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From the Autobiography that Neville Cardus, the great cricket writer, published in 1947: Like any human being, I loathe the social injustice that winks at starvation in a world of plenty. Something may be done about it some day. But I lost sympathy with Socialists the more I met them. Their creed or system was obviously not to be a means to an end but an end in itself; I could not discover what manner of rich, imaginative life they were planning for the world after poverty had been abolished. More and more Socialism, apparently.
Myself, other Councillors made speeches in a sombre meeting to discuss the riots in Ealing that occured recently. An Australian TV channel recorded the meeting and the link with my speech giving the perspective I saw of the riots in Ealing but also across the country can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAJeAjPgLws
Is it me or does the cat have a Welsh accent?
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 ...
Disgruntled Radical writes to the Liberal Democrat conference team at Cowley Street (as it then was): "Thanks for your message. I attend conference because Yeovil Liberal Democrats elected me, not because the police allow me to. That's according to our party constitution." He may not enjoy the conference that much when he gets there. Gareth Epps points out that there will be a record number of set-piece speeches and fewer debates this year. Predicatable Paradox is worried that, judging by then answers he gave during his visit to Glagow, Nick Clegg has not grasped the immensity of the challenge now ...
Sat 27th
22:16
Horny rhino thieves left feeling rather soft after pinching plastic from Tring Museum!
Thieves who broke into Tring's Natural History Museum – a branch of the more famous Kensington establishment – must have felt pretty soft when they got back with their swag. They had counted on smashing their way into a display case and making off with rhino horns worth an estimated £240,000 on the black market in so-called "Chinese medicine". They would have made enough for a life's supply of Viagra for both of them! But museum curators around the world have now replaced any rhino horn in displays with life-like plastic substitutes to foil such would-be thieves. So hard luck, ...
I am still not up to date with the current Torchwood but making up for it with the original run of novels, of which this sadly isn't one of the better examples - somewhat clunky prose in places, and the plot of The Time Traveller's Wife forced into the mould of the Torchwood format. (Unlike certain recent episodes of New Who, which have taken the concept in a totally new direction.) For completists and Ianto/Jack fans only, I think.
*This Post is being Re-issued in the wake of some debate and current process of accreditation that is currently ongoing* As we all know there is a growing storm over the registration process for Liberal Democrat Conference, members are unhappy about the registration process. I've blogged here, Spidey has blogged here, and perhaps most importantly @AuntySarah has blogged here about the issues she faces as a transwoman here However, it is not the issues I wish to write about here. Although I stand firmly against it, it is the nature of the debate which has disgusted me more than anything. ...
The link is to a piece in the Sunday Telegraph which considers the analytical processes used in the Family Division.
When the first debate about conference security came around, I thought it turned pretty nasty. In the middle of that, I debated with Martin Shapland in regards to the conference. At the time I accused him of sneering at the issue. I still believe he did. Martin objected within the discussion to the phrase ( "Your papers please" Which was not anything to do with me, nor was it my choice to use it. ) As he said it conjured up Nazi imagery. At the time, I disagreed and said it was conjuring up authoritarian views not Nazi, but that ...
This is a very effective narrative, written by a white Northern Christian woman for white Northern Christian women, and pushing all the buttons - the slaves are devout, their owners are not; the system operates to break up slave families at the behest of the law; parents helplessly watch their daughters being debauched by their owners. These days of course the central moral point is redundant but the outrage remains fresh. I was surprised to find it actually quite a subversive novel in terms of gender. Women could not vote, and the male constitutional order is found morally wanting by ...
Some great blog posts I've read this week; Spider Plant Land's Why I'm glad the EDL march in Tower Hamlets has been banned which astutely recognises the dangers of extremism and far right groups marching in London. Too Liberal succinctly sums up the Balls that Labour spouts in Meanwhile, in the Labour Asylum Caron's Musings Shai Chakrabarti praises Nick Clegg on Human Rights with a strong lefty accolade for the Lib Dems I'd list some non-lib dems, but I havent been enthralled by any this week. Maybe one day...!
Two pop psychology books I picked up the other day out of curiosity, from a series with the unwieldy name -> Introducing - The Practical Guides: Big Ideas For Real Life which also includes volumes on child psychology, sport psychology and the "psychology of success" with more promised to come. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: A Practical Guide, by Elaine Iljon Foreman and Clair Pollard I have read a little about CBT from such sources as novels and the blogs of friends who are undergoing it; what pushed me into getting this was a recurrent problem with insomnia, which is one of ...
