{A magnifying glass} Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, the Met's anti-terror chief, has resigned after being photographed entering Downing Street with a secret document in clear view. After press cameras zoomed in on the sensitive information, a raid of several addresses and workplaces in the North West had to be brought forward. From the Telegraph: Mr Quick, who is in overall charge of Britain's anti-terrorism strategy, had gone to Downing Street to brief the Home Secretary on the latest developments in what had been a top secret operation. The briefing note showed details of the locations and manner of the intended ...
The Centre for economic and business research says that the .VAT cut has boosted sales by £2.1bn. http://tinyurl.com/c53jhd I wonder if their report could be thrust in the faces of Mssrs Clegg & Cameron, both of whom stupidly said that the cut was having no benefit.
I've been busy away from the blogs these last few weeks, but have to comment on this whole sorry saga about the McBride/Draper 'smeargate'. Coming on the back of the drip drip of damaging revelations about MPs expenses/ second homes/porn on the tax payer, this is further undermining politics in this country. Its bad enough that all politicians are now set to be tarred with the same brush. It just demonstrates for me how far the Labour Government seem to have lost the plot, and become detached from reality. It also reminded me of my short-lived time as a Labour ...
Back to the late 1980s when I was a district councillor and still bought my LPs on vinyl. One of the LPs I remember from those days is "We Too Are One" by the Eutythmics, and this is a live performance of my favourite song from it. Because it comes from the David Letterman show, you have to suffer a couple of minutes of banter before you get to the song. You are allowed to skip to about 2:40 for the start of the song. It is unusual to come across prominent artists singing in such simple circumstances, but this ...
I thought Easter Day would be a good day to share with you an article written by my friend Barbara Higham in which she puts the case that eating chocolate during pregnancy may be good for both mother and baby. On the same site, she has written quite a range of articles covering subjects as diverse as green funerals, Victorian floriography (the language of flowers) iron deficiency in the nursing baby and Easter art for kids and I'd definitely recommend you take some time on the bank holiday to have a look at her work. LibDig This!
Number of Salford Council employees earning over £50,000...2006/7 – 1812007/8 - 230 Number of Salford Council employees earning over £100,0002006/7 - 32007/8 - 6 Highest wage of one Salford Council employee...2006/7 - £130,000-£139,9992007/8 - £170,000 - £179,999 Councillors' Allowances 2007/8 – almost £1,000,000up £26,000 from last year I thought I'd get a comment on this from the [...]
Grace the Quin Originally uploaded by duncanborrowmanGrace and I were at Twickhenham Stoop for the Heineken Cup Quarter Final today. Sat at the front just behind the posts at the North End. Nail biting match. Despite the 6-5 Leinster victory, it was a great effort. After the match Leinster supporter after Leinster supporter commented on how this young team have come from the depths to now being
Apparently, the new Labour policy is that everyone shall have performed 50 hours of community service by the age of 19, under proposals released today (it's Easter Sunday, for pity's sake, haven't you got families to oppress, guys?). It's just another step towards a state which tells you what to do, how to do it and well, from a political party that actually believes that you should make co-operation mandatory (think about it for a moment). There are, according to government figures, some three million young people carrying out some form of community work in this country, all of it ...
So David Cameron is furious with Gordon Brown and is demanding an apology from him. He should get one. McBride's cheap little scheme has no place in politics. On the other hand, the Conservative PPC for Watford carried out a vicious and criminal campaign of vilification and intimidation against Liberal Democrat party members, deliberately and persistently sustained over three years before he was finally arrested, charged and convicted of those crimes. And we have not had one single word of apology from David Cameron. We are still waiting. Gordon Brown should apologise to David Cameron. Not least because he can ...
Damian McBride with Gordon Brown Photo: REUTERS Mr Hague called for the Prime Minister to apologise, demanded assurances that Mr McBride would not be allowed to return in a similar post and called for an inquiry into the smears. Speaking on Sky News, Mr Hague said: "We need a thorough investigation into exactly who [...]
The bus campaign has now been covered in the excellent online magazine Bradley Stoke Examiner - many thanks for the coverage!. Bradley Stoke lost some of its bus services in February when First Bus axed the 74 and X74 bus services. Like our area they are vulnerable to future reviews of First's bus services. Remember, the petition is still going at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/southglosbuses.
News story Grieve calls for debate on Labour plans to let 28,000 prisoners vote Wednesday, April 8 2009 Dominic Grieve has called for a parliamentary debate over Government proposals to give up to 28,800 prisoners the right to vote. A Ministry of Justice consultation document suggests that criminals sentenced to less than four years in prison should be [...]
