It was frustrating to have to leave the Gladstone Club's summer Pimms and canapé party on the terrace of the National Liberal Club just as the guest speaker, Michael Crick, was about to perorate. It would have been interesting to hear his take on recent events at Westminster, without the editorial control of BBC2's Newsnight. But [...]
Gah. Head hurts, back hurts, feel very woolly-headed. Supposed to be having a biz dev away-day today but the word is thunder and bad roads. # BBC NEWS: Web slows after Jackson's death http://bit.ly/hQD2M [I hope you're all pleased with yourself - you broke teh interwebs.] # Off the mark quickly: http://www.ismichaeljacksonstillalive.com/ (via PL on Facebook.) #
Sometimes there are comics that you can review before even reading them, and I was half tempted to do that with the two comics I'm going to review here. Going in, I knew exactly what I was going to get with these two comics, both part of the line-wide Batman revamp. Both feature female leads, [...]
Excerpt from Salford Advertiser: A BOY of 15 has been convicted of the murder of a toddler he was babysitting. The killer can now be named as Karl Roger McCluney after the judge lifted reporting restrictions which banned him from being identified. Two-year-old Demi Leigh Mahon had injuries in 68 different areas of her body after she was punched, kicked, and bitten by the teenager. The child suffered massive brain damage, and died two days after the attack. Manchester Crown Court was told McCluney had a mental disorder and symptoms included fighting, bullying, temper tantrums, and severe disobedience. The toddler ...
Freedom Central has already covered the payment of £10,000 by the Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr to his National Party chair and Plaid PPC for the adjoining seat for IT consultancy. There is no suggestion that anything untoward took place but unlike other stories about legitimate allowance claims this one was tucked away inside the Western Mail, who have failed to follow it up by asking the obvious questions. We have been told that this money was paid to supervise the installation of a new computer system in the Ammanford office of Adam Price. By definition that ...
That's right – while you can show your appreciation by buying or downloading tracks there's another way you can do it. http://www.last.fm/ is a site that tracks the music you listen to on itunes and Windows Media Player. This means it automatically creates a `chart` of what you've been listening to over time and adds it to [...]
Over the past couple of weeks, I've been getting really into breadmaking. I liked the idea of starting with as few ingredients as possible, and I'd read that slow-rise breads are easier to digest, so rather than using commercial yeast, I spent about a week making a sourdough starter. After spending some time on the Internet and discovering that there are as many ideas about how to do this as there are bakers, I did it this way: I washed out an old plastic jug that fits comfortably in our fridge. I whisked together one cup of organic white flour ...
OK, it's not exactly earth shattering nor political but it is quite important to me, and to hubby. Right on time the work was completed and the finished article was handed over to us. I mention it here because so much is said and written about poor workmanship and "rip off Britain" that I feel it's worthy of note when someone takes a real pride in their work, does a good job on time and within
I paste below what this was about - the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braiile Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is celebrating 200 years since the birth of Louis Braille. His legacy of the Braille system of reading ('dots' which represent the letters of the alphabet) has enabled thousands of blind children and adults worldwide to experience the joy of reading. Why not join in...
Well, that was a shock, last night. So now the world gorges itself on tv, radio, newspaper, and magazine on his life and times. I've never bought a MJ record, but I never didn't like any of his stuff. As I write this, only 8 albums in the amazon.co.uk top 25 chart are NOT featuring Michael Jackson. Now that's phenomenal!
When we put the hospital on the spot over maternity services yesterday evening we didn't realise that the issue was going to feature as the front page story in the Comet today. One of my rôles is Vice Chair of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel. This is unique among all the Council Committees, because the councillors have the task of scrutinising non-Council services provided by...
I've written to my MP about potholes on the Leighton Buzzard Rd, route into Hemel Hempstead; you have to do some serious dodging to avoid some nasty potholes here. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that someone has done some serious damage to tyres, or worse, on this road. Of course Herts Tory council are blaming the Labour government for under-funding them. Come the General Election, Tories will persuade the voters to vote Tory if they want potholes fixed.
Jonathan Calder raised the worrying thought that the new Speaker might be younger than I am. A quick google shows this is so - by about a year. I knew we were more or less contemporaries, because I met him back in his Federation of Conservative Students days. He came to Exeter to speak against a motion of no confidence in the government at the Debating Society. I seconded the motion of no confidence. Rather surprisingly - given that the Debating Soc was a rather Conservative part of a rather Sloane-y University, the "no confidence" side won the day. I ...
