Tonight I had the pleasure of watching one of my musical heroes, Paul Simon, in action live at the Manchester Evening News Arena. And I will amuse fellow fans, and probably bore everyone else, by waxing lyrical about it now. I’ve been a fan of Paul Simon since I stole my Dad’s vinyl copy of Bridge Over Troubled Water when I was about 12. From Simon and Garfunkel I progressed to Paul’s solo work,
Today saw this bureaucrat head to Birmingham for English Candidates Committee, a group which does seem to be somewhat controversial at the moment. Accusations that we're being less than pro-active in moving selections forward, that we are defending an inefficient, time consuming system that discriminates against women and ethnic minorities, that we're not willing to discuss the issue openly, seem
...and the powers that be may be talking. But bugger that, the IDF needs something to do so they are practicing on anything that moves in Beit Hanoun, Gaza: The town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip has been under siege since early Wednesday. The Israeli army says it is trying to root out Palestinian rocket squads, who fire from Gaza into Israel. Ibrahim al-Za'anin, a 55-year-old Palestinian Authority employee, describes conditions for him and his family in his hometown . Lest we forget why the world sometimes seems out to get us. ...
The votes are in and the results are out for the federal committee elections (the interim peers panel result is still to come). Congratulations to the winners and commiserations to the losers, and thanks to Colin Rosenstiel for his sterling work getting the votes counted today. You can see the transfers, surpluses, exclusions and all [...]
The BBC reports that in the US an ex-defence adviser attacks Bush: [Richard] Perle says in hindsight he would not have backed invasion It seems to me that this was one of those neo-cons specially brought in to sell the war against all the evidence. Three days before elections too! That's gratitude for you.
The crossroads of Adys Rd, Crystal Palace Rd and East Dulwich Rd has been a concern to local people for some time, particularly parents. The junction serves a primary school, open space, playground and swimming pool so there are always loads of people wanting to cross the road. The green man phase is only 5secs long [...]
Well done Norwich and sorry Sunderland. There is nothing worse than a long journey home when you have been robbed of a result when you have dominated the match. I was immensely pleased with the 1-0 win from Norwich in what was a gritty defensive display. Clearly today Norwich fans saw the value of having a £3m striker, give Earnshaw a chance and he will score. However, I have every sympathy with the Sunderland fans who behaved themselves brilliantly well and I am immensely grateful to those Sunderland fans who bought me and my friend Richard lager in ...
Was anyone perchance listening to Radio 4 at about quarter to seven this evening? There was a cover on of David Bowie's "Modern Love" which was fantastic but what caught my ear was that in introducing it, whoever the presenter was seemed to be saying that the band had some connection with Oxford Brookes University? Did anyone hear any more of the intro (I was just hopping into the car and trying to get past the traffic heading to the local Papist burning ceremony so not really concentrating until the song itself caught my ear.
Getting lots of feedback from residents (following my recent consultation letter to adjacent householders) about the Roseangle Recycling Centre proposal; vast majority favourable but I am feeding into Waste Management any concerns & issues. I've agreed with the department to touch base with them early on next week to review the feedback and take a view as to how to proceed taking into account everyone's views. Will keep everyone advised on this – meantime the department has indicated to me: “The primary concern would appear to be with the lack of parking spaces for local residents. The proposed ...
In case you missed the Lib Dem green tax switch street stall in Crouch End a while back, we've now done a film about the party's plans to tax pollution more and people less (ie yes to green taxes - and yes to cutting income tax in return). Running time: 75 seconds
Podcast coming soon, just as soon as: I fix my PC, which is the only thing that can get the audio off my minidisc recorder I work out how to cover the fact that I was on one march with a bunch of Trots, while every single other Liberal Democrat was on another march. I have some [...]
The same chart as in the previous post but now with GDP and Average Earnings since 1968. - both at current prices, and both courtesy of the Economic History Network.
At the moment to disqualify a doctor requires evidence beyond reasonable doubt (the criminal standard). However, to remove children from parents requires evidence on the balance of probabilities. I am aware of a number of cases where totally rubbishy medical opinion has been used to remove children from parents. I am to some extent persuaded of the need of stronger standards of proof for
The door opened and in she swept walking straight past me not noting my eligibility and good looks and what else I bragged about in the previous post and sat down not even sending a glance my way. Then suddenly we were introduced, our eyes met, she rose, I rose, we moved closer together and shook hands. Lynne Featherstone shooks hands with me! Lynne was addressing our (Epping Forest Lib Dem)
Tim Worstall argues that "our civilisation is disappearing down the plughole, sucked into a vortex of our own gross stupidity". His evidence? The Commons is infested with mice. Fair enough, old, Victorian, building, a thousand or two people wandering around, lots of cafeterias and dining rooms, lots of people using take away trays to eat at their desks and so on: sure, there will be mice around. It's even rumoured that the mice have become immune to poison and the pest control people doubt that they'll be able to eradicate them. Now, given the accumulated human wisdom that is ...