This statue of Charles Bradlaugh stands in the unlovely location of Abington Square, Northampton. The inscription on the panel beneath it reads: "THOROUGH." CHARLES BRADLAUGHBorn Sept, 26, 1833Died Jany. 30, 1891 M.P. for Northampton 1880-1891 Four times elected to oneParliament in vindication ofthe rights of constituencies.India, too, chose him as herrepresentative.A sincere friend of the people,his life was devoted toprogress, liberty, and justice. Bradlaugh was an extraordinary figure - a freethinker and radical, as well as a Liberal. There is a brief note about him on the National Secular Society website, and a longer entry on Wikipedia: In 1880 Bradlaugh ...
In his introduction to the 1998 Oxford World Classics edition of William Thackeray's Vanity Fair, John Sutherland writes of Amelia Sedley and Becky Sharp: As we first meet them, Regency girls, together in a coach, so we leave them, now two early-Victorian ladies, either side of the charity stall which declares their mutual respectability in the eyes of the world.One character is good but dull: the other naughty but appealing. Their careers have had numerous ups and down, but they end in an uneasy equilibrium. Who could we offer as a modern parallel? Easy. Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams. Thanks ...
Not great, if I'm honest. I have around one-third of my DD307 TMA06 essay in the bag, plus loads of random paragraphs that I need to organise in such a way that the rest of it forms a coherent whole. No progress on the SD226 EMA to report. I have resolved to get up really early tomorrow morning (well, really early for a Sunday!) and make more progress. I will prevail! But now, it's time for an Indian takeaway. Nom nom nom, etc.
Well, it's been a fantastic day today. I've spent it in the company of some fabulously enthusiastic Liberal Democrat candidates for the Council elections next May, in some 244 days' time, at a training day run by the Association of Scottish Liberal Democrat Councillors in Perth. From Caithness to Dumfries and Galloway, fired up campaign teams came to learn from the best Liberal Democrat campaigners (and me). I have to give a special mention to ALDC's Mark Alcock for being a complete superhero. We don't have the August Bank Holiday up here so I hadn't factored it in when we ...
There are poor Tories who are all concerned that nice Mr Clegg is showing too much Lib Dem muscle since the loss of the referendum in May. They are concerned that Lib Dems are making them steer a more liberal course on human rights; business regulation; immigration; green issues; pro-growth measures; the timing of spending cuts; Europe; NHS reforms; family policy and tuition fees. Yeah that list is right, our dear blue painted leader was attacked for actually not doing as much on Tuition Fees that some Tories wanted to do if they had been a majority government. They want ...
A brief note for this one, I will be dealing with the Headquarters Sessions box set in the book, but won't be posting that chapter here, because several pages of "yet another aimless jam session" don't make for a good blog post... After More Of The Monkees was a huge commercial success but (in the ...
Last weekend — in a desperate attempt to offer our readers an alternative to The X-Factor — we highlighted some clips from elections of yesteryear: first, the 1960-70s, then the 1980s. Today, we're scrolling forward to the video footage of the 1992 general election... Paddy Ashdown on the campaign trail (Available on YouTube here.) Don Foster wins Bath from Chris Patten (from 3:05) (Available on YouTube here.) Election night interview with Charles Kennedy (Available on YouTube here.)
Is it not time to quietly dispatch BBC2′s Eggheads to the great TV composting bin? Yesterday's celebrity episode was three years old. There's only so many shots of that bird who won Millionaire looking smug that a man can take. Dermot Monaghan endlessly repeats the line "You may recognise these faces from Britain's famous quiz shows". No. They were last on ten years ago. They are sanctimonious hasbeens.
Yesterday, we explored St Martins. It's north coast has to rate as one of the most beautiful, interesting and semi-remote parts of the British Isles. The beaches of Great Bay and Little Bay are simply stunning, with white, sparkly sand and the sort of clean, natural tideline I haven't seen for decades. Apparently, Great Bay features in the World's Top Ten beaches – deservedly so. Twitpics to follow via Twitter.
Well done to Nick Clegg for making some much-needed, distinctive statements over the last few days. I'm thinking about his pronouncements on the Human Rights Act, social network sites and capping political donations.
