So it's finally happening. What Vince Cable and others in our party have been predicting all along - the bubble's burst and is causing economic horror for some ordinary working people (the very people that Tony Blair convinced to switch to him in '97). Seems that for those outside London and the SE a triple-whammy is [...]
For the last couple of years the Labour Government has been trying to hide information about MPs from the public. They want MPs to be exempted from the Freedom of Information Act, which would mean that we, the citizens who pay them, would not be able to see how their large allowances were being spent. The original argument was that it was necessary in order to keep MPs...
The latest edition of my ward Focus is now available. I am trying out new options for delivering these online. So far files anywhere seems like the best option. If you know of any other free online document storage / sharing applications let me know. Click Here for my latest Focus newsletter Archive issues.
As Liberal Democrats it's as well to look into the future with our `blue skies thinking` minds. I believe that the recession will bring aloft the subject of economic/political power in the UK. And it raises a really difficult question for any party. I think there'll be real ANGER out there when the recession really gets going [...]
From BBC News: A Conservative MP has alleged that police entered his Commons office without a search warrant demanding to see constituency correspondence.Daniel Kawczynski said he found the episode "disgraceful".The Shrewsbury and Atcham MP said he had handed over a Shrewsbury-postmarked letter related to an inquiry over "white powder" sent to a minister.But Scotland Yard said a Parliament-based police officer had entered the office "by appointment".Mr Kawczynski said it was to his "eternal shame" that he had complied by handing over the letter.The MP also said that the investigation related to a letter sent to Ed Balls. It contained a ...
The Carnival On Modern Liberty is an online 'blog carnival' - an attempt to engage the wider 'blogosphere' in debates about what freedom means, in the runup to the Convention on Modern Liberty. James Graham, of Quaequam Blog, is organising it, and anyone in Britain can take part. The two things they've asked people to [...]
Strange to say, but our government seems to get away with a lot simply because people don't notice. Sure, there are more eyes looking, but there's so much more to look at. There's the massive increase in the volume of legislation, so much that large parts of major bills are no longer scrutinised by committees: MPs just vote through whatever the civil servants have drafted and we live with the consequences. Then there's the staggering range of powers ministers have awarded themselves to amend and create huge swathes of laws without even bothering parliament, and mention they've done it in ...
There's a meme going around with the Americanised version of the Political Compass on. Shockingly, it pegs me as a right-wing authoritarian nutbag: My Political Views I am a left social libertarian Left: 6.1, Libertarian: 4.85 Political Spectrum Quiz Well, it pegs me as a right wing authoritarian compared to where I am on the original, which has me at Economic Left/Right: -7.50 and Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.56 ;) The ASA has ruled that the Atheist Bus Adverts are OK! Although they have shied away from ruling that God doesn't exist, damn them. Gordo climbs down on MPs expenses. YAY! Direct ...
A quick comment. Why was La Toya Jackson so obsessed with watching the inauguration of Barack Obama when she made the point early on in the series that she was a Jehovah's Witness ? Surely JW's don't vote ?
The first of a monthly series of informal discussions on themes within the (currently out-of-print) Liberal Democrat policy book Reinventing the State was held at Portcullis House, Westminster, this evening. For those who don't know or have forgotten, the tome was a complementary counterblast to the far more controversial Orange Book. It was seen by some [...]
ITV showed a well made docu-drama this evening showing the shocking way in which the police cocked up at almost every level well killing Jean Charles de Menezes on Stockwell tube. What ITV did gloss over was the fact that the court now accepts that those police officers lied when they said 1) That Jean Charles de Menezes jumped barriers at the station. 2) They shouted clear warnings to him. 3) They said he walked towards them in a threatening manner. The question remains why the police can effectively assassinate someone on the London underground, why officers can tell lies ...
David Harris and I have put forward a modest proposal to hold the 2010 Linuxbierwanderung in Alfriston, near the Sussex coast.All discussion should be kept on the LBW mailing list.
Just been to Eden Court Theatre in Inverness to see The New Ten Commandments. If you've never heard of this film before, it's got a slightly misleading title, as it would have been more accurate to call it 10 Short Films About Freedom. Inspired by the 60th anniversary of the passing of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, 10 Scottish film-makers have produced segments focusing on particular rights guaranteed by the Declaration. The film, and the brief discussion hosted by Amnesty International afterwards, made a few things abundantly clear. Firstly, each one of us depends on the rights contained within ...
Bizarre is probably the best word for it. You see, earlier today Ed Miliband proudly "launched" the LabourSpace website. Now I thought this all seemed a bit familiar, and indeed on checking I found Alex Hilton (of LabourHome and Recess Monkey) was writing about the site having been launched back in November 2006. So not really so much of a launch today if it was actually launched 26 months ago? Ah, but you might say, perhaps the launch 26 months ago was a beta and today is the final version. Er, no. Because post-"launch" the site still producly calls itself ...
OK, I've got a small revival of flu, which is my excuse for not writing this yesterday. But wasn't the Obama speech a statement of modern Liberalism you could be proud of - committed to change, internationalist, but including a call to service, and an acceptance that politicians can't do it all? Why can't we articulate that?
