I am currently watching the US Presidential election special of Question Time. Now not knowing the make up of the studio audience and it maybe pure coincidence that the members of the audience that David Dimbleby is calling are pro republican, but there seems to be a lot of love for McCain. This makes me wonder whether the election next week will be a lot closer than we the polls suggest. A
As you might be able to tell, I've been very impressed by Barack Obama's Presidential election campaign. I think he's barely put a foot wrong and has certainly inspired a lot of people. But is his campaign the best in recent US history? I thought I'd turn it over to you to decide, using the poll on the left hand side of this page. In it, I've listed several of the campaigns which I think deserve to be considered among the best from the last 60 years. Please select the one you think is best overall. And note, this poll ...
Remember the fiasco of the Telford penguins and the Tory-run council's policy of challenging any lone adults found in the town park in case they are paedophiles? Let me refresh your memory. Anyway, Telford & Wrekin Council Watch points us to a story in the Telford Journal, which gives the intriguing latest chapter in this story: Conservative Councillor Denis Allen was suddenly axed from his cabinet position this week as member for community services. Last week it was revealed Councillor Allen was taking a month-long break from his role, prompting rumours that he had been suspended.Telford & Wrekin, however, put ...
I shall be hosting the next Britblog Roundup this weekend. If you have seen a posting on a British blog this week (including your own) that you think particularly fine, please send the link to britblog [at] gmail [dot] com by Sunday lunchtime.
Birmingham City Council has helped to organise an event on Saturday 1 November 2008 to promote access to FREE financial advice and services in Victoria Square from 12.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. You can get some 'credit crunching' expert advice from the Council's Debt and Benefit Advice Teams, Trading Standards, the Citizens Advice Bureau, Consumer Credit Counseling Service, Jobcentre Plus, credit
If only I could find a way to work chocolate into this story too... but TechnoSailor.com has a concise round-up of how Twitter and hashtags are being used as the US Presidential election draws to a close. The basic idea is to get in reports very quickly from around the country of any problems with [...]
Waste Strategy Workshop This was a consultation event which invited residents to give us guidance about how to choose the location of new waste management sites. I had been invited by Cllr. Richard Bailey, who sits on the Joint Waste Strategy Committee, to attend to find out more about the consultation and get an idea [...]
For the last few days, Mars Phoenix has been slowly powering down. The Martian winter is long and unrelenting, and he's going to be buried under frozen carbon dioxide. I was vaguely sad about it this morning, but then I came home and saw this: matgb says I am very silly...
A lot of people will have been wanting to flatten me and put me out of sight for a long time, and today it happened! I was in a time capsule, prepared by the local historian Mr Bob Harbron. We were told that it included the Stockton Council leaflet with photos of all the councillors ! Norton Green was the scene at noon of a short tree-planting ceremony. The Heritage Trees of the Tees Project...
Two forged £20 notes were passed at a Yate shop today - if you work in a small shop in our area you are recommended to look very closely at any £20 notes you are offered, or use a counterfeit detection pen.
Figures released yesterday by the Information Commissioner's Office show that there have been 176 data breaches in the public sector in the past year. Data breaches in the private sector were less than half this number: 80 cases were reported. Earlier this year, Parliament decided that the ICO would be given greater powers to penalise organisations which "recklessly" lose personal data. Information Commissioner Richard Thomas is calling for this to take place as soon as possible. www.publicservice.co.uk has the story.
Hackney libraries (Labour) have banned author Iain Sinclair from launching his latest book there, because he is critical of the London Olympics. Apparently controversy and debate are not welcome in Labour libraries. Lib Dem Islington has saved the day, by offering him our borough's libraries for his launch instead. Hurrah for Islington. It's particularly shameful that [...]
There's no Lib Dem on tonight's BBC1 Question Time (10.35 pm and online) - but on this occasion at least I think we can absolve the Beeb of any blame, as tonight is their US election special. The programme features adviser to Barack Obama, Elizabeth Edwards, executive director of John McCain's campaign in New York, [...]
I've just viewed this "infomercial" for Obama (below), which was watched by 30 million Americans last night. It is a masterpiece. One thing I'd say is that if Obama's political career blows up, he could have a lucrative career as a voiceover artist. He's got a great narrator's voice.
Yes we can.
