I have it all set up, and have spent some time talking to my old school friend Michael and Stuart Sharpe and I think it'll be fine. Don't expect me to switch it on very often, but if you want to add me to your contacts list my name is miss.s.b and if I know you I might add you back
Bored? Reading blogs? Do something more interesting with your time by attempting to track down a Badger and give it refuge before Elin Jones gets it. Or read this. The choice is yours. Actually, Badgers don't seem to be on the blogs which is a shame. Apparently the pointless slaughter of thousands of creatures isn't important enough to talk about. This is what is. Glyn Davies is of the opinion that David Cameron's promise not to veto any request for a referendum on further powers "was a very big day for Welsh politics". Well, Mr Davies may well be right, ...
Again this year it fell to me to lay the Borough Council wreath at Preston War Memorial. Its upkeep is shared between Preston and Egglescliffe & Eaglescliffe Parishes so there are wreaths laid by both Parish councils as well as the church and members of the Guiding and Scouting movements. A young man played both The Last Post and Reveille beautifully and the whole occasion passed in a
The Consett North Partnership is a body set up to provide opportunities for local people to make a difference in the area. In the past it has organised environmental and social projects within the ward, and now it is looking for renewed impetus and ideas for new projects. One of the challenges for all organisations is to keep renewing themselves; people join to make particular things happen and then drift away when they are complete. That's why the partnership is particularly pleased to have had some new members come on board, and is eager for more. If there's something you ...
Further to last night's article about the proposed parking charges at Dundee Airport (see http://tinyurl.com/airportprk or click on headline above to view), here's an exchange with the airport manager tonight : Derrick Lang, Airport Manager, to me : Fraser, The comments from yourself and parliamentary comments were fed back and acknowledged. The Dundee Airport Ltd board took everything into consideration at the last meeting they had and as a result decided to implement the charges across all users using the facility. The charges being implemented reflect what is currently being charged around Dundee city, but more importantly they are also ...
I spent most of today up in the Jebel Nafusa or western mountains of Libya, one of the few regions of the country I have never visited before, or at least the eastern part of the region (having camped in Ghadames some years ago). Just an hour or so's drive west from Tripoli, one enters ...
Sun 8th
21:54
A Chicago-educated Professor denies the problem of strained balance sheets leading to the paradox of...
Over in Amercia, some right-wing economists deny that having us all try to save at once is in anyway a problem. You just print more money. Opinions wanted, please
This choice will annoy Iain Sharpe, but it serves him right for giving up blogging. Carly Simon's LP "No Secrets" reminds me of taking my finals at York (a girl I knew had a copy) and also (along with Paul Simon's LP "One Trick Pony") of the summer I bought my house in the 1980s. Iain says: Carly Simon doubtless saw herself somewhere in the Carole King/Joni Mitchell singer-songwriter mould. But although 'You're so vain' is one of the great put-down songs, there is little else here to move, inspire or amuse. Lacks King's crisp turn of phrase and strong ...
There are two ways in which I wish to approach this debate. Firstly, marking the passing of the healthcare bill by the US House of Representatives, there will be a consideration of the negative treatment of Obama during his bid to fundamentally change healthcare in the US, so it provides more equality in terms of healthcare irrespective ...
Today's Observer has a short, pithy and trite editorial arguing that; There is, in that confluence of past and present, a danger that grief is itself politicised. The act of remembrance is easily subverted to patriotic pageantry or attacks on government policy. It must be neither. So, quite clearly a side-swipe at the Independent on Sunday which has chosen to ...
Two years ago I wrote about the contradictions of Mark Oaten's career. How he attempted to convert the party to his "tough Liberalism" when he was the Lib Dem shadow home secretary and later claimed that he had wanted to close all prisons but could not get his colleagues' support. How he declared himself to be a new kind of MP more interested in his constituency than Westminster and then went on to accept two of the most Westminster insider jobs going. How he had been visibly ambitious to become Liberal Democrat leader all along, but proved laughably unprepared when ...
