For all those legions of you who have missed my wittering over the past week: rest assured, I am not dead, I was merely up in Edinburgh at the Fringe, watching 18 shows in 5 days. But to make up for it, I will now insist on reviewing everything I saw whilst there over the next few days. As much for my own reference as anybody else's. But hey, it's August, there's really not much else to talk
I've put up the final draft of Newsroom on Windows Skydrive - a script I've been working on for the past six months. It revolves around the relationship between politicians and the media (primarily from the media's viewpoint). Feedback always welcome on Oberon2001@gmail.com, no matter how negative. Download the script here.
Responding to comments made by George Bush’s adviser Frederick Kagan about the British strategy in Iraq, Liberal Democrat Leader Menzies Campbell said: “It is high time anyone in the US stopped trying to tell the British how to run our own defence policy. “That policy is made in Britain and should be based on our moral responsibility towards the young men and women of our armed forces to prevent further needless casualties. “No one can accuse us of cutting and running after four and a half years of mounting casualties. “If the US had made proper provision for post-conflict Iraq, ...
A report in the Observer suggests the next Tory policy review to report will recommend that parents should be allowed to set up their own schools to rival those of the local authority. In areas where schools are performing badly, the report adds, councils would have no power to stop them. Already the Lib Dem blogosphere is voicing its disapproval. Liberal Leslie snorts: of course it doesn’t mention if the schools will be able to have entrance exams and parents “top up” their schools receiving state money.But it has always seemed to me that Liberals should be supportive of such ...
I am trying to decide whether we should be worried or pleased about this report from the Independent on Sunday: Over 500,000 names on the DNA database are false, misspelt or incorrect, the Government has admitted ... Thousands asked to give their details to police upon arrest have given false names or alternative spellings of their names. In other cases, mistakes have been made in the spelling of names. Some files include names belonging to someone else, or names of people who do not exist. Altogether there are 550,000 "replica" files.For the Liberal Democrats, Lynne Featherstone is quote as saying: ...
Further to article in Bucks Fress Press 24th August 2007, on a call to save the traditional pubs. We in the Ryemead ward have two pubs which we are not sure of what is happening to them, the Red Lion on Corner of Cock Lane has now been closed for six months, during this time the outside has had a face lift but we still cannot find out when this will be re-opening. The second pub Halfway House on London Road, has now been closed and fenced of for over a year.It seem that the car park has been used ...
I read with interest in the BFP recently the reasons for refusing build of 5 homes in Hazlemere opposite the Cedars Residential Homes . I am familiar with the area and the ongoing issues re development of the site and sympathise with any councillor and ward faced with the dilemma of inappropriate developments . However, I have to comment there is a need for the District to build mixed dwelling homes in our rural villages and out of town Brownfield Sites to sustain the local communities and meet the expected new government housing targets. We can’t keep dumping development in ...
A welcome to the world for Noah Maxfield - who arrived in the world at about 5.30, 3 weeks early, after a 36 hour Labour. 2.85kg and 48cm long. All well, Noah and Dani apparently curled up together and proud father Ed off to get some sleep. Welcome to Noah Maxfield Facebook group
It might be because it’s a rather rough period for me, but I thought of scribbling something about 'positive people', all those Pollyanna thinkers who repeat the nonsensical mantras of ‘looking on the bright side’ and ‘having a positive attitude’. (I suppose it ties in with my post on being nice). I believe there’s a fundamental misconception at the core of this pseudo-philosophy. They seem to
The Observer today carries a small paragraph section reporting that the Conservatives will allow parents to set up their own schools and force local authorities to help fund them, of course it doesn’t mention if the schools will be able to have entrance exams and parents “top up” their schools receiving state money. We will see soon when the policy review panel reports back. Also in the observer Nick Clegg gets a whole page to himself on the new Lib Dem immigration plans.
Welcome to our weekly round up of the top Lib Dem blog posts of the last seven days (19th - 25th August). As is our tradition, we’ll review the top seven click-throughs from the Lib Dem Blogs aggregator, together with a quintet of posts hand-picked from the cream of the week. Except, I’ve made it [...]
