LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Thursday 24th July 2008

No Question Time! And no This Week!

... And thus, I give you linkspam! I promise I'll make a proper entry soon, it's just that I've been playing Doctor Who Top Trumps all day... {[info]} stephashley_fd talks sense about knife crime. {[info]} purplecthulhu talks sense about illegal download warnings. {[info]} lizw talks sense about the Max Mosley judgement. Going to see Tennant in Hamlet? Thinking of taking some Who stuff along for him to sign? Hahahahahahahaha.... No. My Top Trumps fever has reached a nadir when I'm looking at these and thinking cooooooooooooooool! but I do want to get one of these for {[info]} shrublette. Because chemistry ...

Summer Holiday Renovations

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me regarding the current crop of new building / property renovations that always seems to take place this time of year. Whenever summer comes, a number of the streets in the area are subject to a great deal of disturbance, including noise, mess, skips being left in the road, building material being left on pavements and rubbish being burned or (in some cases) tipped into neighbouring land. Not to mention furniture left in gardens. There are a number of measures that can be taken, from a quiet word from the Council up to ...

Vote for your top 10 British political blogs

Home to Market Harborough and it is time to catch up with things like this. Iain Dale writes to me: In early September TOTAL POLITICS, in association with APCO WORLDWIDE will publish the 2008-9 Guide to Political Blogging in the UK. It will contain articles on blogging by some of Britain's leading bloggers, together with a directory of UK political blogs, and a series of Top 20s and Top 10s. The book will be available at the Green Party, TUC, Labour, LibDem and Tory Conferences, where TOTAL POLITICS will have exhibition stands. We're asking for your votes to decide the ...

Watford update: Ian Oakley charged by the police

Ian Oakley, the Conservative Watford candidate who was arrested by the police last week (and subsequently resigned as the Conservative candidate), has now been charged: TORY hopeful Ian Oakley has been charged by police for his alleged involvement in a three-year hate vendetta. The 31-year-old former Conservative parliamentary candidate, who quit the party this week, was charged [...]

Labout set to lose in Glasgow East ?

John Pienarr, the BBC's political correspondent was hinting very strongly on Radio Five about 20 minutes ago that Glasgow East was on a knife edge and that Labour could lose. If so, it would mean the end of Brown, but even if Labour only just cling on, surely he would still have to go ?

Rather bizarre apologies

The story below is causing a few problems for some new readers. I checked my traffic levels this evening to find that today is my best day ever (albeit this is not a site that gets huge traffic). Curious I thought. After all, the two posts have been quirky rather than the sort of thing my readers (mainly political) go for. So I checked the referers list to find that the traffic all seems to be coming from Google. And in particular, to people searching for information on the number 16 bus. So apologies to those of you who came ...

Gifts for teachers - What NOT to buy

At the end of a school year teacher tend to get gifts from some children in their class, particularly when you teach young children. I am always extremely grateful for anything I receive, but there is one nagging fear in my mind every year, and that is how many cups will I get which say 'World's best teacher' of 'Great teacher' or 'Favourite teacher' or any other variations thereof. This year I was lucky in that I only received on mug with this message on. I say lucky because until recently I had a cupboard with about 14 of them ...

Screws gets caned on privacy

I'm with tonight's Evening Standard on the implications of the Max Mosley BDSM case decision. Mr Justice Eady reiterated that stories that invade privacy should be 'in the public interest' rather than merely 'of interest to the public'. This isn't news. Article 3 ii) of the Press Complaints Commission code of practice for journalists already states that: It is unacceptable to photograph

Do we need more checks between the ROI and the UK?

The British Government are going to increase checks between the UK and the Republic of Ireland in air and sea links. They may include checks between ROI and Northern Ireland for immigration, but the Government say these won't be fixed checkpoints. I wonder how far the Government are aloud to go with checkpoints due to the EU and the Schengen zone. I'm not convinced the measures will actually be neccessary. I haven't heard of large amounts of illegal immigrants coming to the UK via the Republic of Ireland.

Tories: The rats are fighting in the sack!