It's here at www.alternatehistory.comIn response to the overbearing social conservatism of Thatcher, Queen becomes far more political. Freddie never enters the underground scene (bathhouses, frequent unprotected sex, etc.), so he never gets HIV. In 1982, the album "Hot Space" is shelved in place of a very political album about the Falklands War. Freddie Mercury is seen as a "spokesman of a
As promised, here is the new Liberal England prize quiz. This time there are two copies of Patrick Hannan's new book A Useful Fiction: Adventures in British Democracy to be won. Just e-mail me the answers to the following five questions: After whom is the Barnett formula named? Who wrote: "We are bought and sold for English gold - What a parcel of rogues in a nation." In which year did the people of North East England vote against the establishment of a regional assembly in a referendum? Who said of Enoch Powell: "Poor Enoch! Driven mad by the remorselessness ...
The dead tree press have reported the following headline for a story about a BNP ex candidate and supporters house been set on fire "Arson attack on home of Nelson BNP' and personally I think this reminds us of how dead the tree press really is. First of all Mr Dawson isn't just a BNP he also holds a Degree in History as I have come to know via the famous BNP membership list. Mr Dawson is also an ex candidate and currently works in Barrowford for anyone who is interested. But the problem is that why have the dead ...
Well, I suppose the Onion.com is a reasonable place to consider the death of the "King of Pop". Given the astonishing abuse of his body through needless drugs and needless surgery, I guess fifty was not too bad an innings, but as usual the po-faced media will glory in the shroud waving: no cliche will be left unstated as the endless recycling of the story of "someone you've heard of dies unexpectedly, relatively young" now allows them to make more sales. It is not pretty. I can not make too many deep statements- I suppose his best song was "Billie ...
I just thought the BBC might want to know that despite their constant advertising on every radio station in the BBC network, between virtually every programme on BBC 1, 2, 3 & 4 (and probably News and Parliament also), I really don't care about Glastonbury. Even when I was younger, I didn't really care about it. A friend of mine lived in Pilton (where the festival is actually held), and I still didn't want to go to the festival. It's much the same as Ibiza, which the BBC will soon start plugging on all channels in order to get us ...
My House Points column from today's Liberal Democrat News. What is really wrong about electing Bercow as Speaker, of course, is that he is younger than I am. Traduced Tory Spare a thought for Sir George Young. He has now lost the Speakership twice for partisan reasons. Nine years ago he failed to win because government backbenchers were determined that a Labour House should have a Labour speaker. Now he has lost to John Bercow because those same Labour MPs anticipate a Tory landslide and want a Speaker who will be thorn in David Cameron's side. But then many Liberal ...
K, looks like I kinda forgot to update for awhile. Oops. You know what that means right? A backlog of silly, informative, thinkworthy or merely funny links. In no particular order: Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite". Sounds fun to me. Street View solves Dutch mugging. See? Useful. Random chance, but still useful. Next up, researchers do study that finds obvious finding. Except it's not obvious, because if it were, you wouldn't still have idiot politicians the world over trying to pretend the exact opposite is true ...
I hear that Lord Rennard has been referred to the Privileges Committee over his expenses claims - particularly, but not uniquely, his claim that his primary residence is in Eastbourne. He has been reported by the Sunlight Centre for Open Politics. Those with long memories will remember the resolution of the Federal Executive Committee meeting, over a month ago, on 20th May 2009. This promised, amongst other things, a code of conduct to be published by mid-June. If it has been published, I can't find any sign of it on the official party website (although as I can't find a ...
The British electors will not vote for a man who does not wear a hat -Advice given to Tom Driberg by Lord Beaverbrook That comes from Dave Cole in his Hat Section. No wonder Lord Tony Greaves' always wears a hat! Right I best go buy the best hat on the market as if a hat can get me into Parliament I need one now!
The Western Mail site has just gone into time travel mode again and won't display any items later than last week, but I thought it was important to highlight the latest musings by Plaid Cymru guru Dr. Euryl ap Gwilym, even though they are pretty depressing. The good doctor says that according to Treasury forecasts the amount of money the Assembly will have to spend will increase nominally in the current year and in 2010-11. That of course amounts to a real term cut. In subsequent years it gets worse. Dr. ap Gwilym says that there is sufficient information in ...
I'm sure I wasn't alone in fearing that the life of Michael Jackson would come to an end sooner rather than later. He never seemed to have any inner peace, despite his brilliantly innovative music and dance style. His passing marks one of those rare moments in history where you'll never forget where you were when it happened. In my lifetime, there's been things like Diana's death and 9/11, but in my life the first such monumental occasion came when Elvis died when I was 10 years and a few days old. In a weird bit of symmetry, my daughter ...
