Julie Covington's version of this Alice Cooper song reminds me of a foggy day at Rugby station just before Christmas 1977, but I realise that may not be true for everybody. That year Covington had a number one with Don't Cry for me Argentina and starred in the highly regarded TV series Rock Follies.
BBC News, as so often these days, wins our Headline of the Day Award.
Today's problem is not Maduro. The illegitimate Venezuelan dictator is now out of the game. However, the legitimate government is not in the game either- at least not yet. An optimistic student of realpolitik might take the view that the Americans have learned from Iraq and are not making the mistake of destroying all the Chavista state, which they did with the Iraqi Baathist state after the fall of Saddam Hussein, before Venezuelan democracy can be restored. Since we regard the opposition as the legitimate authorities, and they have not complained about the arrest of Maduro, The US can legitimately ...
(Photo Credit – Liverpool Echo) On Tuesday 6th January I attended a meeting of the Council's Neighbourhood Committee to consider a report about resurfacing on Queens Drive. This was on a report about a £1.8 million project that had been approved by the Council's Cabinet and would not have been scrutinised at all if I had not raised issues relating to it. I regret to say that the Labour members of the Committee totally ignored what I had to say. Regular readers of this blog and those who live in South Liverpool will be well aware of the area that ...
The British government has been scrambling to keep up with the outrageous behaviour of the rogue superstate which happens to be our main ally and with which we claim to have a 'special relationship'. Keir Starmer says that he had no warning of the attack on Venezuela which suggests that he has clean hands but no influence. A subject much closer to Britain's long term vital interests are forthcoming negotiations with the Trump Administration on technology. These talks will determine whether Britain is to be a digital and AI colony or retains some vestiges of sovereignty. They affect our freedom ...
Over the past week, something alarming has been unfolding at British airbases. At least ten US C-17 cargo aircraft, two AC-130 gunships, and specialised intelligence aircraft have arrived at RAF Fairford and RAF Mildenhall, with reports suggesting elite special operations helicopters may also be present. This isn't routine. The timing, immediately following Trump's Venezuela operation, raises urgent questions about what Britain is facilitating from our soil. Ed Davey has rightly described Nicolás Maduro as "a brutal and illegitimate dictator" – but the Liberal Democrat leader also warned that "unlawful attacks jeopardise safety for all." That second part is crucial. Trump's ...
On 4 April 1949, 12 nations signed a treaty to establish collective security, combat totalitarianism, and strengthen transatlantic ties: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. That treaty came to be known as the North Atlantic Treaty, now more commonly known as NATO. Now, 77 years later, that same alliance is under threat. The United States of America, under the rule of Donald Trump, is threatening to take control of Greenland, while US officials have refused to rule out military action. This is truly the darkest timeline. ...
Nation Cymru reports that a group considering whether controversial plans to build a network of tall pylons across Wales is necessary has been told that such plans are only being considered because of a failure to move ahead with offshore energy generation. The news site says that Dr Jonathan Dean, a trustee of the countryside charity CPRW, has written a lengthy submission to the Independent Advisory Group on Future Electricity Grid for Wales in which he argues that a new transmission grid from north to south Wales is wholly unnecessary: He states: "In our experience, the main issue the public ...
Ten years ago, I got myself a Fitbit and started walking 10,000 steps each day. And, apart from a brief, food poisoning induced, hiatus in February 2016, I haven't missed a day since. The Fitbit kept me on track, reminding me to walk, and congratulating me when I reached my target, which feels like the right sort of motivational tool for someone like me. The calendar on my smartphone reminds me of events to attend, and sometimes I'm even prepared for them. But my organisational capability has, up until now, relied on my fairly reliable memory. And, whilst it is ...
Patients waiting up to three years for heart care Worst November on record at A&E More than 800,000 still stuck on an NHS waiting list Greene responds to Constance breaking ministerial code Patients waiting up to three years for heart care Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has raised concerns over long waits for cardiology services as he revealed new data showing patients waiting more than three years for care. A freedom of information request submitted by Scottish Liberal Democrats shows: At least one patient in NHS Lothian has waited more than three years for a cardiology outpatient appointment. 611 ...
My interest in Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at Stratford East and obsession with the original London production of Sweeney Todd meet in this video. And it's all true. Here's R.B. Marriott reviewing the first West End performance of Make Me An Offer for The Stage (24 December 1959): Sheila Hancock, who originally made a personal hit in the production, repeats her success, and on the first night stopped the show with her singing of "It's Sort of Romantic". Miss Hancock is now unlikely to be in need of work in the theatre, but I hope that her originality, talent and ...
