experience of turning up with my cameras. I put my telescopic lens on my Nikon and within minutes I was receiving 12:37 am
Unlikely questions answered
"So," you ask yourself one dull day, "What would be the effects of asteroids of various sizes landing on Wales?" (via Bad Astronomy) 