More particularly, how many does it take to change one in my flat in London? We had the slightly frustrating experience of a busted light switch and broken neon tube in the bathroom in the summer. Try as we did, we could not remove the light cover. David tried as well, as did Dad when he stayed. There just seemed to be no logical way to move it short of taking a hammer to it, hardly the preferred
Have a look at this (below). Notice anything? Nearly all the audience behind McCain are kids. That's because 4,000 of them were bussed in to make up the numbers! And the other hoot is that McCain announces his hero Joe the Plumber and asks him to come up on stage and no Joe the Plumber there!
With the Glenthroes by election coming to its final hurdles, Mike Smithson has got a Poll on his blog that you can view the results of by following this link. The Results are very interesting and the favourite to win is the SNP!
When I boarded the train to London on Monday, I received an email sent to all councillors in Gateshead telling us that Councillor David Bollands had been taken seriously ill over the weekend.And yesterday, I had a call from Cllr Chris Ord in my own group telling me that another councillor had been involved in a serious road accident. At this point I have not received official confirmation about
The wonkosphere has turned it's attention to the role of the undecideds in the US Presidential election. With the polls showing a stable trend, with perhaps a little tightening, and with McCain forced to run robocalls in his own state and dodgy adverts on C&W stations in Virginia, the picture is in Obama's favour. However, the one remaining mystery area is the undecideds. In each poll there is
tonight i went to the inaugral lecture of prof gill hague, of the violence against women unit at bristol university. a lot of the material came as no surprise to many in the audience who have watched events unfold over the last few years. it's a subject that we can talk about but unless we take action then we will stay in the position of 25yrs ago before refuges, support services and a sense that such abuse was wrong. gill reflected on her career and set us a vision of transforming lives. interesting was her dialogue of how issues such ...
Camilla Cavendish of The Times has been nominated for a Paul Foot Award for her campaign against injustices which result from the Children's Act 1989, and the climate of secrecy which surrounds disputed child protection cases (such as that which led to this party's recent statement). It is only fair to point out that she is not without her critics. However, the roster of cases she has highlighted, and the anecdotes this writer has heard about local cases, show that there is much to be concerned about. - Frank Little
I see that the Jonathan Ross has been suspended, with no pay, for three months and the head of Radio Two has resigned over the Brand/Ross affair. I think that is right, and the BBC Trust's strong statement is welcome. (I don't think Brand's resignation was necessary but he behaved in a very dignified way in offering it - and probably did his long-term career a favour by doing so - he is an
Yes, I'm fed up with hearing about Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross as well. But you've not heard this viewpoint before. I can't help but feel they're victims of the times, as much as their own stupidity. The national mood is very defensive, and two highly-paid celebrities couldn't have picked a worse time to provoke. Even worse, they did it on the BBC. For over a month now the news has been dominated by the credit crunch and looming recession. I think people, and the media, are fed up of economic doom and gloom and want another story. Any story. ...
Some people clearly have too much time on their hands. Would you do this: {Poodle with a ninja turtle hairdo} to your dog? Via View Poll: Teenage Mutant Ninja Poodle
Lynne has the full story on her blog.
What a 90 minutes - well, 94 minutes. Posting some photos here from last night's 4-4 draw in the North London derby at the Emirates - one of us defending (or, more accurately, pretending to defend) a corner and a couple of the Spurs lads celebrating after the final whistle. My throat is sore from singing and chanting last night, I don't really know where to start. David Bentley from the halfway line - just superb. And a great 25 minutes of excitement following that until we conceded. With another sloppy goal conceded straight after halftime, it looked like our ...
This "blog" records all those irritating "notices" that use "quotation marks" when they shouldn't.
A. When the tabloids have an even more evil target in their sights: the BBC. The Register has an interesting article on Georgina Baillie, Andrew Sach's granddaughter and innocent victim of Brand and Ross' evil ways. It turns out that Georgina (or "Voluptua the goth vampire stripper" as she's also known) is just the sort of person the tabloids normally waste no time in exposing as an example of the depths of depravity young women are sinking to in today's liberal society - won't somebody think of the children! There's her swinging, her membership of the rather sweet Satanic Sluts ...
London blogger Tory Troll has this piece about Andrew Gilligan, frequent critic of former London Mayor Ken Livingstone. Gilligan used a rather unusual turn of phrase in his Evening Standard column on Monday, on London's bendy buses. The same phrase had cropped up earlier in anonymous comments on the same subject in other London political [...]
