This just shows the contempt for privacy the new Department for Homeland Security and its like minded friends around the world has. Chertoff has confused secret and private. I may leave my fingerprints on things but they are still mine and my data. The State has no right to them. At all. Piss off. Lets stand up to this overbearing State and take back our privacy. Hat tip: Bruce Schneier, who runs a superb security blog. 
I was directed from Donal Blaney's blog to the Daily Hate today who are running an anti wind farms themed attack on the basis that they spoil some lovely views. It reminded me of a North Norfolk resident who phoned me up when I was a councillor to ask if I would oppose plans for a wind turbine in North Norfolk. "Of course", I said, "it's so rare to have someone who wants a traditional fossil fuel power station in their village these days", I added. "What ?" "A fossil fuel power station", I repeated. "Um, no, I don't want ...
Thanks to the East Anglian Daily Times for the news. At least he will be first on the ballot paper, even if an aardvark stands for one of the minor parties.
At the start of the month I wrote about the festival. If you want to see how it went, watch this video on the Shropshire Star site. And Matt Buck was there too.
Did you go to the better Bath Forum on the 15th April I am told that it was quite an interesting meeting? If you did go I would like to hear what you thought of the way that it went as unfortunately I was unable to attend. Any way the Better Bath Forum has printed the minutes of the meeting on their website and I thought that you may be interested in seeing what went...
I am pleased to say the Parish now has new "Footpath Finger Boards" the boards that point the way to a footpath have been replaced thanks to our Audit earlier this month and prompt action by County Councillor Robin Hughes and Matthew Beal from Hants CC footpaths. FW: Smannell Parish Highways AuditDate: Mon, 21 Apr 2008 Nigel, I have been informed by Matthew Beal that that the damaged footpath sign by the school (Smannell FP2) was repaired last week and several other rights of way signage matters have also attended to. Robin
George Galloway was left "momentarily dazed" by Nick Clegg’s magnificent testicles earlier today. Silly fellow, doesn’t he know never to get between our dear leader and a group of giggling LSE students?
The Lib Dems are a broad church but at election time it seems that we become that little bit narrower. Stoke councillor Gavin Webb seems to have suspended from the party for advocating libertarian positions on guns, prostitution and drugs. Let's be clear. He is not misrepresenting the Party's policy. Nor is he either breaking the law on these matters or advocating that others should. No, he is simply stating what he believes should be the case. I recall, during my time on the LDYS executive, being responsible for policy and putting forward an amendment on the floor of conference ...
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has effectively announced that peak oil is upon us (Reuters), also reported by evworld with extensive commentary. All the speculation about when peak oil will occur has been made with certain assumptions about what Saudi Arabia can do. Now, they've effectively said "that's your lot". They're not going to increase production capacity after next year, and they're going to keep about 10% of their capacity in reserve. That's huge news, given that they have 25% of the world's oil reserves, and are the largest oil producer and the largest exporter. Russia, second, have already announced that ...
In a move that surprises precisely no-one, government lackey Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair has been giving evidence to a House of Commons committee today in support of the answer to life, the universe and everything extended detention without charge: “We have reached a point where at 28 days we feel sooner or later - and [...]
Hillary Clinton has in recent weeks tried to play up her role as former first lady and as a statesman on the world stage to show the difference between her experience and Barack Obama's naivety and lack of experience as a statesman. Yet today, seemingly in an outburst aimed to coincide with a Democratic Primary election in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton came out with a rather shocking outburst of the most infantile kind. In response to a question about what she would do if Iran attacked Israel, she said "If I'm the President, we will attack Iran... we would be able ...
With the NFL draft looming the excitement level is rising sharply amongst hard core NFL fans. Who will you team select? Will the selections payoff and make a contribution to winning the Superbowl? Will the pick contribute straight away? What trades will be made? For the Eagles, who have bucket load of picks, I expect [...]
