Today a lot was about light - conserving it where it could be and celebrating with light as a symbol of what is good. I went along with John to the Asda supermarket at Portrack, as there was a display in their lobby about reducing heating bills. The Council's Stockton Comfort Zone and the GoWarm Project were doing this jointly, giving away low-energy light bulbs, Power Down devices...
Please note that ticky boxes are enabled, so you can vote for more than one option on each question... View Poll: The Giant Bond Poll of Doom!
... Anyone else think the pisstake Bond theme is miles better than the proper one? In sentiment as well as in actual musicalness... Compare and contrast: or Ooooh you're so EDGY Jack! Changing tempo and volume at random and inserting bits of Bond theme (and oddly Iron Maidenish bits of vocals) every so often... Bring Back Tina Turner, I say. At least she understood the Bond fans' pathological need for a Shirley Bassey impression. ... I don't like Daniel Craig Bond. He's too serious and not pretty enough. There's not enough gadgets, and not enough things going kaboom, and not ...
A busy day today starting with my chairing the TACTRAN (regional transport partnership) meeting at the Angus Council Chamber in Forfar. Later on, I also chaired a meeting regarding Travel Dundee's bus service changes, at which a representative of the bus company met with City Councillors to explain the company's rationale for the changes and listen to our concerns about some of the changes, which commence on 2nd November. You can download a copy of the new bus route guide by clicking on the headline above. Tonight, I attended the monthly meeting of Blackness Area Residents' Association at the Corso ...
... Er, no. Via lonemagpie and shishmish; another publicity shot from the new Trek film. Note to photographer: when trying to recreate a classic image, at least try and shoot it from the same angle FFS: Also, is it me, or is this the one time in history when the pretty people are in the original and not the remake?
My recent House Points column on the future of the BBC licence fee has given rise to a debate over at Liberal Democrat Voice. Heresey Corner has a posting on the subject too.
I am once again called to London for a little while, and so there will be a little hiatus from the blog. I like to think that my work on Bury Council has somehow found the ear of the congnoscenti, and that my presence in the capital is all part of a plot to get me close to the corridors of power so that I can fight for fixed pot-holes and new street lights on a national scale. Sadly, it's nothing of the sort. But never mind. Back Sunday. Rick
The Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Muallem, has been visiting London, which made yesterday's US helicopter assault on an alleged senior al-Qaida operative inside Syria unfortunately timed for Britain's and Europe's efforts to bring Syria in from the diplomatic cold. Mr al-Muallem and his British counterpart, David Miliband, were due to hold a joint press conference following their [...]
The Daily Telegraph has the rather odd story about Glenrothes candidate Peter Grant.
Writing for the Wealth Bulletin, Mike Foster draws some imaginative parallels between the excesses of Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross and the excesses that led to the credit crunch: On one level, the affair matters not a jot. But it also demonstrates the way in which people like Brand and Ross overreach themselves after enjoying the adulation of millions, and salaries to match. The effect of this kind of leverage on animal spirits were also on display in the financial markets of 2007, when investors and financiers became masters of the universe, after using cheap debt to build business empires ...
The first thing that comes up on the agenda when you get a by-election is the inevitable Lib Dem discussion about how we should spell it. Bye Election, Bye-Election, By Election, By-Election and of course whether it should have Capital letters for each word or just the first. Give a group of Lib Dems a pin head to dance on and they will be off on a merry jig. But it does raise a more serious question. I'm told by colleagues in the Tory Party and the Labour Party that it's little different over there. The question? Go on, I'll ...
Anybody allowing Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross in the same room together must have known that something outrageous would happen. Some people like outrageous things, which is fine. If anyone has the right to be pissed off, it's Andrew Sachs, whose voicemail was the subject of some rather ripe messages suggesting all sorts may have happened between Brand and Sachs' granddaughter, and, of course, the granddaughter herself if she was unaware of what was going to happen. What's interesting is that the programme itself generated only 2 complaints. The thousands that followed came after the Mail ran the story. There's ...
Earlier today the Statutory Instrument to combine 2009's local and European elections on the same date went through the Commons. Key points to note: The elections will be combined in June. Parish elections can also be held on the same date (the usual rule which would require them to be postponed is being waived). The elections will be administered [...]
