Unfortunately i have been unable to keep y blog up to date recently due to the fact that work has been very busy lately. I am looking for a helper so if you are interested then get in touch thespeakeronline@gmail.com
Former Work and Pensions Minister, James Purnell, who quit the cabinet last month, and was a part of the domino affect for ministers quitting cabinet. He told the Guardian that he lost faith in Brown, as Labour Leader six months ago. He believed that Brown could no longer win he next General Election, and urged Labour to recapture its idealism of its first days in power. He had considered resigning in December... Full story courtesy of the BBC here.
Ok let me first say that my vote whizzed off through the ether to the Total Politics Ballot Box late Thursday night after a fair deal of cogitation, rumination and cutting & pasting in excel. So nothing that follows can change any of that. Now I'm looking at the next task at hand I have a fair idea where I am heading but you may know what's it like, your head is down too busy typing at times to peep up over the parapet at all that is going on. So I'd like a little help from my Scottish blog ...
Rod Liddle visits Norwich North, spending the day with lots of Green activists and swallows all their spin that they are going to win. Oh what a fool Mr Liddle will look on Friday.
in a pub near Norwich Station. Plotting, gossiping and drinking LONDON PRIDE! (We miss London) {Share/Save/Bookmark}
Pitsford and Brampton my arse. This is Little Bowden Crossing signal box. It used to stand at the end of my road and, although it had gone by the time it had moved here, the rails were still in the road where the level crossing had been. I can still hear the noise cars made rattling over them in my mind's ear. This afternoon I visited the Northampton & Lamport Railway, where the box has been relocated and renamed. They have a mile or so of track to the south of Brixworth and, as their name suggests, plans to extend ...
As part of our clearing out after our mayoral years we were on our way to the civic amenity site at Haverton Hill. Not being on my route to anywhere usually I hadn't been since going to the opening ceremony many years ago. I was rather annoyed at having to go so far for disposing correctly of WEE (waste, electronic, and electrical items) which includes many smal items. However the site is...
I am writing to you after I have been criticised for getting people to vote for me in the TP politics blog awards. Please can you all make me your number 1 so we can protest against the criticism! Irfan Ahmed's Blog for #1, lets replace Guido, Iain and the others at number one. Blogging 4 U Irfan Ahmed
Debi got the point of that previous post, with her comment: You're right. I do. However, the statements are too broad and brief to effectively invite me to debate the detail of any of your positions. So simply; yes, I disagree with a lot of these. That was exactly the point (or part of it). It's absolutely amazing [...]
The Liberal Democrats are just one point behind Labour in a ComRes opinion poll published in tomorrow's Independent on Sunday — 22 and 23 per cent respectively. The Tories are out in front with 38 per cent, but that is interestingly short of the symbolic 40 per cent threshold. The poll says LibDems are up [...]
Sorry folks! Due to some hefty campaigning in Richmond Park and Colville ward the evening quickies have suffered. I can't left this one slip through the net though. It seems our legislators are more bored than usual. The Adam Smith institute blog reports on the worrying prospect that every Author who visits a school will need to be put on a database despite the objections of the Authors themselves: Respected author Philip Pullman has described the policy as "corrosive and poisonous to every kind of healthy social interaction." Going on to state "I've been going into schools as an author ...
The SPINE one of my favorite sites..
I am attending the Salford Star Meeting tonight at the Pendlebury Bowling Club. I hope some of the Salford CLP will be present to put their views across as to why they have decided to stick with Hazel Blears at the next General Election. Come on Salford CLP get your heads out the sand. A. Behan Worsley CLP Mr Behan [...]
The list get bigger every week. We do one main surgery and the rest comes in by phone Hope we get some easy ones for a change. But what ever we get it adds to the challenge.
Sat 18th
20:11
I wonder how many people have ever got close to a good story and have been forced to back off.
Had a call tonight from gossip central.telling me someone had got a little close on an issue and as had the heavy treatment. Do i come out now and ask or what. Well i will sleep on it tonight, and more than likely be on the dog tomorrow, I will keep you updated on progress. [...]
