This is actually an issue I've been meaning to write about for a week or two, but it has taken a tweet earlier this evening to get me to write about the issue. The tweet — the person writing it declares herself to be age 17 — reads "My mom doesn't like me having a twitter anymore. She thinks you all are some pedophiles or something. I'm not joking." Thing is, just as it was once said that on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog, on the internet it is also true that you have very little idea whether ...
Today, or what's left of it, is Gregor Mendel's 189th birthday, and as he is one of my heroes, I feel the need to shout about it. Mendel was one of those people who led a modest life, saw and observed the same world as the rest of us, but did it so much better, more insightfully, more thoughtfully, and came up with an idea that is so simple, profound and right that the rest of us will spend the rest of time thinking: how come no one had thought of that before? In his case, it was a few ...
Primary school children in Stockport have been designing cycle jerseys around the theme of the 2012 Olympics. The entries have been narrowed down to a shortlist of thirty, which we all have until 12th August to vote on. So why not take a look at the designs and vote for your top three.
The Hansard report on bloggers a week or so ago got me thinking why I don't blog that often. Someone intimated that I did it all wrong, I didn't react quickly to events and it wasn't a proper blog unless it was a weblog, a daily (or more frequent) diary. So I was duly put down, until I asked myself: who are these people who set themselves up as experts on how blogging should be done? Like 6th century Latin grammarians. Good grief, it's only just been invented. So I will go on doing it the way I like, when ...
On Monday afternoon I was called upon to sit on the Cambridge Traffic Management Area Joint Committee as a substitute for Cllr Burke who unfortunately wasn't able to make the meeting. I used to sit on the AJC as a full member a while back and found it to be one of the more interesting committees as it combines both the City and the County. The main issues on the agenda were around Parking Controls in the De Freville Area (by the Old Spring pub off Chesterton Road). The introduction of a scheme managed to bring out petitions both for ...
Northampton is a much stranger place than I had realised. And it's not just because of its wholly fictitious underground railway or its secret passages. Back in 1980 the town's development corporation wished to persuade more people to settle there. So, naturally, it hit upon the idea of issuing a single that described distressed extraterrestrials reaching the town and finding it much to their liking. Or as the lyrics put it: Aliens from Outer Space Who needed help from the human race; And they found new energy At Northampton.You can learn more about how this remarkable piece of music came ...
Here's the breakdown for Oral questions at yesterdays full Council;I've attached the Oral Questions as recorded by Cambridgeshire County Council broken down by the question. Unfortunately I have lost one question asked by Cllr Reeve (UKIP) who asked about wind farms on County Council land. I have attached the file 110719-oral questions.MP3 which contains the unedited audio which does include the question but sadly I don't have the time to re-extract it. Apologies to Cllr Reeve!
I have more time for the concept of the "Big Society" than most Liberal Democrats, if only because the alternative we tend to offer - "community politics" - is so ill defined too. Trying to draw distinctions between them, as some do, strikes me as an attempt to nail two different jellies to the wall while separating geometric precision. Certainly, I have little affection for the idea, common in the Labour Party, that all social enterprise must be undertaken by the state or not at all. But it has become clear to me that the Big Society is not a ...
I got an email from one of the local police team covering the Ealing part of Chiswick. And following some rumours of child abductions in the area, the local Police launched this new website to provide a focal point of all factual updates and reduce fear generated by well intended but factually incorrect communications. The website will be updated with any new and relevant information as and when it becomes available by Police and other relevant agencies. In summary there was an alleged attempted abduction in the Barnes area of an 8 year old boy on 3rd July. The boy ...
Sayeeda Warsi will be replaced says top source. Cameron needs a Pty Chrmn to bat for him in difficult times. Warsi too lightweight to do so.So tweeted Tim Montgomerie late last night. The idea that the Conservatives' current troubles are down to Baroness Warsi is a novel one. In fact, all Conservative cabinet ministers have been conspicuous by their absence over the past few days. It seems unfair to pick on her. But then Tim has long had it in for Sayeeda Warsi. As I blogged back in January of this year, an unremarkable lecture the Baroness gave at Leicester ...
