Welcome to the 59th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (30th March-5th April), together with a quintet hand-picked by, erm, me, that you might otherwise have missed. Lets get straight down to it, in descending order of popularity: 1. That day again [...] 
This Sunday's video shows a performance given by Paul Simon at a concert given in Central Park, New York, on 15 August 1991 and attended by 750,000 people. "The Obvious Child" is taken from the LP The Rhythm of the Saints, which was released in 1990, four years after the better known Graceland, and used South American musicians in the way the earlier LP had used South African musicians. I suppose Simon's imposition of his Wood Allenesque Angst on Third World music ought to be ridiculous, but this sounds rather wonderful. The drummers are from the Brazilian group Olodum. Graceland ...
I think my Farmers’ Market boast still stands! I have claimed for almost three years that we have never had rain on a Farmers’ Market day in Stone. We came very close yesterday though. I am going to admit that early on we did have a couple of showers of drizzle but I don’t accept it was proper rain! And it only lasted a few minutes each time and soon the blue skies came back. Anyway, the crowds of shoppers still turned up and everyone seemed to enjoy another packed High Street. And I was delighted to see a new ...
('Fair Play' is a common term used to express your respect for something you may not do yourself). When our PM is going to attent these olympics that are coated with human rights abuses, I think it's worth disrupting the torch. Yes it's a symbol of peace, but since when has China cared about peace. Tibet, Darfur, etc. People would have been going to Beijing or watching the olympics on tv, thinking how amazing China was. But these protesters are actually letting people know the truth about China, that's an incredible achievement. Sure if I was a protester I would ...
Violence in Iraq has once again been escalating. The surge in US troops is said to be part of the reason for how violence decreased. The Shia Cleric of the Mehdi Army announced a ceasefire, that was a big part, the political will of inside the country. Also the US Army got the Iraqis to start solving the problems themselves, by hiring converted militas and enabling the iraqis to solve problems, as they know best. Concidering violence is rising while their is a US surge, maybe that wasn't the full solution. The Mehdi Army seems to be on the edge ...
"I'm a Man" is at 54 in the new UK singles chart - up from 70 last week. I don't normally like Jack Russels, but the one in the VW Polo ad deserves a lot of praise. Now follow the link for a live performance from 1966.
To help celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darlington's twin town, Mulheim, being awarded its Town Charter, in June of this year a group of 20 cyclists from Darlington will ride to Mulheim, meeting up with cyclists from other twin towns across Europe to ride into Mulheim together. For reasons which seemed a good idea at the time, I will be one of our 20 cyclists. If anyone is interested in
Yesterday afternoon I spent a very interesting hour or so with the working group which has been formed by the Town Council to decide upon the way to create a wildflower meadow on Crown Meadow. We’ve had the meadow inspected by an expert who has recommended that we create ’scrapes’ and sow or plant wildflowers that thrive in damp and boggy conditions around the edges. We had to decide how to do the job. We could simply buy seed and scatter it hoping that some of it would germinate. Or we could buy lifted ‘clumps’ or, better still, pot grown ...
Looks like the Independent want to re-run the leadership election…
The modern Olympic Torch relay was revived by the Nazi's in 1936 as a propaganda campaign... 
Just been watching a report on the latest news from Zimbabwe (dictator tries to cling on to power by demanding recount before the first count has been finished). Granted, the BBC is banned from the country and therefore finding footage to accompany the report must have been tricky, but even so it was rather odd to [...]
Liberal Democrat London mayoral candidate Brian Paddick, currently answering questions via Twitter from whoever cares to ask, has revealed how long he has been a Lib Dem member: GavinWhenman @brianpaddick How long have you been a member of the Liberal Democrats brianpaddick @GavinWhenman: I joined the Lib Dems 10 years ago, let it lapse when the press [...]
"That for which we find words is something already dead in our hearts. There is always a kind of contempt in the act of speaking." - Friedrich Nietzsche in The Twilight of the Idols Compare this with the closing clause of Tractatus
The Olympic flame came through Bermondsey today. Many Liberal Democrats were out by City Hall to conduct a peaceful protest alongside other pro-free Tibet groups. There were also many Chinese students and ex-patriots with flags and banners displaying their enthusiasm for the Games and pride that it is being hosted in China this year. The Police were stuck in the middle of both, doing what is a difficult and thankless task on behalf of both our Government and the International Olympic Committee. There was so much security, that the flame procession looked more like a defensive cordon, making the whole ...
Own up. Some of you out there are secretely or opennly rather keen of Hugo Chavez. Or at least you might to some extent buy the idea that he replaced a corrupt self serving oligarchy and his interventions into the economy, whilst sometimes clumsy, have resulted in the alleviation of poverty of a great swathe of his population and the total erradication of illiteracy. There are many reasons to love Venezuela. I have never been but at World MUN there were several delegations from Venezuelan Universities and the women are certainly beautiful (and I mean occasionally breathtaking). However, Hugo is ... 
