Another day, another alcohol health story without the information to help anyone make a sensible decision. On this occasion, alcohol is bad: it increases our risk of liver and bowel cancers by a fifth."Drinking one pint of beer, a large glass of wine or a couple of measures of spirits a day increases the risk of liver and bowel cancers by a fifth, a health expert warned yesterday." Unfortunately, that information is completely useless: we need to know our chances of getting those cancers. Let's take a look at bowel cancer. It turns out that, like nearly all cancers, bowel ...
ConservativeHome.com carries a couple of articles on the recent excesses of the Israeli military. Alex Deane loses himself in his eulogy to the State of Israel: surrounded by "enemies who wish her ill", this "sliver of democracy and decency has always held my sympathy," he informs the reader. However, pick up a Sunday newspaper, and you can see that Israeli policy is pretty far from decency. If even the likes of Deane are feeling that supporting Israel is now "less straightforward", then serious questions have to be asked about how long the guilt-induced whitewashing of Israel's actions can last. Signs ...
Shortly before Christmas, Cllr Maureen Hill switched from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats. She represents Weston ward on Northamptonshire County Council, and said: I think it's been a natural progression for me. I've found myself so much at odds with the policy of the administration I don't feel I could possibly support any further budget cuts. Welcoming her to the Liberal Democrats, group leader Brian Hoare said: Maureen has made many contributions in the chamber that have echoed our thoughts, so we're delighted to have her join us. The Northampton Chronicle has more on the story as does the ...
With less than a month to go to the inauguration of the first Black President of the United States, Rick Warren the pastor who some has, in the eyes of some been controversially, chosen to pray at that historic event has made a statement on gay marriage. He said in the podcast released on Monday: "I have in no way ever taught that homosexuality is the same thing as a forced relationship between an adult and a child, or between siblings. I was trying to point out I'm not opposed to gays having their partnership. I'm opposed to gays using ...
Some good ideas here.
Haaretz has an interesting article on the lead-up to Israel's new offensive on the Gaza Strip. Operation 'Cast Lead' as it has now become known was first formulated over six months ago when "Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation" even when "Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas". Neither side strictly observed the ceasefire which raises the question whether the international community should have left both sides alone. 'Cast Lead' remained at the blueprint stage until a; "month ago, when tensions soared after the IDF carried out an incursion ...
If I was a Doctor Who fan, I'd be upset that the Christmas Special didn't go for continuity with The Brain of Morbius and show us the proper full set of Doctor Who faces. But I'm not, so I'm not. That's ok then.
From time to time, I post on the Daily Kos. Here is a link to a recent post on the challenges for the Obama administration and the Republicans in 2009.
David Cameron went on a charity run but was beaten by a 15 year old child. David Cameron was running in the third Great Brook Run to raise money for a village school and had to go through some serious dirty and muddy conditions but said he enjoyed it! Cameron was beaten by three girls and a semi-naked man, but he still went onto joke and say: "Gordon Brown should come down next year and we could decide the election that way."To read the whole article about Cameron and his charity stunt follow the link!
Image from the Independent. The image above shows David Cameron looking like Margaret Thatcher and it is meant to be a spoof ad by the Labour party. The poster is very interesting because I always have said Cameron is like the new Thatcher, he will come into power with an all singing and dancing spotlight but it will soon die out! If Labour were to use this poster I would actually enjoy seeing that up in windows and on the streets as it will show what Cameron really is, a male young Margaret Thatcher!
Welcome to the 97th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (21st-27th December), together with a hand-picked quintet, mostly courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. 'Tis the season of tradition, so let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down. 1. The strange death of the Conservative Party on Martin Land's New Model Army blog. The Cambridgeshire collapse of stout party. 2. A bit gay on Alex Folkes' A Lanson Boy blog. Yes, it's 'Dale-gate' - Iain Dale's confession of putting ...
Speculating about a possible General Election in 2009, the Independent on Sunday has asked six leading ad agencies to come up with their poster ideas. Most of the adverts were for Conservative campaigns - showing that many agencies want to pitch their business at the party tipped to win. All rather tactical really: ad agencies hoping to win the vote of parties hoping to win people's votes. Still, life's a pitch... See the full story (with photos) here.
The Eurosceptic Thatcherite President of the Czech Republic will be a major part of the EU as the Czech Republic has it's turn for the Presidency. This perhaps something that could help the Eurosceptics out by energizing them and spreading their message. Something to be aware of as we prepare for EU elections.
A wonderful folk song which at once points out the futility of Prohibition, explains how beer is made and hints at cult whereby the king must die to promote the fertility of the land:There's little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl, And there's brandy in the glass, And little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl Proved the strongest man at last. The huntsman cannot hunt the fox Nor loudly blow his horn And the tinker cannot mend his pots Without a little barleycorn. John Barleycorn Must Die exists in many versions: this one was brought to Traffic by their flautist ...
