One again, the Centre for a Stateless Society (C4SS) is running a fundraiser. And I'm happy to host a copy of the Chip-In widget at the top right of the page for you to contribute without going anywhere. This must be one of the least expensive think tanks running - the target of $1,235 is literally what they will have spent in May. Of course they do get a good deal of voluntary help as well, but for that sum they get their web-site, pay several people to continue writing wonderful thought pieces and all the rest. They have also ...
List of links: Today's list of news, stories, blog articles and so on that I have tagged as particularly interesting or excellent in my news reader. As ever, clicking on the titles should take you to the full version of the story on its home site... Polly on David Laws by/at: Tim Worstall which I starred on/at: Tuesday, 1 June, 2010 - 07:01 What happens when we get angry? by/at: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News which I starred on/at: Tuesday, 1 June, 2010 - 06:00 How do we encourage a faster private sector recovery? by/at: John Redwood which I starred on/at: ...
List of links: Today's list of news, stories, blog articles and so on that I have tagged as particularly interesting or excellent in my news reader. As ever, clicking on the titles should take you to the full version of the story on its home site... So Long, Laws by/at: The Charlotte Gore Blog which I starred on/at: Monday, 31 May, 2010 - 23:01 Social Mobility Myths by/at: Crazy Elmont which I starred on/at: Monday, 31 May, 2010 - 22:00 Peak State and The Valley of Nobody Knows by/at: The Big Society which I starred on/at: Monday, 31 May, 2010 ...
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It has been a while since I have blogged about Human Trafficking and I thought that doing a post, even if it was just to raise it's profile again, would be a good idea. Anyway back to the point! In the fight against Human trafficking then the idea of the big society is actually a ... Read more
What a contrast between the big boys getting away with things and the small business not. I started with a planning problem where a small business had put up a small sign on a friends land to advertise their new business. However big guns are fired, it is illegal and the signs have to be taken down or there may be court action. Later in the day I find that a large company has...
The withdrawal of funding by major donors plus a new hard-line attitude towards its Scottish operation from Tory headquarters in London has meant that a meeting of the party's ruling executive in Edinburgh tonight has assumed crisis proportions. The formation of the coalition government, with the appointment of a Liberal Democrat as Scottish Secretary, is causing a major split in the attitude towards Scotland among senior London-based Tories. "Many of them now regard Scotland as a Lib Dem problem and have washed their hands of us," said one party official in Edinburgh More in the Daily Telegraph.
Back in September last year, I wrote about Chippenham Tory candidate Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones and specifically about his claim that the Lib Dems' criticism of him not being local had racist undertones (declaration: his rival Duncan Hames is a friend of mine). I suggested that this was a case of the Tories getting their excuses ...
As some of you know, I work on the railway as a track man (somebody who maintains the track) , from time to time I have been accused of having an unhealthy interest in trains, by work mates, not true although sometimes I've been know to, whip out my camera phone, if some unusual train rolls past, and yes when I first started working on the railway, I did once, purchase a copy of a railway magazine but believe me, it never went any further. Anyhow it always amazes me, how otherwise normal blokes, will stand on the platform or ...
"Will the Liberal Democrats survive the coalition?" asked a Guardian article this morning. Writing on Lib Dem Voice, Stephen Tall fisks it. Or, since he describes it as "a curate's egg of an article", perhaps that should be whisks it. All your worst fears about Labour's Digital Economy Act were well founded. PC Pro reports that Ofcom is advising anyone who offers free Wi-Fi access to consider restricting the service or risk prosecution. The Real Blog discusses The Wizard of Oz and plugs a modern retelling of the story by David Boyle. The white horse at Westbury in Wiltshire is ...
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A news release from the Tim Farron campaign says: Tim Farron today announced that Secretary of State for DECC, Chris Huhne, will be supporting Tim's candidacy for Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Mr Huhne's support comes on the same day as candidates for Deputy Leader put forward their nominating signatures to the Parliamentary Party. Other MPs who have now confirmed their support for Mr Farron include MP for Cheltenham, Martin Horwood and newly elected MP St Austell and Newquay, Stephen Gilbert. Commenting Mr Huhne said: "Tim Farron has the passion, experience and energy to be highly effective as deputy ...
