On The Andrew Marr Show this morning Ed Balls claimed that the last Labour government did not run a structural deficit. Nick Thornsby's Blog has the figures that prove it did. "I took the trouble of looking up how often as Tommy McAvoy he had spoken in the House of Commons in the last four years. The answer was just once in four years when he muttered just four words. Now as Lord McAvoy he has spoken 77 times on this Bill." On Liberal Democrat Voice, Chris Rennard reports on Labour's filibustering on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill ...
I read today that Tim Farron MP was going to join the protest at Grizedale against the sell-off of our forests. I'd just been reading about the situation which arose in 1921 when the Liberal-Conservative coalition government decided to raise a bit of money by selling off Runnymede. A huge protest was held on the site during the League of Nations conference and the government backed off.
Over at Lib Dem Voice, Mark Pack poses the question: Was Beveridge right to oppose the Welfare State? This may seem an odd debating point as everyone credits William Beveridge with laying the foundation of the welfare system we currently have. In fact, Beveridge laid out a liberal blueprint to tackle want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. The Labour Government under Clement Attlee took the report and responded by creating a centralised structure that became known as the Welfare State. The NHS, education system and social security system that many now see as representing all that is good about Britain ...
Below is the text of a blog post that I have written for Liberal Vision: Over at Lib Dem Voice, Mark Pack poses the question: Was Beveridge right to oppose the Welfare State? This may seem an odd debating point as everyone credits William Beveridge with laying the foundation of the welfare system we currently have. In fact, Beveridge laid out a liberal blueprint to tackle want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. The Labour Government under Clement Attlee took the report and responded by creating a centralised structure that became known as the Welfare State. The NHS, education system and ...
With due respect to the anonymous commenter on the previous review in this series, I think that it is clearly Mary Tamm depicted in the 1980 Annual, and it's a definite improvement from the previous few years. One feels somehow a lot more grounded in the series. Unfortunately, of course, by the time most kids were reading this, Mary Tamm had transformed into Lalla Ward, so the impact was a bit muted, but I read it while still watching The Armageddon Factor so it worked reasonably well for me. The stories are about average, and the filler material below. However ...
No, this gassing of protesters wasn't in Egypt, it was in London. Today. According to both Liberal Conspiracy and the Guardian, the Metropolitan Police used CS gas on peaceful anti corporate tax avoidance protesters outside Boots in Oxford Street. This is how UK Uncut (who organised the protests) describes it: Before 15:00 outside Boots on Oxford Street a female activist tried to push a leaflet through the closed door of Boots explaining the details of Boots' tax avoidance to the staff. A police officer then arrested the individual for "criminal damage". Around 20 people tried to help the female being ...
It's easy to take simple things in life for granted. Like food and warmth. Sleep is something you don't realise is so precious until you can't sleep – night after night. In late 2000 I couldn't sleep for many nights and it really was sheer torture. I never take sleep for granted nowadays. After this evening, I'll never take for granted an ability which I am fortunate to have in spades. ...The ability to speak fluently. "The Kings Speech" is an awesomely powerful film. My parents and grandparents have spoken highly of King George VI. It wasn't until saw this ...
In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, the president called for big investments in education, infrastructure, research and innovation as the best ways to make sure the US meets the challenge from an economically resurgent China. He wants to improve the education system, ensure there are more maths and science graduates, pioneer new industries, invest in R&D and encourage entrepreneurship. Here's his call to arms: Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we'd beat them to the moon. The science wasn't ...
It would seem that Woking Borough Councils ruling Conservative executive is playing games with the intelligence of local residents again by being less than honest with the facts about its ready funds. After an investigation by Surrey's Audit and Governance ... Continue reading →
My personal journey from family strife to politics and why this Government must always help the most vulnerable in our society.
OK so the title may have been somewhat misleading once you get into the nuts and bolts of this story but the thing is, I did little dance this evening when I saw the draw for the next round of the ... Continue reading →
I've been having a lot of problems with getting my latest ebook uploaded to Lulu, and I know other people have had similar problems, so here's what I've learned so far. (Currently I've *finally* got to the point where they've accepted my ePub file, but then the next screen gets me an 'unrecoverable error'). I'm ...
