Has been fabulous. As those of you who have been following my squeeful tweets will know. Bradford getting declared city of film really kicked things off with a bang, Flash on the big screen was amazing, even if the sound could have been better. Madhouse was hilarious. Satanic Rits of Dracula was... well, it was Satanic Rites of Dracula. The Short films were great this year, and featured a cameo from festival director Tony Earnshaw as a zombie (Note to self: get revenge on him for pulling my hair)... And then tonight was a GORGEOUS 70mill print of Aliens. Which, ...
If someone made that comment to me or many reading this I would have turned around and started laughing at the person but Mark Thompson from Mark Reckons has wrote a blog post which shows that if David Cameron is such a big fan of FPTP then David Davis should be the leader of the Conservatives. Due to the Tory party leader selecting being PR Cameron got picked but if it was FPTP as Mark points out then David Davis would today be the Conservative party leader. So Cameron do you like PR or are you still a FPTP man? ...
Whereas the Obama campaign last year thrust Facebook into the limelight as the social networking tool of preference for politicans who are cool — or a least care about connecting with the younger generation — Twitter has now vaulted into prime position as the instrument for quick and snappy communication, particularly in the love-hate interface [...]
I attend a good number of dinners in my current incarnation, and tonight I was lucky enough to find myself in Thetford, just over the border in Norfolk, for the Mid and South West Norfolk constituency dinner. There was the promise of pork, this time in a mild mustard cream sauce, and a chance to meet some new people. I enjoy these events, especially as people go out of their way to be welcoming. The food is usually good, and this evening was no exception - homemade vegetable soup, the pork, lemon meringue pie, coffee and chocolate coated almonds. The ...
Congratulations to Susan Boyle on successfully performing in the Britain's Got Talent tour this evening for the second time. She received a standing ovation this evening. This is quite a lady.
"President" Ahmadinejad claims he has been re-elected as president of Iran. Professor Moulavi of Newcastle University says that there has to be a three day period for objections before an election result is declared according to Iranian law. He also says the result has to be verified by election officials. He is wondering why neither of these has happened. People on the streets of Iran are protesting about the conduct of the election. the protesters believe that the true winner was Mir Hossein Moussavi.
Sat 13th
20:40
A post i found on The Labour website after they decide to pass over comments to Hazell direct.
What a cop out. Isn't it the constituency party that selects – or de-selects – the candidate? Didn't the CLP make a statement on 19May on this site about MPs expenses? And now you are getting some unfavourable comment you say nothing to do with us. In her interview with the MEN yesterday Ms Blears [...]
At last week's Yate Safer Stronger Community Group, which covers Dodington Parish, one of the top priorities identified was to tackle groups of youths setting fires in Wapley Woods. The youth service will liase with the youths and follow up work will be done in schools to prepare for the leaving parties next year. Another priority was engaging young people in the Safer Stronger Community Group meetings. For more about the meetings, see the Avon and Somerset police website.
OK - so am going to try and blog the process of legislation through the Equality Bill. To date - we have had the First Reading of the Bill (a formality) and then the Second Reading , which happens in the chamber of the House of Commons and where the Bill overall is debated. We have had 'evidence' sessions where witnesses (groups with particular interest in the Bill) give their views on parts of the Bill and we get to questions them. And now we have entered the Committee Stage where we (a smaller group of MPs) scrutinise the legislation ...
There will be a choice of two rides, 12 and 25 miles. The twelve mile event will be suitable for families, and as usual there will be a quiz with prizes. "Children from five or six upwards manage twelve miles quite easily," said Councillor Paul Hulbert, one of the organizers. "It's the adults who have more trouble! For safety reasons children under secondary school age need to be accompanied by an adult." The longer ride is a little more challenging and will explore the countryside to the north and east of Chipping Sodbury. "As usual, we're showcasing some new routes ...