Oh dear. I shouldn't enjoy this, but I do. Naughty but nice - Salman Rushdie c1980 The bit I enjoyed the most is this outburst of pomposity from old Winters: Sir Nicholas told the Macclesfield Express yesterday that he was the victim of an 'illegal ageist campaign' by unelected advisors who he described as 'peddlers of lies'. Stand well back - the man's going to explode at any moment! It's

Response to some comments on 'Unconditional Benefits'

In my last post I set out what I considered to be the three necessary reforms to create a more equitable society - Land Value Tax (or "The Single Tax"), Citizen's Income and Ownership for All. In the comments, Tim Carpenter, Head of Policy at the Libertarian Party UK had several objections that I would like to address: Tim: "LVT can seem fine and dandy at the first off, but over time who decides the future value of your land?" Why does anyone need to decide the future value of your land? In any case, even if that were necessary ...

Why TINA has Ruled Britain for 30 Years

When contesting for power and afterwards in office Mrs Thatcher had a powerful ally, TINA. I forget when or in what context she first deployed TINA but her theme: "There Is No Alternative" became for me at least a kind of poster child for her World-view and her approach to government. At the time I only dimly grasped that something was going on beyond the simple ability to build a policy platform out of opinion poll gleanings so I am indebted to Joe Brewer and George Lakof of the Rockridge Institute for illuminating it in this important article first published ...

Syria looks like the good guy

A Syrian delegation was rejected by the US state department when it requested to meet a top US official. The US have given no reason why. Syria is trying to end isolation, so it appears to be reaching out, making Syria look like the good guy and America yet again as the bad guy. Is the Government's attitude reasonable does Syria deserve isolation? I'm not convinced.

Ian Oakley charged

According to Sara Bedford Ian Oakley, the Conservative candidate for Watford who resigned at the weekend, has now been charged by the police. This follows a long investigation into a campaign of harassment against Liberal Democrats in Watford. This harassment included damage to cars, grafitti aimed at slurring Liberal Democrat councillors and candidates, and mailing of unsolicited pornography. No one should be subject to such a campaign: let's hope it is now at an end. Of course being charged is not the same thing as being convicted, and no one will want to prejudge his case. A Conservative candidate in ...

Obama's speech in Berlin

I watched his speech live on BBC news 24 and it did have an effect on me. I would say I was taken away by his speech, it was incredible, the best I've seen so far. I was really excited by the radical actions he put forward. He spoke of how we needed a World with peace without nuclear weapons, that is the kind of leadership we need from the USA. He spoke of the forgotten people in World, those in poverty, he spoke of Darfur, of Somalia, of Burma and Zimbabwe. He also spoke of the need to take ...

Glasgow East - so where the bloody hell are you?

In fairness, the turnout of Lib Dem activists here in Glasgow East has been pretty good, with leaflets flying off of the shelves, and surprisingly little tea being drunk - Andrew Reeves is running his usual tight ship. I've been leafletting in Carmyle, the home suburb of our candidate, Ian Robertson, and then taken part in a little meet and greet session with Agnes and Craig, two voters who'll

Introducing Political TV online

Well i have now started a irfanahmed tv channel on you tube you can go to the channel by visiting www.youtube.com/irfanahmedtv. The Latest video's from Irfanahmed TV will be available for reader's to watch on the sidebar of the blog!

Total Politics Guide to Political Blogs 2008-09 Contractual Obligation Promo

I feel so dirty - let's get this out of the way quickly: In early September Total Politics, in association with APCO Worldwide, will publish the 2008-09 Guide to Political Blogging in the UK. It will contain articles on blogging by some of Britain's leading bloggers, together with a directory of UK political blogs, and a [...]

Big Brother's at it again

Labour have been talking about introducing powers to store everyone's texts and emails for government perusal. How is this different from the government opening every letter sent in the country, taking a photocopy and then sending it on. If they did this there'd be uproar, but because it's electronic data it somehow seems less intrusive and [...]

