New Year, old sabre-rattling. Gordon Brown and David Cameron are parading their leadership credentials, with a view to capturing an entire nation - the UK, that is. David Cameron made a speech (transcript here) in Oxfordshire yesterday saying that the country needs a change of direction and a new leadership: "We can't go on in these difficult times with a weak prime minister and a divided government." [See the BBC website for a video clip] You can almost hear the Tory munitions factory roar as they forge this, strengthen that and defeat the other. And here's Gordon Brown on New ...
Title says it all, but given the number of people coming to my Flash Forward posts hunting for this information, I thought you might appreciate the news. It's due to screen again in the US on Thursday 4 March and Five have said they will start screenings in the UK in March.
Residents in the part of Stapleton Road which runs next to the M32 are being consulted on plans to create a widened walkway and cycle path. At present there is a 'break' in the cycle route to and from the city centre, and the idea is to improve the area for walkers, especially those in wheelchairs or pushing prams. As part of the proposals, Napier Road will become two way, and additional parking would be provided, to replace spaces removed by the wider pavements. The consultation ends on January 15th, and further details can be found on the Council website ...
Hello everyone, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and new year. I spent a lot of time travelling around visiting my parents in Norfolk (driving through lots of heavy snow) and then across to Wolverhampton. We came back to Lewisham for New Years and had a lovely time watching the fireworks over London at Telegraph Hill Park. At the moment I'm writing an essay on the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination which I'm sure most people have heard of. The MMR injection was first given as a 3-in-1 jab in 1988 but in 1998 there was a ...
This blog has been quiet for a few weeks. I won't bore everyone with the full details, but everyone who has ever lost a computer password will surely understand! Anyway my New Year's resolution is to get back to more regular blogging, starting today.....
Neither Cameron or Brown has had a good New Year first interview/speech. Whilst Cameron was busy giving his usual rhetoric full but policy absent speech, Brown was reintroducing the old Tory cut vs Labour investment line. Yes, we all know that the Tories are the party of cuts, however, it is silly for Brown to ...
Lord Adonis has successfully managed to alienate half the northern hemisphere by editing them out of his high-speed rail proposals. Meanwhile, in The Sunday Times he follows his leader in extending an olive branch to the Liberal Democrats. It should be a matter of distress when a Blairite claims that there is 'no ideological' divide ...
I have just watched the BBC 2 Program This world on Closing Guantanamo, this can be found on BBC IPlayer here. The former Conservative defence secretary Michael Portillo investigates the response to President Obama announcement in his second day in office that he would close Guantanamo Bay within 12 months. A task which has ultimately proved unachievable within this time frame. Personally I'm not so sure this is achievable on any short term scale because of the politics. The most interesting aspect of this program was examining the balance between human rights and the security of the USA. Michael Portillo ...
I am delighted to once again have two posts in LibDem Voice's 'Golden Dozen' for the week. The two posts so featured are 'One law for Gary McKinnon - another for Akmal Shaikh?' and 'LibDem MP gets own duck island'. After the loss of my previous blog last month, with the subsequent revalation that my ...
Yesterday I blogged on two seemingly unrelated topics; the attitudes of the Conservative Party membership to 'ethnic screening' and Nick Clegg's attitude to the war in Afghanistan. Condemnation of the former is less controversial in Lib Dem circles than the latter however the two are linked through the ideological construct of the 'war on terror'. ...
Yay, we've reached a ton-and-a-half [IMG: :)] ... Welcome to the 150th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere – the first of this decade – featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (27th December 2009 – 2nd January 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, usually courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget, by the way, you can now sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, ...
With the festive season drawing to a close, you can help the city's recycling effort by arranging a special collection of your real Christmas Tree by phoning the City Council's Waste Management Department on 01382 432776 or 432770. Alternatively, if you have a brown wheelie bin, the tree can be cut up and placed in it for collection, or it can be taken to council recycling centres, such as the Riverside Civic Amenity site.
More and more bloggers and commentators are talking about the real possibility of a hung parliament when voters go to the polls in this year's general election. I suppose the difference between the number of seats the Labour Party or Conservatives have and an overall majority will have to be at least 10 for the Liberal Democrats to become major players in hung parliament. Anything lower and the
The Manchester Evening News has an interesting report on the cost implications of our bid for two venues for the 2018 World Cup. The £30M cost sounds extreme, but I have looked at other reports for events and Manchester as a city would probably recoup more than that. Of course much of those monies would go to Hotels etc that are multinationals, but the employees would be Mancunian. I seem to remember the Royal Oak became an adoptive pub for a lot of Czech Republic fans back in Euro 96 and football fans are bound to want to send some ...
