A good while ago, SYLD used to do a newsletter-type-thing called Campaign Radical. Since LYS is trying to resurrect young liberalism, we've decided to do that again, too. With one change. The name "Campaign Radical" has been removed from consideration, for various reasons (some of them very good). But we don't yet have an alternative. Any suggestions? [...]
The thought of actually corresponding with people like him turns my stomach. They didn't give two hoots for my opinion when they were in power, should I be cynical that they do so now? A tweet at Alistair Campbell and a reply Yesterday I tweeted at Alistair to ask him why his website and blog were such a mess design wise and you can read the tweet below: "@campbellclaret Why is your blog such a mess design wise, visit mine to see a nice and clear design irfanahmed.org" Alistair replied by tweeting the following back: @irfanahmed Ah, my site is ...
The Daily Telegraph reports that the House of Commons Speaker has courted further controversy by signing an order that prevents the publication of details of trips abroad made by MPs as guests of the British Council, a taxpayer-funded body: Since February 2007, 12 MPs have travelled overseas with the British Council to destinations including Thailand, India and Malawi, often at a cost of
So having watched Richard Dawkins's "The Root of All Evil?", I decided to watch another of his series. This time I chose "The Genius of Charles Darwin", hoping that it would be rather better than the previous programme. I was hoping for a clear explanation of Darwin's theory and why it is correct. Sadly, the explanations were dumbed down, the arguments simplistic and hence full of holes, and - surprise surprise - he spent at least as much time talking about religion as he did about Charles Darwin's genius. Bleah.This time, unlike previously, there's no choice as to who gets ...
Over the past few years we have had a series of recommendations to change the way we deal with drugs, from scholars, scientists, even top policemen, as well as people whom the government has hired specifically to look into the issues. Blakemore, Birt, and now Nutt (and whatever you think of Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom of North Wales police him too) have all concluded, after reasoned study and argument that our current system is not fit for purpose and does more harm than good. Not a single one of these people is remotely what you could call "pro-drugs". Not one ...
Yesterday I tweeted at Alistair to ask him why his website and blog were such a mess design wise and you can read the tweet below: "@campbellclaret Why is your blog such a mess design wise, visit mine to see a nice and clear design irfanahmed.org" Alistair replied by tweeting the following back: @irfanahmed Ah, my site is more than a blog. Yours is an interesting combination of orange, yellow and beige. And some words. All the best I am firstly surprised that he replied and secondly the way he replied. Am I meant to take the comment about "some ...
The Liberal Democrats are up to 22% as shown by a new poll by ICM which will be published in the Sunday Telegraph tomorrow. Anyway it shows that people are moving towards the Lib Dems and this 22% just shows that they will hopefully not lose any seats at the next general election. The result for the poll are as followed: CONSERVATIVES 40% (-4) LABOUR 28% (-4) LIB DEMS 22% (+6) If the Lib Dems were to come out at the next general election with just over 22% then we as a party could be on our way to becoming ...
Looking for a great present for a Spurs fan? Or just something for yourself? Thanks to the generosity of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, I have an autographed Spurs pennant, which I'm auctioning now on eBay. The club have donated this pennant to me so I can raise money for Refuge. So if you're interested, then just go to eBay and place a bid! It's signed by Michael Dawson, Ledley King, David Bentley and Jermaine Jenas, amongst others - full details and more photos in the eBay listing. I've seen almost identical things on sale online for sums like £150 - ...
Who are the best people to tell teenagers what it's like to have a baby when you are young? Teachers try, so do youth workers, but it seems fairly obvious that young people are more likely to believe people of their own age. This was the premise behind Straight Talking, a charity set up by a Hilary Pannack from Hook some ten years ago. In fact, its full title is Straight Talking Peer...
