Part 1 and part 2 have already been posted. July Sir David Steel, I like to think I established without fear of contradiction, went arse about face on Lords reform. I explored the suffragette movement in Leicester and Market Harborough in a series of posts, discovering they had even tried to burn down Bonkers Hall. This was my holiday month and saw me hunting for the York Community Bookshop, entering the old mines at Snailbeach and taking afternoon tea at Witchend - Malcolm Saville fans will know what I mean. August I watched a heron on the River Welland at ...
[IMG: Capitalism unleashed] Over Christmas I went back to Capitalism Unleashed: Finance, Globalization and Welfare by Andrew Glyn. It is simultaneously a sparse and a sprawling book. The text has fewer than 190 pages, and yet it covers an immense amount of territory. I returned to the book to look for clues. Glyn's broad argument is that the post-Second World War period is a game of two halves. During the 1950s and 1960s western economies experienced an unprecedented period of stability and growth during which the division of economic output in western industrialised countries was renegotiated – in the face ...
Another of my boyhood heroes died today - and no I don't mean William Rees-Mogg. There is a superb tribute to him by Vic Marks in tomorrow's Observer, and I can do no better than quote large chunks of it: In the end the figures don't lie. In 58 Tests for England - and there obviously could have been many more - Greig scored 3,599 runs at 40 and took 141 wickets at 32, which does not compare too badly with Ian Botham (5,200 runs at 33 and 383 wickets at 28) or Andrew Flintoff (3,845 at 31, 226 at ...
Around 30 people showed up for the Vigil in London for the Delhi gang rape victim today. We chanted, said prayers and stood in silence to remember Nirbhaya (the victim of the gang rape). Here are some pictures from the Vigil. I am still sickened by how something so brutal could happen in this world and I pray that it will never happen againn.
Writing on Liberator's blog, Simon Titley wonders how the moral of that Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life would fare in the modern world. From One of the Jilted Generation notes that 450 out of 1000 children in UK will see parents separate and wonders if we can't do better by them than that. "Police cells are not generally high on lists of the best places to deal with coughs, colds, or broken limbs. It seems to me to follow that they are not the right place to treat mental illness either." Simon Cole, Chief Constable of Leicestershire and ACPO ...
My mother, who is 81, lives on the other side of town. She has generally enjoyed good health, but fell over one night at the start of the month, breaking a finger, and had a chest infection shortly afterwards, so I had to spend a lot of time in December looking after her. Then about a week before Christmas she suddenly became confused, often finding it impossible to initiate conversations or make telephone calls. We both assumed that it was a form of dementia. I really do not recommend going around shops playing Christmas songs when you are feeling that ...
Congrats to a couple of independent journalists and bloggers who have started a petition to campaign against an extra tunnel on the Peninsula, crossing the river to Silvertown. Please sign the petition here if you feel that this is the wrong way to tackle the river crossing question. The "Bridge the Gap" campaign started by ...
Well, other comics, because I've already done the DC one. something good waitin' down this road [Hawkeye; Clint Barton, Kate Bishop, Lucky the dog] "Katie," Clint hisses into the telephone receiver. "Katie, something's wrong with Arrow." "We're not seriously calling the dog that, are we?" Kate says, yawning into the phone, and Clint is reminded suddenly that it is four-thirty in the morning and he might be concerned about all of the ways that Kate would plot revenge for this if he wasn't too busy freaking the fuck out. Clint and Kate stumble their way through mutual dog ownership, figuring ...
There are two ways to look at the most popular blog posts of 2012. There are obviously the most popular posts over the whole year. That list is at the end, but I thought I also go month by month first (all results are according to Google Analytics) January top of the heap was Apparently I'm a leper now when Core Issues brought a conference The Leper Among us: Homosexuality and Life in the Church to Orangefield Presbyterian Church. Runners up were SNP MP Claims to be a Unionist and a carry over from the previous January Anne Francis Starred ...
I haven't been quite as prolific in my blogging as I was last year and for a couple of months abandoned it completely. However, this hasn't deterred people from reading my ramblings - these are the most popular (or at least most read) posts of the last year. 1) Better Together campaign launched. I was less than impressed with the launch. I'm still less than impressed with Better Together. 2) Willie Rennie must provide evidence of SNP-English Democrats link. The Scottish party leader used federal conference to allege that the two parties are "working together" and "sharing ideas". I suggest, ...