Other transport modes such as aviation and railways have become almost accident free as a result of improved safety measures and better technology. Yet, motor vehicles have moved in the opposite direction. The long term improvement in casualty figures as a result of, for example, seat belt legislation and reduction in drunk driving has stalled because cars are becoming more dangerous - not for their occupants but for those outside them. So writes Christian Wolmar in his latest Substack post. He says road casualty deaths in the UK have remained annually at around 1600-1700, but the number of pedestrian fatalities ...
Like most of us, I really like traveling, and I am not talking about simply going on holidays, that's easy, but if possible, moving abroad, learning the language and challenging ourselves. I had a chance to do it quite a few times, and each experience taught me a lot and shaped me as a person. I remember so well that, when I was studying in Croatia, I had to regularly "check-in" at the Police Station as a foreign student. Yes, it was necessary, however it felt uncomfortable and at times, intimidating. Although many of us might be a bit short ...
Warmth. Welling deeper... My true nature surfaces; Public shame awaits
In the first decade of the twentieth century the relationship between the British and German Empires fell apart. Britain had tacitly supported the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership, to the point of sacrificing the Kingdom of Hanover in 1866. This friendly relationship reached its apogee with the short reign of Kaiser Friedrich III in 1888. Liberal, open minded and generally pro British, by virtue of his marriage to Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, Vicky, it seemed that Germany under the new Kaiser was poised to become a progressive ally of the British Empire that would spread democratic rule and liberal ...
Two Conservative police and crime commissioners - Marc Jones in Lincolnshire and Alison Hernandez in Cornwall and Devon - have announced that they are leaving the party and will serve out their terms as Independents. The interesting thing is that neither of those news reports give the impression that the PCC is about to jump ship to Reform. Both are in their third term as PCC, which means they joined the Conservative Party before it abandoned Conservatism to became an English Nationalist party. So perhaps these resignations are symptomatic of a flight of sensible people from the party (though a ...
Liberal internationalism is under pressure from two directions. On one side sits an authoritarian right that treats power as its own justification. On the other side sits a left that increasingly defines foreign policy by opposing the West rather than by supporting democracy, human rights, and self-determination. Neither approach offers a serious answer to a world shaped by war, authoritarianism, and competing imperialisms. Some of the most serious challenges to camp politics have come not from liberalism, but from dissident strands of the socialist left that insist imperialism is not a Western monopoly. That insight warrants serious consideration. Consistency is ...
A debate has been ensuing on X/Twitter about Programmed aging in which unsurprisingly the question as to what is programmed aging came up. I thought I would ask chatGPT, Claude and Gemini for an answer. These are the answers: The prompt was: "what is the definition of programmed aging?" chatGPT: Programmed aging is the idea that aging is an evolved, genetically regulated process—more like a
Review of "Liberal Crusader – The Life of Sir Archibald Sinclair" by Gerard J. De Groot published by Hurst and Company. In a companion post, Sir Ed Davey summarises the role of Sir Archibald. I have recently read "Liberal Crusader" about the life of Sir Archibald Sinclair. Gerard De Groot provides an engaging tale which leaves one with great admiration for the nobility and hard work of this leader of the Liberal party from 1935 to 1945. The first chapters give a very personal picture of the subject's early life – an orphan, on the one hand, and the heir ...
This is a companion post to a review of "Liberal Crusader – The Life of Sir Archibald Sinclair". Sir Ed Davey recently spoke to Liberal Democrat Voice and provided this tribute to Sir Archibald Sinclair and his colleagues: In my office in Westminster I have pictures of every single Liberal leader going back to the 19th Century and Archibald (Sinclair) is there – and it's quite humbling actually that people like Archibald Sinclair kept the Liberal party in the dark years and we should pay tribute to them, people who flew the Liberal flag when it was difficult, you've got ...
The Guardian reports that four local authorities where Reform UK has a majority or is the biggest party are proposing to hike council tax by the maximum allowed to them of 5%, despite promises during the local election to reduce taxes. These are Derbyshire, North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire and Leicestershire county councils. The paper says that in addition, a 5% council tax rise has not been ruled out by leaders at Reform-led Lancashire and Kent county councils, as well as in Warwickshire: The increase in council tax in Derbyshire is expected to raise about £29m this financial year and will ...
Lib Dems demand release of Venezuela legal advice as Starmer again refuses to say whether Trump breached international law Cole-Hamilton: Scotland deserves better than old divisions Cole-Hamilton responds to World Cup bank holiday Lib Dems raise alarm after Conservative Shadow Minister hints they would cut free bus passes for over-60s in Wales Lib Dems demand release of Venezuela legal advice as Starmer again refuses to say whether Trump breached international law The Lib Dems are calling on the Government to publish any legal advice it has received on breaches of international law by the United States in its strikes on ...