{BBC going going gone....} BBC Expenses claimed by the fat cats have been reluctantly released by the Corporation today. And much fun will be had with the array of items bought by the so-called senior management (fizz for Forsyth, roses for Ross, leaving do's for ...(well everyone who's ever left by the looks...). We've also had confirmed that the top 50 highest paid BBC employees collectively earned £13.6million in 2008 with 47 of the 50 earning over £190,000 (the PM earns £195,000). I have heard the argument about the BBC needing to be the best and to do that they ...
Welcome to this Friday edition of our new LDV feature rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds. Guaranteed Wimbledon/Jacko free. First up, let's enjoy new Speaker John Bercow's well-publicised spat with ITN reporter Tom Bradby. Hard to choose between them who I feel least sympathy for, as both seem to be indulging in needless testosterone-charged irratibility: After that starter, here's the main course – Liberal Vision's rather good 4-minute synopsis of the New Labour failure set to one of my all-time fave tracks, Nena's 99 Red Balloons: And finally for today – and yes, I ...
Can you identify possible cabinet areas that offer weakness. Without naming the individual. If so where do you think they are letting down the public.
Do you feel we are lacking in our abilities in highlighting failure. Are we utilising the press for maximum advantage?do you feel as a party in Salford we are failing to impress our policies on the general public. Should our key policy spokesman be more active .
Have Labour shot then selves in the foot? with them keeping her do you think it will effect marginal seats. YES NO
Well speaking from phone calls three weeks ago to find out someone's Homeless status and still get no answer,then to be told it could be eight weeks. By the time you get an answer you may have found your own flat.
Nice to see Swinton Lib Dems have posted a picture of their group at the top of their web page! about 2 hours ago Glad you like it John...
Source Salford Online.... <!–Last Updated – 26th June 2009 at 02:21 PM –> A boy who battered an Eccles toddler to death has today been convicted of murder. 68 "multiple, severe and forceful" injuries were inflicted on the two year old, after her 15 year old babysitter, now named as Karl McCluney, could not [...]
MPs on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee have complained that the Legislative Competence Order which seeks to devolve more powers over the environment to the Assembly is so complicated, that they are struggling to understand it: Wales Office Minister Wayne David conceded the LCO was "quite laborious to read", but added that complexity did not entirely explain the delay. "It's the most complicated LCO that has come forward so far, and a great deal of negotiation has taken place across a whole range of different departments," he told MPs on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. "It also has to be ...
Statement – Serious Case Review, June 2009 Statement – Serious Case Review, June 2009 Councillor John Merry, leader of Salford City Council said: "The death of any child is a dreadful thing to happen and my heartfelt sympathies are with the family. "I was anxious that this serious case review was robust enough to draw out where [...]
Earlier today Curve, Leicester's new arts centre, was promoting its forthcoming Michael Jackson 51 show as a "high energy tribute show to Michael Jackson jam-packed with heart stopping music". I wonder why they changed it? See the Google cache if you don't believe me.
Funny reading the advertiser this week someone complaining about a bin full of dog poo. And after contacting the council no one as moved it,would this happen in front of a MPs house or a councillors. Well i had a call at 4.30 Monday night over the bin, at 5.30 i sent an email to the [...]
advertisement if(typeof rand == "undefined") rand = Math.floor(Math.random()*10000000); document.write('\x3Cscript + segQS + 'ord=' + rand + '?" type="text/javascript">\x3C\/script>'); Teen guilty of Demi's murder 33 comments | A BOY of 15 has been convicted of the murder of a toddler he was babysitting. The killer can now be named as Karl Roger McCluney after reporting [...]
Well, I said the other day that I wouldn't believe that Max Mosley was actually leaving the FIA until I saw him walking along the Place de la Concorde with his belongings in a red and white spotted hankie. An unnamed team principal has apparently told the press that he would believe it only "when I see the stake through his heart". It's reported that the deal is now in jeopardy because Max has taken exception to some of the things that FOTA members have said to the press. They are supposed to have implied that he is stepping down ...
Whilst reading the comment section of Charlotte Gore's blog I came across a comment from Laurence Boyce criticising Lib Dem MP's and you can read his comment below I love this idea that four years of Charlotte's libertarian agenda would start to get a bit boring after a while. Like the present crop of Lib Dem MPs are so constantly providing us with the most interesting food for thought, and are in no way towing a tediously bland and predictable line. Question: what are the key issues which each of the 63 Lib Dem MPs in turn have driven onto ...
I think I will pose this question rather than aim to conclusively answer it but firstly let me state why I am posing the question. Exhibit A is the ICM poll for Norwich North which actually finds the Green's only 1% behind us. Now, I appreciate that the Green's actually have strong pockets of localised [...]