He’s argued for some libertarian positions, such as legalisation of all drugs, prostitution and firearms. I’ve been told that as of this morning he’s been suspended from the party. These happen to be positions I agree with, are such views forbidden for Liberal Democrats? Or are they only forbidden if you’re an elected representative? Or is it [...]
As a directly elected member of the UK Lib Dems' ELDR (European Liberal Democratic and Reform Party) Council delegation, I went to their meeting in Estonia, on the far side of the EU and on the edge of Russia, the weekend before last. The meeting got some good preparatory work done, we made some good contacts and our Estonian hosts were most hospitable. What a remarkable city Tallinn is. In a long visit to the Occupation Museum there I learned something of the terrible ordeal the Estonians endured following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, whereby Hitler and Stalin agreed that Russia could ...
The Bonfire and Firework Committee met last night for the Annual General meeting and all serving officers were re-elected. That means that I am proud to be Chairman of the most amazing committee for yet another year. I am so impressed by the dedication and eficiency of all involved - the show almost runs itself! Last year’s event was a great success and £7000 was distributed amongst the clubs and groups who involved themselves in the organisation of the bonfire and fireworks. Stone’s Bonfire has become a major attraction in the calendar of town events and this year’s event promises ... 
At work the other day I was asked why I was not using the MacBook that I had started taking in to the office a few months back. I was instead using the Lenovo X61s ThinkPad that work supplies. I answered, truthfully, that it was the convenience of the ThinkPad in the work context that made me pick it up, but that I switch back to the MacBook at home every evening. The ThinkPad is very small and light and has all the standard work apps on it (many of which are Windows only). I had figured out how to ...
It'll win her votes, but absolutely no friends in the wider world. Hillary Clinton has announced that if Iran launches a nuclear attack on Israel then the US could obliterate the country. Let's not get into the rights and wrongs of what the President of the USA should do if such an attack were launched. We don't need to. In order to judge Hillary, just consider her decision to talk up an attack by Iran on Israel and the prospect of nuclear war. Why does she need to do so? For all that she has portrayed herself as ready to ...
Quentin Davies - defected Andrew Pelling - whip withdrawn over allegations of wife-beating Derek Conway - whip withdrawn over expenses scandal Bob Spink - whip withdrawn before he could resign. Now a member of UKIP. My prediction at the start of the year that Cameron would have a bad year has remained unfulfilled, but this has mainly because Labour are having such a God awful year that Cameron’s problems have faded into the background. But losing 4 MPs - 2% of the total Parliamentary Party - in less than a year suggests a shambles whichever way you look at it. ...
Commenting on China's continued attempts to ship arms to Zimbabwe, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Edward Davey said: There is now a compelling case for the international community to take action and prevent any further transfer of arms to Zimbabwe. The regime is unstable and the risk of conflict represents a clear threat to the region. Arms embargoes have been justified on similar grounds in other countries and there is no reason why Zimbabwe should be considered an exception. (more…)
Hillary Clinton has said: "If I'm the president, we will attack Iran... we would be able to totally obliterate them. That's a terrible thing to say, but those people who run Iran need to understand that, because that perhaps will deter them from doing something that would be reckless, foolish and tragic," I actually quite liked Hillary Clinton right up to this point but you have to stare in awe at supposedly intelligent Americans when they come out with such unbridled, ignorant cojones. I know she is addressing an American audience - God sends Americans to war so they can ...
Following the start of the gas main replacement works in Perth Road yesterday, there's been three issues raised with me by local residents and businesses. Firstly, when the road closure at the Paton's Lane area was put in place, the lanes to the south at Paton's Lane, Thomson Street, Seafield Road and Lane and Westfield Place were all closed at the Perth Road junction (and the one-way situation in Paton's and Westfield altered accordingly). Given that the actual works by Turriff won't reach Seafield Road/Lane and Westfield Place for some time yet, both residents and I thought there was no ...
