Alekhine was world chess champion from 1927 to 1935 and from 1937 until his death in 1946 (although the war prevented any matches for the title being held during this second part of his reign). I apologise if this is a bit of a minority interest, but before this evening I had no idea that this recording existed. Discussing the greatest chess players' styles back in 2007, I wrote: Fischer's games were so easy to understand that he made you feel you could play that well yourself. Kasparov's play was so extraordinary that you had to play over his games ...
If you have a social event lined up with a top rank political speaker and then suddenly a council by-election is called, what should you do? Camden LibDems provided the answer this evening when they moved the speaker event with Lord Clement-Jones from its original venue to the house of the candidate in the said ...
Letter of August 19 from Dr P, consultant haematologist, to the GP: FBC: Hb 9.5 g/dl, WBC 4.41 x 10A9/L, platelets 614 x 1(T9/L I reviewed Lord Avebury in the clinic today. I am happy to say that he is well in himself just having returned from holiday. His platelet count is gently coming down on hydroxyurea and I have asked him to maintain this at 500 mg od and we will see him in four weeks' time. So the myeloproliferative disorder seems to be under control. Platelet count not far above the normal range, though Haemoglobin well below the ...
I do feel I need to atone slightly for writing such a truthful if toadying post about Nick Clegg's visit to Edinburgh so in a way I'm glad he said something that I really disagree with. He's said that he wants to see Lockerbie bomber Abdelbasset Al-Megrahi brought back here to serve in a UK jail. At least he had the good grace to acknowledge that it was nowt to do with his Government though, as this is a Scottish government matter. I supported Kenny MacAskill's decision to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds 2 years ago. He made the only ...
Allegra Stratton has an article in tomorrow's Guardian about Ed Llewellyn, David Cameron's chief of staff. She argues that, tempered by his time working for Paddy Ashdown in Bosnia, he had been the prime minister's rock over Libya. One anecdote of his Bosnian days is telling: For three years, almost Ashdown's entire tenure, he did the job he is doing for Cameron now, working cheek by jowl with the boss to help a country back to its feet. It was a high octane period and not just figuratively. One story has Llewellyn in his office with colleagues and the viceroy ...
As part of our ongoing campaign to prevent creationism being taught as a valid scientific theory, last Friday we took advantage of the Government's new e-petition website by publishing one of our very own called 'Teach evolution, not creationism'. The petition asks for the teaching of evolution to be compulsory in all state-funded schools from primary school-level and for the Government to work actively to prevent the teaching of creationism or 'intelligent design' in all state funded schools. If it receives over 100,000 signatures the proposition has a chance of being debated in the House of Commons. Recently a proposed ...
Back in June, I mentioned that I had attended the Dundee Russian School's Day of Russian Culture at Harris Academy. The school, an excellent initiative taking place at the school on Saturdays, has been awarded £6 500 Big Lottery funding to purchase teaching materials and computer equipment to assist the young people who attend the Russian School at Harris Academy. I am very pleased for the school at this good news and, in particular, Dr Andriy Sukhodub who has put in so much effort to establish and build the Russian School at Harris Academy. I am also pleased to advise ...
This afternoon, I took part in the City Council's Scrutiny Committee at which I : * Raised a question and took part in discussion about incidents of violence on council staff. * Asked questions about the audit of the management of school transport, a very topical subject given my and parents' concerns about the lack of proper transport arrangements for St John's High School pupils who live in the West End. * Praised the work of the council's very professional internal audit team. * Raised the need for the council to adopt the use of encrypted USB memory devices within ...
The European Regional Development Fund has allocated £5 million to the East of England in order to help the extension of fast broadband, especially in rural areas. This money is on top of £50 million on offer from Broadband UK (BDUK) and to the commercial investment. However, bids for the package have to be in soonish from all county and unitary authorities. Business cases will then have to be developed, with roll-out anticipated from April 2012 onwards. It is of concern that applications from our region have been slow in coming. And in some cases they have not focussed on ...
A copy of my article published on http://candiflip.com/hub/?p=579 at the end of July.It is easy, considering how much woe is caused by the late running, poor customer service, lack of information and condition of our trains to forget about the humble railway station. For many of us it is but a simple couple of concrete platforms with a ticket office, a sort of gateway to disappointment and trouble but to some it is in itself, its' own nightmare.So let me make a couple of comparisons between Chatham station, a once busy hub of commuters and one of the town's two ...