Scottish stories

As voters go to the polls in the Glasgow East by-election the fate of Gordon Browm allegedly hangs in the balance. It is widely acknowledged that the SNP are the main challengers though I expect the Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate to make a fight of it. Consequently, there has been a fair amount of movement between Wales and Scotland as Plaid Cymru activists head north to assist their nationalist brethren. Those Plaid members may be interested in a piece in this week's Private Eye about the way the SNP are shaping up in government. The magazine tells us that the ...

Mankind's Metareflective Abilities Allow Us To What?

Typo of the Day (and quite possibly year) comes from the Summer 2008 edition of The Liberal Magazine. Fellow English Literature graduates may recognise the author - Terry Eagleton - for his works on literary theory. The, erm, column is called 'On Reflection', and is a reflection of the differences in reflection between man and animal, and in particular man's ability to reflect upon his own reflections. Have a read. You may want to click on the image to enlarge...

Telling in Westminster

While the voters of Glasgow East — or a least some of them — were going to the polls this afternoon, in what will be widely interepreted as a verdict on Gordon Brown, I did a stint of telling at a polling station for a Westminister Council by-election, in which Martin Thompson was the LibDem [...]

'Love it, Hate it' Exhibition

Many people have said that Redcar seafront needs a facelift. The Council has arranged an exhibition to get the views from the public - and the views from YOU - about what you would LOVE to see in a new design for the seafront - and also what you would HATE to see. Your views will then be forwarded to the designers and architects who are taking part in the challenge to come up with a design for the seafront. You will be extended a warm welcome by the staff who are manning the exhibition tomorrow or over the weekend ...

Six of the best for News of the World

... where 'the best' in this case is £10,000 of compensation for Oswald^H^H^H^H^H Mike^H^H^H Max Moseley. I have to say I was hoping for a larger award - but the costs, which run to £850,000, will hopefully make a decent dent in the profits of the News of the Screws. The court held that everyone was entitled to privacy - even if they used that privacy to engage in sadomasochistic orgies. The idea that there was a public interest in Moseley's sex life was, frankly, ludicrous. The News of the World story was gutter journalism of the worst sort, designed ...

Yorkshire flag welcomes people to Redcar

This is the sight that now welcomes visitors into Redcar by train. The Yorkshire flag has replaced the Union Flag which had worn in half over Hartgrove's Removal depot. The Redcar Station complex also houses the constituency office of Redcar's MP, Vera Baird, who may need to be told what the flag stands for.

Another merger on the cards?

The news that the Conservatives are pondering merger with the Ulster Unionists makes me wonder whether there will be any similar moves between the Liberal Democrats and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. I'm no expert on Northern Irish politics but it does strike me that 'politics as usual', less defined by sectarianism, sounds like just what's needed - and that a merger of the Conservatives and the UUP would help this. Furthermore, Conservative skills and resources might make the DUP's a life a lot more difficult: also a very good thing. Of course, the upshot might be several more ...

Social care in Reading under the spotlight

Ivan Lewis, Care Services Minister, visited Reading yesterday, according to today's Evening Post. During his visit, Mr Lewis highlighted the review the government launched at the start of the year (by the Commission for Social Care Inspection) into the eligibility criteria used by local authorities to decide who should receive social care. While in Reading, Mr Lewis couldn't resist a side swipe at Tory-controlled Wokingham Borough Council, which has a policy which means that far fewer people are eligible for social care than those living in Reading. Currently, the level and quality of care you receive in the UK is ...

Nuclear Policy all at Sea

The Government wants to build a new generation of nuclear power plants in Britain - but where? It's a fairly open secret that they favour putting them at existing nuclear sites which are almost all around the coast and there are indeed good reasons for this, including: Public acceptance is likely to be easier to win; existing plants are typically an important part of the local economy and people have got used to having them as neighbours. Grid connections already exist. Creating connections for new sites would be a substantial additional cost and probably strongly contested through the planning process. ...

