More than six years after the International Criminal Court was established in The Hague as a permanent war crimes tribunal, its first trial opened today. The defendant (who has pleaded not guilty) is Thomas Lubanga, leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots who is charged with conscripting children under the age of 15 to kill, rape [...]
This is the call for help that the BBC and Sky decided it was in "their" best intersts not to show. For the best interests of those in Gaza may I encourage you to watch and consider what action you could take. Thank you.
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye, has been meeting with key agencies regarding his call for a debate on the provision of services for people with drug and alcohol problems locally. He met with Hastings District Commander Andy Gooch to discuss the police perspective on the issue, following recent national news indicating [...]
I spoke with BBC reporter Paul Siegert on Friday about low pay in Hastings. Here's a link to the report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7848303.stm
Since the 17th December, I have been working on the two key areas of course representatives and the review of undergraduate education, but I have attended a couple of conferences and contributed towards the website and other non-portfolio activities. Course representatives I finished the first round of meetings with all course representatives on a school-by-school basis before Christmas. It was a great opportunity to meet and find out what being a course representative, and studying, is like in many different areas of the university. Unfortunately the meeting duration was only one hour and I frequently found myself pushed for time ...
Inspired by the Brian Caplan at Econlog who has chosen Rothbard's For A New Liberty for the Econlog Book Club I've been listening to the audio book this evening. (Its worth noting that Caplan is a noted critic of Austrian Economics, so it should be interesting to see what he has to say about the book) So [...]
I know that some of my readers are cursed with being lawyers, so just for them, a biography of Lord Denning (link will expire in a few days) from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which is accessible over the interwebs by most people with a UK library card.As are the OED and Grove.
It is typical of the British National Party, like similar organisations before them, to take advantage of difficult times to try to recruit members. The Evening Post shows them in Neath, presumably blaming Jews and Muslims for the economic crisis. They have apparently added to their platform the breaches in electoral law committed by Peter Hain's leadership campaign. How discriminating against people of different ethnicity or religion is expected to clean up the UK political system defeats us. We support Mr Hain's condemnation of the BNP and trust that the county borough issues its own rebuttal of the party's divisive ...
Good news from the Liberal Democrat MEPs with the success this month for Diana Wallis's campaign to get more information about Euro-MPs' attendance records published: [Diana Wallis] welcomed the Parliament's decision at her instigation to publish on its internet site in collated form information about all Members' attendance at plenary and committee meetings...: "Making such public information more accessible is a modest step for the Parliament to take, but it is an important one, particularly ahead of the next elections in June. Citizens need to have the tools to keep their elected representatives to account." [DianaWallisMEP.org.uk]
At lunchtime today, as the City Council's Planning & Transport Convener, I attended the launch of the Bus Punctuality Improvement Partnership for Dundee and Angus, a first for Scotland. Here's a couple of photos from the event below, plus the City Council's news release. Dundee City Council News Release : A pioneering scheme that uses technology to track buses and measure their punctuality has been launched in Dundee. For the first time in Scotland a Bus Punctuality Improvement Partnership between local councils and bus operators has been set up to help make journeys more efficient. The scheme will collect real ...
A quick one here, while I wait for my wife to get home from her friends' (where she went straight after picking up my copy of The E-Space Trilogy from the post office and before dropping it off at home. Harumph)... DebiT writes about stem cell research, and why it is a good thing the US [...]
Just before Christmas, Paul, Sven and I were given a guided tour of the Manor House so we could see how the work's progressing. I wanted to try and share this with others, so I've tried my hand at a making a YouTube video of the visit. It's my first attempt at a YouTube video, so the camera work and editing is a bit dodgy, but hopefully it gives you a flavour of how the work's going - bear in mind this is now a month old. Thanks to Antonio Rizzo from the library service and Kingswood for giving us ...
It's been a while since I've posted for which I can only apologise. I've had a really busy January both with Council and Lib Dem-related activities, and a busy time at work. Earlier this month, two of my Lib Dem colleagues have moved on to pastures new. My former flatmate Councillor Simon Carter's work has moved to Holland, which means he's had to stand down from the Council. And Councillor Mark Morris has accepted a new job with the Greater London Authority, which prevents him from continuing as an elected councillor. I'll miss both these colleagues, but I'm pleased that ...