Over the last few months the BNP have been manning a stall in the Bracknell Town centre on a regular basis. The BNP believe they are getting a good response (See the BNP site here.) This is a worrying sign for those that believe in an inclusive society. The BNP have been putting work into Bracknell and have been making headway. During the European elections the BNP gained 5.5 percent of the votes (1490). Part of this increase in the BNP vote is due to Andy McBride the South East organiser who is very high up in the BNP party ...
Browsing the t'interweb earlier today, I came across the news on Facebook that Nick Clegg is to do a public meeting at Glastonbury! It's set for Sunday afternoon, and he will become the first party leader to visit the festival in a professional capacity. Nick has been invited by Michael Eavis, the organiser of the [...]
As I know that many Conservative MEP's read this for that reason I am writing this blog to bring some food for thought to them and you never know I might try and get them to think again before making any decisions. As I blogged about a couple of weeks ago Cameron has a new group of friends in Europe who you can read more about by following the link. With every one knowing that Cameron's new group are a dirty bunch do Conservative MEP's accept the views of their friends in Europe? I don't think all Tory MEP's support ...
Ahead of Armed Forces Day, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has set out five priorities the Government must meet to better support Britain's service men and women. We must never forget the enormous sacrifices which our service men and women make on our behalf every day. I know from visiting them in Afghanistan that their selfless dedication is truly humbling. "Armed Forces Day is a chance to show our gratitude, but also to reflect on how we can best support our troops. This Government has failed them too often. That is why I am setting out five priorities Gordon Brown ...
The last few weeks have been a very long time in politics. However, it has convinced me of the need for our liberal vision now more than ever. Two events have really re-enforced this for me: the European elections and the renewed debate around devolution. The Welsh Liberal Democrats had a bittersweet night as we watched the European results come in. I was at the national count in Pembrokeshire. We had fought the strongest campaign we have ever fought - and the most pro-European. Across Wales, we had told people that only by working with our friends in Europe could ...
A musical interlude courtesy of Liberal Vision. No related posts.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have the first constituency poll of the Norwich North by-election campaign, and it shows a close contest in store. Before I give you the figures, though, it should come with two big health warnings. First, the poll's sample size is very small – 500 overall, and fewer than 300 for the voting figures. Secondly, polls this early in a by-election campaign, and when a polling date isn't yet known, have proven unreliable predictors in the past. With those caveats firmly in place, here it is (comparisons with 2005 general election result in brackets): Tories 34%(+1), Labour ...
...or at least my sanity on a couple of occasions. It's strange but true. About eight years ago I was going through a rough patch. What helped me greatly was reading Daphne Du Maurier's The Parasites albeit at a snail's pace. It is a wonderful book, although not earth-shattering (which I wouldn't say for a couple others of the Du Maurier oevre which I have attempted to read). I read about a page a day, but somehow my absorption with the detail of the book enabled me to refocus my mind. Now La Du Maurier is providing a similar anchoring ...
Fri 26th
13:25
Hindsight special: Did anyone believe that Michael Jackson would have completed 50 O2 gigs?
Paul Gambaccini's comments on the death of Michael Jackson have been very interesting, particularly in relation to the planned 50 concerts at the O2 over the next eight months: I'm sorry, of course, I'm stunned but I can't say I'm really shocked because I had feared some kind of negative health result from these dates...I never thought he would be able to do them all because he was a 50-year-old man with a poor recent health history and to think he could subject his body to this vigour was unrealistic. I'm just a few months younger than Michael Jackson. It ...
Last week I tendered my resignation from the party and, ergo, this means I need to remove myself from LD blogs too. This doesn't necessarily mean being active in a party political sense elsewhere. During the recent European elections I voted Green. In short their radical environmental and social justice agenda sat better with me than the Liberal alternative. I was, and remain, firmly left-of-centre in my political outlook. I am influenced by a mixture of red / green / liberal thought. What I am not, is an economical liberal. Upon arriving in Torbay I initially voted LD to 'keep ...
WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BLOG IF YOU ARE A MICHAEL JACKSON FAN Were it not for his untimely death, Michael Jackson would have been in London in a couple of week's time playing a series of sell-out gigs at the O2 (or Millennium Dome to give it its untrendy name). I can't help think that the media response to the visit would have been a mix of the following: 'freak', 'oddball', 'weirdo'. And that's if he'd shown up and done the shows. God knows what the response would have been in the the very likely event that they never ...