I did a review of my year of blogging in 2008 and 2007 and so I thought I'd keep it up for 2009. Having written it though, I've actually found it more interesting than I expected. THE STATS First the dull bit. Despite a long period of blogging really inconsistently, I am amazed that I had 26,773 ...
[IMG: Footprint] It's not the footprints in the snow that bothered me today as I did my rounds, but the lack of them around a number of old people's bungalows and sheltered accommodation. This prolonged spell of severe weather will be a real problem for many old people, and will call for the community spirit that the town is famous for and which saw it through similar times in the past. If you know an old person without local family or support, please make a point of checking on them. It could be a life-saver.
Saturday: Conservatory Leader, Mr Balloon, has admitted that he's not up to running a country at war and will be having to go begging to Captain Clegg and whichever unlucky troglodyte ends up in Mr Frown's shoes as leader of the THIRD party after the election annihilates the Hard Labour Government. Yes LUCKY us! We have been privileged to be addressed by the Conservatory Cowardy Custard in waiting, and he's broken the SHOCKING news that he's going to start campaigning for the 2010 General Election. Like he's been doing since it was the 2007 General Election. Let the Lovebombing Commence ...
If you want to read something ridiculous, look at the site of Expo 17, a world's fair Canada is planning to celebrate its 150th birthday. The theme is "social and environmental sustainability". This is the equivalent of apartheid South Africa holding an international multicultural festival with the theme of "one colour under the skin", or present day Zimbabwe hosting a celebration of liberal democracy. Edmonton, the Alberta's capital, and the Sodom of global warming to Calgary's Gomorrah, has made a bid to host the fair. The city's theme is "Energy in Harmony with the Planet". According to Kevin Taft, an, ...
I came across a fascinating document earlier today via Gary Gibbons' blog. It is a contemporary account of the internal machinations of the Heath government in the immediate aftermath of the first 1974 election which led to a hung parliament written by Robert Armstrong (Heath's principal private secretary from 1970 - 1974 - his Bernard Woolley to Heath's Jim Hacker if you will). It was apparently released after an FOI request from the Thatcher Foundation. Perhaps she was interested in the details of Heath's fall from power that ultimately led to her inexorable rise! It details how Heath tried desperately ...
[IMG: Shave Ice] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Hometown Invasion Tour ...probably because it is a lot hotter in Hawaii than it is where I write this... From the department of 'You learn something new everyday'... Yesterday I read somewhere that Barack Obama was avoiding having his photo taken eating shaved ice and indulging in other Hawaiian frivolities, while he is on holiday. Today I see there is a photo of him eating shaved ice with his family. Which begs the question? What the heck is shaved ice? Or shave ice? Ahem, from "Snocones", shave ice: is produced by ...
Just before Christmas, the Government published two media releases on the subject of crime and sentencing. The first concerned making several 'legal highs' illegal; the second announced a review of the maximum sentences for dangerous driving. What grabbed my attention was the current similarity of sentences for very different crimes. Currently the maximum sentence for dangerous driving is just two years - the same as for possession of amphetamines and less than half the maximum sentence for possession of cannabis or the previously legal high known as 'spice'. So in the government's mind, having a small spliff in your pocket ...
Sun 3rd
18:45
Freedom of Speech and Incitement to Violence - Why the proposed march through Wootton Bassett should...
Some of the subtleties of freedom of speech are often missed out of public debate. It is important to maintain freedom of speech and with it the right to protest.At its most restrictive freedom of speech can be constrained so much that people are even prevented from revealing that they are restrained from talking about an issue. This is the "super injunction" or the Court Order what shall not
I've been out and about this evening in Cheadle and Gatley and as a result have reported the following: Broken streetlight opposite 59 Broadway, Cheadle (near entrance to Kingsway School) Broken streetlight outside 57 Broadway, Cheadle Broken streetlight labelled "1" on Arlington Rd, nr. junction with Broadway The light at the centre of Broadway by the junction with Wilmslow Road isn't working. On Shiers Drive, streetlights 2,6 and 7 are not working. Streetlight "2" on the alleyway from Halstead Grove to Styal Road in Gatley isn't working. The streetsight for Arlington Road, Cheadle is barely visible due to hedge growing ...
