[Introduction | Supers | Bats | Wonders & Lanterns | Solo Heroes | Justice | The Grey Area | Magic] That doesn't mean no masks, and it doesn't mean no superpowers, but it does mean fewer gaudy costumes, and a turn towards the more grimdark Vertigo/Charlton atmosphere, with two very obvious effects. There are no titles here aimed at young readers, but some are more inappropriate than others. 38. HELLBLAZER features John Constantine, hard drinking, chain smoking Londoner, magician and antihero, and while it's not a continuation of the Vertigo title, it's much the same in feel. John wanders London, ...
Indications that you could be include: Being off your Food Being moody Exhibiting "nesting" behaviour Restlessness Bleating Attribution: The Land (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons This has been a public service announcement courtesy of Edinburgh Zoo. More details can be found here. Andrew
A couple of days ago I tweeted my outrage at a story that appeared in the Croydon Advertiser reporting on a fracking licence in that borough. Any resulting Croydon earthquakes, I said, would certainly be felt [...]
Seen in the garden of a vet's surgery, deep in the lanes of rural Shropshire. I was convinced it was real until I got close.
Back in the 1940s, the great American theorist of 'total quality' W. Edwards Deming warned that assembly lines, in themselves, are not efficient at all. Hence the huge problems with safety and care that is causing the NHS such angst at the moment. Hence the effective campaign by Deming's vicar on earth, John Seddon, to reform public services away from the assembly line model. Deming's story is rather peculiar, because he found that his fellow Americans were not quite ready for this message, so he took his ideas to Japan after the Second World War, and was enormously influential. Efficiency ...
Fri 9th
17:55
Labour-run Islington employs people on those very zero hour contracts Ed Miliband attacking
The Evening Standard reports: [IMG: Islington Council logo] Thousands of Londoners are employed by Labour councils on zero hours contracts that have been criticised by Ed Miliband, it emerged today... Islington council has advertised for staff on contracts described on a recruitment website as "Zero Hour Contract — As and When Required". In an impressive piece of linguistic gymnastics, the council's defence is that just because the contracts involve zero hours, they are not zero hour contracts. As with so many other issues, such as pensions where Labour does for its staff what it criticises the government for doing for ...
We had a typical Scouse response last night when we were out door knocking in Church Ward. "You can tell the Labour Party is back in control - the bloody streets are filthy again!" It has to be said that ... Continue reading →
One of the problems when you have coeliac disease is that you hear rumours that something you thought was safe might not be. Sometimes these turn out to be true (Smarties), other times not. I had heard that some of the Frappuccinos in Starbucks might be a problem. and a Google search for Gluten Free Starbucks brought pages from the US suggesting no to skinny syrups, hot chocolate and the strawberry and cream fraps. But you learn that what's safe in one country might not be in another, so I asked them myself. Surely the Choc Chip Cookie Frap would ...
Just as scientists are more than Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper, greens aren't all Swampy I'm not sure whether it is wise to start a science blog with a reference to The Big Bang Theory, what with its depiction of scientists as socially illiterate uber-nerds, but here goes. The debate on "Science vs the Greens" that has played out over the past few days reminds me of the episode where Dr Sheldon Cooper tries to teach Penny "a little physics", starting with the question "What is physics?". To paraphrase Dr Cooper, if we are to debate science and the greens ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... How David Cameron and Nick Clegg turned into 24-hour news machines | Politics | theguardian.com Ouch! Patrick Wintour on Eds Mili & Balls' summer silence: "One can only hope they remain lost and unfound" http://bit.ly/16xwlzV Mark Carney abandons Thatcher-era supply-side policy | Anatole Kaletsky Worth a read on signif of this wk's announcemt: Mark Carney abandons Thatcher-era supply-side policy | Anatole Kalet... http://reut.rs/14Atcn2
In recent weeks we've been thanking a number of people who have given sterling service to the local community and are now moving on, and we're continuing that with the news that Cheadle's District Steward, Danny, has started a new job (as a hospital porter) and so will longer be seen around Cheadle village. We'd like to thank Danny for all his work over the last couple of years, and wish his successor well in the role.
Some days, I think it must be fantastic to work for an organisation which just doesn't care any more. The sort of place which thinks, "sod it, it's not like we need more readers or more money." That is, I imagine, what it's like to work for The Times. For the last 3 years, The Times' articles have been (mostly) behind a paywall. People have been predicting its demise for just as long, but it shows no signs of going away - no matter how few people pay for content. The overall thrust of The Times' argument is that they ...
[IMG: Lynne Featherstone on the doorstep] Want to know how to win election campaigns? You can learn from the very best of international experience with a free 10-week email course from myself and Ed Maxfield. Sign up at www.CampaignMasterclass.com and each week you'll receive one lesson by email, helping you become a top election winning campaigner or candidate yourself. It's a great way to make sure you don't fall foul of mistakes such as Five of the most common mistakes that Lib Dem campaigners make. We've helped, advised and run election campaigns across Europe and even further afield - and ...
"All councillors are lazy. They sit on their backsides all day and they get paid for doing nothing" The above is typical of the accusations aimed at myself and other councillors from people who don't really know what they are talking about. Admittedly, the meetings I attend are now much shorter in duration and held less frequently now that Labour are in control in Bootle. However, stacked against this is the fact that Labour now insist on most meetings being held in Bootle, thereby adding travelling time from Southport and back(and no we do not get travelling expenses for doing ...