It seems to be an age ago that we could mention the name of John Maynard Keynes without howls of derision. Now, though, Keynes - a liberal intelligence of the highest order - appears to be back in fashion. If you don't believe me, have a look at the New Stateman for this week in which, with extraordinary zeal, the likes of Noreena Hertz claim him for their own. Now, I don't know about you but as one of those for whom the bankruptcy of monetarism, then supply-side economics, then neo-liberal market economics and (that famous phase) 'post-neoclassical endogenous growth ...
I've seen some pretty awful Party Political Broadcasts in my time, not least from my own Party - does anyone remember Rosie Barnes and her rabbit? The video below is a bit of a masterclass in how it's done - the last bit from the Obama 30 minute ad last night went live to his speech at a rally in Florida. I'm still not entirely convinced on the substance of what he'll do, but he knows how to inspire, engage and empower - and how good was it that he asked people to go and knock on doors for him? ...
WikiHow tells you how to dress up as Sarah Palin No, I didn't make this up. News reports indicate that the Sarah Palin Halloween costume will be one of the most popular Halloween costumes this year. Best part of the trip (as Jim Morrison said) Accessorize. If you're dressing up as Sarah Palin for Halloween, you might need to wear some accessories so people recognize who you're impersonating. Otherwise they might think you're just dressed as a librarian, or businesswoman. Some common items associated with Palin are: A campaign pin. A toy rifle. A stuffed moose.
Barack Obama definitely has the most likeable manner of any Democratic nominee since Bill Clinton. This clip from a rally in North Carolina shows him taking the mickey out of McCain's excessive attacks on him. If you read the article, you will see that he gave up his own bottled water to help two people who were taken ill at the rally. LibDig This!
Lib Dem Presidential candidate Lembit Öpik MP has issued some "home truths" to members admitting how the events of 2008 "almost stalled my life" and promising to put his "heart and soul" into the job. It comes as voting in the contest enters its final week. In a personal email to Party members, due to be sent out next week, Lembit addresses his detractors head on "And with some humility, I can tell you I've learned to see why some folk are concerned about my Presidency. Some fear I'll be unpredictable, a wild one, or too involved in a profile ...
Microsoft seem to have replied to apple's adverts showing how much better macs are. These Microsoft adverts scare me. Microsoft is basically telling us it's okay that they dominate the market, it's okay that everyone is glued to Microsoft computers without thinking of alternative operators. When I first saw this advert, with everyone saying "I'm a PC", Bill Gates shrugging and especially with at the end someone saying "you got a problem with that?!" I actually thought it was an advert from apple. The way the ad portrays how we are stuck with Microsoft and that's a good thing, is ...
A cheery wave and good afternoon to you all. Page 19, today's newspaper: "It emerged yesterday that the number of days MPs would attend Parliament in the next session would be the smallest since 1979-80." Liberal Democrat Voice, 24th October (that'd be six days ago): "Over the next year Parliament will sit for just 128 days, the [...]
In the latest edition of London's Time Out magazine there is a cartoon portraying Boris Johnson as a buff Indian Jones type character. In this edition of the cartoon his nemesis is a Dr Livingstone, no prizes for guessing who this villain is referencing, lol. It is entitled "Four Feet from a Rat", referring to the fact that most Londoners have at least one rat close by at any given time. At first glance it may seem that this comic is a harmless attempt to poke fun at the Mayor. That is until you discover that this comic strip was ...
I did make a prediction on the Glenthroes by election and now I think it isn't on the ball, so looking at the predictions made by other political commentators I am having another go. I now think that the first and second position will be as follows: 1. SNP 2. Labour What do you think?
Before anybody gets smart and makes the obvious jokes. Like is it my 1000th grey hair? Or 1000th pensioned off hair follicle? No this is the 1000th post on my blog. Gulp! Little did I think back in the summer of 2005 just after I'd stood for Parliament for what I hope is only the first time that I would get to this milestone but here we are. So for readers old and new excuse me while I reflect on some notable milestones that you may or may not have been aware off. Especially if I promise not to do ...