There are landmark occasions in every Parliament. I remember writing about the Holyrood debate on the release of Megrahi a couple of years ago that there are times when you really want your parliamentarians to step up to the plate and show how good they can be. Given the worrying allegations over the last few weeks, which go way beyond the hacking of anybody's phone, we needed MPs to show that they understood the dangers of the murky inter-relationships between politicians, the police and the media. We don't really need to hear any more of the details used as ammunition ...
The Hugo Voter Package includes five novels and five short stories by this year's nominees for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. I don't think I had ever cast a vote for this award before, so I found this tremendously helpful. I am a little uneasy that there is not a really equal basis of comparison - two novels, vs a novel and a short story, vs a novel, vs another novel, vs four short stories - but it's difficult to imagine another way of doing it. I'm therefore listing the works on which I base my ...
Labour also moved a motion asking for more scrutiny of the chief executives proposals to change the management structure at the Council. Firstly, this is a decision of the Chief executive. Full Council will set the budget, the plan and the vision for the borough. Full Council (albeit a Tory majority) decides whether services should be scrapped, improved, shared, kept inhouse or contracted out.
flights booked (even if seat remains unconfirmed) ✓ accommodation sorted ✓ English chocolate for hosts ✓ travel money collected ✓ insurance bought ✓ fixed backpack ✓ GPS unit loaded with caches ✓ Tonight, I need to pack my SF bag, pack some stuff for GBBF the week after, pack everything else into boxes and then clean the room entirely, so that I can move out from under [IMG: [personal profile] ] alextiefling and [IMG: [profile] ] nanayasleeps' feet as soon as possible after getting back to the UK. T-minus about 24 hours until I go over to Twickenham so I ...
(As posted in the Huffington Post last week) Theresa May, as UK Home Secretary, has one of the most important jobs in government. Many grand men have held the post before her, however, by virtue of her being born female she also has another role, Minister for Women (and Equalities). The 'women' part of this supplementary role is nonsense and should be done away with as soon as possible. A cursory look will tell us why. Firstly, there is no correlative Minster for Men. The reason being most men would find the very concept bizarre. What sense does a Minister ...
(As posted in Huffington Post last week) If you were listening to right leaning UK politicians and political commentators recently you'd think so. Last week Peter Oborne was pointing to the decline of the nuclear family and the impact that has on care for the elderly. He argued that the welfare state was originally designed to supplement the care and support already given to the needy by the family, not to replace it. He portrayed a strong family, which felt responsible for the future of itself in a largely self-contained way, not seeing state support as the default option. In ...
[IMG: vistor 156,000] The benefits of Turner of course aren't all going to be overnight but here are some of the early positives highlighted by Turner Contemporary, 85% visited specifically to see the gallery, 25 new businesses have opened in the old town and lower High Street and SouthEastern railway report 30% more people using Margate Station. Well done! particularly those who pushed for the gallery and those who've delivered a world class galley in the heart of Margate. Lets hope, that this development is soon complimented with Dreamland, and that Tesco don't create chaos with their new store. Finally ...
Today's Independent carries an interesting article on passwords, including a list of the most common. The top choice it seems is 'password', which is startlingly predictable. They say that passwords have never been that secure. Despite this we have persisted with them to secure our finances and our personal details, often using recognisable words that are convenient, easy to remember and, which we believe to be impossible to guess: But we're spectacularly unimaginative in our choice of passwords, and despite constant reminders that this represents a security risk, we blithely carry on using them, reassuring ourselves that we haven't been ...
Wed 20th
15:54
Something fishy is going on in the cabinet as Nick Clegg starts to sense having the upper-hand
Anyone who watched the Prime Minister today give a statement to the House of Commons along with taking questions on the matter can't have failed to notice two things. To the left of the PM sat George Osbourne who looks as though he had swallowed a gallon of sherbet bit his face was so sour and grum and to the right of the PM sat Nick Clegg who could hardly even look at the PM. He sat looking constantly to his right and away from the PM looking like he couldn't even look at his child he was so disappointed ...