Across the country millions of people fell in silence to remember those who have died in battle and those who have died since who fought for our freedom. This year I went to the Remembrance Sunday service in Leyton, where Dad laid a wreath on behalf of the residents of Waltham Forest.This is the first time our family attended the Leyton service (we attend the Walthamstow act of remembrance
The furore over the possible deselection of South West Norfolk Tory PPC Liz Truss is ongoing, with various newspapers now covering the story in some detail. The problem is, whenever they need a comment on the issue, they turn to the usual suspects in the Tory blogosphere, Iain Dale, and ConHome . And sadly every single time they seem to turn the issue to one of sex rather than one of trust. It seems the Tory blogosphere is obsessed with talking about sex. The one thing they have missed is that South West Norfolk Tories are not going on about ...
I know it's perverse and I'm an anorak, but it is almost orgasmic to be able to enjoy these old tellybits on YouTube! The old Westward television daily start-up film is here. Another clip is below. The astonishing thing is that, as kid watching our new colour telly in Bude, I thought the Westward building looked so glamourous, a vast, shining temple in far-off Plymouth. I walked round it the other day. It's a solicitors. 'Nuff said. And below also is the Westward ident from 1972. And 1978. Then there's an opening to Westward Diary from 1980. It's introduced by ...
Whilst on a school trip to the Menin Gate memorial in Belgium a schoolboy has been jostled by members of the BNP. The memorial was built to commemorate the thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the Ypres Salient in 1914-17. Its walls are inscribed with the names of 54,360 men who died for the British ...
This morning I attended the Prestwich Remembrance Sunday service at Prestwich Congregational Church, and the subsequent parade. The service, led by Father Croft of St Hilda's Church, saw a packed church hear his excellent-as-usual sermon reflecting on the horror of war and the goodness of peace. I have rarely heard a minister of any religious persuasion hold an audience as varied in age as that one as well as he does year after year. The parade marched from the Royal British Legion at Heaton Park down to the war memorial outside PADOS House near to St Mary's Park. We were ...
I was honoured to be able to attend the Prestwich Remembrance service and parade today and to lay a poppy wreath on behalf of the Mayor of Bury. It is noticeable that more people are attending the cenotaph these days. Clearly with the Afghanistan conflict and more and more touched by the tragedy of loss, that they want to show their respects and their support. It was particularly poignant today with the terrible loss of 5 young people cut down by an Afghan policeman so uppermost in the minds of many there. Following the service we learned of a further ...
I defy anyone to review the video evidence below and not come to the same conclusion. Consider the evidence: -They enter the stage in a car – Just like Pinky & Perky (I seem to remember they used to be fond of arriving in a sort of golf buggy thing) -They do a squeaky rendition, at full blast, of a popular song – Just like Pinky & Perky -They look exactly the same – Just like Pinky & Perky -They jog up and down in unison – Just like Pinky & Perky -They are remorsely cheerful – Just like Pinky ...
If anyone wanted an argument for the "Southport Cultural Centre" major refurbishment project it came to me last week. One local resident tells me that they visited the Southport town centre library on Thursday (a rather rainy day as it happened) and was concerned to see that quite a few of the ceiling lights were switched off and anglepoise lamps in place on top of the racking to provide some illumination.They asked the library manager the reason, and were told that the roof leaks to the extent that some of the electrical circuits become unsafe in the event of moderate ...
Thought I'd share with you a couple of things that have, well, I won't say annoyed me, but made me bristle with irritation over the weekend. The first was brought to my attention by Jennie on Twitter. I do wonder, sometimes, if the numpties at the Daily Fail have a weekly "how do we wind up liberals and feminists?" meeting. The poll they've been running recently is just ridiculously insulting. They are asking "Should female MPs be allowed to employ a cleaner on expenses?" It's even accompanied by a photo of a woman in alice band and marigolds scrubbing the ...