Campbell commends the skill and dedication of coastguards

{Ming Campbell at Forth Coastguard} North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell today visited Forth Coastguard station at Fife Ness in the constituency to talk to staff about the vitally important work that they do for the fishing industry, shipping and leisure in the Forth coast area. Sir Menzies has previously highlighted the importance of the services provided by the Coastguard during the course of a debate about the Coastguard Agency in House of Commons. He told his Parliamentary colleagues that for the fishing industry the availability of coastguard cover 365 days of the year was essential for safety and ...

PM in a sticky situation

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7520401.stm The Prime Minister was left in a sticky situation when a campaigner against Heathrow airports third runway glued himself to the prime Minister at a ceremony at Downing street. The Prime Minister was about the give the campaigner an award when the campaigner took out his super glued hand and put it on the Prime Minister. Read the Post above it is quiet amusing and i think one of the funniest campaign rallies i have ever seen. What do you think?

A plea for more women

to stand for Federal Party Committees. Along with various other things, this note came through the post from the Women Liberal Democrats. I was rather taken with its to the point and concise argument. so, I have TYPED IT OUT(!!!) below. And added some links so that you can easily see what they're on about. The number of women seeking election to the Federal Policy and Federal Executive committees has declined in the recent past. As a result the responsibility of ensuring that a female viewpoint is expressed falls very heavily on just a few women. Is this fair? The ...

If the British are the Only Nation on Earth to Use the Word 'Glass' as a Verb, Why Would We Assume That Knives Are the Problem?!

On Lib Dem voice at the moment, there's a post about Chris Huhne's take on the latest target of tabloid hysteria - evil knife crime. He has asked some questions in Parliament, and looked into the statistics around prosecutions for the sale of knives to minors, shifting the emphasis and the blame for the 'crisis' onto shopkeepers rather than the young knife-carriers themselves. You might think party members would be clapping their hands about the Home Affairs Spokesman's timely findings: after all, it has attracted some media coverage, and that is unfortunately all too rare for our parliamentarians (take Jo ...

Alix's book meme thingy

Ok, I'll go along with it too. Those I've read are in red and those I intend to read are in blue. I've read a number of Shakespeare's plays and certain parts of the bible (won't be reading any in the future though) so they won't be in any colour. 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6 The Bible* 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 8 Nineteen Eighty ...

Health Service Consultation

I mentioned previously I'd post more information about the local health service consultation for South Liverpool. This is all about services like GPs and clinics. There is a separate consultation going on about the Royal Hospital. Anyway, the consultation period kicked off this week. There'll be leaflets etc in all sorts of locations. And the health service is organising a trailer which will be parked up at different places so people can pop in, find out more and have their say. I now have the first few trailer locations and they are today (24th) Garston Hospital (Sir Alfred Jones Memorial) ...

Family History Courses

Four Redcar and Cleveland branch libraries will be hosting 30-week family history courses, led by former reference librarian turned Redcar Adult Education tutor Larry Bruce. Enrolment has started for the courses, which begin on Wednesday, September 24 at Redcar, between 10am-noon and Marske, between 2pm-4pm, on Thursday, September 25 at South Bank, between 10am-noon and on Friday, September 26 at Laburnum Road, Redcar, between 10am-noon. You can enrol by telephone, e-mail, personal application or post to Redcar Education Development Centre, Corporation Road, Redcar TS10 1HA. For more information, call 01642 490409 or 475397.

Is This a Northern Irish Breakthrough?

My former Minister, from when I worked at the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment, Sir Reg Empey and Conservative leader David Cameron have today issued what may be an historic statement. The will set up a 'joint working group to explore the possibilities of closer cooperation leading to the creation of a new political and electoral force in Northern Ireland. That working group will

Jolly Roger

One policy proposal in the pantheon of measures the music industry would like ISPs to take includes a monthly charge to some or all customers to 'allow' them to download illegal music. The revenue would be given to music companies. Its not clear which 'companies' exactly, these funds would go to. One assumes it might be a little tricky to recompense indie outlets. Then again they don't pay lobbyists. Beyond the reality that this measure is unworkable, what precedent does it set. Is illegal downloading illegal or not. Is it common to tax and ignore illegal activity while maintaining that ...

