If Will Self didn't exist we'd have to invent him. What a card he is. Just feast your eyes on some of his gems from his excellent analysis of the hacking scandal: We are in a strange interregnum of titillation between cultural hegemonies, before familiar hierarchies appear online. ...the unholy triple alliance between media, the political class and the police may be characterised as a merely epiphenomenal imbroglio. And this is the classic: A tectonic shift is taking place in our culture, namely the transition from a print/broadcast era in which information, opinion and entertainment is transmitted down a pyramidal ...
The next meeting of the Acocks Green Ward Committee takes place this Wednesday evening (7pm) at Acocks Green Baptist Church. The main items on the agenda are a report back on the issue of stationary buses on Shaftmoor Lane, with Kerry Jukes from National Express, West Midlands attending and approval of the lastest round of proposals for spend of Community Chest made by the Ward Advisory Board. These are: £625 to Yardley's Got Talent £1,650 for Acocks Green Dance Group (Sport4life) £2,000 for the Boxing Club (on Spring Road) £1,000 for Youth 4em £1,500 for the Friends Centre £3,500 for ...
Mon 11th
23:10
Phone-hacking fallout: Cameron weakened, Miliband on shaky ground and an opportunity for the Lib Dem...
That David Cameron is weakened by the phone-hacking scandal which has come to a head in the past week is self-evidently true: hiring the man who is now one of the central figures in the story, and installing him in ... Continue reading →
Next Monday evening (18 July), my colleague Councillor Simon Wales will bring a Motion on our campaign to save the Thameslink Loop line route* to Sutton Council for debate. The Motion will ask the Council to resolve to lobby the Department for Transport to secure a through route for the Thameslink loop line after 2016 and enlist the support of all elected representatives in the affected boroughs, including the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson in our campaign to help local commuters by ensuring the future of the route. Tom Brake MP for Carshalton & Wallington has pledged his support to ...
Work to resurface (and repaint the lines) on the Mary Street car park in Cheadle is planned to be undertaken on 2nd and 3rd August. On those two days the car park will be closed. By removing some of the hatched area, the Council plans to increase the size of the spaces without reducing the number of spaces – several residents have complained that the current spaces are very tight for larger modern cars.
Network Rail helps Britain's young people with nearly 200 launched on a 3-year Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme. Follow http://bit.ly/nanNrW
Collected links from around the webEasiest way to see the movies or TV shows you want is to get them illegally ~Slate How true is this one? When will big media companies learn this lesson, if I've paid for a DVD, filling it up with anti-piracy unskippable nonsense and annoying obnoxious trailers isn't enamouring me of the idea of buying more. Make it simple to get stuff, and people will be happy to give you money, make it complicated and/or annoying, and they won't bother. (tags: piracy music slate) Automatically posted from Delicious using [IMG: [personal profile] ] matgbs updated ...
Hmm. We were told extra effort was going into weedspraying. It's now nearly the middle of July and yet there are still waist and shoulder high weeds all over the place. These two pictures are in the same tiny part of L16.
A good evening's doorknocking tonight. Here's part of the team getting ready to start.
The maze at Wing is one of eight remaining turf labyrinths in England. Is stands at the side of a minor road just outside the village. I love the way you can come across such rarities and find them well tended but hardly signposted. As to how old it is... Britain's Historic Sites says it "may be well over 2500 years old", the Stone Circles site says it is Medieval, while the interpretation board beside the maze makes much of the Viking derivation of the village's name. Anyway, we know Shakespeare was familiar with turf labyrinths, even if he knew ...
Here's a statement from a press release from the European Commission (emphasis mine): The Commission is considering various ways to make the EU rules more effective, such as alternative options to criminal sanctions, new ways of monitoring substances that cause concern, and aligning drugs control measures with those for food and product safety. In the autumn, the Commission will present a series of options in this respect. These words are music to this drug policy reformer's ears. What is being actively considered here is a legal framework for the supply of new recreational drugs that spring up. The problem of ...
On Saturday I wrote about Johann Hari and Nick Cohen's revelation that those who cross Hari tend to find that their Wikipedia entries are vandalised shortly afterwards. In that post I directed you to one on the Jack of Kent blog where this story is discussed in much greater depth. Reading that post and the informative comments on it, a fair summation of the state of play would be that the David r who has edited the Wikipedia is the same person as the David Rose about whom Hari has written in the past. Over the years Hari has given ...