May not sound right but Top of the Pops may well be returning to our screens. But expect adverts to break into the countdown of the top tunes on the week as the plan is bring it back to ITV. The saviour of the show that was ripped from the air in 2006 after 42 years on the BBC may well be Simon Cowell who is looking to buy the rights to TOTP. Saying "I would rather it came to us than just sit in the dustbin". Watch out 3-2-1 you may be next so Simon can find a nice ...
Spurs have announced the news that we've all been waiting for - what they are planning to do about a new stadium. Of course, there has been lots of concern and speculation about the future of White Hart Lane. Most fans recognise we could do with a bigger capacity stadium to help the club grow, but most fans (including me) are very keen for the club to stay in Tottenham. So I'm very excited about the new plans that the club have announced, called the Northumberland Development Project. The plans will be going out to public consultation and I will ...
Both today are calling for Land Value Taxation, or at least they seem to be. The Scottish Greens certainly are. Municipal tax reform in Scotland remains in deadlock and dependent on at least one other party agreeing with the principle of local income tax. That seems unlikely at the moment, even if the Lib Dems capitulate over the SNP's insistence of greater centralisation (which does not look likely; what would they gain except appalling policy?). Meanwhile, Guido is raving about the reprinting of Fred Harrison's Boom Bust: House Prices, Banking and the Depression of 2010 (Guido also pats himself on ...
As a result of the financial crisis, Denmark might decide to join the Eurozone, according to the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Speaking at a press conference at the ELDR Congress in Stockholm this afternoon, Mr Rasmussen said that Danes were now realising both the economic and political cost of staying out. The Danish [...]
It is relatively straightforward to find the budget speeches of the past decade. They speak for themselves. Gordon Brown 1997 For most people the acquisition of a house is the biggest single investment they will make. Homeowners rightly expect their investment to be protected by sensible policies pursued by Government. I am determined that as a country we never return to the instability,
This Video shows another warning that Brown ignored in 2005 about the economy and its stability!
With a tip of my hat to Bad Science for the link, I'd like to draw your attention to the latest campaign from PeTA (People for the ethical Treatment of Animals). No-one likes fish, so it doesn't bother us to eat them. PeTA's solution is brilliant in its simplicity and only slightly less so in its utter loopiness. Henceforth, fish should be known as sea-kittens. As PeTA says: When your name can also be used as a verb that means driving a hook through your head, it's time for a serious image makeover. And who could possibly want to put ...
I have had a poll running asking the question " Should Mandelson and Osborne resign from their positions in the cabinet and shadow cabinet" and I have some very interesting results! 71% of you said Yes they should 29% of you said No they shouldn't Some Very interesting results but the people of this blog have spoken so we at Irfan Ahmed's Blog call upon Mandelson and Osborne to resign from their positions in the cabinet and shadow cabinet!
Why, share it with others via Ryan Cullen's excellent LibDig of course The ALDC website is running a brief piece from myself on what it is and why it is a good idea to use it; read it here. Lovers of circular reasoning may wish to er, LibDig the piece.
The Noble lord Greaves has spoken up in the Houses of Lords saying that in Pendle he gets a monthly newspaper delivered to his door via the Royal Mail and he spoke of this newspaper in a discussion over junk mail which means that he classes the newspaper as junk. If this is the same newspaper I get and which is "Pendle Matters" from the Conservative Party then that is junk without a doubt. He also in the debate raises the issue that the newspaper is funded by Lord Ashcroft "rumoured to be funding this rubbish?" This is something that ...
Over on Liberal England is a really important post. What on earth is Labour thinking of to ban such an author. Your can't suppress all dissent - not without becoming a totalitarian state! And well done Islington for stepping in! Sinclair has a new novel, Hackney, That Rose Red Empire, out and had been due to launch it at Stoke Newington public library in the borough. Terence Blacker takes up the story in the Independent: After the arrangement was made, an essay written by Sinclair appeared in the London Review of Books, the theme of which was that the Olympics ...
I have just noticed a video that appeared on im4Ros yesterday... but back to that in a second. Looking at Ros's site she is being backed by the 5 out of 7 of the Lib Dem council leaders in London: Richmond (Serge Lourie), Kingston (Derek Osbourne), Sutton (Sean Brennan), Islington (James Kempton) and Camden (Keith Moffitt). These are leaders of major councils with real budgets! Plus 5 of the 8
David Allen seems to think it is; writing on Liberal Democrat Voice seems to think it is; "The Lib Dems' 'Make It Happen' was written only two months ago, but it feels like a different era." 'Make it happen' was essentially about shrinking the state, says Dave and now following the bail-out the "state is back in business". The role of the state has been one of the polemical bones of contention in recent weeks with libertarians. Let's be quite clear how I feel; as far as I am concerned the state should shrink but not to be replaced by ...
