When oh when oh when are politicians going to realise the internet is public, that people can see their stupidity? Today's latest internet idiot is Lib Dem MEP Sir Graham Watson, who decided this was an appropriate contribution to the debate on Algeria and David Cameron's Europe speech: The stupidity is utterly breathtaking. In theory ...
Many local schools are keen to have people over 55 volunteering regularly. Primaries and high schools need people doing all sorts of things: hearing children read, helping them to cook, garden, sew, playing music, describing how life used to be, etc. If you're interested please contact Roger on 0161 881 1613 or roger.bysouth@intergen.org.uk For more info seewww.intergen.org.uk .
GM Fair Energy: Reduce your gas and electricity payments: Friday 25 January 2013 10am-12noon at Chorlton Library Bring a recent gas and electricity bill www.gmfairenergy.com Or you can call 0800 009 3363 GM Fair Energy ======================== Manchester is joining 15 other authorities in a scheme where households are encouraged to join a collective group that then auctions its power supply to secure the best deal. Around 60% of people don't shop around for gas and electricity and never switch supplier: as a result they may be on high-cost default tariffs. Residents who sign up have nothing to lose - there's ...
Chorlton Leisure Centre have teamed up with human rights charity FREEDOM FROM TORTURE to offer you reduced-entry places in the Bupa Great Manchester 10k 26 May 2013 GREATER MANCHESTER MARATHON, 28 APRIL 2013 Freedom from Torture is the only UK charity that is solely dedicated to the treatment of torture survivorswww.freedomfromtorture.org · Pay just £25 for your place (worth £37) if you raise at least £250· Free Freedom from Torture running top (worth £15)· One month's free membership to Chorlton Leisure Centre· Regular training tips from a qualified instructor & experienced runner· Freedom from Torture Runners packPersonal training programme, nutritional ...
This picture from today's Scotsman - showing a creative use of bar chart technology - suggests he might be:
Thu 17th
22:32
Did you hear the one about the girlfriend who died of cancer but actually didn't exist?
One story has dominated the American sports industry over the past 24 hours and it is one of the most bizarre stories that I have ever come across. Deadspin yesterday published the following story Manti Te'o's Dead Girlfriend, The Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The College Football Season, Is A Hoax. The story details how the girlfriend of an American Football player never existed and when he announced to the world that she had died of cancer it was not accurate because...she didn't exist. The thing that has stunned the journalism industry isn't what happened but more how was ...
The New Economics Foundation has published a paper entitled Fortress Britain by Anna Minton and Jody Aked, which essentially laments the militarisation of architecture and urban design in the UK. Given the paper's provenance it may come as a surprise that it is not hilariously awful. Anna Minton is kind of an idiot; the NEF ...
A swift retraction by Lib Dem MEP Graham Watson of this tweet, reacting to the news David Cameron has cancelled his landmark speech on Europe as a result of the hostage crisis in Algeria: [IMG: graham watson tweet] Immediately condemned as 'clearly sick and offensive' by Nick Clegg's spokesman, Graham has now issued this apology: I wish to apologise profusely for the insensitive tweet I issued earlier. I have taken it down. — Graham Watson MEP (@grahamwatsonmep) January 17, 2013 * Stephen Tall is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, a Research Associate for the liberal think-tank CentreForum, and also writes ...
Playboy, the global keeper of bunny's with perfectly round tails, has been fined £100,000 by Ofcom for 'serious, repeated and reckless' failure to protect children from pornographic material on its websites. Playboy TV and Demand Adult, which are Playboy's websites, allowed anyone to access inappropriate videos and images without checking whether the persons were over 18 years of age. In 2011 I dressed up as the Easter Bunny and joined a protest outside Playboy's new club in London on its' opening night. Since then I have read interviews given by the organisation about how it stands up for women's rights ...
Blogger has started publishing some of my words with a white background but not all of them ! I wrote them all the same way. What's happening ? Any advice ? Blogger now refuses to publish this post at all ! It's a conspiracy.
The council has submitted its planning application for the new primary school at Winnersh Farm. You can find the documents relating to it by searching for F/2013/0017 here: http://tinyurl.com/WBCplans The Planning Statement F20130017ot Winnersh Farm Primary School.pdf explains how the council decided it needed a new school at Winnersh Farm. It also lays out the planning context, which is, in summary, that the government thinks the need to provide primary school places is so important that there would have to be very major planning concerns indeed for the planning application to be refused. The Planning Statement also explains the school ...