My bill to introduce the power to suspend driving instructors has sailed through its third reading today.The bill ensures that learner drivers are protected from those convicted of sexual offences but have not yet been removed from the register of approved driving instructors.The bill will now be guided by my old boss Lord Paul Tyler through the House of Lords before it hopefully receives Royal Assent.A good day's work.
Well according to this MORI poll I've dug up from late 2008 it's journalists, with a net rating of -55%. 'Politicians' come in at -52%. So is it entirely rational for politicians to use the other least trusted people, journalists, to try and change their reputation?
Here are the results of an opinion poll for the forthcoming Norwich North by-election:CON 34%(+1), LAB 30%(-15), LDEM 15%(-1), Green 14%(+11)If accurate, it looks like the Conservatives will gain this seat from Labour.But look at what has happened to the vote. Labour's support has dropped massively, and has mainly gone to the Greens. Now analysing political parties simply in terms of left-right
When a patient with chronic (long lasting) pain goes into hospital, doctors and nurses should listen to the patient. I have found that a patient with an extremely painful condition was not allowed, yes, not allowed, to have her medication at the times her consultant had specified. On mentioning this to her consultant she was told, "Yes, even we have difficulty getting through to them!" In my opinion this behaviour by hospital staff is totally unprofessional. If any hospital professional reads this and is offended, please contact me to tell me why this kind of thing happens.
David Cameron has insulted a Tory Party PPC with his comments about the BNP and calling them "retarded racists". This all comes via twitter which can be a very good if I say so myself. A Tory tweeted Cameron's comments on the BNP and the Tory PPC replied with the following message: "Sadly not a very positive message for learning disabled people.Particularly sad after Mark Harpers' impassioned plea at PMQs!" I would class the Tories as retards but that's my opinion but Cameron is the leader of the Tories so he must really think twice about everything he says.
The headline figures on this by-election actually have the Conservative's 'edging ahead' of Labour however, the findings reported on the University and College Union website are just as interesting. It found that neither expenses nor the economy is likely to be a key issue in the battle for Norwich North: "Over three-quarters (77%) of constituents said [...]
Angus UA, Monifieth and Sidlaw date: 25/06/2009SNP 2486 (68.6; +14.3)Con 698 (19.3; +0.8)LD 439 (12.1; +4.9)[Ind (0.0; -6.3)][Lab (0.0; -13.8)]Turnout 28.7%SNP holdSNP elected at the first stage
{eu} Following last month's Euro elections I've come across a fairly useful website: VoteWatch.EU The site lists all MEPs and allows you to categorise by their parties, political groups and so on. Statistics include voting loyalty to these groups and attendance records. The stats cover a period of roughly four and a half years. Go take a butcher's.
This last week seems to have been manic - and sadly I've discovered a few things that I haven't got done quite as quickly as I would have liked. I sit here at Shire Hall, metaphorically locked away from the phone for a few hours, whilst I reclaim ownership of my Inbox and have a chance to get my "To Do" list in shape. I'm frustrated at the moment with the amount of time it's taking to get an update on things that I report. All Councillors seem to be reporting Potholes and Pavements that need repairing - but then ...
Central Street – Nearly there!!! Hebden Bridge Times coverage We could not have got this far without the hard work of Hebden Royd councillors and officers, Calderdale Councillors and a specific mention for Cllr. Robin Dixon. This is what politics is really about – getting things done. One final push to get this street brought up to the standard it deserves. Can we do it? – YES, WE CAN {Share/Save/Bookmark}
CVS South Gloucestershire are running a Funders Fair on Thursday 9 July 2009, 9.00am - 2.00pm at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex. This is an opportunity for local groups to gain information and advice directly from representatives of key funders, including The Big Lottery, Quartet Community Foundation, Children In Need and South Gloucestershire Council, and to network with other groups who are addressing similar fundraising issues. More information including booking details at: http://www.cvs-sg.org.uk/south-gloucestershire-funders-fair/
I'm told an ICM poll from Norwich North will appear in tonight's Norwich Evening Press. The results are (with changes since 2005 in brackets): Conservative 34% (+1%) Labour 30% (-15%) LibDem 15% (-1%) Green 14% (+11%) Others 7% (+4%) The poll was commissioned by the University and College Union and also included a number of questions about education. Details here. UPDATE 5pm: Incumbent Norwich North MP Ian Gibson may run as an Independent according to the BBC
Blimey, you don't even have to be cold before the conspiracy theories begin. Where was the Duke of Edinburgh yesterday, that's what I want to know...And what does Mohammed Fayed think? It's all to do with the government. And the aliens, of course.