As I listened to the media coverage of the Damian McBride/Derek Draper affair this morning, I knew for certain what David Cameron's reaction would be. We could confidently expect a terse statement along the following lines: As Mr McBride no longer works for the government, the Conservative Party fully accepts that Gordon Brown and the Labour party can't reasonably be expected to comment and as far as we are concerned that's the end of the matter. How could I be so sure? Well, when former Conservative candidate for Watford Ian Oakley was convicted for spreading anonymous smears against political opponents ...
I'm very pleased this evening to have had my first article published on Liberal Democrat Voice, the respected blog run by Lib Dem members and activists. You can read the full article by clicking here. Enjoy!
Labour want to force young people into doing 50 hours of community service before they are 19 years old according to a BBC report that you can read by following the link. Personally I think its disgraceful that Labour have started copying the Conservatives and are trying to create a socially engineered state but let me assure them it wont work. If Labour want to make the youth do community work they can also do damage and that would be to Labour's chances of winning elections in the future as the youth would vote against Labour. The youth can also ...
1) Which is McBride - Haldeman, Ehrlichman or Chuck Colson? 2) Would that mean Derek Draper is Gordon Liddy? And which of these two should be more insulted by that comparison? 3) Who's going to play Graham Norton in the film version of his epic TV interviews with disgraced Prime Minister Gordon Brown?
... of all persuasions. I do not know what will happen when I get to heaven. I am fairly sure that I will meet my maker. What will happen next? I will suffer an extraordinary pang of monumental guilt for the things that I have done and not done. It will not last a moment. My knowledge of physics makes me sure of that; the chief ingredient of time is limit, and God is beyond limit, so I am sure that when I meet him, it will be outside time. So my pang of guilt will probably take no time ...
Blimey! I've been away for the bank holiday weekend down in Devon and so have only just got to a computer. I only had intermittent coverage on my iPhone so have not been able to follow the blogs as closely as I mormally so. I didn't actually need to read the blogs however to see what has happened as it was the main headline on the BBC News yesterday and has been rumbling on today. There's not much point in me going into detail about McBride's resignation. I don't know much about him but everything I have heard makes him ...
I've been busy for a little while, and so I've not been doing the Big Finish A Week posts, as they take up vastly more time than any of the other posts, but things are a little more settled again, so I should be starting them again soon. In the meantime, I'd like to talk [...]
Politics should be about constructive debate and people working together to find solutions to common problems like global warming, the economy, social cohesion and public health. Most people get involved in politics for the right reasons, primarily because they want to change the world or help their local community. However, if you read the Sunday newspapers, it would appear that all politicians do these days is fiddle their expenses and think of new ways to smear their opponents. The resignation of Damian McBride following his alleged plans to smear to Tories, is just the latest in a long line of ...
Sun 12th
19:03
Well i said the B.N.P Where catching on with there leaflets in Pendlebury but i think you need to se...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1HwTDjL4FE This offers the mind set of the BNP. The only thing that struck me about the film is the main character did not have a tash and a desire to conquer Poland.
To go with the Easter chocolate I think we deserve a bit of nostalgia. Remember those halcyon days of.....well...er....only last August actually...when I could get thousands of hits just by mentioning the word "Palin"? Happy days....Well come on, the lady hasn't gone into cold storage up there in Alaska. So why not indulge in a bit of nose-pokery into her world? Go on, you know you love it.It's
Yesterday, I asked how one should categorise Paul Staines, aka Guido Fawkes. Today on the Brassneck blog, Mick Fealty provides the answer. Based on Staines's writings, Fealty makes it clear that he sees the blogger as an attack dog for the Tories. In his usual thoughtful style, Fealty places the whole smear episode in context and explains why, in his view, Derek Draper has found himself in this almighty mess. What has happened illustrates a very real problem for those in the communications industry. Taking it away from politics, if a blogger attacks your organisation do you treat them as ...
Sunday: Member of Hard Labour admits to spreading GOSSIP and INNUENDO about Conservatories (all very tacky and tasteless, but not CRIMINAL) - Mr Balloon says he is FURIOUS. Member of the Conservatories found GUILTY in COURT of spreading campaign of terror and intimidation against Liberal Democrats - Mr Balloon silent on subject. Certainly Mr Frown should apologise on behalf of Hard Labour for their BAD behaviour, smears are no way to conduct politics, it should be about the IDEAS not the people; but equally Mr Balloon should apologise on behalf of the Conservatories for THEIR behaviour. And perhaps he can ...