As Barry Manilow might say, 'Looks like we made it...'

I've made it safely into Scotland and, contrary to the rumours, there are no polar bears, igloos or frozen tundra. Pity really, I quite like polar bears... Fortified by a second chardonnay-pinot grigio hit, and with a comfortable pair of walking shoes, it will soon be time to find Glasgow East. I'll report back once I've found the HQ...

Lonesome George may not be so lonesome anymore

I read with happiness yesterday that Lonesome George may have managed to become a father.

David Cameron

David Cameron Mp, will be coming to the Royal Welsh Show today....but instead of being all environmental, Mr Cameron will be arriving by hellicopter! So does that mean that he's no longer courting the green vote?

Scottish Lib Dem leader nominations close

The Press Association reports the (unsurprising) news: The deadline for nominations in the race to lead the Scottish Liberal Democrats has closed with no late challengers in the three-way campaign. Mike Rumbles and former ministers Tavish Scott and Ross Finnie will now concentrate on winning party support before the poll on August 26. The candidates are hoping to [...]

25 years too late ?

It seems rather odd that the UK and Ireland are to start having border checks on cars leaving and entering the Republic of Ireland from Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Surely these checks would have been valuable in 'the troubles', but to start them now seems very odd indeed. P.S. I note that the BBC report says this will be the first time formal border checks have occurred in 80 years. Any checks in the troubles were ad hoc.

Will this lady set alight John McCain's ticket?

It's a fun question attached to fairly long odds. But if John McCain wanted to add a bit of pizazz to his ticket, he might just set it alight with the choice of Carly Fiorina. She has a very distinguished business career behind her, culminating as CEO of HP. She's been working for McCain's campaign more recently. She's a tough cookie, having seen through a gruelling challenge to her proposal

Update : Path adjacent to Seymour Lodge

If you click on the headline above, you'll recall that, back in February, I raised the issue of the state of the pathway to the side of Seymour Lodge (the thoroughfare from Shaftesbury Road to Perth Road), which is extremely well used by residents in the West End, but currently in very poor condition (see below). At the time, I contacted Tayside Police to request that the Force upgrade an area of pathway as it is in their ownership, and I am now pleased to advise that the Police have now confirmed that the upgrading works will take place at ...

Over the top and Scotland bound

A change of huskies at Preston and we're on our way towards Shap through the gorgeous Cumbrian scenery. Whilst there was no sauvignon blanc, I am consoled by the chardonnay-pinot grigio that replaced it, along with some ham sandwiches, some fruit and a piece of chocolate lemon shortbread. It looks as though Adam Boulton will make it to Glasgow in one piece (I apologise to his understudy for

Open (speculation) thread: What do you think will happen in Glagow East - and will it matter?

What is it about parliamentary by-elections? You wait ages for one, then four come along at once. Hot-on-the-heels of Crewe and Nantwich, Henley and Haltemprice & Howden is Glasgow East, theoretically at least a safe Labour seat. Here was the result at the 2005 general election: David Marshall, Labour 18,775 (61%) Lachlan McNeill, Scottish National Party 5,268 [...]

New Maillot Jeune

The Tour de France reached the Alps at the weekend the stage up there on Sunday say subtle changes in the General Classification in what was turning out to be a very tight race. Monsieur Frank from Luxembourg had a narrow lead over Mister Cadel from Australia. After a rest day on Wednesday nobody really was able to attack when the fight resumed on Tuesday, but yesterday's stage was to finish on

Glasgow By Election

The polling day at a By Election that will judge the future of the Labour Party and the future of the conservative party. We all know the Liberal Democrats are going to have a hard fight winning this by election despite them being the political party that got the people of Scotland free education and got tuition fees scrapped for the people of Scotland. If i was living in the by election constituency as a young man and many other young people i know would have voted the Liberal Democrats as they are the party that has scrapped tuition ...

on his bike...not any more

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7523144.stm David Cameron was out shopping at his local Tesco branch when his bike that was chained outside was stolen by someone. That bike i think was the same bike the Tory used to cycle into Parliament with when he was elected Leader of the conservatives. I actually am quiet surprised at the fact that the bike of a Conservative politician was stolen. Will we see the bike being sold on eBay?

