News reaches me that Old Bexley & Sidcup Liberal Democrat camapaigner Matthew Casey has been elected to the Executive of Liberal Youth. Matthew organised an event late last year where I went to speak to students of St Luke's College in Sidcup. Good luck Mat. He will be a great asset to Liberal Youth. 
So, the long-awaited () new entry to brower-wars from Microsoft - Internet Explorer (IE) 8 is out. Well, in beta form at least. I’ve got a copy of it, which is freely downloadable by anyone that so wishes, from the Microsoft website. So, the big question I guess, is, what’s new Well, if you’re hoping for a revolution, you may well have your prayers answered. At last, Microsoft list in the release notes “Full CSS compatability”, that gets a tick from me, and “Full W3C standards compliance”, woah, that definately gets a tick from me. Both great, or so I ...
It was a real pleasure to watch the Champions League match on SKY Sports tonight having had to put up with the dreadful ITV during what was a pulsating match between Liverpool and Arsenal last night. People might like to moan about footballers and the theatrics, but ITV lost all sense of proportion last night and showed a degree of bias of have not heard before and sadly set a very poor example to anyone watching regarding the way the game should be played. In the first instance, it was hardly even handed to have an ex Liverpool player as ...
After months of sitting on the fence and doing nothing to punish China for their serious human rights breaches Gordon Brown has decided to punish China. Yes he isn't going to the Olympic opening ceremony and in his place he is sending Tessa Jowell ! I can almost hear the Chinese tanks leaving Tibet already.
It looks like great minds think alike, or something like that … because three different people have lighted on the same extract from last night’s Newsnight London Mayor debate and put it up on YouTube. It was the moment when Jeremy Paxman started questioning Boris Johnson about his bus policy and how much it would really [...]
This afternoon's planning meeting set a record for length. I was at the meeting room in the Library just after 1 because I knew there would be update reports to read before the meeting. There were so many, and some were so involved, that it was almost 1.30 before I'd finished studying them. Then the meeting started. Lots of members of the public were there. This is one of the things I like
Our Dear Leader today caved to pressure and agreed not to go to the Olympic Opening Ceremony. This despite promising he would be going as recently as his monthly press conference. In a bid to save face, he'll be going to the Closing Ceremony when the baton (please not the torch) is passed to London. Gordo claims that it would be wrong to make two trips - for the opening and closing ceremonies - and he never intended to go more than once. Apart from being a blatant lie, does this mean that Tessa Jowell, who will be going to ...
Sad news from Another Green World. Tim Beaumont the Liberal, and latterly Green, peer has died. The blog gives a full biography of him: Timothy Wentworth Beaumont, Baron Beaumont of Whitley (born 22 November 1928) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is the only person to sit in the House of Lords as a member of the Green Party. Beaumont's father, Michael Beaumont, was a Conservative Member of Parliament; his maternal grandfather was Liberal politician Joseph Albert Pease, 1st Baron Gainford. Timothy was educated at Eton College, Gordonstoun School, Christ Church, Oxford and Westcott House. He became an ...
This week, Im in South Wales, supporting our efforts to retain control in Cardiff and Swansea. In 2004, Liberal Democrats won thirty-three out of the seventy-five seats in Cardiff, and formed a minority administration. Since then, theyve concentrated on the basics. Good financial management has enabled them to keep rises in council tax low the four Welsh authorities led by Liberal Democrats have averaged lower increases than authorities led by any other Party, independents included. Streets are cleaner, recycling has trebled. As you can see, they even have a bar chart! I joined our canvass team in Llandaff which, with ...
It has been confirmed that Gordon Brown will not be attending the opening ceremony of this summers Olympic Games in China. Apparently he had no intention to, he simply wanted to make us all think he was (see speech with M. Sarkozy) and then surprise us all by (and I use that famous media catch phrase) doing a U-turn. Diary clash anyone Maybe he'll show up į la Lisbon Treaty and have his own private opening ceremony. When Parliament returns from recess he will also announce that he will not be removing the 10p base rate and had no intention ...