So say 3 Borders Councillors who wore their brightly coloured t-shirts to Nick Clegg's private meeting with Scottish Liberal Democrat members. As it was a private event, I'm not going to give you chapter and verse, but I will tell you that however much I've been worried that some people around Nick have disappeared into some Westminster bubble where they lose all touch with reality, the same is not true of Nick himself. He totally gets where we are and how we feel - because he feels it too. Bearing in mind that up here, Liberal Democrats have had a ...
"I messaged a dozen of my blood on my Blackberry saying 'flee at once - all is discovered.' They all left town immediately."Sickening, the use of modern technology to help feral youths commit shocking acts of anarchy and escape justice. Well, actually, the above quote has been adapted from the generally law-abiding and revered author Mark Twain, who was in fact speaking of the telegram. Blackberry Messenger - used by some of the rioters On Thursday, David Cameron announced he would look at measures to block people using social media and Blackberry Messenger to plan criminality. He wouldn't be the ...
Peter Phillips, the long-serving councillor for Bishop's Castle is to resign after more than three decades in Shropshire politics, reports the Shropshire Star. You can hear him giving his reasons in a podcast accessible via that page. Peter gives his reasons and reflections on the website of the Liberal Democrat Group on Shropshire Council: "After such a long time - I first stood in 1973! - when local politics has been my consuming interest and ambition - it's a really tough decision, but I'm conscious in recent years of not having quite that youthful vigour! Perhaps there's never a perfect ...
There is a petition set up by disabled residents who have used Reading's town centre, but for 3 months have been presented from doing so by an arbitrary decision of Reading's discredited transport bosses:- I will have more to say on this issue shortly. Let's for now just reiterate that Cllr Page is (as usual) lying when he says the Access Forum could have stopped this; nobody on it, including his ward colleague Labour Cllr Ayub, was notified. socialise this: [IMG: add 'Stop Reading Council Excluding Disabled People from the Town Centre!' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'Stop Reading Council ...
With Council Staff at the Kirkliston Library This morning found me in Kirkliston Library awaiting a visit from Deputy PM and UK Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg. Joining us was Scottish Lib Dem Leader Willie Rennie. This was a visit to highlight the issue of rural broadband which Mike Crockart MP is campaigning on. With David Cameron back on holiday Nick was acting PM and the TV crews were all wanting to get updates from him on the Libya situation. The visit went off very well with Nick suitably impressed with what he saw.
When military backed dictatorships or autocracies collapse there are many dangers that face the emerging country. As the state collapses in on itself the rebels need to start thinking about establishing a new state. This can lead to some serious problems.1. Rebel unity.When the Bolsheviks took power in 1917 a counter revolution started almost immediately, culminating in the Russian Civil war with many factions with only one aim... The removal of Lenin's government. The factions; Iudenich, Denikin, Kornilov and Kolchak (the white Generals), The Green Russians (anarchists), Britain, France, USA, Japan and Finland (foreign interventionists) were often at odds with ...
If you happen to read my new roommate [IMG: [personal profile] ] Becca's journal – and you probably should be reading her, she writes much more frequent and entertaining reviews than I do – then you may have been following our Misadventures on and off Broadway, in which PEOPLE COULD DIE (but thankfully don't) marital problems are fixed by dreaming about your husband's white knight complex, child geniuses are child geniuses and lunatics are inexplicably from Louisiana. If you had been following these, and you heard we were planning to see Hero: The Musical, of which all we knew about ...
Merseyside Police have asked for your views about what thepolice do and how they could improve. The police force are running a survey to help them better understandlocal opinions, fear of crime and perceptions of anti-social behaviour. The survey results will be used to help the police meet theneeds of the public and deliver an improved quality service within the areawhere you live. The Merseyside Police survey is online here and will take about 5 minutes to do.
An online petition calling for the release of cabinet papers relating to the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 has now gathered in excess of the 100,000 signatures required to trigger a parliamentary debate. Predictably, sections of the press have hailed this as an extraordinary victory for "people power" with Liverpool MP Steve Rotherham keen to identify it as a "demand for justice". Unfortunately, it is nothing of the sort. The petitions system is an ill-considered sop to populism as evidenced by the ease with which the Hillsborough petition collected signatories. With the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Joey Barton urging football ...