As part of my work as a member of the Party's delegation to ALDE Council, I passed the original version of this motion to LGBT+ Liberal Democrats for their thoughts. They quite liked the original, and I hope that they like the final version as much... The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party convening in Dublin, Ireland on 8-10 November 2012 Notes that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, should be entitled to ...
So back to reposting old Odanglesex adventures with a few improvements - here the long-running saga of rationaising stationery processes. ED'S JOB - the blog of Chief Executive Edelbertha Spengler Hello again! Isn't it marvellous to see all the flowers coming out? It's Spring!!! When we think of Spring, of course all sorts of things come to mind - lambs, flowers, birds, greenery, summer clothes, finalising accounts and spring cleaning. Sometimes we collect loads of stuff we don't really need. For example, a recent check of OCC internet activity showed that some employees were registered with seven or more jobsearch ...
Streatham Liberal Democrats sure know how to treat by-election helpers: [IMG: Streatham Liberal Democrats know how to thank helpers] (I'm referring to the provision of maps in order to help outsiders who have travelled to help, obviously.) Liz Maffei, who has done great work helping organise Social Liberal Forum events, is the Liberal Democrat candidate and polling day in the Brixton Hill by-election is 17 January. The by-election was caused by Labour councillor and former leader Steve Reed being elected to Parliament in the Croydon North by-election.
Sat 29th
15:32
Vigil for woman raped in Delhi outside Indian High Commission in London tonight at 5:30 pm
If I didn't live 400 miles away, I'd be with Maelo Manning outside the Indian High Commission at 5:30 this evening. She's holding a vigil for the woman who was gang raped on a bus in Delhi a week ago and who, sadly, died from her injuries earlier today. Maelo writes movingly here why she's doing this: The reason I am doing this is first and foremost to remember a poor young woman who spent a Saturday evening watching a movie with a friend, caught a bus home and then was gang raped on the bus. She died in the ...
A week ago, former East Dunbartonshire Liberal Democrat Council leader John Morrison died soon after being assaulted in Glasgow. In today's Herald, Liberal Democrat chief whip in the House of Commons Alistair Carmichael, a close friend of John's for 30 years, has written an appreciation of his life. He takes us through John's university days as a top debater, through his professional life as a solicitor, and his role as a senior councillor in rescuing East Dunbartonshire Council from a dire financial situation. For our chief whip, John was a friend and a 30-year source of support, honest advice and, ...
I was going to write a review of the year but that'll have to wait, besides it's taking longer than I thought. In the meantime..... This article seems to belong in the Torygraph but actually appears in the Independant! It talks about how 450 in every 1000 children in Britain today will see their parents separate Having had some experience of this, my own parents are divorced, I have both personal and political opinions on this. An acquaintance also once commented that she was far better off due to tax credits after she split from her partner and some other ...
[IMG: Outside the Green Lanes delivery office which Royal Mail want to close] In the run up to Christmas our local N4 and N8 parcel offices were very busy with local residents collecting Christmas presents bought through the internet. However, in 2013 it could be a very different picture. Royal Mail plan to close both the N4 depot next to Sainsbury's on Green Lanes, and the N8 depot on Tottenham Lane opposite Hornsey Station. Instead N4 residents will have to trek to an industrial estate in Tufnell Park and N8 residents will have to go to Holloway. The local Lib ...
Reading the list of honours it appears that every gold medal winner in the Olympics and Paralympics (who wasn't previously honoured) received some sort of reward in the New Years Honours. However, there are five gold medals from three individuals that appear to have gone onrecognised. Yeah the fastest Paralympian Jason Smyth, middle distance runner Michael McKillop and swimmer Bethany Firth have been left off the honours list. Some people will argue that these people made a personal choice to compete for Team Ireland. But in the case of Bethany, without the Olympic sized pool being ready in Bangor, her ...
Reflcting the pointlessness of the arguments I have been having online the last couple of days... [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Continuing today's theme of congratulations, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has picked 10 peers who "have most to contribute to debates on charity issues", four of whom are Liberal Democrats. Well done Baroness Liz Barker, Lord Andrew Phillips, Lord Chris Rennard and Baroness Ros Scott. * Mark Pack has written 101 Ways To Win An Election and produces a monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats.
And so another year draws to an end. It's not been the best of years for the Liberal Democrats, with less than impressive performances in local elections and parliamentary by-elections and with our ambition of achieving long overdue reform of the House of Lords kicked into touch by a Prime Minister more concerned about his own backbenchers than he is the relationship with his coalition partners. But it's also been a year in which Scottish leader Willie Rennie has shown a little more of what he's capable of, in which Nick Clegg issued the famous (and, when put to music, ...