You know what it's like, sitting in Cowley St and writing a focus leaflet. Having sifted through the planning applications for some column fillers, I spot it is 8pm. I need to catch the 8.35pm train at Victoria. But there's still time to finish typesetting the Focus.But time flies and suddenly you notice it is 8.20. Finishing touches are quickly added to the Focus and it is emailed to Gateshead.
Yesterday I fell off my chair. Or, not so much “off” as “through”. The chair broke, you collect. With hindsight this was not terribly surprising, not so much because I was sitting on it (don’t be so damn rude) as because the chair is about seventy years old and has seated several generations of skimbly [...]
Following a discussion with my my brother yesterday, I began thinking again about the state this country is in. I thought that I needed to put down in writing some of the issues that really get to me on a daily basis, I am not saying I think of them all daily, however, when you spend as much time on your own as I do travelling to and from London on the M4 or M40 you begin to think that no one
OK, so the Lib Dems have a slot on party election broadcasts this evening, for the parts of the country that are up for election. In London, they have this: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=9mAIgMAOlII The rest of the country gets this: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=y50BDu96ewI Isn’t it amazing that the same group of residents managed to show two Lib Dem VIPs around the same estate without the two of them bumping into each other EDIT: hello to all the traffic coming in from Iain Dale! My smart-aleckery aside, I do quite like the current party election broadcasts.
Lynne Featherstone visited an animal rescue shelter today, and handled a kitteh, before dashing its hopes and not taking it home with her. {funny pictures} moar funny pictures
I am very pleased to see Vince Cable is making a fuss about the impact on the low paid of removal of the 10p tax rate and drawing attention in particular to the effect on service personnel. However, I am also a little cross. Myself and others (who will remain nameless because of the Chatham House Rule) raised this when we were discussing our own tax policy at FPC last year, but were told in no uncertain terms that the tax envelope we were considering did not include restoring the 10p rate. After all we were going to cut the ...
A couple of weeks ago Christine Conlin, from the Stone and Ecceshall Gazette, called me and asked if she could do an article about my sponsored slim. We agreed to meet and I answered all her questions. When the interview was over she whipped out her camera and asked for a photograph. She suggested that, because I was raising funds for Andy Whitehall’s boxing club, it might make a better photo if we could devise a boxing theme. So we went over to Westbridge Park Sports Hall and borrowed some of their boxing gloves. But then Christine suggested “Off with ...
Newhaven Beach, the only sandy beach along that stretch of the south coast, has been closed by its owners, Newhaven Port & Properties (NPP), for health and safety reasons. They cite the lack of railing at the top of the beach and the new-to-come Corporate Manslaughter Act as their rationale, and say that the cost of insurance and beach patrols would be excessive. In the meantime, NPP have erected a prison-perimeter style fence to prevent access to the beach, leaving thousands of local residents, and visitors from all over the country and overseas, without access to a sandy beach. We’ve ...
The BBC reports: The UK Privy Council has approved proposed changes to the governing body of a Channel Island which still operates a feudal system of government. Sark's ruling body, the Chief Pleas, breaches the European Convention of Human Rights because landowners have got a seat automatically for 450 years. The Chief Pleas had already approved new reform laws to introduce a 28-member elected chamber. The Privy Council decision means the modernisation can now go ahead.Now for Jersey.
{Advert for Brian Paddick website} {Advert for Brian Paddick website} {Advert for Brian Paddick website} The Paddick campaign website has been comprehensively revamped, which is probably down to the influence of Jerome Armstrong. You can download banners like these and also a small button for your sidebar.
Yesterday, Vince Cable pointed out that soldiers are amongst the thousands who will be paying more tax this year than last. Up to 66,000 armed forces personnel will be worse off from this week as a result of the abolition of the 10p income tax rate, according to research by the Liberal Democrats. Members of [...]