Despite its flaws, which I discuss in the full post, this chapter is basically a really good introduction to the reign and times of Justinian.In 61 pages, it covers i) the Empress Theodora, ii) the factions at the Circus, iii) the economy of Justinian's empire, especially relating to silk and taxes, iii) the Hagia Sophia and other famous buildings, including the fortifications, iv) the state of learning in the empire. It is the first of four chapters covering Justinian's reign, with more about the Persians and the church, and I think that if the level of quality continues then I'll ...
When we came to Canada, we had to replace many of our electrical devices, including our bread-maker. I wanted a Panasonic, which is an American brand, so I was surprised that I could not find a Canadian distributor. In the end we bought a Cuisinart. Twice, since we bought it, the baking tin has developed a leak and needed replacing. If we were in the USA, I could just go online, order one and it would be delivered within days. In Canada, I can only order from the local authorised spare-parts supplier (there's just one in Edmonton). The supplier doesn't ...
On Thursday evening councillors considered the Councils draft Corporate Plan for 2011-16. The good news for Stansted residents is that the Council is committing itself to providing a Community Information Centre in the village by December 2012. Part of the savings used by the termination of the "supaloos" contract will be used to fund it. Other communities in Uttlesford such as Great Dunmow and Thaxted already have community Information Centres. At Thaxted it houses not only an information point about the District Council, but also the Citizens Advice Bureau and a Police Surgery. I have already been in discussion with ...
As I said when discussing Blue Jeans by Blur, "I understood BritPop: good tunes, guitars and harmonies." That is hardly surprising in a child of the 1960s, and you can add cheeky cockneys of varying authenticity and overrated bands from the North West to the mix. Still, I think the great song the era produced may have been Pulp's dissipated farewell to it. Here the band plays live for Jools Holland.
At local level the Lib Dems in Reading have campaigned for many years for Reading's urban trees to be protected and enhanced. Trees have been disappearing from our streets in many parts of Reading - not least in my own ward of Redlands and have not replaced. This has been a source of frustration for many local residents and despite warm words Labour failed for many years to develop a strategy to protect this important public asset . Lib Dems in Reading have campaigned energetically both in our wards and in the Council chamber (tabling questions and motions to Council) ...
I've been bit quiet on the blogging front these last couple of weeks because two things rather unexpected happened. Firstly I was on such a high from my day at parliament and PMQ's (something I know many people take for ... Continue reading →
Further to my earlier item about the forthcoming Gael's Fire fundraising event for the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster Memorial Trust, here is a new video (with thanks to Rose!)
Stern action against those responsible for extrajudicial killing: PM Lord Eric L Avebury, chairman of the standing committee on human rights in the UK House of Lords, calls on the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, at her hotel suite in London on Sunday. — PID photo Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . London The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has categorically said her government would take stern actions against those found responsible for extrajudicial killing in Bangladesh. 'If anyone found guilty after investigation for extra judicial killing, we will take action against the persons as we believe that all citizens have the right to ...
I hope everyone has had a nice weekend. Mine has been varied, if spent entirely in the confines of Prestwich. After yesterday's Saturday Surgery and door-knocking escapades, I hosted a party fundraiser in the evening. The "Pizza and Politics" event was high on both pizza and politics, but sadly not high enough on snackfood consumption ...
Monday, January 31, 2011 All measures taken to stop extra-judicial killings: PM Unb, London Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said yesterday that her government has taken all measures to stop extra-judicial killings and improve the human rights situation in the country. The premier made the remarks when Standing Committee Chairman on Human Rights of House of Lord Eric Avebury, Amnesty International Director Abbas Fayez and Human Rights watch Director Brad Adams met her at her Hotel suit. They discussed how people's rights can be protected as well as the issues related to the CHT Peace Accord, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 206th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (23rd -29th January, 2011), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can 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, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Telegraph exclusive: ...
My Birkdale Ward colleague Simon Shaw has recently updated his council by-election research to the end of January Simon has now added the results for the three months November, December and January, in which there were 44 principal council by-elections. As reported previously the results continue a lot better for the Lib Dems than might be imagined from some national opinion polls. There have now been 190 principal council by-elections in the 9 months since the Coalition Government was formed. "Principal councils" cover everything above parish council level, i.e. the results include by-elections in county councils, London boroughs, district councils ...
