Of course I didn't buy it. What do you think I am? I torrented it, of course. And if DC want to complain about me taking their copyrighted work, the work that talented artists put time and effort into, and using it without their permission, well... they started it. In an ill-tempered conference call on ...
Earlier tonight, I attended the April meeting of Community Spirit - the community group for the "north" part of West End Ward, covering Tullideph, Pentland, Ancrum and the Cleghorn area. The meeting took place in the Mitchell Street Centre - see right. There was a very interesting presentation by Craig Bartholomew of the ADAPT project that helps local people with:BankingBorrowingBenefitsBudgetingThis project, managed by Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau, is doing good work helping local people and you can read more about it at http://tinyurl.com/adaptdundee. We also had a good discussion on local issues including controlled entry systems, cleansing, overgrown trees, graffiti ...
Earlier today, I met with the Dundee Airport Manager to discuss issues at the airport and the area of the West End surrounding the airport. The airport manager and Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) who operate Dundee Airport have been very responsive to any local concerns I have raised on behalf of residents from time to time. This community engagement is well-demonstrated by the Airport Manager's agreement to speak at next week's West End Community Council meeting. The meeting takes place at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall in Shaftesbury Terrace at 7pm next Tuesday - 12th June - ...
I guess Jo Swinson is seen as a far more friendly face to Lib Dem activists than say Danny Alexander who always does badly in polls of party workers, for it is she who has written to ask us for our views on jobs and growth. Time will tell if this is a genuine attempt to engage members or if it just looking for confirmation of a plan many -I suspect most of us- feel is unbalanced. So its time to 'get it off your chest' as all the best FOCUS leaflet say: Good evening Ms Swinson Liberals have argued ...
The Guardian, or more precisely Polly Toynbee, wrote Now is the perfect time for Liberal Democrats to wield the knife in which she spouts a large amount of bile to the point that it is very difficult to read anything she writes these days, but I did persevere and she has some positive comments about Vince Cable ...
Reading reports over the weekend about Southern Water's disastrous release of untreated sewage, it proved difficult to establish the scale of the environmental catastrophe, watching tonight's news, it seems nobody is any wiser as too how long local beaches will be closed. As you might expect Thanet Council has reacted with minimal information, visitors have been in many cases unaware, such is the lack of signage . Still this incident is not of their making so perhaps the discreet notices highlighted on the local evening news are as much we can expect. Southern Water's response however is truly lamentable, fishing ...
Interesting and welcome email from Jo Swinson today, in her role as chair of the Liberal Democrat Federal (i.e. UK) Policy Committee, asking for views on how to encourage job creation and growth. My response unsurprisingly features capping the ISA tax breaks at £15,000 and using those funds to invest in labour-intensive infrastructure projects. A note for those interested in the details of how to write emails too: the prompt to email Jo and colleagues appears three times. Looks like the message about how if you want people to do something you should write an email only about that action ...
When the Queen chose Leicester to begin her Jubilee tour I wrote: To me the great virtues of having a monarchy are that it separates the office of head of state from party politics and makes it possible to have as little reverence for the position as I do.I shall return to that in a moment, but first a few thoughts on the events of the past few days. Heresy Corner is right: the Thames pageant was a wash out, but no one had the courage to say so. As he put it: Yet how typically British that we should ...
Wed 6th
20:25
Our political writers can pretend they know what makes us tick: a response to Matthew d'Ancona
Here's how Matthew d'Ancona could've started his article for today's London Evening Standard. But didn't. So what was all that about? As the waves of media fervour subside to reveal the bleak promontories of Austerity Commentariat, let us pause and ask what this extraordinary four-day Jubilee told us about journalists, and their obsession with extrapolating about our national life and character. There then follows some delicious cognitive dissonance. First, an acknowledgement of what is to follow: The lazy reflex for political observers is to extract the lessons that suit them. There then follows Said Lazy Reflex: What [lessons] did we ...