[IMG: Wreaths laid in the Hornsey Church Tower] Earlier today I attended the local remembrance service at the gardens by the Hornsey Church Tower. It was good to see local people coming together to remember those who have died fighting on our behalf, and too see so many wreaths laid (see picture). With all that is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, the ceremony felt especially relevant this year. Whatever our views on whether Britain should be involved in these wars (like lots of Stroud Green residents I marched against the Iraq war), I think its really important we remember ...
I would recommend anyone that is politically active to listen to the latest `file on four` (available to the 14/11/089) on high frequency trading. And if anyone had any doubts on the LIBERAL DEMOCRAT policy about seperating the normal retail banking that involves itself with SMES, mortgages and savings etc and the high frequency trading ...
Second half kicks off with Chelsea, Man Utd push them back and their counter attack fails.Throw in to Man Utd in the Chelsea half, Rooney taps it and Fletcher blasts it over the top into the fans. Goal kick for the Blues and Man Utd break, throw in and Giggs wide on his own but taps it out for a goal kick. The Blues moved slowly into the other half but attack comes to nothing. Free kick to Chelsea, Anderson kicks the ball away and gets ticking off by Ref, Reds see off the attack and start a counter attack. ...
I was glad that Speaker Bercow sought to ensure the Prime Minister's answers at this week's PMQs dealt with the issues, rather than descending into pointless, petty, partisan attacks, as has often been the case. But the Speaker needs to go further. MPs disgrace themselves week after week by acting like (and often worse than) ...
My parents used to take me to the Remembrance Day Parade at Marske-by-Sea and I used to think it was all about old people. Now I realise it's all about young people.
My Norton subscription is coming to end and and recently it has been causing me terrible problems with it using 99% CPU (ccSvcHst.exe) whilst seemingly doing nothing. I want to replace it with something else. Should I just go for another commercial program like McAfee or should I go for the free AVG (which geeks seem to rave about)? Any recommendations?
Sun 8th
17:12
Evan Harris accuses Alan Johnson of a "litany of errors" over Professor Nutt dismissal comments
Dr Evan Harris, the Lib Dem MP and science spokesperson has written a letter to Alan Johnson the Home Secretary drawing his attention to a number of factual inaccuracies in the statements Mr Johnson made to the House of Commons last Monday in the debate about his dismissal of Professor Nutt. Dr Harris charges Mr Johnson with a "litany of errors" and states it is essential that he returns to the chamber to correct them. I think it is very important that he does. Mr Johnson was able to deflect a number of the criticisms against him with his statement ...
Not in our ward, but no doubt of interest to people who live near Lee High Road and use Blackheath Station to get into town. My colleague Cllr Chris Maines, who represents Blackheath Ward, tells me that from the 13th December, Southeastern are planning to make major cuts to services from Blackheath Station. In particular, peak time services between 8.00am and 9.01am will see a 50% cut in Cannon Street services, with three Cannon Street trains and one Charing Cross train being withdrawn. Chris and the Blackheath Village Residents Group have been campaigning against these changes. You can sign the ...
A good build up to the game and always good to see the Chelsea Pensioners and the men and women from the three branches of HM Armed Forces for Remembrance Sunday.John O'Shea has to beg for the ball after it gets tapped out for a throw, Chelsea fans have a small dispute with stewards! End to end action Good build up by Chelsea and a shot on goal after 4 minutes. A good run by Rooney at 7 minutes but just offside - close call (but the right one). Then back up to the Man Utd goal, then Chelsea and ...
I attended the Remembrance service on the Hoe this morning. I was there with my brother-in-law, a current serviceman, there in his uniform, as well as his two sons (my nephews) and my colleague Dr Judy Evans, the prospective parliamentary candidate for Plymouth Sutton & Devonport. The turnout of local people and of current and former servicemen and women was impressive. It was very pleasing to see so many local people honouring our service personnel, past and present. I have picked up from my father (a former Royal Marine) an appreciation of the music of Royal Marine Bands. One such ...