The Star has a news report and some eyewitness accounts of the gas explosion in Shrewsbury this morning.
I have just read this story in today's Observer regarding a report that is due from the Health select committee which is looking into alcohol abuse. It has the usual stories regarding increasing levels of alcohol abuse which will lead to a unsustainable strain on the NHS budget. The solution seems to be a minimum price for alcohol. To be fair to Gordon Brown he has opposed this in the past because it would punish the majority of people who don't have problems or cause problems for others - damn right! (not often I say this about our glorious leader.) ...
...if we win this year's election, I will invite leaders of the main opposition parties to attend the war cabinet on a regular basis so they can offer their advice and insights. Ah, so the opposition leaders won't be actual members of the war cabinet will they? – or will they? They'll just be asked to attend on a regular basis so they can offer their advice and insights....not to actually be part of the decision making process – or will they be part of decision-making process? This could leave the opposition party leaders in a ludicrous position. Cameron could ...
I have memories of hearing this on a pub jukebox on the way home from a county chess game, which probably places it somewhere in the late 1980s. This track is not on the Bananarama's greatest hits CD, so I suppose I can claim it as a rarity. The video is poor quality and the fashion irredeemably eighties, but I am intrigued by the echoes of The Sound of Music. Later. Allmusic is complimentary about this song: Bananarama's fourth single, released in November 1982, was less of a chart success in the U.K. than their previous hits "Shy Boy" and ...
No early election, screams BBC News 24. And then you look at what Gordon Brown said. He expects a Labour budget. That was the basis for the no early election claim. Whilst 6th May remains the most likely date, nothing he said rules out 25th March, the date that would allow Labour to go to the polls without having a budget. Still, I would put my money on 6th May, were I a betting person (which I
After the grand launch of the new ID card scheme in Manchester (one of the few unwaveringly loyal Labour councils left, hopefully not for much longer) it started to fall apart. Apparently residents had been told that they could use their new cards to travel to Europe without a passport but when people tried they were turned away by 8 major travel companies. Who made the mistake here? Was it the government or the companies? I know who my money's on! This article from the BBC in Egypt also caught my eye. It highlights quite well the amount of power ...
The latest ploy by three disgraced MPs is to claim that their expenses claims over which they are facing prosecution are protected under Parliamentary Privilege under the 1689 Bill of Rights. Not surprising amongst there number if Livingston MP Jim Devine as well as Elliot Morley and David Chaytor. The heart of their claim is that the House of Commons rule book on expenses is "privileged" and shouldn't be open to scrutiny of the courts. The sad thing is that the three of these MPs using this argument just shows the people that MPs are trying to hide behind ancient ...
I've just spotted an article from The Economist's "More Intelligent Life" website, which sticks up for geography as a subject for study. I have an interest in that my degree is in geography. Geography is no different from any other in that people tend to love it or hate it, but despite being quite a ...
This is the first Christmas that anyone travelling on our motorways really couldn't avoid signs measuring distance in – whisper it – kilometers. [IMG: trunk road marker] Every 500 meters or so along just about every motorway – and some trunk roads – in Britain, one of these blue signs helpfully tells the the stranded, mobile-phone wielding, motorist not only which road and carriageway she's on but how many kilometers she is along it. Not miles. Not even good old British furlongs or barleycorns (which is a shame). But evil revolutionary French kilometers. Some EU plot force us to go ...
Somewhat appropriately for me a Liverpool fan the last man to score a winning goal for Leeds United against Manchester United went on to play at Anfield. Here is that goal from 14 September 2002. That though was at Elland Road in a Premier League clash. Jermaine Beckford's goal for the same 1-0 scoreline today came from a Division One Leeds United at Old Trafford. As a Livingston fan I'm just sorry that Robert Snodgrass only got 13 minutes at the end of the game coming on after 77 minutes for Howson. Although he almost didn't need must more hitting ...