Apart from the Dr Who books published by target Ray Bradbury is responsible for my enduring love of Science fiction. He gave me first encounter with dystopian visions and his short story the pedestrian was my first push along the road to Liberalism (although I didn't see it at the time!)I could string together a list of quotes to show him at his best but this one speaks to the little boy inside of millions.... "When I was a boy in the midwest I used to go out and look at the stars at night and wonder about them. I ...
I hadn't really prepared for this, but when I looked at the clouds I went back to sleep. To be fair, however, nothing was as good as these images. I don't normally bother about the details of the structure of the sun although it is, of course, very important to life on earth. In 1999 we went to Cornwall to see the eclipse of the sun (Lunar) and indeed it was very cloudy, it got very dark and
Wed 6th
18:19
The shifting sands at Southport, action of prozac on shrimps and the wreck off Mad Warf
Southport's shifting sands and what they have to reveal are amongst the themes of this week's Radio 4 Book of the Week written and read by local multi award winning poet Jean Sprackland. All is available on iplayer for seven days. Monday began with the skeletal remains of of ship wreck: Every so often the sands shift enough to reveal great mysteries: the Star of Hope, wrecked on Mad Wharf in 1883 and usually just visible as a few wooden stumps, is suddenly raised one day, up from the depths - an entire wreck, black and barnacled, and on either ...
At the end of last year I mourned the closure of Walkers Bookshop in Market Harborough. The chain continues to trade elsewhere in the East Midlands, but its store in this town closed because rent negotiations the property's owners fell through. And have those owners replaced Walkers with new tenants paying a higher rent? No, it is still empty almost six months later and a board gives you a Birmingham number to ring if you are interested in taking it on. Why didn't the landlords make more effort to keep Walkers in the shop? Why haven't they reduced the rent ...
If you are looking for more Queens Diamond Jubilee fun, the 260th Scouts are having their Jubilee Party this coming Saturday, 9th June at the Scout Hut off Spring Road behind Scanlon's. The party runs from 10am – 4pm and includes: Bouncy Castle Face Painting BBQ Cakes and drinks Tombola Roll a 2p Play your cards right Karaoke and disco. The entry charge is £5 per child to include burger/hot dog drink and a cake plus as many goes as you want on bouncy castle and face painting. Adults pay 50p entrance and pay for food as you want. Hope ...
Today's Guardian big-ups a call by Labour's chief whip in the Lords, Lord Bassam, to his Lib Dem opposite number Lord Newby as a sign that 'elements of the [Labour] party are preparing the ground for a possible Lib-Lab coalition after the next election.' I have to say on first reading the tenor of Lord Bassam's note strikes me more as told-you-so than conciliatory, but maybe I'm being over-sensitive — judge for yourselves from this excerpt: "The last couple of years have been a bit bruising for your colleagues in this house, and no doubt they will be looking forward ...
Despite a lot of speculation, it seems the reality of Manchester Airport's fuel problems are looking a little more mundane and it may well be that relatively few travellers are inconvenienced. Here is the latest statement from Manchester Airport, published at 5pm on 6th June 2012. Today the airline fuel supply companies operating at Manchester Airport are experiencing temporary problems with their supply of aviation fuel from Essar refinery. Whilst a stock of aviation fuel is stored on site, as a precaution, airlines have been advised to carry additional fuel wherever possible. Although this is a short term problem, until ...
One of the non jubilee items of the last few days has been the news that Sayeeda Warsi has been referred by David Cameron to the Independent Adviser on the Ministerial Code, Sir Alex Allan. She took her brother in law, with whom she has business interests, on a government trip to Pakistan. Despite her apology, it's absolutely right that this should be investigated. So now we know that Cameron's failure to refer Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to Allan is not just because he's lost his phone number. The Prime Minister was very quick to turn Sayeeda Warsi over, so ...
I've been reading the cookie policy of different websites, as you do. The Labour Party's one is a good example of how providing large amounts of detail can actually hinder rather than enhance understanding, as it includes a very long, detailed but not really that informative list of cookies "we could use". It is not even a comprehensive list, because it only includes the "main" cookies, despite having 119 (!) cookies in the list. I can see how providing so much detail is at least well intentioned, even if it results in line such as this: Cookie name Cookie party ...
