Here's the much underated James with 'She's a star'. The video features a very young Keeley Hawes - star of Spooks and Ashes to Ashes (among others).
It's great to hear T.Rex's Twentieth Century Boy on the latest Carling advert. But, my goodness me, where has my life gone? It's 39 years old! Get your own valid XHTML YouTube embed code [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Today's papers, including the Guardian, are full of the news that Kathy Kerswell has received a £420,000 payout from Tory-run Kent County Council after working there for just 16 months. Kathy Kerswell - or Kathy Kerswell-Reid as she then was - should be a familiar name to observers of Leicester politics. If it is not, the Local Government Chronicle from 1995 will help jog your memory: Leicester City Council's ruling Labour group is bitterly split over leader Stewart Foster's friendship with an offi... Leicester City Council's ruling Labour group is bitterly split over leader Stewart Foster's friendship with an officer ...
Liberal Heroine of the Day must go to Martha Payne, the nine-year-old blogger who has defeated Argyll & Bute Council. Though to be honest the council's collapse today was a bizarre act of self-immolation and had nothing to do with any action by the indefatigable school dinner reviewer, Caron Lindsay will give you the background to today's events. Essentially, the council (not the school or headteacher, note) had banned Martha from taking photographs This morning saw an outcry in the media and on Twitter, to which the council felt obliged to respond. That where its problems really began. The full ...
Paul Carter, Kent County Council leader, once again tries to convince the public of his administrations competence? as the true cost of the Conservatives, fall out last year with senior officer, Katherine Kerswell, becomes apparent. No Shock, that the Tory Council lead by Paul Carter, paid out £420,000.00 of your money, we've seen this sort of fat cat payment, all too often under his leadership. Excuse me if I yawn, after several weeks of denials from senior Tories, and almost unbelievable misinformation from Kent Councils media statements, Paul Carter had the front, to inform us at the end of last ...
In recent years I have noticed that Peter Hitchens, the right-wing columnist who is steadfastly against any relaxation of the drug laws has come up with an eye-catching formulation regarding this policy area. He claims that there is no "War on Drugs". His argument is that liberal society is turning a blind eye to drug use and the police and authorities talk a good game but essentially pedal softly. His further argument is that until we crack down "properly" on everything to do with drugs then the problems will continue. It's a neat way of trying to justify why the ...
Encampment at Luna Place earlier today As reported in tonight's Evening Telegraph, constituents late yesterday expressed concern to me that a group of travelling people have set up camp in Luna Place at the entrance to the former Etal Ltd vacant factory unit. The unit - in the Dundee Technology Park - has been empty since 2010 when the furniture manufacturer ceased Dundee operations. A particular concern is that very young children from the encampment are playing adjacent to the main road. There are concerns at times at the speed of some vehicles on Explorer Road, particularly out of hours ...
I am not aware of any meetings at Blyth Town Council next week There are none showing on the council's website, and nothing in the diary, but if anything is arranged I'll update this post.
Charity Garden Open Days Sat 23rd June and Sun 24th June at Nutridge, Ram Hill, Coalpit Heath BS36 2UF. Admission £3.00 (children under 16 free) in aid of Genieri, the village in the Republic of The Gambia linked with Yate. Musicians will perform on both days. A three acre garden with perennial beds, trees, shrubs and open areas. Refreshments and plants for sale. Click here to find out more about the Yate Genieri Link, the charity that runs the the Friendship Link between the communities of Yate and the village of Genieri.
I have very little respect for the kind of people who make up the group that are defined as 'swing voters'. Be it the 'Mondeo Man' or the 'Worcester Woman', they form the ever shifting group constantly pandered to by politicians who prefer policy based on focus groups rather than principles. But the only thing that unites the swing voters of at most a few hundred thousand people at each election is not the tenuous demographic connections drawn by marketing experts but simple self-interest. These are artificial groups who don't have an ideology. They don't care much about political principle ...