I saw this: in my local supermarket earlier today and it almost took my breath way. It is a brand of bottled water called "Belu" which has the text "Stop Global Warming" emblazoned across the top of the pack along with "Penguin Approved - Less CO2 More Icebergs" and the statement that they use "The First Low Carbon Compostable Bottle - Made From Corn". I have seen some greenwash in my time but this surely will take some beating. According to their wikipedia entry, the still water that Belu sell in these bottles is sourced from Shropshire and/or Wales. I ...
From Guardian Weekend Letters 31 January: "Which living person do you most despise?" is an interesting question again with the demise of George Bush. Mike Skinner's answer (Q&A, 24 January) - "Boris, the idiot mayor of London" - was not a bad start.Richard Stainton London SE24 And the same organ, Letters today: George Bush doesn't get off the hook of being "the living person you most despise"
There's something deeply old fashioned about placing all our hopes in a couple of ships on their way from Germany and Spain. But then again, I suppose that's modern "Just in time" inventory management for you! Meanwhile, Gloucestershire are putting table salt on their roads. Fish adn chips anyone?
In a blog posting earlier today I touched on the issue of forecasts which are given to a spurious degree of accuracy, and by coincidence I've just come across another example, this time from the world of online advertising. Nate Elliott of Forrester has produced a report on the outlook for online advertising, saying that: We had previously forecasted that online ad spend would account for 12.6% of all European advertising in 2012; thanks to the recession, we've increased that forecast to 14.8%. Do you think that you can forecast (a) how much advertising there will be in Europe in ...
More coverage of the Lib Dem schools' policy - launched in Islington - in the Guardian, and the Indy. At the heart of the plans is cutting primary school class sizes to just 15, to give state school infants the same good start as their peers in private schools: as the Indy points out, a recent [...]
According to Professor David Nutt of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), taking ecstacy is no more dangerous than riding a horse. He explained that 100 deaths a year are attributed to horse riding as opposed to around 30 deaths per year from ecstacy and: "This attitude raises the critical question of why society tolerates - indeed encourages - certain forms of potentially harmful behaviour but not others such as drug use." It's a very good question and one that I think it is society's and polticians duty to debate openly and honestly. Of course that is ...
It's a long time since I've paid more than a cursory interest in the so called "beautiful game" but if there is one team I ever did support (after witnessing the punch up between Kevin Keegan and Billy Bremner when my dad took me to a mid-70s Charity Shield match) it's been Liverpool (up till then I supported Leeds!). But in those days, we had British teams representing the proud people of British cities with people like Dalglish (who was exotic enough from north of the border), Callaghan, Keegan, Rush, Neal, Hughes, Barnes, Aldridge and so on. Now I know ...
It's alternate history - and this guy is asking.....
Absolute bollocks! School bureaucracy (and local state protected monopoly) goes bonkers in cold weather... Cold war over coat policy 6:30am Saturday 7th February 2009 Comments (13) Have your say » By Hayley Cover » Children had a freezing walk home after a school confiscated their coats because they were not official uniform. Last night, John and Shirley Cooper said they were outraged King Alfred's Sports and Community College, in Wantage, had not let their son Sean, 14, have the coat back to go home. The school confiscated the coats of four other children on Tuesday. Sean had to walk half ...
....I stumbled on this old article from the Times of India from 2005. The author is genuinely shocked that British Asians don't feel obliged to vote on racial lines: Punters agree on the state of Asian political impotence. Many believe Asian political disinterest is starkly revealed by the shocking fact that Asians will not automatically support Asian candidates in at least four key
Dear me. You couldn't make it up. A chain of hardware stores in Texas, has offered George W Bush a job as a store greeter at its Dallas branch.
... This live version of Tom Petty's "Yer So bad". Petty is at his sardonic best here..... If you prefer it , the original video - the one with an inflatable doll - is here.
Sharon Shoesmith pleads her side of the story in today's Guardian. Her account sheds adds very little to what has already been aired in public - so rather than go over the ground I've blogged about at some length previously I'll just make three brief points this time: 1. It's a journalistic scoop for The Guardian - so I've no complaints over the front page lead and three full inside pages they've given it. But what a contrast with the way that so many people who had concerns about how Haringey services were being run under Sharon Shoesmith were side-lined, ...