Here are some facts: Thor Hushovd rides for the Cervelo Testteam in the Tour de FranceIn most of the bunch sprints he is not to be found on his own lead out man's wheel* but that of Mark Cavendish's team Columbia HighroadThor has yet to beat the speed of Mark Cavendish in a straight sprint to the line this Tour de France**.On today's stage into Besancon the barriers are narrowing as the sprint gets towards the end instead of staying consistent; see here.Mark Cavendish has always gone to the right when Mark Renshaw peels off to launch his final push ...
Give housing benefit claimants £17,000 'lump sum' to lift them out of poverty – think-tank Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing , Bill Payments Friday 17th July 2009 – 11:06am Give housing benefit claimants £17,000 'lump sum' to lift them out of poverty – Demos Housing benefits claimants should each be given £17,000 to lift them [...]
Sat 18th
20:01Fantastic News but the Tories don't seem to agree.I dont care who is in charge at westminster lets g...
Healey gives councils huge social housing funding boost Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing Friday 17th July 2009 – 1:22pm ARTICLE TOOLS Healey gives councils huge social housing funding boost Housing Minister John Healey today announced the release of funding to build 11,200 new homes, regenerate ten of the most deprived areas of the country and create [...]
...chilling in front of Norwich North HQ with @liberalyouth hacks {Share/Save/Bookmark}
Over at the Express, Lib Dem peer Baroness (Shirley) Williams lists her six favourite books. And in case you're wondering what they are, here goes... Perkin the Pedlar by Eleanor Farjeon (Out of Print) I read this children's book when I was seven, if not younger and it helped me learn the alphabet. The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi (Out of print) An absolutely brilliant history book which tells the story of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, covering among other events the Industrial Revolution, the creation of nations and the birth of empires. Testament of ...
Apologies for light blogging - I know my default state has been sick for the last while but I have had a particularly bad week. I seem to have picked up another bug which has pretty much wiped me out. However, my family as ever have been valiantly cheering me up. They went out to the shops yesterday and as I lay in bed after a long sleep yesterday evening, I heard Anna say "Oh, Mummy updated Facebook from her blackberry 3 minutes ago" and came running up the stairs and coyly sat on the bed with her hands behind ...
A friend sends me a link to a news story about a spat between two councillors – one being interviewed on the radio, and the other responding simultaneously – and robustly – via Twitter. The story is here – but don't click it if mild profanity might offend. Like so many things, there's the funny side of the story, which is why the link was sent, and the salutary lesson. In this case the lesson is that twitter is very informal and can sometimes encourage the use of, erm, unparliamentary language. And should you be an elected representative, swearing can ...
This afternoon I was building my son's new bed up and whilst taking a breather, observed a car pull up right at the end of my road. Out of the car came a bald man, wearing glasses, who I would guess was about retirement age. He got out of the passengers side, pointed to my house, then strolled up with one leaflet, pushed it through my door, returned to the car where the driver was waiting (engine running) and then drove off. I looked downstairs to find one Tory leaflet (a dreadfully wordy partially handwritten, partially printed style leaflet) was ...
is helping the Green Party achieve its eco-targets...by recycling their campaign literature! Ha ha ha *cackle* {Share/Save/Bookmark}
Time for a bit of the old Fisking. Now, I've met Andrew Hickey and think he's a nice guy, but his 'ten things you're going to disagree with' definitely hit the mark in terms of accurately labelled. I thought he was joking - turns out he's not. 1) Much (but by no means all, or even most) so-called 'alternative medicine' is actually effective. Conversely much (but by no means all, or even most) conventional medicine is pseudoscientific quackery. ... which is a really dangerous point of view, creating equivalence between medicine and bullshit. Bullshit medicine cures bullshit illness and little ...
....feet hurt, the sun is scorching but we push on in Norwich North! {Share/Save/Bookmark}
So now we know what Gordon Brown means when he talks about radical reform, about needing to remake parliament fit for the 21st century. The exciting news is that Labour plans to give life peers the ability to resign their peerage. Please excuse me if I'm a little underwhelmed. I'd thought that the party of the common man, the party opposed to privilege, the party of democracy might, with a healthy majority in the Commons and twelve years in power behind them, find the time to do a little more. But no. To be fair to Gordon, he has made ...