Today i Phoned John to offer my congratulations on his award. Politics is a dirty game but what ever we do or say, or what ever our policies we all want the same thing, I have known John for a few years now and i have given him more stick than most, but he will still talk [...]
Some pictures of today's marvellous 'Fair in the Square' in Highgate, which was better than ever, I thought. Lynne Featherstone was judging the dog show - centre pic is the winner of the dog and owner 'lookey-likey' category. Bottom right is the runner up, though rumour has it that victory may have been squandered with a recent shearing of that labradoodle.The chickens (top centre) were a new one on me. 'Chicken roulette' is a lottery in which you have to guess in which square the chicken will next do a poo. I was number eight, but I still don't know ...
The Telegraph reports on a survey of the best and worst cities in the world to live in. No London, Paris, or New York here. No St David's either. The top ten veer more to the plush (Vancouver, Geneva) than the vibrant, with the exception of Sydney which sneaks in at number 10. The winner? [...]
Into town early this morning to do my usual book review. I overslept a bit today so it was a huge rush to make sure I was there on time (that's the problem with live radio). Then a stint in the office dealing with casework letters before the train to Garston to do a street surgery in part of the ward. Back on the bus to deliver in Knotty Ash. Am tired now? Definitely.
Am posting the info below in case anyone in the wider Garston area hasn't seen it and wants to go along. There are two consultation events taking place around plans for the Garston Academy. The first is on 15th June at 7pm at New Heys School. The second is on 25th June at 7pm at St Benedicts. The idea is for people to be able to hear about the plans, ask questions and made comments.
Letters From a Tory asks if Hazel Blears has lost her appetiteLeo Watkins writing on LDV has a very well considered post about political reformNich Starling has evidence that the Conservatives are being "flexible" about the size of their bars in Norwich North by-election leaflet bar-chartMike Smithson thinks that John Bercow could be a formidable Speaker. And thinks that is why he won't win.And Ben Goldacre again proves why I love him so much (platonically of course) with an excellent post about how drugs policy is almost never based on the evidence.
I read with great interest Paul Goodman's explanation of why he decided to stand down at the next General Election. The news is all the more surprising since he would have expected to be the bookmakers' favourite to retain Wycombe at the next election. Let me say from the off that I have no desire to pick though the minutiae of Paul's expense claims. It is quite clear that there is nothing to be gained arguing about whether individual items were fair claims or not (and let's face it, far worse were claimed by other MPs). But I do disagree ...
Students living in Redlands will shortly be moving out of our area and heading off for their summer holidays or graduating. We really enjoy the opportunity we get as councillors to meet young people living in our area and to witness the enjoyment they clearly derive from living in Redlands - an area which is very popular with students due to its close proximity to the University and plentiful housing. As around 50% of our electorate in Redlands are students we work hard all year round to represent them on the Council, from campaigning to improve the quality of student housing, to campaigns for cheaper bus fares and better ...
Interesting piece in The Times today; it highlights the growing confrontation over how best to oppose the BNP; "When Nick Griffin was pelted with eggs outside Parliament this week, the protest divided public opinion over whether it was a legitimate expression of anger or a foolhardy stunt that handed unwarranted publicity to the British National Party. It [...]
A year ago the All-Party Group on Pneumococcal Disease reported that it kills 1.6 million people a year, about one million of them children under 5. We strongly endorsed the Advance Market Commitment (AMC), under which donors guarantee the price of vaccines so that manufacturers invest in development and production, while developing countries get supplies at much lower prices.(www.appg-preventpneumo.org/report.cfm) Yesterday Ministers from Italy, UK, Canada, Russia, Norway and Italy, plus the Gates Foundation, signed up to the first AMC, which means that developing countries will get pneumococcal vaccine at $3.50, compared with the average of $70 at present in the ...