A Home Office spokesperson has admitted that knife crime statistics published in December were not checked by statisticians before being released. The fact sheet has already been criticised by the UK Statistics Authority for its "selective or otherwise in appropriate comparisons", "inappropriate conclusions" and "unsubstantiated claims." The BBC's Mark Easton has blogged about the Government's confused account of how the statistics came to be released: "This afternoon, cabinet office Minister Kevin Brennan told committee of MPs that "the statistics produced within the Home Office on that fact sheet were approved by statisticians in the Home Office before publication". "Startled by ...
The recent news that Michael Phelps has lost some of his sponsorship, some funding and has had a 3 month ban imposed on him by his sporting body has got me angry. Apparently he was photographed at a party inhaling what looked like cannabis smoke through a bong. There have been claims that he is "setting a bad example" and as a role model it is "appalling" that he should do something like this. I would like to make the following points: 1) Michael Phelps is an absolute phenomenon. He won 8 gold medals in the 2008 Olympics which is ...
Professor David Nutt, who happens to chair the government's advisory council on drugs has apparently written that the risks associated with taking Ecstasy are no worse than those of riding a horse: Ecstasy 'not worse than riding' The panel will review the latest evidence before making its decision Taking the drug ecstasy is no more dangerous than riding a horse, a senior advisor has suggested. Professor David Nutt, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), outlined his view in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. The council, which advises the government, is expected next week to recommend that ...
I don't often get too excited about opinion polls but this one, showing the Lib Dems up 6 points on the previous similar poll, can't be bad. It must be significant that this comes in the month where: Vince Cable has been again been vocal about the economy The Lib Dems opposed Israeli action in Gaza The Lib Dems led the campaign against the Goverment's plans to exempt MP's expenses from Freedom on Information legislation The Lib Dems vocally opposed the Government's plans for a third runway at Heathrow. My natural scepticism for opinion polls remains, and there is never ...
The internet seems to have got a bit excited about the latest ICM poll, something which The Voice tends not to do, but given my past complaints about the media and polling it seems only fair to point out that the Sunday Telegraph looks to have given up its brief flirtation with a non-British Polling Council firm (a flirtation I criticised at the time). Moreover, the paper's report sensibly compares the poll results with the previous ICM poll, even though that was commissioned for (shock! horror!) a different newspaper. The tendency to airbrush out polls carried out for rivals when ...
Fantastic news. According to political betting, tomorrow's Sunday Telegraph will be running the story that both Conservatives and Labour are down 4% and that the Liberal Democrats are up 6%. Apparently the Conservatives would have an overall majority of 28 seats in the House of Commons if this was repeated at a General Election. I wonder given this poll was conducted on the 4th and 5th February, how much the workers snowed in impacted on this poll.
There has been much puzzlement, and not a little anger, with the recent activities of Derek Draper who, in following Iain Dale's Twitter feed and then deciding to follow everyone who follows it, has impressed upon many that he doesn't really get it. Alright, it should be said that, from his perspective, there is little to be lost by annoying a bunch of Tories and Lib Dems. One presumes that he is
Tory Troll has highlighted just how expense Boris Johnson's political rallies public meeting are racking up the bills, including taxi fares and very expensive "Audio/Visual services" for one. What on earth was done at one meeting to require £9,800 on "audio/visual services", and why should a meeting in London which ends mid-evening require £1,000 in taxi bills?