Many of the menfolk are well aware that in the same week that cycling hero Lance Armstrong is fighting well in the Tour de France on his comeback, John Hartson the former footballer has had crucial surgery for cancer. There is one thing these two gentlemen have had in common. Their cancer started in their testicles. Lance found his early sought advise and got his sorted. Hartson waited longer before seeking help and we have yet to know the outcome. As someone who has found an benign lump down there I was encouraged when Iain Dale posted this earlier. Iain ...
{ming-at-gateside-inn} North East Fife's MP Sir Menzies Campbell dropped in at the Gateside Inn to help promote the third Proud of Pubs Week campaign and the public are being urged to join him as the fightback to keep the great British pub alive begins. Sir Menzies was one of more than 100 MPs visiting pubs during the national celebration of pubs, organised by The Publican magazine, which runs from July 11 to 19. Commenting on his visit to the Gateside Inn, Sir Menzies said: "The Gateside Inn is an excellent example of a local pub which acts as a hub ...
A third Lib Dem leaflet in as many days. Spot the blogger.
You always start to wonder if a campaign is coming off the rails when the race card is played by a party. With UKIP also illegally flyposting on handrails on public footpaths in Taverham, one has to wonder if the fact the UKIP are now putting out a leaflet that is more akin to something the BNP would put out, whether their support is really not as good as they hoped. NOTE - Leaflet had to be partially reconstructed on my computer due to the shine on the image. The wording has not been changed.
It's been a bad few weeks for worldwide celebrity deaths, but it's not been so good for some local people who made an impact on the people who met them day to day in area. I heard on Twitter that Rob who sold the Big Issue at Lewisham Station has died. He had a hard life, but he always seemed to be as you could expect in some appalling circumstances. I'm afraid that over the years of living in London I've become hardened against giving money to people on the streets, but at least Rob met my polite refusals equally ...
I'll do a proper post tonight, but I just thought this would be interesting... I'm going to make ten statements of things I consider to be true but which (I suspect) a vast majority of my readers disagree with. This isn't a 'meme', but I would be interested to see other people try this... 1) Much [...]
I have been busy today; first of all I have been to an open day at the Mosque to which a lot of people from all religions and groups attended. After that I have been working on artwork for a leaflet which is now drafted to get approval! I have done a lot more then that but I am not going to share that with readers because clearly you aren't interested and this isn't a blog about life it's meant to be a politics blog.
These images are a little blurred but they are of a Tory leaflet, unseen by me, but kindly emailed to me by a Lib Dem deliverer. These leaflets are going out largely in Norwich city wards in Norwich.
The London Underground is used by as many people each week as the total number of people who use the nation's railway network. Caroline Pidgeon sets out why modernising the underground is so important and why new ways of undertaking the upgrades might now be necessary. At London's City Hall I'm leading an Assembly investigation into overcrowding on the Tube and what Mayor Boris Johnson can do about it. For many years now Tube passengers have been used to cramming themselves into crowded trains wedged against someone's armpits. More recently stations like Victoria, King's Cross, London Bridge and Holborn have ...
Dundee's Old Steeple (St Mary's Tower) is a splendid example of the late 15th century Gothic style in Scotland and is also the oldest surviving building in Dundee, being a belfry, a clock tower from the 16th century. It has been used as a watch-tower and a prison. The City Council has been organising guided tours throughout July - and through August - the next are on 31st July and 1st August. You can find full details by clicking on the headline above.
The traditional privacies and anonymities enjoyed by people in this country come under greater pressure every day. Google Streetview is the latest point at which private interests come into conflict with technological advance. I remain concerned that this service, which places comprehensive, zoomable and rotatable photographs of Britain's streets freely on the internet, has not come under enough scrutiny from those who are supposed to safeguard our individual liberties. The Liberal Democrats have been absolutely unequivocal in their criticisms of the expansion of state surveillance, arguing that having CCTV on every corner is invasive and unnecessary. I simply don't think ...
I have just read the sad news that the oldest surviving veteran of the First World War (and as of last month the world's oldest man) Henry Allingham has died aged 113. There have been tributes to Mr Allingham from across the world. He represents a generation who truly knew what sacrifice was and it is incredible to me that there are still two other UK veterans alive from a war that happened almost a century ago now (Harry Patch and Claude Choles). As the sun sets on the living memory of that war, it is important that we make ...