{bates_mick1} The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire, MIck Bates has announced that he will not be seeking re-election at the next Assembly elections in 2011. Mr. Bates will be 63 at those elections. He has said that he has made the decision purely for family reasons and so as to enjoy a happy retirement with his wife Buddug, who is retiring from her job as a teacher this summer. Mick is widely respected in Montgomeryshire as a hard-working constituency AM, who is viewed by many as a 'man of the people'. However, he will also be missed in ...
I had a long chat with Frank Warner at the Farnborough Rd 75th birthday celebration. We talked about his time at the school and other things from bombs that fell in Southport to him being one of the first residents of Central Avenue. Click on the title and you should hear the conversation.........
More turmoil for Labour in Derby Ward Bootle. A reliable source tells me thatcouncillor Steve McGinnity, was last night de-selected! Linda Cluskey, wife of Cllr Kevin Cluskey, will be the new Labour candidate for Derby ward in 2010. Mrs Cluskey-old loyal Labour-has stood unsuccessfully in Ainsdale.
Freedom Central has already highlighted the excellent post by Paul Flynn, giving the inside story on the candidates for Speaker, but what are the qualities that we, the voters, should expect of the person who assumes this role later this month. The MySociety website puts forward a set of three Principles that they believe are important and which they want all candidates for Speaker to endorse, before the election takes place. These are: 1. Voters have the right to know in detail about the money that is spent to support MPs and run Parliament, and in similar detail how the ...
The Searchers made by you to find your way to this blog are: irfan ahmedfacebook urlfacebook urlssara scarlettbnpirfan ahmed blogtory bear liberal youth electionhazel blears mptory bearstalking horse
This morning I hang my head with shame when I read in the Manchester Evening News that Salford's Labour leader, Councillor John Merry, has been bestowed a CBE in the Queen's birthday honours list. I have to ask, how has Councillor Merry earned this honour? In order to answer my own question I researched the reasons one could be awarded the honour of Commander of the British Empire. Apparently, in Cllr Merry's case it is for "services to local government". This reason is just cryptic enough that I am hard pressed to form a cohesive argument; so perhaps I will ...
I did a big shop in our local Tesco yesterday. It had been a little while since I had gone in there for anything more than a pack of yoghurts so I had expected it would take maybe 45 minutes to go around and get all the fruit, veg, meat and other things that I needed. However in the end it actually took almost an hour and a half. The main reason is that since the last time I went there, they have moved half the products to completely different shelves and in some cases to the opposite end of ...
The country is clearly experiencing a political crisis - the fact is so obvious as to barely need stating. MP expenses, a government with virtually no mandate, a sizeable chunk of the cabinet wholly unelected, including the 'First Secretary', Lord Mandelson: all this makes for a sizeable 'democratic deficit' - a term the Conservatives are ready and willing to apply to Brussels, but not so much to Westminster. The Liberal Democrat policy position on constitutional reform is, uniformly, excellent and coherent - Single Transferable Vote, a cut in the number of MPs, a written constitution, committed localism, a great repeal ...
I have to confess I do feel a little sorry for Hazel Blears; she has been made into Labour's scapegoat of choice. The fact is this; Labour was heading for an absolute kicking at the polls long before she handed her notice in and this government was on the rocks long before then. Blaming her [...]
I only ask because the Facebook URL has been grabbed by or on behalf of Ken Livingstone. I am just checking to see that I have not had an Ashes to Ashes style accident and slipped back into the past.
The template is now hopefully working perfectly thanks to the gentleman that runs Deluxe Templates who has been helping me to sort out the template. The blog will continue with this template for a while now until I want to change but at the moment I think this template is great. I shall be giving Deluxe Templates a donation as I think the work that they are doing is excellent firstly because their templates are great and secondly because they are creating good quality templates for Blogger that close the gap between the Wordpress and Blogger template differences. Please vote ...