I must say I think the amount of fuss there's been over the Russell Brand/Jonathan Ross obscene calls affair to be bizarre. We've got a global economy which is tanking, we're on the verge of an American Presidential election which is likely to see the first African-American elected to the office, and there are continuing problems in Iraq and Afghanistan and yet the top story on all the news channels is that a couple of performers, who are known for being a bit risque and alternative, did something a bit risque and alternative? Although I do listen to Radio 2, ...
That was an easy conclusion after the farce of this morning's Ridgeway mobile phone mast decision in Badger Farm. Two dozen local residents gathered to voice their objections to an unwanted Vodafone mast a few metres from their homes. An assortment of Winchester Planning Development Control Committee members, under the guise of the Telecoms Planning Sub Committee, listened to residents (and to me
{Digital UK} Digital UK has announced the date for switchover to digital television for north-west England. Three million homes across the north-west will start switching to digital on 4 November 2009 when analogue signals are turned off at the Winter Hill transmitter group. After switchover, around 20 of the most-watched Freeview channels will be available via an aerial to virtually all households in the area; some households will receive 48 channels.1 Latest research indicates nine out of ten people served by the Winter Hill transmitter group are now aware of digital switchover and 91% have already converted their main TV ...
J. Arthur MacNumpty feels that the Lib Dem Blogosphere has been exclusively attacking the SNP during the Glenrothes by election. As I said in his comments I feel this may be in part saying something about the state of the Labour Campaign. The lack of much real Labour blogging about the campaign, which therefore leads to less needing to counter attack than say the SNP postings. Also the lack of much real presence of Labour out on the street while I've been up there. That was until recently when as Richard Thomson so eloquently puts it Mr and Mrs Macauley ...
From the Associated Press of Pakistan: LONDON, Oct 27 (APP): Politicians, activists and grass-root leaders joined thousands of British Muslims to celebrate peace, in defiance of divisive smear casters. They gathered Sunday to take part in an annual jamboree to celebrate British Islam and discuss how the community can reach out to wider society in peace [...]
Congratulations to local residents of the Mawbey Brough Estate for getting car club bays up and running. Following support from local Lib Dem Councillors, staff at the council and at Lambeth Living agreed to negotiate with Streetcar and estate residents to have 3 vehicles based on the estate and they should be available very soon. The parking bays are outside Herbert Morrison primary school and behind the Medirex Pharmacy, on the side access road near to the junction of Hartington Road and Wilcox Road. They have also helped to raise awareness of car clubs by holding an event last week ...
Well, it's so easy to do. It's been a while since I blogged about Israel; over a year it would seem looking back at all my posts tagged Middle East. It seems the rest of us have become taken up with the US elections and the credit crunch that we haven't had time to think about the wading through treacle that is Israeli politics. I've written before about my personal interest in the region. My few months spent in Israel in my twenties, taught me more about different cultures and manners than I had learnt in the whole of my ...
"I am definitely less free than I would have been a century ago - I can get a criminal record and possibly banged up for consuming certain substances" You really do have to read it to believe it don't you?? Jock Coats said this on Charlotte Gore's blog which at least has the virtue of showing us what the libertarians really are about; every social advance that has been fought for and battled for is to be thrown right out of the window. The first point should be obvious; if capitalism and the markets are such a liberating force why ...
I pay no attention whatsoever to the charts, so when I saw this entry on Duncan Borrowman's blog I had to go and look it up to be certain, but it's true! The Accadacca are at number one! This is the second thing to bring a smile to my face all day, what with being in bed ill and poorly and space-brained as I am. The first thing to bring a smile to my face was this, which was emailed to me by the lovely stephmog. In light of recent discussion of statistics and the scientific method, I am amused ...
For those not priviliged to be invited to the US Embassy. Adrian Sanders has posted this election night party. After all I think it is unlikely that Adrian will be going to the one organised by Mark Littlewood's organisation, which says £10 of free drinks with the ticket, but on the order site says "two complimentary drinks", I make that £5 a drink, which for an all night bash is just a
Whilst it seems the great and the good get to go to a party in the US embassy, what about the rest of us? Adrian Sanders points us to this pro-Obama party in South Kensington run by Americans Away from Home and I've found this more bi-partisan event in Leicester Square. So far so London-centric. What about the rest of the country? Flock Together only lists an event in Winchester. I seem to remember reading about a Welsh LibDem event but my best google-skillz can't unearth it. Is there anything else out there? A feature of the two London parties ...