This news on community care is a bit out of date as the government have now scrapped the targets for Special Guardianships. However, it is worth noting what has been said to the Select Committee. Councils are threatening foster carers that they will remove children from their care unless they apply for a special guardianship order, a parliamentary committee was told yesterday. Kevin Williams,
Reporting a recent piece of research published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Times adopts this approach: A CHARITY set up by an ardent Christian to fight slavery and the opium trade has identified a new social evil of the 21st century - religion. A poll by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation uncovered a widespread belief that faith - not just in its extreme form - was intolerant, irrational and used to justify persecution. Pollsters asked 3,500 people what they considered to be the worst blights on modern society, updating a list drawn up by Rowntree, a Quaker, 104 years ago. ...
Isn’t it nice of Labour to be running a special website asking Gordon Brown whether there are enough police in Downing Street?
A capabilities question this week - Do we need two new aircraft carriers? There are a range of opinions on this issue from many different quarters. Whilst some argue that they are essential platforms for our force projection, especially when reaching landlocked countries, others believe that they are expensive ‘White Elephants’ that have a very limited role in our future platforms. This debate has been compounded by the already visible delays in the Joint Strike Fighters that are due to be used on the carriers. We want to know how you see aircraft carriers: Are they invaluable platforms for the future of our ...
My office in Torquay on the English Riviera is currently looking for a paid intern for the summer. The position runs for three months.Internships are usually a good way for recent graduates and curren...
The Council intends to sign a contract which will mean your rubbish will only be collected once every fortnight.That is a complete lie. Yet it appears on a leaflet distributed by the Conservative Tony Arbour. He, of course, is fighting to keep his London Assembly seat against the Liberal Democrat candidate, Stephen Knight, who only needs a swing of 1.3% to unseat him. Have...
I don't know what's wrong with me at the moment. Can't seem to bring myself to write about anything much. Perhaps that's because I keep being given assignments about the onset of armaggedon at work which make everything seem a bit pointless. Last time I checked terrorists were about to cause a clash of civilisations with the muslim world that would result in a Revelations-style fight to the death. However, unlike the (apparent) majority of my fellow citizens I have never been particularly afraid of this scenario, partly because I think those threatening to destroy Western civilisation are more than ...
The Cleveland Pools Trust have produced an interesting You Tube video The Trust deserves a chance to bring these pools back into public use. They have worked hard on building up a business proposition and worked in the community to get wide support.
Bernard-Henri Levy, the French public intellectual, has published a desperate call to the French left to wake up and learn the lessons of Blairism. It really is worth reading. He is right. Segolene Royale's manifesto read like Foot's of 1983. They need to sit up, smell the bacon, and move on. I hope they do. 
Do have a read of Mother Jone's excellent 7 myths of energy independence. It demonstrates how much clearer our thinking on energy has to be.
North East Fife Parliamentarians, Iain Smith MSP and Sir Menzies Campbell MP have today launched a new campaign to cut accidents or our roads in North East Fife. The Liberal Democrat campaign, which focuses on the rural nature of North East Fife’s roads aims to ensure that safety for all users is increased by tackling dangerous driving, speeding, the use of seat belts and using mobile phones whilst driving. The Liberal Democrat campaign “Be Calm, Be Considerate and Be Correct” focuses on four key points: 1- Combating Speeding 2- Increased use of seat belts 3- No to Mobiles whilst driving ...
The scale of the Welsh Labour-Plaid Cymru Government's failure to support our Higher Education Institutions was laid bare yesterday with the publication of a report by the Higher Education Fundng Council for Wales that has revealed that the Higher Education funding gap between England and Wales has widened by a massive 50%. The investment gap has increased from an alarming £40million in 2004/05 to a huge £61 million for 2005/06. Commenting on the figures, Kirsty Williams, Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Education said: "While the Plaid Labour Government play around with free laptops and free car parking our Higher Education ...
Louder, actions, words, speak...
The Welsh Liberal Democrats hit back yesterday at the misinformation put out by Labour about our record on crime. Welsh Liberal Democrat leader, Mike German, said that Labour is guilty of "trying to look tough on crime" without tackling the causes of crime: More than six out of 10 of all adult offenders (65%) are also convicted again within two years of release, he said, adding that more than half of all offenders do not have the skills required to enter the vast majority of jobs and that only one in five was able to fill out an applications form. ...