Thanks to @McShambles (Peter Taylor) on Twitter for writing this excllent post on the dangers of tighter press regulation in light of the continuing MurdochNews International scandal. As with most events in British politics, the natural urge of politicians and public ...
A friend has recently posted this good blog (http://bit.ly/nMebsQ) on the sexualisation of children which is well written, and got me thinking about something I've often debated with many women. The idea that girls are just expected to wear make-up has never sat well with me. Women can be beautiful without it, yet it's deemed they need" t to "put their face on" and appear well to the world. Whilst I'm not arguing this causes sexualisation, I think it is a form of sexism (from both men and women, on women) and some argue the point of make-up historically was ...
Can we please end all this nonsense about the decision on News Corporation's takeover of BSkyB being "quasi-judicial". It's not, it never was and it never will be. Naturally, it's always suited the oligopolists to pretend that somehow how the economy is run and who controls it are no concern of mere politicians. Thus it was that a ...
I'm generally divided over reports on Cameron's intention to "end the state's monopoly on public services". The proposal is one that could geuinely reform the public sector, forcing accountability and productivity. However, the potential structural changes it could make would prevent a return to a truly social liberal state by which the state retains control over public services. Rather like the proposed white paper on the NHS, the proposals in order to engender true competition, must devolve risk and duty to providers and not the secretary of state. As the Standard reports this evening, the Unions have threatened Cameron in ...
TweetQuite recently, a good friend of mine, an Ms Simone Webb has made a few headlines, for she was treated rather badly by DIVA magazine. After requesting some travel expenses, DIVA quickly withdrew the offer and cited her age as an excuse. Having only written a small blog post using this example to highlight the injustices of internships and not even mentioning DIVAs name in said blog post, Robert Halfon a tory MP picked up on it, and brought it up in Parliament, the only thing more shameful about it DIVAs petulant and truculent attitude since. There is not much ...
Has anyone else noticed the remarkable resemblance between Rebekah Brooks and Greek mythological gorgon, Medusa? Are they by chance etc etc Hat-tip: @Write_well and other tweeters PS. Didn't Medusa get beaheaded in the end?
The latest meeting of the Joint Cycleways Group took place last week. The representative from South Glos told us that negotiations are still ongoing with Network Rail, whose consent is essential - several parts of the route are on their land. They have agreed verbally but South Glos are still waiting for Network Rail to send them the conditions they have to agree to. To add to this delay, certain parts of the work can't legally be done in the bird nesting season, which isn't over yet. South Glos reckon that they should be able to do the first part ...
Video also available at the Telegraph. Business Secretary Vince Cable said today that the Liberal Democrats will take an unbiased view on News Corporation's bid to take over BSkyB: In general it's true that the Liberal Democrats are the one of the major parties which has never been compromised in its dealings with this company so we will be voting without fear or favour.
A rather bold novel which merges the Harry Potter books with The Secret History by Donna Tartt with a certain amount of Narnia too. I liked the basic ideas a lot, especially the subversive concept of making the central characters at wizard school a bunch of maladjusted students in their late teens and early twenties; and some of the individual scenes and plot twists are very well executed. But it is rather annoyingly structured, with the plot taking a long time to get going and then seeming not very clear about when the story is over. Another of the books ...
Legendary journalist Christopher Hitchens has a typically insightful piece on the phone-hacking scandal on the Slate website. A couple of highlights. On the News of the World: Hand it to Rupert Murdoch and his minions: They got hold of the ... Continue reading →
Yesterday's Independent on Sunday featured an op-ed by Liberal Democrat party president, Tim Farron, on the ongoing phone-hacking scandal. Tim makes the point that while both Labour and the Conservatives (Labservatives, anyone?) spent much time and effort ingratiating themselves with News International in all its guises, the Liberal Democrats resisted any such activity. Here's a sample: Labour and the Conservatives spent decades cosying up to Rupert Murdoch and his cronies in the hope of an endorsement or a favourable headline. The Liberal Democrats did not. What David Cameron, Tony Blair or Gordon Brown knew about the practices of the newspapers ...
A phrase including the words jelly and wall comes to mind, but we shall see........... I said yesterday that Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie had got out his wooden spoon as regards Alex Salmond's locking-stable-door-after-horse-bolted comments about News International. Today, he ramped up the pressure on Alex Salmond by writing to him to ask him to give more details about his dealings with News International and whether he had ever raised the issue of phone hacking, about which he suddenly feels so strongly (and it's all Westminster's fault, by the way). Willie said: "The First Minister needs to come ...