From the official YouTube blog: Like you, we're continually surprised, moved, and entertained by the videos people post on YouTube. And, like you, we're occasionally dismayed when people use YouTube for less positive purposes. That's why we count on you to know our Community Guidelines and flag videos you believe don't belong on the site. We've recently [...]
Now that Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty of felonies the question now arises as to who Sarah McSame is voting for? There are only two people on the ballot - Ted Stevens himself or the Democrat Mark Begitch. To vote for Stevens would discard her `maverick` image To vote for Begich would mean voting for [...]
UK Obama MeetupElection Night Party November 4 2008 http://www.americans-away-from-home.com/node/507 · &...
Mark Pack has written a post at LDV that I found interesting and I thought I would give my 10p worth on the whole issue. It has been proven that people are ditching political parties and joining pressure groups and that is because the youth prefer the one issue campaign instead of policies to govern the country. Of course not all young people are like that otherwise I would have joined Green Peace and not the Liberal Democrats! Political parties can raise their profiles among the youth and that is by making politics look cool. The Young Conservatives and Liberal ...
In the US, as in the UK, some people don't like to reveal who'll get their vote. But there are suburbs where residents are risking controversy by putting up huge campaign signs in their front gardens. With days left before US voters go to the polls, many homes in Bay View, Milwaukee are displaying "yard [...]
It is self evident that the war in Afghanistan cannot be "won" without stability and cooperation from Pakistan. A whole raft of competing interests and augmenting problems are making this increasingly unlikely. NATO's enemy in Afghanistan, the Taliban, are being aided by a newly formally constituted entity, Tehrik-i-Taliban an umbrella organization founded by Baitullah Mehsud, who has been accused of masterminding the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and who may or may not still be alive. The Pakistani military and its intelligence service, the ISI, has played an intricate double game since 9/11. It has taken money from the US to ...
The other day I did ask 'who is charge of the Labour machine up there in Glenrothes?'. Well in charge of the press operation whether corralled or held back at gunpoint, step forward press officer Kenny Young. He's pictured to the left on his own election communication for 2007. Yes that is one full side he's used up, it's not a folded sheet. By the way he is the larger of the two humans pictures as we haven't cut the age for candidates quite that much yet. cute eh? What do you think it conveys? Well a quick scan of ...
There was an old joke about the poor lad named William Posters... Actually, Kingston doesn't have too many problems with fly posters, in either the human or paper form. But where they do appear, these A2 or A3 sheets are closely related to graffiti, that is, unwanted graphics that deface public buildings. The Council does have the power to prosecute the worst offenders, and...
The impact of the credit crunch and ensuing recession will be devastating to British businesses. Now is the time for urgent action to keep the wheels of the economy turning: maintaining the flow of credit, sustaining business cashflow where possible, and halting the domino effect where problems with individual businesses bring on wider collapse. Our focus should be on bringing growth back.
So Costigan Quist over on the Himmelgarden Cafe blog has taken a different point of view on a post I linked to yesterday, pointing out that if you belong to specific minority groups that you are freer today than you were 100 years ago. The decriminalisation of homosexuality, for example, and the subsequent anti-discrimination laws, have, through the use of state force, guaranteed - to a certain extent - access to goods, services and employment. I disagree entirely that this is evidence that we cannot possibly be heading towards an unbearably totalitarian society where what you eat, drink, do and ...
It is interesting that Reform in announcing that I am one of the top 5 in their maths quiz have said: Reform's Deputy Director, Elizabeth Truss, said: "As we enter the worst recession in living memory, we need politicians who can do the math." I am, however, not as free market a politician as Reform would like. For example I take the view that we need medium term stability in energy markets
A Chinese report has found that its Coal industry has hidden costs to society and to the environment adding up to 250 billion dollars per year. That's right, a quarter of a trillion dollars. How terrible, I hear you cry. The solution is so remarkably simple it hurts. It just doesn't sound very sexy. They should use Pigovian taxes, internalize the externality. Coal producers and consumers should have the extra cost to the nation reflected in the price, this will lead to lower demand and tax revenue which can be ring fenced to counter the associated problems. Not difficult. Very ...
I'm absolutely delighted to be able to say that more than 1,800 people visited the Camden Eco House in the three months that it was open to the public. An astounding 890 people looked round it during Open House weekend in September. It's proof, if proof were needed, that people want to see how a Victorian property can be refurbished to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent... Read more from my Ham&High column on the Camden Eco House.