Brian Paddick has written an excellent piece on Lib Dem Voice about the latest developments in the fast-evolving story about the Metropolitian Police; it is well-worth reading. Brian remains my favoured contender in the race to be the Lib Dem candidate for London Mayor, for reasons that I have previously outlined; here is his manifesto.
One of the most amusing parts of the hacking scandal has been the increasingly shrill voices of the Right, who have taken it upon themselves to defend someone they perceive as their man from the Guardian-BBC Axis of Lefties. Somehow, all this phone-hacking nonsense is all the fault of dreadful unwashed types who hate that ...
Tomorrow sees the 2,000th test match and shall take place at the home of cricket between arguably the best two test teams of the moment (though South Africa may have something to say about that as they are currently ranked second) and will be the start of a fascinating series. If England win the series by at least two clear tests then they will leapfrog India to lead the rankings. This would be a remarkable achievement for England but in my mind the natural pessimist in me can't see it happening. The main selection talking point from an English point ...
I have just returned from sunnier climes to find that the News of the World has been shut down, Rebekah Brooks arrested and the Murdochs ordered to appear before the House of Commons to answer questions about the phone hacking scandal. How I missed all this I do not know. And they call July the 'Silly Season' ! The Observer helpfully listed a number of questions they felt should be put to the Murdochs and Brooks. I have one or two of my own, not least 'what unbreakable appointment did Rupe and James have that meant they initially declined to ...
From a party news release: The Government spent nearly £38m on advertising in News International titles between 2005 and 2010, a Parliamentary answer to Co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Treasury Committee, Stephen Williams, has revealed. The figures show: More than £17m was spent advertising in The Sun, including £4.5m between April 2009 and March 2010. More than £7m was spent advertising in the News of the World, including £1.8m between April 2009 and March 2010. £877,153 was spent advertising in all News International titles between April 2010 and March 2011. Commenting, Stephen Williams said: Despite the dire state of ...
Mark Isherwood (North Wales): Will the Welsh Government be sending a representative to represent the Welsh nation at the funeral in Vienna of Otto von Habsburg. (WAQ57715) Answer received for publication on 12 July 2011 The First Minister (Carwyn Jones): No.
In 2009 Southwark wasted £119M – £47M as a consequence of human injury from roads crashes and £72M from lack of excercise. These are collosal sums: Southwark's Annual Casualty Costs 2009 Casualties Cost/casualty Human Costs Lost output Medical & ambulance Total Costs Fatal 6 £ 1,683,810.0 £ 6,623,880 £ 3,473,040 £ 5,940 £ 10,102,860 Serious 121 £ 189,210.0 £ 18,561,400 £ 2,698,300 £ 1,634,710 £ 22,894,410 Slight 981 £ 14,590.0 £ 11,016,630 £ 2,315,160 £ 981,000 £ 14,312,790 Southwark's costs £ 36,201,910 £ 8,486,500 £ 2,621,650 £ 47,310,060 Southwark's Annual Physical Inactivity Costs Total Physical Inactivity costs Selected physical inactivity ...
books The Save Cambridgeshire Libraries petition was presented to Tory county councillors at Shire Hall on Tuesday 19th July. It is the Conservative administration at the County Council that we need to persuade to keep our libraries in their current form. The 7,000+ names calling for Cambridgeshire County Council to keep libraries open with professional librarians were presented on the steps of Shire Hall on Tuesday at 9 a.m. before the Council assembled by campaigners from various Cambridge libraries. There was a strong contingent from Rock Road Library. Thank you to all the people who signed the petition, emailed friends, ...
Wed 20th
14:17
This weekend: come out for a film, a walk, two talk, a lark in the park, and much, much more
Belfast Pride Festival 2011 is almost upon us and there is plenty to do in the first weekend. There's even a short film season this week in the Odeon Cinema Belfast. Michael reminds us of all of this.