If you were interested from my drafts of my speech- I got through to the next stage. Now I have a one minute speech to do in front of the whole school and pannel interviews on tuesday. My speech went reasonably well, concidering I was terrified, but apparently I spoke confidently. I used powerpoint which helped get my message out, with key phrases I wanted to stand out, on in the background with images. I'll get my draft for friday out tomorrow
Yesterday, Mark previewed Brian Paddick’s election broadcast. While that’s on air this evening in London, the rest of England and Wales will be treated to our election broadcast for the local elections taking place across the country. Also focusing on crime, and our strong record on tackling crime in local government, this one is fronted by [...]
The son of Ulster Assembly Member Anna Lo was arrested during the protests in London around the lympic Torch procession. And his mother is proud of him. Conall Hon, a member of the 'Students for a Free Tibet' group, abseiled from Westminster Bridge holding a Tibetian flag. He said: "As someone with Chinese and British roots, I feel strongly that Britain must take a firm stance against China's abuses in Tibet. "If the Chinese government wants acceptance from the international community, it must immediately stop its baseless attacks on the Dalai Lama and start working toward a meaningful solution to ...
It appears that Scottish Tory Boy has had a short sharp lesson in never to overlook Lib Dem Bloggery. Indeed if he paid a little attention to the weekly Scottish Blogging Roundup on which he features regularly enough he would realise that one or tow of the other bloggers do give those of us Lib Dems who blog a little run out in the sun. The reason I came across the first slightly erroneous post
Hornsey Carnival are currently looking for contestants for the Hornsey Carnival Selection - you can get details and an application form here.
I see that some sections of the Scottish meeja are getting all steamed up about the English Democrats posters which are supposedly insulting to Scots and allegedly racist. Quick frankly I see it as a quite amusing attempt, by a fringe party and it's candidate for London Mayor, to gain free publicity. What they quite conveniently do forget is that London and Londoners are hugely subsidised by the rest of the UK and, of course, think the world revolves round London - it doesn't!
{Lynne Featherstone with kitten} Went to the opening of the revamped Wood Green Animal Shelter in Lordship Lane today. Having visited a little while back - before the renovations - it was just fantastic today to see how vastly improved the new facilities are - no comparison. Before it was miraculous that the very committed staff could even work in the cramped conditions. The building hadn't been touched since the early seventies. Now - there is a beautiful reception area, consulting room, proper operating and prep rooms, X-ray room, hospital cages for the sick animals and outside in addition to ...
It was reported this morning that the Law Lords have ruled that the Government are not to be forced into holding a Public Inquiry into the Iraq war. Responding to the news Lib Dem Federal leader Nick Clegg said: "This ruling will be extremely disappointing for the families involved. "It is simply adding insult to injury after Gordon Brown recently promised to hold an inquiry, but just not yet. "Whatever the Prime Minister or the Law Lords say, natural justice demands that a full public inquiry is held without further delay. "How can our brave troops and their families ever ...
Because Boris clearly hasn't done his sums. He refuses to answer the question on the cost of his new buses 12 times! 
Boris Johnson terrifies me. Boris Johnson terrifies me because if he gets into power he will ruin our fantastic City. So, it is with horror and disbelief that I see the polls that put Boris ahead and even on Lib Dem Voice so many people are putting Boris as their second preference; although perhaps theyre the ones that dont actually live in London and so wont have to live with so many of the consequences! For sure, there is much to be done; our roads are still too congested, our public transport too expensive and inefficiently run, people are afraid ...
Last night's debate on Newsnight between the London mayoral candidates was crammed into about 30 minutes, rather than taking up the full length of the programme, as it probably should have done. The candidates would have had more time to get their points across and might have felt slightly less need to talk across each other constantly. It was a similar problem when Newsnight held a debate between Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne in the Lib Dem leadership election. I suspect the reason for that was due to the existence of Newsnight Scotland, the 20-minute opt out to which us ...
Has told the media that; The left has no taste, even when it comes to women". What! Is he mad Not only is this an outlandish and sexist thing to say, it's not even true. If he'd botheerd to look he would have seen that in Jenny Willott, Julia Goldsworthy, Lynne Featherstone, Jo Swinson and Sarah Teather we have five of the most intelligent, witty and attractive women (in and out of politics). Who was the man in question You'll have to Click here to find that out!