Most people do not seem to be welcoming 2009. It promises to be tough economically and financially. What should British political observers be looking out for? It seems to me there are three key events that will take place that may impact on a potential fourth. They are - The Obama administration begins: what Obama and his team do will affect UK fiscal policy and the UK economy. The G20 summit or Bretton Woods mark 2: the summit is being held in April and as far as we know will take place in Britain. What will be decided? Will Gordon ...
Richard Reeves biography, John Stuart Mill - Victorian Firebrand provides a sweeping view of the subject's life. It takes in all aspects of the man without getting bogged down in detail or missing a crucial chapter. One of the great strengths of the book is that this is not a piece of hero-worshipping propaganda. Reeves's highlights Mill's errors as well as his triumphs. This includes his personal relationships as well as political activism. Reeves also shows us why Mill appeals to a cross section of political thought: Mill's arguments on freedom can be championed by the libertarian right (as well ...
{Lorry park} Andover Lib Dem councillors are calling for a purpose built lorry park for Andover. I and St Mary's councillor Mike McGarry have tabled the following motion to next month's borough council meeting "Council notes the increase in the overnight parking of heavy commercial vehicles in Andover's town car parks and on residential roads in and around Andover. Council believes the parking of commercial vehicles in public car parks and on residential streets is unsatisfactory for the drivers of these vehicles and unacceptable to local residents. Council therefore resolves to investigate the establishment of a purpose built lorry park ...
It's sad to see a longtime fixture of Hook Parade shut its doors. I can't remember a time when Woolies wasn't there, so it must go back over 35 years. And it's more than a little worrying for the local retailers, who have managed to sustain this as a viable local shopping parade against the competition from the big supermarkets. These small shopping centres - and we are...
Throughout the festive season, LDV is offering our readers another chance to read the 12 most popular opinion articles which have appeared on the blog since 1st January, 2008. Fourth up is this posting by, erm, me, which appeared on LDV on 12th February... Official: BBC Question Time's pro-Tory bias Time to revisit BBC Question Time's political balance... 10 days ago, you may recall, Andrew Hinton's Mindrobber blog questioned the omission of a Lib Dem representative from the panel, following on from a Lib Dem Voice thread. Andrew crunched some figures, which suggested parity between the Tory and Labour parties, ...
Here are some articles that set the scene for 2009 - Martin Wolf on the financial crisis and Keynesian policies As free markets come under the spotlight, Tim Harford asks if they can give you moral backbone Adam Nagourney in the International Herald Tribune on the challenge facing the Republicans Discover why it all went wrong with mortgage lending for Washington Mutual And for light relief, the Daily Mash's take on the comments by John Gieve, Deputy of the Bank of England, that... well read the piece
Over at the Mail on Sunday, everyone's fave Lib Dem (including the readers of Iain Dale's Diary), has published his predictions for the year to come. As the Mail puts it, "He was right about 2008, so what does he think will happen next year?" You can read it in full here, but here's an excerpt to tempt you: ... Pain will be concentrated on those whose businesses have gone to the wall, those with insecure jobs and those with excessively large mortgages and other debts. There is a danger of a big gulf opening up in society between those ...
This post is unforgivable but I'm going to do it anyway. I started this blog at the tail end of May. Since then I've published 203 posts (204 counting this one) - an average of 0.95 a day. I've published a truly ridiculous 76,309 words, or nearly 400 words per post. I've been very fortunate to have a lot of discussion on this blog. The most commented articles of the year were: Bruised, but Unbroken - 48 comments - After holy war broke out on Lib Dem Voice, I compared our current economy to a Battery Hen and inserted the ...
Hell hath no fury like the Daily Mail scorned; it has taken up the cudgels against 'moonlighting' shadow ministers and it's latest victim is the Shadow Health Minister, Andrew Lansley. It reports that Lansley is a director at a marketing company called Profero. Profero has won contracts including the 'talk to Frank' anti-drugs campaign and the £372million anti-obesity drive. It gives free rein to Labour MP, Richard Carbon, who says; "Cameron doesn't have the authority to tell his Shadow Cabinet part-timers to stop their outside interests. The public want confidence that Cameron's team are not speaking for some vested interest." ...
The Woodland Trust are running their Xmas card recycling scheme again and full details can be found here, just take all your old cards to participating shops such as WHSmith and M&S and pop them in the bins between 2nd and 31st January. Don't forget, as I've blogged before, the RSPB would love all your stamps to help save the albatross. Send your stamps here. (Please help save these longbirds.) Happy New Year!
