The International Olympic Committee was asked by Gay Star News if they were going to 'make sure the LGBT community in Russia can have a visible, proud, safe presence at the games.' The response from the IOC was 'Regarding your suggestions, the IOC has a clear rule laid out in the Olympic Charter (Rule 50) which states that the venues of the Olympic Games are not a place for proactive political or religious demonstration.' Rule 50 states: No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas. The penalty for ...
Responding to Redcar and Cleveland Council Leader George Dunning's "I won't resign" statement, the local Liberal Democrats believe the Labour party is making him a scapegoat for losing its Council majority. Lib Dem Group Leader Glyn Nightingale said, "Labour's internal squabbling and call for George Dunning's resignation disguises what's wrong with the way Labour run our area. George Dunning isn't the problem. It's the Labour party itself. He's just their front man. Labour keeps wasting public money on schemes few people want like the vertical pier. They neglect essential work needed to make the area clean, green and tidy." Typical ...
From the Democracy Now page for this video: Lavabit, an encrypted email service believed to have been used by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, has abruptly shut down. The move came amidst a legal fight that appeared to involve U.S. government attempts to win access to customer information. In a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive, we are joined by Lavabit owner Ladar Levison and his lawyer, Jesse Binnall. "Unfortunately, I can't talk about it. I would like to, believe me," Levison says. "I think if the American public knew what our government was doing, they wouldn't be allowed to do ...
The Rome Statute is interesting in that it defines crimes that are prosecutable on an extrajurisdictional basis. One is a "crime against humanity". The Rome Statute Can be found here. The following are extracts from Article 7. (e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; (f) Torture; (h) Persecution
"This is the problem with the Labour tradition. It forgets that there is anything else beyond meeting needs. It sums up human beings as bundles of needs. It represents the apotheosis of need." David Boyle on The Real Blog, in a terrific post, gets to the heart of why we need a Liberal party. Kiron Reid discusses the right to protest at Westminster writes in Law, Crime and History. Byrne Tofferings has a sensible take on the debate on depression: "What has been adopted is the idea that depression is some kind of disease. We man the barricades against those ...
The Liverpool Echo today ran a story about the elected mayor personally intervening in the bin dispute (odd because up to now the Council has very much been implying it's nowt to do with them) Anyway, the way it was written I expected to see Indiana Jones himself in the alleyway sorting out the problem. Sadly, when I got home it was to find still no collections. The website the Council clearly thinks passes for communication says the collections are now four days behind schedule. More than a week late down my street and more than a week late according ...
Last week, I introduced this year's Liberal Democrat Voice Awards and invited you to submit your nominations by Friday 23rd August. This is just a reminder to you. We've already had a fair few nominations, but there's plenty room for more, so send your suggestions to caron@libdemvoice.org as soon as you can. Please also feel free to publicise the awards on your own blog or via social media. In the olden days, before I was a member of the team, I used to do posts about the bloggers I'd be nominating. This year's awards are as follows: Liberal Democrat Blog ...
A group of Liberal Democrat councillors in Southport are calling on Sefton Council to rethink its decision to close Churchtown, Ainsdale and Birkdale Libraries. Six Lib Dem Councillors representing the areas affected have used a special council procedure to "call in" the decision of Sefton Council's ruling Cabinet to close the libraries. The matter is due to be reconsidered by the Council's Scrutiny Committee. Sefton Council seem determined to close Churchtown Library Cllr Nigel Ashton is a leading campaigner in the fight to save Churchtown Library. Cllr Ashton says "The Cabinet's decision to close Southport's three branch libraries is unsound ...
[Introduction | Supers | Bats | Wonders & Lanterns | Solo Heroes | Justice | The Grey Area | Magic | No Tights, No Capes | Out of Time] This last batch are a space for team-ups, out-of-continuity storytelling and showcases for characters who don't have their own title, and for creators who are less well known than others. Storylines can be as short as half an issue, or long enough to fill a trade, but most are standalone stories, with the intention of being possible to jump on at any issue, or with any arc. 48. THE BRAVE AND ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 338th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (4-10 August, 2013), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. What being liberal ...
[IMG: Logo of Luton Borough Council] Some praise for Luton Borough Council — it looks like it has made a good start at taking on its new responsibilities for public health. Since April (2013) local authorities have had a new responsibility to provide leadership for public health in their areas, alongside some new statutory functions, with the local Director of Public Health becoming an employee of the council. I say "new" but in many ways this a return to how things used to be. Historically public health has always been one of the things that local councils were responsible for. ...