PIM stands for Personal Information Management, one of the key features of any smart-phone. I am perhaps rather spoiled by coming from the Palm world, which is generally very highly regarded for the quality of its PIM applications. But even so, the iPhone is supposed to be better than the Palm, and it certainly competes with Palm - even if Palm haven't released a new smart-phone in years - and so I think it's fair to compare the two.There are three main categories of data that a PIM needs to handle: a diary, a list of contacts, and to-do lists. ...
It's time to go public: I'm fascinated by Little House on the Prairie - both the books and the US TV series. I love the way that stories from the 19th century, published as books in the 1930s, were re-interpreted in a TV series in the 1970s, with all the hairstyles and political context that went with the time. It can be watched in a cosy Sunday-evening, motherhood-and-apple-pie way, or more critically, in a "what's wrong with this picture?" way. (I'm thinking in particular of the portrayal of character sterotypes such as people with disabilities, tinkers, outsiders, strangers, the socially ...
...or at least his biography, in the latest Liberal England quiz. James Robertson Justice (1907-75; henceforth JRJ) was a British film actor, famous for his portrayal of the fearsome Sir Lancelot Spratt in the Doctor films of the 1950s and 60s. He was much else besides: a professional racing driver, a soldier in the Spanish civil war, a Labour parliamentary candidate, falconry tutor to the young Prince Charles. To win James Hogg's biography of JRJ (only one prize this time, I am afraid) just identify these five films in which he appeared. 1. A story of British heroism with a ...
An intriguing job ad seen online: Trainee Retail Store Manager – Food Location:North East London – (Kentish Town, Hackney, Holloway, Caledonian Road, Dalston,, Chapel Market, Leytonstone, Walthamstow) _________________________________ The Company Our client is a rapidly expanding food retailer which is looking to open in excess of 70 stores this year to add to their existing portfolio of over 600+ stores [...]
I was asked by Newcastle Lib Dems to help run the stand at the Pink Picnic in the Park in Leazes Park. So here I am on the stand surrounded by muddy paths and squelching ground. Just like being on the allotment! Fortunately the rain is holding off for now. Greg Stone, our candidate for Newcastle East and hopefully slayer of the ineffectual Nick Brown at the general election, has had to leave
I think, if my counting is correct, that this is the 11th Lib Dem leaflet I have received. The score, Lib Dem 11 (2 Freepost) , Tory 10 (2 Freepost) , Lab 4 (2 Freepost), UKIP 3 (2 Freepost) , Holden 1 (Freepost), Murray 1 (Freepost), Libertarian 1 (Freepost) , NOTA 1 (Freepost) , Green 1 (Freepost), BNP 1 (Freepost). Note: One of the labour leaflets was given to me by a work colleague. There is no evidence yet of the "local" Labour leaflet being delivered in a Taverham or Drayton version. I have also been sent a copy of ...
Within the last 24 hours, I've learned that the Government is threaten to withdraw some of the 'Decent Homes' funding it gives Council's Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) to bring former Council housing up to scratch. The Council's under threat are those with ALMOs that failed to get more than 1 star in their latest inspection, which includes Ealing's ALMO, Ealing Homes. Ealing Homes has been bungling the Decent Homes programme from the outset, to the extent that the scheme had to be suspended and restarted, but withdrawal of the programme would be a huge blow for Ealing Homes' tenants, ...
Sat 18th
13:45
CommentIsLinked@LDV... Nick Clegg and Merlene Emerson write for Operation Black Vote blog
Over at the new Operation Black Vote (OBV) blog, two Lib Dems – Nick Clegg and Merlene Emerson – have published articles, excerpts below... Believing in our children, not criminalising them (Nick Clegg) Nick argues that dealing with crime needs a completely new approach to the counter-productive policies of New Labour: In these difficult times, the prospect of rising youth offending is a serious one. But fear mustn't now give credence to the New Labour way, which is to bang up our children the moment they divert from the straight and narrow. Britain now has 3,000 children in prison - ...
As we get older we become more open, and therefore we bless our lucky stars... The changes taking place in life quite often coincide with changes taking place in ...