Wales-on-line reports that former Montgomeryshire MP, Lembit Öpik is to make his stand-up debut tonight: Ex-MP Lembit Opik said today he wanted to see whether stand-up comedy was "like being an MP but a bit funnier" as he prepared for his first gig. The Liberal Democrat earned a quirky image thanks to his romantic ties with a Cheeky Girl, interest in meteorites and appearances on television comedy shows. Now he is hoping to turn the "awesome shock" of losing his Montgomeryshire seat to the Tories on May 6 and other political experiences into a new career in entertainment. Mr Opik ...
One of Britain's more unlikely tourist attractions is Arundells in The Close at Salisbury, the home of Sir Edward Heath for the last 20 years of his life. Unfortunately, the trustees of the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation have announced that the house is to be sold at the end of this year and will no longer be open to the public. So hurry to visit it while you can. Arundells will be open to visitors in 2010 each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday from 12.30 to 5.30 p.m. until Wednesday 27 October and on Sundays on selected the August ...
The invaluable Juan Cole
I just read Mark Reckons blog on Cameron's first PMQs as PM - Review. I left this comment on Marks Blog 'I hope any debuty Lib Dem Leader will be allowed to ask those two questions or that some deal can be done so Lib Dems ask more than one question.' One thing that I am concerned about is the Liberal Democrats being squeezed during the Prime Ministers questions. This makes the Liberal Democrats less visible. Lib Dems now have less MP's who can ask questions of the government (20 of their MPs now serving as ministers in the coalition). ...
Ian Davidson made a mockery of himself and the Labour party at Prime Ministers Questions this afternoon when he was supposed to get up and ask a question about Afghanistan and instead took the opportunity to make inappropriate comments about ... Continue reading →
Today was the first proper Prime Ministers Questions since the election and it was something of a breath of fresh air (if your a Conservative or LibDem at the least). David Cameron made what I thought was a very good ... Continue reading →
I know, I know, its old news now, but when you need something to cheer you up and the British weather doesn't behave as it is supposed to do in the summer time, you can always kick back and re-watch ... Continue reading →
Welcome to the fifteenth in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here. The story of this section in a nutshell is "short term good news, long term uncertainty". In the short term pensions will get a good deal: "We will restore the earnings link for the basic state pension from April 2011, with a 'triple guarantee' that pensions are raised by the higher of earnings, prices of 2.5%". This is a more generous deal, and sooner, than Labour proposed in their manifesto. There is also a ...
It strikes me that most of the time you can compare countries reactions to reactions of people affected by their past. Israel Israel are effected by the legacy of the Nazi's and their systematic attempt to exterminate the Jews. This leaves an effect in the countries psyche and leads to its own bullying as a form of defence. Much like a bullied child who in turn later in life bullies because this is what they have been taught and this is the only way they know of holding others back and therefore defending themselves by doing this North Korea Acts ...
Back near the beginning of the election campaign the parties had a bit of fun with a Gene Hunt election poster. Labour had Gene on his red Audi Quattro, warning us about a return to the '80s. The Conservatives thought the reckless Hunt, who frequently bends and breaks the rules to get results and thumbs his nose at authority, was a rather positive model and put out their own version of the poster. It seems Labour was nearer to the truth. There are MPs – in all parties – who have exploited the expenses system to enrich themselves at the ...
Those of you who saw the Turkish Grand Prix on the weekend will recall the moment of disaster displayed above on lap 41 when the two Red Bull drivers Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber, in first and second at the time, collided, putting Vettel out of the race and demoting Webber behind the two McLarens. Many believe that it was a 50-50, others that it was Webber or Vettels fault, but it was clearly just a racing incident, but also begs why the two were racing each other in the first place. The two cars were first and second for ...