On Friday former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy joined Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate Eileen Baxendale to chat with local people on Alexandra Parade. Charles, of course, has long held connections with Glasgow. He went to University there and is now the University's Rector, the voice of the students on the governing body. Charles has been an immensely popular figure inside and outside the Party for a very long time, and always will be. His visit came the day after the SNP and Labour candidates had what seemed to be a really snarky, negative debate on STV. I'm very grateful to ...
Barack Obama's Health Bill passed through the House of Representatives earlier today. Alex Massie says is best over at the Spectator Coffee House: Lord knows what kind of bill will emerge from the Senate and conference but that's a matter for another day. Will it work? Who really knows? The politics of the issue are, in some ways, irrelevant to mundane questions such as "Is this a good bill?" Congress's approval rating liters around the 20% mark and so the GOP's determination to torpedo the bill - on any grounds - has a certain zero-sum logic to it. Denying Obama ...
From The Sunday Times: A HEREDITARY peer whose ancestor gave his name to the Falkland Islands has admitted "exploiting a loophole" in the rules to claim more than £140,000 in expenses from the House of Lords. Lord Falkland, the 15th viscount, designated a converted oast house in Kent as his main residence so he could collect allowances. Yet neither he nor his wife owns or rents the property. It actually belongs to his wife's aunt, who also pays the utility and telephone bills. By saying his main residence was outside London, he was able to claim £174 a night for ...
Today's round-up from Jon Sopel of the morning political shows is now up on the BBC website, complete with clips. You can read and watch here. It's mainly about Afghanistan, but MPs' expenses also feature.
It's really worth reading this letter which Evan Harris has sent to Home Secretary Alan Johnson concerning the Professor Nutt affair. Evan completely destroys all the main accusations made against Nutt by Johnson. In fact, when you read the letter it is a shocking condemnation of Johnson: Rt Hon Alan Johnson Home Secretary Home Office I am writing to raise with you several issues where you misled the House of Commons during the Urgent Question on the Advisory Council of the Misuse of Drugs on Monday 2nd November. The points you made are of such seriousness to the professional and ...
With the colder weather as we approach winter, it is good to see the Energy Saving Trust, working with the City Council, is offering free and impartial energy saving advice to householders in the city. This includes a free personalised home energy report for residents requesting it. Many residents will have already received a mailshot with full details, but you can also read more about the Energy Saving Trust by going to http://tinyurl.com/cutenergybill or by clicking on the headline above.
As is now traditional the best firework display in Market Harborough last night was the one given by the town's Roman Catholic primary school. It is a pleasing paradox and a rejoinder to those who think like Combom: Read your history books, bonfire night is an anti-catholic, pro-parliamentary celebration - I'm not saying its right or wrong to celebrate it, my daughter isn't going to be the only child in the street with no fireworks - but you ought to realise whats going on!Festivals mean what people today make them mean. Let's not strip our culture of all enjoyment for ...
My wife and I attended a Remembrance Sunday service this morning here in Sandhurst in the Memorial Park. It was very well attended and included officers from the nearby military academy as well as soldiers including members of the Gurkhas and many others. The part of the service that always gets me is "When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today." and this morning was no exception. We do owe our today to them.
I would just like to commend the excellent remembrance day events today across the constituency. There has been a concern in the past that the young generation is not as interested but on seeing the events across the constituency and in my home town, I would have to say that does not seem to be the case. Let's never forget the price paid (and still being paid) by people to preserve our freedoms and way of life.
Has the Redemption Blues.
Long-standing readers of this blog will be well aware that Tom Lehrer is one of my heroes, and one urban legend that everyone knows about old Tom is that he supposedly gave up satire when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the reason that political satire had become redundant. While that anecdote is not true, sadly, I couldn't help but think of it on finding out that the old war criminal has been invited to Britain by oleaginous Tory Liam "Dr" Fox in order to receive something called the "Margaret Thatcher Medal of Freedom", which to these ears ...