In Indian folklore there's a tale that goes a little something as follows: Three blind men are confronted with an obstacle in their path. Stretching out a hand, each grabs a part and describes what's in front of them. "My word," says the first man, "we're faced with some trees – so strong and thick." Quoth the second man, "You are mistaken, for we face a snake – thin and wriggly." Disagreeing with them both, the third man says, "You fools! It's a wall we must scale – the size of a house." Passing by, a sighted man takes in ...
[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 Richard Flowers shares his thoughts. The Economy (it's too soon to say) Three years into a five-year fixed Parliament, with the economy showing tremulous signs of growth, and we're all ...
Michael Moore and Willie Rennie have both paid tribute to the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, David McLetchie, who died yesterday at the age of 61. I never met him, but I know that he had a reputation as a generally easy-going, decent bloke, kind and very funny. Mandy Rhodes of Holyrood magazine has written a very personal and moving appreciation here. In tribute, Willie Rennie said: A towering figure if this new Scottish parliamentary age, David will forever be regarded as a public servant who made a difference. Whether as party leader or foot soldier he commanded immediate ...
[IMG: BCHR] August 14 has been designated by the youth of Bahrain as Tamarrud Day, the day of rebellion. They see the 42 years that have elapsed since the country gained its independence as a history of violent repression, littered with false promises of reform, the latest example of which is the so-called national dialogue. After several months that process has achieved zero results though from the regime's point of view it distracts attention from the continued imprisonment of the 'Bahrain 13', political leaders and human rights activists imprisoned for thoughtcrime. Those men were tried twice, using confessions to serious ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Woman tells sad story then has photo taken on park bench Woman tells sad story then has photo taken on park bench http://bit.ly/1d2IUYP EU birth certificates myth swallowed whole by the anti-European press Good anti-EU mythbusting from @GoodallGiles > EU birth certificates myth swallowed whole by the anti-European press http://bit.ly/1674qaU Chris Bryant on immigration, employment and his trial by media: My day in the Thick of It – UK Politics – UK – The Independent Chris Bryant had a wonderful day yesterday. Great media performances & public acclaim. According to Chris Bryant. ...
Tue 13th
12:40
Ms Joan LB Edwards: the mystery donor who bequeathed £99,423 to the Lib Dems - our 20% share a...
Chris Harlow and James Waterson at City A.M. has the bizarre story: Eyebrows were raised this morning when it was revealed that the top individual donor to political parties in the second quarter of the year was one "Ms Joan L B Edwards" who gave the Conservatives £420,576 and the Lib Dems £99,423. Ms Edwards has not shown any particular interest in politics in the past so onlookers immediately wondered whether she was spurred into action by the coalition's success. But City A.M. can reveal that it is actually the result of a bizarre bequest. Ms Edwards recently died and ...
I blogged previously about plans to allow unloading at ASDA on St Mary's Road from 6 in the morning. People living nearby wouldn't have needed an alarm clock! Anyway, it seems that has been thought too early as there's a new request in now which doesn't have the early start and the late finish. You can have a look and comment at this link. The deadline is about ten days away.
Manchester town hall has been landed with a £40,000 bill after losing a battle with green campaigners. The council had tried to officially close a waterside footpath in Chorlton arguing it had [...]
The old Bankfield House site on Banks Road has been vacant for quite a while now. Long enough in fact for several clean ups to have taken place although it's still a bit overgrown and littered. Years ago there was planning permission for housing there. It must have lapsed by now. But there seems to be some movement with another application coming in to the Council (may well be the same sort of details). You can have a look at it at this link. As ever the bulk of the info is in the Related Documents section. The comments facility ...
Well it is no surprise that the Rail fare is projected to rise again next year by 4%. It isn't a bad amount really, it could be a lot worse but it could also be better and save the already strapped British public some money. So what does it mean for me? Well, I'm on £21k p.a and I've been given a 1% pay rise for next year (woot!) totalling £210s P.a.So I will be earning a mind boggling extra £175 per month bringing my wages to £1925 per month before tax, pensions and National insurance. Luckily the Liberal Democrats ...
[IMG: Southeastern train (Chris McKenna)] A message from Southeastern about their Autumn "leaf fall" service timetable: "As you may know, autumn is a traditionally challenging time for the train operators as the combination of wet weather and leaf fall produces Teflon-like mulch on the tracks. This impacts on the train braking system and for safety reasons, obliges drivers to slow down, just as motorists need to reduce speed on icy roads "For these reasons we extend journey times between September and December by an average of three (3) minutes to ensure that line speed allows for safe braking and minimises ...