I am a little amused by this blog post over at Labour Home. The author to the post John Frost writes the following: "Why is Alex Hilton never on the BBC unless it is to discuss the Draperati or Independent Tory blogging also known as Guido Stainesism? Blogging Labour MPs with 5 comments a week are on the Radio 4 news all the time! Why? I think we should be told! Even the "editor" (sic) of the Cabinet's Official Newsletter Labourlist was on the Radio yesterday!!!!"Now is it just me and this person who think this? Nope, I didn't think ...
I have received my first leaflet of the campaign. I know a Lib Dem leaflet is going out already in other parts of the constituency. As soon as I get it, I will put it on this blog. The interesting thing was though that the Tories, who are so holier than thou when making accusations against the Lib Dems about bar charts, are seemingly unable to produce an accurate bar chart themselves. As you can see the Tory column on the graph overstates their vote by about 5%, and the Green vote too by about 2%, seemingly to make the ...
Guido has written about how the famous Lord Rennard's Summer Barbecue has been canceled but Cowley Street employees are to have a party anyway and guests to that party include Lord Rennard and the person who is meant to be investigating Lord Rennard's over his expenses scandal Baroness Ros Scott. Guido blogs about how it is a farce and I have to agree with him Lord Rennard's and Baroness Scott are not just both work colleagues but are also colleagues from the Lords making the pair of them have so much in common so how can a friend investigate another ...
Rhodri Morgan has given himself a get-out clause. He said at the Assembly Elections that he would retire on his seventieth birthday. He has changed his tune. In case of a "force majeure", he will stay on and Huw Lewis AM has begged him to stay on beyond Autumn http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8086310.stm. Now former Neath Port Talbot council leader Derek Vaughan has announced that he will not give up his Neath North seat until there is a general election to "save tax-payer money" on polling costs. We say that the real reason is to save an embarrassing loss of a council seat ...
... boiled new potatoes straight from the garden with a splash of olive oil and some fresh mint. Looking forward to this years spud crops - they're doing far better than last year.
The Storm, by Vince Cable (ISBN: 978-1848870574) {The Storm - Vince Cable} In this book, Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, in case you didn't know) writes about the economic crisis that's hit the world in the past year. He talks about what led up to it, what the UK and global implications are, and various possible ways we can respond. Since Vince has been publicly warning about this since at least 2003, and was against the Conservatives' demutualisation of the Building Societies in 1996 partly because of the risk of the sort of crisis we're in ...
Pace writes, "I think what they really mean is that you can just run the water for a couple of seconds before going back to to goofing off in the break room." Many more signs like this on the blog.
From my introductory remarks as chairman: Looking around the Commonwealth, there are indigenous peoples in practically every member state from the Bushmen of the Kalahari in Namibia to the Innuit of Canada, yet the Commonwealth has no regular discussion analogous to the UN's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, no statement corresponding to the UN's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and no mechanism corresponding to the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. One wouldn't expect the Commonwealth Secretariat to duplicate these processes, but perhaps to react to them when they deal with member states. In the last ...
I am very honoured to have been invited to speak at the World Conference on Untouchability, and to add my congratulations to the IHEU for highlighting an issue which affects 250 million people, mainly in the Indian subcontinent but as you have noted, Mr President, also in Nigeria, Yemen, Gambia, Japan, and Korea. And because of migration from those countries into Europe, there is evidence of a growing problem here, which the Government has chosen so far to ignore, and I'll come back to that in a minute. Others are far better qualified than I am to discuss the role ...
Like most of you I am not a fan of the BNP. Their views are irrational, parochial and dangerous. But they have now, for the first time, managed to get two MEPs elected, one of whom is their leader, Nick Griffiin, in the North West. It's quite likely that both of these MEPs will be in office until the next election, so we now have to consider what will be the best strategy to defeat them after their five year term in the European Parliament. In my view, a key part of this strategy will be to highlight what they've ...