This is my gorgeous little sister, Honor, with her boyfriend Jamie, pictured last week when they came to visit us at our cute holiday cottage on the Black Isle. And do feel free to comment on the family resemblance. I look that good in real life too, honest.............. My said little sister is all kinds of awesome for many reasons. She's one of the bravest people I know already before her latest escapade. A week on Friday, this girl who hadn't been on a bike since we were kids until about 6 months ago, will be embarking on a Land's ...
The campaign to keep the county's lending collections public, instead of being shoved into a warehouse, as Herts County Council plans, took a major step forward, with the launch of an online petition called savenewbarnfieldlibrary. LibDem county councillor Malcolm Cowan, who has set this up, says: 'I have been contacted by residents concerned that one of the most important collections in the country will become hidden from view, restricting the work of the many music and drama groups who use the reference, music and drama collections as well as schools, professional musicians and researchers. 'In addition, they wonder whether a ...
I was very pleased to read in the Western Mail last Thursday the news that Ofcom has seen the sense to protect the legal status of the Welsh language on Radio Ceredigion last week. As the Western Mail reported back on May 13th, the furore resulted from the application made by Radio Ceredigion's new owners Town and Country Broadcasting to cut the amount of Welsh language service that it transmits. The station is currently supposed to transmit roughly half of its content in Welsh and half in English but there have been growing concerns since the takeover in April 2010 ...
LV has already posted on the quite unbelievable News of the World (1843-2011) closure. It goes without saying that I also found the paper's phone hacking activities to be abhorrent and beneath contempt. I won't mourn its passing. Notwithstanding what has already been said here and elsewhere, I feel that most of the wall-to-wall coverage has been motivated as much out of moral revulsion over the latest allegations as just another opportunity to berate the evil omnipotent figure of Rupert Murdoch for what he is and what he stands for. To borrow a phrase from the Labour frontbench on the ...
Or, as my friend Derek Young said on Twitter this morning: "Harper Seven reminds me of the Inspiral Carpets lyric "the most beautiful woman alive, Saturn Five ..."But, no, it's the name of the Beckhams' new baby girl. Congratulations to them, and all of that. Apparently some are suggesting that Harper could be a tribute to Harper Lee's classic book To Kill a Mocking Bird. Given that Victoria professed some time ago never to have read a book in her life, I'd say that that's unlikely, but I wouldn't dismiss the possibility out of hand. Seven is apparently (and I ...
I know that I am a bad Lib Dem. I have been told that on many an occasion. I am a Lib Dem who has Sky TV at home and that automatically means that I deserve a public execution or something to that effect. However whilst that might be being a bit facetious what seems to be the case is that Lib Dems up and down the country are waving their hands in the air like they just don't care – I mean waving their hands in the air trying to get people to notice them and telling everyone that ...
A lot has gone on whilst I've been running around London and camping on Trafalgar Square for the Harry Potter premiere, and having not posted anything for a while, I'm just going to merge a few stories and thoughts/feelings together over what has gone on. The Welsh Lib Dems have finally been able to allocate ...
Ferrets, cats and dogs will qualify for new and improved 'passports' from January next year. Britain is to adopt in full the EU pet movement system which makes it easier and cheaper for people to travel with their pets while ... Continue reading →
As a car driving licence holder who doesn't drive – I find car driving incredibly dull and as a consequence don't feel safe – getting around has always been incredibly easy by walking, cycling and public transport, taxis. That was until I became a dad. My answer was to buy a Nihola Cigar trike or bucket bicycle as the kids have lovingly called it. It has proven its worth transporting two kids around Southwark and London while they were young. The most I've carried was six children at reception age. Quite a mobile giggling party. We've used it come rain, ...
The phone hacking scandal seems to change hourly, so by the time your reading this anything could have happend. However, what is becoming increasingly clear is that Labour are trying to score points, and make this a political issue about Cameron, not just about illegal practices in the media. When Jeremy Hunt addresses Parliament this ...
Mon 11th
14:11
Immigration Advisory Service in administration - Government needs to ensure access to advice and jus...