Earlier today, I commented on an article in The Guardian entitled 'Will the Liberal Democrats survive the coalition?'. Apart from the forced political commentary, there was another point which really annoyed me. In trying to make a case that Nick Clegg's leadership had damaged the party's finances, Andy Beckett states: ' in 2009 the Lib Dems received a quarter ...
I was delighted to see that my good friend and Vice Convener Norman Work has been publicizing the positive partnership between the Council and Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service. The event in question related to Special Fire Liaison Concierges. 15 trainees are to be taken on to promote fire safety in tower blocks. This is excellent work and builds on other innovative work carried out with the Council's own concierge services in tower blocks relating to mental health and suicide prevention Norman said: This is a great partnership scheme, as not only will it provide local unemployed ...
Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat Voice I feel as though Norris McWhirter (late of the Guinness Book of Records) ought to have been kneeling at the foot of the Speaker's Chair with his stopwatch for this momentous Prime Minister's Questions. There were several records or firsts being set. The first coalition PMQs ever, I would suggest (I doubt whether Winnie or Ramsay or our David held such events). The first with Liberal Democrats on the government benches. The first with a party sporting its second female leader (Margaret Beckett was acting Labour leader after John Smith died). And it's 13 long ...
I feel as though Norris McWhirter (late of the Guinness Book of Records) ought to have been kneeling at the foot of the Speaker's Chair with his stopwatch for this momentous Prime Minister's Questions. There were several records or firsts being set. The first coalition PMQs ever, I would suggest (I doubt whether Winnie or Ramsay or our David held such events). The first with Liberal Democrats on the government benches. The first with a party sporting its second female leader (Margaret Beckett was acting Labour leader after John Smith died). And it's 13 long years since we had a ...
I thought David Cameron did pretty well at PMQs today. The whole affair began in a fairly understated way largely due to the deaths this morning in Cumbria. Harman asked some difficult questions about anonymity for rape suspects and deliberately chose a good wedge issue between Tories and Lib Dems on married tax allowance. Cameron handled all of this OK though in my view. In fact (whisper it) but he seemed very statesmanlike at the dispatch box. Someone commenting on my live chat mentioned that he seemed to be following some pretty specific body language routine to appear so. That's ...
Prime Minister's Questions - they used to be the weekly bear pit. Brown used them to bellow out lists like Stalinist beetroot and tractor statistics but otherwise avoided answering questions. Labour sycophants trotted out their planted questions. Nick Clegg was shouted down and treated dismissively by Brown. The tone now is different. It is much less of a confrontational political punch up.
How many people in the new coalition does it take to change a lightbulb? Three: One to make the change, one from the other party to shadow them and one Daily Telegraph journalist to write an expose about the Liberal Democrat
I have continued to receive concerns about drop-off parking outside the school and the issue has also been highlighted tonight in the Evening Telegraph. I have again raised the concerns with the Head of Primary Education at the City Council asking what further steps can be taken to ensure safe parking and pupil pedestrian safety.
I'll keep this report straight and keep firmly to the facts, resisting the urge to use any double entendre, type jokes, anyway that's probably already been done elsewhere. Margate artist, Lonnie Donegon Jnr. has re-recorded his fathers song "World Cup Willie" which was a success as official song during the 1966, World Cup, when England football was last successful. My own recollections of that particular victory are clear and notable for being the last football match I watched all the way through, although with Mrs Me being a Chelsea season ticket holder it's difficult to avoid . Apart from a ...
So here we are, coalition government in place, Queen's speech delivered, Dave's first PMQs negotiated - and with plenty of Liberal Democrat policies at the forefront of the government's programme, the era of New Politics (TM) is upon us, right?Err, in some quarters, not so much - and no, this post will not attempt a deconstruction of the David Laws' departure from the Cabinet, other than to ask
Here is the link to the application stuff for the Councillors Community Initiative Fund. This is especially designed for small local groups. Closing date is towards end of June.
It's that time of year again, where we all hope for a lovely sunny weekend, for this weekend is the Gainsborough Riverside Festival. This the theme for festival is Water, Wind and Willows. This links in with Trent Vale and RSPB's first year of the Beckingham Marshes development plan. It promises to be a fun packed weekend and some great bands have been lined up to entertain the crowds. This is one of the most important dates in the Town's calendar, so I hope to see you there. For more information visit their website at http://www.gainsboroughriversidefestival.com.