A non-judgmental judgment

I've just been reading the Mosley judgment (I love my job sometimes). I think this is a good, liberal judgment that will be quite important for BDSMers and anyone else consensually involved in non-conventional sexual activities. Amongst other things, the judge says: *that BDSM may seem strange to outsiders, but the participants have to be believed when they explain what they get out of it *that there was a 'large element of friendship' between Mosley and the women that was not overridden by the commercial aspect - I thought it was good to see him making some attempt to appreciate ...

Marching with the enemy?

As someone who often gets ticked off for being too pally with people from other parties, I have probably earned myself a few negative brownie points over the past couple of weeks. Regular readers will know that I often chat about the Tory Boys and I also value my friendship with our local Labour MP Patrick Hall and friends from Respect. Politics of course is important to me but it frankly isn't the only thing I care about and if I made a condition of friendship shared political views I'd be quite a lonely person! So on Saturday I was ...

Customers are our top priority... well, their money

Been a busy week again so far - on Monday night met up with my old friend Mark (who is visiting home from Singapore where he now runs his company Remarkable Innovation), Tuesday was Audit Committee and last night was an Area Assembly meeting to discuss local 'Making the Difference' funding. Tonight I'm off to the Globe with Owen to see King Lear though, fortunately looks like good weather for standing in the open air. But just thought I'd share a couple of stories of bad customer service with you, both happened to friends of mine in the last week. ...

Wall Street got drunk

George W. Bush adds to his list of memorable quotes with this blinder.

Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii

There are some corkers in this news story - amusing to read, though I might not be so amused if I'd been called Number 16 Bus Shelter.

Jonathan Wallace, eat your heart out...

Past Crewe, but the weather is beginning to deteriorate, with cattle huddling together for warmth and regular draughts of coffee helping to keep morale up. Hopefully, the huskies will be able to keep going until we reach the supplies cairn somewhere near Preston, where a case of sauvignon blanc is waiting...

A new market for Speke

Sometimes things take a long time! Some years ago I went to speak at the City Council's planning committee about the plans for the new Speke District Centre - including the new Morrison's store. Most of what I had to say was very positive, but I do remember pointing out the lack of any obvious place for Speke market. At the time we had fought very hard to stop the market being closed down entirely, but it was clear that it would have to move as part of all the changes in the area. The committee agreed that there wasn't ...

The curriculum for 3 year olds

The Times has received a letter signed by 80 academics (and a few high-profile authors) criticising the government's proposals for an Early Years Foundation Stage - labelled, not inaccurately, as a toddlers curriculum.They report it in an article, Authors unite against drive for toddler literacy, and the letter itself can be read here. They also make the issue the main subject of their leader column today making the entirely sensible point that:'The EYFS should be made voluntary, not mandatory, leaving the most important decisions about young children to those who know them best.'CentreForum believe that the government should concern themselves ...

BERR witholds report revealing huge decommissioning cost

The Guardian reported on the response to the BERR Committee's fourth report of the session. The response reveals that over 40% of BERR's budget is spent underwriting nuclear clean-up (£400m). I write to observe that not only has the Department failed to publish its response on its own websites, it may have withheld links to the report from the BERR Committee and the administrators of Parliament's web pages as the report has still not been published there. I wonder why they would do that? The NDA is stuffed full of ex-BERR employees. Its communications department alone has half a dozen ...

Vote for St Georges!!!

St Georges Hall is through to the last round of a contest for more lottery cash. The Hall will get the money if it wins its category - which is for heritage projects. It's all based on public votes - either by phone or on line. The link to the website page is here. There isn't long to vote though - deadline is 8 August

Tories are still stupid, we're not throwing enough rocks at them

Many thanks to Peter Black and Nich Starling for bringing to our attention the recent demonstrations from Nick Bourne and David Ruffley that Conservatives are better off silent. The advantage of being policy-free is that attacking the Conservative Party is a bit like punching fog. You know that there is probably something in there that you don't like, but it's hard to make your attacks count.