Many of you will know that "Countdown" is to deliver real time bus information (RTI) for every 19,000 bus stops and 700 routes in London via the internet and text messaging on mobile phones. This will be complemented by 2,500 new on-street Countdown signs.Caroline Pidgeon and the London Liberal Democrats have pressed Transport for London on this and related transport matters. Following a review by the Mayor, the bus stops planned to receive new on-street Countdown signs have been revised to ensure that no stop that currently has a Countdown sign will lose the facility.All boroughs will continue to receive ...
Sir Menzies Campbell MP has expressed his "huge disappointment" that the "committed and passionate" campaign for the retention of RAF Leuchars was unsuccessful. Sir Menzies said: "The decision to close RAF Leuchars is a bitter blow for the local community which has, for almost a year, fought a committed and passionate campaign to keep this airbase open. I am hugely disappointed at this decision and still believe that the strategic case for its retention is overwhelming. There has not been a single argument, to my knowledge, that has ever contradicted this. "The RAF has been in Leuchars for nearly a ...
The Guardian raised a few eyebrows yesterday with accusations the government is exploiting the current media narrative to publish controversial policy; such as competition in the NHS. Before we are overwhelmed with paranoia and anger – this is limited competition. ... Continue reading →
I thought I would update you on the main council meeting last night where a lot topical matters were discussed. At the start of the meeting I asked a question about allotment rents which are expected to rise. Because a lot of plot holders are retired and on fixed incomes any rental system should mean smaller plots attract lower increases and those larger plots might be charged at a higher rate. This would be a fairer system than we have now. The Labour councillor responsible for allotments doesn't seem to know much about allotments (head in the soil approach) and ...
Wed 20th
13:49
The sands of British politics are shifting but we could be better poised to capitalise
Over the last few years, British politics has become far more trust oriented. We've been hit by scandal after scandal, MPs expenses a recent and notable example. I think that one of the major reasons Labour was kicked out of government and also why the Conservatives didn't get a majority was because by and large the country didn't trust either of them. Nick Clegg made the better pitch but of course the country is instinctively suspicious of the third party. People are sick of politicians that seem unable to do the things they really want them to, are corrupt or ...
Having blogged at the start of May on the subject of OU fees in the post-2012 environment, I could be forgiven for feeling a little smug that my back of the envelope calculation for 120 credits (points) of £4,965 appears to have been not too far short of the mark. The OU has today announced fees of £5,000 per 120 credits (the equivalent of a full-time year elsewhere) for students in England. Their official press release is available here and precise details of how they will apply the new fees regime has also been published. While the fees are considerably ...
Caught most of the proceedings on today's statement by Cameron on phone hacking. It was a robust performance from Cameron. And despite having some difficult issues to deal with I thought he struck the right balance between partisanship and statesmanship. However, Ed Miliband was dreadful. Trying to make partisan points when you and your party are up to your necks in the scandal isn't sensible. And he was put down brilliantly with Cameron's line about 'only one party leader still employing ex-News International staff' One wonders what ex-News International hack Tom Baldwin (and now Mili minor's media adviser) makes of ...
TweetIt seems every time I write a piece for the website a new twist or turn is taken in the hacking scandal. One area that is being highlighted more and more is Cameron's judgement in the whole of this saga. Just a week or so ago, I was pontificating that this crisis could be the end of David Cameron, albeit it without any real conviction, and although it's not the end yet, nobody should rule it out; his judgement might just fatefully weaken him though. When consider David Cameron's role in the hacking scandal it's been relatively minor, but every ...
Over in the US, the Republican party is playing chicken with defaulting on the national debt, and hence with the global economy. Outside of the true believers, nobody is impressed. This editorial in the New York Times explains how pledges that appeal to particular groups of target voters undermine democratic government. I don't think my party in any way compares to the Republicans. But I was reminded of the tuition fees pledge, which achieved nothing – and had no chance of achieving anything – except for wrecking the Lib Dems' reputation.