Ed Balls designs an Anti Ed Balls style education strategy. 'Flabbergasted' does not do this justice. There seems to be a cross-party consensus that centralised control of education is not the answer:"Earlier this month, Balls told a conference of headteachers: "I think the right thing for us to do now is to move away from what has historically been a rather central view of school improvement through national strategies, to something which is essentially being commissioned not from the centre, but by schools themselves."Michael Gove, the shadow education secretary, said: "If Ed Balls is going to scrap the national strategies ...
One in four people in this country will suffer from a mental health problem at some point in their lives. Rethink, a national mental health charity, conducted a survey on MPs mental health last year. They found that 11% of MPs had suffered personally from a mental health problem. Yet not one is prepared to speak publicly. In part this is undoubtedly to with the stigma that surrounds mental health. But there is also a clause in the Mental Health Act which states that any MP who is sectioned is removed from their seat, with no provision to return. There ...
Even the smallest planning decisions can have a massive impact. During the Euro elections I heard from one man so frustrated that his change-of-use application was turned down at least 5 years ago that it still affects his voting intentions today. What was routine policy (and technically entirely correct) for the Council, was an unwelcome and [...]
Why is it okay to laugh at the death of celebrities? Genuine question. As news of Michael Jackson's death swept the world last night, causing the Internet to grind to a standstill, two things about our new cyber-age stood out to me. First, that it was a US celeb website, TMZ.com, which broke the news of Jacko's demise, leaving traditional media, including the wire agencies and LA Times, in its reporting wake. Its maintained the frenetic and frequently intrusive coverage today. If you want to see pics of the paramedics arriving at Jacko's house, or of his grief-stricken relatives at ...
First of all, apologies for not blogging in several months (again). In my defence, I had exams, more exams, and then scary pupillage interviews. Secondly, what I am about to say is very likely to annoy a lot of my fellow Jews who might be reading this. So again, apologies in advance. Take it in the spirit of healthy debate; it's certainly not meant as an attack on Jewish schools or Jewish identity. But in a nutshell: I think the court got it right this week, when they ruled that a Jewish school's admissions policy was unlawful. Having said that, ...
The linked story in today's Daily Mail is about a boy who has an attachment disorder. No research has been done as to what extent the actions of the local authorities for young babies cause attachment disorders.It needs to be done.
A handy YouTube clip from Google addresses this backlink question: Related posts:Lessons from Gordon Brown's use of YouTube Gordon BroThe least impressive use of social media this year? In short: Opinion: Can Google's dominance be broken? Google dom
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee will consider the findings of their Inspectors who visited Bath last November today (Thursday 25th June 2009). The Inspectors came to assess the possible impact that new developments might have on the World Heritage Site. The committee report states that Bath World Heritage site is 'very well managed' and major buildings are in a 'very good...
Shrewsbury and Atcham Liberal Democrats and Charles West PPC are advertising for a Organiser.
I must stop listening to the Today programme as it does not seem to have improved one iota. After the Jackson interviews Sue MacGregor interviewed Mark Thompson, the BBC's DG, about expenses at the Beeb. She grilled him and she attacked him and all over very little. Apparently he claimed 23p for parking. His driver also claimed for the congestion charge. Well, whooooo, call in the Fraud Squad. Now it is clear the BBC is not thriving at the moment and I'd like to ask the management some hard-hitting questions, primarily about the potty obsession with text messaging, feedback and ...
I have been contacted about a poll (from a small sample of just 300 voters) in Norwich North which will come as a relief to the Lib Dems and a blow to the Greens who are claiming to be ahead of the Lib Dems after recent elections in the constitutency. The poll shows the figures as Conservative 34%, Labour 30%, Liberal Democrat 15%, Green 14% and Other 7%. The figures will also give comfort to both Labour and Tory camps with the Tory party on 34% but Labour not out of the race yet on 30%. Update : I note ...
Cross-posted from the Mandate blog: It's become almost a cliché to illustrate the reach of social media by comparing Facebook's number of active users with the population of different countries. The comparison certainly looks striking. Facebook has "more than 200 million active users". If it were a country would make it the fifth biggest in the world, ahead of Brazil and behind Indonesia. But look at finances and the story is very different. Facebook doesn't publish revenue figures, but for 2008 it looks to have been somewhere in the range $265-$350 million. Looking at the IMF's figures for GDP in ...
Michael Jackson's death is a sad occasion. I was no fan but much of his music was the finest pop music created and he deserves due credit for his considerable achievements. Given the range of music he created it is even possible to forgive the terrible later 'let me save you all' albums. He seems to have had a troubled life, which tends to make someone's death more poignant. Even the Today programme paid due respects, with Rambling Jim Naughtie experiencing an amazing epiphany during his interviews with various people. He started as the usual cantankerous, argumentative idiot, constantly interrupting ...