A little victory for privacy

I very much doubt if I can be classed as a fan of Max Mosley, but his victory over the News of the World is to be welcomed. The NotW described his activities as 'truly grotesque and depraved'. That quote ought to be used in dictionaries to define the meaning of 'disingenuous'. The News of the World's primary purpose was once described as giving Joe Bloggs the chance of a quiet Sunday afternoon '

A (rather confused) Thanks, and Some Linkies

Firstly, there are now Three Whole People who have, to my knowledge, voted for me in Iain Dale's beauty pageant. Two of these three are people that I instinctively react to as My Betters (I'm not saying which two! LOL), so this is very flattering. All three of them are people that I didn't vote for, and I can't afford to pay you guys, so you'll have to make do with my heartfelt thanks and the knowledge that my ego is now at critical, and he'll be breaking his chains before much longer... Via Dreaming of Simplicity, a Proposal to ...

Off and running

Well, we've made it past Milton Keynes. The huskies are doing well, and the sled runners are nice and smooth as we race towards Rugby in the bright sunshine. In the distance, I can see Adam Boulton. Good news, methinks, if provisions get low, I can feed him to the huskies. The pink shirt that he's wearing should make him easy to spot..

Shame, Pain & Dr. Death

So, the arrest of Dr. Radovan Karadzic finally happened. I find it hard to be joyful. The return of the mispronouncing newsreaders makes me wince slightly, but so does the knowledge that few things in the Balkans are entirely as they seem. Western leaders have gone onto the television praising 'a genuine breakthrough', conveniently forgetting they role that their countries played in the savage unwinding of what had seemed to be a modern, European society. The hypocrisy of Douglas Hurd, the sanctimoniousness of David Owen, all were impotent in the face of defiance and -yes, not too strong a word- ...

I, Number 16 bus shelter, do take thee, Tulula does the Hula from Hawaii, to be my lawful wedded wife...

This story from the Beeb has made me chuckle. It seems that parents in New Zealand have been calling their children all sorts of weird and wonderful names. The name that brought it to a head was the aforementioned 'Tulula does the hula from Hawaii'. The nine year old girl was so embarrassed that she refused to tell anyone her name and wanted simply to be called 'K'. So from Bob Geldof to emo in a single bound. Other names which have been rejected include: Yeah Detroit; Stallion; Twisty Poi; Keenan Got Lucy; Sex Fruit; Fat Boy; Cinderella Beauty Blossom; ...

Hats off to Giles Coren

If Guido is right about this being genuine then I'm full of admiration for Giles Coren. I mean, who but the truly brave would risk the wrath of sub-editors for generations to come. Having worked in magazines and newspapers off and on, I know that the subs at the Times will be itching to get their revenge. I'll be on the look out for acrostics. Incidentally, I read the piece in question when it was published and I thought it would be funnier with the addition of the 'a' in the final sentence.

The Revival of the Conservative and Unionist Party

I woke up to the news this morning that David Cameron is having talks about closer links with the Ulster Unionists. This could be seen as a sign of the times, the climate has changed. But despite the progress in Northern Ireland, the UUP will still be seen as a sectarian party. I always remember a Catholic union colleague of mine from Belfast, who would constantly chide the Tories about being the 'Conservative and Unionist' party. Of course what the Tories do is up to them, but I will be watching with interest the fallout from this.

Max Moseley and Privacy Law

What is interesting here is how law is being developed by the judges on the basis of an article of ECHR (Article 8). There are complex issues relating to Contempt of Court (Family Court Stuff), Privacy and Defamation that were discussed recently by the Policy Exchange. There needs to be a wider consideration as to where the boundary should lie as it is not entirely clear.