It seems that Cornwall Council is failing to get the localism spirit, despite the massive changes brought about by the Localism Act. Many changes are being delayed by lack of staff. The Localism Act gives huge new powers to town and parish councils to take on more responsibility, to run local services better and to save assets of community value. But many of these rights can only be exercised by working with Cornwall Council and the authority seems to be delaying passing on the powers and imposing huge bureaucracy even when they do. One example is the community right to ...
Cornwall Liberal Democrats have called on the Cornwall Council to think again on plans to increase cemetery fees and restrict burial rights to 50 years compared to the current 99 year terms across much of the authority. The call comes as the portfolio holder, Cllr Steve Double, announced the new fees and policies which will come into force from August 1st. Charges across Cornwall will be standardised with the basic cost of buying a plot and interment being set at £1000. At present, fees range from around £620 to £958. My colleague Edwina Hannaford has taken the lead on this ...
Hmm... The Environment Secretary has argued the House of Commons should be equipped with a projector to enable MPs to use visual aids in debates. Many years ago I was a member of the organising committee for Amnesty International AGMs and a similar issue came up over whether people could use visual aids when speaking during the AGM debates. My brother certainly put this option to good use with a simple but striking graph in one debate but subsequently the issue caused some debate when someone wanted to use photographs to illustrate a point about human rights abuses. I sympathise ...
If you saw my blog post on how Ealing Council provided me with my Freedom of Information request not just late, but apparently with the wrong figures, you will wonder why, after another three days, Ealing Council still has not written to me to apologise for what looks like a mistake. See my initial blogpost on this subject. The more time that passes by without a proper response the more it appears that Ealing Council is hiding away from the truth of what happened. I wrote to Ealing's Chief Executive and said the following: "I now have to wonder whether ...
It was a bit of a battle of the Bs for the right to host the 1992 Games, seeing as four of the six candidate cities started with that letter. Brisbane (Australia), Belgrade (Yugoslavia), Birmingham (Great Britain) and Barcelona (Spain) along with Paris (France) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). In the first round of voting at the 91st IOC Session in Lausanne in Octobner 1986 the Spanish city took 29 votes in the first round 10 ahead of Paris who were six ahead of Belgrade, a further 2 back to Brisbane on 11 with Birmingham on 8 and Amsterdam 5. Amsterdam were ...
The unrelenting crisis in the eurozone is blamed on the abstruse architecture of the euro, which doomed the currency from its beginning. The Euro project has so far been a complacent leap forward without solid commitment from all its partners. Thus the eurozone lacks the political, fiscal and legal requirements to maintain a single currency. However, the financial crisis is perpetuated by the
Polling in the Tunbridge Wells East Division by-election to Kent County Council (caused by the sad death of Kevin Lynes) took place yesterday. The Lib Dems came within 150 votes of snatching the seat from the Conservatives - a remarkable result, and one that offers a real hope to taking the seat in 2013. Tory majority in 2009: 840 Tory nominal majority in May 2012 (based on election results for wards within the division) Tory majority June 2012: 149 Lib Dem Folkestone West County Councillor Tim Prater said: "The team led by David Neve and agent Ben Chapelard have done ...
Every week, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore writes a column for newspapers in his Borders constituency. Here's this week's edition. The Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Torch Despite the wet, windy weather, I am glad to say that the Diamond Jubilee celebrations last week were a great success here in the Borders and across the UK. It was great to see so many local communities getting together to congratulate the Queen on 60 years serving the country, making it an extremely memorable and enjoyable occasion. From one historic event to another, last week's celebrations follow swiftly ...
Earlier today Argyll and Bute Council issued this statement in relation to their decision banning Martha Payne's taking pictures for her Never Seconds blog from yesterday. Published Date: 15 Jun 2012 - 10:53 Argyll and Bute Council wholly refutes the unwarranted attacks on its schools catering service which culminated in national press headlines which have led catering staff to fear for their jobs. The Council has directly avoided any criticism of anyone involved in the 'never seconds' blog for obvious reasons despite a strongly held view that the information presented in it misrepresented the options and choices available to pupils ...