According to a recent New York Times article they recon that age is going to play a key part in today's Pennsylvania primary. Demographically the state has a higher proportion of its population being of pensionable age, than most others. This is likely to favour Hillary who's core backers are those who are around the same age as her. For me I find that it's a sad fact when people decide to vote for someone because of their age: because of their experience, avoiding those who perceivably don't have the right level of experience. It appears that they are backing ...
I've always found the idea that a politician can switch parties after being elected very contentious, it relies on the basis that people vote for the MP and not the party, but how many people can say this is true? It's impractical for the House of Commons to be entirely composed of independents, so parties exist to ensure that the people know what they are voting for, that is also why manifestos exist, so people can vote for a member to be elected to Parliament from the party they would like to have implement their manifesto (if their votes get ...
Vince Cable, the highest rated UK politician by Politicshome, destroyed Darling again yesterday. Darling is terribly boring, it is his only skill. Vince has to constantly school him on the "credit crunch". This is a very sad occurrence for two reasons. First, our Chancellor is useless and needs to be taught what to do by the economics spokesman from the third party. This is a pretty sorry state. Secondly, it is unlikely that Vince Cable will ever be Chancellor, and nobody as good as him is likely to be chancellor in the foreseeable future. None of Darling, Balls, Milliband (either ...
And so it begins - with an impending election, the Conservatives have chosen to not tell the truth in their literature in the hopes of winning a few illgotten votes…. The Conservatives are claiming that the Liberal Democrats wilfully refused to support a fully costed scheme which would have preserved tokens for the disabled and vulnerable. This is untrue. The Conservatives proposed a rushed scheme which was not fully costed and opened up the Council to huge financial risks. They did not even say who would be covered by their proposals. The government has significantly under-funded the new national bus ...
As I blogged yesterday Unite had at unwilling to let the arbitration service ACAS get involved in their dispute with Ineos the owners of the Grangemouth oil refinery over their decision to end their final salary pension scheme. However, with plants at the site already shutting down in preparation for the strike action Unite have agreed to talks in London with the employers at Acas's offices.
The economics we've seen from BHO in the last six weeks are so dreadful it hurts. He may be optimistic about himself, but not on the economy, globalisation, and the future. He is pandering, and idiotic. His lists of spending is huge. His promises are endless. This whole "rebuild the middle class thing" which both HRC and BHO are running on is depressing, pessimistic, and wrong headed. They are not offering solutions. They both have adopted John Edwards' positions (his influence on this campaign should not be understated). They should be taking the lead from Bill Clinton. Embrace the change ...
A new genre for this site and I think a slightly unlikely one, but here it is... Entrance tiles. With so many late-victorian and early-edwardian houses in the patch it is not surprising to find quite so many doorway/hallway entrance tiles. They are all around but often you just don't really notice them. Having lived for a time in Stoke-on-Trent I have a small understanding of just what was involved in both effort, skill and scale in the production of these. But also the designs and the colourings are so so rich and varied. I have captured a small crop ...
So says Hitwise, the internet traffic analysis company, in this interesting report. UPDATE: Meanwhile, this interesting tracker of online discussion says that Brian Paddick is getting the most positive online buzz, though Boris Johnson is the person most talked about.
Well done to Lynne Featherstone in starting off the campaign to remove the system of male primogeniture from our Royal family. Some may think it a rather trivial topic on which to campaign. But, cultural change always come from the top; if the Royal family, Britain and other countries where they are the head of state follow a pointless, sexist tradition then why should anybody else fee the need to change any other pointless sexist traditions. With male primogeniture in place Britain is telling the world that men are women are not equal, especially when it comes to inheriting the ...