[IMG: Posted by Picasa]
[IMG: Posted by Picasa]
[IMG: Posted by Picasa]
[IMG: Posted by Picasa]
[IMG: Posted by Picasa]
[IMG: Posted by Picasa]
I could not think of 10 but I do have 8, and they are not in any order:Shock of Paris prices: I went to Paris in June, the first time in 7 years. Last time I was there, the Europhobes were rubbing their hands at the thought of the Euro doing badly and the banking system was sucking vast amounts of money into the UK with the result of the pound going sky high in value. How times change. I was
Well - I had thought I was going to be on a panel - but found it was just me for the whole hour - which was great but a surprise. My fault for not making sure. Anyway - it was more of a paper review and less about the political issues of the year ahead or my predictions for 2010. I chose an Andrew Gilligan article from the Sunday Telegraph where he has written a good piece on the business rate tax bombshell that will strike in April. I don't know about your high street and local shops - ...
There's been a lot of talk recently about Nick's performance as leader, and about the perception of the Liberal Democrats as a party. It's clear to me that we've been making a big push over the last few years to be seen as a viable mainstream alternative to the Tories and Labour rather than a ...
Bit concerned that a few bloggers are being too nice to the Red/Blue parties – they're not endorsing them in any way and are callling them out – the point is why mention them anyway? Please remember – Electoral politics is simply warfare by any other name. If you give an inch they'll take a mile. Think ...
With new polling figures in, the general election prediction model we covered in November has churned out a new prediction for the next general election: New prediction: Conservative lead of 9% with 315 seats (11 short of an overall majority) Previous prediction: Conservative lead of 10% with 322 seats (4 short of an overall majority) Background to prediction In November Lib Dem Voice published an exclusive general election prediction, based on the work of a group of academics who have analysed polling data (not just party support levels) in the run up to previous British elections: Their predictive model works ...
Following Cameron's recent attempts at love-bombing the Lib Dems, Gordon Brown was also at it this morning during his Andrew Marr interview. Here's what he had to say: I think our policies appeal to liberal voters because you know we are for Alternative Vote system, we're for reform of the House of Lords, we're for the right of recalling members of parliament who commit fraud and equally at the same time we have policies on the environment and we've got policies on civil liberties that are not dissimilar to them (the Lib Dems). Now putting aside the irritant that he ...
I couldn't really imagine Gordon Brown doing this and I think if he did he would be rightly ridiculed for it. For some reason Blair may have got away with ringing up one of his council leaders on a live phone in to say well done but the public don't seem to have the same leniency with Brown. Maybe it's because we're too cynical now and realise it's all just political spin? Or maybe it's because Gordon hardly has any Labour council leaders left to ring up?
Plans to demolish 33 Glebelands Road and build a 12 apartment building with parking have been rejected by Bury Councils Planning Department. As an original objector to the first set of plans and to these resubmitted plans I am delighted that this planning Application has been refused. This is a character victorian house and should be restored if at all possible - even if that means converting the existing building into apartments. But demolition would be a tragedy and a further loss to our built heritage on the edge of a council conservation area. I do hope the owners come ...
As the New Year gets underway it is worth reflecting on the opening shot from the new First Minister, Carwyn Jones. He has told the nation that the key to Wales' success as a country depends on the education and skills of its people. If that is the case then no doubt we will expect changes to next year's fiinancial plans to reverse the 5% real term cut to further and higher education budget that Labour and Plaid Cymru have imposed.
The most common refrain being heard from comics reviewers on the internet at the moment is that they're bored or burned out with comics – something I've felt myself for much of the last year. I've simply had little to say about most of the comics I read. It's not that there aren't good comics ...
The next meeting of the Acocks Green Ward Committee takes place at 7pm on Wednesday 6 January in the 260th Birmingham Scout Group Hut at the rear of 254 Spring Road, Tyseley, B11 3DW (to the rear of Scanlon's). Its a very light agenda; the only substantive item is a report on School Admissiona and Appeals in the Yardley Constituency, covering the intake to schools in September 2009. As always there may be a number of issues of the day raised by residents.
So Gordon has told Andrew Marr he is going to fight 'every inch of the way' to win the General Election. So taking John Denver's Garden Song sung above by Arlo Guthrie here is what he really means. Inch by inch, row by row Gonna make economy grow All it takes is some get up and go And a pile of fertile pounds Inch by inch, row by row Evr'one vote to keep this show Just give us another go While the nation's tumbling down Taxin' more and savin' loans Banks are based on dreams and bones Feel the need ...
Having been lovebombed by David Cameron not so long ago the Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg in particular, now find themselves on the right side of a-wooing by Labour's unelected Transport Secretary, Andrew Adonis. It is red roses and champagne all round as the former Liberal Democrat and arch-turncoat, Lord Adonis claims that that there is "no ideological divide" between New Labour and the Lib Dems and suggests they could forge a "progressive coalition": "Nick Clegg is a very capable leader and ideologically I am on broadly the same page as him, as I believe is Gordon Brown. "I want ...