There is something to be said for being completely exhausted. Two days ago, I had a morning that began with waking up at 5:30 AM in order to feed my three cats and change their litter trays, followed by doing some final packing for a trip to New York, followed by a commute, followed by ...
The minimum wage and the London Living Wages are brilliant concepts. The former is the law of the land. The latter is voluntary but all reputable organisation would adopt it for those employee and sub contractors working in London. The minimum wage is enforced by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customscompliance officer. If they find a breach they ensure compliance and obtain retrospective wages. But any employer not paying the minimum wage is most likely to be breaching other regulations. Most of those other regulations – rubbish disposal, businesses rates, etc – are enforced by local authorities. It makes sense to ...
[IMG: Graffiti on bus stop display board] Further to my recent story about removing graffiti in Sandgate and Cheriton, I've had a really nice email from Mark at Urban Hygiene Limited To: tim@prater.org.uk Sent: Friday, June 15, 2012 Subject: Graffiti removal A+ Hi Tim, I've just read your "Prater goes forth - with a can of graffiti spray" blog and was mighty impressed! It's great to see people rolling up their sleeves and improving the community. If you could let me have a postal address for you, I'd like to send you over a few packs of our graffiti removal ...
The copious analyses of costs and benefits of a Greek exit have barely touched on the human element, and completely neglected the moral one. The Greeks stand to lose all their savings, endure more cuts and see businesses go bust. It is predicted or, more precisely, imagined that the magic wand of devaluation will restore Greece to growth in just a few years. There is no question that the Greek
The leader of Argyll and Bute Council has reversed the decision to ban a 9 year old schoolgirl from taking photographs of her school dinners and blogging about them. Roddy McCuish did so live on Radio 4′s The World at One, bringing to an end a morning of social media frenzy which had seen the subject have 3 of highest trending topics on Twitter in the UK. In my earlier post, I covered the background and Argyll and Bute's initial statement on the matter. It seemed strange for the Council to say it was taking action against "unwarranted attacks" on ...
A very brave and impressive speech was given this week by Conservative MP Charles Walker in a Parliamentary debate on mental health: I am delighted to say that I have been a practising fruitcake for 31 years. It was 31 years ago at St John's Wood tube station—I remember it vividly—that I was visited by obsessive compulsive disorder. Over the past 31 years, it has played a fairly significant part in my life. On occasions it is manageable and on occasions it becomes quite difficult. It takes one to some quite dark places. I operate to the rule of four, ...
Gatley Festival is nearly here again: a week of events for everyone, culminating in the famous Gatley Parade and Fun Day on Sunday 1st July. You can see the full programme of events here. Over the week from Saturday 23rd June to Sunday 1st July there's everything from a beer festival to a bike ride, from American Revolutionary war re-enactment to a football tournament. So come along, have a great time and – of course – do say hello to the Lib Dem team.
The leader of Argyll and Bute Council has reversed the decision to ban a 9 year old schoolgirl from taking photographs of her school dinners and blogging about them. Roddy McCuish did so live on Radio 4's The World at One, bringing to an end a morning of social media frenzy which had seen the subject have 3 of highest trending topics on Twitter in the UK. In my earlier post, I covered the background and Argyll and Bute's initial statement on the matter. It seemed strange for the Council to say it was taking action against "unwarranted attacks" on ...
I am really proud that in my time in power in my role as the Community Safety leader in Edinburgh we were the first city in Scotland to introduce a Hate Crime Strategy. The Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership have launched a campaign to combat the corrosive effect of hate crime and are encouraging people to report instances of hate crime. Media Students from Stevenson College have produced the advert to run during the campaign
Anyone who follows my Twitter feed will know that for the last 18 hours or so, like hundreds and thousands of others, I've been furiously trying to get Argylle and Butes decision to ban 9 year old Martha Payne from taking photographs for her wonderful blog ridiculed and overturned. I'm delighted that they've seen sense. But now the BBC have written to me informing me that I have had a post I put up on their news story removed - because I linked to the Just Giving page of the children's charity Martha supports. I have pasted the full e ...
