A couple of amusing and skilfully filmed videos are below from German TV. Journalist John Goetz rocks up at GCHQ Bude (Morwenstow). In the first video he phones the number listed on a sign on the fence of the installation. He asks if German data is being processed at the site. The person at the other end, unsurprisingly, will not even confirm he or she is part of GCHQ. Indeed, Mr Goetz seems to get more sense out of the sheep around the site. In the second video John Goetz has a bit of fun with the remote camera outside ...
"You could say capitalism is a means to an end, the end being lifting humanity out of poverty in order to enable it to lead the good life. That's the essential point. The idea that we grow forever and ever seems to me a form of insanity because economic growth is, after all, only a means to wellbeing." Robert Skidelsky is interviewed by the British Politics and Policy at LSE Blog. Mark Thompson offers an article template for any politico who has been outraged by anything - think The Molesworth Self-Adjusting Thank You Letter. Caught by the River remembers the ...
The Metro wins our Headline of the Day Award.
Back in September, during the Liberal Democrats' autumn conference, the Observer announced: Nick Clegg has launched an inquiry into claims that aides have been involved in a "dirty tricks" campaign against his leadership rival Vince Cable. The Liberal Democrat leader is investigating an allegation that members of the media have been briefed with erroneous information damaging Cable's position in the party. The move followed an angry complaint from an MP during a meeting of the parliamentary party at last week's Lib Dem conference in Glasgow. I suggested at the time that there was no need for an inquiry - "Can't ...
So if you've been on social media this weekend you will have seen a number of tweets like this with people astounded that their site is being blocked by o2. I would hate to be a kid with @O2 broadband with parental blocking turned on. Looks like everything is blocked pic.twitter.com/yIF8STq6Ov — Glynn Phillips (@GlynnPhillips) December 22, 2013 Did they discover this because they couldn't access the site on their mobile? No because they followed a link someone else tweeted, entered their URL and saw the word BLOCKED. So what exactly is "Parental Control", this page on the o2 website ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 358th 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 (-, 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. Liberal Democrats gain seat ...
Five reasons the mother of Jesus is a bigger deal than protestants like me typically acknowledge I am not alone amongst protestants in finding the Catholic veneration of Mary occasionally over the top and sometimes rather odd. However, they are right to highlight her as a pivotal figure. 1.The Bible mentions her loads There are [...]
This week has been a busy week. My husband & I have become temporary carers for his disabled sister so many adjustments to family life needed in the run up to Christmas. The diary does not let up though in a week where I attended the Town Council meeting, the Poltair Consultation drop in, sat on the West Area Planning Committee, attended the Bosavern AGM, went to Plymouth for the Police and Crime Panel and ran the Christmas Pendeen Farmers' Market. I did however enjoy a festive evening at Cape Cornwall School's carol concert. On this, my last blog before ...
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers from your Focus Team. We hope you have an enjoyable festive season. You can find out about changes to council opening times and services over Christmas here.
Sun 22nd
16:20
Vince tells Andrew Marr: Immigration panic does damage - politicians should give facts, not resort t...
Vince Cable went on the Andrew Marr Show this morning and echoed what Nick Clegg had said about the Tory immigration plans to cap EU migration. Here are some of the highlights. Nick Clegg is saying what absolutely has to be said. The 75000 cap is illegal and impossible to implement in any event. The Conservatives are in a panic about UKIP , reacting in the way they are. It's not going to help them politically but it's doing a great deal of damage... The responsibility of politicians in this situation is to look at the facts. The simple point ...
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. Some 750 party members responded – thank you – and we're publishing the full results. Cameron still leading as Miliband recovers (a bit) among Lib Dems We've been asking this question for over 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: cam mili member ratings - dec 2013] Here's the detail from ...
Many thanks to the 13,000 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Porn blocking comes in and blocks the LGBT+ website as porn (30 comments) by Alisdair Calder McGregor Lib Dem Deputy Leadership runners and riders. Who's your choice? (45 comments) by Stephen Tall Exclusive: What Lib Dem members think about the Lib Dems and the coalition (16 comments) by Stephen Tall ++Lib Dem Deputy Leader Simon Hughes replaces Lord McNally as Justice Minister (20 comments) by The Voice Clegg opens up his "fairly thick Black Book" of Lib Dem plans blocked by ...
This is edition 81 of my email newsletter, published today. Click here to read it.