The Wright Brothers first flew their Kitty Hawk on December 17th 1903. On July 25th 1909, Louis Bleriot made the first aeroplane crossing of the Channel. On June 5th 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown made the first aeroplane crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. On May 21st 1927 Charles Lindbergh became the first man to fly non-stop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris. It was only 18 years from the 35 minute flight of Bleriot to the 35 hour flight of Lindbergh. From that time, the pace of technological change seemed to accelerate dramatically. The invention of ...
quick lunch break and back to campaigning... {Share/Save/Bookmark}
on to the second round of deliveries! Wondering where the odd Tories are..... {Share/Save/Bookmark}
Sat 18th
11:55
Put out the flags, phone up your friends, hold a street party, raise your glass to the Green campaig...
Less than one week until the by-election in Norwich North and we have only just received our first leaflet from the Green Party. In a seat where Green bloggers were suggesting the Green Party was set to make a stunning breakthrough, local people have been astonished by the invisibility of the Green Party who have very much taken the view that campaigning in about 30% of the constituency whilst ignoring the other 70% was somehow going to enable a breakthrough. So yesterday (I only found it today in the pile of junk mail we receive on a daily basis) we ...
not the best weather for a byelection delivery, but who cares- APRIL POND 2 WIN! #norwichnorth {Share/Save/Bookmark}
So, in hindsight not my best idea. The housemate and I here in Gore Towers decided to watch Superman II. I was full of regret and remorse before the thing finished. Even his name, "Superman", has my cringe gland working overtime, flooding my brain with cringesterone and cringealine. And that outfit he wears... how could you have a romantic candlelit dinner with someone wearing that outfit and not spend the whole evening being distracted by the cape and shiny red underpants? So it offered excellent heckle opportunities, of course - I observed the main villian "General Zod" and his obsession ...
The shortage of desperately needed helicopters in Helmand province is part of a dismal pattern: we are spending billions of pounds on weapons we don't need and too little on equipment our troops can't do without. The story appears into days Independant to read the full story follow the link HERE
Ever since the notorious Whig party, and her revolutionary platform, liberals have always embraced the very notion of constitutional reform and the democratic defence of Britain. The modern paladin of liberalism, Nick Clegg and his colleagues, must now take up the challenge and argue the formation of a British Republic. The Monarchy is old-fashioned, undemocratic, unrepresentative of society, and lumpen. Prince Charles' ambition to be a "political Monarch" not only violates the constitutional monarchy, but undermines the sovereignty of Parliament. Labour's administration remains silent, as Prince Charle damages construction projects, and contradicts government health and environmental policy. Monarchists need to ...
at Norwich station. Just spotted Ed Miliband, and currentlu arguing w a CF Hack. {Share/Save/Bookmark}
The Transition Towns movement began as an attempt by communities to work out for themselves how to address the twin problems of climate change and the end of cheap oil. Transitioners believe that life will be better - more local, more in touch with nature, more vibrant, less stressed, less chemical - after oil, and that we will be better prepared to deal with the challenges if we start working...
managed to beat @liberalyouth to the Norwich North HQ! Now enroute to our first delivery round. {Share/Save/Bookmark}
Sat 18th
10:35
Yesterday(ish - still) in (and around) the Lords: Harry Potter and the Select Committee of Doom
Life in the modern House of Lords (alright, this might be a bit of an oxymoron, but stick with me...) isn't all about trying to improve badly drafted attempts by the Government to make us all criminals. Sometimes, the Lords interact with the community, and yesterday the Lords Select Committee on Communications were meeting with the cast and crew of the next Harry Potter movie as part of their review of the state of the British film industry. Apparently, any leak of information is punishable by death, but my sources tell me that the stars aren't as tall as they ...
I opened my mouth a few weeks ago and we nearly lost the first test so I am a little more reserved this time although England are in a dominant position in the second test we will know more by Tea tonight. I am sure that there are other like me who are edging England on for a Famous victory in the Second Test. One thing for sure The Australian Captain Ricky Ponting is not very happy...