Wed 2nd
14:30
A curate's egg of an article - The Guardian asks, "Will the Liberal Democrats survive the coalition?...
There's an interesting in-depth feature in today's Guardian, focusing on the future prospects for the Lib Dems now the party is in government: Will the Liberal Democrats survive the coalition? (It's a question I think we've all been asking ourselves for the last three weeks). It's a generally fair and balanced take – highlighting the many acknowledged threats to the party, recognising there are opportunities, too – with interviewees including Lord (David) Steel, Simon Hughes and James Graham. However, it's a little marred by some rather strange omissions by its author, Andy Beckett. For example, it seems odd to talk ...
The link is to a post by Craig Murray who used to be the UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan.He makes the interesting point that Turkish vessels have been attacked by a non-member of NATO and that Nato's prime function is a military alliance established to defend its members against attack.It raises the question as to what extent NATO is independent of the USA. He also looks at the conflict in
To mark the first PMQs of the coalition government I thought I would host a Live Chat on here whilst it is in progress. PMQs starts at 3:00pm and the chat will start a few minutes before. Join us below: PMQs 2nd June 2010
Another mail from the Vote for Change campaign. Tick Tock Clock's ticking, Cameron. Since the Queen's speech last week, 3,500 people have joined you in co-signing our letter to David Cameron to demand a concrete timetable for an electoral reform referendum. We're delivering the letter on Friday, and we need to hit 5,000 signatures before then. Can you help by asking your friends to join you in signing it? Spread the word now: [IMG: We Need a Timetable for Reform] We Need a Timetable for Reform Three weeks into Cameron's tenure as PM, he's yet to move an inch forward ...
Transport for London is running a consultation on Mayor of London Boris Johnson's plans to axe the western extension to the congestion charge zone, increase the daily charge, change the exemptions and introduce a discount for automated payments. At heart this is the sort of consultation which gives the word a bad name: the big political decision to axe the western extension has been made, the public had their chance to cast a verdict on it via the ballot box and now this 'consultation' is a bit of process that no-one really believes could change Boris Johnson's mind. However, there ...
Though I religiously compile Lib Dem Voice's monthly statporn – which serves a purpose not only of demonstrating the success of the site thanks to the efforts of very many people, but also encourages more people to contribute – I've never bothered to check out the readership for this, my personal blog. Partly lack of time; partly, that this blog is primarily a hub for my online activities, of which probably 97% is dedicated to Lib Dem Voice, and so it seems a little redundant to big-up the remaining 3%. Still, here goes ... In May, this blog attracted 2,634 ...
As I said yesterday I've been neglecting this blog a little bit in recent days. The reason for that is that on Monday night I was attending a shortlisting interview for the Edinburgh Central seat at next May's elections. Well things went well and I was named as one of the five who the Lib Dems living in Edinburgh Central will be voting on to be their candidate. So the next few weeks will be a busy time, as the last few months have also been. Next years election is going to be an interesting one for Lib Dems standing ...
Jamie Stone, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, has announced that he will step down from the Scottish Parliament at the next Scottish election. Mr Stone is stepping down 25 years of public service to pursue new avenues. Jamie is the second Highland Liberal Democrats MSP to announce he is standing down. John Farquar-Munro MSP is also standing down and Alan MacRae has been selected to replace John and fight the seat at next years election. Following his announcement, Jamie Stone said: "After serving in the Scottish Parliament for almost 12 years, and as a local ...