Daniel Kawczynski writes exclusively for Iain Dale's Diary.
From the Leicester Mercury: Police seized £2,000 from a suspect they were investigating - only for it to be stolen from the station where it was being stored.The crime came to light as a result of a Freedom of Information Act inquiry by the Leicester Mercury. Nobody has been arrested.Police said the theft showed the force was not "immune" to crime and said that storage procedures had been "reviewed".They have refused to name the station concerned. However, the Mercury understands it was Hinckley Road station, in Leicester's West End.
Talking to John Humphrys on the Today Programme this morning, Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC, said that the corporation had declined to broadcast the videos produced by the Make Poverty History campaign. (You can find the statement at about 6.50 on this audio.) Up to a point, Lord Thompson. This Guardian report from last year gives a more reliable picture of what went on: the BBC decided not to join other broadcasters in screening a make Poverty History campaign video and decided to give only its own Live 8 website address during the concert in July 2005.However, concert ...
Bloggers continue to talk about the "Coroners and Justice Bill" that went for it's second reading in the House of Commons today. I continue to feel a sense of growing dread about this, whilst remaining quietly optimistic that that undemocratic Lords will, once again, save us from this Government so determined to have the word, "fascist" thrown at them. In my own further contribution, I would like to propose the renaming of the "Coroners and Justice Bill" to the "Nationalisation of Data Bill". Because, in effect, that's what this bill is. It allows the Government to trump all other ownership ...
A few days ago Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, published its proposals for the development of public service broadcasting in the UK. Ofcom wants there to be a choice of high quality viewing options for the populace; but is concerned as to how this may be sustained in an era of multi-channel and multimedia broadcasting. However, I believe their proposals rest on an error. {Channel 4's logo is now cut out from a white b...} Image via WikipediaOfcom defines public broadcasting as programming that produces public benefit and not just commercial value. There are four public service broadcasters in the UK: ...
On BBC Look East this evening they reported on a charity that helps to rehabilitate people addicted to drugs who are having their government funding cut by 30%, despite a 40% increase in the number of people seeking treatment. Faced with closure, the Bury St Edmunds Charity "Focus 12" has been saved by comedian Russell Brand who has given them £30,000 and has pledged to raise £60,000 per year every year from now on for the charity. Possibly the sort of good news the Daily Scum won' t be interest in.
Enjoy. And you should hear Craig Murray on the subject.
Not Peterborough this time, Aberdeen Stations Lemon Tree is my moan.The young guy behind the counter was clean, well dressed but hadn't heard (and if he had he didn't know how to use them) of please or thank you.He served one lady then before she had managed to move shouted "next" so the young girl in front of me, who was clearly showing more bottom than I wanted to see tried to say what she wanted but the person in front was still trying to move.And I didn't stand a chance when she moved and it was my turn as ...
Nick Clegg has a piece in the Independent this morning repeating his suggestion of last week that we should consider joining the Euro. Not, it has to be said, now and in a hurry - he does not see it as a way out of the mess the financial markets are in - but in recognition that the world after this crisis will be a different economic landscape in which ganging up together with Europe may outweigh the loss of credibility the City of London will have wrought on itself. He concludes: But given the gravity of the economic crisis ...
I was going to blog about how Obama has organised power very close to him in the White House, in preference to Cabinet-style government. Oh, but what the hell...instead...here's clips from the various late night comedy shows about the inauguration. Yes - I know it was last week, but who gets tired of saying goodbye to/laughing at Dick Cheney?
Many government benefits, such as Job Seekers Allowance and income support, are means-tested. The test assumes that, if one has capital, it earns interest at 7% and the government payout is tapered accordingly. This may have been a valid assumption in the boom years ending with Gordon Brown's chancellorship, but it certainly is not now. Interest rates have plummeted to the extent that a cash ISA with National Savings offers just 2.4%. Stock market returns and those from most other government savings vehicle are even worse. (Current rates of return from NS&I are here.) The government assumed rate has not ...