The e-petitions system launched in November 2006, allow members of the public to create petitions to the government which will apparently be “directly delivered to Downing Street”. The idea is that this will act to replace, or aid the need for hard-copy petitions to best sent by post, and further eliminates the need to go out canvassing with pen and paper. At it’s launch, it was hailed as a bit of a revolution. The government - finally inviting us to give them ideas- giving us the ability to put our thoughts and concerns to them, and, giving them a chance ...
How fickle are fame, politics and history According to YouGov (report), William Hague is Margaret Thatcher's natural successor and the most impressive politician in the Conservative Party today. He narrowly beats David Cameron. Michael Howard was not included - perhaps because he is semi-retired - and nor was Iain Duncan Smith. Quite a turnaround for someone who was generally regarded as a useless failure seven years ago. Lib Dem Voice have highlighted the continuing regard for Margaret Thatcher. It's interesting that Labour voters prefer both Thatcher and Churchill (second term only) to either Wilson or Attlee. Surely Attlee should be ... 
Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the 84 year old despot of Zimbabwe, has lead his country to ruin. Yet despite his obvious and complete failure he is sustained in office by two things: the first is his own belief that he is not just the administrator of Zimbabwe, but is some real sense its owner. His sense of entitlement is rooted in his own measure of the struggle that brought majority rule to the country in 1980. No matter that the portly Joshua Nkomo was a better known figure internationally; he was an Ndebele and Mugabe- who loathed Nkomo with a passion- ...
I was too busy on my return from a short break yesterday to post about the centenary of Asquith becoming prime minister. His government saw the introduction of old age pensions and a national insurance scheme; a reduction in the powers of the House of Lords; campaigns for and against womens suffrage and Irish home rule. He was Britain's last Liberal Prime Minister, and second longest serving to
I was rather sad to see Bertie Ahern announce his resignation as Taoiseach last week. It made me realise that he has for me been a rather reassuring figure on the international scene over the years. I have a rather limited knowledge of Irish politics (more on this in a future post) but I do know that he has played a key role in the enormous changes that have taken place to Ireland's economy and
Every year I tell myself that April cannot possibly be any more stressful, and each year I look back on the last one and wish I’d been right. The concurrence of academic and electoral deadlines makes for an extraordinarily stressed-out Steve. Today I have taken the unusual step of having a lunch-break. I’ve wandered through [...]
You’ll notice an unusual look to the blog today in honour of the annual CSS Naked Day, during which sites are encouraged to show off their <body> (Hat-tip.) Update: And now we’re back to normal.
Apparently the Treasury is arguing that the SNP minority government in Scotland doesn't have the power to introduce a centrally-set "local" income tax to replace the council tax. To my mind this is just nonsense: the Scotland Act does explicitly give the Scottish Parliament the right to legislate for local government taxation. I think the Treasury, and the Labour government generally at Westminster, does itself no favours by coming out with these statements. It is looking like a big bully and is playing into the Gnats' hand by storing up resentments against its bull in a china shop approach to ...
As the City Council Planning & Transport Convener, I have today welcomed news that the final section of a footbridge that used to link the rail station with the city centre should be removed in the near future. A report is going next Monday to the Planning & Transport Committee in that regard. You can read the City Council news release by clicking on the headline above.
Given the resurgence of interest in the Chinese occupation of Tibet (one of the great injustices which helped me become politically aware), I am listening to an album by the great Japanese psychedelic band/community Ghost. The album is Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet. They’re a great band, influenced by the Krautrock of Can, the space [...]
The Neath Port Talbot Liberal Democrat campaign was formally launched on Cimla Common this morning. Pictured are four of our candidates - Cllr John Warman (Cimla), Cllr Keith Davies (Coedffranc North), Annette Sparkes (Pelenna) and Des Sparkes (Cimla) - checking election literature, after the formal pictures were taken. These should appear in the local press soon.