As I am sitting here on a National Express train, heading home after 10 days in London, I thought I would have a post about one of my favourite subjects: National Express! The Journal reported recently that the company is considering introducing a £1 charge for seat reservations to discourage people from booking seats who subsequently don't occupy them. They allege this is something of a problem.
I don't know how the Northern Rock management think that it can be appropriate to give their staff a 10% bonus. I know that it is not the ordinary members of staff who are to blame for the problems but everyone is having to tighten their belts at the moment. If the callers to Nicky Campbell this morning on 5 live are at all representative of the population then there are a lot of people having to take pay cuts or reduced hours or both and jobs are under threat all over the place. I run a business and we ...
Enjoyed Obama's speech but wishes teleprompters allowed speakers to look to the front more than to the sides
You would have thought after the Damien Green affair that never again under this Government would the police be able toe search an MPs office at Westminster without a warrent. Well step into the office of Daniel Kawczynski Tory MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham cause that is just what the police have done. Now some people defending the indefencible with Green that he had papers that he maybe shouldn't have had. But in the case of Kawczynski the police apparently been demanding to see correspondence, because a white powder, found to be flour was found in an envelope sent from ...
Not me, I must confess? In fact, I would suggest that having Ken Clarke back on the Conservative frontbench is probably good for us. The justification is that the Conservatives need someone with experience to take on Peter Mandelson. Hang on a minute, the noble Lord is... in the Lords, the one place where our suede shoe wearing, jazz loving Europhile can't go. And yes, he'll be up against him on
A regular reader of my blog contacted me this afternoon very concerned about a letter he received from the Crown Prosecution Service. The letter he received was regarding a minor traffic offence, but inside his letter was another letter giving detailed information about someone else's criminal conviction for sexual offences. The CPS ought to take this matter extremely seriously and I have advised the source of this information to contact the press regarding this matter. It seems clear from the letter that 1) The CPS made a mistake in the first instant by giving incorrect information (which is made clear ...
It seems to be Davids who have done best out of the Private Members Bill ballot this year. Last week I wrote about how Lib Dem David Heath is introducing a Bill to reduce fuel poverty . Today, Scottish Tory MP for Dumfries, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, David Mundell, announced that he was going to use this magnificent opportunity to improve the quality of people's lives to introduce a bill to compel English retailers to accept Scottish banknotes. We've all been there, in some florist, or at a newspaper stand south of the border and we hand over a fiver to ...
{Nick and a drain} Cllr Coombes has reported a series of problems on Clavteron Down to the council for fixing. Between the bus stop and Quarry Rock Gardens the pavement is narrow and the verges poorly maintained. Even more concerning is the state of the drains, which have been entirely blocked by road repairs. A highways inspector is due to visit the site shortly. The detritus and brocken bollards are also due to be cleared up.
After last week's pretty subdued start to the new Parliamentary term at Prime Minister's Questions, there was a return to the more boisterous rough 'n' tumble in the interests of holding the Government publicly to account. As is well-established, the actual content of PMQs is pretty irrelevant (which is just as well, because it's pretty non-existent) - for the media and the Westminster village performance is all. And measured by that criterion, I thought all three party leaders could take some pleasure in how they did. As recession reality begins to hit home, the Government's response to it was, unsurprisingly, ...
From Obama's inaugural speech yesterday: Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. Wrong. Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive Presidential terms and is therefore counted as US President number 22 and number 24.
A Liberal Democrats donor has bought up more then 70% of the London Evening Standard, a newspaper that has supported Boris Johnson all the way through until now! Guido has reported on the issue and I think its worth commenting on so here goes... The Newspaper industry is dieing out so buying 70% of it for only a pound is not a surprise to many, I personally think that blogs are the future for news and commentary, but only for people who have Google Reader or a similar tool, otherwise they are going to get screwed! Secondly I think the ...
Thank you to Mike Smithson who has created a feed page for the Pendle market at the next general election for his blog and for others to view the page. I think Mike is doing a wonderful thing with his website and the feature of allowing markets to be discovered via his blog! To view the Pendle market page click here!
George W Bush had some funny rules. No one to work in the White House wearing jeans. No one to enter the Oval Office without wearing a jacket. I will show Daddy...that sort of thing. Well on Day One and a bit, Obama has already reversed one of those stupid rules by sitting at the Oval Office desk without a jacket.
I've recorded a YouTube clip about the cuts First Capital Connect are planning for Alexandra Palace, Hornsey, Harringay and Bowes Park stations: More details on the story here - and please don't forget to send in your views by 2nd February.
A man has died after a collision between two cars and a bus in Station Road, Yate today. The accident happened between Longs Drive and North Road. The Evening Post website has a report and photographs of the collision.
Wed 21st
18:35
Barack: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Great Britain
Yesterday, the world celebrated that Barack Obama was inaugerated as the 44th President of the United States. Not least, because he was and is, the best man for the job, but also for what his elected stands for. The USA, arguably one of the more corrupt democracies in the developed world - in that it is heavily influenced and funded by big business officials - "lobbyists" - has finally opted for the honest, the uncorrupt, the under-dog, the man with a real-life story to tell, and Barack Obama is all those things, and whether you voted for or against him, ...