Updated:Since my last post, I have read the News of the World on the McBride emails.My view of their gravity has increased considerably. I don't think Brown can ever recover from this debacle, which will now be an additional millstone around his neck, added to all the others. He's a dead man walking, now.I am uncomfortable with how this has come about - through a medium that has carried so many "
Not much to add to "smeargate" as it's called - congratulations due to Paul Staines for pushing blogging into the Big Leagues - Labour fought the blogs, and the blogs won. But it occurs to me that this is a no-win situation for Brown. Assuming he knew, then he's sanctioning the very worst form of gutter [...]
One of the reasons why people close to Gordon Brown have been thinking about a smear campaign is that the Labour Party is in a desperate situation. In general, when things are going well for a party, they don't feel the need to indulge in those sort of tactics. If you're confident of victory, why risk things by engaging in dubious tactics? But if you want to know just why Labour is in such desperate straits, have a look at the latest wheeze from Brown: compulsory "voluntary" service for young people. Now let's leave aside the fact that if something ...
I've just finished reading (online) a book called "Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air", by Professor David McKay from the University of Cambridge. It's an insightful guide about energy consumption and renewable energy production, and the options available to policy and decision-makers. It's an important read - and is clear and consise (and witty). It's not feel-good, it's not easy, but it is fascinating. In case you're wondering whether it's more environmentally friendly to read it online, or buy a paper copy - it depends how fast a reader you are! If you're a fast reader or will use ...
An email drops into The Voice's inbox from Brighton & Hove Lib Dems, which we are very happy to share: Liberal Democrats in Brighton and Hove are calling on colleagues from across the South East to join Brian Paddick as he leads the Stonewall Equality Walk. The annual 10km walk takes place on Sunday 3rd May from 1pm meeting at the Royal Pavilion grounds. Last year Lib Dem campaigners raised over £1,200 for Stonewall. Lib Dem Council Group Leader Paul Elgood said: 'Come to Brighton and help support Brian as he leads the Stonewall Equality Walk. It'll be an enjoyable ...
Although Guido has undoubtedly performed a public service in helping get rid of the odious Damian McBride, I have to say that I very rarely read his blog. Why? Well, basically he indulges in the same sort of personality based politics that he rightly condemns McBride for. Guido's basic stock in trade is that all politicians are lying, thieving, self-serving, hypocritical, perverted scumbags. Indeed, he takes his pseudonym from the apparent belief that Guido Fawkes was the last person to enter Parliament with any honest intent. Now, unlike what McBride was up to, doubtless much of what appears on Guido's ...
Last night I was very honoured to attend a dinner to celebrate the wedding of Adam Teladia and his bride Shaheena and to welcome Shaheena to Birmingham (she also moved from Manchester yesterday).
LDV ran a poll that I didn't vote in about which party we should help to get into government if they was to be a hung Parliament after the next general election. The whole idea was floated by Mike Smithson and I wrote about how we should support Labour in that case as they would come out with more seats over the popular vote. LDV members voted differently with most saying that the Lib Dems should go for the party that got the popular vote and personally I that is wrong because at the end of the day its the ...
One of the priorities identified by the Lee Green Local Assembly is provision for young people in the ward. You might remember that the assembly coordinating group has set up a youth survey to get young people's views on our area. Working with the Youth Service, we've also managed to arrange for the Rolling Sound bus to visit Lee Green over the next three weeks. The Lab is a state of the art music, photography and design suite installed on a fully customised bus. Young people can use professional multimedia equipment on their doorstep for free. We're hoping The Lab's ...
How different people approach the same problem is an interest of mine. Ever since I first started analysing requirements for computer programs — and then designing, writing, testing and documenting them — the reasons behind the decision-making process of each individual for the design choices and selections they make has been somewhat of a puzzle. 'Back in the day' when I started hacking code — the early 1970s — Computer Programming was still very much 'an Art'. Something little known to the majority of the population, almost the practice of a religion by its acolytes and preachers who deigned to ...
As Janet Street Porter pus it in the Independent on Sunday today: One columnist has said that the "steady drip" of information about [Ian Tomlinson's] background is designed to denigrate an ordinary man. The drip drip has been of information such as Ian Tomlinson having a drink problem and living in a hostel. It's intended to appeal to that authoritarian agenda, so beloved often by some tabloids, traditional Conservatives and New Labour politicians, which thinks, "Drunk? That's all his own fault then." Leaving aside the absurd idea that just because someone has been drinking alcohol, it's ok for the police ...