In my 21 years as a councillor for Whickham South and Sunniside in Gateshead, I have seen the Conservatives completely collapse here (I gained by seat from the Conservatives in 1987). And no serious campaign has ever been run by the Labour party in that time to try to win here. Last year, as is usual, the Conservatives put out no leaflets at all. Labour managed one leaflet, and nothing more.
Full marks to the Free Tibet campaigners. The Labour Government's handling of this has all the hallmarks of the Major Government - err, and look what happened to it.
There’s snow outside and protesters on the streets, which must mean that it’s time for Something for the Weekend. I have a cold, so apologies for any typos. Carrying the Something for the Weekend torch today: baggage handlers; overage drinkers; the Egg McMuffin man; taxpayers’ money; and more! » Good Week It’s been a good week for me. [...]
At the start of last year I wrote a post entitled The Trouble with Torchwood detailing everything I thought was so terribly wrong headed about that show’s first season. The second season finished last night so I thought I’d give my review of how I thought it went. In summary: much, much better. The second series was less a continuation of the last series as it was a reboot. Pretty much all my criticisms were dealt with. The unremittingly dark tone - ditched. The ugly sex - bye bye Guppy’s bum! Stupid characterisation was replaced with emotional intelligence. And not ...
The Compare People application is one of those annoying things that gets people to play with Facebook data and emails. Given that increasing numbers of politicians can now be found on the social networking sites, their personal data is as much up for grabs as anyone else’s. Compare People gets you to rank [...]
{Lynne Featherstone with Tibet protestors} Joined the protests earlier today - with Hornsey councillor Monica Whyte - over China's record on Tibet and human rights as the Olympic Torch passed through London. Free speech - and speaking out against that which we oppose - is a key part of our society, and it was great to see so many people exercising that right to speak out today - a right, of course, that China doesn't extend to people in Tibet or China. The Chinese Government has been repeatedly politicising the Olympics for its own ends - and yet Gordon Brown ...
Read Chris Dillow, still by far and away my favourite blogger, on "managed migration" and "multiculturalism". He talks the kind of sense which everyone should read. Do it. Here.
What a shambles. It’s been like watching a car crash in slow motion as the police have tried in vain to allow the Olympic Torch to pass through London without incident. They should have a...
Two messages today: Could you display a window poster for our campaign Just email poster - poster.hat.brianpaddick.org.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one) with your name & full postal address Then, barely an hour later Wow - that was a very swift and large response [...]
I may possibly have mentioned the Yoo Torture Memo earlier this week* - the legal advice which allowed the US military to torture prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay and other prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan. Philippe Sands, in an article for Vanity Fair this month, reveals the effect of the approved interrogation techniques on just [...]
The Chinese say it is a curse to live interesting times but for the politically minded it is a curse to live in uninterested times. Apathy towards politics and political parties is widespread and we all know it; the question of how we deal with it recently prompted a debate on [...]
You may have had some suspect political views, but you had some great ones too, and you were a fantastic actor, and there will now never be another Proper Disaster Movie, because you're not alive to be in it. A number of people on my f-list have commented on your death already, but I think {[info]} caseytalk said it best, here. I look forward to the inevitable screenings of Ben Hur, The Ten Commantments and Soylent Green on the tellybox within the next few days. And hopefully maybe even Wayne's World II, because although it was only a cameo, that ...
The Olympic torch arrived in London this weekend, avoiding the chaos that is still T5 but unable to control the weather or our precious freedom of speech. Several things struck me as I listened to he news coverage at lunch time: My initial feelings of disgust at the way this country was apparently pandering to the Chinese government over the disregard for human rights in Tibet has slowly been
Thanks to Statesman or Skatesman. Lord Bonkers adds: It is a little known fact that Powell would often ride a pogo stick while delivering his speeches. The effect was rather like this:As I look ahead, [boing] I am filled [boing] with foreboding. [boing] Like the Roman, [boing] I seem to see [boing] "the River Tiber [boing] foaming with much [boing] blood".
Happy Birthday {[info]} sovietkiki. I hope you show more sense in your nineteenth year than I did in mine. Nick Clegg has said he regrets being so candid about his sexual history. This makes me sad. The number of people he has slept with makes absolutely zero difference to his ability to govern, but his honesty does. What sort of a society are we if we make politicians regret being honest, but then castigate them for prevaricating But, a three point dip in the polls immediately after shows that puritanism is alive and well in supposed Liberal Democracy... The thing ...
Some people will do anything for publicity, some people will attend the opening of an envelope and some people like to speak about things like politics without really having an idea what they are talking about. A few rare people combine two of these faults, but it is rare to see someone who has, in my opinion, all three of these pathetic traits. Yet I believe Konnie Huq, TV presenter and Olympic Torch carrier, qualifies. Firstly she apparently embarrassed the BBC a few months ago by speaking at an event that was seen by many as a political rally in ...
Guns don’t kill people. Alzheimer’s does. Rest in Peace Charles Heston, a man who did more for misguided gun ownership freedom than I could ever do.
The BBC headline says Scuffles mar Olympic torch relay, but that is nonsense. The protests are the only thing that has made the event possible to stomach. So well done everybody. It would have been a national disgrace if the Olympic flame had been paraded through the streets of London without any protests against the Chinese regime.