Andrew Lansley put in what I think was a very strong performance talking to Andrew Marr about NHS reforms. You can find the interview here. I was impressed by how well he dealt with tricky questions. He made a very good point that if power is given to GPs and local authorities then that must necessarily be at the expense of PCTs - which raises the question of what PCTs would do if they were retained. He also pointed out that the current systems of accountability for PCTs are inadequate, and I can attest to the fact: I cannot think ...
I'm starting to worry whether there is something wrong with my ears. Not that I am going deaf but merely that other people hear things I don't. This is really to do with listening to music. I keep having this odd experience of critics announcing that the latest album by a band or artist I like is a radical new departure, but where I don't really spot much of a difference. I have just bought the new offering from The Decemberists, of which the reviewer on AllMusic comments Raised on a steady diet of Morrissey, Robyn Hitchcock, Shirley Collins, and ...
For the first time since his election as leader of the Labour party, I found myself agreeing with Ed Miliband during Prime Minister's Questions this week. With his new Shadow Chancellor sat next to him and in response to the news earlier in the week that the economy had contracted by 0.5% during the final quarter of 2010, Miliband urged David Cameron to think again over the upcoming spending cuts and VAT rise. To make matters worse for the Coalition, the outgoing director-general of the CBI accused the government of putting politics before growth. Sir Richard Lambert argued that "politics ...
The council is looking at what can be done, cutting down the scrub and making this footpath better. This has not been helped by the cuts to English Heritage.
I had always assumed that a flat taxw was right-wing nonsense, but Dan Falchikov outlines how it can be progressive. Apparently 'The key is to have a sufficiently high tax rate and a sufficiently large tax free allowance'.
[IMG: Poynt logo] Long-time readers of my blog will know my love-hate relationship with Vodafone and the highly erratic quality of their customer services. In brief - the online time are good but often don't have the full answer, the email team have a love of sending replies that are written as if your original email has not been read first, sometimes the mistakes are so ironic you think they have a full-time surrealist at work fine-tuning the Vodafone customer service system but with enough perseverance there is usually someone really good you can get through to who sorts things ...
Pleased to see another pothole filled in, please let us know if there are any others you see
As nobody else seems to cover this stuff, 'Liberal Bureaucracy' accepts its duty bring you news of our newest Peers, who are beginning to don ermine for their big day, being introduced to the House of Lords. Future scheduled introductions to mark in your diary are; 31 January - Jenny Randerson 1 February - Claire Tyler 3 February - Mike Storey 7 February - Nicol Stephen
I read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo last year, before I started doing this chronicling of the books I've read, so there's no review of that here. However, as I'm now trying to chronicle all the books I read, here's what I thought of the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire – and as I'm reading the sequel, you can probably extrapolate my basic opinion of the first book. Spoilers follow, so if you've not read it yet, don't click for more. I found it alternately infuriating and engaging. There are sections of the book that bring it ...
The Voice reported late on Thursday night the excellent performance of the Lib Dems in Winchester, recording a strong council by-election hold in the improbably-named Oliver's Battery and Badger Farm. The Independent, noting the party's victory, however also recorded the national projections based on January's eight local by-elections, which show the state of the parties as: Lab 39.4%, C 38.6%, Lib Dem 12.1%. The report added: ... six of the contests were in areas where Lib Dems are traditionally the main challengers to Tories. In most of these the Conservative vote held up. This contrasted starkly with a huge swing ...
Though this week's street protests in Egypt have conveyed a clear message, namely that the Egyptian people want President Hosni Mubarak to stand down, the movement has lacked a clear leader around whom it can coalesce. The name that has nonetheless been in the frame for some time has been Mohamed ElBaradei, the 68-year-old former ...
Having covered my travails with the Vodafone Sure Signal box at some length, and as a result getting a steady stream of traffic from search engines, I thought it best to collate what I've said before on the topic (and remove an error which distracted from the main points): The Vodafone Sure Signal box isn't suitable for use with mobile broadband as the maximum connection speed is very low.At least as of February 2010, the instructions leaflet being provided with Sure Signals was wrong in its descriptions of how the lights on the box operate, so it could be functioning ...