To many the answer to this question is simple: de-commission Trident and don't replace it. But this only leads to the next question - how do we get a British government to do this ? It is a common mistake, and one that I have made too, to believe that passing a motion at our conference changes the world. [IMG: Trident] Of course, all we need to do then is win an election on the basis of policies agreed at conference and form a government. Our brief current experience in government tells us that it may be a little more ...
posted The Blood is The Life 08-08-2013 http://t.co/h3l9FQMVAf on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) Really adorable post from a male feminist, that I certainly can identify with: A subtle change of direction... http://t.co/UjLGBexPOR (tags: (from twitter) ) What the Royal Parks is doing to a charity softball league should matter to us all (tags: ) posted Moral Panics rarely lead to good law, in cyberspace or meatspace. http://t.co/dvULHuBFzi on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) BBC News - Boob Jam: Games to depict 'unsexy reality' of breasts (tags: ) BBC News - Six ideas for making ...
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. More than 600 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results. Royal Mail privatisation backed by 55% to 41% The Government has announced plans to privatise Royal Mail. 90% of shares will be made available for purchase by the public, with 10% given to postal service employees for free. To what extent do you support or oppose plans to privatise the Royal Mail? 16% – Strongly support 39% – Tend ...
Grants of up to £3,000 for your community group or project available from the Stockport Fund, but don't delay – the deadline for applications is 3rd September 2013.
Many Liberal Democrats will, like me, have read with wry amusement the reaction of the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph and some Tory MPs to the local opposition to Cuadrilla drilling in Balcombe in Sussex and the potential of fracking in their area given their previous hysterical support for fracking and shale gas. Clearly there are a number of groups who are taking the opportunity to mount a vigorous campaign against fracking with, for example, the publication of a map of a "licence to frack" raising fears of fracking taking place across the country. In fact the so called "licence ...
From the Northamptonshire Telegraph: A Tory councillor has resigned from the Conservative Party over its 'unfair' and 'discriminative' so-called bedroom tax policy. Wellingborough councillor Barbara Ainge stood down from the borough's Conservative Party last week due to her concerns over the policy, which affects people in council and social housing whose homes are deemed to be under-occupied and who will have their housing benefit reduced unless they move to a smaller property.
[IMG: ldv coalition lessons] LibDemVoice is running a daily feature, 'Lessons of Coalition', to assess the major do's and don'ts learned from our experience of the first 3 years in government. Reader contributions are welcome, either as comments or posts. The word limit is no more than 450 words, and please focus on just one lesson you think the party needs to learn. Simply email your submission to voice@libdemvoice.org. Today Bill le Breton shares his thoughts. The Open Coalition and Its Enemies The most noticeable characteristic of the present Coalition Government is how similar it is in process to the ...
As I write this, the week is ending with torrential rain. Good, as it means I don't have to water anything but not so good for all the butterflies emerging at the moment. Yesterday was a perfect butterfly day, warm, dry and clear and it was a delight to find the garden full of them. Along with the commas, small white, peacocks and large white pictured below, were lots of bumble bees, hoverflies, dragonflies and ladybirds making the garden all aflutter.
[IMG: 6775556163_ea02f6c4c0_n] Mark Carney's importation of the forward guidance approach has been all over the mainstream and social media. But how significant is the announcement that the Bank of England is planning on keeping nominal interest rates as they are until after the next General Election? The comment it has attracted has covered the spectrum: positive, negative, and a bit meh. Commentators have picked up on a number of more specific issues, such as Frances Coppola's post yesterday on the prospects for savers and Jules Birch rightly pointing out that the commitment to keeping interest rates low, combined with the ...
[IMG: Africa, 1925] Warning: This post contains alarmingly and prejudicial stereo-typing. I was struck, during Godfrey Bloom's Today interview earlier this week, as to where he thinks "ordinary people" are. The pub, the golf club and the rugby club I see. That's a rather restrictive set of environs. I am sure that there are "ordinary people" in those places, as there are everywhere else. (Presumably, by "pubs" he refers particularly to those little nexus of male bores next to the bar in especially Dog and Duckish pubs.) But it strikes me that Mr Bloom chooses to mention places with a ...
I've run in quite a number of races where you pull up in a parking lot, grab your bib and t-shirt, and start running. They're low key and don't take a lot of planning. Princess is NOT that race. The logistics are complicated. And a little bit of knowledge can go a long way, so here are a few things that I've learned: DO get a bus as early as possible. The first year we ran, we stayed in All Star Sports. The line wrapped through the main building and all the way around the pool. I think we were ...
Full marks to the City Council's Environment Department for the splendid flower beds in Victoria Park again this year:
The Welsh Labour Government has credited the idea of the Health Technologies Fund to the Welsh Liberal Democrats, who brought the idea forward in last year's budget negotiations. Over £15million of approved bids announced yesteerday include: • A first robotic surgery system for Wales capable of minimally invasive treatment of prostate cancer at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (£2.15m); • £0.56m for state of the art radiotherapy planning and high dose rate brachytherapy equipment to deliver the latest cancer treatment methods at Velindre Trust; • Automated equipment for identification of bacteria with near trebling of productivity, increased quality and more rapid diagnosis ...
Go figure! After going public in a big way in opposition to zero hours contracts, including a number of questions and interventions in the Welsh Assembly, Labour have been caught out again. The Financial Times reports that Labour-run councils across the UK are among the many local authorities using zero-hours contracts as they aim to cut staffing costs in response to Whitehall's austerity drive. The paper says that six Labour-controlled councils in London, Tower Hamlets, Brent, Ealing, Merton, Hounslow and Newham, use workers on contracts with no guaranteed hours, while Labour-run Doncaster estimates it has 300 people working under such ...