The Zimbabwe Election Commission owes it to the long-suffering people of Zimbabwe to announce the presidential result without further delay, to enable people to begin the urgent task of rebuilding their shattered lives and economy. The campaign of violence and intimidation that has been embarked upon by members of the ruling party, following the announcement of the parliamentary election results, must stop NOW. Surely people who hold power in any country have a first duty to care for the poor and vulnerable rather than for themselves. By all reports, the impact on the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans has been immense. ...
Can anyone explain why everytime I try to view the website of The Sun it crashes Firefox - my internet browser of choice? Is it some compatability issue or is it some Fayed-esque conspiracy?
Brian Hendley is the Labour candidate in Davenport and Cale Green ward, Stockport Council. Given his background, this raises some questions as to what standards we expect of councillors and would-be councillors: “Striking Dr Hendley off the medical register on Friday, committee chairman Professor Kenneth Hobbs said: ‘The consequences of your failings were that the lives of [...]
Nine days to go until election day in Bury, and the Lib Dem campaign continues to gather momentum and support. Last night on the doorstep the groundswell of positive feeling was better even than last week, and for the first time during this campaign I survived a night without a single close encounter with a dog the size of a caravan. Â It's not a surprise to me that we're doing OK when we meet local people. Nationally, Labour are imploding over a 10p tax rate abolition which makes the poorest poorer and which Lib Dems oppose. Lots of people ...
Because he said this in the Times: "I just don't trust Ken Livingstone". This will probably be leapt upon as evidence that Paddick actually supports Boris 'Cripes!' Johnston but it should really be seen as a straight condemnation of the spineless, conniving, nasty London mayor by someone even his critics seem to have a lot of respect for. Paddick continues to be a revelation. Should we dare to dream?
Should I be unduly concerned by the delay in the publication of the Lib Dem Voice Golden Dozen results? Any further delay could lead to accusations of 'vote-rigging' and calls for a run-off. Zimbabwe all over again?
.. or at least I'm persistently told this by men, I'm going to link to three blogs by men today. The first is The Open Source Boob Project, in which some beardy perve decided that the best way for him to get to grope as many women as possible in one weekend is to distribute badges to them, so that he can see at a glance if they are open to having their mammaries manhandled by him and his friends. I don't care that lots of straight women participated for comparison purposes. I don't care that lots of men wore ...
Riazat Butt posts this piece about her experiences in Saudi Arabia whilst reporting on the Hajj; may I commend it and the comment thread to you. You know, I can't help thinking that if the discrimination that was going on in Saudi Arabia was race based (and I know that there is race based discrimination in Saudi, but it is not hardwired into the law like it is for women) then it would be impossible for our Government to cosy up to the Saud family like they do. Instead of inviting them to tea and bribing them to buy our ...
Well, well - Ken Livingstone has been at it again - recycling old, broken promises just as election day nears. In this case - he's making the same comments about Alexandra Palace that he made four years ago - and then didn't act on in the four years since. As the news release from my colleague Monica Whyte (candidate for the Enfield & Haringey London Assembly seat) says:Local Liberal Democrats have exposed Ken Livingstone's cynical bid for votes over Ally Pally, admidst Haringey Labour's catastrophic mismanagement of the cherished building. The Lib Dems are reminding local residents that his promises ...
Welcome to the Salthouse Harbour Hotel, on the quayside in Ipswich, where a slightly nervouse but pretty excited bureaucrat is preparing for a day to remember. I've had a decent night's sleep, eaten a hearty breakfast, and successfully transferred from one hotel to the next. In about two hours, I'll be off to Otley Hall for a truly great day. The sun is beginning to burn off the morning clouds
And so, Gordon's answer to the 10p tax rate rebellion is ... to announce a review that'll report in a few months time. It seems that has been his answer to most major problems over the last decade and more - set up a review, put off a decision. As I wrote just before he became Prime Minister: On far too many [issues] - such as pensions, the NHS and climate change - his response has been to set up long-term commissions under outsiders to tell him what to do. We have all had to suffer from lack of action ...