I was absolutely gutted to reported here on the BBC that the Immigration Advisory Service has gone into administration. I've had many dealings with them over the years and they have always been incredibly helpful. It saddens me to think of the massively overworked staff being suddenly propelled into unemployment. In Scotland, the IAS had an office in Glasgow and they did a free telephone advice day on a Wednesday. This was a lifeline to many people who had immigration related problems. The immigration rules in this country are extremely complicated and the UK Border Agency does not always treat ...
(Video also available on the BBC website here.) Nick Clegg met this morning with the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, whose voicemails were allegedly accessed by the News of the World. Immediately after this, he told the BBC: Listening to Bob, Sally and Gemma Dowler, it reminds you that it's innocent families like them who have paid a very heavy price for truly grotesque journalistic practices which are simply beneath contempt. So we owe it to the Dowlers, and other innocent victims of hacking, to get these inquiries right, to make sure they're really strong, that they can get ...
In my mind what makes the "Murdoch media" dangerous is the way politicians have allowed an open door policy to Rupert Murdoch. Quite why you would entertain an 80 year old, in your new home, the morning after you become Prime Minister is beyond me, unless they happened to be in a "confused state" or owned the lions share of British media (Murdoch was seen leaving by the back door of No.10). Of course Cameron was not the first, to bend over for Murdoch, hopefully he will be the last, Tony Blair, was happy to bask in the light of ...
Diane Abbott explained her reasons for marching on a pro-choice rally on Friday, but conceded that "every abortion is a tragedy". I fervently disagree with this blanket statement, because every blanket statement is essentially ridiculous anyway – but also I ... Continue reading →
A reader kindly draws my attention to the latest television appearance by former Lib Dem MP and London Mayoral wannabee Lembit Opik. He is appearing in cariad@iaith (which I am reliably informed translates Love for Language) on S4C, nightly this week (8.30/9.00 Sky 134, English subtitles available). The programme's website describes it as follows: Eight celebrities are set to spend an intense week learning Welsh in an eco-friendly chic campsite in Pembrokeshire.Among Lembit's fellow contestants are Colin Charvis and Helen Lederer. My reader comments (a little acidly): One might ponder that such a course might have been more appropriate before ...
In December last year, Alyaksandr Lukashenka was re-elected president of Belarus, with 79.7% of the vote in elections deemed to fall massively short of OSCE standards. Under his leadership, the Belarusian regime systematically violates basic liberties. The past week has seen a worsening of the situation, with the oppressive regime using unjustifiable violence against protesters seeking democracy and freedom. Despite a ban on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, in an attempt to try and stifle the protests, the capital Minsk has seen huge anti-Lukashenka demonstrations. The response of the Belarusian Government has been appalling. Hundreds of peaceful protesters have ...
For anyone who believes (i) that markets know best and (ii) that nuclear power is the best option for a carbon free future, check out this article on the BBC News website which explains how an imperfect design for nuclear power generation has been favoured over potentially better and safer designs because of government pressure and a monopoly situation within that particular industry. I cannot begin to go into details on this as my technical knowledge is at the level of a cave man when it comes to nuclear power so I recommend you read the article in which someone ...
I read this this morning, and my immediate thought was YES! Part of the reason I never got on with Russel T Davies' vision of Doctor Who was that it was so clear he had grown up wanting to be the Doctor's COMPANION. I never wanted to travel WITH the Doctor; I wanted to BE the Doctor. I wanted to be Dennis the Menace and Batman and Mr Spock and Judge Dredd too. And I wanted to be Freddie Mercury and Alice Cooper and Bruce Dickinson. And later I wanted to be Rumpole, or Paddy Ashdown. Like the first commenter ...
Just when I thought all that could be said about the subject last week a letter from Alan Jefferies, Lib Dem exec member and former chairman has written to the Kent Messenger on the subject. (Page 34 of the Medway KM) The letter, in short, calls into question Councillor Stamp's actions during the Standards committee investigation over his allegations against Councillors Ruparel and Mr Jefferies, in a reminiscent statement to his comments posted on the KM website (http://blogs.kentonline.co.uk/post/Et-tu-Brute.aspx) accuses Councillor Stamp of breaking the rules of the investigation and discussing the matter with the press to gain political points ...
Given the momentous events of last week I guess I picked the wrong week to go on holiday ... But as the dust settles on the scandal (and on the News of the World itself), the talk is now of improving press regulation. Nick Clegg has said the Press Complaints Commission needs to be replaced with something with more power. But I remain to be convinced that this is a problem of regulation (or lack of it). Just like the banks, the British media is run by just a handful of large multi-media organisations. This oligopoly sets the rules by ...