Radio Scilly really has to rate as one of the best community radio stations in the country. The big crime news this morning was that someone "borrowed" a bike last week and it is still missing. Yesterday, we saw a parked car in a deserted lane with the keys in the ignition. -Not that we were looking, but I noticed this as we walked past. But when you think about it, if someone nicked said car, where would they take it? Except, for driving it off a cliff, there's not much you can do with it. BREAKING NEWS: The local ...
Collected links from around the webWant a friend/relative to fix your PC? Read this first. Really really read this. Kismet on timing I was going to link to this when I next did a linkdump anyway, but today the timing's awesome. (tags: funny humour computers family) Automatically posted from Delicious using [IMG: [personal profile] ] matgbs updated Delicious Glue script. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
'Clegg at odds with many Lib Dems over 50p rate and mansions tax' says the headline to a post on the Spectator's CoffeeHouse blog this morning. Here's what the piece itself says: Willetts is making a political rather than an ... Continue reading →
According to new figures published this week by the Office for National Statistics, graduates earn 85 per cent more than people with only GCSE qualifications over their working lives. Extrapolated over a 40-year career lifetime, graduates are likely to earn almost £1 million more than those on current average pay of some £25,000 pa. The latest statistics show that the differential has fallen from 95 per cent in 1993, though the level of earnings has increased substantially over those 18 years. Their publication may reopen the debate on student fees - and incite some resentment among non-graduate taxpayers that they ...
[IMG: driveby comments] Sorry to visit old ground but a quick glance through the letters page of the Isle of Thanet Gazette this week (something which might not be possible for much longer) and wallop there's Labour bod, Cllr Ian Driver exuding indignation, not miffed! nor perturbed! that would be too mild, no the poor gent is positively "SHOCKED and appalled". Crikey! Why? because Cllr Bob Bayford had the temerity to ignore requests to speak at the recent animal export protest, now I don't know why this is so upsetting for Cllr Driver however from his letter I'd guess if ...
On August 27th 1940, in the middle of the night Gillingham became the target for the Luftwaffe. German bombers using the "Knicke-baum" or the moonlight reflecting on the estuary began their raid. Bombs fell upon the fire station, an incendiary hit the theatre where patrons were asked politely to leave, a butchers shop, A Co-op, a sub-post office, a newsagent and many residential houses were also struck. Twenty people (half of Gillingham's killed in the whole war.) were killed and twenty-two seriously injured. The worst damage was on the Maidstone and District bus station off Duncan road. The fire took ...
One of the constant refrains of the left is that the Government should be closing tax loopholes and going after tax dodgers rather than cutting public expenditure. Well, as this article in the Independent shows, not only is this happening but it is not as straightforward as is claimed. The paper says that Panama and the British Virgin Islands will be Chancellor George Osborne's next targets as he extends his crackdown on tax havens used by rich Britons to salt their assets away. They add that HM Revenue and Customs will aim to reach information-sharing agreements with Panama and the ...
Fraser Nelson's analysis of the latest net migration statistics is generally sound: He correctly identifies that "the inflow to Britain has stayed steady, but the number emigrating from Britain has fallen" (which many other journalists got wrong). He also states that "Cameron has a snowballs's chance in hell of meeting his target" of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands. That's true too. The immigration reforms brought in by the Coalition will already be deeply damaging on both an economic and humanitarian level. But they don't go far enough to cut net migration to such a low level. ConservativeHome's ...
This blog is sunning itself in Spain. It is not expecting to be summoned home due to riots or foreign wars. See you in a week PS There are a few treats lined up for the week. Don't get too excited mind... PPS Thanks to Applied Language Solutions for letting me use their flag. Bet they didn't think they'd end up being credited on a Lib Dem blog when they asked for link back mind...
Last week I spent a drizzly London afternoon wandering around Tracey Emin's retrospective show at the Hayward Gallery. Having seen several of her pieces individually before and otherwise mostly being exposed to her through (often outraged) media coverage I was sceptical of her practice and had filed her as someone who aimed for controversy and provocation over profundity and human experience. I came away from the exhibition impressed, deeply affected and entirely transformed in my opinion. Now with Emin again in the headlines after donating her neon piece 'More Passion' to the government art collection, a variety of commentators are ...