The British Election Result Night Awards! (The Bernies!) Irrelevant awards for the events of UK general election...and utterly hilarious. Filed under: GE2010, Labour, LibDem, Tory Tagged: funnies, Political awards, The bernies
Its not often that i write about something non political but when something like this pops up on my news reader and leaves me with my mouth wide open, i simply have to say something. Now I have seen small ... Continue reading →
I have a lot of sympathy for the Palestinians. There I said it. This is the point where I now get a deluge of post accusing me of being an anti-smite right?. These are a people who rightly or wrongly, ... Continue reading →
There are times when you think; surely something has to be done now? This must be the tipping point? Those terrible images of the father in Gaza trying to protect his 13 year old son who was shot to death. The last intifada when 13 citizens of Israel were killed for merely demonstrating against their government. The outrage of Lebanon and then last year Gaza. For me, as I suspect for many of us, the brutal attack on the flotilla this week was another such time. Surely the international community is not once again going to wash its hands, turn ...
The 'honour' of penning this morning's pointless anti-Lib Dem article in The Guardian goes to Andy Beckett. In trying to justify his headline that 'Nick Clegg's alliance with the Conservatives has damaged the Lib Dems' popularity with leftwingers, both in and out of the party' Beckett quotes one former party leader, partly quotes two others and ...
At the end of last week the regulator Ofcom published a draft of the code to be followed for taking action against online copyright infringement following the passage of the Digital Economy Act. As Rory Cellan-Jones points out, some aspects of the draft code deal with concerns raised during the passage of the Act. In particular, the code only applies to ISPs with over 400,000 customers, thereby excluding operators of Wi-Fi networks such as cafes and universities who had been worried they would be forced to incur significant costs tightly policing their networks. The code also confirms one of the ...
Many people on twitter were outraged when it emerged that the sun had conducted a poll on whether gay people should hold cabinet positions. (by the way only 5 precent said they shouldn't whilst a vast majority said they either didn't care or it was a good thing!) Many people have seen this as a ... Read more
What is it about The Wizard of Oz that makes it so popular now? There was the new production at the Festival Hall last year. Now there is the success of Wicked. Well, I have a suggestion. It is to do with economic collapse. The idea that Frank Baum actually wove his tale around the monetary battles of the 1890s only emerged in 1963, but I'm sure it is right. Although Oz stands easily on its own as a tale, it was also a subtle tract urging more money in circulation on behalf of the agricultural workers (the Scarecrow) and ...
The David Laws' resignation at the weekend put the coalition government in a bit of a pickle. They had to very quickly replace Laws as Chief Secretary to The Treasury not least in order to make sure that the markets were not spooked, although to be fair ministers are always appointed very rapidly. However this government was even further constrained than recent governments because the replacement had to be another Lib Dem. In the event, Danny Alexander was promoted from being Secretary of State for Scotland to Chief Secretary. This then left a gap in his former role which also ...
The Independent today features a relationship-focused interview with Nick Clegg. It looks mainly at two areas for balance: work/family and his working partnership with David Cameron: Mr Clegg... insists he is determined to keep family life and government work as separate as humanly possible. In this aim he has found an ally in the Prime Minister, who is also the father of small children. Both agreed to change the timing of a cabinet meeting to fit in with the school run. "I try - I haven't entirely succeeded yet - as much as I can to take the kids to ...
One of the most frustrating things about the economic crisis in the UK over the last couple of years has been the way the Conservatives and the right wing media have successfully pulled the debate from the private sector to the public sector. If you read only the newspapers and the politicians' comments, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the recent recession was caused primarily by overspending in the public sector, when in fact, it was caused by the reckless speculation and risk-taking of City hedge funds and banks that were 'too big to fail'. One particular example of this ...
There is a fascinating article in the Guardian concerning the true cost of nuclear power stations. The new Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, has announced that the country faces an unavoidable cost for cleaning up old nuclear waste and decommissioning facilities of around £4bn over coming years. This is equivalent to one-sixth of the overall planned cuts to reduce the budget deficit and completely puts the lie to the notion that nuclear power is affordable or practical. Huhne has pointed out that the huge cost to his department of this necessary cleanup means that in effect it will be able to ...