Horn of Africa - Don't wait for the disaster, donate now.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/ Rising food prices, poor harvest, you don't have to wait till people are dying, you can always donate now at www.oxfam.org.uk

Giles Coren, We Salute You

It's not often that I link to another blog story merely for the sake of it, but today's Guido proves an exception. Click here. P.S. An ex-girlfriend of Julian H once worked as a sub for the Sunday Times. In the Sport section. True fact.

Microsoft's CEO is... unhinged

This video helps to explain why Windows Vista is useless:

'Make it Happen' Poll results

Well i have had a poll up on my blog recently inviting people to tell me what they think of Nick Clegg's vision for Britain 'Make it Happen'. Well the results from it show that the majority of the people who took part in the poll actually think the idea's put forward by the Lib Dem Leader are good the results are below' Good 69% OK 19% Bad 13% Well the results are their in front of you and now you decide at the general election if you want these plans in 'Make it happen' to be in forced or ...

McCain's Veep choice to be announced today?

Well, that's the speculation - he could try to spike Obama's 'Ich bin ein Berliner' revival with such an anouncement. But as for who it will be, it's very much - 'Pick a Veep - any Veep....' I would have thought Mitt 'Satan' Romney was a good bet. But Pawlenty has been mentioned, Portman, Kasich, Bobby Jindal...Carly Fiorina. It could be anyone. I think he's onto a loser to try to buck Obama's

Memo to the party re: Bones Commission - time to get with the Internet!

Last week, the Lib Dem blogopshere lit up following a report in The Times alleging that the Bones Commission on reforming the party's structures would "turn the party's traditional structure on its head, centralising all decision-making under a new "chief officers group" and diluting the roles of its committees." Nick Clegg himself addressed some of [...]

City Council's survey totally misleading

There's a big problem with the Winchester City Council survey which they've used to conclude that people locally want step-change growth or to build on Barton Farm. The problem is that their survey doesn't include enough people from the city itself. As a consequence, the results are totally misleading. Even though half the people in the district live in or near Winchester, only 2 of the council's 7 consultation meetings - the ones in the Guildhall and in Littleton - were in or near Winchester. As a result, only around 1 in 5 of those they asked to complete their ...

Not fit for purpose

Just under two weeks ago Miss Wagstaff tagged me in a meme to name the most monumental waste of £200,000 public money. There was just so much to choose from. However, a current news story has prompted me to make a choice even though the amount of money being wasted is well in excess of the nominated amount. The BBC is reporting today that MPs are calling for a cut in the number of bids by AMs and the Welsh Assembly Government for more powers. The Welsh affairs select committee say that the eleven proposed legislative competence orders (LCOs) risk ...

Tranquil and idyllic thanks to the Northern Line

Hidden away in Hampstead Heath is the magical Hill Garden. It offers a complete contrast to the wild decadence of the pergola. It is famously quiet and serene and a great place to sit, contemplate, write or paint. It's not unusual to find a painter, sketcher or photographer here enjoying the view and atmosphere. There is an ornamental fish pond at the heart of the garden and at the far end there is a little alcove with a bench which gives a stunning view of the heath with London as the backdrop. The pergola itself is the creation of Lord ...

A Few Images for Election Day in Glasgow East

Firstly it looks as if Kezia Dugadale has been lending stuff to Labour candidate Margaret Curran. Image from the Times Yes is that really Kez's own soapbox making an appearance on the stump?Then Peter Brookes cartoonist in The Times offers Gordon Brown some advise should it all go wrong.

A bureaucrat decides - my top ten blogs of 2008

Apparently, there is some sort of poll going on to decide Britain's best political blogs. Last year, I didn't vote (alright, I was deep in the throes of passion and was therefore far too busy). This year, I'm still too busy, but there is a space in my diary and I feel guilty, so... Liberal Democrat Voice - The LDV Collective: I love these guys, mainly for providing me with a chance to moan very

Very Bad Santa

Sorry I couldn't resist. I'm very much looking forward to seeing this awful man on trial in The Hague. President Tadić has played a blinder so far. Come on Serbia, get Mladić and we may see you in the EU sooner rather than later.

Thursday 24th July 2008

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