Mary Street car park is looking much improved, having been resurfaced earlier this month. In addition to the new surface, the layout of the spaces has been slightly changed – the number of spaces is the same but each space has been made a little larger by reorganising the space. Finally, there have been problems with cars bumping the building on the east side of the car park, so bollards have been installed to protect the wall. View Cheadle and Gatley in a larger map
It is a rare time when Peter Mandelson makes any positive remarks about the Lib Dems and again he has made some fairly negative remarks in the Times but he does give one observation which ties in with the Lib Dem change of strategy that happened earlier in the year, which is worth highlighting: Since ...
I'm writing this now having just scheduled posting the trailer for the new Meryl Streep film about Margaret Thatcher earlier. And I'm pondering how it will have gone down. I know she is not exactly the most popular of politicians amongst anyone likely to be reading my blog. But few would argue that she was the dominant British political figure of the 1980's, and the trailer is extremely well done - when I saw it, I didn't know what it was for, and while I guesssed before the cutaway, that moment you see her is still beautifully executed. And while ...
One of the great things about the Kindle is the way you can download book samples. It's like going into a library, sitting and reading the first chapter or two of the books you like the look of, then going next door to a bookshop and buying the ones you actually enjoyed. Only you can do it from your sofa or the train, with just a few clicks. The only problem with this is that over the last couple of months, I've collected about £50 worth of samples to read and decide whether I like them enough to buy them ...
[IMG: nice blood pressure] And choice, I'll make no bones about it, the NHS is blimin marvellous except when it isn't and unfortunately we have no choice, its an authoritarian take or leave it service. No surprise then to read that millions are being wasted on misdiagnosis of blood pressure problems, apparently patients give false indications (white coat syndrome) when present in the doctors surgery or hospital. It has been suggested by NICE, the organisation that advises the NHS on such matters that rather than rely on testing in the surgery, which is the case for most, that in future, ...
Radio 4 Extra is now rebroadcasting Michael Jayston's superb reading of Geoffrey Household's pre-World War II thriller Rogue Male (playing every weekday in half-hour slots, each episode four times daily and on iPlayer, so it's easy to catch). The anti-hero spends the book on the run from sinister agents of a great power, each examining the moral questions of the 'sporting' event that opens the story... Stripped of all ambiguity, you might call the inciting incident 'Let's Kill Hitler'. Michael Jayston's acting career includes, of course, Doctor Who's Valeyard - there are spoilers, if you don't know who he is... ...
Obviously John Mason, the SNP MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, doesn't know how to stop digging. Having his "equal marriage" motion having been derided as homophobic prejudice by both the media and his parliamentary colleagues, Mason would have been well advised to let the matter drop rather than go on the defensive. Unfortunately, such wisdom doesn't appear to feature in his repertoire of personal capabilities and in spite of his apparent intention to diffuse the situation (made explosive following the intervention of Bill Walker) his recent interview with Christians Together asked far more questions about Mason's motives and attitudes than it ...
Well yestereday saw 20,000 turn up for the Tennents Vital Festival today they are expecting 40,000 for day two. Today's acts include Jimmy East World. Then I hope there isn't the predicted riot as The Kaiser Chiefs. But you know what every day I love them more and more. But the headliner is a coup indeed. As Marshall Mathers III takes to the stage. "Who?" says you, the reall Slim Shady, none other than Eminem.
With work hopefully starting soon to demolish Cheadle's Warwick Mall and build a new unit with retail on the ground floor and 14 apartments above, Sainsbury's have this week applied for a licence to sell alcohol. The application will go through the system – do get in touch if you have any concerns.
What I term "The Carbon Externality" is that cost being borne by current and future society as a result of greenhouse gas emissions, being produced over the past century or so at a rate that exceeds the capacity of the planet to absorb them without perceptible harm. Externality is an accounting/economics term for any cost that is borne by an external party, and therefore not part of the internal cost analysis. It is the fundamental flaw in Friedman economics and why those calling for small government are missing the point. Government exists to account for and address externalities. Effective regulation ...