I can't help recalling that it took 15 months and a great deal of work, with the help of Tamsin Allen of Bindman & Partners, to extract details of contacts between Rupert Murdoch and former Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Labour Party, including David Miliband did their best to prevent the disclosure of this information when they were pally with the Dirty Digger and the public may like to bear this in mind when brother Ed waxes indignant about the infestation at Wapping: BINDMAN & PARTNERS PRESS RELEASE 17 July, 2007 WHEN MURDOCH MET BLAIR INFORMATION RELEASED THE CABINET OFFICE ...
It was interesting to see how careful Rupert Murdoch was yesterday to be seen putting a brave face on things with Rebekah Brooks. He reportedly wound down the window on his car, so that photographers could get a "clean shot" of him without the glare of the window reflection. And, of course, he ostentatiously read a copy of the last News of the World. (Thanks to @fieldproducer for that tip). He could then have stayed in his flat, seen Brooks and Murdoch Junior, and eaten a sumptuous meal prepared by his own chef and served by his butler, both of ...
In a special article, MP Sir Menzies Campbell tells The Courier why the UK Government should keep RAF Leuchars open. Sometime this week it will be D-Day for RAF Leuchars. Ever since Leuchars was unexpectedly included in the discussions about the future of the RAF bases in Scotland there has been a powerful and persuasive campaign for its retention. Particular tribute must be paid to the local community, which has argued its case with good judgment and great energy. By this time next week we shall know if it has been successful. It most certainly should be because the case ...
A yellow gorilla greeted me as I went through the ticket barrier at Bristol Temple Meads this morning. While I was searching for a News of the World on Gloucester Road yesterday morning (the first and last such purchase of my life!) I met another one decked out in Bristol Rovers FC kit. Gorillas are ...
So it is done. Congratulations to all those who wanted Craig Thomson sacked. Hearts have ripped up his contract and consigned him to the dustbin. Well done. This storm over how Hearts Football Club have reacted following the conviction of their player, Craig Thomson, for sexual offences towards children is a very dangerous one. People should be careful what they wish for. Let us consider Craig Thomson. He pleaded guilty to the charges lewd and libidinous and indecent behaviour towards girls aged 12 & 14 whilst being fully aware of the girls ages. He was fined £4000 and placed on ...
Seemingly the most important thing in politics at the moment is to distance yourself from Rupert Murdoch and his News International empire. He is the most vile person on the planet swiftly followed by Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson. James Murdoch is in the running too and behind them are everyone who has ever worked for a News International company and then anyone who has bought a News International product. Well that is what the pitchfork and fire wielding holier than thou mob are screaming but to be fair the general public aren't too far behind although they don't want ...
I agree that Hissene Habre cannot be sent to Chad if he is at risk of being tortured there. The enormity of the crimes of which he is accused would not justify his being tortured. That cannot mean that he goes untried. If the Belgians are seeking to try him, then can we not find a legal means to send him there? This sums up the structural weaknesses of international efforts to try people accused of crimes against humanity. It is bad enough that we hardly ever hear anything about the 40,000 people who were killed under Habre's rule, without ...
My colleague John Dodd is a member of Mersytravel and attended the meeting earlier this month. He has issued this statement today Labour Party Stifles Debate on Control Merseyrail Electrics Network from Network Rail Cllr John Dodd, the Liberal Democrat representative on Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority (Merseytravel), was disappointed that at a full meeting of Sefton Council a motion put by his colleague Cllr Brodie-Browne to suspended standing orders to debate a motion calling on Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority (Merseytravel) to take control of Merseyrail Electrics Network from Network Rail was not supported by the Labour Party. Cllr Dodd, went ...
Mon 11th
10:55Nick Clegg in Independent: Lib Dems more competent than Labour, more progressive than the Tories
Last Friday Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg went to Paris for the day in the company of Andrew Grice from the Independent. The resulting interview is published today and in it Nick emphasises how our party has been right on so many of the key issues facing Britain today, acknowledges the challenge of being in the coalition and uses some new language to describe our place in British politics. He talks about our space being that of: "compassion and competence", adding: "I don't think they fit on a leaflet... We need two shorter words." He insists: "I think the long ...