31 March 2009Albany, NY StateThere is hardly time to unpack as we are off again to ....New York.... later this afternoon.We have time to visit the ..New York State Museum in Albany and view the 9/11 e...
Well for it or against it, is there a need for it,it as to be one of the oldest professions if i can call it that. But it worries me the amount of people being dragged into it to get money to cover addiction. The rapid spread of aids and of course the idiots who [...]
Right now, who is the very last person you would turn to for advice on how to live your life? Derek Draper perhaps? Which is why this award goes to Draper for his Life Support: A Survival Guide for the Modern Soul: Psychotherapy helps thousands of people every day: they feel happier, achieve more success and enjoy better relationships. Prominent psychotherapist Derek Draper has chosen to share his tips and tools from the therapy room to help exactly those people.In this groundbreaking book he explores 40 key issues that impact almost everyone's lives, uses examples drawn from real life to ...
And so another week at Bonkers Hall draws to its close. Sunday When word got around that the Reverend Hughes's sermon today would take the form of a mediation upon the life of St Vincent de Cable, it became the hottest ticket in town. The queue began to form at St Asquith's lych-gate yesterday evening and I did my best to make the time pass quickly for the would-be congregation by accompanying myself upon the banjolele whilst singing that old music hall standard, "So I Gave it a Whack With me Old Orchard Doughty". The Revd does not let us ...
Sad you develop cancer like a lady from SALFORD, she is over 60 and has to fight to get the drug,what price do you put on life. You work all your life you obey all the rules you may have even had to fight for your country. But i feel this section of society is [...]
How to make lots of money on the Internet? The received wisdom, thanks to Google, is to get a pile of money to start up, build a great service, get everyone using it and then make your fortune from online advertising. It works for Google's search engine arm, but is it working elsewhere? The Register has reported that Google-owned You Tube stands to lose half a billion dollars this year. They've built the great service. They've got everyone using it. But the advertising revenue isn't there. It turns out that, whereas adverts on a search engine are quite handy because ...
With McBride getting sacked for his emails in which he wanted Draper to run the Red Rag website which is currently offline Guido has blogged about how Liam Byrne has near enough sacked him from the Labour party. Guido writes about how Liam Byrne has said that Draper has no official role in Labour HQ but like Guido I question if that is the case then why was LabourList launched in Labour HQ and top dogs from the Labour party are writers for the site? It just doesn't make sense Labour, you need to face facts and just tell us ...
Amol Rajan has as edifying post on the Independent website from Thursday under the headline 'How Cable is spooking Tory grassroots'. It is worth quoting in full: Vince Cable has written a marvellously lucid book called The Storm, which I shall review here presently. Over on the ConservativeHome website, Philip Dunne MP has put up a post with the headline: "There's nothing invincible about Vince". This states the obvious, of course. And reading through the rather flimsy evidence Dunne provides, it soon emerges that the post is really an attack on the Liberal Democrats rather than their Treasury spokesman. The ...
With the whole of politics seemingly mired in sleaze and scandal over expense claims and dirty tricks I think that it is only right that I try to strike a positive note this morning. After all this devalued currency that we call politics is the basis of our democracy. Once we start to lose confidence in the democratic process and start to embrace individuals and parties who claim to offer a quick fix, but in fact represent a descent into a moralising authoritarian abyss, then our very freedoms come under threat. Politics has become populated by a breed of activist ...
Oh dear, 9.15 and I've already eaten too much chocolate, turned on the tv to hear about the McBride 'smear' emails, now feeling queasy. Being a very cynical sort of person, as the Labour party lurches from one PR disaster to the next and Mr. Brown is stripped of his once close aides and allies, I can't help seeing a rather larger game of political chess emerging. I will not be suprised if New/Old Labour has a new/old leader for the next election... Anyhow, political pondering aside, I did just stumble across the Downing Street garden website on flickr, and ...
I have today launched my April 2009 update to West End Community Council. Issues covered include : * West End Bus Services * TV reception issues in the West End * Riverside - Proposed Nature Park * Riverside Drive * Begging complaints * Dundee Airport - noise issues * Tay Rope Works - successful outcome * HMOs * Sub-station at Magdalen Green The Community Council meets next Tuesday (14th April) at 7pm in Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall. You can download a copy of the update by clicking on the headline above.