As I was leaving the House of Commons today I noticed that the fountain statue had icicles. It would have been really good with the right lighting sadly I didn't have the time to wait for the sun to get in the right place.
BBC reports: David Cameron has postponed a long-awaited speech on the UK's relationship with Europe to respond to the hostage crisis in Algeria. Well, that was lucky for him - a jolly good reason not to make that speech yet, but he'll have to do it some time. Cameron is like a man in a mire. If he stands still he sinks slowly but if he tries to move out, he may sink faster. If, as we
[IMG: margaret thatcher europe] Amidst all the Tory Euro-hysteria ('Eurotic', I've heard it described as: and I seriously hope I didn't mis-hear) it's easy to forget there are a few Tories, a diminishing if stoic band, who have kept tight hold of their senses. And though it was David Cameron's desperate last-ditch pitch for the job of Tory leader — his 2005 promise to his party's Europhobes to withdraw the Tories from the mainstream centre-right EPP alliance, a policy even David Davis wouldn't touch — which has, slowly but inevitably, dragged the party ever more fringewards, a few of his ...
MP Julian Huppert has welcomed news that the Tour de France is coming to Cambridge saying it is a "momentous honour and opportunity for the city". Julian, who has been elected vice-chair of the All Party Party Parliamentary Group for the UK Tour de France, said the occasion will bring huge recognition for Cambridge when the race comes to the city on July 7, 2014. "This is great news, a momentous opportunity for Cambridge and huge recognition for our city on the world stage," he said. "We pride ourselves on being an important city for cycling and this decision has ...
Cambridge Liberal Democrats have sealed their commitment to deliver on the living wage for city council staff with a £68,000 a year investment in their budget proposals. Full-time and temporary staff will be paid at least the living wage of £7.45 an hour. Agency workers will also qualify for the living wage after being employed for four weeks. In addition, the council will encourage contractors delivering services for the council to follow suit and this was emphasised during the recent re-tendering process for contracts to run the city's swimming pools and other leisure facilities. The promise to deliver the living ...
The third stage of the Tour de France 2014 will start in Cambridge on Monday 7 July it has been officially announced at the British Embassy in Paris today where details of the Grand Départ were revealed. The 101st edition of Le Tour will start on Saturday 5 July 2014 in Leeds before travelling 120 miles to Harrogate, where the first Yellow Jersey of the Tour de France 2014 will be awarded. The next day, the riders will leave York for Sheffield on a tricky 125 mile stage whose final section, will include a climb of Holme Moss. After the ...
By releasing the council budget to the Manchester Evening News, and putting their spin on it before anyone could possibly read the facts, Labour's Town Hall bosses have shown where their priorities lie. Playing politics rather than doing the right thing. By rejecting £1.5million of Government subsidy to freeze the Council tax, and proposing to increasing the Council tax by an inflation busting 3.7%, they have made the choice to pick the pockets of the hard pressed Manchester Council Taxpayers rather than accept cash from Government. For every £100 they put up Council tax they are only receiving £64 because ...
Top of my list for this is Mickey Smith, Rose's selfish, unambitious, control freaky boyfriend. He does grow, admittedly, as the series develops, but he never gets to the point where I can say that he doesn't irritate me. He could cope with Rose going off with Nine but as soon as he realised, in Boom Town, that Captain Jack was in the TARDIS, he felt threatened. So we can add superficiality and shallowness to his qualities. Speaking of Captain Jack, yes, I love him, and so does everyone else, but even his best friends would consider him annoying at ...
(a list of the questions and links to all the answers can be found on this entry ) Favourite Actor Colin, obviously. But after him I think, for regulars, it's joint between Nicholas Courtney and Lis Sladen, both of whom were reportedly very lovely. Frazer Hines is up there somewhere too, just for his wicked sense of humour. For people who didn't appear as regulars, I'll have to mention cousin Di, even though she's not technically appeared in it yet. But aside from her, it's got to be the amazing, stunning, witty, Jacqueline Pearce. I quite liked Jacks, as she ...