Comment with the start of a sentence, and I'll reply with the rest of it. These can be fannish or personal, or whatever, really.
Tanzania’s infrastructure minister, Andrew Chenge, resigned at the weekend after “being allegedly linked to a controversial BAE Systems defence contract that is being investigated by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office”, the Daily Telegraph reports. The newspaper provides some background information: The SFO is probing a 2002 contract under which BAE supplied Tanzania with a military radar system, a deal that was strongly criticised by aid agencies and politicians, including the then UK International Development Secretary Clare Short. […] Despite the SFO abandoning its high-profile investigation into BAE’s Al Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia, the fraud office has continued to probe ...
In just over two hours time the polls in Pennsylvania open for the last big state primary in the Democratic presidential nomination process. With 158 delegates up for grabs, it's a must win situation for both Hillary and Barak. Hillary needs a double digit lead, after today, to keep her campaign dreams alive. Tomorrow morning we'll have a much better idea as to who is likely to get the Democratic Party nod. BBC News
I don't think the Tory high command will have any problem with the defection of Bob Spink to UKIP. On a practical level, UKIP will garner a few decent press mentions over the course of the next week but Spink has lost any claim to the moral high ground in his row with his local Conservative Association and, what is more, UKIP seem totally incapable of coherent organisation to make the most of the opportunity that has presented itself. (Why is that? UKIP have a lot of money and enough elected politicians to be able to build a significant movement. ...
If, like me, you struggle with financial information and find the whole current money markets business impossible to decipher, the attached link is an astonishingly simple explanation of why the Bank of England lent banks £50m yesterday. I actually came away enlightened, so full credit to Hamish McRae of the Independent http://tinyurl.com/6cxjp2 (I tried to make this 'live' but my computer skills clearly aren't up to it...) I am increasingly coming to the view that the whole world of finance is unnecessarily jargon-laden and that there is little behind the whole system beyond a massive steaming pile of bulls*** which ...
Huge project, budget goes horribly wrong. Not much of a surprise there given the track-record of many large projects in Britain, but I do love some of the details as to how the budgets for the 2012 London Olympics went wrong: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) were criticised [...]
There has been a drought of TV news coverage from inside Zimbabwe due to a ban by Mugabe. So, the report last night by Neil Connery on News at Ten was extraordinary. There was footage of Mugabe's thugs going into villages at night on the rampage. And then shots of MDC supporters in a hospital recovering from appalling injuries and testifying to their torture at the hands of Mugabe's gangs. It
Bob Spink, elected in 2005 as Conservative MP for Castle Point, was kicked out of the Conservative Party last month and has now joined UKIP, calling his former party “dishonest”.
The Privatisation model adopted by the Conservatives was, well, conservative. Although they talked a lot about the value of the free market, in practice they tended to privatise monopolies intact. British Gas for example was privatised as a single business despite the very obvious conflicts of being a supplier, a distributor and a maintenance company in one. This was certainly noticed at the time- indeed the then Alliance spokesman on energy is mentioned by name in the enabling bill as advocating the break up of the business- which is, I think unique in the annals of British legislation. In the ...
According to the BBC, Lembit Opik has got engaged to his Cheeky Girl girlfirend, Gabriela Irimia. Personally, I won't believe it until I read it in Hello magazine complete with full photo spread. Update: A closer reading of the article reveals that it has appeared in Hello.
Yesterday, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) called for the UK's tax credit system to be completely overhauled. Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Danny Alexander commented: "Gordon Brown's pledge to support working families is looking more superficial by the minute. "The Prime Minister must come clean about the real impact of his Tax Credits system; it gives with one hand and takes with the other. Ending the 10p tax rate means the Government is taking even more from low-income families. "It is grossly unfair that families who want to work harder have so little to show for it ...
Commenting on the report released yesterday [Monday] by the think tank Reform which finds that the UK welfare and public service system reinforces class divisions by alienating the poorest in society, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Danny Alexander said: "The Government has had ten years to tackle the appallingly low levels of social mobility in Britain but has barely made an impression. Britain is more unequal now than when Labour came to power. The 10p tax rate doubling is just one example of a policy that makes matters worse, not better. "It is a disgrace that in Britain ...