The key policy declared at the Lib Dems' Bournemouth conference last month was not the famous 'Tax Cuts'. It was that the State should shrink. In the run-up to conference, argument raged as to how big the tax cuts might be, and who should receive them. Only one decision appeared to be cast in stone: [...]
23 of the 32 Scottish Councils have said that they cannot afford to implement the SNP Governments plans for free school meals for all P1-3 pupils. This total includes the three main city councils Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen along with SNP led councils including West Lothian, West Dunbartonshire, Perth & Kinross amongst them. The policy is good, although Aberdeen council would rather see a free breakfast provided for better health and educational outcomes as they "remain unconvinced that the introduction of free lunches to all Primary 1-3 children adds public value or improves the outcomes for children" based on the ...
This quote from Jeremy Hunt (Shadow Culture Secretary) is fairly indicative of new conservatism. "Just as it would be wrong in a plural and democratic society to require broadcasters to produce programmes that meet government objectives and promote positive social behaviour, so it is also wrong for broadcasters to produce programmes that legitimise negative social behaviour," That's actually his topline quote (and you thought the Tories were good at comms). Put on the waffle filter and you're left with "We would never force you to make programmes we agree with, we just won't let you make programmes we don't agree ...
In 1994 over 800,000 people died in the horrific Rwandan Genocide, the World looked on and failed to do anything about it. At the end of the genocide 2million people (this is all out of a country which had a population of just over 6million) fled in what was then called Zaire, mainly through Goma. In 1997 Rwanda backed Congolese rebels and invaded Zaire to catch those involved with the Genocide that were in the Congo. This war was followed by the second Congo war, which was the bloodiest war since WW2 over 5million people have died from it. In ...
Gordon Brown today announced the establishment on a judicial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Russell Brand's BBC career. The inquiry will look at the extent to which the BBC contributed towards Mr Brand's death on air and whether the BBC should be shut down as a result. The Prime Minister's spokesperson confirmed [...]
Darlington Borough Council's Cabinet meeting next week will be asked to approve the "deferment" of £1.723million of capital expenditure in the current financial year. You will recall that the Council recently went £1.9million overbudget in building the little-used Eastern Transport Corridor. Schemes which will go include £400,000 of unspecified environmental improvements, £700,000 on a new
Thanks are due, btw, to all of you who have sent me get well emails/LJ comments/Facebook comments/soppy text messages etc. over the last couple of days. I am feeling much better, although Mat appears to be suffering with the lurgy now. * hugs you all *
In unexpected developments the McCain campaign has started to ROBOCALLING HIS OWN HOME STATE OF ARIZONA! Reports here Perhaps when he goes back to one of his many homes in the State he can listen to it himself!
Thursday: Today it is Daddy Alex's birthday! We will probably be spending the evening IN watching all of the new DVDs that we have bought for him, though we will make an interruption at 9.30pm to turn over to BBC2 for the camp comedy "Beautiful People". Every week, Mr Simon sees something in the window of his shop which reminds him of a story which he then proceeds to tell through flashbacks, with songs and dances and moments of brightly coloured pictures, before coming to a surprise conclusion... hang on, this is the plot of BAGPUSS! Anyway, we like this ...
Adam Teladia - http://www.adamteladia.org.uk has reminded me that John Hutton backs European army, the article in the Sunday Times on 26th October 2008 follows:
Another go at trying to resurrect this blog. Its not that I've been idle, the reverse really, too much going on! Anyway, one of the things I've been working on is having two young people be Mayor for the Day, as part of the Children's Commissioners Changeover Day. We did this last year and it was well received. The school actually contacted me, saying they were keen to do it again. So next Friday, the 7th November, the Head Boy and Head Girl of Penair will be Mayor for the day. They'll be meeting the Town Clerk and the Manager ...