Lucrezia has asked on my previous Second Life post why I uninstalled the application so quickly. I was going to just post a reply on the original post, but the reasons are so fundamental to an enjoyable game experience, I've expanded it to a full post. So here they are: "Orientation Island" - Orientation Island is any newbie's first experience of Second Life, and it does not impress. The
Storyville on BBC4 has been responsible for broadcasting some of the finest political documentaries on British television. Examples have been the superb behind-the-scenes story of the Bill Clinton presidential campaign and, more recently, the Bobby Kennedy story, which I blogged about here. The two or three, sometimes four hour, format of these documentaries is unmatched on British television.
Whenever I go into W.H.Smith, whether it be locally or at Heathrow airport or, yesterday, at a northern motorway services, the person at the check-out asks: "What you like some chocolate?" Excuse me. I have selected the items I wanted from your huge range which includes numerous chocolate items. I came into W.H. Smith because you have, for 217 years, had a matchless reputation for supplying
The last week weeks have flown by with a mixture of politics, case work and study – my MA thesis has to be finished, bound and submitted my the week of 3rd Sept. It’s that last final hurdle of checking and altering – luckily my Mum is a great proof-reader – I’d be lost without her. Our eldest son is here to for a quick visit – it’s good for us all to be together for a change. Next week is back
Residents have brought to my attention that there used to be a dog waste bin at the end of the tunnel going underneath Riverside Avenue from the Perth Road, near to the boundary with Invergowrie. It has disappeared and I have therefore asked the City Council's Environmental Health and Trading Standards Department to replace it.
Just like we did last year we’re hosting an informal Lib Dem blog meet in Brighton. This year it’s in conjunction with LibDemVoice.org and LibDemBlogs.co.uk. We’ll be in Brighton’s Evening Star pub from 7pm onwards, and warmly welcome bloggers and friends to join us for the evening or part of it. The pub is very close to the railway station, and just over half a mile from the conference centre. People are welcome to join us whether or not they are registered for conference. Further details available over on Lib Dem Voice.
Watching the World Athletic Championships on TV, I am bemused why athletes, particularly the some of the more petite female ones, are forced to wear a giant sticker with an enormous number on their front and their back, which are always flimsily held on with safety pins, and then have to put further stickers on each leg showing what lane they are in. Surely they could come up with a better system or some smaller labels. It's like labelling overkill.
This makes the point very well indeed. Well done to Tim Ireland at Bloggerheads for this piece of work. I note too that a Facebook group has been set up too add support to the calles to grant asylum to the Iraqi interpreters. It only has 35 members at present. I would urge any Facebookers to join this group and show their support.
I hope not - and I know how badly the media can mangle the real message of what people say by selective quoting... DNA database chaos with 500,000 false or misspelt entries - Independent Online Edition > UK Politics: Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, called for an urgent investigation and questioned why so much inaccurate information was on the system. "If the database is to be of any use, then it has to be accurate. DNA data is open to abuse and this could allow people who mean no good to do no good. ... 
At the beginning of this week I was a guest on Vox Politix on 18 Doughty Street and one of topics up for discussion (in fact, the main topic) was the perceived rise in violent crime* in the UK, in the wake of a knife attack on the previous Friday, and ministers' and Tory plans to tackle it. I felt embarrassed at the time (and still do slightly now) that I couldn't come up with some catchy, simple
And so the week comes to a close: Seeking respite from the hurly burly of the film festival, I go for a walk beside Rutland Water. I soon find myself in country I do not know well and the shore becomes unusually rocky for this part of the world.Eventually I come across a fellow wearing one of those hooded tops that are all the rage nowadays; he happens to have a chess set and challenges me to a game. I rather drift in the opening, and he soon obtains a strong attack. However, he rather overreaches himself and I find ...
This morning's Observer contains a plea from a government health minister to ban video clips glamorising gang culture from internet sites such as YouTube. Ivan Lewis made his call after two local gangs, the Croxteth Crew and the Norris Green Strand Gang - also known as the Nogzy - posted online video of members touting guns. Clips from other gangs, such as the MI6 from Manchester and Soi from Birmingham also feature prominently on the site. 'These videos are clearly an extremely malign and dangerous influence on young people,' said Ivan Lewis, the Health Minister, who has responsibility for intergenerational ...