I think the whole being co-trainer of Malc and Audrey's Loch Ness Marathon effort has got me thinking of those glory days when I could run a mile in under 4 minutes. As everyone else is doing their own little round up and as I have connections with all four of the four home nations I'm going to present my own Home Nations of blog posts from the week. So representing England this week is the excellent James Graham looking at an underlying malaise in the Lib Dems. One I agree we need to do something about and should really ...
Oh dear. Only 16% of those polled in the US think that Sarah Palin's resignation as Alaskan governor is a good political move in respect of a future run for the Presidency. Oh dear. Oh dear. Dear me.
Saturday 11th July Norfolk Blogger had an enjoyable tongue-in-cheek piece about Iain Dale's visit to Norwich North. Sunday 12th July This is simply one of the best things I have ever seen courtesy of Orange By Name. A Caribbean steel percussion band playing a cover version of Transmission by Joy Division. Utterly sublime. Monday 13th July Charlotte Gore continued to fight back against her recent bout of writer's block with a thought provoking piece where she claimed that environmentalism is incompatible with capitalism. It is worth reading through the comments below her piece as it has provoked a strong debate. ...
With even the Today Programme - which often sneers at science - excited by the rapidly-approaching fortieth anniversary of humans first landing on our Moon, I'm ranging from a big grin that we did it to a sigh that we stopped bothering. For me, the first Moon landing was one of the greatest achievements in human history, and I hope all the attention on 1969 rekindles a space programme. In the meantime, Monday's Doctor Who DVD release opens with a look back at the '60s from space... "Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. ...
much @liberalyouth banter on the train to Norwich! {Share/Save/Bookmark}
Peter Mandelson could become the Prime Minister that's what I believe and have blogged about it in earlier posts and now another post on PB where Mr Mike Smithson pours his pearls of wisdom on the page suggests that the market on Mandy being the next leader of Labour are closing down. The Ladbrokes on Mandelson becoming the Labour leader whenever that is has been closed and the William Hill is only allowing £15 bets. Clearly the bookies agree with me and Mr Smithson that the world is going to have a see of Mr Mandelson leading the Labour party. ...
The Health Minister has told the media that Wales will not be part of the National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) when it is launched in England next week. Her reasoning is that Wales is "well behind the curve compared to areas of England" for the number of swine flu cases. The NPFS will be made up of a dedicated website and a central call centre assessing people on symptoms of swine flu and authorises antiviral treatments. Mrs Hart says that in Wales existing primary care routes would continue to be used to manage treatment. It is certainly the case that ...
The Tories are up in arms at claims that Michal Kaminski the leader of their European Conservatives and Reformists grouping in the European Parliament is a homophobe. Timothy Kinthorpe MEP is saying that words said by Kaminiski in 2000 have been taken out of context and that language has changed. Kaminski is known in Poland as a spin doctor but I'm up for the challenge lets look at the context lets see what the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice Party) have said and done on the issue. In September 2005 Jarosław Kaczyński (the then and current party chairman) said: ...
Parliament in Iceland has voted by a narrow majority to set in motion an application to join the European Union, after five days of gruelling debate.
Nick Clegg is in today's Independent newspaper talking sense about our troops and the campaign in Afghanistan. Yet again it is Nick Clegg challenging the Government on this very important issue, I guess again David Cameron will try to catch Nick Clegg up as I blogged last week here. Nick Clegg says "We must stop asking our troops to fight modern wars with equiment designed for the last century. If we duck these choices yet again, it will be future generations of British servicemen and women who will pay the price for our mistakes. That would be the ultmiate betrayal ...
The Times reports this morning that the identities of more than four million Britons are being offered for sale on the internet. Apparently, sensitive financial information, including credit card details, bank account numbers, telephone numbers and even PINs are available to the highest bidder. The paper says that most of the personal data has been gathered as a result of "phishing" — a process whereby members of the public are duped into handing over their key details, such as user names, passwords and credit card details: Unsuspecting victims hand over the information by e-mail to people posing as reputable sources ...
At a recent event someone raised the issue of the change in the role of students in politics. Before students were associated with raving, protesting and squatting people who wanted to get their voices heard but that is no longer the case. Students can no longer rave, protest or squat because the law just doesn't allow them to. If they want to protest they need to ask the Police for permission which also includes a video camera recording the protest. Clearly students have been deprived of the politics they used to take part in and that's why I think the ...