Now you see it - now you don't. Clearly Gordon Brown saw the writing on the wall in regard of the Freedom of Information vote on MP's expenses. At PMQs he refused to back down - then after PMQs he backed down. It's bad enough that the economy is in meltdown - but at such times we are disappointed to find that we have not got a serious man for serious times - we have a rudderless boat! Still - Labour would have lost the vote. I wish the vote had gone ahead and they had lost - 'cos would ...
With a big tip of the hat to the Guido Fawkes' blog, there is an intriguing Lib Dem connection to the new owner of the Evening Standard, ex-KGB officer Alexander Lebedev: Lebedev's consigliere, Justin Byam Shaw, will become deputy chairman. The wheeler dealer is fondly known as Justin Byem Sellem and is presumably a supporter of the LibDems since Guido understands he donated money to Nick Clegg's leadership campaign. A later update confirms the story: Nick Clegg's office have been in touch to say Justin Byam Shaw gave £3,000 to Clegg's leadership campaign and it is on the Electoral Register. ...
It is worth having a look at the new look White House web site. It shows how well prepared the Obama administration is. At 12.01 yesterday, two minutes before Obama was actually "sworn in", the website was switched completely. It is possible that they are trying to be a bit too clever though. On the website we are told that "President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and their families
A decade ago, comedian Mark Steel wrote a series of lectures for Radio 4, the fourth of which was about the 18th century radical Englishman, French MP and agitator for American independence, Thomas Paine. They pop up on BBC Radio 7 every now and again and, for the next six days, you can listen to it on iPlayer (or ask me very nicely for the mp3). It's interesting and funny but, unusually for radio comedy, also inspiring. From the iron bridge Paine built in a field (it didn't go over anything, just sat there in the field in Paddington) to ...
In today's Assembly debate on Gaza, Kirsty Williams AM called for Gordon Brown to end arms sales to Israel and called Israel's actions in Gaza "utterly disproportionate." She also urged the international community to help rebuild Gaza. Kirsty said, "Whilst Israel has every right to defend itself from Hamas' deplorable rocket bombs, their response has been wholly disproportionate and self
Thankfully most of the post-Inuaguration media attention has focused - as it should - on the actual content of President Obama's speech. But there's also been a fair amount of understandable attention paid to the garbling of the Presidential oath, with US Chief Justice John Roberts copping most of the flak for fluffing his lines, and tripping up Obama. The video's below - but the full transcript and best dissection is over at ElectoralVote.com, which identifies the four key mistakes...
That was the sort of thing we enjoyed at our Obama party in Newbury, organised yesterday, to coincide with the inauguration, by local Obamaniac Chris Day. Rocky Road won the popularity stakes. (I was pleased with this as I snapped them up at M&S on my way to the party.) And it ought to be said that someone had taken the trouble to put Obama's campaign emblem on the cookies in coloured icing. The
Commenting on reports that the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) has had to spend more than £170,000 gathering internet data, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: "It is staggering that some internet service providers are putting sixty quid before the protection of children." "The ISPs who have been charging these sums should be ashamed given...
Commenting on today's opening of a High Court bid for compensation by veterans of British nuclear tests, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said: "The Government has a moral duty to compensate those servicemen who, when many of them were no more than teenagers, put their health at tremendous risk for the sake of the nation's security." "It is disgraceful that the...
Commenting on today's opening of a High Court bid for compensation by veterans of British nuclear tests, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said: "The Government has a moral duty to compensate those servicemen who, when many of them were no more than teenagers, put their health at tremendous risk for the sake of the nation's security." "It is disgraceful that the...
Liberal Democrats - tease out this story of the Tories perhaps having a backroom deal with Labour or just abstaining. We got lambasted over it on the Euro - their first instincts or rather their whips' practical view was for an abstention.
{hpim0037} Ever since I have been a councillor local residents have been asking for a review of the Finsbury Park Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) because it is not working as intended. Some people living in roads near the station want an inner zone to stop people driving from the outer edges of the CPZ parking in their roads rather than walking to the tube. Some other people want the hours of the CPZ reduced to make it easier for visitors and workmen. Lots of people want the Oakfield Road bridge taken out of the CPZ. There has been no review ...
Let the halls of the internet ring with celebration! Following Brown's climbdown over Thursday's vote on MPs expenses a few hours ago (looks like nobody told poor old Margaret Beckett), it's starting to dawn on the citizens of cyberspace that, hey, we actually DID something! Enough contacts were made, enough comments, twitters, links, emails, posts and messages, to prompt those letters, pinging off apparently to over 90% of MPs (yes, I am watching you, Mr Grayling). Tom at MySociety (where Bad Science is among the commenting celebrants) is deservedly delirious with joy: Make no mistake. This is new, and it ...