Published just this week in the New Yorker, a beautiful short piece by Ray Bradbury about writing. He will be missed.
Below are recently submitted Planning Applications in the Chorlton area. You can find out more information about any of the proposals on the City Council's Planning Portal at http://tinyurl.com/yv6lex or by contacting the South Area Planning Group Manager - Roger Hall; Tel: (0161) 234 4536; email: r.hall@manchester.gov.uk . You can also make a Planning representation (in support or opposition) to Mr Hall or the designated planning officer for each application. Please feel free to contact me on (07947383740; cllr.v.chamberlain@manchester.gov.uk) if you wish to discuss any application and please also send me a copy of any representation you make. 099403/FH/2012/S1 22 ...
There's nothing democratic about the royal family. They are the descendants of a thug who defeated another thug to become the despot of these Isles. If that was all there was to them, I would be the first in the queue to get rid of them. The greatest invention in the history of the world is not the wheel, or fire, or the scientific method: it's democracy and the rule of law. What's wonderful about democracy is he principle it establishes, that everyone, no matter their colour or creed, is of equal worth. That each person has the same number ...
Filed under: Blogging Tagged: CAMRA, fashion, photography, Real Ale
This article in today's Manchester Evening News focuses on a document I requested in March outlining where Manchester Council's "Manchester People into Construction" (MPIC) apprentices reside. The MPIC Scheme was developed in 2008 to place young Manchester residents into employment opportunities with contractors "that sit on the City Council's construction framework". The figures from South Manchester are well below their fair share. Out of 231 apprentices just 15 (6.5%) are from South Manchester: Just one of the 231 apprentices comes from Chorlton Ward, Chorlton Park (1), Burnage (3), Didsbury East (0), Didsbury West (2), Fallowfield (1), Levenshulme (1), Northenden (0), ...
[IMG: photo courtesy of OpenDemocracy] Time is running out!!! Don't forget that Friday is the deadline for submission of all election expense returns (unless your results were announced promptly before midnight on polling day itself). There is no exception to this rule and so you need to ensure you stick to it. Also, don't forget that even if you didn't spend any money in a ward you still need to submit the forms. If you've not done so already to have your say on the elections via our online feedback survey This is the last email of the 2012 Candidates ...
If you have seen a rather elderly converted hoppa bus around Launceston recently, you might have wondered what it was. The Tweet Bus is the abode of two wonderful individuals, Dave and Sharon, who have been helping Launceston to become one of the most Twitter-connected places in Cornwall. Twitter is one of a number of social media platforms. It's not for everybody (and life won't end if you aren't on it), but it can help businesses stay in touch with their customers. That's why so many local firms are now taking to the 140 character airwaves. At least 33 local ...
The Manchester Evening News are running a survey and want the views of residents of Greater Manchester on bus, train and tram services (and that includes people who don't use them). Take part in the MEN survey here.
Calls for a more growth-led approach dominated last week's informal EU summit, but European leaders made little progress in the ongoing discussions over the best way to overcome the economic crisis - and stalled over disagreements about eurobonds and the role of the European ... Continue reading →
I know for many years that there has been the debate as to whether sport should be brought into politics and am old enough to remember when there was a boycott against the South African apartheid regime. Watching BBC Panorama last week brought up feelings of disgust, horror, anger and a sense of déjà vu. Had we entered some time vortex back to the 70's where these chants were all too common on the terraces here in the UK? It was made worse when the interviewer asked the police chief about what he had witnessed and filmed only minutes earlier ...
IR Cymru has relaunched with its new Executive. Check out our new website here for more information on getting involved with what's going on, and what the Executive is doing! Mae IR Cymru wedi ei ail-lawnsio gyda'i Bwyllgor Llywio newydd. Cymerwch olwg ar ein Gwefan newydd yma am fwy o fanylion ar sut i fod yn ...