I seem to have acquired the task of walking my mother's dog each day. I came by the task as an excuse to go out to explore historic sites near our village of Sunniside. Mother lives on the other side of the village so I am on my way there now. The aim is to walk the dog and get back in time for PMQs. So no detailed exploration of old ruins today!---Sent via BlackBerry
Lib Dem Voice polled party members registered on our members' forum at the weekend asking them about the contest to succeed Vince Cable as Lib Dem deputy leader. Over 460 members responded, and here's what you told us ... LDV asked: Vince Cable stood down this week as Deputy Leader of the party. Some have suggested all members should have a vote to decide who is the party's deputy leader. Others say that members elect the party president, and it is right MPs decide the deputy leader. What's your view? 42% – Party members should elect the Deputy Leader 44% ...
The Independent ran this piece from my yesterday: There was no need for The Telegraph to run a snatched doorstep photo of David Laws's partner - but it is standard fare for political coverage across the media After years when ministers were far too reluctant to resign, clinging on to their jobs regardless of criticism, the case of David Laws has rather turned that on its head. I say that because, for me, the dividing line between reprimand and resignation in matters of personal financial affairs should be whether or not you have personally gained from a breach of the ...
There is an interesting story in The Guardian today about how Bristol City Council have banned white people from applying to one of their training programmes because they want to increase ethnic diversity in the workforce. They've cited 'positive discrimination' as a legitimate reason to allow it, but for me it amounts to little more than veiled racism. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time I've come across this sort of thing. Just yesterday I was having a conversation with some friends about an e-mail sent out on our University e-mail that advertised a job, but was only to applicants from ...
Welcome to the fourteenth in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here. The national security section is brief, outlining the creation of a National Security Council, the commencement of a defence review and a promise to "deny public funds to any group that has recently espoused or incited violence or hatred. We will proscribe such organisations". The pledge on deportation is carefully balanced: "Britain should be able to deport foreign nationals who threaten our security to countries where there are verifiable guarantees that they will not ...
Being such a bore, I have just finished skimming through a few copies of Hansard relating to all the parliamentary fun of the past week or so. The most interesting part comes here, spoken by the Leader of the House, Sir George Young... Colleagues will also wish to know that, subject to the progress of ...
Last night the Launceston Community Network Panel discussed the future for the town. It was a discussion inspired by Cornwall Council's review of the Sustainable Development Strategy and the Local Development Framework. It was a good event which forms a first step on the development process. In the near future we will get feedback and there will then be a first consultation draft of the document for the whole of Cornwall so we will see how Launceston fits in with the rest of Cornwall. Among the issues raised were: - Launceston has unrivaled access within Cornwall to the rest of ...
Did you know that Nestlé produce enough KitKats every five minutes to stack the Eiffel Tower? If you like Kitkats this is an amazing picture now painted in your head. There is however a downside. The palm oil used in KitKats is produced by companies who are demolishing areas of the Indonesian rainforest to create palm oil plantations, so by association Nestlé is also therefore implicated in the deforestation of rainforests. Now Nestlé have denied this, obviously and I sincerely hope Greenpeace will keep up the pressure on Nestlé to ensure their palm oil is from sustainable sources. Below is ...
This is a lovely light, yet rich dessert for a summer lunchtime. Serve either in one large bowl or six small dishes. 180g caster sugar 3 large eggs, separated grated zest and juice of 2 lemons 3tsp powdered gelatine 300ml double cream Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together until pale and thick. Beat in the lemon zest and juice. Pour 100ml ...
Today will be David Cameron's first Prime Minister's Questions. I am sure there will be much excitement among political watchers. Will he acquit himself well? Will he best the opposition? Can Harriet land a couple of blows? Will anyone trip him up? I am hopeful for something else though. The last Prime Minister allowed PMQs to degrade to the point where I cannot remember him often answering the question. It was merely an opportunity to list the latest set of tractor statistics and make spurious points about the opposition. Also, he had a dreadful tendency to ask the leader of ...
The Independent today features a relationship-focused interview with Nick Clegg. It looks mainly at two areas for balance: work/family and his working partnership with David Cameron: Mr Clegg... insists he is determined to keep family life and government work as separate as humanly possible. In this aim he has found an ally in the Prime Minister, who is also the father of small children. Both agreed to change the timing of a cabinet meeting to fit in with the school run. "I try - I haven't entirely succeeded yet - as much as I can to take the kids to ...