I just watched the Gaza appeal broadcast done by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). From what I just saw, there was nothing contentious in it at all. There was nothing political in it. The DEC did not take sides, they just portrayed the worsening humanitarian situation that's unfolding. I do not see why the BBC, and now Sky News, have decided not to broadcast this appeal. Their rationale is to do with their being international broadcasters their showing the appeal would mean that they've "taken sides". This to preserve their "neutrality". Did they not realize that by not showing it ...
Devil's kitchen and others, especially in the swear blogger fraternity (there's no swear blogger sorority as far as I know) are going a bit mad about the EU's decision to create the,"European Criminal Record Information Service", where infrastructure is being set up to share criminal records in a consistent way - think of it as a dewey decimal system for crimes. There's to be no automatic means for member states to go rooting around in other state's criminal record files, and the data will remain decentralised and under the control of the member state. Essentially the system is designed to ...
I am heartily sick of the campaign against the BBC from the usual suspects, but also people who should know better after the BBC put its impartiality in front of taking sides in the Gaza conflict. Now before anyone jumps in to attack me they ought to check my record on the Gaza conflict. I was and remain deeply critical of Israel, believe they were wrong to attack, I believe they have committed war crimes and I think those who supported without reservation Israel should be ashamed of themselves. Those pro Gaza groups and politicians now protesting forget that the ...
I wasn't aware of this issue until the Rt. Hon Lord Tony Greaves of Pendle raised the issue in the Lords and I received my TheyWorkForYou email. The Lord asked the government member present about figures of Councillor's from the past ten years and you can read the whole question and answer by following the link. From May 2008 to June 2009 the number of Councillors will drop from 19,917 to 18,317, which I think is ridiculous. With this large number decrease in Councillor's it will only lead to one thing that we are already seeing, which is that people ...
Having not blogged for a few weeks, I have been incensed by the BBC's mealy mouthed excuse for not showing the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal for humanitarian aid. What exactly is the difference between children who have lost their family, their homes and their schools in Palestine, and say, other disaster zones like earthquakes, or Darfur? Answer: not a lot - they're Palestinian children. How can the powers behind this ridiculous decision dress this up as somehow not getting drawn into the politics, and not the terrible pain and humanitarian suffering? We've heard the usual people who are hostile ...
I am, as Sid and Doris well know, a great procrastinator as a blogger, apt to store something up for ages only to release it at a moment whose logic is apparent only to myself. Such an experience came on Thursday evening, as I prepared to speak on a motion I was seconding on abuse of retrospective planning applications. With the eyes of the webcasting world about to be set upon me, I found myself
To be found on the blog written by Mick Fealty for the Daily Telegraph.
The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, have taken the central Somalian town of Baidoa. This town has been controlled by the TFG (Transitional Federal Government) even at the height of the ICU and was their capital. This shows that Islamists control nearly all of central and southern Somalia. The important question is whether al-Shabab face rival groups, and the region descends into bitter anarchy, which will be devastating but sadly of no concern of the West. Or whether they will bring control and stability, this threatens regional war, as a conflict with Ethiopia could start all over again (vicious circle) or ...
....is here. The final image size is 59,783 X 24,658 pixels ..... A stupendous view of the inauguration.... Hat-tip : Andrew Sullivan
Credit where it's due, it's good to see that much and often unfairly maligned X Factor Judge Louis Walsh has a heart. It's amazing what random stuff you find on the internet when you're looking for something completely different. Anyway, I came across this article which tells how he has agreed to become patron of Amy and Friends. This charity aims to provide help and support to children suffering from a condition called Cockayne Syndrome which causes premature aging. I found another interview with Amy in which she talks at length about the effects of her condition. It's good that ...
Lee Griffin had a good post yesterday about Brown not answering most of the hostile questions put to him during PMQs and his habit of responding with another question. I have found this very annoying myself, especially given that he has used the excuse that PMQs exists as a way of avoiding a proper debate at election time (although it is looking like this might happen now as he will have little to lose). Anyway, LabourBoy responded to him and then an interesting an actually very constructive debate followed on LabourBoy's blog here. My view is that questions should be ...
