As well as being Shirley Williams' first husband, Bernard Williams was arguably the foremost British moral philosopher of the late 20th century. I met him round about 1980, while I was doing my philosophy degree at York. We had a philosophy society and would ask eminent philosophers for dinner and a bit of discussion afterwards. Bernard Williams was one of the guests I recall, and another was a young American called Daniel Dennett. You can hear Bernard Williams above discussing linguistic philosophy with Bryan Magee. Click on the arrow to play a short clip I have selected, or go to ...
Those strange days in the later Eighties and early Nineties when social workers took children into care to protect them from 'Satanic ritual abuse' (SRA) are revisited in the December issue of Fortean Times. The magazine reprints an article on the subject by Mike Dash that, judging by the references, first appeared in 1991. It takes us through the various alleged outbreaks of SRA, including Rochdale, Nottingham and Orkney, before looking at the factors behind the rise of the concept: The key role in convincing social workers of the reality of SRA* seems to have been played by three tiny ...
A local party press release brings the news: Popular local MP Helen Morgan has been unanimously re-selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for North Shropshire at the next general election after a vote of constituency members. This comes as the party gears up for a general election which is likely to be in May or October next year. At the 2021 by-election, Helen Morgan won 17,957 votes to the Conservatives on 12,032. Labour came third with 3,868 votes - setting North Shropshire up for a two-horse race between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in 2024. The news was welcomed by local ...
As a society, we're great at fixing problems and getting things done. But we have an atrociously short attention span. We can deal with the urgent stuff like nobody's business. Yet we absolutely suck at things that require a sustained response over a longer period of time. We need to get better. And quickly. In the absence of a long-term vision for the future of humanity, we lurch from one challenge to another. Trying to keep the show on the road for a little while longer. War and conflict. Poverty and hunger. Inequality. Corruption. Homelessness. Dangerous dogs. Declining mental health. ...
The BBC reports on some scathing criticism by the Senedd's Equality and Social Justice Committee of the Welsh Government's strategy for tackling child poverty. According to the article, the committee decided that the strategy lacks ambition, and said blaming the UK government does "not help". They are also critical of the decision to scrap targets: A target to eradicate child poverty in Wales by 2020 was scrapped in 2016. According to figures quoted by the committee, 28% of children living in Wales lived in homes where the income of their household was less than 70% of the UK average between ...
Today we have the first King's Speech in 70-ish years. The spectacle, with all its eccentric and ancient traditions, opens the new session of Parliament. The speech sets out the legislation the Government hopes to introduce this year. Those of liberal and progressive heart are not going to hear much that they like in today's measure which is likely to be a horrible parade of culture war nasties and sops to the most right wing base. So let's talk about what we think a decent Government should be doing. What measures would you like to see to improve life in ...
Fraser's weekly ward surgeries take place later today and every Tuesday during school term time. They are as follows : Tuesdays at 5pm prompt - Blackness Library Tuesdays at 5.45pm prompt - Ancrum Road Primary School All residents welcome - no appointment necessary.