[IMG: Bloody Sunday] Photo by John Bierman Sunday 30th January 1972 will be a day the people of Derry will never forget, even by those who weren't born at the time. It is known as Bloody Sunday because a peaceful civil rights march, in protest of internment, ended with 13 people shot and killed by British soldiers and one died from his injuries four months later. As a native of Derry I know only too well of the emotions that the people of Derry feel towards the events of the day and the Widgery Report. The report was published on ...
The first Friends of Wighton Lunchtime Recital of 2011 takes place on Wednesday 2nd February, in the Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library, Dundee. The featured artists are The Wighton Singers whose December Recital was lost to the snowy conditions! This lively group meet every Tuesday afternoon in the Wighton Centre under the direction of traditional singer Sheena Wellington. Their repertoire is mostly Scottish song, though some eclectic pieces from elsewhere may turn up in this week's programme! The recital runs from 1.15pm - 1.45pm. Admission is free but donations are welcome.
'Nick Clegg – no more Government business please after 3pm' squeals the Torygraph today, delighted that they have managed to link their three favourite things in one story: (1) Having a pop at Nick Clegg (check); (2) Having a pop at the Coalition (check); and (3) Having a pop at 'political correctness gawn mad' (check). If you read the story by the paper's reliably on-right-wing-message Patrick Hennessy — and it's almost worth it to see a political editor in full reactionary cry — a few facts become clear. First, that the 3pm deadline refers to the Whitehall practice of 'closing' ...
This morning, along with two of my ward colleagues and the Lord Provost, I had the pleasure of joining the congregation of Balgay Parish Church at the final service led by Rev George Robson at George's retiral as Minister of the Church. Rev George Robson There were excellent addresses by the Lord Provost, Dolly O'Rourke - Head Teacher of Ancrum Primary School, Alister McGregor - Session Clerk until 2005, Les Smith - present Session Clerk, and George himself, in a lovely and appropriate service to mark the huge contribution George has made to the Church, the Dundee Presbytery, the local ...
Yesterday, along with colleagues from Dundee Liberal Democrats, I campaigned at the Angus Council Carnoustie and District by-election in the morning and met with LibDem colleagues from across North East Scotland in Aberdeen later in the day. Here's a couple of photographs from yesterday! Above : In Aberdeen with colleagues Allan Petrie (left) and Alison McInnes MSP (centre) Above : Campaigning in Carnoustie!
Now that my book is out (still having problems with Lulu's ePub authentication, but I will get that sorted soon) I can move on with my other writing projects again. Later today I'll be posting my next Beach Boys post, I'll be restarting my Doctor Who DVD reviews next weekend (I have to re-buy The ...
Former Liberal Democrat Campaigns Guru Chris Rennard writes today for Liberal Democrat Voice about the Labour shenanigans in the House of Lords over the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill. In a nutshell, this Bill has to get through Parliament quickly in order for the fairer votes referendum on 5th May.His article makes fascinating reading. I particularly liked the anecdote about Labour Peer Tommy McAvoy - Chris found out that he'd only spoken 4 words in the entire 4 years of his time in the Commons, yet on this Bill alone has spoken 77 times.It just shows up how Labour ...
The surprise news this week that the initial figures for Q4 2010 showed a 0.5% contraction of the economy caused a lot of comment. Labour claimed that it proved the government was going in the wrong direction and that the cuts are damaging the economy. The government claimed it showed no such thing and tried to shift much of the blame onto the cold weather (although independent economists calculate that even without the cold snap growth would have been "flattish" (down from 0.6% growth in Q3)). So who is right? Do the figures prove that the government is heading in ...
It's been a long time since the last Presidential gig, and all of this 'enjoying a weekend at home with a beer and a roaring fire' stuff is very nice, but one does occasionally yearn for a nice local party dinner (yes, really!). So I was rather pleased when Ros accepted an invite from Basildon, Billericay and Thurrock Liberal Democrats to speak there. The Local Party Chair is Geoff Williams, a bit of a legend in these parts. Regional Executive member, Parliamentary candidate assessor, returning officer, local councillor, he's done and been it all, and is still doing it, in ...
Police are appealing for witnesses and information after a man in his 80s had his bank cards stolen. It happened at about 11.20am on Saturday January 15 2011 while the man - a World War 2 veteran - was in Lloyds at Morrisons, Yate. The card was used at 11.34am to withdraw money from a cash machine at Tesco in Station Road. Police are keen to trace a man described as being of mixed-race appearance, 6ft 2ins tall, thin, with short black spiky hair who was seen running from Morrisons towards Poole Court at the time of the theft. Anyone ...