Does anyone else feel that the alley on Melville Villas Road is dangerous. That's it, the one that runs between the High Street and Gloucester Road. Everyday I pass it and divert myself so that I can get a good view in case someone jumps out at me. And the other side of the road is not much better. I know it's cut off from the main road but the lightling is appalling. I am currently writing a letter to the council to ask them to look at the situation. Now that the Libertaire is up and running the number ...
Predictably, the atmosphere in the House of Lords today was pretty grim. Question Time took place as usual at 2.30pm, with four pre-tabled questions. In the light of the weekends allegations, both my colleague Lord Goodhart and the Tory leader had tabled Private Notice Questions which are a way of dealing with urgent business, and taken at the discretion of the Speaker. Given the seriousness of the situation, there was no question of not taking the questions. The two questions were taken together, the usual 10 minutes extended to 15 and Lord Strathcylde started by asking about how it would ...
I agree with Anatole Kaletsky here: the lecture by Lord Turner about the financial crisis was about the most considered piece on the subject I have read. And I have read a lot on the financial crisis. Kaletsky's article makes an incredibly important point that we should all remember the next time a politician or commentator wants to frighten us with the sheer numbers involved in modern finance: there is a difference between assets within the financial sector and actual new assets. He puts it better than I can: "The difference between financial and non-financial debts - crucial in implementing ...
So many questions: 1) Why didn't he regulate the banks here? 2) Why didn't he tell the British people? Mr Brown defended his record, claiming that Britain had "low public debt, low inflation and low interest rates", and that corporate debt was far lower than in previous times of financial crisis. He did not allude to Britain's record [...]
It has been a little over a week now since the government backed down on exempting MPs expenses from the Freedom of Information Act, following a sparkling example of good online campaigning from MySociety and friends. James Graham, in the first instalment of the Carnival of Modern Liberty (can carnivals have instalments? Or is it a more fluid thing than that? Perhaps "floats"?), had something to celebrate. Week 2 of the Carnival, and he may be a little more pressed for good news, whereas bad news is around for liberals in abundance, as the Yorksher Gob points out. And in ...
As the Chinese Year of the Ox begins, I suppose it is a second chance to revamp all those new years resolutions that may require a further injection of effort. If that doesn't work, well then you may have to wait until the Jewish new year comes around in September. I notice that the Year of the Ox is supposed to be a fairly steady year overall- after the challenging times that last year- the year of the Rat apparently- laid upon us, I don't suppose that anyone will complain about that. Strangely the three Baltic countries are said to ...
Half a million people had their application for a crisis loan turned down by the Government in the first six months of last year the Liberal Democrats have revealed. This is more than were refused in the whole of the previous 12 months. Applications for the loans, aimed at low-income families and pensioners unable to get credit elsewhere, rose by more than 40% last year to 2.5m. The figures come
Back in October last year, Nick Clegg attacked Policy Exchange for releasing a dodgy dossier on various speakers at the 2008 "Global Peace and Unity" event. At the time, I looked at the dossier and offered my opinion on it, but the general consensus that came out of the comments thread brouhaha on LDV was that we should reserve judgment on Nick Clegg and Simon Hughes's decision to attend the
... it's a New Year. 新年快乐 - Kung Hei Fat Choy everyone. Welcome to the year of the Moocow. To celebrate, today is the day MPs debate the Coroners and Justice Bill, which not only will alklow the government to conduct inquests which should be public in camera but also completely disembowells the Data Protection Act. Also today, cannabis gets reclassified as class B; and extreme porn becomes illegal. Isn't that appropriate? Our dear government emulating the repressive authoritarian regime of China as best they possibly can. Bless their little totalitarian socks. Why the hell is ANYBODY still voting for ...
I'm finally back to my blog after a few weeks during which the residents of the Whelan household went down like skittles with bug after bug. We didn't quite have to resort to painting a white cross on the front door but it felt like it at times! The first two months of being a Councillor have flown by and I still pinch myself for what a fantastic opportunity I have been given. My enthusiasm for the job grows day by day. The most often asked question is "what do you do?" and I recently spent a morning with Year ...