They're not. Well, not entirely. The amount of market share that News International enjoyed and the power that resulted from that was and is deeply unhealthy. Forcing the sale of some of NI's newspapers seems like a no-brainer. However, the fact remains that politicians have compounded this problem over recent decades by chasing positive newspaper headlines instead of promoting their own principled agendas. The dysfunctional relationship between the two dominant political parties and the media derives from the political side rather than the media side. If politicians were willing to stand up and promote unpopular policies because they believed they ...
Rebekah Brooks is not stupid enough to think she is widely considered to have a sense of decency. Tabloid journalism is consistently ranked at the bottom of the scale in polls of respect and trust for various professions. This quote from yesterday's hearing is purest disingenuity: I don't know anyone in their right mind who would authorise, sanction or approve of anyone listening to the voicemails of Milly Dowler in these circumstances. I don't know anyone who would think it was a right and proper thing to do. - Rebekah Brooks The salient points here are: Maybe you don't follow ...
I don't often put planning applications on this site. I really don't think the world and his wife care (or should have any interest in) whether Mr & Mrs Smith want to add a conservatory to their home. Of course that is of real interest to their neighbours and they are entitled to be informed by the local authority about the proposals. Some applications, however, are of wider significance. That's true of the former Pimpernel site in Blackhill which is being developed for housing. The application which is currently under consideration, however, is simply to slightly reduce the density of ...
Did you know that there is a wildlife conservation area in walking distance of Gatley village centre? From the Tatton site, go along Old Hall Road, turn left at Conker Island and at the end of Brookside Road is Gatley Carrs, with wild flowers, pondlife, insects, birds and bats. The Conservation Group are having a task day on Sunday 31st July, attacking the brambles and nettles that are threatening to invade the wildflower meadow. Additional help would be very welcome. Meet at the car park at the end of Brookside Road at 10.30am. Heavy gardening gear recommended – including gardening ...
Hadzic arrested! (Reuters, BBC, Guardian).
Veteran Tory troublemaker Peter Bone amused MPs on all sides today with a slip of the tongue. At foreign office questions he said that the French have been supplying weapons to the Libyan rebels. Except he said Liberal rebels. The idea of Bob Russell, Mike Hancock, Ming Campbell and Duncan Hames as freedom fighters certainly amused their colleagues. Later Ming informed he House that "the Liberal rebels have not yet taken delivery of any weapons", but he admitted that the idea of fighting with a Kalashnikov in one hand and the alternative vote in the other "has its attractions". Foreign ...
A year or so ago Nick Clegg and his party was the voice of the young person. Ready to go into bat for them on the one issue that young people cared deeply about – themselves – and not paying for going to university. Then the coalition happened and tuition fees are shall we say not the Lib Dems finest hour. I still believe that the money would have been found from somewhere to fulfill one of our biggest policies had we recorded the stunning victory that the manifesto was written for but in coalition you can't get everything – ...
Note from the county council Waverley Road to be closed and buses diverted as National Grid Gas continue St Albans essential gas mains replacement works As school goes out National Grid will be going in with a four week road closure to continue vital upgrade work to help ensure the people of St Albans continue to enjoy safe and reliable gas supplies in future years. The project involves replacing 2.1km of ageing metallic gas mains with tough new plastic pipes which should last for many years. The latest phase of work requires a closure of Waverley Road between the junctions ...
I've just been sent the order paper for Parliament today (Here's the whole order paper, if you're interested) What caught my eye was the motion that is being 'debated' today, which I have reproduced below (click the image to enlarge). It's not one anyone is likely to vote against, is it? Which rather begs the question, what is the point? If it's about spleen venting, there are other ways you know... PS Of course, if you want to have a go at Piers Morgan, but don't fancy being sued, then Parliament is a pretty safe place to do it from... ...
With Ipsos-Mori. Labour are also at their lowest point this year and Lib Dems are still twitching around 11%. You'd have a point to ask "How can all 3 parties simultaneously be at a low?". This is clearly worst news for the Conservatives though. [IMG: Ipsos-Mori VI chart] Graphic borrowed from politicalbetting.com This does bring me on to another issue that's been troubling me recently: the enormous (and increasing) divide between VI pollsters. You have ICM telling you the Tories have a one point lead over Labour, YouGov telling you Labour have a massive lead over the Tories all on ...