Oh dear the SNP's palns to set their 'local' income tax LIT centrally at Holyrood has run into the buffers at the Treasury. Apparently the SNP trying to control the ammount set central as well as using the Inland Revenue to collect the taxation throws it outwith the powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Of course there are alternatives. One is to maintiain the local link by allowing
It is none of my business if David Cameron’s disabled son has been rushed to hospital or not, but it does raise an issue about the way Cameron expects to be able to turn his family’s privacy on and off like a tap whenever its suits him. Apart from that recent ITN footage of him serving his kids breakfast and that notorious Webcameron film, there was the fact that early in his leadership he invited cameras to film him taking Ivan to hospital in the back of an ambulance. The way Cameron has used his family is quite spectacularly cynical. ...
Imagine my shock and delight when rounding up children this morning and trying to get them into the car my shock at seeing two chaps from Balfour Beatty, Hampshire Highways contractors scrubbing the road signs in Little London. To ensure they had done all the Parish I went to the most dirt trodden sign in the Village, the 30 MPH sign in Smannell next to Pound View and imagine my delight when I saw the sign sparkling clean. The huge put hole outside the Oak car park has also been filled. Lib Dem County Councillor Robin Hughes started the Smannell ...
{Martin Tod and Dave Walker-Nix from Winchester Friends of the Earth campaigning for aviation to be included in the Climate Change Bill by the Butter Cross in Winchester} Conversations at various WinACC meetings, while out campaigning with Winchester Friends of the Earth for aircraft emissions to be included in the climate change bill (see above) and in Green’s after the monthly Winchester Friends of the Earth meeting have thrown up several interesting local environmental websites. First off, there’s Dave Walker-Nix’s ‘One World’ website at http://www.wwn-oneworld.co.uk. Dave organised the Friends of the Earth aviation demonstration in the town centre (that’s him ...
Firstly, some positive news regarding the walkway at the construction site that was formerly Homebase on Riverside Drive. Although the issues of pedestrian signage and sight lines for drivers were addressed by the developer, I continue to receive concerns from residents about the "claustrophobic" pedestrian pathway to the north of the site. At my request, the City Council approached the developer about this. Widening the path or moving it is not possible because of the construction footprint, but the developer has agreed to have the boundary fencing painted a light colour - it is presently dark brown and this adds ...
If you earn between about £5,400 to £16,000 a year, you will notice a tax increase in your pay packet in April. This is because the 10% income tax band has been doubled to 20% by the Labour Government, in a change announced by Gordon Brown last year but only brought into force this month. This extra tax is being used to cut taxes on higher earners.
Driving into work this morning I heard Sarah Kennedy's paper review on BBC Radio 2 she was telling us about the true make up the Olympic Torch protection squad. They come from the Chinese Armed Police Academy and are part of the paramilitary security force. Their role back home is ensuring riot control, domestic stability and the protection of diplomats. Believe it or not this is the same force
The refusal of a High Court Judge to black Max Mosley's attempts to block the release of a video of him with 5 prostitutes has left what remains of his credibility in tatters. Mosley, Son of the British Union of Fascists Leader Oswald Mosley, is currently the President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), although there have been numerous calls for him to resign including from retired F1 ace Sir Jackie Stewart. I have never cared for Mosley's style whilst F1 supremo but nor do I care for the News of the World as a "newspaper" and it's intrusive style. ...
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) have finally lost patience with budget airline Ryanair and have reported them to the Office of Fair trading (OFT) over what are considered "a catalogue of breaches" of advertising codes. It seems that the ASA have found Ryanair in breach of rules seven times over two years. The Director General of the ASA said: "It is very disappointing, but absolutely necessary, that we have had to take this course of action. The ASA have given Ryanair every opportunity to put it's house in order and ensure that it's advertising adheres to the code." He added: ...
I applaud those who have been protesting China's human rights abuses in Tibet. For many many years now the chinese government have been getting away with severe human rights abuses in Tibet and indeed all over China. These abuses must stop and western leaders & Governments must considerably increase pressure on the vile Chinese regime. Although I don't believe that the Olympics should ever have been awarded to China, I equally don't believe that boycotting the games will achieve the aim of improving civil liberties and human rights although a significant act of pressure would be for Gordon Brown and ...
