The latest installment of the Octothorpe podcast has a couple of points on counting Hugo nominations raised by Alison Scott, which I'd like to address here. First off, at 18:53, Alison expresses the concern that under the counting system (known as "EPH, short for "E Pluribus Hugo"), "if I nominate anything else, it reduces the chance that the thing I love gets on the ballot. And that seems to me to be the big downside of EPH." The podcast is kind enough to link to the explanation of EPH that I wrote in 2017. It is of course perfectly true ...
First page of second chapter, with illustrations: Kim Keller Lorsque s'ouvre le premier volume d'Aldébaran, Kim Keller est une jeune fille âgée de 13 ans, écolière à la basic school d'Arena Blanca. Vingt-quatre albums plus tard, à la fin du troisième tome de Retour sur Aldébaran, le temps a passé : Kim a 26 ans. Elle est devenue une femme accomplie, confrontée à un destin hors du commun et dont elle n'aurait jamais osé rêver. Au départ, rien ne laissait supposer qu elle vivrait les folles aventures dans lesquelles Leo l'a précipitée. Ce même Leo était loin de se douter ...
All three Parliaments are now fully back in session this week. Lib Dem highlights include Rupert Redesdale's Lords debate on farming on Tuesday and it's a busy week for Wendy Chamberlain who has an adjournment debate on Long Covid on Wednesday, a Westminster Hall debate on global vacccine access on Thursday and a Private Members' Bill on Friday. Tim Farron also has a debate. So what's happening? Westminster Monday has Defence questions, the remaining stages of the Nuclear Energy Finance Bill which basically gives the Government the right to finance new nuclear power stations. You can find out more in ...
Here's the latest running tally of seats changing hands in principal authority council by-elections held since the last May round of local elections.
Jane Dodds has said that the Welsh Council elections in May offer an opportunity for voters who feel let down by the Conservatives to send them a message by electing hard-working Liberal Democrats, just like they did in North Shropshire. Writing in the County Times, she highlighted the failure of the Conservative Government to meet the needs of farmers and highlights growing support for the Liberal Democrats. Time and time again on the doorstep we heard the sheer anger of voters, many of whom had voted Conservative for decades, that the Government simply doesn't care about rural areas. In contrast ...
They say that you shouldn't believe anything until it has been officially denied. Education Secretary Nadim Zahawi has been doing the Sunday media telling us all that the Government "absolutely" has no plans to stop sending out free lateral flow tests to people. This is news to our health spokesperson Daisy Cooper who says that Ministers have already said to her that they would. In Scotland, we are asked to test before we meet anyone, so my family of three is currently going through a box of seven tests every week. Everyone should be testing a couple of times a ...
Sat, 12:56: William Hartnell would have been 116 years old today. Which is remarkably young when you stop and think about it. https://t.co/LQRZFg9YbX Sat, 14:48: RT @jayrosen_nyu: "...It was hard not to see this as just another tiresome day of skirmishes in the ongoing fight between the Republican Pa... Sat, 15:51: Million Dollar Baby https://t.co/dfKtRJ4ISD Sat, 16:05: RT @evanewashington: some say the MCU isn't realistic but what about in Black Panther when Killmonger wanted the richest, most advanced cou... Sat, 18:47: Saturday reading https://t.co/WitfR23EKM Sat, 20:48: It's not just the statues, Belgium must atone for what it did in Congo ...
Daisy Cooper has devoted a huge amount of time to pushing the Government to doing more to help leaseholders who have been caught in an impossible situation since the Grenfell Tower fire which killed 72 people. They face massive bills for additional fire safety measures, including insulation, firebreaks, balcony safety as well as cladding and the Government is doing precious little to support them. Yesterday she spoke to Sky News about this after a leaked letter from Michael Gove suggested that the Government might introduce a limited grant scheme for cladding replacement. She made clear that this was inadequate. Today ...
It has reached the stage when we are not just asking if Boris Johnson partied while we were locked down in our own homes, but how many parties did he hold? The Independent reports that the Prime Minister now stands accused of personally attending a drinks party in the garden of No 10 during the first lockdown. They say that Downing Street did not immediately deny a report in the Sunday Times alleging that the Prime Minister attended the potentially rule-breaking event with wife Carrie in May 2020. This is presumably because the newspaper has cited three sources stating Mr ...
Capital Hill one year on In his inaugural address President Joe Biden said he wanted to be a unifying figure. For the past year he has sought to do that by largely refraining from attacking Donald Trump and his "election lie" and by staying aloof from the congressional inquiry into the Capitol Hill Riots. This week he climbed off the fence and took off the gloves with this speech in the Rotunda at Capitol Hill. He accused his predecessor of "spreading a web of lies" that led to the 6 January assault. He lamented that the "threats to the constitution ...
GetLocalSupport.org is connecting vulnerable people with volunteers approved by volunteer organisations. It is currently in a test phase and although it will be rolled out across the country in time, it is currently offering support only to vulnerable people based in Dundee. It is being supported by Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action. Some of the things people can request are : + A conversation with someone+ Pick up shopping+ Pick up a prescription+ Walk my dog+ Digital skills assistance You can read more at www.GetLocalSupport.org and make a request for assistance there too.