Yes, it's that time of the electoral cycle when councillors start to think about getting re-elected, and the enthusiastic start thinking about how they might get elected. In other words, time for Kickstart! Now you may be wondering, why is Mark talking about this? After all, there aren't elections in Mid Suffolk next year, and the County isn't up until 2013. So, obviously, I'm at a Kickstart event... in Perth... sitting next to Caron Lindsay. Alright, time to be honest. I am at a Kickstart event, in Perth, and I am sitting next to Caron Lindsay, but it is all ...
The number of parking tickets issued by Southwark Council has fallen from 121,724 last year to 100,615 this year. The phenomenon has also been seen in Lambeth 246,035 down to 201,743 now and Lewisham falling from 63,125 to 59,755. Why is this happening? Council officials tell me people are obeying parking regulations more which is great. But why the sudden change?
Sat 27th
11:10
Reminder -Weekend stuff - Spectacular tonight in Margate and Summer Squall in Ramsgate
[IMG: Blink and you ll miss it] My apologies to readers who think I have my finger on the pulse, also to the organisers of Blink in Margate and Summer Squall in Ramsgate for not mentioning these events earlier. [IMG: summer squall] Both Ramsgate and Margate people are trying hard to enhance and enrich our lives, a bit like the mission of Bignews Margate, anyhow Mrs Me has just reminded me, of the Blink Event, which if I can arrange a late night pass,will see me in Margate tonight soaking up a once in lifetime visual delight. Anyhow click for ...
I have written an article about the problems with adversarial family justice on the Huffington Post My own view is that the adversarial nature of family proceedings have made the whole process much harder to resolve and if any lesson is learnt from this that needs to be learnt. I have also been criticised for the behaviour of Elizabeth Watson. There are a large number of people in England who
We must thank ConservativeHome who have outlined very nicely how the Lib Dems are being very effective in government. They have given a breakdown of how the Lib Dems have stopped, prevented, or watered down some of the more right wing policies and pushed through some of the more green ones and made some policies ...
The Financial Times write Is Nick Clegg getting back on the front foot? where they suggest that Clegg's tactics are improving his own ratings as well as those of the Lib Dem Party: It is all part of Clegg's attempt to carve out more of a Lib Dem voice within the heart of government following his ...
Faction-fighting in Leicester's ruling Labour group is starting to cost the taxpayer dear. The Leicester Mercury reports that the city Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby is to rehire the city's former finance chief four months after the was paid off by the City Council I particularly like the quote from the former Labour leader of the council Veejay Patel: "I considered various factors before the redundancy was signed off, on the recommendation of officers. "In my opinion, he's the best local authority finance expert in the country and he's the right man to help put together the council's budget."In other words: ...
Forty Shades Of Grey: An Open Letter To A Stranger I would like to hand copies of this out. (tags: feminism) Reulsts of Mumsnet survey on rape (.pdf) - VERY VERY TRIGGERY Heartbreaking the number of times you see "it was my fault" and "nobody velieved me" and "it was in public, but nobody came to help" in this. (tags: rape) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Over at Total Politics, Martin Shapland, who started the retain campaign and petition, has written a good piece on the EDL ban. Worth a read, and he doesn't appeal to Mill. (It now seems the ban won't stop the EDL ... Continue reading →
I'll have a Monkees post up in a few hours, and a Doctor Who one up on Mindless Ones either tonight or tomorrow. Before I start, a quick apology to all the people who I currently owe emails to – Alex, Plok, David Summers and others. I can see them all there, telling me to ...
There will be another Liberal Democrat Voice poll of party members along shortly, including the regular questions about how people rate various figures in the party. It'll be particularly interesting to see how Chris Fox, Liberal Democrat Chief Executive, comes out of those given four major decisions he has been central to in the last few months: Introducing a new online database system for fighting elections, based on the VAN system used in many American and Canadian campaigns, and most notably by Barack ObamaMoving the party HQ from Cowley Street to Great George StreetDealing with the fallout of the loss ...
A beautifully high quality clip from Granada Television's Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club which ran from 1974 to 1977. This clip is a bit tacky and it has Bernard Manning in it, but we loved the priceless Colin Crompton and his catchphrase "The Comm-itt-taaaay".