So this is a bit of a departure, but I thought it was worthwhile to share a few thoughts about my new baby... And there she is. I waited a long time before picking up my first tablet. Actually, that's not true at all. A year ago I bought the suddenly-discounted Blackberry Playbook – an ...
Great fun: * Mark Pack has written 101 Ways To Win An Election and produces a monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats.
My local council, Woking, have found themselves in a spot of bother recently. It has emerged that they are subsidising parking charges for specific Christians churches. If you belong to a different church, worship a different god, or just want to go shopping, you have to pay for parking. The total subsidy was at least £55,864 between 2009 and 2011, and is still rising. The National Secular Society took issue with this and, unsurprisingly, complained that this was blatant discrimination. Not everyone agrees; Carl Thomson, one of my local councillors, rather missed the point when he talked about secular intolerance. ...
Read about Sutton's plan to promote healthy living in partnership with Chelsea – and how the Tories voted against it – on my ward blog here.
It was reported yesterday that the Home Office are now saying that they're not worried about encryption, because they can look inside HTTPS. Most people's reaction is that this isn't possible, or at least isn't easy unless you're going to throw huge resources at the problem. (Edit: Privacy International have reported this in more detail) Sadly, it's not that hard – but it has worrying implications. The technical bit There's been a trick used by large corporate IT departments for a while to check on what employees are doing, which they often need to do for regulatory compliance. It works ...
Read about the debate on pest control at Sutton's environment committee on my local blog here.
By Howard of Lib Dem News
Liberal Vision author Tom Papworth will be participating in a live online discussion on regulations in the private rented sector on Monday, 18 June between 12-2pm. The discussion will take place on the Guardian's housing network and will consider various issues relating to housing and regulation including the dreaded Rent Control (the policy undead!). Please feel free to join in the discussion on the comments section of the Guardian's housing network from noon on Monday.
There are sophisticated arguments to be made, I'm sure, regarding the Bank of England's decision to launch two new stimulus packages. But the Chancellor is intellectually lazy ideologue George Osborne, so here I suspect is the bottom line: We now beginning to realise that in a deep and wide recession, austerity doesn't work and the state must step in to get the economy back on track Because I'm a politician, I won't actually admit that in so many words Because I'm a Tory, I will only act in such a fashion as to channel state funds through private sector financial ...
Last month I told you about SPT's plan to ban photography on the Glasgow Subway. I said that: So, you're on the Glasgow subway with some friends and one of them does something cute or funny or otherwise worth recording for posterity. You take out your phone to capture the moment..... What should happen next is....nothing. Life should go on as normal. However, if Strathclyde Partnership for Transport gets its way, new bye-laws could mean that you're on a slippery slope to a £1000 fine. The operator has put their new proposals out for consultation and they include the controversial ...
Next week, representatives from 190 countries will meet to discuss how we build a green economy that reduces poverty without destroying the environment. These issues have been close to my heart since I wrote a postgraduate thesis on the "Deep Green" movement and humans' effect on the environment over twenty years ago. But their importance for future generations has been brought home tenfold to me since becoming a father, and I am proud that I will be leading the UK delegation at the Rio Summit. At the original Earth Summit in 1992, against the backdrop of Brazil's disappearing Amazon rainforests, ...
Way back in April, 9 year old Martha Payne started reviewing her school dinners. Every day she wrote on her Never Seconds blog, under the pseudonym Veg, short for Veritas Ex Gustu which means Truth from Tasting in Latin. The blog quickly became an internet sensation and she and her Dad were interviewed on the BBC's You and Yours in May. Each day, Martha would rate dinner at her Lochgilphead primary school on criteria such as Food-o-Meter, health rating, how many mouthfuls and how many pieces of hair were in it. What made the blog were the photos she posted ...
Good news - 300,000 fewer children are living in poverty than last year! The fact that this is down to the recession and a fall in average incomes shows the ludicrous nature of the concept of defining poverty as a percentage of average income. Those 300,000 children are living in families most likely worse off than last year. The 2010 child povery act - along with Tony Blair 13 years earlier - pledge to abolish 'child poverty' was one of those stupid stunts so beloved of new Labour. You can't legislate poverty away - but being seen to be doing ...