...and the award goes to Dr Jacky Davis of Keep Our NHS Public, who says of the proposals to extend patient choice to a number of non acute services such as counselling: 'This is the final step in outsourcing NHS care to the private sector' Full report here.
The Museums, Libraries and Archives council recommend 30 square metres of spaces for every one thousand population. For Southwark's 305,000+ population (this number is those registered with GP's) that would mean we needed 9,150 m2. Currently we have 4,914 m2. We clearly have a huge deficiency in library space. The nearly finished Canada Water library will help by adding 1,315 m2 net compared to Rotherhithe library which will close. This still leaves us hugely deficient. But more locally last night the Planning Committee approved a new development next to East Dulwich station that includes a new Grove Vale library. The ...
Wed 20th
10:42
Chris Huhne MP writes: Electricity market reform: keeping the lights on in the cheapest, cleanest wa...
Last week I unveiled the coalition government's proposals for the most radical reform of the electricity market since privatisation in the 1980s. The plans set out in the White Paper aim to keep the UK's lights on and consumer bills down and shift the economy away from a high-risk, high-carbon future. With a quarter of the UK's generating capacity shutting down over the next ten years, as old coal and nuclear power stations close, it's clear that we have a Herculean task ahead of us. Over the next ten years, more than £110bn in investment is needed to build the ...
Trading Standards are once again warning local people to be on their guard against scams. There are reports of rogue traders targeting residents in the Yate, Westerleigh and Filton areas offering block paving, landscaping and patio laying services. A new tactic is cold calling residents and offering to clean and seal your path or driveway for a cash payment.There are some concerns that these traders are not providing consumers with written notice of their right to cancel, which is a criminal offence, and that they are using aggressive tactics to convince residents to agree to the work. There are a ...
Today the 170 remaining riders in the Tour de France take a little excursion into Italy for an overnight stop. Although it will not be an easy 171.5 km to take them there. There will ride out of Gap alongside the Serree Poncon Lake where the Embrunman Ironman Triathlon is held. These cyclists though would included swimming or running (we hope) in their disciplines today, or any other sport even though they will be passing a ski station. There are two third category climbs either side of the sprint at Villar St Pancrace. Yesterday was the first time in the ...
Wed 20th
09:54
Opinion Polls show Clegg leading Miliband with younger voters to get rid of this corruption
A major pillar of appeal Clegg gave the electorate at the General Election, in the shadows of the expenses scandal, was that the Lib Dems are the party to clean up British Politics. With the election of Ed Miliband he has sought to attract this vote from the Lib Dems opening up new battlegrounds between ...
So, there are no longer any deadlines for transferrence for the NHS, as we were assured by Cameron, Clegg and Lansley. And there will be less focus on competition, we have been assured. So, quietly, although not so quiet as to be missed by the Guardian, but may have passed the main stream of politico-news-junkies by is the NHS reshuffle to be announced today. The hacking saga has provided an even more opaque coverage than GP Consortia for Government announcements, but this is the epitome of what we were informed wouldn't happen. The opening paragraph states; "The government will open ...
In the face of the repeated shattering blows to the old order: the Royal divorces, the Parliamentary expenses scandal, the Police failures in the NoTW scandal, and indeed the Murdoch scandal itself, it is easy to pronounce that Britain is a country in an inevitable decline. There is even the prospect of the dissolution of the UK in the near future, if the separatist agenda of the SNP gets its way in Scotland. The national debate is incoherent, with much evidence of retrenchment in hard power: our armed forces; soft power: our foreign ministry and overseas broadcasting; and financial power: ...
Yesterday the Government announced an extra £500Mfor extra primary school places in those areas where rising school numbers is putting severe pressure on places. The last time such funding came up the then Cllr Nick Stanton was incredibly successful in applying and obtaining £12M. It will be an interesting test of her abilities to see how she does in applying for funds from this £500M pot. I wish her well in being successful for Southwark kids.