In response to the PM's comments earlier today that "The Liberals... are closer to us", I agree with Danny Alexander, that Labour has "failed to make Britain fair, failed on the economy, failed to protect our environment, and failed to clean up politics". Labour has failed to deliver these changes but the Tories cannot be trusted to do so, the only way to get "profound change" is to vote Lib Dem.
The BBC reports: Some people have been injured after a building collapsed in an explosion in Shrewsbury town centre. The incident happened on the corner of Smithfield Road next to Welsh Bridge at about 1140 GMT. A West Mercia Police spokesman said a few people were hurt. You can find an eyewitness account and photographs at Suntrap Holidays. Later. Excellent coverage in the Shropshire Star.
There is a fascinating piece in today's Mail on Sunday that either shows how true to life 'The Thick of it' is or just underlines the paper's inability to distinguish fact from fiction. The paper features Steve Hilton, who it describes as the reclusive, shaven-headed strategy director who has masterminded the rebranding of the Conservatives. They say that he has been warned that he is alienating key party figures by bombarding them with jargon-filled emails telling them 'how to think': Last night, one Tory frontbencher lifted the lid on the simmering resentment over 40-year-old Mr Hilton, who is married to ...
Ten years ago, Leeds United were top of the Premier League. Today they again find themselves top – but of League 1 – or the third Division in old money. When I was young. Leeds were one of the big teams. Had the concept of a 'Big 4′ existed then, Leeds would have been one ...
So what is the visible and immediate UK legacy here in Tel Aviv? It feels like an incredibly liberal, vibrant and positive city - many communities, still growing - the nearest thing, bar the climate, to a London-esq sense of village communities. The amusing thing - and when Herbert Samuel arrived a Governor of Palestine the legacy must have been still very live - is the way the streets are named after British figures: Herbert Samuel, Arthur Balfour, George V and Edmund Allenby. Happy to be corrected but I reckon most people will be aware that George V was King ...
Now I freely admit to not being terribly commercially minded - I am a civil servant and all that. However, Blogger have now teamed up with Amazon so that I can 'monetise' this blog, and I might as well take them up on their kind offer to give me lots of money, or possibly no money at all, or not much. Whatever, it costs me nothing, as far as I can tell, so we'll see what comes of it...
In the Bournemouth Echo this weekend is a story She's safe: Leona baffled by 'missing' reports on California holiday, following on from this are the comments from the readers. as often happens these comments are pretty nasty. Personal remarks about the missing girl , why her boyfriend was interested in her etc. Starting off, straight in for the kill with: cackers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! going on
Some Sunday morning memeage for you; questions from clytemenstra, who knows I won't turn her down; 1. Who do you consider to be the greatest prog-rock legend, and why? Now I could get all Maconie on you here and start filling the page with eulogies about Francesco di Giacomo from Banco del Mutuo Soccorso or Marián Varga from Collegium Musicum, but I won't because you're unlikely ever to have heard of them unless you're a) Italian, b) Czechoslovak, or c) ortho_bob. So I'm narrowing it down to two men who consistently made music that even the mickeymaoist cultural determinists at ...
Oh yes, whilst I'm looking at data, here are the figures for the fourth quarter of 2009, with some comparison data for you to enjoy... visits - 4,505 (4,877 in 2008) absolute unique visitors - 2,563 (2,609) income from advertising - £2.66 (£0.99) The top three postings were; Damn it Jennie, just sit still and be revered, why don't you? (106 views) The Boundary Committee for England regretfully advises... (103 views) Zac Goldsmith - not a fit and proper person to be an MP? (91 views) Let's see if we can do better than that in 2010, eh?
Happy New Year everyone, including all my avid Labour Party readers in Gateshead! I thought that I would bring you my personal highlights of 2009 whilst sitting at Crystal Palace station waiting for the train to arrive to take me to WestminsterSo here are the top 10 positive highlights, in reverse order:10)Reaching the milestone of 750,000 viewings on YouTube. I got there at the end of June. The
I sit on two Scrutiny Committees, Children & Young People as an ordinary member & Communities & Neighbourhoods as the LibDem Spokesperson. This week I will be discussing schools attendance and the closure of Ewing Schools as well as Winter Services (gritting essentially) plus business plans on Leisure & Housing. You can get to the reports from here, but feel free to contact me on any subject.