{chrisdaviesmep} With great amusement I have just discovered that someone I know personally is featured in Private Eye's Pseuds Corner. I'll spare their blushes with a cloak of anonymity, but feel free to turn to this edition's twenty seventh page and guess who it is. Alas it is not Chris Davies MEP, who I don't know personally yet featured on our blog earlier in the week. Nonetheless, he has also failed to avoid the mockery of Hyslop's satirists, appearing boldly on the very first page. So pleased are they with their discovery that they have awarded Chris with "Quote of ...
David Cameron has spent a lot of time in the last few weeks talking about how great the First Past the Post electoral system is. He will not countenance any change from this even though MPs can end up elected with often much less than 50% of the vote in their own constituency. What I find fascinating about this is that if you follow his line of reasoning to its logical conclusion then David Cameron should not be leader of the Conservative party at all. Instead it should be David Davis. Have a look at this page on Keele University's ...
I have a confession to make. I'm an old softie. I had a tear in my eye as I watched this video. It's the official footage of yesterday's meeting of President Obama and Prime Minister Tsvangirai yesterday. Just months ago I wouldn't have believed that such a meeting was possible. It really is heartening that the USA is providing demonstrable support for Prime Minister Tsvangirai and the people of Zimbabwe.
Facebook have introduced the ability to have a much simpler link rather that the usual long chain of numbers in a link. You can now get to my profile like this. http://www.facebook.com/duncan.macdonald You can register to change your facebook url at www.facebook.com/username/
A report by the Daily Mail reports that the Conservative University Group of Tories had people making racist comments at its hustings and to read the report follow the link. The son of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is a Conservative in Oxford Uni but now does he fit in with this bunch? He doesn't because these stuck up Tory boys don't accept ethnic minorities to be the same as them. The Conservatives have always been a party for the middle class white in the UK not the working class or the ethnic minorities but despite what many ...
In the past it's never really occurred to me to lobby my MP about who they were going to support in a contest for Speaker of the House of Commons. I've seen those contests as largely internal affairs, with MPs knowing the candidates and their likely ability to do their job far better than me, and with the choice having only a limited impact on life outside the Commons itself. This time, though, matters are clearly different. The MySociety team has put together an excellent three-point manifesto, which Speaker candidates are being asked to back: 1. Voters have the right ...
Sat 13th
10:33Well Mr Kingston put my signiture down, and i am sure My fellow Liberal Democrat Councillors will fo...
Press Release... 13th June 2009 HAZEL MUST GO! CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED Today a new campaign is launched calling for Hazel Blears to stand down from being MP for Salford. The campaign is not aligned to any political party and has been born from the anger and frustration many of Hazel Blears' constituents are feeling in the light of the [...]
Hazel Blears That's a blank pause of incredulity, by the way. I mean, what can you say? According to Sky News: She claims she had no idea that resigning on the eve of a very important election would have any effect. "I genuinely thought I could go without it sparking off this huge firestorm. In hindsight that judgement was wrong," she said. "I should have waited until after the election. The effect on the party is something I will live with forever." That's another blank pause of incredulity. Let's see, Hazel Blears has been a professional in the ...
I tend to highlight the failings of the ruling group. right or wrong i have found it offers results. It puts pressure on the ruling group to up the anti and perform. As a small party with small numbers we can only sell ourselves on the very high level of community work.Labour would never offer [...]
A press release from the Kettering Lib Dems drops into the Voice's email inbox: Liberal Democrats in Kettering have demanded answers from Kettering's Conservative MP Philip Hollobone – after a BBC investigation suggested that he broke parliamentary rules on declaring his financial interests. The Conservative MP receives between £15,001 and £20,000 per year as a non-executive director of a 'clean coal' company, in addition to his elected roles as a member of parliament and a Kettering borough councillor. Since taking up this role in January 2007, the BBC investigation found that he had asked three questions in Parliament about 'clean ...