Cornwall Council has confirmed that it is paying 90% of the legal costs of Sita in the on-going legal dispute about the planned St Dennis incinerator. The payments started after the Secretary of State made his decision to allow the construction to go ahead. According to the reply I was given at today's meeting of the Waste Development Advisory Panel, the initial planning application, public inquiry and reference to the Secretary of State were all paid for entirely by Sita. However, since the decision by the Secretary of State, Cornwall Council taxpayers have been paying almost all the continuing costs ...
Time is running out to respond to the Government's consultation on equal civil marriage which has been implemented by our own Lynne Featherstone. It's really important that everyone who believes in equal marriage should make sure that their voice is heard. The consultation closes a week tomorrow, 14th June. Don't leave it till the last minute – make sure you do it today. If you're unsure about the issues, those nice people at LGBT+ Lib Dems have prepared a helpful pack which outlines all the issues and arguments. I also thought you might like to see the video Cambridge Liberal ...
I am not a monarchist. I fail to see how a monarchy, even a constitutional one, should have a role to play in a democratic society. I find the hereditary principle to be insulting to all those who believe either in democracy or meritocracy. I struggle to identify with a sense of Britishness in which the monarchy and the Royal family are central to our identity as a nation. I also don't grasp why having the same head of state for a continuous sixty years is something to be proud of. I dislike privilege in all its forms, and you ...
I am hoping that what I have read recently turns out to be false, if it is not then we have some serious problems within the party. I read that Lynne Featherstone MP, minister for equalities is pushing for the up coming vote in the Commons on Gay marriage to be whipped so MPs "Should" vote "Yes" rather than voting with their conscience. Now I'm not a religious man, I lost my faith as a young man and my faith is in Liberty, Chivalry and democracy and I feel that whipping this vote is wrong. I'm all for Gay marriage. ...
Amidst all the Jubilee-related snark this long weekend, something caught my eye on Twitter and made me think: @dontgetfooled If there was a "national interest" argumt for LibDems to coalesce w/ Cameron in 2010 might there be not an equally good one now to quit? It's an important question, and one I think Liberal Democrats need to think about and come up with an answer. Even if you say that no, there isn't a national interest argument for doing that now, then under what circumstances would you consider that there's a reason for ending the coalition? Back in 2010, I ...
On Thursday, I did a Voice of Russia radio discussion on Israel, the Palestinians and Iran: Among the questions that I raised are: if there was a viable Palestinian state living in peace alongside a secure State of Israel, then would Iran be willing to live in peace with Israel, or would they continue to view Israel with unremitting hostility? Could the West Bank (and, by extension, Gaza) exist for an interim period under international-community rule (not Israeli rule), as Bosnia once did, prior to the creation of an independent state, a la East Timor and South Sudan? As ...
Average speed cameras have been now proven to reduce 73% of deaths and serious injuries – analysis of 15 sites with SPECS average speed cameras. But they've also seen improved traffic flow, reduced emissions and greater public acceptability than spot speed cameras. The first 20mph average speed cameras are up and working in Southend on Sea. The beauty of these camera systems is they don't just make single locations safer but whole stretches of roads and areas safer. Smoother traffic means greater flow with less variability between the fastest and slowest vehicles. A 'safe-zone' scheme was trialled of average speed ...
Back in March I wrote about my concerns over the elections rules for Unlock Democracy's internal elections: Good news - supporters are being asked to submit nominations for its governing council. Bad news - the highly restrictive campaigning rules that make even the old Liberal Democrat internal election rules seem rather generous: "Candidates may not produce any further promotional materials [in addition to the ballot mailing manifesto] ... No candidate may pro-actively campaign for election online, or allow anyone else to campaign on their behalf ... The Returning Officer may disqualify any candidate who they deem to have made a ...
I warned at the Southport area committee last week that the impact of the Labour infighting at Merseytravel was set to jeopardise investment in our region's transport infrastructure. If you were the government you would think twice before handing over more money to an organisation with Merseytravel's record of poor governance-not to mention the spending decisions they have taken. I know there is more to come. The Daily Post this morning has a new angle on the story: The crisis engulfing Merseytravel follows revelations that millions of pounds had been spent on consultants without proper tendering for the work. District ...