Gosport's "lame duck" Member of Parliament, Sir Peter Viggers, has brought disgrace upon himself ... and SHAME on the proud name of Gosport. For years, he and his fellow Conservatives have presided over the slow decline of our once proud town. Remember the Ritz? They tore it down. The A32? As gridlocked as ever. Haslar Hospital? They gave up without a fight. Over the last 5 years alone, Sir Peter has taken home almost £1 million in pay, allowances and 'expenses'. We may never know how much of our taxes he has pocketed during his 35-year rein as Gosport's MP. ...
Sun 8th
13:45
LDV readers say: no to all-women short-lists and quotas, yes to better training and support
Three weeks ago, LDV posed the following question – How should the Lib Dems increase their number of female MPs? – in the wake of Nick Clegg's frank admission to the Speaker's Conference that the Lib Dem Parliamentary Party is "woefully unrepresentative of modern Britain". Here's what you told us: 8% (23 votes) – All women shortlists and/or quotas in ALL seats 7% (22) – All women shortlists and/or quotas in winnable and held seats 44% (133) – No short-lists and/or quotas, but invest in getting more, better-trained and supported candidates 14% (42) – No short-lists and/or quotas: focus instead ...
The Lib Dem Voice editorial colective is descending upon the Big Smoke today to plan ahead how to improve the site – so advance apologies for the slack blogging this afternoon. We will, of course, all be online and contactable via Twitter @libdemvoice if anyone has suggestions for items to add to our already over-long agenda. In our survey following this year's party conference, we asked LDV-reading party members for their views on our content – what you appreciate, what you don't, and suggestions for improvements. Here are the features you told us you enjoy most, in descending order: Opinion ...
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. Fourth stanza of 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon (1869 – 1943) Posted in people, thoughts Tagged: "remembrance sunday" ...
I laid a wreath on behalf of the Mayor at the British Legion Remembrance Day service in Chessington today. "When you go home tell them of this and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today."
One of the problems with conducting the role of opposition in the manner of a rent-a-quote spokesperson is that occasionally the words that you use to best fit the story the journalist is seeking to write does not match the careful image that you are trying to construct for yourself as an opposition. Thus the Conservatives argue that they are a party in favour of localism and empowerment but when it comes to the crunch their centralising tendencies are as bad as, if not worse than Labour. The same is true for Plaid Cymru. A good example is this story, ...
Despite New Road being considered for formal parking restrictions several times, no solution has yet been found to reduce the amount of parking within the tiny street. The main issue has been found to be with hospital and university staff, visitors and students parking within the street. Indeed this is a big problem for the area around New road. Officers have said: "Residents permit parking has been considered in the past but residents have not supported its implementation. Currently resident permit parking rules both locally and in national legislation do not support single street schemes. However, the parking issues within ...
Received a mailing from Joanne Cash, the Tory parliamentary candidate for Westminster North, the other day. Very glossy it was, and it was paid-for mail, not hand delivered. Set me thinking about how much that must have cost. Assuming it went to every voter in the borough (and if it was targeted it wasn't that carefully ...
Sun 8th
12:24
Cape Salmond (well Lossiemouth) would be the launch pad for UK commercial space flight - with a law ...
A little known piece of legislation, The Outer Space Act, is the piece of legislation that controls Britain's involvement in space, and apparently Virgin Galactic is seriously considering Scotland as the place for it's cosmic launch pad. Apparently racing driver minister, Lord Drayson, and the Civil Aviation Authority are looking into the possibility of amending the ...
Just over a year ago, I stood in a field in Virginia waiting to hear the Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. It was the day before the US Presidential election. One of my friends from university, who now lives in America with her husband and children, invited me over to watch the election. She was campaigning locally for Obama. I wrote quite a few posts about the experience at the time. A year later, she asked me if I was going to write anything about the Obama Presidency. I do not claim to be an expert on American politics and ...
The Independent's brilliant Middle East correspondent, Patrick Cockburn, has an article in today's paper which clearly sets out why the war in Afghanistan - and it is a war when British soldiers are being killed every day - is unnecessary and unwinnable. He repeats the fundamental point that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were precisely what the nebulous 'al Qaeda' wanted and unfortunately an American President of limited abilities and a British Prime Minister with appalling judgment took the bait in one gulp. Cockburn mentions the uncomfortable truth that the centre of the supposed 'al Qaeda' insurgency against civilised ...