On Thursday, Labour in Gateshead voted to remove large amounts of land from the local greenbelt and redesignate it as land for house-building (largely executive style housing). We have been fighting these plans for years. Labour tried to pull the wool over people's eyes, claiming until recently that the plans were a "myth". It was a claim that backfired spectacularly when one of the most affected
Earlier this year I found a security flaw in Samsung's handsets. Of course, I responsibly reported the flaw to them. It would have been nice if Samsung offered a Bug Bounty like so many other companies - but I was satisfied having helped save the world in my own small way. However, last week I received an unexpected email from Samsung: This year you helped us secure Samsung mobile devices for our customers and would like to thank you for your contribution. As a small token of appreciation, we would like to send you the latest Samsung mobile device for ...
Andy Summers from The Police will be 71 on New Year's Eve. That may sound strange, but he had a long career before he met Sting, and this is one of the highlights from it. Summers (or Somers as he spelt it for a while) formed Dantalian's Chariot with his friend Zoot Money, and this song of their is now regarded as one of the key songs of Britsh psychedelia in the 1960s. After Dantalian's Chariot Summers and Money joined Eric Burdon in a later incarnation of The Animals. They have already featured here on Colored Rain.
[IMG: Jim Crace-Harvest] Harvest, Jim Crace If you've ever wondered what the word 'elegiac' actually means, I think this book is the answer. It opens ominously: plumes of smoke warn of new arrivals in The Village (what need to give the place you are born, live and die in a name?). The villagers falsely blame them for a crime committed by one of their own, triggering a series of events that scar everyone. If this were a movie, its tag-line would be 'Seven days: one week that destroys a village and its people.' That sounds dramatic, though Harvest, narrated by ...
To be honest with you I have not followed closely the ins and outs of the trial of the two Grillo sisters. However, as I read the reports in yesterday's newspapers about the case I realise that it involved four ... Continue reading →
[IMG: alex payton british consulate hong kong] Should the Head of State be elected? Who should be allowed to be a candidate, and who should be allowed to vote? Hong Kong currently faces these questions in its quest for universal suffrage and a democratic future, and was the recurrent theme during the second part of the trip to China organised by the British Chinese Project, in which I and three other Lib Dem delegates - Merlene Emerson, Sarah Yong and Steven Cheung – took part along with representatives from the other two main political parties and several enthusiastic BC Project ...
A trawl of the pre-Christmas Sunday papers reveal a mix of doom, gloom and Abbey Clancy so thank goodness for the South Wales Evening Post, which has entered the spirit of the season with a list of the top ten Christmas apps you can download for your phone. Downloading apps is not something I do a lot but if you are that way inclined then you can do no better than one that offers you loads of recipe ideas and comes with a step-by-step video on how to make it. There is one that sorts out who pays what on ...
Information from the county council Please find more details here: ALMA CUT BLACK CUT ST ALBANS WIB.
Sun 22nd
09:33LibLink: Nick Clegg: Slam the door on EU migrants and it is Britain that will get hurt
There are many Liberal Democrats, myself included, who feel distinctly uneasy about the changes that the Coalition has made to EU benefits changes, agreed to by Nick Clegg. My personal view is that while these changes save the country a very small amount of money, tackling a problem that doesn't really exist, we lose a lot more by ceding ground to UKIP and the Tory right. From Nick's point of view, though, he feels that he's agreed to it to make the system fairer and acceptable to British taxpayers in the current climate. He's fine with free movement around the ...
William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy reading a MAD magazine on the set of Star Trek. http://t.co/rbhmc7Ud2T | http://t.co/ixKrGockIw (tags: (from twitter) ) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jzvz Hi @sueperkins. Do you mind if we rummage around in your stockings this morning? http://t.co/olAvJ64OXb (tags: (from twitter) ) posted The Blood is The Life 21-12-2013 http://t.co/51rtHO1k8m on #dreamwidth (tags: dreamwidth (from twitter) ) GP Appointment System Questionnaire http://t.co/SCG1HpM6sq (tags: (from twitter) ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY2ABOoUtH0 If you want to join in the foreshadowing and amazingness of @LoyaulteMeLie you can watch it here. http://t.co/jfsTM0N7QM (tags: (from twitter) ) .@jpshaddock @honladymark @A_C_McGregor you boys should be ...
With the school Christmas holidays now upon us, my weekly West End Ward surgeries do not take place again until the start of the new school term on Monday 6th January 2014. Meantime, I can be contacted via my e-surgery - esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk - or by phone on 459378.
With thousands of horses at risk in Wales, the nation's equine crisis is one of the most prevalent challenges facing animal welfare today and must be a central consideration for Wales' decision-makers. Last week's developments are a hugely welcome step in the right direction. On December 10th, Assembly Members voted unanimously in support of the Control of Horses (Wales) Bill. The strength of feeling and consensus towards devising a solution across the Chamber was heart-warming. When this legislation receives anticipated Royal Assent in January, local authorities will be equipped with enhanced powers to tackle fly-grazing and abandonment, both of which ...