The latest dispatch from the nation's most celebrated fictional peer. Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10. Saturday Do you remember Phil Willis's delightful daughter? She was the young lady in the advertisement who had the internet projected on to her white dress. I thought that was a splendid idea and am sorry that it subsequently lost ground to the flat plasma screen. Anyway, I learn today that Willis is in the soup for claiming for a flat where the young lady lived. I fear he is the author of his own misfortune as I put a ...
Welcome to the weekend edition of our new LDV feature rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds. Or, as with this week, a trio of three politically-related comedy clips. First up, let's start with a classic: Peter Cook's famous satiric 'biased judge' interpretation of the Jeremy Thorpe trial as performed at Amnesty's Secret Policeman's Ball. You don't have to know the full background to the trial to enjoy the performance. (Though it does help, and if you want to know more, read this book). Next up, it's Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie enjoying the 'Young ...
The Mail front page photo of turtle ensnared in a plastic bag, which launched its 'Banish the bags' campaign It is very heartening to note that plastic bag use at seven leading supermarkets has reduced by an amazing 48% comparing this May with May 2006. Great. I remember when our groceries were delivered by a chap on a bicycle in a cardboard box and most the stuff was wrapped only in grease-proof paper or in paper bags. That was about forty years ago. So, we've had this sort of madness over the last few years where packaging went crazy. Now, ...
Is there any greater indictment of the current utter stupidity of the US Republican party than this? Rick Perry is the Republican Governor of the second most populous (and second largest) state of the Union, Texas. As CBS reports, he "was one of a handful of Republican governors who refused some federal stimulus funds from President Obama's economic recovery package on the grounds that there were too many strings attached to the money. Now that the state is dire straits, however, Perry is asking the federal government for a loan to cover the very expenses the rejected stimulus money would ...
The BBC may well say that getting rid of Arlene from Strictly Come Dancing is nothing to do with her age - but I don't believe them. To have one of the world's most successful and knowledgeable choreographers judging the dancers has been a strength of the program - giving a real basis to those judgements. With an eye over their shoulder to competing with the X-Factor, the Beeb seems to think the magic formula of 'refreshment' is the answer - refreshment meaning bringing in a young, pretty female with less qualification for the job. People will watch Strictly because ...
It's the annual assessment by blog readers of the poltical blogs that are out on the market. Last year I came in at 24th on the Lib Dem register... I can't deny being a tad touched :-) So here's the link for the details on how to particpate. I try and keep this blog party politics free and instead have opted for a pretty pure form of local and community politics (I hope). So over to you readers - here's the link: The rules are simple. 1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and rank them from ...
Today is Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday and also Mandela Day. Nelson Mandela has fought for social justice for 67 years, and so the campaign is asking people to start with 67 minutes. Today should bring together people around the world to fight ...
There's been a couple of blogs having a little spat about whether libertarians can ethically support having some kind of military in order to intervene in unfree countries in order to assist the oppressed people of those countries gain freedom. We can be all happy in our stateless country, no coercion, no taxes and so on. But we might think ourselves callous, careless, if we didn't worry about how so many other people on the planet are doing under their oppressive regimes. For some this turns into a justification for a state in order to intervene abroad. It was, ultimately, ...
Dave call-me-green Cameron went to Norwich today for a meeting on biofuels. He went by helicopter. For a twenty minute meeting. What a complete charlatan he is. Hat tips to Andrew Reeves and Liberal Burblings.
In the build up to the war in Iraq I was very proud of my daughter Lara. Aged 16 she lead her whole school out in protest. With her pal Amber Fry (daughter of the wonderful Barry), she then spoke at the STWC "People's Assembly" against what Blair was doing. During the Euro campaign she was horrified at the rise of the BNP and tried very hard (although sadly too late) to organise a national event to challenge them. In the end she had to be satisfied with staring them out at the Euro count in the East! But her ...
Two anniversaries that I want to flag up, one in 1936 and the other in 1942. In 1936 in Spain an Armed Forces rebellion against the recently-elected legitimate Popular Front government of the day started the civil war, which was possibly the most ...