In today's Parliamentary Questions, Gordon Brown announced that he was backing down from proposals aimed at keeping MPs expenses secret. This is a great victory for campaigners, lead by the Liberal Democrats, who saw this as a "one rule for us" situation. Keeping MP's expenses a secret would have lead to a great deal more distrust from their electorate than there is at the moment. I am just glad that Gordon's finally listened to the rest of us who knew that this would have been a bad day for Democracy. As Barack Obama said yesterday in his inauguration address... And ...
Glenn and I have been picking up complaints from local residents about more noise and other nuisance connected with the Kings Tavern on Kings Road. This follows a lot of problems last year. Following our discussions, RBC licensing officers had a meeting with the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) and the area manager for the brewery this week to discuss noise issues. They were left in no doubt by officers that unless noise nuisance stops immediately they could face prosecution. To repeat the message I gave people last year, residents are in the driving seat here in terms of being able to ...
I went to the one-day Lib Dem policy conference at the London School of Economics at the weekend. As a fairly new member of the Lib Dems (I joined a few months ago) I was curious to see what happens at these sort of events and was also looking forward to it. I attended with Darren, a fellow member of my local constituency branch in Bracknell, who has been a member for a while longer than myself. The first thing that struck me was how open everything was. The 300 or so people who were there, who included councillors, general ...
Yesterday I joked that the oath of office taken by Obama would be legally challenged because he split an infinitive. On reflection, I am not even sure what a split infinitive is, but, in any case several constitutional lawyers have suggested that Obama should repeat his oath of office to be on the safe side, after the Chief Justice led him astray so that the spoken words were not strictly as per
Happy New Year fluffy friends! As you know, 2009 is going to be a bit of a TRICKY year for the economy. Mr Frown, the Prime Monster, is throwing money at the problem like there is no tomorrow (and who knows, if there's a General Election, he may be right at least as far as his government is concerned). Meanwhile, the Conservatory Party under Mr Balloon has drafted one-time Chancellor Mr Ken Clarke, who knows a thing or two about tripling the national debt! So with that in mind, who better to talk to than Mr Dr Vince Cable, Great ...
The BBC are reporting that the government has shelved plans to hold a vote on proposals to restrict the amount of information published about MPs' expenses. Gordon Brown announced this u-turn at Prime Minister's Question Time today, suggesting that he abandoned the proposals because the Tories had backed down from an agreement to support them. The Liberal Democrats had already said they would
Commenting on today's opening of a High Court bid for compensation by veterans of British nuclear tests, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said: "The Government has a moral duty to compensate those servicemen who, when many of them were no more than teenagers, put their health at tremendous risk for the sake of the nation's security." "It is disgraceful that the MoD is hiding behind a technicality. Virtually every other country, from China to France, has compensated their test veterans." (more...)
Success. Well done all. The decision to revoke an earlier decision to publish MPs expenses which the Government then backtracked on is now back on track. Gordon Brown surprised many when backed down during PMQs saying he would no longer be seeking to give MPs such an exemption under Freedom of Information. The activities Unlock Democracy, enoughsenough.com and my society launched mobilising social networks within hours were key in getting people involved and applying pressure. Things like the Twitter hashtag #MPexpenses, Facebook Groups and other means certainly got the word out quickly and many people seemed to be contacting their ...
The Council is doing a consultation about primary schools in Speke and part of Garston. This is the link to the page, which explains what is being looked at. The main suggestions are about changing the number of children entering the schools. The deadline for replying is in March
I missed President Obama's historic inaugural speech. Watching the event in the Commons' Tea Room a huge collective groan followed the Division bell rang just as the President opened his mouth to speak to the world. We all obediently trooped through the voting lobbies to cast our vote on the Financial Crisis Motion. It was the Tories who called the vote so was it sour grapes from them? Or was it Labour's fault for the timing of the debate? Whoever was to blame their timing was immaculate. I gave my staff time off to watch the proceedings. It was a ...
Tolerance, religion, freedom... These have become charged words, nowadays. So much so, that personally, I'm not sure exactly, at all times, what I think. I suppose there is a "level of acceptability", in offence. And in the measures taken to address that offence and to take pre-emptive measures against it. Part of it, I admit, is an instinctive reaction. Coronation Street covering up a cross in a church wedding? Blind folly. Absolutely ridiculous. Who in the world is directly offended by the sight of a cross (and if there is anyone, surely you can turn over? I did very briefly ...
Over the past week the government have gone from the position of having a whipped vote for secrecy in expenses, to a free vote on secrecy on expenses to withdrawing the motion for secrecy. There still is a little uncertainty about the issue, but it now appears that there won't be a vote.
Someone called Bob Temuka has just started a comic blog that those of you who like my writing about comics will definitely enjoy. Only discovered his blog today in my trackbacks, and it looks like he's not been doing it very long, but there's some good stuff on there. Check it out... [...]
There is a debate today in the National Assembly on the horrible situation in Gaza. I think its important that the Assembly has its say on these sorts of things. Interestingly, Plaid Cymru were calling on the Welsh Assembly Government (more specifically Health Minister, Mrs Edwina Hart) this weekend to offer financial aid to the injured children of Gaza. The merits of this aside, the increasing
So the Prime Minister has dropped plans to hide MP expenses according to reports, something I among many support, but why so late into all the media and Internet talks? The campaign that was started at the start of the week has won by the PM dropping the issue! It was a U turn but what brought the Prime Minister to turn do a U turn on this issue, personally if you ask me I think its because he was scared Lib Dem and Tory MP's would go back to their constituencies and tell the people that the PM doesn't ...