My local paper carried this little gem from an officer of the Labour Party. The message is if you spot a mistake or wrong doing don't report it. I would like to think it...
Years tend to have themes that people remember. 1966 had the World Cup, 2001-2005 were all about Terrorism, and so on. So, looking back over 2008, I have to think a little about what 2008 is going to leave in my mind. It's actually not as easy as pointing out one date or event - if it was, like the voters of the LDV awards, I'd have to say the Obamarama election. It's a really odd sign of the times that people care more about the US president than the politicians of this country, if you think about it. Anyway, ...
Coalition, in the event of a Hung Parliament, would not be a good thing for the Liberal Democrats. Whoever we side with, it's the wrong decision. It seems that a set of Junior Partner handcuffs are difficult to escape from. Still, let's just say this happens. What should be our price? To me it's obvious: Constitutional Protection of Civil Liberties - revising the data protection laws so that Government can be prosecuted too, securing the Internet as Free and finally guaranteeing freedom of speech. So why this? Why not something else? It's simple: Both Labour and the Conservatives are likely ...
A big thank you to Iain Dale's readers for his 2008 political poll where, whilst I trail Vince Cable miserably (and rightly), I am a) in the frame and b) second! as Lib Dem MP of the Year! Thus I continue my saga of always the bridesmaid but never the bride! I also notice that his magazine Total Politics has me as one to watch - and that's what my teachers used to say - ' better keep a close eye on her' - although I think their meaning may have been different... On my own side - I likewise ...
Yes, it's the Parliamentary Beard of the Year award from the Beard Liberation Front (aka Keith Flett). If you doubt just how prestigious this award is, turn to today's Sunday Times where the award basks in its national media coverage: John Thurso, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, has been awarded the title of best parliamentary beard 2008 by something called the Beard Liberation Front. Thurso claims he grew it three years ago on holiday and couldn't be bothered to shave.
Originally listed, almost twelve months ago, here. 1. Make in excess of 400 posts on Orange By Name blog FAIL Current total - 102 posts. 2. Read in excess of 25 books Probably FAIL. In fairness, one hasn't been counting, but I suspect the figure is closer to 10 or 15. Of those read, I mostly recommend: If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (Italo Calvino) and The Gift (Nabokov) 3. Learn Czech FAIL I can just about count to ten. 4. Fix left leg FAIL They still don't know what's wrong with it. 5. Acquire new girlfriend(s) PASS! Several ...
Looking back on the since 9-11 it is interesting to see how the political atmosphere in the States has been transformed. There was a time when it was considered "un-American" to criticise the Bush government. The TV networks tip-toed around anything which might be seen to compromise the "War on Turrur". Now, of course, times have changed. George Bush's ratings in the US are only slightly higher
From today's News of the World: TORY women officials reject pretty female applicants who ask to become MPs — in case they steal their husbands. And male chiefs block them because they fear they will use party funds to buy designer dresses. Tories confessed when quizzed by pollsters Ipsos-MORI. Their report said: "Female party officials don't particularly want women, especially if they're attractive. They don't want their husband spending large amounts of time with them." Male Tories said they feared candidates would do a Sarah Palin — the US vice-presidential hopeful who blew thousands on a makeover... The poll also ...
Last night I ended up a Babylon the new 90's bar in Wolverhampton with Matthew and Neil.
For months the Tories have criticised Gordon Brown for the odd so-called tax cut to allegedly help to "bump start" the economy. They have seemed to have very little alternative to offer except "do nothing". Well now it seems they are about to a complete U turn and offer tax cuts after all. Confused? I think they are.
The Shortlisted for politician of the year are: Councillor Abu Bakar Anwar for getting elected with the most amount of votes to a newly formed council in May 2008 Councillor Nadeem Ahmed for getting elected for the second consecutive time in Whitefield for as far back as I can remember at the May 2008 elections Vince Cable for his pre-recession knowledge on the economy, that Labour did not listen to. Barack Obama on his election to the White House as the first black President! Boris Johnson on being the first clown to get elected to City Hall The Winner is: ...
Monsters are back in a big way - old ones like Silurians and Daleks, new ones burrowing under the earth in Frontios, some as big as (actually, rather bigger than) your head in The Awakening, while in print there's a renaissance starting for the Target books, too. Vivid style and colour collide in a more dangerous Universe, which does nice Doctor Peter a power of good: he steadily gains more edge, eventually getting mad as hell and exploding into Colin Baker in... The Caves of Androzani "Your sense of humour will be the death of you, Doctor. Probably quite soon." ...