As we move towards the end of August thoughts inevitably turn towards the agenda and issues to be debated at the Liberal Democrats' Autumn Conference. Well they do for me anyway. So this seems like a good moment to update my post from April about the proposed changes to relax the restrictions on campaigning in internal party elections. Back then I welcomed the fact that the Party's Federal Executive had agreed to support these proposals. In particular, I welcomed the removal of the ridiculous ban on electronic campaigning. Well these changes have made it on to the agenda for the ...
From Stockport Homes: Stockport Homes has a Community Fund enabling customers to access money to help improve neighbourhoods where Stockport Homes manages properties. This fund will support projects that make a real difference to the lives of our customers and the wider community. The list of what the Community Fund is available for is endless - here are a few ideas: A sports programme or project to improve the lives of young people. A wildlife garden or tree planting programme to benefit the local environment. Neighbourhood events such as fun days or cooking events. Job clubs or skill building programmes ...
The Opposition Liberal Democrats have expressed shock and dismay that the Chief Executive of Essex County Council has received a £6,900 bonus payment. Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Mike Mackrory, said - "At a time when staff are facing a pay freeze and many hundreds of loyal, hard working council staff are losing their jobs, and many more are worried about theirs, it is time for the Council to review its policy for bonus payments for senior executives. In the current economic climate bonus payments should not be paid for simply carrying out their jobs." Essex boss Joanna Killian ...
It's a teaser so I'll comment later on the subject matter, rather than spoil the fun.. But as a piece of communication - it's spine tinglingly good. And let's face it - we're all going - aren't we....
The Borough Commander has invited residents and other community representatives to an open day at Ealing Police station at Sunday 2nd October 2011 (10am till 4pm). The police will also be in Walpole Park with stalls as well. On the day a number of special police groups will be present such as the dog team, firearms unit, mounted police section and other units. Kids are made welcome and have a good time, as similar events have occured in the borough through the year. It will be a good chance to ask the police questions as well as see whether there ...
Mark Thompson wrote a very good and accurate piece today regarding the need for the myths on tuition fees to be challenged, this comes just days after I read another excellent piece by Richard Morris regarding the need for perceptions to be changed. I thought I'd get in with the act and talk about tuition fees - again. In particular I am comparing my own situation, with those in the current system. For the record I was at University between October 2004 and June 2007 so I know this isn't comparing the 2011 entrants with the 2012 but I think ...
Foto Reuters / Paul Hackett This and 7 other amazing pictures of journalists inside the Hotel Rixos are now available on this website. They are astonishing and really bring home the situation these brave people are in - especially if the stories of them being now trapped in the hotel are true. Let's hope they all stay safe. H/T to @Jonathanhaynes for the link Update Just seen this Tweet from Politics Home. V. worrying. Update 2 Hooray!!
Stansted's county councillor Ray Gooding has 'slammed' my suggestion that Essex Highways was delaying the development of a new health centre in the village. Councillor Gooding accuses me of scapegoating Essex Highways for the failure to establish the centre. It is a distortion of my original criticism of the highways department's seeming lack of co-operation on developer proposals for a health centre as part of a commercial development at the Castle Lotus site in Lower Street. Councillor Gooding may disagree and say the county's highways department is doing its job properly. We will see whether there is any bureaucratic obstruction ...
[IMG: Twitter logo] Take a rummage around the Twitter profiles of people in politics and you will quickly discover a rarely talked about species of Twitterer - the lurker. They sign up to Twitter, follow various people but never send a tweet themselves. The logic is that if you want to keep an eye on what is being said on Twitter (and it is the rare public affairs person who can honestly say no useful information for their job ever originates on Twitter), then creating an account and following people often is a much better way of doing it than ...
Phew, book number 18 that I've been involved in as author or editor is now out. It's written by myself and Shaun Roberts, called "Campaigning In Your Community". Think of it as as guide to getting going with community politics, starting from your own doorstep. A free copy is being sent to every ALDC (Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors) member or you can buy copies from the ALDC online shop (sales only open to party members). As Shaun and I say at the start: In communities across the country there are improvements just waiting for a successful campaign to bring ...
I think all of the stories in the 1987 collection were new to me. A lot of them seemed to reflect the Zeitgeist of Thatcherism and Cold War - in particular, two memorable pieces by Paul J. McAuley and Lee Montgomerie. I will also remember Brian Stableford's cryogenic survivor who finds himself alive but not immortal. All of these stories are pretty good, and I don't think any of them figured on the Hugo or Nebula shortlists of the day.