2004 marked an important moment in my personal life; it was the year I met and fell in love with Jim. It was also the year the then Labour Government introduced civil partnership legislation. It was then, at the very moment I found the man of my dreams, I started to feel annoyed at the lack of marriage equality. 8 years I've moaned and screamed here, and in other places, about this unfairness. Even as recently as 2010 I was pessimistic of the chances of equal marriage becoming reality any time soon. But things change and, as is often the ...
Don't expect graphene to perform miracles | Philip Ball | Comment is free | The Guardian Senator Wyden Proposes Bill That Would Protect Users From Bogus Data Caps | Techdirt When will we able to have a mature conversation about the health service? » Spectator Blogs So you think the wealth gap is growing? Wrong - Comment - Voices - The Independent 2012: the year the political and media classes turned on internet users - Telegraph Blogs Dental nurse sacked for being irresistible - all perfectly legal in Iowa | Richard Seymour | Comment is free |... May the prior ...
I'm sat here, in my dressing gown. My fingers are greasy from eating crisps all morning. My back aches because I spent all night playing a stupid video game. The gin hangover isn't helping either. My week off work has been a wash out. I didn't write any code, I didn't cook anything other than pizza, and I'm beginning to smell of used dish water. I log on to Facebook - and this is what I see, all complete with photos of smiling people doing awesome things. Melody checked in at Bury Lane Farm Shop "Stocking up on pâté :)"Dan ...
Here is a list of the most popular posts published on my blog this year. It excludes some of the perennially popular older posts and reflects only those written over the course of 2012. Stats courtesy of Google Analytics. Today, Numbers 10 to 7... At Number 10, This review of JRR Tolkien's book, The Hobbit. I had read it as part of my 4-yearly programme of re-reading Tolkien's great works, although I have only just started with The Lord of the Rings, so my usual programme is somewhat out of synch. Another book review makes it to Number 9, this ...
Congratulations to Welsh Liberal Democrats who appear in the New Year's Honours list:Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and founder member of the former Social Democratic Party: CBERodney Berman, former leader of Cardiff council: OBEThere were also OBEs for Annette Brooke, MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, and Andrew Wiseman, one of the party's legal eagles, specialising in environmental law. Fiona Hall, MEP for the North East and leader of Liberal Democrat MEPs, and Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat Leader on the London Assembly, are awarded MBEs.
Central Beds Council seem to be spending money on unnecessary software to check web links. With regard to website costs, one of the items in the list refers to costs of web site link checking software. Not sure if this will help on budget costs, but I have used a free link checking programme called Xenu for years and that can produce very exhaustive link check reports, as I have indeed provided to Beds Library Service this year.
Lib Dem Voice polled our members-only forum recently to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Over 500 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results. Farron, Huppert and Oakeshott had best 2012 say Lib Dem members LDV asked: In your opinion, which Lib Dem MP or peer overall has had the best year? [IMG: Tim Farron speaking - Some rights reserved by Liberal Democrats] This question allowed an unprompted, free-text response, which over 400 party members filled in. And here's what you told us: 1. ...
Stephen Glenn this morning was hot off the press with his response to the Olympic-laden New Years Honours List. I was delighted to see the likes of Bradley Wiggins receiving a Knighthood and our Welsh Taekwondo Olympic wonder Jade Jones receiving an MBE for their efforts. But for the exhaustative Olympic list, please do check out Stephen's post for the run-down. I would like to add from a sporting context that Andy Murray was awarded the OBE after a stellar year on the court and well deserved that accolade was too. Roger Williams CBE Roger Williams CBE I wanted ...
Congratulations to all these prominent Liberal Democrats who appear in the New Year's Honours list: Roger Williams, Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and founder member of the former Social Democratic Party: CBE Rodney Berman, former Liberal Democrat leader of Cardiff council: OBE Annette Brooke, Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole: OBE Andrew Wiseman: OBE Fiona Hall, Liberal Democrat MEP for the North East and leader of Liberal Democrat MEPs: MBE Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat Leader on the London Assembly: MBE Please use the comments below to tell us about other Lib Dems who have been ...
Simon Titley's got a lot of attention for the Liberator blog by posting the party's latest 'message script' email. Obviously, as a mere councillor, I'm not important enough to have received that email – indeed, I seem to be missing a lot of emails from the party at present, which makes me wonder who I've offended – but it's the sort of email that's so swamped in marketing speak that I'd have likely just laughed at it and archived. Sentences like "This broadcast is the first full external use of our new Party message script - the product of Ryan ...