The menu for the Gosport Lib Dems Annual Dinner (see below for detailed post) - at which CHRIS HUHNE MP is guest speaker - reaches us: Fan of Gallia melon Chicken wrapped in Parma ham served with vegetables and a white wine sauce Profiteroles Tea and coffee The vegetarian option is mushroom tagliatelle. The annual dinner is taking place at the Alverbank Hotel on Friday 13 February, at 7.30 for 8 pm. Tickets are available from Bob Forder: r.w.forder@btinternet.com
The BBC were featuring a story today about "work from home" scams where people are told they can earn £300 a day for stuffing envelopes in return for a one off £35 fee. Now lets start by doing the maths. £300 per day is £1500 a week which equates to £78000 a year. Does anyone honestly believe you can earn £78000 a year stuffing envelopes ? It may sound incredibly cruel, but if you honestly believe you can earn more than a doctor, an MP, a head teacher, a senior policeman, a bank manager, a solicitor or an accountant by ...
The following story reaches us from the Islington Tribune about a Lib Dem councillor with a track record of tackling crime and anti-social behaviour head-on: FACED with a group of youths goading a Staffordshire Bull Terrier to strip bark off trees to toughen its jaws, a lesser person would walk away. But 82-year-old deputy mayor and Lib Dem councillor Anna Berent is not a lesser person - she once bit a burglar - and the safety of the tree, in Petherton Road, in Highbury, was more important to her. ... Cllr Berent said: "I was going home and I saw ...
Throughout his time as Mayor, Ken Livingstone was pressing for controversial powers to 'top-slice' section 106 money for London-wide projects. Section 106 money is the community benefit negotiated by local councils in their role as planning authorities to compensate their communities for the negative impact of new developments. It can range from making builders restore [...]
I have a confession to make. I think Jeremy Clarkson can be obnoxious and ignorant, but despite his occasional lapse into beyond-the-pale bad taste, most of the time he is absolutely hilarious. We are all Top Gear fans in this house, even Anna, who has been known to trawl the Dave schedules for repeats of the programme. My husband, whose profession as a health and safety adviser regularly gets the sharp end of Clarkson's tongue, is a total fan and has all his books. He's strayed once again into controversy because of his comments about Gordon Brown. Now, I will ...
I'm off to watch the Rugby (in the pub). But before I go, the BBC have a set of 6 Nations highlights against music and with news clips (as only the BBC do). I particularly love the 1980s one - Bill Beaumont's tie and jumper combo, the MV Mi Amigo (home of Radio Caroline) sinking with its aerial mast defiantly sticking out of the sea, great music... oh just click on the image to watch it and get
My Wednesday was a long day but a good one. I made it into Chesham for work despite the snow. I'd been able to check my chosen route online first, and got to work on time. A busy day sorting out customer's software problems. Then straight to the Islington Lib Dem party executive where among [...]
Today's Guardian has a cautionary tale about a research scientist who had a fascination with the dietary habits of lizards: For centuries the steaming jungles of the globe and the slithering, scuttling but often unseen creatures that inhabit them have beckoned mysteriously to adventurers, biologists and botanists. But it was not a myth or legend, nor a rare bird or secretive serpent that lured Daniel Bennett to the rainforests of the Philippines. It was lizard poo. Kilos and kilos of it. After five years spent in hot and difficult pursuit of the rare butaan lizard, cousin to the mighty komodo ...
Look what happens when you let the Tories take control... From the Harborough Mail: Harborough District Council has admitted leaving its icy car parks ungritted for 'health and safety reasons.'The council said yesterday that it did not grit its car parks or other open spaces because of guidance from its health and safety and legal advisers ...The issue was brought to the Mail's attention by letter writer Julie Orgill-Higgins, of Sandringham Way, Harborough, after she complained to the council on Tuesday.She said she was told by the council that if they gritted and someone then fell they could be sued, ...
11) Adiraja dasa, The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking (Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2006, ISBN 0902677011). 10) A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, The Higher Taste: A Guide to Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking and a Karma-Free Diet (Watford: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2006, ISBN 9781845990473). Two Hare Krishna cookbooks. The Higher Taste is a short book that devotees often give away for free; I shared a copy with a vegan friend at university and remembered liking the recipes, so acquiring another copy seemed like a good move in pursuance of my intention of becoming vegetarian - particularly as Krishna devotees don't eat ...