Wit and wisdom from Rutland's most celebrated fictional peer. On the first Gulf War (March 1991) Yesterday's melancholy has abated and I am now determined to do something to end this dreadful war. Miss Fearn, with her warm heart, is knitting cosies "for the poor camels", but I feel that I am yet capable of playing a larger part.However, one must take care not to tread on others' toes - I recall the distinctly frosty reception I was given when I turned up at Greenham Common with my bell tent to lend my support to the ladies camping there. This ...
My Facebook URL has been customised and you can check it out by following the link. My new URL is www.facebook.com/irfana1. I wanted something else but it looks like someone beat me to it. I am now in the process of tracking that person down and giving them a piece of my mind. Personally I like the customised URL business as it allows people to easily be able to share their facebook usernames with friends and this makes the whole process more easy and interesting. So if you don't have a site and why not use your Facebook URL? The ...
Sat 13th
10:03Do you think to many Councillors are using their role as a full time job, and not a public duty.
Very Soon you should see the level of expenses claimed by your local Councillors. Nobody should be out of pocket, but surly the base allowance is more than enough to cover, If in my opinion if you get an allowance it is to cover you out of pocket expenses, why then do we see massive claims [...]
When Classical Liberals in the party formed Liberal Vision in 2008 it was natural that it would encourage an 'equal and opposite' reaction from the Social Liberals in the party. This came at the Spring 2009 Harrogate conference when the Social Liberal Forum was formed The Social Liberal Forum had no less than 9 MPs listed on its site and also boasted the support of Claire Rayner. I had expected to see a fierce debate rage on the merits of the two approaches. From the Classical Liberal side there has been a large amount of activity on this forum and ...
But you still get D—CK Heads that do, i am sick to death of seeing idiots who don't care less about other road users,This law is a sensible law it rates in my opinion in the same league as seat beats, car seats for kids, and crash helmets, I pity these stupid idiots with the [...]
One thing i enjoy about reading the Salford Star is Steve Kingstons knack for uncovering little gems. He in my opinion is the master. Funny as a kid that was the job i wanted, never got round to it. But over the coming months i hope to raise i few concerns, and of course i [...]
So, my little sister's boyfriend gets a Royal Victorian Medal in this years Birthday Honours List, after 16 years of continuous service a well deserved recognition, I know how hard he works so well done Sir John lol. Seriously though, well done. Bizarrely, it is also my sisters birthday today so a double celebration, but no, it's a triple celebration as he is also getting a Police Commendation for tackling a robber during an armed robbery, as in his spare time (!) he is a Special Constable. So, as well as being very proud of John and Jenny I am ...
The new template is still having some teething problems and I am working with the man from Deluxe Templates who created the template to try and get it sorted. So please do be patient and hopefully the template will be working 100% in a couple of days. Blogging will continue as normal!
Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Communities , Bill Payments Government considers minimum wage for apprentices The prospect of the first national minimum wage for apprentices rose today when the Government announced that the Low Pay Commission had been asked to consider the move. Ministers announced new terms of reference for the commission, which recommends the [...]
Sat 13th
09:27Off to speak to city west on monday. The Local manager in Swinton as been fantastic Full Marks to Ma...
Had my concerns about City West and yes there are still teething problems but over the past couple of month's from the Chief Executive down to the shop floor i have found the team first class. But the repairs oh my god. Seen two yesterday and they are bobbins, so Monday morning it's on with [...]
Security guru Bruce Schneier has a rule of thumb: if there's something risky reported in the newspapers or on TV, you probably don't have to worry about it. It's the things that aren't reported you might need to be concerned about. It's news you see, the clue's in the name. If it's not new it doesn't go in. Up and down the country, thousands of women are victims of domestic violence every single day. Simply because it's so common, it rarely gets reported by the media, unless a particularly nasty incident comes up. Aeroplane crashes are very rare, so always ...
March 14, 2007 As we approach the beginning of the Hope not Hate Anti-Fascist Fortnight, we thought we'd pinch the odd useful article from the website to help spread the word. Here's the first, starting at the top with Nick Griffin, fascist and Holocaust-denier. The British National Party (BNP) leader, Nick Griffin, presents himself as a [...]