Wed 24th
11:23
Rioting on streets reflects the riot that has been our society and poor government for the last 30 y...
It's just typical of England to wait for a problem to occur, then act shocked when it happens, then completely overreact on the temporary "fixes" – then, best of all, we learn no lessons for the future, assume that "prison works" and then want to wash our hands of social problems which we as a society have helped propagate. I totally agree that some of the rioters were there for a criminality. However I recently discussed with someone it's such a grey issue, to which they replied with "well, there are that many different groups involved - criminals and young ...
My non-Who audio listening recently has been a BBC radio dramatization of Milton's epic poem, in 41 12-minute episodes. It is tough going in places, but probably not as tough as reading the original would be. I found the most interesting sections to be Satan's council of war near the beginning, which presumably Milton based on his imaginings of meeting of the leadership in the Civil War, and the "lascivious" behaviour of Adam and Eve after the Fall. Denis Quilley is fine as the narrator, Ian McDermid very good as Satan, and I also liked Linus Roache and Fedara Holmes ...
Many thanks to everyone who read my blog post yesterday encouraging people to write to Time Magazine and sign the petition calling for Muhammad Al Bouazizi to be made Time Magazine's 'Person of the Year' for 2011. I am genuinely touched that so many people took the trouble to read the post, click on the links and also tweeted around the link. The blog has never been so busy. Hopefully Time Magazine are hearing the message and Muhammad will be remembered in this most appropriate of ways.
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir leads an almost perfectly gender-balanced government Iceland has been hailed as 'the most female-friendly country in the world'. It's almost a feminist utopia - an almost perfectly gender-balanced parliament, excellent parental leave, and no strip clubs. In 2010, legislation was passed making it illegal for a business to profit from the nudity of its employees, making strip clubs illegal. Buying sex was already illegal as of 2009, with the selling decriminalised. "I guess the men of Iceland will just have to get used to the idea that women are not for sale." It's hard not to be won ...
As part of the Stockport Heritage Open Days, you can take a tour of the magnificent Gothic Revival interiors of Abney Hall and take a guided walk around Abney Park, off Manchester Road, Cheadle. Tours are every half hour from 11am to 4pm, Sunday 11th September. Booking is essential – call 0161 474 4444. View Cheadle and Gatley in a larger map
Stansted is likely to lose front counter police services under proposals outlined by Chief Constable Jim Barker-McCardle. Essex Police anticipates that savings from front counter closures in the county will be in the region of £2.5 million, which will be a used towards a savings target of approximately £41 million by 2014. The announcement was always regarded as a possibility and represents the withdrawal of a public service at a time when the village is undergoing rapid expansion. My concern is that Stansted is more than 10km from the nearest stations operating front counter services: Dunmow and Saffron Walden. However, ...
As announced last week, it's time to nominate your favourite bloggers, campaigners and social networkers in the BOTYs – the sixth annual Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards. This year's awards are as follows: Best new Liberal Democrat blog (started since 1st September 2010) Best blog from a Liberal Democrat holding public office (The Tim Garden Award) Best use of blogging / social networking / e-campaigning by a Liberal Democrat Best posting on a Liberal Democrat blog (since 1st September 2010) Best non-Liberal Democrat politics blog Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year To be eligible for 'Best blog from ...
www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-19925-f0.cfm Bahrain's anti-union repression escalates Despite growing international pressure, the Bahraini authorities have stepped up the repression of the country's trade union movement, sacking more than 100 government employees in recent weeks. In total, more than 2,600, workers have been sacked since the pro-democracy uprising earlier this year. According to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), 'Despite numerous promises to the contrary, the government has largely failed to reinstate workers illegally dismissed. According to the General Federation of Bahraini Trade Unions (GFBTU), only 134 workers have been reinstated to date. Many of these workers had to agree to unacceptable, indeed ...
The Press Association: 'Many appeals' due over riot cases At last, some sense. Who in their right minds thinks that locking people up for handing back goods that they didn't steal themselves is a good plan? (tags: law) Who's Behind the Mask of Feminist Hulk? Spoilers! (tags: feminism) Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster - Four years on I saw a documentary about the Pendle Witch Trials on BBC4 recently presented by this same guy, and he was VERY good indeed. (tags: radio) Baking cookies: the metal way Aside from the swearing and the laser eyes, this is Mat ...