Given the current debate in the party over membership and over supporters schemes, it seems a good time to give another airing to this article which (minus a few minor updates) first appeared in Liberator last year. People often draw a pessimistic picture of the state of politics based on the declining membership totals across all [...]
I was very disappointed to learn that the fireworks portakabin that we fought so hard to get rid of last year has returned this year to Bury New Road. It seemed last year that it was perfectly legal for any fly-by-night operator to set up temporary shop in the middle of the pavement selling explosives. Unless he was caught completely blocking the road or selling to kids, he was fine. I don't know how this has managed to happen again, as I thought the licencing authority would have remembered last year's furore and not granted a licence again. Hopefully they ...
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye, has written to his Conservative counterpart demanding straight answers about donations received by the local Conservative Association. Following the controversy engulfing Tory MP George Osborne, Nick has requested information on how much money has been donated to local Conservatives by Lord Ashcroft, deputy chairman of the [...]
Last night's emergency meeting of the Council on Job Evaluation saw the Conservative Executive miss yet another opportunity to ease the turmoil that a lot of our staff are going through. I am sad this morning because their tactics denied an already fearful staff any respite whatsoever. Conservative conduct, in consistently seeking to defend their mis-handling of the process, was so arrogant that it bordered on the callous. Where the Leader should have been humble, he was aggressive. Where the Conservative's should have been striving for openness and honesty, they voted for secrecy and allowed no progress. I don't care ...
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner, has received a message of thanks from the campaign team of American presidential candidate Barack Obama. In the last week before Americans go to the polls, Nick had sent his own message of support and solidarity. Nick says, "I wanted to let Senator Obama and his team know that there are many, [...]
What happens to the fight against global warming in a time of economic crisis? Lib Dems know that it must be fought as strongly as ever. However, there are those who will say that economic recovery must be the top priority and that other causes, however worthy, must take a backseat - for example, some [...]
If this election has show us anything at all it is the devices used by the Right to get what they want (from experience) and how the Democrats have fought back: 1. One of their tactics is responsibility transference - ie let the other side do the vetting or clean up the mess of their allies [...]
Last night's emergency Council meeting debated Job Evaluation and equal pay. I care very deeply about this issue, and as the Lib Dem Resource and Performance spokesman on Bury Council I have worked in Scrutiny, with the party, and closely with the Executive to try and make some progress. The debate itself was largely a disappointment, and certainly resulted in nothing but further heartache for the staff. You can read my account of it above. The essence of the issue was captured splendidly in the debate by my Lib Dem colleagues, Cllr Tim Pickstone and Cllr Vic D'Albert. I think ...
Being an experienced and somewhat cynical politician I have been habitually challenging the notion that Barack Obama will win the US Presidential election. I could cite a dozen reasons why his campaign would be derailed by the Republican machine turning the hope of his supporters into bitter disappointment. But with one week to go, and not tempting fate and all that, all the signs tell me that he is going to win, and win big. His campaign has stayed doggedly on message, his opponents are all over the place, and he has a phenomenal campaign organisation. As well as good ...
Last night was a special Full Council meeting in Bury. This had been called by the Labour Group to discuss the current pay and grading review which is affecting many of the people who work for the Council. The meeting was very highly charged. Many of the staff who are expecting to lose money in the grading review were watching and listening in the public gallery. The meeting began with a proposal to allow for 30 minutes of 'public question time' to allow staff to put their views to Councillors. We supported this of course (we always support more time ...
I was half-listening to the Beeb this morning and I'm sure I heard that aviation will be included in CO2 emissions targets for 2050. Good news indeed if this is the case. I keep hearing '80% reduction by 2050' - Not sure what the starting figure is for that 80% and how much of that 80% target we have reached already... it will be interesting to see if this country can reorganise it's power supplies from profit-led large companies to smaller, community-led projects. Power without profit? Maybe still a vision for the future, like clean water for all and all ...
A few members of our forum have mentioned the lack of coverage of the Glenrothes by-election, and by a curious coincidence, I received an update email from the campaign manager Andrew Reeves at almost the exact same time. I was sat in the by-election HQ in Markinch, Glenrothes on Saturday afternoon with Tavish Scott MSP, the [...]