Way back in April, 9 year old Martha Payne started reviewing her school dinners. Every day she wrote on her Never Seconds blog, under the pseudonym Veg, short for Veritas Ex Gustu which means Truth from Tasting in Latin. The blog quickly became an internet sensation and she and her Dad were interviewed on the BBC's You and Yours in May. Each day, Martha would rate dinner at her Lochgilphead primary school on criteria such as Food-o-Meter, health rating, how many mouthfuls and how many pieces of hair were in it. What made the blog were the photos she posted ...
Time Travel and the Black Death: Connie Willis's Doomsday Book | Tor.com (tags: sf ) Amazon Infographic: How a Single Company Gained a Stranglehold over Online Shopping and the Future of Retail | Institute for Local Self-Reliance A nice graphic summary of just how evil Amazon are. (tags: amazon ) Georgia: In need of a closer look from US leaders - The Hill's Congress Blog "Democracy is deteriorating rapidly as President Saakashvili and his allies are increasing repression and rights of opposition political parties, as well as average citizens." (tags: georgia )
Here are my recommendations for stuff on t'internet you should check out:Solo Blogger - For those about to Rock - A tumblr dedicated to all things metal (and occasional silly jokes). A bit Kiss-heavy for my tastes, but I love all the old photos of Motley Crue in their days of most ridiculousness. Group Blog - [IMG: [community profile] ] scans_daily - a source of news and comment about comics which is refreshingly free of all the het-white-male-privilege-bullshit that normally infests mainstream comicsy sites.. Twitterer - The Fantastic Films Weekend official twitter feed - this is where I shall be ...
Charity begins at home, or so we are told. In fact, charities survive off endowments, investment income and grants as much as they do off standing orders and coins dropped in a box. But if there is one thing that surely defines a charity - and distinguishes it both from the for-profit and the state sectors - it is voluntary giving. No matter where the money immediately comes from, ultimately it can be traced back to an act of free (and altruistic) will. Right? Not, apparently, for vast swathes of the UK charity sector. By 2010, over half of all ...
Chris Sams Sturdee Avenue Gillingham 12th June 2012 I must say I am a little confused by Councillor Jarrett's piece in Party People (8th June) about justifying the Mayoral dinner as a worthy expenditure. Firstly he seems to be comparing the celebrations to that of the Jubilee. It seems a bit of a dud comparison to me as the entire nation joined in with the celebrations with street parties, boats down the Thames and an overall outpouring of National pride and jubilation. For the Mayoral dinner it seems that only the elite of Medway's Councillors are going to celebrate Councillor ...
A while back, I posted an article on The Libertine about why I was proud Liberal Youth is joining in the #FEparty. On 21st June, we'll be starting that party. Our first lobby in a long time, perhaps if ever, will be on Further Education loans. At Liberal Youth's last conference in Leeds, delegates voted for a ...
Fri 15th
10:29
This week's CentreForum 'Liberal Hero of the Week' #1 (as chosen by me) - Matthew Parris
Cross-posted from CentreForum... Welcome to the first in a new series here on CentreForum's blog — Liberal Hero of the Week — as chosen by Stephen Tall, Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. The aim is simple enough: to showcase public figures who help promote the four liberal tenets identified in The Orange Book: economic, personal, political and social liberalism. We will be highlighting individuals regardless of their party affiliation, and indeed from beyond Westminster. If they stick up for liberalism then they're in contention. Nominations are welcome via email or Twitter. Matthew Parris Columnist for The Times, and former Conservative ...
You have to wonder what sort of world the SNP Government is living in. Alex Salmond hangs around with so many rich and powerful people that maybe he thinks £55,000 is loose change. Anyway, the chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, Lena Wilson, has taken on an extra job, which requires 12 days' work a year and is to be paid £55,000 for the privilege without losing any of her Scottish Enterprise salary of £200,000 for the days she's not there. Given that the average wage is somewhere around £26,000, most Scots will find it incomprehensible that the SNP Goverment has ...