There are weeds in the gutters, weeds in the alleyways and even coming out of the cracks in the tarmac. Thanks to everyone who has contacted me. The answer-courtesy of the Cambridge Ward Lib Dem team is: The current situation with regards to the weeds on the highways is the second weed spray programme is now ongoing which started on 11th July 2011 throughout the borough one team will be starting in the Southport area.
@petehague's piece on This Week's Pod Delusion – Jennie Rigg on the concept of Schrodinger's Rapist (which was a term I hadn't heard of before her post) and what's rational behaviour for women. My encounter with the News of the World – When you hear someone talking about how the non-phone-hacking staff of the News of the World were saints and angels who loved bunny rabbits and kittens, read this and remind yourself of their regular modus operandi. Capes, wedding dresses and Steven Moffat – Sophia McDougall on why (to paraphrase violently) a wedding dress and the Batsuit are the ...
Last week's new planning applications include: 47023 – conversion of units at Brookfield Industrial Estate, Brookfield Road, Cheadle from a warehouse to a football coaching centre. The application is from "Shot 5 Football Factory", Cheadle Hulme, looks to include two indoor football pitches and – the application says – plans to employ two full-time and four part-time staff. Several applications for extensions/conservatories on private houses around Cheadle and Gatley.
Now that the AV referendum has been lost, those of us who supported the change are licking our wounds and wondering when the next opportunity for electoral change for the Commons may present itself. At the moment it is looking like a long way off. However I think in the aftermath of the failed AV bid it is worth having a look at what those of us in favour of electoral reform can learn from this campaign to be borne in mind in the future, whenever the next opportunity may present itself. The system I and most other Liberal Democrats ...
Mon 11th
09:21
On hackgate, the Tories don't know whether to look left, right, or stare at the sky whistling.
One month ago I wrote a post on this blog speculating that within 2 years, David Cameron would be occupying the 'hate figure' position that all Prime Minister eventually fill. Peter Oborne in the Telegraph suggests the fall out from the NOTW saga means that Cameron may well be at that tipping point already. Which would mean that while my general prediction was correct, the accuracy of my timing leaves something to be desired. But are we actually at that tipping point yet? It seems the Tory party - and the right wing press - are unsure which way to ...
Mon 11th
09:03
Most Lib Dem voters read the Sun or the Daily Mail: Finding new media strategies to increase votes
Much is talked about the fact that the Lib Dems have no natural allies in the mainstream media and that this creates a disadvantage to the Party. But if we take a closer look at the Lib Dem support in the mainstream media then we find some interesting facts which may help strategy. In the ...
The Guardian dedicates a double page spread to Police failures to investigate or act at the beginning of the Hacking investigations. But very little is being said about the police corruption in accepting bribes. I'm not looking for a head to roll specifically in this. The witterings about who headed up what and who didn't act on what are almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. One talks of Rebekah Brooks being either incompetent or lying over telephone hacking, but no one is asking or saying the same of the commissioners of the most significant force in the country. ...
If today's Independent is to be believed the old adage that revenge is a dish best served cold could well be applied by the Murdoch news empire to those they blame for their present problems. Rather bizarrely these victims may not include members of their own staff who have responsibility, either directly or managerially for the illegal and immoral behaviour that has so outraged the British public. The paper says that a senior News International journalist warned Labour that the company's papers intended to "turn on Ed Miliband and his staff" days before allegations were published in The Sunday Times ...
The Independent features an interview with Nick Clegg, given on Friday during his visit to Paris. He speaks of "politicians falling to their knees ingratiating themselves with media moguls", "too many vested interests tied up with each other" and "a culture of arrogance and impunity" as he lists the casualties of recent crises: journalism and hacking, MPs' expenses, and banking. Here's an extract: The deputy prime minister senses a rare opportunity in the hacking scandal to carve out a separate niche. The Liberal Democrats have never wooed or been wooed by the media moguls. Unlike David Cameron and Ed Miliband, ...
Miliband is "having a good scandal" according to the Guardian, one which is redeeming him after very serious leadership threats. However, it should be observed that a leader in war operates very differently from a leader in peacetime. Miliband may be surging with enthusiasm at the moment, but as soon as the furore quietens down we will be back to indecisive, no-policy, mixed-message Ed.
I wrote yesterday about my initial reaction to the phone hacking scandal. I now want to turn my attention to the future of News International's plans to take over B Sky B which looked likely to go ahead from Conservative Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt with few assurances from the Murdoch empire that it would get rid of Sky News. This raises long standing concerns about the closeness of Our Vince Cable would no doubt have referred the takeover to the Competition Commission. In principle this was absolutely the right thing to do. And that was before the revelations of the ...