Tue 13th
11:25
The Victory Lab: is Sasha Issenberg's book a route to campaign success or a pointer towards a cul-de...
[IMG: The Victory Lab - The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns] The victorious candidate was the best candidate, their campaign manager the best campaign manager and their campaign tactics the best tactics. The loser was worse, had an inferior team and did the wrong things in the wrong ways. This sort of logic pervades analyses of political campaigning, even when the margin of victory is razor thin. The perceived genius of Karl Rove and perceived incompetence of Al Gore rested on a wafer thin margin in Florida in 2000. A tiny movement of votes or legal opinion, and the post-2000 ...
Lighting Up Whickham is the name of the community organisation set up to boost the vitality of Whickham village and to raise money for local improvements, particularly Christmas lights. Our latest meeting was held last night when we formalised the arrangements we put together last month for ensuring money was raised for the flowerbeds on Church Green. That was so successful that we were able to
Bilbao was the centre of Spain's industrial revolution, making fortunes for factory owners and other members of the elite and drawing in workers from the impoverished south of the country. True to the old Yorkshire saying, "where there's much there's brass", the city developed into a glaring mix of luxurious homes of the minority, filthy factories [...]
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. 55% of Lib Dems oppose in/out EU referendum The next Conservative election manifesto will include a pledge to hold an in/out referendum on the UK's continuing membership of the European Union. Do you think the next Liberal Democrat manifesto should include the same pledge? (Figures compared to last time we asked this question in March 2013). 36% (+2%) – ...
The Western Mail reports that Friends of the Earth have accused the Welsh Government of of "hanging on the coat-tails of the most pro-fracking Government in Europe" as David Cameron called on the entire UK to back the search for shale gas: Friends of the Earth Cymru accused ministers in Cardiff of failing to protect Welsh communities and called on them to chart a different path. Director Gareth Clubb was disappointed that the Welsh Government did not plan to revise thresholds governing drilling until it was clear what policy the UK Government would set for England. Carl Sargeant, Minister for ...
Every so often, Cornwall Council makes a mistake and it is good to be able to meet with someone affected, apologise and put that mistake right. That happened today in the case of Redruth allotment holder Bob Mills. Most allotments are managed by town and parish councils and a few by allotment societies. But Cornwall Council has inherited 13 allotment areas across 6 parishes. These had massively different rents being charged for them and it is unfair on allotment holders to be charged different amounts for the same sized plot. So we are introducing a standard charge of £50 per ...
The apprenticeship event I've organised will take place tomorrow, 14th August, between 2pm - 6pm at Haringey Civic Centre, High Road, Wood Green, London, N22 8LE. We have around 20 companies and organisations confirmed to exhibit their apprenticeship opportunities - with well over 500 vacant positions between them. The companies include: Barclays, Tottenham Hotspurs, National Apprenticeship Service and London Apprenticeship Company. There will also be workshops to give advice on how to apply for the apprenticeships. This is a great chance to make contact with companies and get expert advice on finding the best apprenticeship for you . Apprenticeships are ...
The appeal by the developers has been allowed. The reasoning is set out here: DECISION (21)
To minimise disruption to motorists, the Council always aims to bundle together all the maintenance needed on the A34 and do it in August weekends. It's that time of year again. Stockport Council will be undertaking essential highway maintenance work on the A34 Stockport stretch over three weekends beginning the 17th August 2013. - Saturday / Sunday 17th and 18th August 2013 from the A555 to Eden Place - Saturday / Sunday 24th and 25th August 2013 from Eden Place to Schools Hill - Saturday / Sunday 31st August and 1st September 2013 from Schools Hill to the Manchester boundary ...
posted The Blood is The Life 12-08-2013 http://t.co/3HGZX34ssg on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_Match_Special @Canageek Test Match Special. http://t.co/TvCVWDGIce Scroll down to "light-hearted style", "cake" and "beards" (tags: (from twitter) ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Plimsoll Line (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brinkmann/509192200/)] An exhibition about Folkestone's local hero Samuel Plimsoll to be held in the foyer of Folkestone Town Hall (Rendezvous Street), open on weekdays from Thursday 19th September to Friday 25th October. The exhibition will also be open on one Saturday (date to be confirmed). The exhibition, with rarely seen historical material, organised under the auspices of the Folkestone Plimsoll Memorial Campaign, will celebrate the life and achievements of Folkestone's local hero Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898), the "Sailor's Friend" who gave his name to the load line on the side of merchant ships. His epic social, legal and ...