Thank you to everyone in Chipping Sodbury who responded to the Residents Survey when we were going round with Steve Webb MP this morning. It was good to meet so many people and to find out about your views and concerns.
TwitterSheep is an appropriate web page for today, I think, given the number of people currently signing up for twitter. Worryingly, the four biggest words in my tag cloud for entries (in order) are "JamesGraham" "going" "up" and "me". I'm quite proud that the tag cloud generated by my followers is a bunch of liberal writers, though. With a healthy dose of Who geekery, obvs. Anyhoo, I now go to meet andrewhickey and minnesattva. Hope you lot all have a good day. ETA: Oh Cthulhu, Ann Widdecombe is on Any Questions. * runs to turn the radio off * * ...
Taking a decision to close a school in term time for any reason, especially for poor weather conditions is not a easy decision and I can assure you after the past week, they are not taken lightly. There has been much criticism, especially from the national press, about the decisions that were taken this week. There are many issues that have to be taken into account when closing the school, but
Extract from 'As You Blog It' a Vlog reply to Derek Draper by WillyShakespeare1564 All the blogosphere's a stage, And all the Twits and Bloggers merely players: They have their rants and their excentricities; And one Blog in its time plays many parts, Its acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Uncertain and reeling in the writers's mind. And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel And shining cheeky face, creeping with malice Unwillingly to the game. And then the lover, Commenting with earnest, with a mutual blogroll Made of his friendships built. Then a soldier, Full of strange ...
Alright, they're his own kids. I just don't think the children of any politicians need to be in the news at all. By involving them in the media, David Cameron has shown a complete lack of regard for his own children. And can hardly claim any longer, to want that "private life" he asked the media for, all those ages ago, when the cannabis claim surfaced. Of course, since his desire for privacy claim, we've seen him have cameras in his house, detailed discussions about his life... all to build up our impression of him as a personality and conviction ...
I can't get the hang of all this new technology myself, but Lord Bonkers has always been an early adopter. He was, for instance, the first person in Rutland to have a telephone. (It did not ring for several years because no one else had one.) So it is no surprise for me to learn that his lordship has signed up to twitter. Follow him at: lordbonkers.
Highgate councillor Neil William has the story, about the closure threat facing Jacksons Lane Community Centre - and what you can do about it. UPDATE: More news here.
I spent this morning sorting out my life. Well some of my financial affairs anyway. My mortgage, direct debits and change of services etc to help me save some money. I had to phone BT to get a MAC code to enable me to transfer my broadband to another provider. When I was finally put through to the right department and after waiting for a considerable amount of time listening to music and
The latest 'Love the Garden' e-newsletter has arrived. It reports that 'soil temperatures in February are traditionally at their coldest'. No kidding....
Triggered by a post on Norfolk Blogger, I have remembered that on Question Time the other night Nigel Farage (leader of UKIP) made some disparaging comment about global warming in the context of the recent cold weather. Later on an audience member made the point that with global warming, the weather in the UK would likely actually get much colder. Farage's response was an incredulous "Really!?". Now I assume that what the audience member was referring to is the gulf stream which could be weakened or even switched off by global warming although he did not get a proper chance ...
There's a lot of comment in the Blogosphere today about Derek Draper behaving like a cock towards That Tory Blogger. Why is anyone surprised by this? Draper is used to "debating" in person, where he CAN turn up and ride roughshod over what everyone else wants to say, and suppress opposing opinion fairly effectively. He hasn't worked out that the blogosphere doesn't work like that yet, and he also hasn't worked out that even those of us who have massive ideological differences with That Tory Blogger still regard him as one of our own, and can (for example) spend time ...
{Dave} The national Conservative Party has accepted £200,000 from a slot machine tycoon's businesses - which is fair enough. However, as the Times points out, moments later they called for softer rules on arcade gambling. Fishy, very-very fishy :S It's all just swings and 'round-abouts' with these guys.