This video tells the story of the Post Office Underground Railway, which operated under London's streets between 1927 and 2003 - and always seemed to be on Blue Peter. britishrailways.tv
Leading Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have welcomed the Dilnot Commission's report on long term care but fear that it may bring little improvement for the county's elderly and vulnerable. The report recommends a cap on the amount people will have to spend on care and comes in the same week that the Tory-run Cambridgeshire County Council has had to explain mistakes that have left some families thousands of pounds out of pocket to pay for care. In one case, a mistake with the council's billing system left a vulnerable adult without any care after the provider withdrew the package it was ...
For some accountable reason, when I checked late last night the front page of this morning's Daily Mirror was not included among Tomorrow's Front Pages on the Sky News site. The headline on the Mirror's front-page story runs: Phone hacking: 9/11 victims 'may have had mobiles tapped by News of the World reporters' The details of the claim about 9/11 come some way down the story: a former New York cop made the 9/11 hacking claim. He alleged he was contacted by News of the World journalists who said they would pay him to retrieve the private phone records of ...
Andrew Grice has a substantial interview with the Liberal Democrat leader in this morning's Independent: The deputy prime minister senses a rare opportunity in the hacking scandal to carve out a separate niche. The Liberal Democrats have never wooed or been wooed by the media moguls. Unlike David Cameron and Ed Miliband, Mr Clegg did not attend Rupert Murdoch's annual summer party in London last month. He has twice been through the mincer of the ruthless Tory-supporting press machine - during the "Cleggmania" of last year's election and the ill-fated alternative-vote referendum in May.Grice also pays the obligatory compliment to ...
As more details of the hacking scandal emerge - the amount of power the media has over our society is shown in its full light. Details of senior members of the police force allowing the prior investigation to remain unchallenged, and the head of the original investigation now being a well paid columnist for News International in The Times (Link). David Cameron having ignored people from all sides (including the now Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Lord Ashdown) to employ Andy Coulson as his Director of Communications and until the last day or so refusing to try and stop ...
I've often been critical in the past about the way appeals against planning decisions made by Dundee City Council are handled. The vast majority of appeals are delegated to a member of the Scottish Government's Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA), known as a Reporter. Reporters have, on occasion, overturned planning decisions made by the council and, in doing so, have failed to take into account concerns from the local community. Examples include various applications for phone masts near schools (eg Blackness Primary School) and in residential areas. However, I cannot help but congratulate the Reporter who overturned a ...
Another week and another shuttle trip to London. My purpose is to support the fundraising for a new investment vehicle for Central and Eastern Europe, and although slow, there is steady progress towards raising a fairly modest €100 million. Yet London is not what it was as far as investment in CEE is concerned. The City is ruled by fashion as much as anywhere, and in the emerging markets world what's hot and what's not can change in a very quick order. Despite the generally impressive performance of the region over the past two decades, for all practical purposes CEE ...
Language Log » Genre Use of "genre" as a particle. (tags: french languages linguistics) Amazon has eaten our beloved Book Depository " For those of us already concerned about Amazon's internal ethics, this anti-competitive takeover is worrying" - too right! (tags: bookbuying) Tasting 800 Belgian Beers I am privileged to have participated in this project an early stage. (tags: belgium)
My new book, An Incomprehensible Condition: An Unauthorised Guide To Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers is now available in paperback or PDF and hardback from Lulu.com . The various ebook formats should be uploaded tomorrow night. Here's the blurb: In An Incomprehensible Condition, Andrew Hickey examines Grant Morrison's 2005 comic series Seven Soldiers of Victory, and ...
Phone hacking: 9/11 victims 'may have had mobiles tapped by News of the World reporters' - mirror.co.uk If there's any truth in this whatsoever, then Murdoch's global media empire may be in trouble. Does the US have a "fit and proper person" equivalent test for media ownership?
As you may have read in the South Manchester Reporter there were a few problems at the Beech Rd Festival this year Within 48 Hours of the festival John Leech MP and I sent out a street letter asking for feedback and inviting residents to a street surgery. Since then a large number of residents have contacted us to give us their opinions on the festival. Most people said they really enjoyed the Festival; but there was also a significant amount of people that experienced some problems. The main concerns highlighted by residents have been regarding the litter and ...