As part of my continuing efforts to bring this election "to the people", here are the places that you can find information about the candidates for the Vice Chair positions; Vice Chair Campaigns Haider Ali Jack Cartwright Elizabeth Gawen - Facebook - Twitter Chris Wiggin - Facebook - Twitter Vice Chair CommunicationsCharlotte Henry - Facebook - Twitter Johnny LeVan-Gilroy - Facebook Vice Chair FinanceDamien Shannon Tom Wood - Facebook Vice Chair Membership DevelopmentRobson Brown and Ed Sanderson - Facebook - Twitter (Ed) Kieren Moss Rosie Rutter - Facebook Andrew Wilson
[IMG: natoflagsmall1.jpg] I was in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office for over 20 years and a member of its senior management structure for six years, I served in five countries and took part in 13 formal international negotiations, including the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea and a whole series of maritime boundary treaties. I headed the FCO section of a multidepartmental organisation monitoring the arms embargo on Iraq. I am an instinctively friendly, open but unassuming person who always found it easy to get on with people, I think because I make fun of myself a ...
I have been a long time admirer of Jim Wallace, and Sojourner magazine, for a long time now. For those of you who are unfamiliar with them they are basically a group that seeks to promote an alternative to the religious right framework within the U.S. They want to promote the goals of social justice amongst Christians, ... Read more
A few minutes ago on BBC Breakfast our Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, pointed out that incidents like the recent Israeli high seas piracy are not in Israels best long term interest. What else, I suppose, can he say? The whole world, except the Government of Israel, wants to believe that this is true & hopes Israel will see the light. Not surprisingly Israel holds a different view because, for the last 40yrs, it has been flouting international law & world opinion & no damage whatsoever has been done to its' interests in any place that matters. There is no ...
I met up with Nicholas Graham Smith (who became involved with the Hampstead Hospice because of his wife's tragic death) and Deborah Wolton (author of a book on Hampstead Heath walks) to support and promote 'The Hampstead Hug''. This is a walk for charity on Hampstead Heath (two choices - 2.5 miles or 6 miles to suit all the family - the two walks join up so everyone can finish together). The money raised goes to support the Marie Curie nurses who help the terminally ill and their families so much. It will take place on Sunday July 4th 2010 ...
The Israel/Palestine situation must be one of the most intractable in the world. The original Balfour Declaration of 1917 in which the British government, "view(ed) with favour" the setting up of a national home for the Jews in Palestine, continued with the phrase "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine" (my emphasis.) The ignoring of that condition is the source of the problem: there is, in my view, a very real sense in which Palestinians are being made to pay the cost of assuaging ...
I am rushing off to Hereford to look at how they deliver health and social care so just time for a quick post, inevitably finishing with a weak joke. Yesterday's Guardian put its finger on the problem facing the nuclear industry with a report highlighting the real cost of nuclear power. They report on the claim by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne that Britain is facing a £4bn black hole in unavoidable nuclear decommissioning and waste costs: The revelation places an unexpected burden on his department's £3bn annual budget ahead of difficult spending negotiations ...
I am, undoubtedly, too old for this. By "this", of course, I mean the Liberal Youth elections, where people less than half my age remind me of my mortality whilst I try to uphold the Constitution in a manner akin to Beau Geste in the 1939 film version of the book (you know, propping corpses up at the battlements to fool the attacking Tuaregs into believing that there are more defenders than there really are). And it is difficult. Much of what might seem unfair is not prevented by the Rules, so far as they exist, and with Facebook groups, ...
Whenever you hear from an Israeli or Palastinian politician you get long emotional comments so I will save you a lot of time with this summary. The Gaza blockade started in 2007 and Israel says this is to limit the rocket attacks from the Hamas controlled Palastinian government. The blockade causes great hardship in Palestine but Israel has many reasons to blame Hamas for the lack of essential items getting through to those in need. This leads me to the news about the flotilla of aid ships that were stopped on their way to Gaza. Who was the aggressor? Well ...