More developments on the intriguing Greenwich Council Olympic Tickets issue that I blogged about a few days ago. Some information has trickled out recently, after the embarrassing situation in 2011 when Greenwich were one of the very few London Boroughs to give absolutely no response to what was happening with regard to the purchase and allocation of Olympic ...
What is Tony Blair doing in Africa? Some have posed the same question about his role as a Middle East peace envoy given the never ending turmoil in the region. Last week, as Blair gave evidence to the Leveson inquiry, ... Continue reading →
Game of Thrones, Season 2 "Game of Thrones falls into the pitfall of soap opera storytelling. It is enormously, addictively, compulsively watchable, but also easily set aside." (tags: sf ) Some Recent Fantasies Ursula Le Guin on "Among Others", among others. (tags: sf ) The New Elizabethans « Through the dark labyrinth British science fiction of sixty years ago. (tags: sf ) Mini-essays responding to inquiries on language subjects of more than individual interest together with answers to IAQ (i.e. infrequently asked questions) (tags: linguistics ) NASA SDO - The Venus Transit Seven hours in thirty seconds. (tags: astronomy ) ...
With my usual timeliness, containing Jubilee-related posts: It's time to demolish the myth about Tony Blair – Owen Jones on Blair's real legacy The real meaning of the Jubilee – "Marks and Spencer have taken flag-worship to such absurd, vomit-inducing levels, I can only assume an invasion of Waitrose is imminent." SpaceX Space Cadets Predictably Crowing Mars, Bitches! – I'm very glad I discovered Dale Carrico's Amor Mundi. Sample: "Because SpaceX is described as a "commercial venture" all the usual Libertopian and Ayn Raelian types who throng futurological precincts have decided to pretend that becoming a government contractor engaging in ...
Every week, Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore writes a column for newspapers in his Borders constituency. Here is the most recent edition. Scottish independence The SNP's independence campaign was launched last week, beginning the debate which will see Scotland facing its most important choice in over three hundred years. Before the people of Scotland are asked to make this decision, there are however vitally important questions that need to be answered on what it would mean for people in Scotland if we separated from the rest of the UK. When it comes to weathering the economic storm in ...
Admittedly I have been out of circulation for a few days due to a trip to the Hay Festival but I cannot see the logic in David Cameron asking for Baroness Warsi to be investigated for a possible breach of the ministerial code, but not Jeremy Hunt. Since regaining full internet access I have discovered that I am not alone in this view. The most authorative appears to be that of Sir Alistair Graham, the former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. According to today's Telegraph he has described the inconsistency as 'bizarre': Sir Alistair said: "The ...
Facebook's Long-Term Problem | The Baseline Scenario (tags: ) The Mechanics and Meaning of That Ol' Dial-Up Modem Sound - The Atlantic WARNING! Auto-starting sound. Worth it though. (tags: ) Gallup Poll: 46% of Americans Are Young Earth Creationists Which is pretty scary... (tags: ) Forty Shades Of Grey: CeCe McDonald Horrible injustice :( (tags: ) Gov't SHOULD Manage Its Finances Like a Family OK, so this chimes with my shaky grasp of economics, but someone who is better at economics: is this good? (tags: ) Reporter: I have a question to Robert and to... • Pop Cultured Scarlett Johannson ...
I arrived home to an official looking envelope. It wasn't from HMRC. I know their envelopes. I opened it to find a red Registration Certificate for my car from the DVLA. This is to replace my blue registration document. The thought fleetingly flitted through my brain that the government was spending a fortune on a fastidious re-colouring exercise. Perhaps they had brought in Colin and Justin who had advised that red goes better with most people's curtains.... But no, they're having to replace everyone's registration documents because of a theft of 2.2 million blank registration forms that should have been ...
It's now time to pack away the bunting and force ourselves back to the daily grind after the double bank holiday. The Voice thought you might be interested to see Nick Clegg's official message on the Diamond Jubilee, though, which is available on his You Tube channel here. He says she is a Queen famous for her quiet steeliness but he's always been struck by her great warmth and her rare ability to put everyone she meets at ease. He praises her wisdom, calm and dignity in a rapidly changing world – and wishes us all a good time celebrating. ...