Disgraced boss of Haringey Social Services: From guardian.co.uk Sharon Shoesmith, the children's services chief sacked in the wake of the Baby P tragedy accused the children's secretary, Ed Balls, last night of "breathtaking recklessness" in his handling of the affair, claiming his actions had fuelled a blame culture that had left social workers demoralised and put child safety procedures at risk. Speaking for the first time since her removal by Balls on live television in December, she claimed political opportunism and press hysteria had created "a local tragedy and a national catastrophe". NOW THAT'S BREATHTAKINGLY ARROGANT!
My Twitter followers just keep on growing with some high profile people now following me among them one being the Governor for California Gov Schwarzenegger which is a privilege for me because I wouldn't have expected him to follow a nobody like myself. Anyway I am getting the hang of this Twitter and really enjoy it and the fact that I can do it from my mobile phone using the WAP something you cant do with full on blogging! I hope the fan club on Twitter grows and Twitter is going to become a every day thing now so stay ...
What is going on in Russia? Several Russian journalists have been murdered recently. Are they returning to the nightmare days of Stalinism? Or is it a Mafia type progrom? I've heard these murders may not even be followed up. The ...
At the end of another "snow event" week I can report that all Keighley's trains and most of our buses ran. Congratulations to all concerned, not forgetting the gritting teams. And credit where it's due, to Bradford Council as well. They ...
The ramifications of next year's budget settlement for local government and further education are starting to show and it is not pretty. This morning FE College Principals have warned that they could be forced to shed up to 500 jobs because of the Assembly Government's cuts to funding. Meanwhile local Councils up and down the country are struggling with an inadequate budget settlement, high
January was a GOOD NEWS / BAD NEWS / MORE BAD NEWS kind of a month. The GOOD news was that no one shot new President Barry O at his inauguration (unless you count the Chief Justice helping him shoot himself in the foot); the BAD news, dominating the first half of the month, was the hand-grenade of heavy-handed retaliation that Israel chose to lob though the window of opportunity presented while the Monkey-in-Chief was still in the Oval Office; the MORE BAD news was the continuing financial apocalypse, now officially a recession. (Like we didn't know!) Economic crisis, businesses ...
There seems to be a lot of buzz about the whole twitter' malarkey at the moment on TV, Radio and in the blogosphere. But I'm not convinced. Warren has tried to convince me, he uses his to put up his status on his blog and facebook all via his mobile. Which sounds great to some, but I just think its a massive gimmick! Plus, since I use a free blog - paid for in my ADLC membership - I can't add twitter widgets {:(} [may be this is why I find it pointless!] Even our party has got in on ...
Today's Western Mail has details of this years Laugharne Weekend Festival. They report that organisers have pulled off the coup of bringing the likes of surviving members of legendary punk band The Clash and Kinks founder Ray Davies to the Town made famous for its Dylan Thomas connection. The highlights of last year were the two concerts by Patti Smith, one in the Laugharne Millennium Hall and the other in Dylan Thomas' boathouse. The latter venue is very exclusive as I believe that it is difficult to get more than 25 people in there at a squeeze. Needless to say ...
The first Muslim MSP has died at the age of 68, Bashir Ahmad was a well known politician is Scotland because of the face he brought the diversity to the Scottish Parliament. My regards are with his family, he was a terrific man as learnt by reading the BBC report by me. Personally this man will go down as role model for Asians world wide because of his role in making the Scottish Parliament more diverse. He is truly a success from among the Asian people and to read up upon his life follow the link to the BBC's website. ...
In spite of the snow I saw a pair of doves atop a lampost this morning. Are they a week early? I think birds are traditionally thought to pair up on Valentine's Day. Not ...
From today's Guardian: Ministers have abandoned plans to block wealthy Tory donors such as Lord Ashcroft from spending huge sums of money in marginal seats between general elections. ... The amendment scraps a planned "trigger" which would have meant that would have meant that, the moment a candidate was adopted, their campaign spending would have been subject to restrictions. The Guardian understands ministers have been warned that the rules would be very difficult to police. In its place, the government has set a date - 55 months after the new parliament first sits - when new restrictions, set at £25,000 ...
