Labour MPs step up campaign to ban cryptocurrency political donationsFollowing on from my previous posts about political parties being funded through cryptocurrencies, the Guardian reports that Downing Street has been urged to ban such donations by seven senior Labour MPs who chair parliamentary committees. The paper says that the committee chairs - Liam Byrne, Emily Thornberry, Tan Dhesi, Florence Eshalomi, Andy Slaughter, Chi Onwurah and Matt Western - called on the government to introduce a full ban in the forthcoming elections bill amid concern that cryptocurrency could be used by foreign states to influence politics: Government sources told the Guardian last year that ministers are looking at ways to ... (more) |
A Week in Politics #2This has been a bleak and unsettling week - not simply because of the events themselves, but because of how quickly tragedy, technology and geopolitics are being distorted to serve power and grievance. From the exploitation of a young woman's unnecessary death in the United States to bad-faith claims of censorship and terrifying rhetoric about Greenland, the common thread is a growing contempt for restraint, truth, and international law. For liberals, this is precisely the moment to insist on clarity, proportion, and principle. The Renee Nicole Good Incident: Tragedy Turned Into a Culture War Weapon The killing of Renee Nicole ... (more) |
Dixon Unity School in Leeds adjusts uniform policy to allow students to wear coats outdoors during cold snapEmbed from Getty ImagesThe Yorkshire Evening Post (or "Eenie Po!" as the newspaper sellers used to shout in York) wins our Headline of the Day Award. One of the crustier judges was heard to remark: "You mark my words, Colonel, this is a very slippery slope. Allow the children to wear coats in winter, and before you know it you're abolishing the school leopard." (more) |
Gypsy: Changes ComingThe two best bands to emerge from Leicester in the Sixties were Family and Gypsy. Family are the more celebrated today, but I've been told by someone who was on the scene in those days that there was a view in Leicester that Gypsy were the better band live. We've already hear Gypsy on this blog under their earlier name Legay. Changes Coming was released as a single in August 1971 and the band appeared on Top of the Pops. But the song was then removed from BBC playlists because some suit decided it was too political, with the result ... (more) |
Time for Lib Dems to stop using X/Twitter?Back in 2008 when I first joined, Twitter was a lifeline for me. I had Glandular Fever which knocked me out for months and it was incredibly isolating. But here was a community of people I could communicate with in real time, many of whom became friends in real life. There was the Formula 1 crowd. My life was made when then Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello replied to me. Of course there were the growing community of Lib Dems – and Jo Swinson was quickly recognised for her authentic use of the platform not just as a broadcast mechanism, but ... (more) |
Is Starmer poised for yet another u-turn?The Independent reports that rebel Kingston upon Hull MP, Karl Turner, is absolutely confident that the plan to scrap jury trials will be defeated. Turner told the paper that MPs would be "going stark raving mad" if the Tories had proposed the much-criticised plans and called for a meeting with the prime minister: "We are absolutely seething with the government, with the prime minister and with David Lammy and I've said to the prime minister I want to see him face to face on this single issue and I expect him to instruct Lammy to stop and think again," told ... (more) |
Tom Arms' World ReviewUSA – Minneapolis The shooting of young mother Renee Good this week in Minneapolis has further exposed the divisions in a fractured American society and President Trump's determination to exacerbate rather than heal them. Anyone who watches one of the many videos—or reads the eyewitness accounts—can only conclude that Ms Good was murdered by an ICE agent. She was clearly driving away from a confrontation with the agents who were in Minneapolis as part of a politically motivated round-up of ethnic Somalis. As she was turning away from the armed agents, one of them fired through the car window and ... (more) |
Parasites extending life of hosts (buy Peter Lidsky's book)I was interested to read in Peter Lidsky's book of the known behaviour of parasites in extending the life (if not the quality of life) of their hosts from time to time and I thought I would read up on this. I do recommend buying Peter's Book Aging: Why Does Evolution Kill. I have given the link to Amazon. I have, therefore, asked three LLMs to produce a summary of this behaviour and I copy (more) |