Basingstoke live cropped up on the agenda a few times, but was amalgamated into a fairly short debate. for the background click here The issues around Basingstoke live go beyond writing a cheque out, sitting back and letting the public enjoying the music. It was not a simple 'lets do it' and therefore no progress could be made on the night apart from agreeing to set up an all party panel to
Next to Sopranos/Giovanni's Restaurant will sprout a drive through Starbucks café/restaurant if a recently submitted planning application is accepted by Durham County Council. I am indebted to an alert reader for drawing this to my attention, and anyone who wants to look at the application can do so by clicking here.
I've just received the following very useful update about the weather: I can now confirm that the weather forecast is predicting, with high confidence, that we will have snow tomorrow morning from around 3 am onwards, across the County. The heaviest snow is expected from 8am onwards and a fall of 5cm – 10cm with potential drifting is possible away from the coastal strip, where accumulations will be lower. We expect the snow to stop by late afternoon, but it is then likely to be a cold night, and we expect continuing overnight freezes through the weekend – so the ...
I blogged recently about the continuing parking problems around Tesco on Holmfield Road (Aigburth Park Avenue). There were meant to be some road markings going down and there was a proposed "loading bay" which would hopefully mean that the delivery lorries would park there and not just anywhere. Because doing this to the road involves a legal process there was an advertisement and there've been some objections. This all means that a small council committee will have to discuss it and make a decision. We expect this to be in February although the date's not fixed yet. When I have ...
People living in the Greenhill Road and Melbreck Road areas may remember attempts some time ago to turn the greengrocers (Caffleys) into a takeaway. In fact there were two attempts, both of which were turned down when it came to the planning permission side of things. At the time residents were worried about things like litter and noise, although another worry was that particular junction, which has several roads meeting at a little roundabout. Well, if you live near there you'll know that Caffleys is now closed and the shop is empty. There is however another application in to change ...
By releasing the council budget to the Manchester Evening News, and putting their spin on it before anyone could possibly read the facts, Labour's Town Hall bosses have shown where their priorities lie. Playing politics rather than doing the right ... Continue reading →
I had a look at the bus stops they are making on Dog Kennel Down, Houghton Regis, earlier this week. Near the top of this picture. From the size of the platforms that have been built I got the impression they were expecting a few dozen people to be waiting at any one time. Workmen are installing rails on the roadway at that point on what would otherwise be a tarmacadamed road without those concrete guides. I asked a workman what the rails were needed for? (Not necessarily a good idea to ask a workman). He said it was to ...
A major news item in recent days has been the scandal about traces of horsemeat being found in beef burgers. The revealing thing, however, is not the news story itself but the reaction to it. What should have been a scandal about fraudulent trade and dishonest labelling has turned into a debate about the morality of eating horses. The actual issue here is fraud. Food products purporting to consist of beef have been adulterated with other types of meat. It would have been just as much a scandal if the alien ingredient were chicken, lamb or pork. It is not ...
2013 is a year of remarkable anniversaries so far as Kurds in Iraq are concerned: the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War (opposed by many, including me, in Britain, but viewed bythe Iraqi Kurds as a Liberation), the 25th anniversary of Saddam Hussein's Anfal genocide operation and the 30th anniversary of the régime's killings of ...
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. 101147/LP/2012/S1 72 ...
Today saw the first meeting for the new Police and Crime Panel with Commissioner Tony Hogg - the person elected to set the strategic direction for the police and to oversee their budget and work. It's a complicated relationship. Mr Hogg oversees the police and we scrutinise his work. The main business was the first look at the Commissioner's draft crime and policing plan for the coming year. In this plan he will set out what he believes the key strategic focus should be and he will set performance targets. Mr Hogg told us that his key priorities would be ...
We've finally, finally, approached the eve of David Cameron's Europe speech. It's all written on bits of paper and everything. With the ongoing hostage crisis in Alegria, this is beginning to look more and more ill informed. We have a situation in which British citizens are being held, and the Prime Minister looks more concerned with his ...
Thu 17th
16:15
Last chance to stand for important internal elections - deadline 5pm tomorrow, 18th January
Do you have a head for figures and financial management, an interest in international relations, diversity, SAOs or campaigns? I wrote last week that there were some important internal elections next week. The electorate is very small, the newly elected Federal Executive of which I am a member. However, you don't have to be a member of that body to stand. Many of the positions up for grabs are open to any member of the Liberal Democrats. The posts to be elected are listed in full on the members' only website.They include posts such as five members of the Federal ...