The blogging expert David Miliband insulted Manmohan Singh in his own drawing room, which has lead to the Indian Prime Minister to write to Gordon Brown to tell him that he has a member of his team who is an "arrogant" Foreign Secretary! David Miliband also once gave Guido Fawkes a lecture on blogging outside a New Statesman event, that just shows you the extent to which Miliband is an arrogant tw**. I personally think that his tax payer costing blog needs to be shut down and he needs to be asked to run a blog from his own pocket, ...
Oh my, what to write about today...? The historical, tumultuous, extraordinary inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama? The latest Cochrane Collaboration review showing that sham acupuncture is as effective as 'the read deal' when it comes to treating headaches and migraines? Or the surprising decision by Gordon Brown not to call a vote on exempting Members of Parliament from disclosing
Surprising turn of events reported in the Guardian: Gordon Brown today retreated from plans to exempt MPs' expenses from the Freedom of Information Act. The surprise announcement made during prime ministers questions follows the collapse overnight of a bipartisan agreement between Brown and David Cameron, the Tory leader, to back a parliamentary order exempting MPs' expenses from the act. The move came after he was challenged by a Tory backbencher over why he was in favour of keeping them secret. It means that plans to issue 1.2m receipts for MPs' expenses over the past three years are likely to go ...
It was a fantastic few hours watching Obama's inauguration last night. Everything (apart from the Chief Justice's slip-up and the lateness of the oath of office itself) seemed to go perfectly. I had been rather annoyed in seeing many of my friends Facebook status updates in recent days expressing hope that Obama would make it to the ceremony itself. I understand the concern, but did it really have to be expressed? I think it shows that many still had a feeling of disbelief that after 8 years of Bush & Cheney, something good could come out of it all. Did ...
...I rarely get embroiled in discussions about identity politics, for reasons which will shortly become apparent (by which I mean, they will shortly begin to become apparent. They will go on being apparent for some considerable time after that. I should go and get yourself a cup of coffee and settle in if I were [...]
Cardiff Central MP, Jenny Willott has hit out at reports that Gordon Brown is to order Labour MPs to vote to exempt MPs' expenses from the Freedom of Information Act. She said: "This is an inexcusable attempt by the Labour Government to keep MPs' expenses hidden from the public. The fact that Gordon Brown is ordering his MPs to support this motion is appalling. The public deserve total
This is a post from Iain Dales blog. Please send this out as widely as you can and let your MP know your views. Once again it seems its the Lib Dems who are standing up for transparency in our democracy.
Andrew Neil seems to have announced that the Statutory Instrument due to be laid before the House tomorrow, limiting the amount of information on their MPs need to make public, has been shelved! No further information and the BBC web site still gives the information that there will be a 3 line whip on Labour MPs [...]
I'm highly suspicious of this Obama-frenzy. From the start, I've disliked this pseudo-celebrity cult. Alas, Obama's campaign, the media and Hollywood stars, have turned him into a celebrity. They are expecting too much and too soon. The guy is just a guy and needs good advisers and votes in Congress. I hope he succeeds, he needs to succeed. Millions of Americans are in poverty, thousands of
Of course, I am fully aware that my readers are all thoroughly law abiding souls, but given your catholic tastes in friends and acquaintances, I thought you might like to pass word on... The change in categorisation of cannabis from class C to B was announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith last May, and comes into force on 26 January. It means the penalty on conviction for summary cases, those
This morning reading the Beeb website I came across this: 'Legal' bid over Scots banknotes An attempt is to be made at Westminster to make it legally binding for shops and businesses in England to accept Scottish banknotes. {Scottish Notes} For those who have never ventured North of the border, may be suprised to find that the Scots don't just have their own version of our notes, but 3 different versions each issued by different banks. The reason why shops don't accept them is that with any currency you need to know that the note is worth the paper it ...
Of course there are other things that have happened in the world of politics than the NUS conference! One of the most historic events in my lifetime happened yesterday. I think the picture speaks for itself.
I remember clearly the moment when we were convinced the General Election that never was - was in fact going to happen. I was driving home to Cardiff after visiting family in Cornwall, when I received a call from my campaign manager, to discuss how we were going to devise, plan and implement a general election campaign in three and a half weeks. What none of us were counting on was Gordon Brown'
Shadow Liberal Democrat Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey has expressed his alarm about the inappropriate use of White Phosphorus in the Gaza Strip and has tabled a motion calling on the Government to clarify its position and do all it can to persuade the Israeli government to stop using such weapons. Despite Israeli denials, the evidence that Israeli Defence Forces used White Phosphorus in the Gaza Strip during their offensive has become increasingly clear. The UN, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented its use, and returning Israeli soldiers have admitted to it. (more...)
