I was delighted that two months work has ended with high-profile coverage in The Guardian today. A study on the Power of the Black Vote – commissioned by Operation Black Vote – looks at the [...]
A friend recently posted a Facebook update, as she often does, about what she was cooking. It was moussaka and it included potatoes. I replied firmly that a moussaka cannot have potatoes in it. She replied with the BBC recipe from which she got it. I was not prepared to take the BBC as authoritative (on more or less any topic these days), so I held my ground and we had a bit of an exchange about it. Various other people weighed in, including one who made the point that recipes do develop over time. Which I knew to be ...
The BBC has put a discussion on the role of legislation from from Brussels and from Westminster and the relationship between the British Constitution and the European Legal Framework on it's iPlayer website (available until the 21st August 2013); If David Cameron get's his way then we will have a chance in a couple of years to decide whether or not we will continue to be a member of the European Union. It's likely that whoever wins the next election there will be a vote, it's practically inconceivable that the Labour party would want to fight the next election ...
Nominations are open for the Liberal Democrat Voice awards, affectionately known as the BOTYs. Despite having a blog, I don't really think of myself as part of the Lib Dem blogging scene; I'd have to update a damn sight more regularly for that! I started this blog to put up discussion drafts of articles intended [...]
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: Also on YouTube.
Brampton Bryan is the home of Aardvark Books. This afternoon it also played host to a re-enactment by the English Civil War Society. Which led to scenes like this.
Just a quick update here for those who are wondering how my various writing projects are going. The Beach Boys book should be coming out at the end of next week. I've been revising it based on beta-readers' comments, and have now fixed all the factual errors and obvious grammatical problems they've brought up. However, [...]
[IMG: chequers_tonemapped] [IMG: rose and crown tm] [IMG: church tonbridge tm] [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Usually I have these Sunday music videos planned a week or two in advance, but sometimes I decide to just let it happen and plan on using something I have heard in the week before the posting is due. This was going to be one of those weeks. And the reason for this choice is that the husband in the couple running my bed and breakfast here in Bishop's Castle played on this track. Python Lee Jackson were an Australian band, but the singer on this is Rod Stewart. He originally recorded it in 1970, when it was not a ...
One of the arguments those of us who oppose David Cameron (et al) in their efforts to control the Internet is that you will end up with a filtering system that ends up filtering out web pages that are either unrelated to the to your aims or you don't particularly wish to ban. Which brings me to this little gem. It seems the British Library bans violent content. Now let's leave the argument regarding a library, any library, censoring access to content to another day because this chap couldn't access Hamlet because it was too violent. Which, lets face it, ...
Here's Jackie to tell you how to rid the world of all nasty internet filth. Hello Alan! Hello Jackie! Well, first of all become an ISP and have a filter so all the nasty stuff isn't seen by anyone. Then there won't ever be any internet filth ever again. Thanks Jackie! Great idea! Now how to play the flute. You blow here and move your fingers up and down here. Great Alan! Next week Alan will be over in Jerusalem showing us how to reconcile the Israelis and the Palestinians. Until then, bye! [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post ...
[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 David Allen shares his thoughts. If It Won't Work, Walk In 1974, Ted Heath called on Jeremy Thorpe to join the Conservatives in a historic 'anti-socialist' coalition. Thorpe spent a ...
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. LDV asked: How would you rate the performances of the following leading Liberal Democrats and government ministers? Full results are published below, but here's two key lists for those who want to cut to the chase... (with comparison to March 2013 ratings in brackets) Top 5 Lib Dem performers in the Government: Vince Cable +70% Steve Webb +60% Lynne ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... The Real Blog: Is there any reason for Labour's continued existence? Fabulously thoughtful (as ever) from @DavidBoyle1958 > "Is there any reason for Labour's continued existence?" http://bit.ly/13ZnF30 Chris Huhne lands £100k a year job at US energy firm. And why not? "He's done hubris and nemesis. Perhaps now he'll find catharsis." Me on Chris Huhne's new job http://bit.ly/13ba7Xu LDVideo: Watch Spanish premier Rajoy's "fin de la cita" cock-up Yes. "We should make it a requirement of membership that, in order to join the Lib Dems, you must be a West Wing fan" ...