A Conservative Councillor for Ravenscliffe Ward on Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has resigned, a by-election will be called.
This article from Dear Anna in the Guardian a couple of weeks ago illustrates something that has been frustrating me for a very long time. The banks in the UK have dragged their feet for years in implementing a system for ensuring that bank payments (standing orders, direct debits, online transfers etc.) are paid within a reasonable amount of time - e.g. a few hours. I have been following this for a number of years. I remember listening to Money Box on Radio 4 several years ago and hearing a report from Sweden about how they had a system back ...
I've blogged before about the Equitable Life scandal. And I've heard first-hand the experiences of some of my constituents who lost out. So I'm glad that my Lib Dem colleagues in Parliament are continuing to fight for justice for Equitable Life investors. My colleague Jo Swinson MP addressed Westminster Hall on the issue last [...]
Just another excuse for a steam loco picture? This was the re-opening at Alloa, in May 2008, of the line to Stirling, and the first passenger train for 40 years. It was pulled for celebration purposes by LNER K4 3442 'The Great Marquess', originally built for the West Highland Line. Read my December blog for the reasons why I was there on the day. The good news is that more than 400,000 passengers are predicted to use Alloa station in its first year of operation, compared with a pre-opening prediction of 155,000. The South East Scotland Transport Partnership claims that ...
Yesterday, Ros and I could be found in Newport, where we were scheduled to meet up with Ed Townsend, the Deputy Leader of Newport Council and our PPC in Newport East. Ed has been building up support over recent years, and got within 900 votes of winning the Welsh Assembly seat in the 2007 election. Now he has his sights on the Parliamentary seat, and we were there to take photographs and do a
You couldn't make it up! Cannabis use has gone down since the criminal penalties for its possession were reduced, so now, five years later, the Government is increasing the penalties! In 2002/03 the proportion of 16 to 24 years old who had taken cannabis in the past year was 26.2%. The Government followed the advice of its Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and reduced the classification of cannabis from Class B to Class C. By 2006/07 the proportion of 16 to 24 years old cannabis users had fallen to 20.9%. This is what the Advisory Council of experts ...
I'm planning to move from Forceful & Moderate to a Wordpress blog within the next few days. The new blog will be under my real name. No one will be surprised to learn that Femme de Resistance is a pseudonym. I'm going to be posting here and at the new blog for a while. I'll feel sad blogging as something other than Forceful & Moderate since I've been here intermittently since 2003. I'm just
Reading through the agenda for this week's full council meeting it is glaringly obvious that we still have quite a gender gap on the City Council. Admittedly we do have a reasonable number of female councillors (although more would be nice) but the motions tabled, and the questions submitted, are still overwhelmingly from male councillors. I havent counted things the Exec Board members move in their role as exec members in the count (so obviously Flo Clucas' role in moving the budget isn't acknowledged) - but looking at motions there are two from women balanced against 15 from men. (Where ...
"The revolution doesn't happen when society adopts new tools. It happens when society adopts new behaviours." - Clay Shirky This has become Lynne Featherstone's quote du jour since she took on the role of Chair of the party's new technology board a few weeks ago. I'm really pleased with this as a guiding principle, because I think it will enable the board to keep the right balance between the medium and the message. And that's just my opinion - judging from the messages Facebook groups and discussion boards and the emails to Lynne, a huge number of people, both medium-specialists ...
The furore over the BBC's refusal to broadcast the Disaster Emergency Committee's appeal for Gaza is a good indication of the current state of public sympathies. But maybe the criticism is misdirected. Under international law, Israel is responsible for Gaza. Israel is in charge. Israel turned Gaza into the world's biggest prison. Israel has wrought death and destruction, placing huge demands upon hospitals, destroying thousands of buildings, and leaving many families destitute. It is not taxpayers in Britain, Europe or elsewhere who should be paying to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza, but taxpayers in Israel. Douglas Alexander, the ...
Rob Damio, who is the Community Officer at Leeds University Union and who is standing for re-election, has launched this Facebook Group which aims to promote safe routes home from town or the Union building. Its great to see that the student union is working sensibly to promote student safety rather than just calling for lights on Hyde Park.