Local people have been concenrned that travellers waiting at the bus stop near no. 39 High Street (near Nelsons butchers shop) have to step between parked vehicles in order to get onto the bus, something which is difficult for those with mobility issues and those with pushchairs. Councillors at the local Area Forum meeting asked South Glos Council to investigate the problem, and they've come up with a proposal to move the bus stop. It is proposed that the existing bus stop is relocated in front of 29a/31 High Street (near Sante Et Beaute salon) and a build out is ...
I used to love this show! It ran from 1965 to 1967. Sadly the only clip (below) I can find of it is of the opening titles, but it has the added bonus of the old BBC revolving globe at the start! With apologies to Fry and Laurie, as far as I am concerned, Ian Carmichael was Bertie Wooster and Dennis Price was Jeeves.
Wed 24th
09:05
Is Clegg turning out to be a good leader? Opinion polls which suggest Clegg needs to take some risks
The latest ComRes survey results are out which shows a poor but steady opinion for the Lib Dems who stand at 11% (+1%) but a continuingly awful opinion of Nick Clegg when people were asked "Nick Clegg is turning out to be a good leader" Agree or Disagree? But what may be more worrying is ...
This morning's Western Mail contains a substantial article detailing the views of Swansea-born Michael Heseltine that a new wave of directly elected Mayors would stop a new wave of riots. Mr. Heseltine believes that these Mayors will provide leadership to drive through change. Although I agree with him on the need to better empower local Councils to deal with problems in their area, I am on the same side as Plaid Cymru Arfon MP Hywel Williams, who opposes the idea of transferring power into one person's hands without checks and balances. The idea of one individual riding to the rescue ...
The Welsh Government has published its annual report giving details of any gifts received by Ministers, Special Advisors and Trips Abroad here. The information relates to the financial year 2010-2011. There is nothing exceptional about this information apart from two items. That is that of the total spent on Ministerial overseas visits in 2010-2011 of £25,351 more than half was spent on just two trips. The first was the well-publicised and criticised trip by the former Environment Minister, Jane Davidson to the Climate Change Conference in Cancun. She took two officials with her on 4 December 2010 at a total ...
The commute just got a whole lot bearable. Why? I found my 3 mobile dongle so that I can write blog posts in the go. Having put it in a bag some months ago, it only resurfaced when I opened ...
Through a mutual acquaintance, I recently heard someone I know outside the world of politics (yes I have ordinary friends!) had been bemoaning the "fact" that he was not going to be able to afford to pay £9,000 per year for his daughter (who is soon going to be 18) to go to university. This person is pretty well educated and I suspect does regularly watch the news but the fact that the money is paid back over 30 years following graduation by the recipient of the degree, not the parents of the recipient seems to have completely passed him ...
Amid all of the controversy over the downgrade of the United states debt rating from AAA to AA+ by Standard & Poors- which seems to have resulted in the early exit of the President of S&P, Deven Sharma, from his job- it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. In Estonia there has been a mild celebration at a two notch upgrade in the Estonian credit rating to AA-, that is to say only three notches below the United States and just one below Japan (according to Moody's, another one of the big three rating agencies, which now ...
Mark Pack has 5 excellent questions to answer before casting your vote in the ERS elections
:( that is all.
There are only a couple of days left before the ballot closes for the election to the Electoral Reform Society's governing council. Since I wrote about my take on the elections I've been interested to read what other have been saying about the elections. There was a good summary of the issues from Simon McGrath. Also on Liberal Democrat voice Stephen Tall has pulled together a collection of blog posts on the elections (kindly including my post among them) which gives a good flavour of the debate. Finally Mark Pack has written about the five questions you should ask before ...
With the end game for Gaddafi being played out on the 24 hour news channels, it is clear that events that started in Tunisia in the spring are coming to a conclusion in Tripoli in (almost) September. As the Libyan uprising moves towards a victorious end it is a vindication for the new way of doing things and a rejection of the Blair/Bush so called 'liberal intervention'. The overthrow of the tyrant Gaddafi is mainly as a result of the actions of the Libyan people, some external pressure - principally from other Arab states - and in the background, the ...