According to ConservativeHome, which bases its story on newspaper reports, there is a rumour doing the rounds that Gordon Brown may call the general election in March next year. The reason put forward is that this would avoid having to announce the Budget before an election. There are other reasons why this might be an attractive option for the Prime Minister. I have made the case on this blog that it would be preferable for Brown to go to the country at a time of his choosing. The closer he gets to June 2010, the harder that becomes. Everyone is ...
Dan Hannan has been musing on the idea of a written constitution. He has yet to be convinced but is beginning to see its benefits. Hannan is probably best described as a libertarian conservative. He explains in his post that he has always rejected tinkering with established political arrangements. So this is quite a step-change. Then again it would be foolish to type-cast Hannan. He was one of the first British politicians to come out for Obama despite Obama being seen as a social democrat by libertarians. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Hannan, he is clearly a politician who ...
The Liberal Democrats have redesigned their site. It happened earlier this week but I was away and could not do a review. However, as someone who writes about how politics is communicated it would be odd not to give a quick overview. The site is a vast improvement on the one that went before. It is easier to navigate and the colour scheme works better. As Sara Scarlett has pointed out on Liberal Vision, it is a bit like Charlotte Gore's site. The Conservatives are still ahead in terms of design and Labour are behind compared to the other two ...
I have added some new links to this blog. Over the years, I have re-arranged the way I present the links and what I link to. Part of the problem is deciding who to link to. After all there are so many bloggers out there. On this occasion, I decided to go on the basis of what this blog is about: communicating political ideas. The logic of that has led me to divide bloggers up by political groups: conservative, green, labour and liberal. I have also created a new category, well new for me, political observers. The blogs listed are ...
As I sit in my cosy house, surrounded by my small but happy family, I feel so much for those families of members of the Armed Forces who have lost their lives in the course of their duties. There are partners and children living every day with the reality of the sacrifice that their loved ones have made. Some children will have no memory of their fallen parent. Others will have had to deal with the shock waves of losing one of the most important people to them and its effect on their family. I know I simply would not ...
Just a quick plug for Manchester Harriers and Athletics Club, providing opportunities for young and old from across the south Manchester area and based at Scholes Field in Gatley with the shiny new pavillion. [IMG: Manchester Harriers Cross Country] Yesterday was one of the regular cross-country days, giving opportunities to hundreds of young people to catch the athletics bug. Recognising the parking issues that these once-a-month occasions cause, the Harriers were yesterday handing out advice to parents on where to park: suggesting Gatley Hill and Foxland Road in addition to Beech Avenue and the new enlarged car park by the ...
Labour List has this comparison of the shameless rip off of the Barack Obama website. See below. But let's not forget that Labour has been ripping of BNP leaflets in some local elections see here Double standards I think?
What do we forget when we remember What are the stories left untold What do we think each November As we march down that glory road As we march down that gory road One hundred million Don't come home from war Another eight hundred million Who lived to bear its scar Who lived to bear its scar Lest we forget What they were dying for Lest we forget What they were killing for Lest we forget What the hell it was for What do we forget when we remember... Owen Griffiths The British Legion's Poppy Appeal is here.
In World War II it seemed the whole of society was mobilised to support the war effort around the world. As we remember today the men and women who have fallen in all the wars this nation has fought, it is time to ask whether we are doing all we can to support our effort in Afghanistan. The uncomfortable truth is that there are around 250,000 of us who are actively undermining that effort. People who, when combined with their fellows around the world, provide around 50% of the Taliban's funding. For the vast majority it is not their intention ...
This morning's Wales on Sunday has a two page spread illustrated by an extraordinarily large photo of four girls under-dressed as if they were the big sisters of the pupils of St. Trinians, in which the paper exclusively reveals a litany of anti-social behaviour and cheating at Wales' biggest universities. They say that in a week when organised student pub crawls are again in the media spotlight, the true extent of violence and criminality at Welsh universities can be revealed to be far more disturbing: Our investigation found that, behind the respectable facade of the nation's higher education industry, students ...