This article discusses whether or not the Government will be slicing budgets to schools and universities, in a recession. Apparently, John Denham may be making moves to reduce funding, and has already told universities not to accept any higher numbers of students than it already has. Luckily, the Welsh Assembly has its own authority over universities and schools. Personally speaking, I think the worst thing to do, for our future, is to reduce the money going into education and universities. I accept the next few years are going to be hard, but it is a Government's job to find ways ...
As we move into week three of a new Welsh Assembly term, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are pursuing their distinctive agenda with a renewed vigour and confidence under new leadership. Whilst the Welsh Conservative group remain in disarray over media revelations about their expenses and reported attempted coups against their leadership, our new leader Kirsty Williams has taken the opportunity to make her mark. So far our profile has been high. We have led the way in exposing increased spending by the Welsh Assembly Government on consultants - nearly double on previous years; we have highlighted poor ambulance response times; ...
Sky have joined the BBC is refusing to show the DEC Appeal for Gaza. Adrian Wells, Sky's director of foreign news, said the station understood the good intentions of the charities seeking to publicize the situation in Gaza. He said: "Let me say to those people who might be angry, people who might be passionate about this, there is no question about Sky's commitment to reporting the region. We've had our reporters there since the gates of Gaza opened. There is absolutely no question of Sky viewers not being aware of the humanitarian crisis." That may be the case but ...
The Liberal Democrats are to make a complaint to the police about the report in The Sunday Times which revealed that four Labour peers were ready to change legislation for money as a undercover reporter found out. With Lord Taylor of Blackburn saying he could just ring Lord Mandelson and arrange meetings! Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesman will write to the Police about the shocking news, to read the whole news article follow the link! Personally I think Chris is doing the right thing by getting this issue investigated by the police, for too long have politicians ...
I was very interested to read about Boris Johnson's floating airport plans yesterday and read with particular amusement about the new road links (widening the M2 - isn't that just what we've had for the last ten years?)because I presume Mr. Johnson was having a laugh at the south-east's expense. Anyone who has spent a miserable morning in a car on the motorways in this corner of Kent when there has been an accident on one of the motorways, (not to mention gridlock should there be an accident on both the M2 and M20) and maybe a ferry dispute or ...
There, I said it. Possibly the one person who would have complained if the BBC had broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee Gaza appeal has penned an article attacking the BBC for a lack of impartiality: ...the BBC has brought this crisis upon itself. It is not surprising that it finds itself friendless, since for years it [...]
恭喜发财 Welcome to the year of the Ox as today in the Chinese New Year. The greeting translates as "congratulations and be prosperous". While I'm not not disputing that the Chinese economy is certainly prosperous it is not and should not be the only measure. In July 2001 when China were awarded the 2008 Olympics, government authorities promised improvements in human rights. However seven years on, China remains a country that executes, tortures and silences its citizens. In many areas, human rights have deteriorated because of the Olympics. The positive legacy that many around the world hoped for is becoming ...
I wonder if they're becoming petrified of their futures. I certainly wouldn't like to be a Labour politician at this point. Their poll ratings are sliding and they don't know how to bring them back up. The main point is that the bailouts and Brown's positioning is a massive gamble not just for our Economy but also [...]
This article appears in this week's Liberal Democrat News: Since the news that Nick Clegg was proposing to the Federal Executive that I should chair the party's new Technology Board (a proposal the FE agreed to last Monday), the internet fraternity have been keen as mustard to give me their ideas - and I am keen to have them! So this is great, but what's become clear to me - other than the need to publicise that the Board's work will be about technology in the sense of e-campaigning, computers and the internet, rather than technology in the sense of ...
Because of all the furore over the DEC Gaza appeal decision, allied with the BBC's customary excellent coverage of itself, the BBC has given the Gaza appeal about 100 times more publicity (albeit tangentially via news broadcasts) than these appeals usually get. Mark Thomson, the BBC DG, gave a tenable defence of the BBC's decision this morning on Today. He said that due to the contentiousness of
Still no update on `John Leech watch` since May '08. If they can't be bothered to update a blog they must be demoralised. I have sent as a comment the question twice `How do you think the Didsbury West by-election will go - a win for Labour or the Lib Dems?` No answer - oh [...]