On OUTeverywhere there's been a thread on the `All men are bastards` theme. There's talk of the syndrome regarding dating in the 21st century - you know you go out a couple of times then it all goes quiet; or you try and fix a date and it's all `well I don't know about wednesday [...]
Yorkshire gob got up my nose today. Yes I know Woman's Hour is a bit of a pain yet I just switch off when women complain about `Nuts/FHM` etc. Sorry it's all about balance - time was when a `Woman's place is in the kitchen` etc etc - that thankfully changed to one of some sort [...]
Sent to my MP, Rudi Vis, today: Dear Mr Vis, On Thursday 22nd January the Commons will vote on the draft Freedom of Information (Parliament) Order 2009. If enacted, the measure will exclude MPs' and Lords' from disclosing fully their parliamentary expenses. I urge you, in the interests of transparency and accountability, as well as to maintain public [...]
Figures uncovered by the Welsh Liberal Democrats have revealed that the cost of maintenance and repairs to get NHS hospitals to operationally safe levels are close to half a million pounds. Targets were set by the Assembly government in 2002 to get 75% of all NHS estates across Wales up to operationally safe level by 2005 and 90% by 2008. Out of the 14 Health Trusts in Wales, only 3 met the 90%
Inauguration of Barack Obama 20 January 2009 Prayers Bishop Gene Robinson: Invocation O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will... Bless us with tears - for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS. Bless us with anger - at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of colour, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Bless us with discomfort - at the ...
Yesterday NUS voted to reform and, from today, now has a new constitution! After the two years that some people have gone through in this process it is a well deserved victory. However the big story from conference was the pathetice attempt of the far-left to disrupt NUS's democratic mechanisms by invading the stage with chants of 'Free Palestine' and 'NEC-shame on you'. The situation was handled brilliantly by the NUS leadership and President, Wes Streeting. The Union of Jewish Students (many of whose members were intimidated by the protesters) immediately messaged their members to get them out of the ...
A sign that it will take more than just a new President to change some parts of America came from the unlikely direction of Krispy Kreme doughnuts this week. Last Friday, KK issued a press release stating: "Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. is honoring America's sense of pride and freedom of choice on Inauguration Day, by offering [...]
Labour are sliding in the polls while the Tories are climbing again. What's changed? Well, Brown and other Labour ministers have been furiously attacking the Tories at every possible opportunity since the first banking crisis situation appeared to stablise. The 'put politics aside and do what's right' mojo that worked quite well for Brown was put aside. This new approach seems to be a pathetic, desperate bid to force Cameron to announce some kind of policy (which they can then rip to shreds) and in doing so either push the Tories off to the Right, or trigger in-fighting and conflict ...
So they are having a discussion on Woman's Hour about feminism, and whether it is still relevant in the 21st century. And who are they asking? MEN! FFS. Still, one of them is the very sexy Richard Reeves, so I'll forgive them a bit. Especially given the points he is making, which I agree with completely so far. Anyway, I might write more about this later when the feminist rage has subsided a bit. In the meantime, I have three links for you: - Lady Mark writes an incredibly good post about discrimination. - TheyWorkForYou. Yes, I know I linked ...
It was impossible to watch yeterday's inauguration without sensing that history was being made. Seeing those proud older African Americans see a sight they would never have believed possible cannot fail to have brought a tear to the eye. Truly, anything can happen. We live in interesting times. The burden of global expectation will lie heavy on Barack Obama'a shoulders. I pray he is encouraged and strengthened by the strong team he has appointed around him, his inspirational family and his firm and radical faith. At a meeting last week, the Church of England's Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns ...
Slowly and surely it is skewering itself on the economic barbecue. There are a lot of Liberal Democrats that say `It's no good saying `we told you so` people are interested in how we go forward`. Well that's true in a way - most people feel they would like to see some light at the end [...]
Cast your minds back to the Lib Dem conference, and you may recall a coordinated drive by Nick Clegg, Vince Cable and Chris Huhne to signal that the Lib Dems' attachment to the Euro was no longer a top priority. Nick said the party needed to recognise that the debate had been "neutered", while Chris declared: The truth is, within the British debate, it's completely off the radar and there is simply no point in regarding it as a runner worth investing political time in." Their stance was welcomed by significant majorities in both LDV's online poll of readers, and ...
It is natural at the beginning of a new year to think about the future. After a well-nigh disastrous economic performance in 2008, it is also tempting to believe that things will improve in 2009. Yet there is now plenty of evidence that we are now entering completely new economic conditions and that these conditions may prevail for several years to come. Over the past two months, economic activity has fallen off a cliff. Advertising revenues at Britain's Channel 5 have fallen 30% in January alone. International trade is diminishing at a rate that has never been seen outside of ...
I have received a number of complaints recently that the low fencing at the grassed area immediately west of the tenements on the north side of Milnbank Road is in a poor state. The area of ground is in the ownership of the City Council's Economic Development Department and I am pleased to advise that the department has confirmed to me that it has, following my raising the issue with them, instructed repairs.