Back in 1995 the Liberal Democrats under Paddy Ashdown made a video explaining what the party stands for and why people should back it. If you've been around in the party a few years you can have some fun spotting familiar faces from 15 years ago (including a young Danny Alexander), and even if not it's striking how well some of the points have aged: Also on YouTube here. Thanks to Pete Dollimore and Rob Fenwick for their help in rescuing this footage from an old video tape.
Just occasionally I wonder whether right-wing tabloids might not be entirely ideologically consistent. This week the Daily Mail took to task two councils for limiting households to 80 rubbish sacks per year, or as the headline put it: Despite ministers' vows, bin police are at it again: Families are rationed to 80 bags of rubbish a year But hang on a second: Conservative-run Wokingham Council says it will save over £900,000 by this proposal(presumably by reducing landfill costs). Now if there's one thing I thought I understood about right-wing tabloids' attitudes towards local councils, it's that they opposed unnecessary spending ...
In recent months, LDV has been bringing its readers copies of our new MPs' and Peers' first words in Parliament, so that we can read what is being said and respond. You can find all of the speeches in this category with this link. Earlier in January, Baroness Jolly of of Congdon's Shop in the County of Cornwall, made her maiden speech in the House of Lords during a debate on the NHS. Her words are reproduced below. My Lords, I start by thanking noble Lords kindly for the warm welcome that I have found since my introduction on Tuesday-from ...
A hugely successful street stall in Putney that rallied the troops in, we signed up the most amount of people and found that many more had heard of the campaign and were getting behind it.
Apologies for the sex-related posts today, but I am not sure how best to react to the news that a company is producing souvenir condoms for the royal wedding that urge lovers to "lie back and think of England". According to Yahoo News, Crown Jewels Condoms of Distinction is producing special celebration packs that bear the slogan: "Like a royal wedding, intercourse with a loved one is an unforgettable occasion": Hugh Pomfret, a spokesman for Crown Jewels Condoms of Distinction, insisted they were "a unique way to remember this great British occasion". "In years to come, they will be a ...
Ed Balls, speaking on The Andrew Marr Show this morning: 46.15 : "I don't think we had a structural deficit at all in that period [i.e. leading up to the financial crisis]..." 47.14: "Was there a structural deficit? I don't ... Continue reading →
The licensing of establishments connected with sex is never an easy topic for a politician. Caught between moral outrage and those who believe that the existence of such places are a threat to women's dignity and hard-won respect, many might think that the easy option is to ban them all. That certainly seems to be the approach taken by Hackney Council this week. Thank goodness therefore that the loudest dissenting voice is a Church of England vicar, who at least is able to get a hearing for the perfectly valid counter-view that it is not the job of politicians to ...
On Thursday I attended the press launch of our latest Telecare initiative. The Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to use GPS technology to train pupils who have some special needs. Its success builds on previous pioneering Telecare initiatives, which have helped hundreds of older people in the Capital remain independent in their own homes. Traditionally some pupils being taught to self travel are done so by teachers who have to accompany them over an average eight week period as they travel from their homes to school. However, thanks to the SkyGuard GPS device, the need for ...
Sun 30th
10:54
"OVERWEIGHT POLICE WON'T BE HYPNOTISED" - sighs of relief all round in Hampstead and Highgate
As a visitor to Hampstead yesterday, this newsstand poster for the Hampstead and Highgate Express took me somewhat by surprise...Seeing it was a bit of a surreal experience really. Are overweight police normally hypnotised in Hampstead and Highgate? It seems that, as a fleeting visitor, I was missing a bit of a back story. If I had seen the original story, which was presumably: "Overweight police will be hypnotised" it might have made a bit more sense. After coming home, I found the explanatory original story in the Evening Standard here.
I really couldn't believe it when I heard that Haringey Labour Council had announced late last year – plans to increase Council charges to residents for street parties from £60 to £3000. Charging local residents £3000 just to have a street party was an outrageous proposal. Well done to my LibDem councillor colleagues who took action to force Labour to reverse this truly draconian proposal. The planned increase has now been abandoned and at the Council's cabinet meeting last week the Labour councillor responsible announced that charges would increase, but only to £80 for small street parties. Liberal Democrats welcomed ...