Hat tip to Jess the Dog for this excellent photo montage of Gordon Brown's extent into the campaign at Glenrothes. This map below shows just where Gordon was. {courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth} And where was I? See all those houses just to the north of the industrial estate that Gordon was esconsed in. Well the majority of that area but indeed all the southern section of Woodside was covered by yours truly. Seeing as I approached the house closest to Labour HQ (as the birds fly) just after the residents pulled out in their car, I may well have ...
People should be proud to buy British to kick-start our economy - Clegg
Congratulations to EGA for an outstanding Ofsted report. More evidence that you don't need to be an Academy to be a great school.
This is a bit of a warning shot for those regulars of this blog: I'm a Governor at Hampstead School and it's a great school - this warning is that over the next few weeks I'm going to cover some of the great work that the school does... I've been to music concerts, art festivals, sixth form open evenings and the atmosphere in the school is so strong and positive. The most striking thing is the building itself. It's on Westbere Road, West Hampstead, and is right on the Camden Barnet border at the most northerly point of the Borough. ...
To all the people who think Lembit is "a car crash", "a clown" and what ever else you think of him. Lindylooz Blog has written a list of 100 things that you didn't know about Lembit Opik. They can be read in three parts. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Hope all the critics of Lembit read them and then you will realise Lembit is the best candidate for the president of the Liberal Democrats!
After having bored my mother for 20 years by telling her how wonderful Shropshire is, I took her there for a short holiday last week. One of the places we visited was Clun in its lovely green valley. According to Malcolm Saville in The Secret of Grey Walls, there is an old saying that "those who go over Clun bridge come back sharper than they went". I can't vouch for that, but it is a Medieval packhorse bridge with refuges for pedestrians and still used by traffic today. The photograph above shows it and the BBC has a panoramic view ...
Charlotte Gore seems to have started something of a trend by talking about the things she cares about; Panopticon Britain soon followed suit. Obviously every person will care about different things to different degrees and to some extent these passions do inform our politics. My number one priority in life is the happiness, health and success of my partner who I love so much it is beyond the powers of my lexicon to describe. More than anything I want her to have the best of everything in life;everything, even politics pales into insignificance in this world in comparison Money is ...
Let me know and I'll include it in the next Britblog Roundup, which - thanks to a late change in the rota - will be hosted here on Liberal England. All nominations to britblog [at] gmail [dot] com by Sunday lunchtime please. And, yes, you can nominate something from your own blog.
Senator Joe Lieberman, the guy who would have been Al Gore's VP had a few votes in Florida gone the other way, and who is now a McCain supporter, has been showing off some hitherto hidden talents - as fortune teller. He has confidently predicted that John McCain will live until he's 85 years old. It's a sign that the McCain camp are seeing people turn away from them in their millions, as evidenced by virtually all the polls, in part at least because of concerns about Sarah Palin being that heartbeat away from the Presidency. I am starting to ...
Nick Clegg get ready to get big and hit into cabinet as according political betting, we are facing a hung government! Which would then lead to the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats making a coalition and running the country according to the reports about talks between Cameron and Clegg. So Tories don't get over chuffed with yourselves the polls are closing in, and sooner or later you will need the Lib Dems!
62 Lembit was labelled "Saviour of the Universe" by Esquire magazine for his work on highlighting the threat of asteroids to life on earth. 63 Lembit appeared on the front cover of the April 2003 edition of Harmonica World magazine and is a proficient harmonica player. 64 Every year Lembit performs a sketch with Stephen Pound MP and Nigel Evans MP to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support. 65 Lembit has met with successive Prime Ministers on subjects ranging from animal welfare to Motor Neurone Disease. 66 Lembit has worked with the "Youth at Risk" organisation to transform the way ...
Yesterday the Scottish Parliament announced it is to set annual targets to ensure continuous progression to the reduction of emissions by 80% by 2050. They also voted to include all six major greenhouse gas emissions* rather than just Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in these targets. It comes the day ahead of the Westminster vote which looks likely to include aviation and shipping emissions in UK targets. Ed Miliband has also said earlier this month that he is looking to increase UK reductions from 60% to 80% matching the Scottish target. With both the Governments in Westminster and Holyrood taken emboldened steps ...