Pre-heat the debate to 1000°C (for fan-assisted debates consult your hyperbole and scaremongering manual at www.c4m.org.uk). Then, to an unsuspecting social network add an average gay couple from Newcastle, experience in web development, some amazing volunteers and zero funding. Leave for 114 days (either side of day jobs) and you end up with: over 60k supporters 131,346 visitors 11.3k tweets 2353 Twitter followers 42,328 Likes 770k YouTube views A genuine grass-roots campaign for marriage equality in England and Wales. The closing of the consultation gives an opportunity to pause and consider how we got here. The Liberal Democrats became the ...
Around Cheadle village you'll see quite a few lines being repainted and some signs being changed or erected. It's the final part of work by the Council to check that the parking restrictions that should be in place across the village centre are correctly applied and legally enforceable on the ground. In some cases lines weren't painted solidly, or had just worn away. In others, a mistake had been made at some point in the past so what was on the ground didn't match the legal orders. For example, there's been an issue with the line at the end of ...
It's all in the game Best post on the state of politics in general I have seen in a long time. (tags: ) Oz and Ends: Stephanie Brown's "intrinsic importance to the Bat-verse" I miss Steph :( (tags: ) Brilliant post demolishing objections to objections to catwoman's recent depiction (tags: ) CCDP First impressions: A bill with too few safeguards Zoe has great analysis here. (tags: ) Hilarious Slug Maze (tags: ) Heresy Corner: Total war on crime means total war on privacy (tags: ) BBC News - Peasants' Revolt: The time when women took up arms "there's a growing ...
Living, a not for profit community interest company, is holding an open day where people with disabilities can try out the very latest independent living aids and equipment. The event will run from 10am to 3.30pm on Thursday 21st June at The Vassall Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 2QQ. Admission is free and there will be free tea, coffee and cake. For more information please phone 0117 965 3651 or visit www.thisisliving.org.uk.
So, another case of life imitating the Simpsons today. This time its about a nine year old girl who starts a blog to picture and rate her school lunches. Said blog is successful attracting readers and comments from all over the world and then...... This morning in maths I got taken out of class by my head teacher and taken to her office. I was told that I could not take any more photos of my school dinners because of a headline in a newspaper today. *face palm* Well, I suppose that is one way to stifle creativity, crush independent ...
Lib Dem councillors will be joining prospective buyers at a viewing of the George & Dragon Pub on Tuesday. The grade II listed building has a sale price of £425,000 – though to either refit or convert it would be substantially more expensive. We want to get a better feel for what the options are and who's interested in it – after the let-down of Dorbiere who promised a lot and sadly have delivered nothing. The possibility of a community purchase has been raised, so we'll look into that. At the moment I'm not convinced it's viable: that sort of ...
Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone writes a monthly column for one of her local newspapers. Here is the latest one, on that very British subject of the weather. In the summertime, when the weather is hot... is how the song goes – but as I put on heavy stockings and boots to go to a community picnic on the day I am writing this column, with the wind howling and rain predicted for the next several days yet again, summer and hot do not seem to go together! [IMG: Raindrops. Photo courtesy of alexplomp on Stoch.xchng] So I am crossing ...
Jonathan Calder has a good post arguing that the Draft Communications Bill goes against the Coalition Agreement, with the implication that it should be terminated now, not be something that floats around there in the hope that Lib Dem activists can improve it. While I share Jonathan's perspective, I'm concerned that yet again, the Liberal Democrats have been outfoxed behind the scenes. I'm sure someone will now try and tell me that Nick Clegg did wonderful things by ensuring this is a draft bill, rather than a final one, and so has to go through extra scrutiny and amendments first, ...
Fri 15th
09:24
The #neverseconds row (with pitchforks at the ready...) - Argyll and Bute Council need to respond
Twitter is alight this morning. No they aren't up in arms that I have four different packages en route from four different delivery companies and they all have to be signed for. No they don't care about the pain I have to face staying in all day and being scared to go to the loo in case I miss the buzzer go on the front door of my building. No a nine year-old girl has been banned from taking photographs of her school provided dinners by the local council. Ok in the grand scheme of things that is probably slightly ...