Happy Easter to all of you! I'm sure your world is less full of rabbits, chocolate eggs and fluffy chicks than mine is at the moment, but however you are spending your Easter Day, I hope you enjoy it. I thought you might like to see, courtesy of Lib Dem Voice, the results of Jo Swinson's survey on Easter Egg packaging. Jo has long been campaigning against excess packaging and it appears that she has had some success in persuading manufacturers to celebrate this festival in a more sustainable way. I hope she'll be able to use her powers of ...
With the permission of the City Council's Leisure & Communities Department, if you click on the headline above, you can read the latest community learning newsletter from the City Council. There's a whole lot of activities over the next three months, including events at the Mitchell Street Centre and at Dundee West Church in the West End.
One of the many great things about being a Protestant married to a Catholic is that you get to do all the great festivals twice - and there is nothing to beat a good Easter Vigil. Our catholic church does it on Easter Eve - lighting the brazier outside in the gathering gloom, cars swishing past on the main road and a distant police siren as we process into a darkened church with lighted candles. I have been asked to open the readings with the great creation chapters from Genesis, the challenge being to give the familiar words poetry, rhythm ...
There's always a bit of anxiety for me in the build up to a new Doctor Who episode - usually loosely based on the thought that they couldn't possibly top the previous one. In the fourth season, I don't think there was a single bad episode, although, personally, the Doctor's Daughter was not my favourite. The series ended on a huge high with Stolen Earth and Journey's End, which saw the return of Davros, loads of daleks and all the companions from the new series. The Christmas Special was excellent, too, with just the right amount of sentimentality for the ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=So3qjSYWBEQ I have been forwarded this film to show me what New Labour have done on the irwell river banks, and i am shamed to say i am impressed. Follow the link
Wow it's like like arnie and danny divito found each other other again. Perhaps it's a plot and someone out there is cloning them.
Sun 12th
07:08
Britain's Got Talent Shame - When did stripping become mainstream family entertainment?
I know that I can usually be trusted to watch every reality show known to man, but I've never quite got Britain's Got Talent. My daughter loves it, though, especially the acts that, predictably, involve cute animals. What I wasn't prepared for in last night's opening show of the new series was the final act they showed. Effectively, the woman gyrating on the stage in red stockings, suspenders and basque with strategically placed Union Jacks round her bum and bosom was a stripper. For all that people use the term "burlesque" to make this sort of activity sound exotic, in ...
It may be late (I blame the author's man flu, but then I would...) but it's a bumper Barcud this week as the end-of-term mood added an extra air of lunacy to proceedings.I'm In Plaid, Get Me Out Of HereEvery writer submitting items for delayed publication risks being overtaken by events. Nevertheless, when I e-mailed off the last Barcud I had little fear that the sordid question of top-up fees
I'm glad to see that the Lib Dems have called for the withdrawal of the EU election poster featuring a baby bottle to represent the family that I blogged about on Friday. The press release from Andrew Duff, leader of the Lib Dems in the EU said: "In documentation designed to promote the European elections in June this year the European Union has produced postcards which undermine World Health Organisation, UK health guidance and the European Blueprint for Action, all of which promote breastfeeding by associating a baby bottle as an appropriate image of a family. Andrew Duff MEP, Leader ...
The fact that Damian McBride has quit his post as Gordon Brown's special adviser over the attempt to smear the Tories shouldn't be seen as the end of this affair. In my view, this episode is far worse than the recent various MPs' expenses scandals. Those have been mainly about politicians exploiting generous rules to the full and it is not clear to what extent those rules have been infringed, if at all. By contrast, even thinking about indulging in the politics of personal destruction is, or should be, a big no-no. There can be no conceivable justification whatsoever for ...
Today I was in Bexleyheath and saw the BNP street stall. They portray themsevles in much the same way that the Nazis did in Germany pre-war.They claim they are patriots, but the brave patriots who fought against Nazism in the war would spit at the very thought of them. Just look at this picture in the News of the World today of their number 2 receiving a Nazi salute.
With great excitement I have read the McBride/Draper emails. We are being told they indicate a poisonous intent within Labour high command. To some extent that is true, but we have seen far more effective campaigns used against Labour (e.g. over J. Prescott). No, the point is the monumental, mind-shattering naivety and stupidity of it all. ....Boyishly enthusiastic emails sent from government
Work today, then no work till next Friday - woohoo!!! # Listening to Bizarre Inc. - Playing With Knives old skool classix !!! # Just watched Little Miss Sunshine with some scepticism. Great feel good film #
A non political day today (well, as near as I can manage). Here is a selection of our day out, we are going to become Members of the Zoo as it is a great way to keep conservation going.