What did some Israeli troops leave behind on the walls of Helmi Samouni's two-storey house in Zeitoun, on the southern outskirts of Gaza City? "Most disturbing of all was the graffiti they daubed on the walls of the ground floor. Some was in Hebrew, but much was naively written in English: "Arabs need 2 die", "Die you all"; "Make war not peace", "1 is down, 999,999 to go", and scrawled on an image of a gravestone the words: "Arabs 1948-2009". (From Rory McCarthy's account, The Guardian, 20 January 2009)
Who says President Obama can't make a difference straight away? No sooner has he taken the oath of office than the Council's Environmental Services team ring me with confirmation of extra street cleaning on weekends for the Longfield Centre. That's great news for the Village centre, and a slap in the face for the so-called "experts" who told me that the President was more likely to focus on Guantanamo Bay this week than the build up of takeaway wrappers outside Costa Coffee in Prestwich. Lots of people coming into the town centre on weekend evenings are getting into the spirit ...
From the launch of the Israeli assault to 14 January: Number of Israelis killed: 13 (including 5 soldiers killed by their own side and 4 civilians killed by Hamas rockets) Number of Palestinians killed 1,203 (including 410 children) (Source: Reuters)
A gentleman phoned me yesterday and left a message asking me to call back about an issue to do with the 86a bus. Unfortunately he didn't leave a number, or it wasnt recorded. And because of a caller immediately afterwards, I can't dial 141 to find out. I am posting this here in the hope that this gentleman will see the post and contact me again. Obviously he has my home number already but I can also be e mailed at paula.keaveney@liverpool.gov.uk
... the day after the Federal Executive approved my nomination to chair the party's Technology Advisory Board (Monday), the party has started rolling out a new website at http://blogs.libdems.org.uk I think it would be a little cheeky for me to claim credit for this - nice though the timing is! Handily bringing together the latest news from a range of different Liberal Democrat websites - along with some of our media coverage - all in to one place, it will I'm sure soon become a regular read of mine - and I hope of yours too.
Today I'm up nice and early, raring to go. It's going to be a peculiar day. I've got a film crew coming in to use the Green Screen I made last week. I've also agreed to do some CG for them - they're making a fake news broadcast and so require an ident and some on-screen graphics. I seem have have accidently stumbled into the digital effects business. I'm a one woman Weta Digital! All this because I bought a camcorder, too. Funny how things work out, isn't it? When did my life get so interesting? Does the basement studio ...
Table Above from PoliticalBetting.com With all poll results of January being very anti Labour in the sense that three are in double figures and only one being in single figures with a 9 with is close to double figures! They is one poll the ICM that still hasn't given a poll result but even that would be probably around the same region as the others. The Problem that faces Brown now is to either use his Plan B and save the economy and go onto winning a general election in 2010 or leave all the mess to Cameron and cronies ...
We have a story today in the Daily Mail which shows how out of touch the benefit rules are when it comes to peoples' savings. At present, when a pensioner on a modest income applies for pension credit, the rules assume that for every £500 they have in the bank (beyond the first £6,000 which is ignored) they can get £1 per week in interest. Worked out over the year that is £52 a year on £500 capital or over 10%. Strangely enough, there aren't many places where you can get an interest rate of anything like that. For someone ...
It is fantasy finance time in the Western Mail this morning as they devote the best part of a page to discussing how we could spend the £100 million Wales is not getting as a result of money being diverted to the Olympics. Suggestions include free childcare for the under 14s, a grant of £35 to every man, woman and child in Wales to help boost the economy, school repairs, more affordable housing, more cash for higher education and an investment in Wrexhan Football Club. Nice work if you can get it, but surely we would be better off focussing ...
{a hand on a keyboard} ..not ours - theirs! The Home Office's top civil servant, Permanent Secretary Sir David Normington called in the police after 20 leaks occurred in two years. Explaining his decision to contact Scotland Yard, he told the Home Affairs Committee that the person leaking Home Office information was "despicable and disloyal." The Evening Standard has the story: "He said he was concerned about the damage the leaks were doing to the operation of the Home Office and about how close to the heart of the Home Office the leaker was. There were also worries about any ...
This morning's Western Mail reports that the Assembly Government has said it will not take forward legislation proposed by green transport charity Sustrans, which is being considered by the cross-party enterprise and learning committee. Sustrans wants the Assembly to gain new powers to speed the creation of a nationwide network of car-free routes which could be used by cyclists and pedestrians but the Assembly Government says that it already has the powers it needs and warns that supporting the LCO "would divert resources away from taking forward the Assembly Government's legislative programme." Lee Waters, Welsh director of Sustrans, said: "The ...
Regular readers of this blog will know my fascination and appreciation of local murals and here is a good 'un! It's the railway bridge on Abbey Road as it crosses Belsize Lane and this is the east side. It is identified as being "Kids painting summer '78" and is beginning to look a tad tatty but it retains both it's charm, interest and an astonishing level of detail. It has great artistic qualities - childlike, colourful, bold and varied... There's a range of others that have been detailed on this site previously - some newish, many of them old: ...