They've changed some of the questions and weighting on the Vote match thing, so I decided to try it again. And Brian is now FIFTH on my list LMAO:Ken Livingstone (Labour) Lindsey German (Left List) Siān Berry (Green Party) Matt O'Connor (English Democrats) Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrats) Alan Craig (Christian Peoples Alliance / Christian Party) Boris Johnson (Conservatives) Gerrard Batten (UKIP) Richard Barnbrook (BNP) Winston Mckenzie I are BAD Lib Dem. View Poll: Revamped Vote Match
A BBC Wales survey has found that all the efforts of the Labour Assembly Government in 2003-2004 to weed out the old men and women from local Government has been in vain. In particular they claim that the statistic that the average age of councillors has risen from 61.3 to 61.7, is an indication that Labour's 'Golden Goodbye' scheme, which expended £1.6 million of public money on pay-offs to long-serving Councillors if they stood down last time, was a failure. In actual fact, 'golden goodbyes' were adopted by just eight of Wales' 22 Councils and even in those Councils such ...
To update from my last post, I can now state that - in some matters at least - better living certainly is a science. After drinking far more than is remotely advisable at a staff party last night (yes, that was a Tuesday night and yes, that is as bad as it sounds, and yes I will have to live with the teasing for weeks to come) I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that moderation in, or indeed total abstention from, the consumption of alcohol is a preferable state of being. It also helped me lose 7 ...
Just been watching Ken Livingstone's election broadcast. I don't suppose he had any real place to go other than the relentlessly cheery. But just how much will people who live in the capital recognise as being real London Here's some thoughts: 3 seconds - A sprinkler hard at work. Bugger the environment. 7 seconds - Clever cutting shows a jogger looking over to see... Ken! On his way to work in his flasher mac with scarf tight around his throat. 10 seconds - A bike rider wearing proper safety gear clearly indicates and then obeys all traffic laws (so clearly ...
So - Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman grilled the three main candidates for Mayor last night. Personally - I thought Jeremy won hands down. Boris was appalling - and Paxman nailed him on his waffle approach by asking him for a figure for something he was proposing re-replacing bendy buses. Boris was baffled. Boris was bamboozled. But Boris didn't answer the question. Boris was exposed as not knowing a thing really about bus costs. At one point I nearly thought Jeremy Paxman was going to punch him - as he strode menacingly towards Boris repeating his question as Boris refused to answer! ...
The tradition of taking a stroll around a graveyard has faded - it was a sunday norm for my grandparents and their parents, but it still remains a fascinating activity. Hampstead cemetery is no exception. Located at the top of Fortune Green Road (West Hampstead) it is over 25 acres of land. First purchased in 1875 it saw pretty fast development - the population of the area had grown significantly and demand was high. The lodge and chapel also date from this time and were built by Charles Bell. This picture was taken at a time when it was slightly ...
I don't fly Ryanair anymore. I flew to Stockholm once with them and the flight landed- six hours late- at Vesteras, which is about as far from Stockholm as Bristol is from London. I did not actually arrive in the centre of the Swedish capital until 3 AM. But apart from terrible service, uncomfortable planes and the sense that the ONLY thing that matters is the price, it has always been hard to avoid the idea that Ryanair is a massive rip-off. Although advertised as a flight for a Pound, or Ten Pounds or whatever, the fact is that this ...
Australian PM Kevin Rudd seems to be belying all the previous images of him as a bit wet and boring. First he announced that there would be no shell-suited Chinese goons needed to guard the Olympic torch when it comes to Australia - and he wouldn't be posing with it any way. Then he goes directly to Beijing and gives a speech to a group of students in which he says that the Chinese authorities must grant human rights to Tibet. If Kevin Rudd can show such leadership then why the hell can't Gordon Brown Brown has been humiliated recently ...