Dr Johnson (a sort of proto-Dobson) famously stated that when a man is tired of London he is tired of life. On the other hand, when a man is tired of Hooting Yard (not that such a mental aberration is remotely credible, of course) there are other Yards he can investigate. I have just returned from a stay in Whitby, where, among other Yards, I was happy to spot both Dark Entry Yard and Arguments Yard. Whitby is all Yards and Steps. Of the latter, the one hundred and ninety-nine steps leading up to the ruined Abbey are the most ...
I used to regard Alan Titchmarsh as a bearable TV presenter. Until, that is, he told us that he is a raving monarchist and Tory supporter. I now switch to anything, including "BidUp TV" to avoid the smug so-and-so. Roxy Music. Wonderful. Got their first album. Know the name of their drummer. Virginia Plain was one of the most superb pop creations ever. But then I found out that Bryan Ferry's 
The Guardian yesterday reported that police in Iran are enforcing "correct" hairstyles: The arrested men have been forced to identify their barbers and get fresh haircuts. They have then had to return to police stations for officers to decide whether their hairstyles are acceptable. One can imagine the reception from the Old Bill: "Suits you, sir!" Police in Iran have now been inundated with
Miami is apparently full of feverish rumour that Fidel Castro is no longer with us. There were no photos of him on his 81st birthday on 13th August this month which is apparently unusual. A report in the Observer here. Viva Cuba Liberdad!
There is much talk in the Sunday papers about YouTube and gangs like the Nogzy and Crocky posting videos to it. There are calls for Google to censor such videos. Of course, if there is open violence on videos, that should be banned. Indeed, it seems Google do take down such openly violent videos. But further censorship is defeating the whole point of the internet. And something is being missed
This story (see link), This leader and this story jointly demonstrate the way in which the Family Courts accept basically irrational arguments. We are aware of a large number of babies being taken into care in the North East. What is not clear is the reasoning. We know that some were "munched" by the system. The advantage Fran has is that this is at an early stage where she can fight the
It appears that Labour are suffering the same problems as the Tories when it comes to receiving funds from "front organisations. Last year the Tories were in the doc of the Midlands Industrial Council, a front for a number of Tory donors, handing the Tories large sums of money. Now Labour are being asked about an organisation called Muslim Friends of Labour. This slightly shadowy organisation seems to be funnelling money to Labour in a way that gets round the spirit of the law concerning party funding and is certainly at odds with Gordon Brown's pledge to have a more ...
I don't normally do gossip on here. But I guess this is not really gossip as much as a "make of it what you will" fact. And I'm sure that all MPs are currently geeing up their activists just in case but anyway, I thought you might be interested to know... I hear from a friend that Oxford East MP Andrew Smith has sent an email to Labour activists in the constituency to the effect that a General Election could be as little as nine weeks away. Andrew was/is reportedly a confidante of Gordo; indeed he was his first Chief ...
I found this video on youtube, of comedian/actress Janeane Garofalo (Louise Thornton in the 7th series of the West Wing) appearing on America's Fox News channel, in 2003. She is on talking about why America shouldn’t invade Iraq, which turns into an argument with conservative Brian Kilmeade (one of the hosts of the show) about the different reasons for going in, as well as conservative’s tendencies to paint liberals as pro-Saddam.
I know I am biased and it is difficult for me to sink to a lower level of cynicism about David Cameron than that which I have already reached. But he is basically telling us that we all have to get together and make sure that kids in Croxteth don't get hold of guns. Brilliant. It's all our fault. We've all got to pull together. Let sunshine win the day. I prefer Ming Campbell's comment in the
Strange but true! Yesterday morning I found myself dreaming about David Blunkett. Actually it was a familiar dream, repeated with a changing cast of Labour characters. But yesterday it was Mr B. We were stood on my back step, I was remonstrating with him about how little his party had done for young people. "I remember 1997" says I "Despite being a LIb Dem I really believed you would invest in our young people, I believed the mantra - tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime." Well, I continued, as is my want, banging on about how useless ... | < | August 2007 | > | ||||
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