With thanks to Liberal Democrat Voice for this extract from a recent Question Time. No related posts.
Sophie Grigson on Saturday Kitchen announces that she is cooking 'airport shop on creamed leeks'. Heston, eat your heart out.
It can't really be much fun being in the Labour party at the moment - it's almost as bad as Formula 1 for high political drama! I really don't know how David "the Ditherer" Miliband does it. He's let a few more drops of poison drop from his tongue in an interview with the Guardian today. He may well have had to wrestle with his conscience about whether to stay in Gordon Brown's government, but did he really need to share his inner turmoil with us, a week after the event? It's a sign of Gordon Brown's weakness that he ...
The West End Fun Day starts on Magdalen Green later this morning - at 11.30am - see you there! Next year, we hope to have a full Festival for the West End : Would you be interested in seeing a summer festival in the West E nd of Dundee in 2010? Would you be interested in taking part in a festival? Would you be interested in helping to organise a Festival? If the answer to any one of these questions 'yes' then you may also be interested to know that there will be an inaugural public meeting to set up ...
We don't do an LDV Daily View 2 x 2 round-up on Saturdays, so instead here's an open thread. What stories have caught your eye? What issues are on your mind? Do you think Lib Dems are obsessing too much about electoral reform? Are you relieved Gordon Brown is secure (for the moment) as Labour leader? Do you have suggestions for the next LDV party members' survey? Discuss away in the comments below...
It's been a busy week - euphoria after the group's wins last Friday have settled down (not worn off!) and now it's back to business as usual. Having been on probation for this job for the last 6 months it's wonderful to know that I now have 4 years to get things done. Top of the list on an ongoing basis are:- Rural Buses - Potholes/Pavements - Services for the elderly But I'm adding to it on a daily basis! We all know that the coming years on the Council are going to be hard in terms of available funding ...
If your Wikipedia entry explains what your firm is about better than your own website, it's time to get to work on the website. (Many of the Wikipedia entries for companies do a very good job at making clear what a company is about largely because, I suspect, Wikipedia is generally free of business jargon. So even when written by 'amateur' outsiders, text that's free of jargon makes for a clearer description than text written by expert insiders.) Related posts:A film about a font: one to watch An 80 minuHow journalists could have avoided being fooled by Wikipedia The GuardiHow ...
So, this month of June, President Obama declared LGBT Pride month in the USA. How's that going for them? Well, it appears that the Obama administration's Department of Justice marked the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots by issuing this brief which argues for the U.S. Supreme Court's dismissal of the legal challenge to the 'Defense of Marriage Act' (DOMA). The best that can be said about this brief is that The Department of Justice acts independently of the President and Congress - this is in principle a good thing; New Labour's frequent attempts to short-circuit the justice system in ...
RT @Astrofiammante Suspect in US Holocaust Museum killing has BNP links http://bit.ly/oMd0L # RT @helenduffett Blogged – How to opt out of the mobile phone directory: http://bit.ly/2e4vU4 # Working on an email template. In HTML tables. It's making me feel dirty, and not in a good way. It's like CSS never 'appened. Ack. Ugh. Ick. # #followfriday A collection of astringent, geeky goodness: @helenduffett, @markpack, @danieljowen @rhianonjameson @white_hart @ElrikMerlin #
{Betty Saxe-Coburg} The Queen's birthday honours list will be rewarding everyone from Badminton players to Hammer Horror movie stars. Delia Smith - who has presided over Norwich City's collapse from the Premiership to the third tier of English football - also gets a gong. Presumably for writing some good cook books. The whole shebang is paid for by you and me. It's time to privatise the honours list. You want an OBE or a CBE? Then pay for one. A knighthood will cost you more. Please make your cheques payable to "Her Majesty's hard-pressed taxpayers".