38% want Conservatives in Government, 44% want Labour in Government
To start their celebrations of Doctor Who's fiftieth anniversary year, Jennie and Caron have embarked on a thirty-day "Fandom Challenge", daily choosing their favourite and least favourite aspects of the series. I've not. Aside from my inability to get my finger out (and Richard and my both being rather ill at the moment), I don't really like answering 'least favourites'... So, to make up for that, here are my top ten favourite seasons (if you want me to answer another question from the meme, suggest it and I'll think about it). And this isn't a countdown of my favourite Doctors... ...
Mary Ann Sieghart has a fantastic column in the Independent today, laying out the huge significance of the lack of women in the Lobby (the body of journalists that report on the House of Commons.) Some of the stats are truly woeful – only one in five political national political journalists are women, with all ...
Baroness Trumpington on top form in the Lords...even if she is muscling in Liberal territory.... [IMG: Get Adobe Flash player]
Thu 17th
14:55Michael Moore MP: "We can't have the Scottish Government fast forwarding through the difficult bits"
Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore told an audience in Edinburgh today that the SNP must stop talking about the process, must stop trying to get the UK Government to negotiate the terms under which Scotland could separate from the UK and get on with setting out their case. We cannot have the Scottish Government fast forwarding through all the difficult bits to their longed for ending where they clinch a referendum victory. People want to know what independence would mean for them, their families, and their communities. Planning the summits and designing the constitutional apparatus is ...
I was out strolling in the woods this morning when BBC Radio Shropshire rang asking to speak about the hedgerow row. I began to talk to Jim Hawkins not even knowing that the application had been withdrawn, Of course, I was elated to hear the news! You can hear the interview in iPlayer at 2:22 ...
I was flying a bit by the seat of my pants, giving myself just two days to gather signatures for a motion on secret courts to Scottish Conference, especially when most of that time was spent in London at my first proper Federal Executive meeting. Fortunately, however, feeling on this issue is so strong in the party that it was relatively easy to acquire significantly more than the 25 signatures required - and, even past the deadline, they are still coming in. I submitted the motion this morning and I know it's been received. What happens now is that the ...
Two new planning application has been received within Holyrood ward as detailed below:- Application number: 55881 Type of application: Full Date Registered: 14/01/2013 Location: 11 Brooklawn Drive, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2GS Proposal: Two storey extension to side. Application number: 55929 Type of application: Full Date Registered: 15/01/2013 Location: 4 Taunton Grove, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 6TJ Proposal: Two storey extension at side; Single storey front extension and alterations to porch Plans will be available to view on the Council's website here (use the application number to search). Please do not hesitate to get in touch if I can be of help ...
There's a cracking (if stomach churningly violent) new drama on C4 called Utopia. It's basically about how quickly individuals can be traced and found by a mysterious, dark organisation operating on the edge of society. No, not the Tories... Anyway, now C4 have produced a website where you can feed in some questions about your on line habits and lifestyle, and they'll tell you just how easy you would be to track down... My time was 17 hours and 35 minutes. this puts me at the 'sitting duck' end of the spectrum.. Have fun...and be slightly afraid....
Whatever you might think about Nick Clegg it has to be said that the weekly phone-in programmes on LBC were inspired. Every week he has become the subject of conversation and seemingly getting a positive message through to ordinary people. Today's show is no exception. According to the Telegraph (I was in Committee) the Deputy Prime Minister used the opportunity to say what he thinks of those MPs who answered an Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority survey by suggesting they are underpaid: "It just beggars belief apparently that some MPs have anonymously said they deserve a pay increase," Mr Clegg said ...
In response to Liberal Democrat scrutiny of the Ringway contract and how it is letting down local council tax payers, Conservatives have been forced into action. As a result of the open letter sent by Liberal Democrat Leader, Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Central Watford and Oxhey), senior Ringway officers are now being forced to answer for their actions, and in many cases, inaction. A report on Ringway performance has now been added to the Highways and Transport Panel agenda for February 5th where Ringway representatives will attend and face the music. Cllr Giles-Medhurst has also received assurances that extra resources will be ...