Over the months I have been on the council, regularly we are told black is white, standing orders don't mean what they say and that the Council is great. Last night most of the Tories and the Independent (who always votes with the Tories) refused to protect one of the oldest trees in Lakenheath because that would increase bureaucracy for the farmer/developer who they are sure wont harm it and if a tree preservation order was applied would no longer care for it! Credit must go to Cllr Bill Bishop for opposing this decision, 1 of just 2 Tories to ...
I was expressing bewilderment to a friend that the front pages of our newspapers have been dominated all week by a story about a pair of radio and TV performers at a time of momentous events for the world economy. Wiser than me, he pointed out that it is precisely because of the momentous events that the inconsequential story is running so strongly. After a couple of weeks of relentless, detailed, depressing news about the financial crisis, there was a need to shift to something light and gossipy and the Brand/Ross story perfectly fitted the bill after a bit of ...
Last night was the regular meeting of the Executive Committee of Bury Council. This brings together the nine Executive Members from the ruling Conservative Group - myself and the Leader of the Labour Group attend as observers. The main items to be discussed were: Design and Layout of New Developments After a consultation period, we approved some new regulations for new buildings in Bury, these include some "green" aspects to ensure that new buildings are much greener than they have been in the past. Empty Property Strategy We agreed a new strategy for dealing with empty homes. Currently around 3.7% ...
I'm afraid Cameron and Osborne haven't defected but Westminster's Conservative councillors have. A group of Councillors have changed over to the UKIP! You may ask why, I am asking the same question but its all pointing towards their Parliamentary Candidate who I don't think is very liked by her fellow Conservatives in Westminster! This would definitely be a blow to Cameron, especially with the PPC that has drove these Cllr's out being a high flying Conservative and would be in the "dream team". Will Andrew Stephenson drive Cllr's out in Pendle? You Can read the article that produced the story ...
Two Russian opposition political parties, Yabloko and the People's Democratic Union (PDU), were accorded full membership of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) at a meeting of the ELDR's governing Council in Stockholm this morning. Yabloko has had affiliate membership of ELDR for the past two years, so its upgrade was something of [...]
Can anyone explain why, when David Tennant announced he was leaving Doctor Who, he was flanked by two rather butch-looking (some might even say "camp") types in 18th century army garb who looked as though they had escaped from a Barbara Cartland novel?
Last month, I mentioned a new West End sports initiative was being established - click on headline above to view the earlier story. The West End Amateur Boxing Club's website is now up and running and many thanks to Emilio Places-Rey for updating me about this and to the City Council for its advice and support for the new group. The group's website is at : http://www.westend-boys-abc.com/
From a Cabinet decision notice published on Tuesday: "I, Councillor John Merry Leader of the Council, confirm that, in exercise of the powers conferred on it in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation of the Council, the Cabinet has resolved that. That Cabinet approves the planned consultation process for the proposal to close St George's Roman Catholic [...]
Here is Michael Billington's review in the Guardian of 'Love's Labour's Lost' at the Rose which I really enjoyed last week. The final sentence is more than worrying. This is the second production of Shakespeare's wondrous comedy in a month. But whereas at Stratford Greg Doran's RSC version seeks to distract us from the knotty complexities of the language, Peter Hall's production...
92 Lembit believes the President's primary duty is to the Membership. 93 Lembit believes flooding will be the greatest single environmental threat to the UK over the next 10 years. 94 Lembit is a common first name in Estonia. 95 Lembit has no middle name. 96 Lembit's longest speech in Parliament has been 56 minutes. 97 Lembit had 14 fringe meetings and other speeches in the 2008 Bournemouth Conference - believed to be the second most of any MP. 98 Lembit wants to reduce the voting age to 16. 99 Lembit's highest break on a full size snooker table is ...
Prime Minister's Questions this week rekindled some of the anger that got me into politics in the first place. Yet again Gordon Brown; the man who promised to be different and to give back power to parliament, evaded answering any questions: I don't think the man has ever had the decency to answer a [...]
I blogged earlier this week about why I think Jack Straw has it wrong when it comes to cutting crime. We don't need more rhetoric about 'I'll be tougher than you', we need effective action - and that includes better rehabilitation so that we cut reoffending rates, but instead the state of these services and our prisons system so often means that it's just a case of out of jail and commit another crime. Mary Riddell has an interesting piece in the Telegraph today about the failings of our prisons system, including:The Ministry of Justice's own study reportedly shows that ...