My feeling, simply by looking at the literature in the key by-election of Didsbury West (in Manchester Withington held by our own John Leech MP) is that Labour are becoming petrified of their own future. Is it any wonder? Their line of defence is so precariously narrow and dependent on a confidence trick `It's all global` [...]
I went to the launch of this campaign last week and I see they've now put a brief clip up on YouTube: [Direct link to YouTube here]
Chris Huhne is asking the police to investigate claims of "cash for amendments" in the House of Lords. (BBC) Ken Clarke has barely got his feet under the table back in the Conservative Shadow Cabinet and he's rubbishing the Osborne/Cameron line on the economy: "Clarke rejects party leader's warning over loan from IMF." (The Guardian) Nick Clegg says the Conservatives will not offer the radical change we need. (BBC)
The Disaster Appeals Committee, which brings together 13 of the UKs biggest international aid charities, is calling for donations to support its work with the victims of the war in Gaza. This is the appeal which the BBC is refusing to broadcast. Personally I will always condemn violence, but people who have lost their homes and loved ones as a result of violence need our help and support. {Gaza Appeal} Donate online to the DEC's Gaza Crisis now Thousands of people are struggling to survive with many having lost their homes and most down to their last supplies of food ...
Valentines by-election candidate Shoaib Patel was denied the chance to speak at a council meeting, even though council officers said it was within the rules. The Wanstead and Woodford Guardian reports: At a full meeting of the authority last week, Shoaib Patel, a Liberal Democrat candidate for the upcoming Valentines Ward by-election, attempted to ask a question during a slot for public speaking, but was denied the chance amid concerns over his political status. Lib Dem politicians said they were furious that "legal advice granting permission for Mr Patel to speak was ignored", as Tory and Labour councillors voted not ...
The BBC seems to have something of a knack at the moment for shooting itself in the foot. The decision not to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Gaza seems to me to be simply indefensible. Although I am rather wary of politicians telling a publicly-funded broadcaster what they should do, on this occasion the arguments seem quite clear cut. The public are quite capable of telling the difference between a humanitarian appeal by bodies such as the British Red Cross and the editorial line of the BBC. It is actually the BBC who are 'editorialising' by picking and ...
Over at Conservative Home Tory hopeful candidates for the next general election asked question's to Roger Evans who has now answered them and has posted ten of them questions and their answers for people to read! Its worth a read who ever you are as it helps you have some idea of what thoughts Tories have, which are terribly hard to understand like their policies some times! Follow the link to read the questions and answers!
The Evening News/Advertiser are reporting the story that Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon is proposing to spend some of the proposed £6 Billion of transport infrastructure projects on the northern part of the M60. This includes one short stretch of a 4th lane (in one direction near Worsley), but more controversially, Hard Shoulder Running for the whole stretch as it runs past Prestwich (from Simister island through to the M62 turnoff near Worsley. Liberal Democrats locally have been raising concerns about air pollution from the M60 for many years - by some measures we have the worst air pollution in the ...
This week is a fairly constant stream of activity, which will keep me out of the house and thus be either a disappointment or a huge joy for those I live with. Tonight I will be meeting the supporters and activist in Bury North to talk about our campaigns up there for both the general and local elections. Tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day, and in the evening I will be attending the service at Bury Town Hall to remember the victims of the Holocaust. On Wednesday I am taking some time out to go and watch Manchester City draw feebly ...
The Sunday Times entrapment of 4 Labour peers has again highlighted the need for Lords reform. Whether or not the 4 people in question are guilty (and if there is a case, we should let the legal system deal with them, rather than have trial by media) the fact is that a chamber that consists of unelected and unpaid life members (okay so they got a comfortable allowance) breeds a situation in which
Sunder has posted something interesting on Liberal Conspiracy about how the Deputy Chair of the Association of Magistrates who have been campaigning (now successfully) for cannabis to be restored to a class B drug could not name any other drugs that are class B. I was listening to "More or Less" on Radio 4 from 16th January when the guests were Fraser Nelson, Vince Cable and Charles Clarke. They had been talking about evidence based policy and particularly drugs and towards the end, Tim Harford did a quick quiz where he asked each of them which category certain drugs were ...