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[IMG: Draft Communications Data Bill] I was kindly given a hard copy of the Draft Communications Bill, the Snoopers Charter, yesterday evening by the inestimable Dr Jenny Woods. A brief review of the contents suggest four main problems: the foreword, the beginning, the middle, and the end. Yes, it's that bad. As a first reaction, here's a key point from each section to highlight the authoritarian, statist thread running through the document. The Foreword "This information has played a role in nearly every serious organised crime investigation and in all major Security Service counter-terrorism operations over the past decade and ...
Argyll and Bute council yesterday made a very supportive head teacher in a primary school take one of their nine year old pupils out of class to inform her that she could no longer take photographs of her school dinners and rate them in a fun way with fun facts and blog them. As the blog grew to over 2 million hits since it started in April to feature international school dinners as well. My friend Andrew (aka Scottish Liberal) wrote this excellent post about it, which explains he take on what she has done from a professional photographer and ...
I am somewhat confused as to what the government think they can achieve trying to get emails and web traffic tracked. The whole idea of the Secure Sockets Layer protocol is to prevent "man in the middle" attacks from being able to find out what is being said. Hence if someone sends email using SSL through an email server hosted abroad then the only thing the government could have tracked is
From Jonathan Freedland on that text from Rebekah Brooks to Cameron: "professionally we're definitely in this together," she declares with an exclamation mark...If Cameron and Brooks were not all in it together before this text was made public, they are now - up to their neck in it, in fact. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Understandably the Leveson Inquiry has concentrated on the misdeeds of journalists and the behaviour of newspaper owners. However, the appearance of a series of figures this week at Leveson could – indeed should – have highlighted how often the power lies with politicians, not the media. We had three figures appear who all, in their own very different ways, showed that despite all the talk of politicians been cowed by the media, it is far from uncommon for politicians to have far too much power over the media. [IMG: Gordon Brown] Figure one: Gordon Brown. I've often asked Labour Party ...
Having now established the idea that Liberal Democrats in Government are not bound by the normal conventions of collective responsibility, the perfect opportunity has presented itself for the party to make a stand and force a change in government policy. It is possible of course that we can do it the conventional way, in private in the hallowed corridors of power, but if that proves to be impractical then I believe that the party has a duty to oppose Home Secretary, Therese May's plans to require companies to hold details of phone and internet use for 12 months. The Independent ...
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. 099156/FH/2012/S1 11 ...
As a former resident of Argyll and Bute, I was shocked to discover today that its council has become embroiled in controversy for having suppressed the creative writings of a nine-year old girl. A young girl writing under the pseudonym VEG has for the previous few months maintained a colourful and rather entertaining blog at Never Seconds, in which she describes and rates school meals, complete with photographs. So successful has this blog been that it has received over 2 million hits (more than A Scottish Liberal has achieved in three years) and facilitated some rather interesting conversations on the ...
The BBC tells me that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has trumpeted the "fantastic news" that the London Olympics has come in under its £9.3 billion budget, with £476 million in contingency funding left in the pot. Whoopee! An event that was originally going to cost a mere £2.5 billion (cheap at the price!) is now going to cost less than £9 billion. Waiter, champagne! Even in 2003 - back in the boom times, when government thought it could pay for everything - even then, when public money was being thrown around like confetti, it was already being suggested that £2.5 ...
Jubilee Celebrations in West Hampstead Also on Saturday, the Fordwych Road Residents' Association held their event in St Cuthbert's Church Hall, while on on Sunday Friends of Fortune Green held a Big Lunch event, despite the rain. They decamped into the Play Centre where at least 100 residents shared food and some entered the Bake Off competition. On the Monday, MARA were lucky with their weather for their street party with masses of food and drinks and a "table competition of which this was the worthy winner! Well done all the organisers for helping us celebrate the Jubilee weekend with ...