In the style of Mark Twain despite some Nats rejoicing, well ok I only found one if I don't count the BNP, that British Day is dead. It appears reports of its demise may be premature. Of course sadly working in an international environment it is unlikely to affect me, directly as I will probably find that my bosses around the globe will still need their reporting to be done. Which is strange as I often have to be aware of national holidays elsewhere which will end up affecting result.
According to Antony Cook the Conservatives have made a town council campaign into the dirtiest campaign ever. He writes on his blog in the post about how the Conservatives have campaigned dirty. Among their dirty tactics they is:The Conservative candidate has said "he gave up and moved to Maidstone. Mandie will never give up" "Mandie" (being the Conservative candidate) this about an independent candidate who is seriously ill.Since the weekend they have started campaigning using the slogan "Are You Stupid?"They are also putting out leaflets that look like they are from the Labour party.All these dirty tactics by the Conservatives ...
If there were a few comments after dinner on Saturday night at the NLC with new acquaintances, maybe even friends, about how little of the days' talks actually helped some of them understand Libertarianism as an idea (after all, the links between aging and nano-technology and Libertarianism could have been obscure without a primer in Libertarian philosophy first) Sunday began with something that more people would recognize as a Libertarian issue... Session 5: Ban the Ban: The Human Cost of Prohibition by Dr John Meadowcroft Session 6: The Idea of a Private Law Society by Prof Hans-Hermann Hoppe Session 7: ...
Wordpress bloggers who use Twitter have known for some time that you can use the plugin Twitter Tools to reproduce your twitter content into your blog in one daily mindump at a time of your choosing. You can also use Twitter Tools to point twitter readers at your blog whenever you write a new post - which has been controversial for some. My view is that it's probably OTT for those who still blog multiple times a day, but ideal for the many of us who used to, but who now twitter many times a day instead and blog only ...
As the contest to be President of the Liberal Democrat Federal party is reaching the end, the contest to be the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats is coming to a head. If I were Welsh, I would certainly be backing Kirsty Williams for Leader. This is because she will attract media attention, is about the future for the Welsh party, will drive things forward, and has a high profile in Wales. She
Regulars to this blog will recall my posting about seeing AC/DC five times in the late seventies when Bon Scott was the singer. That was in 1977/8 when a disastrous Labour government were on their way out and an just as disastrous Thatcher government came in. The Guardian had a front cover story on Monday on how AC/DC with their in your face rock do well at times of recession. There is probably
It seems to me that one of the fundamental weaknesses of Cameron's Conservatives has been exposed by the whole George Osborne affair. Whatever you think about what maybe going on behind closed doors it seems obvious that there is alot more than meets the eye and that the kind of damage this episode does is amplified by Cameron's way of running the Conservatives almost from within the walls of his clique as a party within a party. The hapless George Osborne seems to me to have become iconic figurehead for this approach and this seems be contributing to him seeming ...
So Gordon Brown said today (still today here Stateside) that he will allow borrowing to rise to help restore demand; essentially, in order to finance a Keynesian stimulus. Even the Tories recognise the need to allow the deficit to grow to finance counter-cyclical measures, even if they didn't resist the opportunity for a dig at Brown's lack of prudence in the good times. Meanwhile the Economist has argued that the downturn and consequent need for stimulus has re-awakened an old ideological divide: should public borrowing be used to finance government spending or tax cuts? It boils down to this - ...
The temperature has plunged, the days have suddenly got shorter. Autumn has arrived. For us political activists that means the season of local party AGMs. For the next few weeks around London there is at least one every weekday evening and even some on Saturdays. Officers are duly elected, financial reports noted and a visiting [...]
35 senates seats are up for election next week, alongside the entire House of Representatives. Both Chambers are currently held by the Democrats but in the Senate this majority is merely 51-49 which means that the Republicans can filibuster any Bill that would come from an Obama White House (unless of course the nuclear option is used). The magic number to defeat a filibuster is 60 and with 23 of the 35 senate seats up for election being Republican ones, that number is looking more and more achievable, even more so when you realise that the only retiring Senators are ...
The City Council meeting on 14 October 2008 considered, among other things: the annual report of the Cabinet Member for Adults and Communities (Lib Dem councillor Sue Anderson (Sheldon Ward));the annual report of the Council's Lead Member on the West Midlands Joint Passenger Transport Authority;Liberal Democrat proposals for the Council to register its interest in the Sustainable Communities Act