I have previously blogged that one of Senator John McCains big challenges is to decide which story he is going to tell about himself the maverick or the true conservative. I argued that he couldnt win by telling both and that he would try to, in effect, fuse the two stories, running as a straight-talking problem solver, better qualified and stronger on national security than Senator Barack Obama. So far, McCain is hardly trying to shut down the maverick story. Also, he is telling a personal tale of honour and national service, to show that he is an American warrior ...
I listened to an interview with the Chancellor Alistair Darling this morning on the state of the UK economy. Being chancellor must be the toughest job in politics I certainly wouldnt want to do it. However, listening to the interview I was struck by just how out of his depth Darling sounded the [...]
The new edition of Politalks, your weekly satirical news roundup, is here. This week we discuss sexual heroes big, small and disgustingly huge: Feel free to share and share alike, and for those who are interested, here’s the transcript: The world gained a new sexual hero this week. A man of such awesome virility he must masturbate [...]
The Bailii link demonstrates the Appeal court starting to do its job properly. A placement for adoption was done far too early without being in a position to consider whether it was good for the children. This has now been reversed. I met someone with learning difficulties who had lost 6 children to adoption last Friday. She clearly had relatively mild problems and her case does need more
As we all know, there have always been accusations of tension, rivalry and indiscipline within Labour. But when did you last hear of a bust-up between two very senior government ministers that almost lead to blows Click here for the full story.
When the part-time MP known as Boris -- long before he became joke-candidate for London Mayor -- insulted the city of Liverpool, he made the long journey up to apologise. When Blairite Blears insults the council estates of Oxford, she stays at home and blames anyone but her tongue-tied self. Instead, laconic Mr Brown turns up for a cuppa at Andrew Smith's house. Now, I wouldn't want it to be imagined that an unfavourable comparison of hazardous Hazel to Mr Johnson is some sort of praise for the latter. The point's that there's a way of responding when you've done ...
Wow! That was some night of emmotion for any Liverpool or Arsenal fan last night. Arsenal take the early edge of Liverpool by cancelling out their away goal with Diaby 13 minute strike. Liverpool had been under so much pressure up to that point and for another 10 minutes afterwards. Then some sort of composure came to Liverpool in this game played at high velocity. Attacks started to materialise
My daily digest of texts, tweets and status updates. 12:15 wonders whether getting up is a good idea. # 17:40 wondering if anyone has a single good word to say about politicshome.com # Microblogging by SMS, using LoudTwitter and Twitter.
My old friend, Peter Facey, and his colleagues at Unlock Democracy have launched 'Vote Match', an opportunity for voters to measure their views against those of the declared candidates for Mayor of London. Now, whilst I admit to being a member of the Council of Unlock Democracy, having been elected last month, I thought that I really ought to try it first. It would seem that the candidate who
South Africa’s President, Thabo Mbeki, has an unfortunate habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. His earlier comments about AIDS not being related to HIV are notorious and may well have cost many lives, though fortunately now South Africa’s health establishment is using more scientific analysis to govern its strategy. Now, though, [...]
If you go to one website today make it this one. Kiva provides a forum for person to person micro finance for entrepreneurs in the developing world. It is a superb project and I really hope it succeeds. This is an excellent use of capital and will help to forge growth in the developing world. Whilst it isn't the most effecient investment (there is no return and some risk), view it as a very small donation. Say you lend £200 over a year. Your oportunity cost is the lost interest on that money, say a tenner if you get 5% ...
Sunday: Exciting news! My top chum, Professor Richard husband of one-time time traveller Romana, who used to be in Doctor Who, and friend of the late Mr Douggie Adams, who used to write for Doctor Who (and some travel books) is going to be in Doctor Who too! This seems like an opportune moment to WARN you about another screen appearance for Prof Richard, the man rightly acknowledged as the Theresnosuchthingasgodfather of British Atheism. It is a movie called "Expelled", which alleges that science is really a conspiracy by atheist Nazis to suppress Unintelligent Design and persecute teachers who believe ... | < | April 2008 | > | ||||
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