There are more Labour MPs called Ann than women Lib Dem MPs. There are more 'David's in the coalition cabinet than women. How can we dare to call ourselves a progressive party whilst continuing to operate tacit acceptance of male domination? And, just as importantly, why are more women not banging on the doors of power, trying to become PPCs and councilors? Why is the organisation I intern for, Women Liberal Democrats, limited to one part-time staffer and a fast-diminishing grant? Virginia Woolf famously wrote that women needed independent means in order to pursue professional careers – "a room of ...
I have been thrilled to bits in recent months to see Olly Grender, who was the Party's Communications Director when we made our big leap forward in 1997, doing the rounds of various media talking an awful lot of sense. I particularly liked her appearance on This Week just before the tuition fees vote. Andrew Neil went in with all guns blazing, challenging her that it would be ridiculous for Vince Cable to abstain on tuition fees, expecting her to defend that line, and she completely disarmed him by agreeing with him (and me, to be honest, as I'd thought ...
i) births and deaths 30 January 1966: birth of Daphne Ashbrook, who played Grace Holloway in the TV Movie (1996). 30 January 1997: death of Nicholas Mallet, who directed The Mysterious Planet (1986), Paradise Towers 1987) and The Curse of Fenric (1989). ii) broadcast anniversaries 30 January 1965: broadcast of "Conspiracy", third episode of the story we now call The Romans. The Doctor is made to play the lyre but pulls an 'Emperor's New Clothes'; the empress Poppæa conspires to poison Barbara; and Ian is ordered to fight to the death in the arena. 30 January 1971: broadcast of first ...
YouTube - thegirlsonfilmblog's Channel Interesting takes on popular movies - what if male characters weren't male? (tags: feminism) B0taB.jpg (JPEG Image, 802×602 pixels) - Scaled (71%) Why I hate Disney part 2 (tags: feminism disney) What Disney Princesses teach girls - Boing Boing Why I hate Disney part 1 (tags: feminism disney) life and opinions of andrew rilstone Andrew continues his masterful deconstruction of Melanie Phillips: "When you talk about homosexuals brainwashing children, you either mean that gay is catching, that gay books make you gay; or you are saying too many books about gays will make straight people less ...
Democracy is a fragile thing. It relies on political opponents being allowed to go about their campaigning free from intimidation and violence. That's not New Labour's way. It certainly isn't Reading Labour's. Last year I was assaulted delivering leaflets and recently Paul Woodward, the Labour candidate for Church ward went out of his way to stop and start shrieking 'betrayal' in my face like a banshee in Broad Street when I was helping at the Yes 2 AV stall. You would think by the way they behave that this sort of hysterical reaction was common place and Lib Dems were ...
Yes, eight years ago today, I posted my first post to this blog. As I said then: I'm not setting out with any grand plans to change the world, or become the internet's most respected authority on any subject. It's just going to be pure unadulterated me, which means it'll jump around from subject to subject without any warning, will contain the very occasional deep insight into life hidden among thousands of words of meaningless rambling and the occasional rant about something that happens to be annoying me at the time. Plus, of course, there'll be links to various things ...
APOD: 2011 January 29 - Opportunity at Santa Maria Crater Wow. (tags: astronomy space) Samuel F B Morse has a posse - The Wilkinsons and 'Christian' opposition to anti-discrimination laws "How have the Wilkinsons achieved virtual martyrdom status in UK conservative evangelical circles in the space of about 12 hours since Archbishop Cranmer reheated the story? Either they are as naive as they are projecting, or alternatively they knew the law, knowingly broke the law, and have little to complain about if they are then subject to the consequences of the law." (tags: genderandsexandsexuality religion ukpolitics) http://belgiq.eu/ Speaks for itself ...
I had a discussion about happiness yesterday and later I read an article on the same subject, so today's blog has to be about happiness. Is it the absence of bad things or is it to do with the presence of good things? Is it related to Beatific Vision or is it caused by social networking? In the words of Ken Dodd happiness is "when I'm in the arms of the one I love" or more simply "happiness is nothing but a frame of mind", but how do you get that frame of mind? We all want to know the ...