This year more than ever before I have understood that Remembrance Sunday is not just about the fallen from the two World Wars... I think it is because so many Service personnel have lost their lives in Afghanistan over the last few months that this fact has been drummed into my (and perhaps our national) consciousness. This ...
According to the Times the former UKIP MEP Tom Wise is facing prison after confessing to an expenses fiddle worth more than £30,000. Tom Wise was the UK Independence Party's MEP for the East of England when he was accused of spending money allocated for office expenditure on a new car and expensive wines.
This morning I dropped by Frances Street in Cheadle (living on Frances Avenue, we used to exchange wrongly-delivered mail with them on a fairly regular basis, though that seems to be have improved recently). I was looking at the electricity substation on the road, with peeling paint on the doors, a leak on the roof and overgrowing foliage along the side, [IMG: Frances Street substation] My initial assumption was that it's owned by Electricity Northwest Ltd and maintained by United Utilities, but a resident who's looked into it has got a more confusing message. Looks like I'll be doing some ...
[IMG: Poppies for Remembrance - Veterans Day] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: santacrewsgirl{the original}
President Theodore Roosevelt first mooted the idea of universal healthcare in the US. Last night, a century later, the US House of Representatives at last voted positively on a bill that brings that dream a significant step nearer reality.
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] 'Ready for change' - Boris Johnson's record of inactivity Boris Johnson holds the most powerful and influential elected position of any Tory. Yet he has so far failed to deliver on his key campaign promises to scrap the Western extension of the London congestion charge and bring back a new version of the Routemaster to replace bendy buses. His mayoralty has been characterised by inactivity, the regular departure of key advisers, and a failure to deliver any significant change to London. 'Reforming Politics' - Osborne's 'flipping' and George Young's complacency on expenses George Osborne made £55,000 from 'flipping' ...
Their sacrifice for freedom was the ultimate one. We honour ...
It's Sunday. It's 7am. It's time to find out how peanut butter is made. But first, the news. 2 Big Stories Gordon Brown floats idea of tax on financial transactions Prime Minister Gordon Brown's idea of a financial transactions tax has received a lukewarm response from G20 countries. The proposal, which took delegates by surprise at the meeting in St Andrew's overshadowed other items on the agenda. The US said it would "not support" a transaction tax and Canada added it was "not an idea we would look at". The Conservatives said that Downing Street had previously "poured cold water ...
That perhaps wasn't the title you expected to see on my little blog, well, it is something I am concerned about and for those that doubt it ask my colleagues in the office, who once they had got over the initial laughter and shock, well sort of just accept it now. Honeybees are continually under threat of being wiped out from a range of diseases, which strange as this may seem they have no natural defence. Since the winter of 2007, 30% of the population of the domestic honeybees have been wiped out just from the attack o f the ...
Let us remember why wars can happen. Defend civil liberties at all times. 'First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.' Pastor Martin ...
How do you distinguish valid sports from barbarism? For example there was a recent report that rugby injuries are getting worse as the players become stronger and fitter. Sometimes these injuries are caused by players who are not acting within the laws of the game. At what stage should the police become involved rather than a referee? How do you label ice dance a sport when it is marked on artistic merit? How do you label darts a sport when it is played in a pub and not a sports field? There are lots of contentious areas when addressing sport ...
Today in 1895, while experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered the X-ray. Earlier this week, a public poll for the Science Museum voted the X-ray machine as the best invention, ahead of the Apollo 10 space capsule and Stephenson's Rocket. I have to agree with Ben Bradshaw that the public's choice of the X-ray machine is testament to our "insatiable curiosity to find out how things work". THE RESULTS 1st place - X-ray machines 2nd place - Penicillin 3rd place - DNA double helix 4th place - Apollo 10 capsule 5th place - V2 Rocket Engine 6th place - Stephenson's ...