Stuart Rothenberg and Nathan Gonzales on Political Wire provide a guide to the "Races to Watch" on US election night on Tuesday. Bear in mind that we are five hours ahead, so the fun starts at midnight (our time) by watching for three results in Kentucky, which should show the shape of things to come for the House of Representatives. No doubt, BBC News 24 and Sky News will be covering the
Greg Barker, Tory MP for Bexhill and Battle, hit the headlines last week after it was revealed that his marriage has broken-up, and he is having a gay affair with his interior designer. What should be the liberal response to such a story? Well, decide for yourselves... One of the following quotes is from Mary Verrell, the Lib Dem candidate at the last general election; the other is from the
The linked story from The Telegraph shows Ofcom seeming to act. Hopefully this will be more than Sabre Rattling.
Back in the 1950s the US Government covertly funded the arts in a kind of cultural cold war, to show the rest of the world it's intellectual and artistic values. For example, the Boston Symphony Orchestra was sent on a celebrated tour of Europe. The CIA even funded expressionist artists like Jackson Pollock through front organisations. Now, fast-forward fifty years and the US is trying to export
Apologies for not updating this blog recently. One of the reasons is that my iBook laptop has been in the Apple garage for repairs over the last fortnight, and I just got it back yesterday. The main recent news is the Full Council meeting last Wednesday. For those who like their politics loud and confrontational, I'm sure it was an enormous success. Personally, I kept my head down, voted with the Lib Dem whip, and looked forward to asking some searching supplementaries on my written questions. But it was not to be. The sturm ...
Our prayers are with Pastor Haggard. We want to urge on the coming of the Lord, not the indulgencies of Ted with a gay prostitute. Extract from the Guardian: Mr Jones [a male prostitue from Colorado] told reporters he went public because of his anger at Mr Haggard for preaching against homosexuality and gay marriage while pursuing a clandestine relationship with him for three years. He said that the pastor paid to have sex nearly once a month, and that he snorted methamphetamines to heighten the experience.If Ted confesses his sin and stops persecuting gay ...
Via Daily Kos, it seems that the US Government may have published instructions on how to build a nuclear weapon on the Internets (whether you can find it with The Google isn’t yet known). The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts who have [...]
It doesn't take a genius to work out the David Cameron is a bit of a hypocrite over Iraq. Dave' buddies on the Tory benches were the ones lampooning Charles Kennedy when he opposed going to war in Iraq. They were the ones who were calling for immediate action against Iraq even when senior Labour ministers still had reservations, they were, in short, the biggest supporters of the war in Iraq. There were some notable exceptions with a handful of Tories resisting pressure from their party bosses to support the war, but a higher percentage of ...
The American administration has done some dumb things, along which invading Iraq stands tall. Although the President declared “Mission accomplished” soon afterwards, it’s fair to say there are still a few sceptics on both sides of the Atlantic. One of the US Government’s plans to win people over was to release onto teh internets a [...]
My latest article is about climate change - you can read it here.
Last night I went to Theydon Bois (pronounced boys). I had often see the name on the tube map one stop before the end of the Central Line but not visited before. The journey took about one and three quarter hours - and the chair of the local Epping Lib Dems came to pick me up at the station - for which I was grateful as it was pitch black and country when I got off the tube! I was there to speak
the Today programme reported the arrival of the world's largest ship the Emma Maersk, due in Felixstowe around 5.30pm. 397 metres long, loaded with 45,000 tonnes of coal-produced Chistmas tat from China. I'm with Lovelock. We're done for.
Visited the Cyrenians in Soapwork Lane near Bell Street/Meadowside recently about a couple of issues including the lack of a litter bin near their entrance. Took this up with the City Council and Waste Management has now responded positively:"Hi Fraser, we are arranging for a pole mounted bin to be erected in this area."
Has anyone else seen this campaign designed to tie in with the march tomorrow? BLACKOUT LONDON 4th November 2006 Starting at Sunset4.30 pm to 7.30 pm You are invited to take part in the largest demonstration of People Power that London has ever seen on Saturday 4th November 2006, by turning off all your lights, and switching off all your non-essential electrical equipment at Sunset. Climate Change is already compromising the water supply, crops, habitat and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide, and threatens to undermine the Global Economy within a few decades, as well as creating waves of Climate ... | < | November 2006 | > | ||||
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