It doesn't snow much in this part of the world. Today we had the heaviest snow fall that I've seen in the past decade, though. Buffey came out to play.
From the BBC: Asked if he regretted an interview in which he said he had slept with "no more than 30" women, he said he did not want to "add fuel to the fire".He said it had become a distraction from issues he did care about. That will be a "Yes", then.
I wonder what the reaction would be if someone wanted to name a public house the Adolf Hitler. Actually I don’t wonder, I know, and it wouldn’t be positive. Some historians may...
The link is to The Times story about what it is proposed to keep about families in the new childrens index. In essence it is the same as in any social services file. The difference is that the threshold at which such files are opened is essentially such to cover anyone who has taken their child to the doctor or hospital with a medical problem.
The BBC has footage of a protestor grabbing the Olympic torch as it was being carried by former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the torch relay - and I've blogged my views before - what a farce the whole thing is. Somebody has obviously taken the decision that this ought to be a low key sort of event. So there are no roads closed and little in the way of barriers for crowds to stand behind. So the torch is carried by a D-List celeb who in turn is surrounded by blue track-suited Chinese ...
Ok so the hosts for the Olympic Games four years hence is London. It would have been discoureous of this years host China not to involve us in their Torch relay. However, the protestors for a Free Tibet overstepped the mark by trying to cease the Olympic Torch out of former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq's hand during her leg. Meanwhile I also disagree with Nick Clegg calling for a boycott of
I got up this morning to about 3 inches of snow over the whole town, It looks stunning. I had a pleasant time wandering round the town with my camera before it all melted. A lot of other people had the same idea and I bumped into many people I know out and about. I've posted a few of my favourites here, though the small pictures do not really do it justice.
So farewell to Charlton Heston. I didn’t share all his political views (although he did march with Martin Luther King) but he was a pretty fine actor. And I guess that is how I will remember him. Best part Well, it has to be Taylor in Planet of the Apes’! My Charlton Heston story is that [...]
The Liberal Democrat recovery has been sustained... Guardian, 20 February 2008 [Liberal Democrats] attractive ... model of balancing all new green taxes with simultaneous tax cuts is [the] partys strongest suit. Sunday Times, 16 March 2008 Even the [Labour] party's bedrock support is beginning to crack. Voters may be turning away from Labour, but there is not much evidence yet of excitement [amongst voters] about the Tory alternative. [There is a] strong [Liberal Democrat] party rating [in the polls] Guardian, 18 March 2008 [Liberal Democrats] opposition to the [Iraq] war has been totally vindicated. Independent, 22 March 2008
Although the Lib Dem leadership contest ended over a hundred days ago, it seems speculation about the validity of the result just wont go away. Jane Merrick, Political Editor, Independent on Sunday, claims that the party gossip machine (whoever that is) is so fired up about what they say has been a lacklustre first 100 days by Nick Clegg that they are now calling for a rerun of the leadership contest. Why Because apparently, Chris Huhne would be our new Lib Dem chief were it not for 1300 hundred ballot papers being held up in the Christmas post. As some ...
The news story from my main website is pretty self-explanatory:Liberal Democrats councillors have expressed fears that the crisis over a shortage of reception places for schoolchildren in Alexandra ward is now widening out to adjacent areas. Of the 136 children (nearly double the number in 2006) who did not receive any of their parents' four preferences for a reception place in September, 25 came from Alexandra ward, 17 from neighbouring Muswell Hill and 14 from next-door Bounds Green ward. Together, they make up over 40% of the total, whilst the cut-off distances around popular local schools such as Rhodes Avenue ...
Rob from The West Wales Kite has drawn my attention to this article in Thursday's Independent, which reports that the Government has the publication of its annual poverty statistics until after the local elections next month: The figures, normally issued in March, will be disclosed on 2 May, the day after local authority elections in England and Wales, The Independent can reveal. Many results, including the contest for London Mayor, will not be announced until 2 May and they are likely to dominate media coverage, swamping the poverty figures. Independent experts expect the statistics to show Labour is in danger ...
Mike Smithson on Political Betting, speculates this morning about whether our drop of 3% in the latest ICM poll - CON 43%(+1): LAB 32%(+3): LD 18%(-3) - is as a result of Nick Clegg's candidness last week. Frankly I wouldn't have thought so. I am surprised that we seem to have lost the 3% to Labour when they have hardly had a good week. More likely to be a blip methinks.........and having a daughter who used to work for ICM I know a little more than most about the kind of blips that may occur!
My daily digest of texts, tweets and status updates.15:25 is sitting in bed watching Heroes DVDs and eating crisp sandwiches. # 18:17 is getting ready to watch Doctor Who #Microblogging by SMS, using LoudTwitter and Twitter.
The Brazilian Vice-President, José Alencar, has put the cat amongst the pigeons by suggesting that the constitution ought to be changed, to allow President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to be able to stand for a third term when his second mandate ends in December 2010. No-one else enjoys such support and affection among the Brazilian [...] | < | April 2008 | > | ||||
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