Dave Hill has the story: The defection to Ukip of a bunch of ward-level Westminster Tories might not be front page news but is it part of a bigger story? It has surely taken a little shine off the party's retention of Simon Milton's former Council seat with only a small adverse swing. More significantly, it [...]
Time to remember a suggestion of mine from this time last year: I am watching Film 2007 and BBC's Jonathan Ross is dull, dull, dull. The BBC has a broadcaster on film who would make it a more interesting programme overnight: Mark Kermode. He was on Newsnight Review with Matthew Sweet a couple of weeks ago. Both are infinitely more interesting on film than Ross is. With Ross you always suspect a conflict of interest. If he gives big Hollywood names bad reviews, will they refuse to appear on his chat show next time round?
Labour have been putting out a leaflet in the Glenrothes by-election which has Sir Alex Ferguson showing his support for Lindsay Roy, the Labour candidate. This isn't some great celebrity coup, or anything. Sir Alex has been a Labour supporter all his life, so it's hardly surprising that he's done this. Maybe it's just me, but the phrase that he used, that the Labour Government ".......deserves support at this difficult time" just doesn't sound right. It's that "now, children, behave" tone from Labour which has always rankled with me. If they'd said something like "times are hard, this is how ...
I would like to make a confession. As a child (or "young thug" in the Daily Mail parlance) I committed the criminal act of copying my own LPs onto cassette tapes for my own use. Did I just dabble in this criminal lifestyle? No. Like a tabloid editor's masturbatory fantasy, I was sucked ever further into a life of crime. Those of a nervous disposition might like to look away now. I copied my legitimately-bought music onto blank tapes and gave them to my mates. Sometimes I received their copied music in return and, before too long, my bedroom resembled ...
The last unhindered bastion of Alex Salmond's arc of prosperity turned around and bite him yesterday. With the Emerald Tiger of Ireland stalled and Iceland floundering Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway's foreign minister, has said there are major differences between Norway and Scotland and the comparisons and plans made by Alex Salmond based on Norway's achievements do not add up. For starters the oil fund that Salmond is so keen to replicate and use in so many ways in Norway is the pension fund. Its monies are "for our children and grandchildren" with very little available for current spending to the ...
In the presidential election campaign over here in the States, Senator Obama has been repeatedly criticised for telling Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher that he wanted to "spread the wealth around" (NYT). Dr. Bernanke hasn't actually started the printing presses rolling yet so it is unlikely that plumbers in Ohio actually do make $250,000 per annum. But socialism is still a cuss word over here, so that idea that extraordinarily well compensated plumbers should see the government appropriate some of that compensation and pass it onto the less well compensated is on a par with all of Stalin's other atrocities. I ...
Barack Obama's 30-minute infomercial was an effective piece of political advertising. Apart from the ritual denunciation right at the start of eight years of failed policies, it was almost entirely positive, focusing on what Obama would do as President rather than attacking his opponent. It was a good blend of ordinary Americans telling their stories, interspersed with Obama talking about policies to address their issues, as well as a few biographical snippets. Nobody who has been following the American election campaign will have seen anything particularly new in this, but I suspect it will have won over quite a few ...
1. Comment on this post. 2. I will give you a letter. 3. Think of 5 fictional characters whose names begin with that letter and post their names and your comments on these characters in your LJ. Debi gave me an I, which I think is very mean. This was HARD. 1, Igor. Igor (or, more properly, the Igors) is/are one/several of my favourite Pratchett characters. If only for the fact that if it were not for Igor, we wouldn't have Scraps, and Scraps playing fetch with Death's scythe, and lines like "he looks as happy as a dog with ...
I was at the checkout in Tesco's when my phone rang. That'll be my mother, exhibiting her usual perfect timing I thought and pulled out the phone and looked at it. It was not my mother; it was Friend James. I hadn't heard from Friend James for a couple of months, barring email, so thought it must be something pretty important... And it was. The checkout girl was rather disconcerted by me dancing about in the aisle going YES!! YES!!! and cackling my infamous evil cackle, I must say. With the greatest of respect for dear Mr Graham and his ...
Wednesday 29th October Another ceremony to commemorate Captain Cook, this time where he was brought up in Great Ayton. The preacher had an interesting thought. What would Captain Cook have said about our current economic crisis ? it covered issues like how people now are just taking what they can from life, regardless of the effect on others. True. Also as can be expected...