There was a little bit of love going around the Scottish Political Blogosphere last week, Jeff at SNP Tactical Voting picked up on it first, then Malc in the Burgh passed comment. However, Jeff went one step further yesterday when hypothesising about the 20 Westminster seats that the SNP could win to meet Alex Salmond's promise at this weekends conference. His main concern about the SNP's
Commenting last week on the Shelter report which reveals that the proportion of household income spent on mortgage repayments has doubled since 1997, Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Lembit Öpik said: "The Government needs to explain how it will support the families who have stretched themselves to buy a home and are now faced with sky-high mortgage repayments and the threat of negative equity. "Without support, tens of thousands of families face repossession this year. How much more evidence does the Government need before they admit that there's a problem? They are turning self-delusion into a science." The ROOF Affordability ...
Well the Tim'rous Beastie has returned from his travels to far flung forweign cheese boards only to have to face up to his angry mischief of mice upon returning. They have voiced concerns about the doubling of the lowest tax band to 20p, since they emerged from their holes in Westminster to canvasss for the local elections next month. He apparently has spouted out platitudes that he understands
Amnesty International has a new cinema advert out today: an ode to water it would seem, part of their unsubscribe campaign.
It seems the BNP have finally learnt that simply standing on street corners shouting "Wogs out" isn't enough to get them elected? To watch the latest BNP broadcast click here.
At last night's City Council Development Quality Committee, I successfully moved refusal of a proposed application to build a property on the wooded area south of Richmond Terrace, near the allotments west of Magdalen Green. The application had been recommended for approval by planning officers. This was the second time I moved refusal of a planning application here - the previous, remarkably similar application was refused by committee early last year, and that decision to refuse later upheld by the Reporter. Two deputations representing local residents opposed to the development were also heard by committee last night. My reasons for ...
... here's one I sent to radio four regarding this evening's edition of Front Row:I write with wearying predictability about your 'lets all laugh at the nerds' piece this evening. If you are going to assume an air of arch superiority over poor, sad, deluded Doctor Who fans, you could at least get your facts straight: the Ood were introduced two whole years ago; they are also not monsters, but symapthetic aliens. If more of your researchers were 'internet users who are preoccupied with the details of television episodes' then perhaps you wouldn't make such embarrassingly basic factual errors on ...
The Joseph Rowntree foundation has done a consultation on social evil, and what people think it means in modern Britain, and what they think the causes of it are. Predictably, everyone blames each other. The young blame the old, the poor blame the rich, the religious blame the atheists, the misogynists blame the women... From the conclusion:is religion a social evil or is it a force for good whose decline is causing damage to society? Is immigration a social evil or is it merely something we are fearful of and need to embrace and adapt to? Are young people to ...
When I worked in Parliament, we shared an office with Lembit Opik, Lib Dem MP for Montgomeryshire. Lembit is a top guy & the news tonight is that he has got engaged to his girlfriend Gabriela. I met her briefly a while back and she seemed lovely. Congratulations to them both and we'll look forward to the wedding photos. A night off campaigning completely today - was at the Long Blondes gig at the Forum in Kentish Town. Was a great gig, Kate Jackson looked and sounded great and I like the venue. Unfortunately hadn't been able to listen to ...
Saturday: Something SINISTER is moving in the darkness... better switch to INFRARED! Oo Dear... Ood 'ere {Posted by Picasa} So much for "Glow-in-the-Dark"; here's Daddy's review: Visually striking, from just gorgeous in the opening vistas and over-flying rocket through to some really boundary-pushing grotesquery at the end, and with what has got to be one of Doctor Who's biggest on-screen massacres, but this was really just too simple a story to match up to the multi-layered series we've become used to. For the second week running that there's an explicit reference to the adventures of William Hartnell as the Doctor ... | < | April 2008 | > | ||||
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