Dear BBC Website. On the awesomeness of Delia Derbyshire (tags: ) Here's How Facebook Gives You Up To The Police (tags: ) Paying Workers Living Wage Would Save Government £2bn A Year, Study Finds (tags: ) Hackers of Steubenville Football Team's Web Site Demand Apology in Rape Case - NYTimes.com Holy Cthulhu this is all kinds of horrible.. (tags: ) On Being Female A Vimes/Carrot two handed Discworld fic that gets the voice and tone EXACTLY right. (tags: ) The Hobbit - Production Diaries 3 - YouTube One word: "DADDY!!" (tags: ) teenage gimli by *Xeora on deviantART Linking to ...
When it comes to filing for divorce and the legal advice, many people turn to trusted family law attorneys, such as those professionals found at the Ruben Law Firm in San Francisco, CA. Although the divorce rate in America has somewhat declined in recent years, it is still a common incident impacting families every day. Most will agree that divorce is not a pleasant experience, and while it is important to pursue proper legal actions when separation is a must, it is also imperative to understand the causes behind divorce. Causes of Divorce that go Undetected Most Americans are familiar ...
[IMG: TOP10] It's that time of year again. A year ago I offered, for the first time, a list of my top ten blogs. I've continued reading all those blogs regularly during 2012. So this year's list has been harder to compile. Thinking about who to include isn't a challenge. The challenge has been who to leave out. Even if you are disciplined and restrict yourself only to blogs you know will regularly offer high quality material, you could spend your entire life reading blog posts. Especially if your interests are quite eclectic. If I listed out all the blogs ...
As Swing Districts Dwindle, Can a Divided House Stand? Nate Silver on the polarisation of US politics. (tags: Uspolitics ) Storm in a teacup as non-native EC eurocrat blogs! (with tweets) EU comms people missing the point about comms... (tags: Eu )
Its the last Saturday - and therefore the last Saturday Six - of the year... Fortunately, though, this is a Christmas free zone; and is also relatively free of New Year naval gazing! First, Neil Monnery reports on the announcement of Suzi Perry as the new anchor for the BBC's F1 coverage, and of the Grand Prix being covered by the beeb next year. Personally (even as a Sky viewer), I regret that the BBC will not be covering either the season opener in Australia or the Monaco races. Next up, two pieces from Lib Dem Voice. Giles Goodall reflects ...
Thursday's Western Mail highlights one of the consequences of a decision by the Welsh Labour Government to cut the grant to bus operators by a quarter. They say that sixteen non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have signed a letter to First Minister Carwyn Jones and seven other ministers warning them that slashing Welsh bus funding by 26% will hamper economic recovery, marginalise many people and worsen unemployment and public health. They say the planned funding cut will "deal a severe blow to bus services and bus users", whilst harming the ability of Wales' beleaguered high streets to compete with e-commerce and out-of-town ...
The Victoria Park Primary School Christmas Card this year - designed by Melissa Romero in P5 - is both colourful and festive!
My book on the Kinks, which has been out for a while in paperback and hardback, is now available for ereaders. The delay was due to some health problems, which are thankfully starting to abate. It will be available from Amazon (US) and Amazon (UK) later tonight, and is already available for all non-Kindle devices ...
Top of the heap in the special list of Olympic and Paralympic honours in the New Year's Honours List have to be the Knighthoods for cyclist Bradley Wiggins and sailor Ben Ainslie, there will also be Dame Sarah Storey for the Swimmer turned Cyclist who had started swimming at the Paralympics 20 years ago to win a British record equaling total of 11 gold medals. Coaches Dave Brailsford (cycling) and David Tanner (Rowing) are also awarded Knighthoods. Tanner has been performance director of GB rowing for 16 years a similar length of time that Brailsford has been involved with British ...
Three British MEPs feature among the names recommended to The Queen for an award in this year's New Year's Honours list (pdf) which was made public a short while ago at midnight. Congratulations are therefore in order to: (in alphabetical order) Michael Cashman (Labour, West Midlands) has been awarded a CBE for public and political service. An MEP since 1999, the former EastEnders actor is
[IMG: Caroline Pidgeon] It's great to see Lib Dem London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours. She has been, is, and I'm sure will continue to be, one of the most effective London Assembly members of any party. Her MBE rightly recognises her skill and tenacity in holding to account the Mayor and providers of key public services in London. Congratulations Caroline. (Personally, I'd prefer it if we had an honours system which normally didn't give awards to politicians at all, but as we do it's lovely to see such a good one as ...