The season at Spurs has been a mixed bag - unlucky defeats, bad defeats and embarrassing defeats. Ok, there have been some good bits too - especially since Harry Redknapp took over. And I've already bought my ticket for the Carling Cup Final against Man United, which is only a few weeks away now. There isn't time to go over all the Spurs news in the couple of months since I last blogged (you'll be relieved to hear), so I'll just include these photos from our last home match - the 3-1 win against Stoke on January 27th. A vital ...
Today's Telegraph reports that Lord Turner, the chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, has said people should be given personal flight limits to lower pollution from the aviation industry: "We will have to constrain demand in an absolute sense, with people not allowed to make as many journeys as they could in an unconstrained manner," he told the Commons environmental audit committee. Lord Turner, whose committee is investigating whether the air industry can meet a target of reducing emissions to below 2005 levels by 2050, said the restriction may need to become permanent. He added: "It is at least ...
Quoted from: An extra £2bn in education spending on Britain's most disadvantaged four-to six-year-olds will be a key Liberal Democrat demand in the event of a hung ...
Last week I attended my local PACT (Police and Communities Together) meeting at which community police officers are able to get feedback from those they serve and set their priorities for the month ahead. These meetings take place every month and I always make an effort to attend. They are an invaluable opportunity to make contact with officers and to talk through some of the problems my neighbours and I encounter every day. At the last meeting about a dozen residents struggled through the snow to raise their concerns and to ask the Inspector questions about the number of Police ...
And, no, she didn't need to call the police/council, or threaten litigation to deal with the matter. And, no, the young people in question did not threaten violence against her as a result of her intervention. From the Islington Tribune: FACED with a group of youths goading a Staffordshire Bull Terrier to strip bark off trees to toughen its jaws, a lesser person would walk away. But 82-year-old deputy mayor and Lib Dem councillor Anna Berent is not a lesser person - she once bit a burglar - and the safety of the tree, in Petherton Road, in Highbury, was ...
The last few days of snow has seen radio and TV shows reporting a rise in emails and texts from people rather triumphantly claiming that the current weather proves there is no global warming. To answer in short, what a bunch of idiots. In any weather cycle, we have extremes, varying from the very hot to the very cold, and as one meteorologist made clear yesterday, the snow we have had this week was, 30 years ago, a once in every five years event. Now we only get it every 20 years. Then there is the issue of temperatures, which ...
For all the heat that's generated in the chamber at Holyrood, the Parliament and its staff are actually quite a close knit community. The one thing that comes across more than anything else about Bashir Ahmad, SNP MSP for Glasgow, who sadly died yesterday, is what a decent, nice man he was. Yousuf has written some personal memories on his blog. My thoughts are with his family as they come to terms with their loss. LibDig This!
Now my children have already missed two and a half days each of schooling this week. Things only look a little better for Monday and Tuesday. The week after is half term. Teachers 'hat' on for a minute. This will doubtless do untold damage to their education. Well, parents 'hat' on, this is what we are told when we take our children out of school for a few days. But when it's cancelled because the teachers can't get to work (why don't ANY teachers live near to their schools anymore?) even though the pupils can, we parents have to be ...
On Thursday night I listened to Radio Five on the way home from work. On the show they were interviewing the Tory leader of Leicestershire County Council who, in what seemed to me an attempt to win populist support, had said teachers who cannot make it to school because of the bad snow should go unpaid for those days unless they have made a "reasonable attempt" to get to school. This typical "teacher bashing" comment might win votes from people angry that their local school is closed because of bad weather, but the Council leader's statement failed to properly quantify ...
Should we pay bonuses to bankers? Well, let's think about this carefully ..... The bankers have made such a mess of it that they've had to be bailed out by the government. The government gets its pennies from us. So you and I own a majority share ...