This is the future of party political broadcasts. Borrowed footage and borrowed music on YouTube. Courtesy of www.liberal-vision.org {Share/Save/Bookmark}
Even to suggest today there are 2 Big Stories other than The One Big Story seems a trifle daft - the news that spread late yesterday evening of the death of Michael Jackson has dominated, and will continue to dominate, news coverage this weekend. RIP the 'King of Pop', of course, but spare a thought, too, for Farrah Fawcett, whose death was also announced yesterday, and has been rather overshadowed. If Michael's death can be likened to that of Princess Diana's in August '97, I guess that makes Farrah the Mother Teresa of June '09. Anyway... 2 Big Stories BBC ...
Charlotte Gore has blogged about how a seat in available due to a PPC resigning and she could take the seat but doesn't because she thinks the blog will get in the way of the campaign and she thinks she is a "nutter" so she wont be running for Parliament. And I think its all rubbish. First of all the blog is not something to be scared of Charlotte, I agree you will need to keep in mind what the opposition might cherry pick for leaflets but that can easily be sorted by wiping the archive of blog posts well ...
If you do nothing else today, get on to Twitter and follow @scotlibdems, who have finally made it into the world of microblogging. They are at the Royal Highland Show (one of the events of the year up here) in the lifestye (?) section and will be tweeting from there as well as providing us with bite sized chunks of haggis, neeps and liberalism in the future. I was lucky enough to get an e-mail from somebody who will remain anonymous asking me to publicise this new account and suggesting wording for a #followfriday Twitter post which included the words ...
CON 38 (-2) LAB 25(+1) LD 18 (nc) The results of the Latest YouGov will be bringing a smile to Laboutr HQ to see the Tories come down two points and to see themselves go up one point and personally I think their isn't anything to celebrate. Labour need to up their game now if they want to win the next general election and from what its looking now Labour are dead meat at the next election and oily Cameron might get elected. The Lib Dem 18% is not moving up or down and personally I wouldn't mind to see ...
The Gazette has two of my letters online this week – one on the Bradley Carty walk, and the other on Iraq.
Apparently, 50% of the poppies grown as raw material for morphine are grown in Australia, a fact that I for one didn't know until today. This information falls into the category of quirky but basically unhelpful. However, it seems that, in Tasmania, poppy growers have been having problems with crop circles. Until now, that is. Observation has uncovered the guilty secret of wallabies. Apparently, they get into the poppy fields, eat the heads of the flowers, get high and hop about in circles until they pass out. This introduces an interesting potential solution to the heroin problem in Afghanistan. Introduce ...
Mr Quist is not always right but can be relied upon to be pertinent and occasionally outrageous and provocative. I'm not at all jealous that he seems to have found the literary equivalent of the fountain of eternal youth at the moment and has come up with another brilliant post. Go read it. Now. And while you're at it, read Charlotte's original. She was complaining about writers' block recently. If this is what she produces in that situation........... Those two have the Golden Dozen between them this week, I can see it. LibDig This!
A very calm crossing of the North Sea. It was more like sailing on the Mediterranean, especially given the temperatures. The last time we sailed across the North Sea to Norway was on the ferry in November 2003 in the middle of a heavy storm. Yours truely was very seasick!We have just arrived at Flam and we are due to go ashore shortly.---Sent via BlackBerry
One of the oddities about London Assembly Member Brian Coleman's record in running up huge expenses bills (e.g. in one year he managed to run up more taxi bills than all the other 24 Assembly member added together) is the incredibly soft line that Boris Johnson has taken on them. For all Mayor Johnson's talk about value for money, clearing out dodgy practices and so on, his message to Brian Coleman has in effect pretty much been, "Carry on as you were". Of course, the news about Boris's own big taxi bills does help explain this. And so perhaps it ...
How to Get More Twitter Followers | Twitterrati http://bit.ly/FJuEj # RT @t08yg: Was the pro-Ahmadinejad rally photoshoped to make it look bigger than it was? http://is.gd/164JU? #yam # Trying out new real time search engine: http://www.collecta.com Now just need someone to say something using one of my test phrases # @firetail Good detective work in reply to firetail # I've just been asked to "lick here" to unsubscribe from a newsletter. Maybe not. # @david_singleton I guess they've not spotted what their EU poll is currently saying {:-)} in reply to david_singleton # You knew I was an expert on ...
