I was struck today about how quiet the streets were. I had to leave the house to deal with my livestock but in the morning I was not having to dodge the rush hour traffic. It was the same this afternoon. People were staying at home to watch the Queen's funeral. I too watched it once the animals were fed. But it was a strange experience of usually busy roads standing silent here in Sunniside.
These days Noam Chomsky cuts a rather sad figure as one whose deep opposition to US imperialism has blinded him to the realities of Russian imperialism. But it wasn't always like that. Here he is interviewed for Bryan Magee's BBC2 philosophy series Men of Ideas in 1978. The quality of the conversation makes me weep for the glory days of public service broadcasting, even if the opening titles lead you to expect a Monty Python sketch. Magee's opening precis of Chomsky's ideas is a masterpiece in itself. I have linked just to that portion of the programme, but the whole ...
Over the last few years, I've been able to see the Lib Dem policy process from a number of different angles. As a policy activist, I've pushed through changes to our platform, including writing our proposal to remove limitations on spousal income and social security support for migrants, our policy to promote funding for and [...]
In passing, I thought it was a good day for: 1) The organisers. Res ipsa loquitur. 2) The pall bearers. Get it right and no-one notices; one slip and you're forever notorious... 3) Justin Welby. Not a natural orator, he rose to the occasion. And it was a bad day for: 1) Princess Pinocchio. Just [...]
Music for a Queen's funeral. Waterloo Sunset is very English (if not British), feels elegiac given the redevelopment of London in recent years and has a claim to be the best popular song written during her reign.