Visiting our local hospital the other day I saw a yellow sign on the main thoroughfare through to the wards "Warning. Deep Cleaning in Process". I could see no sign of any cleaning happening, deep or otherwise but I could see loads of people walking too and fro en route to and from the wards, restaurant, X-ray etc. It set me to wondering just what it meant and whether it does any good. I
A story I missed but which has been drawn to my attention by Tom Harris' blog is this one in the Daily Mail from Friday. The paper reports that a hedge fund run by two Tory donors made a £12million killing in days by exploiting the collapse of Barclays shares: Financiers Paul Ruddock and David Craigen have donated more than £300,000 to the party, most of it since David Cameron became leader. Within hours of the ban on the controversial practice of short-selling being lifted last Friday, their company Lansdowne Partners sold shares in Barclays worth £28.4million. They were bought ...
These cursed phone boxes litter the local area in a very specific limited number of locations and are absolutely impossible to get rid of. I know of one dogged Brent councillor who managed to get one removed but for the most part they lie on the street, unused, disconnected (for phone calls), increasingly neglected and damaged... But becuase the firm that put them up doesn't exist there appears to be some kind of arcane reason why they can't be taken down by the Local Authority (in this case Brent). Well, there's a new way in town and it occurred here ...
Just what are the BBC doing with regard to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Appeal? Well reports in the Times say that the DEC had told the BBC that aid from the appeal was to be made available to Israeli victims of Hamas rocket attacks. So the claims of impartiality have no grounds for the BBC to uphold its decision to not show the appeal. Of course as agreed by the DEC two weeks ago little of the aid raised in this instance would go to Israel not from any sense of partisanship but based on the actual need and ...
Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member, Peter Black was on BBC Wales' Politics Show yesterday afternoon calling for a fair deal for local racial equality and other groups. The BBC website takes up the story: Equality groups claim jobs and services are under threat because the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is to take a break from funding them. The commission's grants programme is
Yesterday's allegations that four Labour peers were ready to amend laws for money did more than highlight the rather lax regulations in the House of Lords, they also drew attention to the bizarre practice in both Houses of Parliament whereby it is apparently alright for Parliamentarians to be paid as advisors but not to advocate on behalf of their paymasters. Frankly, it is a very thin line and not a system that should be allowed to continue in my view. Whether the four Peers stepped over that line or not is a matter for others to determine but the fact ...
jamesgraham: Suddenly realising impracticality of having to take a Blackberry and two mugs of hot choc upstairs wearing trackie bottoms with no string. 7 minutes ago from TwitterBerry jamesgraham: Wish me luck 7 minutes ago from TwitterBerry snapesbabe @jamesgraham: as long as you don't scald yourself, you'll be fine. 2 minutes ago from web in reply to jamesgraham jamesgraham: ... FAIL 1 minute ago from txt snapesbabe @jamesgraham: Ahahahahahahahaha!!! I mean, oh, poor love. less than 5 seconds ago from web in reply to jamesgrahamThis was almost as good as Stephen Fry's sweary rant about PCs.
The best television programme ever made, and one that's become much more than just a television programme... Last November, Doctor Who was forty-five years old, and I began a series of posts looking at each year and picking out the most brilliant thing about it. I published 2008's post twelve hours ago, so here's a round-up of what I aimed for, which years most enthused me and just how to find them all. "If you could touch the alien sand and hear the cries of strange birds - and watch them wheel, in another sky - would that satisfy you?" ...
Saturday: With no PROPER series of Doctor Who on the telly this year, I had already decided that I would be getting Daddy Richard to go back and write reviews of all the stories that he missed out (because I hadn't started writing my diary yet!) when what should come along but The Doctor Who DVD files*. Part one takes back to the very first adventure (well since I arrived, anyhoo) where Mr Dr Chris met Ms Billie Piper and everything changed! The first thing to say about "Rose" is that it was and remains a cracking piece of television. ...