The BBC Shropshire pages win Headline of the Day by acclamation. And the story begins: A four-inch lizard found in some broccoli from a supermarket has now become a family pet.Paula Walsh and her partner Jez Allen, of Meole Brace, near Shrewsbury, found Tenko the gecko inside the vegetables from Tesco.The family said they had become very attached to him after getting over the initial shock.There will be an inquiry at the Shropshire Star. How were they scooped on this one? Later. Now they have it.
Wed 21st
08:04
A more diverse Parliament: it isn't about shortlists, it's about electoral systems and changing the ...
Whilst the inauguration of Barack Obama has been occupying the attention of most of the world's media, the Speaker's Conference on increasing diversity in Parliament has been hearing evidence. Two of those giving evidence today raised interesting points, and I agree with one as much as I disagree with the other. I'll start with where I agree. Fay Mansell, from the Women's Institute (a far more
Chris Dillow is the man behind Stumbling and Mumbling, one of my favourite blogs. He also writes a column for Investors Chronicle.
Isn't the blogosphere wonderful? First I was directed by Liz Williams to a very interesting article over at Junkfood Science providing evidence that government-backed interventions to make us adopt healthier lifestyles don't actually make us any - er - healthier. Now, encouraged by Jennie Rigg, I've been back at Junkfood Science, being told that things I've believed are true for as long as I can remember are probably rubbush - and showing me the evidence to back it up. There's something quite exhilerating about having long-cherished notions overturned and having to rethink ideas . I'm still working my way through ...
My fellow citizens:
The Financial Times reports an interview with the Lib Dem leader: Britain must prepare to ditch the pound and join the euro in order to salvage the public finances and prevent the "permanent decline" of the City, Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, said on Tuesday. Predicting that debate over the euro could soon return with a vengeance, Mr Clegg argued that joining a "major reserve currency" would protect Britain from its "extremely dangerous" exposure to volatile global capital flows.In an interview with the Financial Times, he said public opinion could "turn on its head" and swing against the pound as ...
Charlotte writes: Second, the old sell-mortgages-to-investors trick that caused the credit boom and subsequent credit crash is being reborn with Brown's own version of the US's Freddie Mac, where the Bank of England will swap these mortgages for Government bonds, created by printing money, which it will then sell on. It will also insure against losses - in return for banks agreeing to Government
Yesterday the Treasury announced a raft of measures to rescue the financial system. For once the hyperbole about finance being radically altered by this crisis was justified. Northern Rock is no longer being wound down but is now a big part of the government's strategy to keep mortgage finance flowing. How long it will remain a government bank is now anyone's guess. The Bank of England will be allowed to buy private sector assets, and is given permission to consider using freshly printed money to do this, if it needs to do so to avoid deflation. This is a revolutionary ...
Last night, it was not clear if there was an organised Tory position on the emerging scandal concerning freedom of information and MPs' expenses. Last week's Guardian confided: "A Tory source said David Cameron was likely to encourage his MPs to abstain on Thursday" The same Guardian article last week had Lib Dem Shadow Leader of the House David Heath saying, "[T]his is not a matter for a whipped vote [...] I will certainly be recommending that colleagues vote against the proposal to exempt parliament." This morning, all change. "Tory frontbench and Lib Dems fight move to hide MPs' expenses", ...
Man, I can feel the joy and hope from here. Happy new president to my USian friends. I kind of know how you guys feel about having a fab new president who makes you feel all hopeful and joyous. It's a good feeling, isn't it? And today, the news outlets of the UK have been full of your joy. Full to bursting. So this is one of those fabled good days to bury bad news, right? Let's have a nosey at what They are hoping we won't notice... Well, obviously there's this. Unlock Democracy have a campaign running, which even ...
What the hell is Alex Singleton going on about? He has taken Christian Aid to task for using the slogan "We stand for humanity" on the grounds that it doesn't "fit with the brand name." Now, it happens that I'm an (I think that just about sums it up), but the last - the last - thing I would ever criticise a Christian group for being is pro-human. Quite the opposite; anything that emphasises the strong humanist thread that can be found throughout the Gospel (as opposed to the bits which get Mel Gibson all excited and quivery over) ...
Until yesterday, I was very much in the May 2010 camp as the date of the next election. Today, I'm not so sure. The economic bomb that has hit Britain is set to unleash a political one. It now looks increasingly likely that the main high street banks will be nationalised. Clearly the market has given up on the banking bailout - bank shares have fallen through the floor. The pound too is in freefall. According to Jim Rogers, the co-founder of George Soros' Quantum Fund, 'Sterling is finished' - today, it fell by more than 5 cents against the ...
Christopher Eccleston will be the Doctor; the brilliant, provoking About Time handbooks begin; Of the City of the Saved... looks askew at Heaven; Sylv's The Harvest renews an old monster; there are splendid Short Trips anthologies Past Tense - featuring the fabulous Thief of Sherwood - New Adventuresish 2040, and joyful A Christmas Treasury. And there are Daleks. Billy's Day of Armageddon is found; little-known actor David Tennant chooses Dalek Empire III over the National Theatre; and Paul Cornell has Bernice face at last... Death and the Daleks "Why were you in the Secure Zone?" "Bit of a misnomer, actually..." ...