One of Bury's Youth MP's, and a local resident of our area, Catherine Rawsthorne, was short listed for two prizes at the Youth Parliament Awards which took place on 28 January at the Palace of Westminster. There are over 500 Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) across the country and the annual Youth Parliament Awards have been set up to recognise their hard work and commitment to this voluntary role. Twelve young people from across the country were short listed to be considered for the awards, including Bury's MYP Catherine Rawsthorne. Catherine, who attends Holy Cross College, was the only young ...
I am quite pleased that the EHRC has intervened on the RP case. The nub of the case that many people ignore is that RP does not have a "significant learning disability" and does have the capacity to instruct a solicitor - which should have been obvious to the judges when they heard her present her own case. This is a case that affects something like 150-200 cases a year.
Peter Bradshaw on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: In the intellectual stakes, this guy makes Forrest Gump look like Karl Popper.
After pressure from local councillors, the new waiting restriction at Rodford Way roundabout (3 hours in any 6 hour period at all times) will finally come into operation on 2 March. This will remove a traffic hazard and a nuisance for local residents and users of the Common. South Glos originally suggested a 2 hour limit during the day only - this would not have been long enough for users of the Common, and there would still have been lots of cars for sale. Local councillors protested and got the limit changed. Photo - Cllr Alan Lawrance has been fighting ...
Here's Simba - the birthday boy (my turn next week on Friday).We are off go-karting this morning which should be fun. ------------------
It's never good news when you have a fire but our sympathies and best wishes go out to Cycle Surgery here in West End Lane. It's a great lcoal shop, much used by the increased number of local cyclists. Come on back to full operational Health Cycle Surgery - we need and want you.
Thames Water have come in for a bit of flack this week, about street works in the narrow part of Jacksons Lane N6. You can read about it in the Ham & High here. I took this picture last week, and though the site is a forest of signs, pedestrians are still getting through the gap. They may have been moved by now. Better placement of the 'no pedestrian' signs may have helped. To their credit, Thames Water have gave me a detailed explanation yesterday: In a nutshell, there was a mains leak damaging the road, which was fixed on ...
It has been reported on the BBC that Bashir Ahmad MSP has passed away, my thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.
A couple of days ago I was irritated at Derek Draper's misuse of Web 2.0 in all it's various forms, particularly in the way he was treating Iain Dale. So much so that I tweeted this: Over the years, and yes Mr Draper many of us Mr Dale and myself included have been at this for years have come up with a way to co-exist. We follow some simple rules that newbie Draper in his rush for the top spot seems adamant to barge straight over. This is a lesson in some of the ways of the Blogosphere to help ...
Sat 7th
01:06
I'm Not A Religious Man, But If You're Up There, Superman... (Final Crisis Week Part 4)
I've started trying to write this several times, but keep getting distracted by twittering spy organisations with filthy names to Tom Peyer ( Federated Espionage Laser Corps - Hardened Elimination and Removal Squad was my best one)... Steven Grant over at Comic Book Resources talked about Final Crisis in his column the other day, and his [...]
Part three is now up on Lib Dem Voice, courtesy of Alix Mortimer. Part four will be found on the Yorksher Gob next week.
The Scottish Parliament became an all white chamber again on Friday after the death of the death of Bashir Ahmad the SNP list MSP for Glasgow. The Indian born former bus conductor was raised in Pakistan was only elected to Parliament in 2007 breaking the mono-colour nature of the MSPs and also taking his oath of office in both English and Urdu. The SNP's Deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon paid tribute by saying: "Bashir Ahmad was an exceptional person, and I will miss him deeply. He will be an enormous loss to parliament, to Glasgow, and to Scotland, as well as ...
Iain Dale and Irfan Ahmed are worried or intrigued as to why Derek Draper is "following" them on Twitter. (As if "I've pranged the car in the snow. f*****y f***"/"Just making some cocoa" is going to hand the next election to Labour on a plate. - If Draper wants to read through the nonsense that is on all those Twitters, good luck to him). They think they've got problems. Arnold Schwarzenegger is