Wed 6th
08:43
#ForestHill planning consultation: LAND TO THE REAR OF 105A & 107, #HONOROAK PARK, LONDON, #SE23...
Details of this planning application can be found by following this link: The case officer is Geoff Whitington - please email comments and objections to him at geoff.whitington@lewisham.gov.uk, and don't forget to copy us in at foresthill@lewishamlibdems.org.uk
Twitter recently announced that 80% of UK users were active on mobile. The means every time you tweet a link to your website, the chances are that it will be a mobile device which tries to open your site. This is a quick guide to what I consider to be the "best practices" for mobile redirection. It's pretty simple. Have a mobile friendly site.Redirect users who have a mobile.Allow users to access the non-mobile version.Use "One Web" so people can share URLs.Have a mobile friendly siteYou have a super-duper iPhone 4S and are on WiFi connected to a 100Mpbs fibre-optic ...
Due to maintenance on the taxiway alongside runway 1 at Manchester Airport, the runway will be closed between 10pm and 6am from the night of Monday 11th June until 6am on Friday 15th June. During that period (between 10pm and 6am only) runway 2 will be the sole runway in use. More information at www.manchesterairport.co.uk/runwayclosures
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 560 party members responded, and we're publishing the full results. LDV asked: Following this year's poor local election results for the Lib Dems, it was suggested by Lembit Opik that Nick Clegg should set a timetable for his departure as party leader by the end of this year while continuing to serve as Deputy Prime Minister until 2015. Would you like to see Nick Clegg remain as Liberal Democrat leader to ...
Whenever I look at old compilation albums, I always find there are a handful of songs which are just crying out to be played. "Remember this?"I'll say, to anyone within earshot, "Whatever happened to...?" It is these tracks that, for the most part, I'm featuring in this series. NOW! 35 had three main contenders: Deep Blue Something's "Breakfast at Tiffany's", Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" and this, Babybird's "You're Gorgeous": Andrew
Of course the Olympics is about Team GB, or is that team Ireland? You see here in Northern Ireland we are mentioned in the full name of Team GB (ie Great Britain and Northern Ireland) but our local sports stars do appear on two different teams; both GB and Ireland. It was a dilemma I myself faced when I was a runner. At the tail end of the great period of GB middle distance runners if I remained on the flat I would struggle for a place on team GB, but had a better chance on team Ireland. So that ...
The first lesson read at the Queen's Jubilee service was : Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? Hear, forI will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right; for mymouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the wordsof my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. Theyare all straight to one who understands and right to those who find knowledge.Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold;for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire ...
Some weeks ago, I mentioned the good news that the City Council had agreed to provide a new bus shelter at the exposed bus stop on Blackness Road at Victoria Park and that it had agreed to avoid creating a "build out" on the roadway to accommodate the shelter as this would unnecessarily reduce the width of the roadway. Instead, the shelter has been build to the rear of the footway. I am pleased to advise that the shelter is now in place (see above right) and residents' reaction to it is sort of summed-up by one lady who lives ...
It's no secret, at least among several of my friends, that I was disappointed with my performance in London. I'm still incredibly glad that I ran my first marathon there - the experience is absolutely amazing - but, I was annoyed that I didn't have the race that I thought I was capable of running. I thought 4:45 was a reasonable goal, so to be more than a quarter of an hour over five hours was kind of horrible. Even worse was hitting the wall so hard at mile 16 - I just KNEW I was better trained than that! ...
Okay, so its been a while since I last posted, so much going on... this post is a bit of a catch-up on my life based on the wild assumption that anyone cares Not sure whether or not I've failed my exams... had some pretty awful experiences and I'm just praying I hit the 40% ... Read more
This article was one of the 'most read' on Lib Dem Voice for a week. Funny for a post about careerism. I'm currently sat at the pub with fellow young Liberals, young Labourites and young Conservatives. Now, we all face the same problem: how do we engage with voters? The young Labourites and the young ...