Last night I made an emotional return trip to Mecca in Manchester. I was born and bred in Manchester and for most of my life my religion has been Manchester United and my Mecca has been Old Trafford. Our visit was courtesy of my wife's colleague's season tickets which he was unable to use on the night. I am proud of the fact that unlike the other Manchester club mine has stayed on the same site. The problem I have is that it has changed beyond recognition. The match was mediocre and we beat West ham to progress to the ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Cameron's 'historic' speech proves he's the latest leader to lose control of his party over Europe – Comment – Voices – The Independent Simplest explanations often the best > "Cameron is behaving oddly because he is not in control of his party" http://buff.ly/W9olzL It saddens me that supporting freedom makes me an opponent of equality | Suzanne Moore | Comment is free | The Guardian Btw great (if unfair) quote from @Suzanne_Moore: LibDems "turned out to be as liberal as Ann Widdecombe on Advocaat" http://buff.ly/VLLD1o It saddens me that supporting freedom makes ...
[IMG: Clegg-referendum-leaflet-lisbon-2008] On Monday morning, Nick Clegg was given a hard time on BBC Radio 4′s Today Programme by interviewer Justin Webb, who accused him of changing his position on an EU referendum on the basis of this pictured leaflet (click to enlarge**). Nick brushed it to one side, correctly pointing out that the party has stuck to its 2010 manifesto pledge (my emphasis): The European Union has evolved significantly since the last public vote on membership over thirty years ago. Liberal Democrats therefore remain committed to an in/out referendum the next time a British government signs up for a ...
One of my hobbies is looking for QR codes by leafing through the free papers which blight the city of London. Yes, I lead a tragic existence, but it keeps me off the streets - so let me be, eh? Most of the QR codes that I see now are pretty good. They have clear explanatory text, point to mobile websites, and generally follow the Ten Commandments for QR codes. But, every so often I spot one which really shouldn't have been let out in the wild. A property company (who shall remain nameless to spare their blushes) printed this ...
Liberal Youth have recently had a set of elections for executive posts and you can see the results on their Libertine blog. For the first time, they have elected two job-sharing co-chairs, Sam Fisk and Kavya Kaushik who are now putting in place their Six Month Plan which aims to: ensure Liberal Youth can be a community which is positive and wanting to make a difference in anyway possible - either through election campaigning or raising awareness of youth issues. We want to show Liberal Youth can make a positive difference not only in our party but our communities. Sam ...
Crane driver Mr Biagioni says he escaped death from the helicopter crash at Vauxhall because he was late for work. The site developers gave a different version: Tony Pidgley, chairman of site developer Berkeley, said the crane driver was not in the crane because of the "fog level". "The operative is just not allowed up that crane in conditions like that because you just can't see," I
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) would never have become a valued and respected national institution if it was allowed to continue on the path it was on. Labour's tired old way of working was turning equalities into a burden. When people heard the word equality they also heard bureaucracy and red-tape. Instead of being about fairness it was more about frustration. If Labour's method of ticking boxes and filling out forms led to equality, then why did they leave behind a society with so much inequality across the board? Twenty percent wage gaps between women and men, nonexistent ...
I shudder to think just how many council meetings I have sat through in Liverpool in the 30 years that I have been a councillor but I doubt that there there was one that could be counted more peculiar than ... Continue reading →
First up, the Independent's Andrew Grice reports Nick Clegg's comments from yesterday's Today Programme: The battle lines over which powers should be returned from Brussels to Britain will be drawn today when Conservative Eurosceptics list their demands for the "new settlement" with the EU promised by David Cameron. But Nick Clegg and a new all-party pro-European campaign, which includes Kenneth Clarke, poured cold water on the prospect of Britain winning a major repatriation of powers, accusing the Eurosceptics of making unrealistic demands. Mr Cameron is expected to welcome the Fresh Start group's "manifesto for change" ahead of his landmark speech ...
Liberal Youth has our new executive, results here (the Libertine always provides). One of the key issues for the new exec is to work out how Liberal Youth will engage with the 'main' party – as ally, critic, subsidiary... how? Two members of the party have recently offered their opinions on Liberal Youth and it ...
2004 was the last year of my blog being on Blogger. I'd talked about moving it to Movable Type – and you can find out how long someone's been blogging by asking if they remember Movable Type – during 2003, but found that didn't work on my hosting company, but eventually at the end of the year decided it was time to try this new WordPress service they were offering. As for the blog itself, it just carried on as it had done during 2003. New Year's Day started with me discussing the end of the world, and the prophecies ...