Perhaps it is even more significant that Labour backbencher George Mudie says he doesn't know what his party stands for, but Andy Burnham has caught the moment with his very public agonising - which amounts to much the same thing. I have great respect for Andy Burnham. His summary of the fundamental problems of Westminster politics was spot on: "I was schooled in this, kind of, 'how do we make a press release today that embarrasses the opposition?' That's the kind of politics that everyone was doing and the kind of culture developed where you're scrabbling over a bit of ...
Just more awesomness because I love Star Wars and it is the weekend.
[IMG: huhne_harris_floods] The Independent reports the story of Chris Huhne's new role: Disgraced former MP Chris Huhne has been hired as the manager of an energy firm just months after being released from prison. The Government's ex-energy and climate change cabinet secretary has been working as the European manager of Zilkha Biomass Energy since July, according to the company's website. He was jailed in March for eight months along with his ex-wife Vicki Pryce for swapping speeding penalty points so he could avoid a driving ban, but the pair were released in May. The sustainable energy company says on its ...
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. Cameron bounces back as Miliband's stock falls further among Lib Dems We've been asking this question for almost two years, and over the past year there has been quite a change in fortunes (and back again) for the two party leaders, as this graph illustrates: [IMG: mili v cam - aug 2013] Here's the detail from this month's survey... ...
Arnie Graf, Barack Obama's inspiration as a community campaigning and now an advisor to the Labour Party, today tells The Observer: In one ward in Lancashire, Labour identifiers were 33% likely to vote if you never contacted them. If you contact them once it goes up to 45%, if you contact them twice it goes up to 65%. Contact them three times and it rises to 75%. You need an army out there, and that is why we are trying to do a lot of community campaigning right now... If you don't have the ground game, you don't have people ...
I've had a number of residents contact me recently regarding fracking, and whether there'll be any taking place in the Colchester area. Having looked into the issue, it looks very unlikely that there'll be any taking place in East Anglia, as the geology of this area means it's very unlikely to contain any shale gas – or, at least, any significant amounts that would be economically viable to explore for and extract. However, if someone decided they wanted to try, they'd have to first get themselves approved by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to explore and extract ...
There are now two applications for conversion to HMO's in the Clark's estate in Odd Down 14 Breachwood View, Odd Down, Bath, Bath And North East Somerset, BA2 2TX Reference:13/03107/FUL 7 Middlewood Close, Odd Down, Bath, Bath And North East Somerset, BA2 2TU Reference:13/03108/FUL It is worrying that this happening on the estate as it would potentially alter the environment for everyone,
There has been an application to demolish the garage and house next door Reference:13/02913/DEM Type of Application:Demolition Notification Status:Prior Approval Required Address of Proposal:Radway Service Station, 482 Wellsway, Bath, BA2 2UB Ward:Odd Down Proposal:Demolition of service station at 482 Wellsway Road and the adjacent house: No. 2 Oolite Road including all outbuildings If you
Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy has been having a tough summer. The country's economy continues to contract, unemployment has soared, and — most personally damaging of all — he and his (very) right-wing Partido Popular have been embroiled in a slush fund corruption scandal. A recent speech to the Spanish parliament was intended to draw a line under the affair. But Rajoy seemed not to have read his text in advance: after each quote, he also read out loud the words in parentheses, '(fin de la cita)' — '(end of quote)'. He did this nine times, with varying intonations of intensity, ...
I'm nobody special so there shall be no profound truths, and no reinventing of the wheel, here. But I felt it was time to write up why I personally disassociate myself from the word "feminist". It isn't easy. I support women's liberation. When I say women's liberation, I mean total freedom. Freedom from the need to conform to other's demands, freedom to choose who they associate with, what activities they partake in, what career they choose. Of course freedom doesn't mean any of us get what we want (life is never that simple) but we should have the chance at ...