From Stephen's Liberal Journal: Apparently there are a growing number of people whose submitted picture to Liberal Democrat Conference has been turned down by Greater Manchester Police (GMP). Over the last 24 hours I have heard of a number of them. Either the pale background wasn't to their liking, ie not white, off-white or grey, or the picture was in black and white or some other reason. Most of those I have heard of are not first time attendees. One is a former councillor, one is a prominent Liberal Youth member. But with just three weeks to go to conference ...
I'd rather be up in Londonderry/Derry right now like I was last August taking part in the Foyle Pride Parade. But As you can see from the league table below, every point, indeed every shot counts before we at North Down take on Markethill next week. As it is I'll be in Carrickfergus for the penultimate game of the season. However, I will be up in Northern Ireland's second city a day too late tomorrow delivering wedding presents ahead of a wedding in two weeks time. To everyone taking part in Foyle Pride today hope you have a good, safe ...
Just before going on holiday (yes,again), I was going to knock off a quick blog post explaining that while I think the EDL are a collection of vile and loathsome idiots, I don't agree with banning political marches. Then I discovered that Martin Shapland had written everything I was going to say and more over at Total Politics. So go and read his post instead. It's very good. Right. Where's the suncream...
I was Chair of the Tayside and Central Transport Partnership (TACTRAN) from 2007 and 2009 and maintain a close interest in transport matters across the region. I was therefore pleased to see the recent launch of an e-newsletter to update on TACTRAN developments with news about the development and implementation of the Regional Transport Strategy and other related activity. With the permission of the TACTRAN Director, you can download a copy of the newsletter by clicking on the headline above or by going to http://tinyurl.com/tactran.
Apparently there are a growing number of people whose submitted picture to Liberal Democrat Conference has been turned down by Greater Manchester Police (GMP). Over the last 24 hours I have heard of a number of them. Either the pale background wasn't to their liking, ie not white, off-white or grey, or the picture was in black and white or some other reason. Most of those I have heard of are not first time attendees. One is a former councillor, one is a prominent Liberal Youth member. But with just three weeks to go to conference people who will have ...
Scientists yesterday have called for junk food and sweetened beverages to be taxed. Whilst I agree obesity is a problem to be solved, taxing junk food and sweetened beverages is not the way to go. I fear that the UK government may well follow the advice, with the Conservatives pushing for it. The Conservatives love
Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have attacked plans to use vital NHS resources to create another unnecessary level of bureaucracy. They have spoken out about the creation of a Strategic Health Authority cluster which will cover the West Midlands and the East of England for the next two years. The off-shoot of the current SHAs is designed to oversee day to day delivery of care, build on the government's NHS reforms for the future and support staff. At the same time, SHAs will continue their work unchanged. But Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet Member for Health, Geoff Heathcock, believes it is an unnecessary ...
Nothing will stop me looking forward to the first Federal Conference I've attended in 12 years, but I can't describe to you how uncomfortable and physically sick it made me feel to receive an e-mail the other day which said:we have received information from Greater Manchester Police that you have been successfully accredited for the upcoming Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference 2011. Your conference pass will be posted to you in September. What business is it of the Police's that I attend my own Party's conference when there is airport style security scanners outside? This is way over the top and ...
There have been no posts for the past two weeks as I've been away on holiday. In that time both he "A" level and GCSE results have been published and the media have indulged in their annual orgy as to whether standards are really rising or so called "grade inflation" is making our young people's qualifications not worth the paper on which they're written. The present Education Secretary is encouraging this nonsense by his introduction of the so-called Ebacc into the debate. The Ebacc is a flawed and counter-productive concept for several reasons: 1. His prescription of what constitutes a ...
How to stop abortion (tags: choice poverty feminism) Judge to Gay Father: Kids Can't Stay With Your Husband (tags: sexuality) Their Names Were NOT Caylee – Romona Moore Legal Defense Fund Romona Moore was repeatedly raped and tortured over four days, murdered on the day police started looked for her, and found by her family, not by police. Her killers showed her off to others, and the police did not look for her. She was black. (tags: racism newyork)
Jason O Mahony » Blog Archive » 5 things that scare the crap out of me about US politics. 1. The presence of hate in politics. 2. Money matters too much. 3. Refusing to even listen to the other guy. 4. The micro managing of politics. 5. The disparaging of experience and learning. (tags: usa politics)