Aral Balkan — On false dichotomies and diversity. "In an industry where 27-29% are female, if you manage to get a speaker line‐up with 0% female speakers, you have a bias. It does not necessarily mean that you're a male chauvinist pig with a deep‐seated hatred for women who is determined to hoist the banner for sexism to exciting new heights with his next event. It may just mean that you have an unexamined, unconscious bias. If you care about diversity, this is the point where you should be disappointed in your process" (tags: ) Facebook's Questionable Policy on Violent Content Toward ...
The second week of LBC's Call Clegg is about to begin live on LBC. What will Clegg cover this week? You can find out by listening live here. * Nick Thornsby is Thursday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs here.
Following the failure of music and DVD retail chain HMV, the Daily Mash has spotted a serious consequence that other media haven't noticed.
As the headline says: Studies appear to have found evidence that firms have reaped business benefits from equality & diversity, but not all firms in all contexts at all times. The firm's economic and organisational context is crucial in determining how equality and diversity brings about business benefits. The business case is likely to depend on the markets a firm operates in, its labour market, organisational and other strategies and the actions of managers and leaders. How diversity is managed is also crucial: if appropriately, it can bring benefits to business, if poorly, it can increase costs. Different approaches are ...
This post is written by Paul Hindley, Member of the Social Liberal Forum and the Liberal Democrats from Blackpool, and recently graduated from Lancaster University. A few days ago, Parliament voted on the second reading of a bill, to place ... Continue reading →
I was horrified to read that the Queen and Prince of Wales have the ability to block legislation from the UK parliament. I was horrified enough to hear they were even consulted on legislation but having a power of veto. I had never appreciated how medieval our country's so called unwritten constitution still is. To see the guidelines around checking legislation with our anti democratic royals – http://www.republic.org.uk/queensconsentcabinetdoc.pdf It's even been claimed that government ministers over the years have exploited the royal family's secretive power to veto new laws as a way to quell politically embarrassing backbench rebellions. Amazingly records ...
Irvine Welsh: Scottish Independence and British Unity "Better together? Yes, certainly, but better independent and free together." (tags: scotland ukpolitics ) Advantages of social media are poorly understood My grandfather began school at a time when trust was defined by physical locality, and often marked by the boundary of the parish. In the spring of 1879, aged seven, he was part of the first generation of Irish kids to attend national school in Fanad, Co Donegal. It was his first lengthy engagement with the English language; and it's likely that the main technology he used during the six years of ...
Thousands of tons of waste are going straight to landfill after the County Council's £42m recycling wheel fell off. The waste-separating wheel at the recycling plant at Waterbeach has been broken for 4 months already and looks set to stay broken till December 2013. So far the Conservatives have refused to come up with any plan for dealing with the county's waste other than shoving it straight into landfill. "The breakdown means that everything in our black bins goes to landfill," said Cllr Kevin Wilkins. "The Conservatives have had four months to work out an alternative but they said they ...
There can be no excuse now for Labour's Education Minister after he claims that the Assembly's first Education Bill gives the Welsh Government the tools to improve school standards. Labour's Education Minister made an interesting comment at the end of our final debates today on the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Bill. He claimed that the Bill gives the Welsh Government the tools to improve school standards in education. In other words we are in Labour's last chance saloon to restore Wales's education reputation. Ever since the creation of the Assembly Labour has run education in Wales. Even during periods ...
As I indicated yesterday in an interview on Radio Tay News, I have criticised Dundee City Council's SNP ruling group for making all the wrong choices in terms of the cuts they are proposing in the City Council's 2013/14 revenue budget. I am particularly incensed that the SNP propose to axe the Friendly Bus sheltered shopping service that is a vital lifeline for elderly people in the West End and across the city. The SNP axing of the Friendly Bus reminds me of an earlier failed SNP policy of axing visiting PE and music instructors in our primary schools that ...
I have been, for some time now, a member of a Facebook group linked to a possible reunion. Not wholly surprisingly, it hasn't happened, and it became a means for one member to publicise his various blog entries. I put up with it for a while, but yesterday finally lost patience. If I want to read your blog, I'll follow it, or look for it. If I choose to follow you on Twitter and you use it to promote your blog, that's my prerogative. If your blog appears somewhere I frequent regularly, that's fine too. But please don't use a ...
Holland is, in many ways, the last gasp for the Beach Boys as an artistic group. They would produce good work again, both as a band or as individuals, but in future their work would be driven by one or two members of the band at a time rather than being a true group effort. ...