Yesterday we got as far as June. July Jeremy Thorpe called for the assassination of Robert Mugabe and Nick Clegg proved to be cooler than Gordon Brown or David Cameron. On holiday in Shropshire I visited The Bog and was reminded of Lady Allen of Hurtwood and the 1948 Children Act. August I was sceptical of reports of Uighur terrorism on the eve of the Beijing Olympics, missing children were all over the newspapers and Lord Bonkers mourned the breaking of Lembit's engagement. September Telford & Wrekin took it into its head to stop and question single people found in ...
A meme has been doing the rounds amongst seasoned twitterers to find who you followed first. If you hop along to this helpful website it will tell you. It told me that the first person I followed was Alan Fleming, who now seems to twitter once a day, like clockwork, and seldom blog. You can read my first post about Twitter here - and Alan's here. As you'll see from my post, it was a toss-up between Alan and Troubled Diva about who it was who really first got me into Twitter. It's rather flattering, but since the meme came ...
The link is to a second story in The Telegraph. What I find sad in some many of the cases I see is that the use of the state "hammer" doesn't really help anyone other than possibly government target numbercrunchers. Obviously I don't see the cases where the system is getting things right, but I worry about how many times the actions taken by the state make things worse. The evidence in
A year ago, Lib Dem Voice posed 10 questions, the answers to which we believed might shape the Lib Dem year - time to revisit them, wethinks. 1. Will Nick Clegg become as well-known and respected/liked as Paddy and Charles became? Well, not in his first year, he hasn't - as Nick himself fully acknowleged yesterday, commenting: "This is my first year in the leadership, I have enjoyed it immensely. I also know that I am in the early stages of my leadership. If you look back in history it takes a while for all Liberal Democrat leaders to get ...
Being the holiday season many of the feature articles are written before Christmas whilst journalists ready themselves for the festivities, and then are published whilst the self-same authors are working off the turkey in the local gym. Yesterday's Western Mail article on the music that inspires Assembly politicians is one such piece and it shows. It is difficult to know what question the politicians in question were asked of course so it is unlikely to be their fault that the final result comes across as a bit of a parody of such end-of-the-year pieces. Labour's John Griffiths for example was ...
I was all set to have a little moan about a story in the Observer this morning. The piece in question concerns the Lottery computer systems failing, apparently leaving thousands of punters unable to buy tickets. I have nothing against the National Lottery. It isn't something I indulge in, but I don't for a moment criticise people who choose to give their money to Camelot, Mr Darling and good causes in the hope of a big win. I probably give more to the Lib Dems than they do to the Lottery and I suspect my chances of seeing Nick in ...
Thankfully, some things have changed since 1966 as you can see from this job description for an executive assistant from 1966 (party unknown). Click on thumbnail to see full size version: {Political job description, 1966}
You can tell it's a slow news week when the Daily Mail runs a story about the Tory shadow health minister doing an whole four days work a year for a company that sometimes runs Labour health campaigns. His contract with them is written to avoid conflicts of interest. There's no evidence presented in the story that he:Knows details about the campaigns Interfered with the campaigns Participated in
It is a bit early for New Year resolutions, not that I make them anymore, however the period between Christmas and New Year is a useful one for reflection, even if I am currently up in the Wirral with my family and beseiged by youngsters. This year there is a particular challenge due to the fact that I will be taking up new duties next term. I have decades of experience of local government and have been a Deputy Minister also so that particular new portfolio holds no fears for me. However, speaking on health for the Welsh Liberal Democrats ...
The whole Arab world is in mourning, but an angry mourning, after yesterday's Israeli assault on Gaza. Any hope of progress on the euphemistically-named 'Middle East peace process' before the end of the Year (as George W Bush had confidently predicted) is now dashed. It is not just the Palestinians who are outraged. And from [...]
Who would have thought that the culture of an area could be determined by bread, but it is true... One of the more dominant features in the commercial development of Hampstead over the last two years has been the growth of bread shops. It sounds flippant but this has enhanced an atmosphere which is welcoming - it has moved forward a cafe culture, has made the tourist options for Hampstead more visible (even in these winter months) and gives the perception of optimism and confidence in the local community. When it comes to bread shops I say bring them in... ...
Israel's always over-zealous military is once again on the rampage. Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured after the Israeli air force launched dozens of air raids on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Of course, we can guarantee that while members of Hamas's security forces were killed there were numerous civilian dead counted amoung the casualties. Now there is talk of a ground offensive which will no doubt fail to quell the rocket attacks on Israeli towns. Nobody would deny Israel has a right to defend itself but it's defence frequently stretches any credible claim to be proportionate well ...
Whatever thoughts crossed my mind that weren't worth a whole post. 13:26 wondering what the best way of getting SB out of bed is. #Microblogging using LoudTwitter and Twitter. matgb_twitter is there if you're mad enough.