"Have you ever been mistaken for a man?" http://t.co/3Q1ss8JJ05 (tags: (from twitter) ) http://pinterest.com/pin/164803667587070304/ Awesome Vasquez Cosplay (fao @nyctibiidae) http://t.co/YCzdRYPgaN (tags: (from twitter) ) Seconded! RT @honladymark: Happy birthday, @BaronessRos http://t.co/byUiLPEz5D (tags: (from twitter) ) posted The Blood is The Life 10-08-2013 http://t.co/kzcw7CXMCp on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) Robert Llewellyn's slightly rambly post about angry boys on twitter shows that he Gets It. "it's not these women that pose a threat to our masculinity or power, but the truly dangerous and far more insidious old male power base which keeps us locked in the pain ...
After much political pressure we now have some information which is of use to the public rather than mere party political propaganda. Please see the following factual bullet points relating to the St Albans HWRC : Improved site layout providing more parking spaces, reducing both queuing and unloading times. During 2012 – St Albans HWRC received in the region of 150,000 visitors During 2012 – Over 5,000 tonnes of varied 'household waste' was brought to the site. The full list of items accepted at this site is as follows: Aluminium Foil; Batteries (Domestic); Cans (Aerosol);Cans (Aluminium); Cans (Steel); Car Batteries; ...
Today's Observer argues that Labour's virtual silence over the long summer recess and is losing it support. More importantly, it shows that the party is devoid of ideas and fresh thinking: This weekend, the shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, admitted that Labour needed to "speak louder ... put our cards on the table." Today's Opinium/Observer poll shows Labour dropping three percentage points from two weeks ago to 36%, taking its lead over the Tories to only seven points. Some senior figures in the party suggest that Labour's silence for much of the summer is symptomatic of a lack of resources ...
You can't. I mean, not officially. There's nothing in the API documentation, and all my attempts to contact Twitter on this matter have been ignored. If you're getting abuse on Twitter you have to use the official Twitter clients to report people. No matter that 3rd party clients may be better at protecting your privacy, offering you a sanitised view of the people tweeting you, or enable you to block offensive words or phrases. In Twitter's increasing war on the developers who helped build it, they simply won't allow unofficial clients to implement this basic functionality. The nearest you can ...
Many thanks to the 11,000 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... The Daily Mail gets it wrong again (17 comments) by Mary Reid 15 things to look out for at Liberal Democrat Conference (16 comments) by Stephen Tall Falling livimg standards are a problem of Labour's making (40 comments) by Nick Thornsby Why no UKIP peers? (11 comments) by Paul Pettinger Tim Farron MP writes...Helena Morrissey Report update (13 comments) by Tim Farron MP Liberal Democrat Conference agenda available (8 comments) by Joe Otten Scrap Trident nuclear weapons, say 58% of Liberal ...
Botanic Garden Education Centre The University of Dundee Botanic Garden is holding talks and a drinks reception this coming Friday (August 16th) 2.30 pm in the Botanic Garden Education Centre. The talks are on the theme of "plants and geography" and include: Neil Paterson (Botanic Garden): "Biogeography: Darwin, Wallace, Evolution and the Dundee Botanic Garden" Mark Cutler (Geography): Dr Mark Cutler is Head of Geography and has a special interest in remote sensing of lakes and tropical forests John Rowan (Geography): John Rowan is Professor of Physical Geography and researches into the sensitivity and resilience of environments to change This ...
I was pleased to call by the "Festival of Lochee Life" community festival and gala day at Lochee Park yesterday. Great to see the good turnout - see photo below:
In which Fifty Stories For Fifty Years reaches 2002, and Faction Paradox...
[IMG: Kids heart OLPC (no matter what the critics say)] I am working my way through the Glasgow conference agenda, and have got to motion F7 – Protecting children from online pornography. Over on Liberal Democrat Voice, @snagglepus aks: ""Surely, opting in or out could be set up as a simple passworded thing which each machine owner just does or doesn't do?"" Effectively that already exists. There are already a whole range of ways to filter content on a machine. Netnanny being one of the simplest. Google locked safesearch is another. See here. By the way, most pornographic websites have ...