Here is my latest column for the Ham & High Men who are sexually abused as youngsters may not speak for twenty or more years of what happened. Sometimes their stories are never told. In my role as Minister responsible for tackling violence against women and girls, I have seen the evidence that the overwhelming volume of domestic and sexual violence is perpetrated against women and girls. One in four women experience domestic violence during their lifetime. It has more repeat victims than any other crime (repeat victimisation accounts for 76% of all incidents of domestic violence) and in 2009/10, ...
I've been thinking a lot about this sentiment over the last few days ( and I do mean the sentiment - not the Ken Livingstone book). The saga of 'hackgate' sees the third and fourth of our great institutions fall under the microscope and to be found wanting. 'The world will never be the same again' seems to be the general sentiment. But is this true? The banks, we were told, were in for wholesale and radical change with an end to the 'casino culture' that had pervaded them before. So the timing of the news, in this week of ...
Those of us who are old enough to remember Rupert buying the News of the World and have noted the comparison between the way his media treated his own divorce in contrast to the way it treated the matrimonial problems of other celebrities (and not such celebrities), and watched the ruthlessness with which his media has exposed wrongdoing (even though some of those exposed were innocent - tough on them) and have witnessed the virulence of Fox News anchormen,and much much else besides, watched the outpourings of sorry, regret etc etc from the 'clan' yesterday with a certain cynicism. You ...
There is no doubt that David Cameron's premiership is in trouble following yesterday's testimony to the Home Affairs Select Committee and its aftermath: while the appearance of Met Police chiefs did not have the attention and the drama of News ... Continue reading →
I have already updated residents about my concerns at the re-routing of the Number 4 bus service away from the West End and its negative effect on elderly residents in particular in the Logie/City Road/Tullideph/Pentland/Ancrum areas. The City Council, through its revised tendered subsidised services from 15th August, has attempted to provide some sort of service on this part of the former National Express 4 route, although no-one could pretend that the new 204 (replacing the current 69 Stagecoach Strathtay subsidised route - the 204 covering part of the former 4 service; the 204a on alternate hours covering other parts ...
The public exposure of the cosy links between News International, the police and politicians is very important and we must hope that when the present furore subsides laws will be passed to place a maximum on the amount of the British media owned by one institution, to ensure that owners pay their appropriate taxes in Britain and that meetings between influential persons at a high level are open and properly logged. The first two are easy, the third admittedly a bit tricky, but if they are tackled our democracy will emerge much the healthier. And that's it. Do we really ...
Charlie Brooks's kriotherapy leaves me cold Martin Robbins highlights the 'alternative therapy' treatments offered by Mr. Rebekah Brooks. (tags: misinformation pseudoscience science health)
Out of the blue, into the black — Crooked Timber Labour Party adviser with extreme views on immigration dismissed as "over the top" and "simply not practicable" by leader of hard right Migration Watch thinktank. (tags: ukpolitics humanrights migration)
I am pleased to read on the BBC website that the government has run a pilot looking at saving money on PFI contracts and found that, surprise surprise, substantial savings can be made on existing PFI contracts. Pilots in the MoD (which is ironic considering the waste I refer to in my previous post) and at Hatfield Hospital could result in 5% savings on existing contracts. Considering the cost pressures in the NHS, that could play a major factor in helping it meet its efficiency targets. No one can fail to be impressed by the new PFI constructed facilities, whether ...
In the Guardian there's a piece about 'Jonnie Marbles': the comedian and activist who attacked Rupert Murdoch Apparently he has a blog called "Anarchish." Anyway, they've managed to find an old chum of Jonnie's, from university days, who can apparently recall a time when: 'Marbles complained about the News Corp CEO's influence. "I remember one time he talked about Murdoch. He said it was a terrible thing for democracy that one man should hold so much sway."' This struck me, because it's an opinion one hears often enough, but it is just plain wrong. Indeed, it is precisely because of ...