Throughout the festive season, LDV is offering our readers another chance to read the 12 most popular opinion articles which have appeared on the blog since 1st January, 2009. The third most-read LDV op-ed of 2009 was by LDV co-editor Mark Pack, and originally appeared on 23rd March ... Eating a vegetarian meal = suspicious terrorist activity No, you didn't read that wrong. That's really what our lovely government has decided, courtesy of its system for keeping tabs on people who take flights: "'Suspect' requests likely to cause innocent holidaymakers to get 'red flags' as potential terrorists include ordering a ...
Quick reminder - am on LBC today from 1pm with Kevin Maguire to review the papers and talk about the big political issues for 2010. See you then!
A continuing series of spelling out Conservative plans Part 3. At the end of last year I noticed that Iain Dale had said that VAT would rise to 20% in his predictions for 2010. Speaking yesterday David Cameron said: "Britain needs responsible economic policies that deal with our debts, so we have stability to create jobs and keep mortgage rates and taxes lower." However, in today's Sunday Torygraph the last Conservative Chancellor Kenneth Clarke said: "It is something that every Conservative tries to avoid but I didn't avoid it when I was getting us out of recession before [in the ...
With international terrorism in the news, the recession dragging on, Afghanistan returning British servicemen in coffins on a weekly basis and enough domestic matters to keep any government busy, what is Harman banging on about now ? Read HERE.
Well it looks like the Lib Dems won the by election battle again in 2009. Hardly a surprise really given our local by election record. The last one we had in Leeds we tripled our vote and the one before that we went from fifth place to an extremely close second. These results come with the normal caveats of course. Part of the reason we do so well in the by election +/- is because we have fewer seats to lose in the first place. This is partly why the Tories did so badly this year, they had many more ...
It is a sign of how low Brown's stock has fallen that Greg Pope's blog post - "Gordon loves the Labour party but the best thing that he could do now to help it stay in office would be to leave its leadership" - has received so little attention. Pope is the Labour MP for Hyndburn. The whole post is worth reading because of the light it sheds on the way Brown and his henchmen have behaved towards their internal critics: Labour has been appallingly ill-served by a cabal surrounding Gordon Brown. First they destabilised Tony Blair's leadership, an act ...
The first thing Steve and Nigel knew about the scale of the cuts was a letter from one of the council officers and reading the Bath Chronicle is worse the Conservative controlled council got it all wrong, sending out letters to those affected, then having to withdraw them as the
Unsurprisingly with all of the problems of the cold weather there are more pot holes, this time in Wansdyke Road. They have been reported to the council.
The council has filled in the pot holes, but around the patch the road is breaking up again. Our view is that the council should have re-surfaced the road, in the long term it will be cheaper
Sun 3rd
08:21
National Express East Anglia - when freezing fares doesn't mean what you thought it did
Amidst the flurry of stories about fare increases this weekend on Britain's railways, I note reports that National Express East Anglia have frozen their unregulated fares, good news indeed for those of us who use their services. Good news, that is, if you don't purchase your tickets using the internet. Because, curiously, what they don't mention is that the 10% discount they offered to passengers booking their tickets online has been withdrawn, which means that those fares have effectively gone up by more than 11%. And, amazingly, they didn't announce that with a fanfare of trumpets, oh no. Indeed, a ...
It's Sunday. It's 7am. It's time to learn how to dig a hole, but first the news. 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here's are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: What about the blood on your hands Mr Major? asks Nich Starling, reminding us of how John Major failed in the former Yugoslavia to act despite the warnings from Paddy Ashdown Market Harborough reindeer ban makes Conservative Home reports Jonathan Calder. Spotted any other great posts in the last day from blogs that aren't on the aggregator? ...
One parent recently told me that they didn't let their child watch The Simpsons because it contained adult humour. I'm afraid that I let all my children watch this programme and I haven't found a problem with it. I suppose a new year is a time for re-evalutaing and I have thought again about this programme. The Simpsons is about a family that argue, they behave badly and are not good role models, except that is not my opinion. I think that they are good role models as the programmes always end with the family on good terms. You could ...
From the first of this month, a new Irish blasphemy law became operational, and a campaign has begun to have it repealed. Blasphemy is now a crime punishable by a €25,000 fine. The new law defines blasphemy as publishing or uttering matter that is ...