Labour cabinet member Matt Cooke has resigned, it emerged on Wednesday, as he's to become a Special Adviser in 'Dah Biz' - the new mega-government department for Business, Innovation & Skills under Peter Mandelson (DBIS). As he was only in the job a few weeks, I'd hesitate to say Matt was irreplaceable. Yet it must be true, as I'm told there's unlikely to be a new Cabinet Member for Regeneration. This is good in one sense - Lib Dem Leader Robert Gorrie has been arguing that there are far too many councillors in the Labour Cabinet, and it needs slimming ...
Over the last couple of months I've devoted considerable effort to singing the praises of a democracy where there are no safe seats, where the public can vote anyone out. I've criticised First Past the Post for all the safe seats it creates - several hundred. The MP is, in reality, decided by local Conservative and Labour parties (and, in a very small number of cases, by the local Lib Dems). The voters are incidental. To illustrate the power of safe seats, remember Neil Hamilton in Tatton. Such was the safety of the seat that, even with the sitting MP ...
Losing a childhood heroine was quite enough for one day, thank you very much. When I was 10, I loved Charlie's Angels. I had all the dolls, and ironically for the peace loving hippy I eventually became, spent huge amounts of time hiding behind corners with pretend guns as my friends and I made up new adventures for Sabrina, Jill and Kelly around the streets of Inverness. In subsequent years I watched as she tackled challenging roles, particularly in the terrifying and chilling Extremities where she played a victim of rape who ultimately overpowered her attacker and Small Sacrifices where ...
Most of the controversy about the planned expansion of Edgbaston Cricket Ground has related to the floodlights. Labour MP Roger Godsiff and Respect Councillor Salma Yaqoob have been particularly outspoken. However, what about the impact of traffic on local residents? Balsall Heath dweller and podcast supremo Nick Booth filmed a mini-documentary highlighting the impact of a cricket match on the residential streets of Balsall Heath: "It can be a right pain living near Edgbaston cricket ground. Because the club doesn't take repsonsibility for making sure there is enough good parking for people then the people living around the ground have ...
Another good sign of the new speaker regime is the agreement to an Urgent Question on Cybersecurity. This has the effect of discouraging ministers from announcing things outside parliament.The ancien regime was very resistant to doing this.
For those of you into Twitter, as today is #followfriday I urge you to follow the brand new @scotlibdems
The downside of my current contract is the necessity to drive. Unfortunately, this means I run into situations like this. A whole section of motorway had to be resurfaced following the lorry crash, although thankfully I hear the driver only suffered injuries. The M6, in fact all motorways, can be a very dangerous place, and I will be glad to see the back of it.
You could very easily miss it in all the Michael Jackson news today but Farah Fawcett one of the original Charlie's Angels also passed away in California yesterday, aged 62. The star of many TV shows and movies had been terminally ill with cancer and was to have married long term partner of 25 years Ryan O'Neal who proposed earlier this month but the ceremony never took place. The woman who was many young boys pin up from their youth, well 12 million bought the red swim suit pin up for starters and many others used the TV pages, was ...
I woke up this morning to the news that the Government have decided to ditch the national strategies. Now they need the courage to ditch the end of key stage 2 tests! Come on Ed you can do it.
Love him or loathe him the startling news of this morning is that Michael Jackson has died at the age of fifty. The man who apparently slept in an oxygen tent to extend his life, who had extensive cosmetic surgery to drastically change his look. The King of Pop who was about to embark on a comeback tour will no more moonwalk across the stage. His financial troubles and the child abuse claims will of course tarnish the life of the man who spent his entire life in the public eye, since he first appeared aged 5 on stage with ...
If Enfield Liberal Democrats can fill a French restaurant in Palmers Green for their annual dinner, how come they can't win a single council seat? That was the core message — though not in quite such blunt terms — from this evening's after-dinner speaker, Lynne Featherstone, MP for nearby Hornsey and Wood Green. Of course, [...]
Dear BBC. You've just assaulted my eardrums with some music—in a news report on Radio 4, a radio station which has as a selling point a lack of music. In it, the reporter revealed, once again, a complete lack of basic understanding. Chimpanzees are APES, not MONKEYS. Please send your reporters on a refresher course. I'm sure this little guy is upset enough, you don't need to insult him as well. This entry was originally posted at http://matgb.dreamwidth.org/364803.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Good meeting with Vertical Villages & Bridgewater RA over YOS. Agreed to disagree, but really nice people.Will work further with them. 1 day ago Thats labour for you agree to disagree! if you have a little clout we may change our minds?
Sometime ago I came across this list of gaffes by George W Bush on the Times newspapers website.