[IMG: Police (Kent Police on Facebook)] PCSO's Laura Zazo and Mark Ball attended Stockholm Court in Cheriton and spoke with residents regarding their concerns. A talk/discussion was presented outlining Officer duties and their current police powers. Whilst attending Maplins Electronics Ltd in relation to a report of Theft/Shoplifting, PCSO Mark Ball also viewed the stores CCTV footage regarding a previous incident. The male suspect was instantly recognised and was subsequently arrested. Whilst conducting a routine patrol of Spring Lane, PCSO Laura Zazo and Mark Ball stopped and spoke with a group of young persons who were found in a parked ...
Eric Pickles doesn't just eat pork pies, he tells them, particularly where the European Union is concerned. On Liberal Democrat Voice Giles Goodall reveals a classic tale of inventing and spreading Euromyths, this time the European flag and the birth certificate. The Sun and the Mail voraciously gobble it up.
[IMG: duwayne brooks] Congratulations to Cllr Duwayne Brooks who has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Mayor of Lewisham. He will be challenging Sir Steve Bullock who has held the post for 11 years. The election will take place in May 2014. Last year Mark Pack identified him on Lib Dem Voice as a Local Liberal hero. He charted Duwayne's political career so far, which includes being nominated as one of Brian Paddick's Deputy Mayors in the London Mayoral contest in 2012. Duwayne has posted an open letter to the people of Lewisham on his website, in ...
Dundee pupils go back to school at the start of the new term today, but pupils of Harris Academy have two more days' holiday to allow staff to finalise preparations for the opening of the temporary facility at Lawton Road, so, on Thursday, Harris pupils will set off to the new Lawton Road school site at the start of the new term there. I have previously updated residents about the busing arrangements for pupils. However, back in June, at the request of parents, I raised the following concern with senior officers at the City Council (I have abridged the content ...
There was a time when most neighbourhoods, and the poorer ones especially, were often alive with choirs, reading clubs, friendly societies, pigeon breeder clubs and all the rest. Not all of them, it is true, but many of them. I remember reading Richard Booth's autobiography, describing how he built the first bookshops in Hay-on-Wye buying up the libraries from the working men's clubs. But something else happened too. These poorer communities managed to get purpose-built community centres, and attracted grants for permanent professional staff to manage them. The old charities which used to be run by small groups of friends ...
I've often written about the power of images in conveying messages, whether it is using carefully chosen photographs to communicate a political message or a well-designed infographic to turn a sequence of facts into something more memorable. However, the power of imagery comes in all sorts of other forms, as this moving video shows. It was made for Universal Children's Day in 2012, to illustrate how every three seconds a child dies: Also on YouTube here.
Last night saw the first City Council committees take place following the end of the council's summer recess. At the Development Management Committee, there were two very positive - and unanimous - decisions - the approval of the V&A building at its slightly revised location and the approval of the new pedestrian and cycle bridge across the rail line at Seabraes. There were, however, two applications I had concerns about and I attempted to move refusal of both. Firstly, an application for a licensed off-sales shop in City Road had resulted in twenty valid letters of objection and two petitions ...
From Sheena Wellington: The summer holidays are almost over so these are the times and dates for the new Wighton sessions. Because of tutor commitments we have staggered start dates for the classes (see below). We have also had to reorganise the classes slightly to fit everything into the Wighton Heritage Centre most of the time - my apologies for any inconvenience caused. I'm sorry, but Gaelic and fiddle classes will still have to shift on Cappuccino Concert days so will be in the crèche on 17th August. Class fee is £5, children £3. Gaelic class: 10am - 11am 17 ...
Over at Liberal Democrat Voice Nick Thornsby makes some very important points about Labour's latest claims on falling living standards. Labour's shadow financial secretary to the Treasury has pointed out that by 2015, official forecasts show working people will have lost an average of £6,660. The reality though is slightly different: Of course, this is a serious issue. Times have been incredibly tough for a very large number of people over the past few years. But falling living standards are a symptom of economic problems, which of course preceded the coalition. The fall in living standards since 2008 serves primarily ...
[Introduction | Supers | Bats | Wonders & Lanterns | Solo Heroes | Justice | The Grey Area | Magic | No Tights, No Capes] So far, most of these books are occurring concurrently and more or less in continuity, with allowances for writer freedom and keeping crossovers to a manageable number. The following books do not take place in the same timeframe, and as such may or may not actually take place in the same universe. The futures glimpsed here might not be different points in the same future, and the pasts might not truly be the past of ...
