The massively popular podcast turns real life traumas into potboiler mystery stories. I'm all in favour of that. What is Serial? One the one hand the show deals with serious subjects - in the first series the murder of a young woman and in the one just started with the capture of an American soldier [...]
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, on behalf of the Lib-Dems in Broxtowe. A lot of activities are winding down for the Christmas holidays at the moment and so this newsletter is somewhat shorter than it has been in recent weeks. 1. New Homes Twenty Seven new low-cost homes have been built in Broxtowe. Leicester developer Westleigh Homes has just finished the work, which is concentrated in Hall Drive in Chilwell and Wilson Road in Eastwood. They have been doing this in partnership with the borough council, carrying through a programme ...
I thought this was really tremendous. I've read a lot of really bad books where the gateway between our own planet and the Faerie Otherworld opens up; this works really well because the basic fantasy premise is overlaid with a technothriller superstructure, where our cyborg heroine gets involved with dodgy technology transfer and music. I have generally liked Robson's work and I loved this; I'm surprised it didn't score in the 2006/07 awards season - perhaps too difficult to pigeonhole in terms of subgenre?
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 443rd 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 (6 – 12 December, 2015), together with a hand-picked quintet, 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. A liberal day of life ...
Embed from Getty Images Fern Britton's guest today was Paddy Ashdown. It's a thoroughly fascinating journey through his life. You see his baby photographs, you get a real insight into the early tragedies and influences which shaped him. He talks frankly about faith, life as a soldier and political leader. Find out how he felt when he saw that exit poll this year. Hear how he feels about war "If you aren't terrified, you are an idiot." He also talks about his religious faith. You could do a lot worse than cosy up with a cup of tea and watching ...
[IMG: A large pile of direct mail letters. CC0 Public Domain] What to make of the Liberal Democrat result in Oldham West and Royton?Lost deposit, same vote as at the general election and a fourth place, but the Lib Dem result in Oldham West and Royton looks better if you peer into the details. more Labour MP Andrew Gwynne has written a franker post-mortem than many on the campaigning lessons from the Oldham West and Royton by-election. His focus naturally was on why Labour won, but much of what he says is applicable to Liberal Democrat campaigning too, especially these ...
[IMG: 7 ver 4 full] Many thanks to the 11,400 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Vince Cable writes...Where we can all agree on Syria (39 comments) by Vince Cable ++Breaking..Carmichael election stands. Petition refused. (43 comments) by Caron Lindsay Syrian airstrikes decision – stirrings of unhappiness in the party (51 comments) by Paul Walter So what happened in last night's by-elections – 10 December 2015? (18 comments) by Caron Lindsay How do we reach out to social democrats beyond the party? (61 comments) by George Kendall Tim Farron stranded in storm ...
[IMG: laboursplit] I'm still of the opinion that while a formal split in the Labour Party is possible, it's not likely to happen. There are three options for those Labour MPs and members currently dissatisfied with the direction of the party: stay there, bunker down and wait for better times; give up and find something more productive to do with their time than party politics; or go off and either join another party or start a new one. As someone who was sure the Tories were about to split for about a decade from the mid-90s, I know the temptation ...
Congratulations to Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi. First woman Councillor in #Saudi [IMG: 👍] [IMG: 🏼] #SaudiArabElection #Mecca pic.twitter.com/YdlMADm6hH — هند الإرياني (@HindAleryani) December 13, 2015 A woman has won a seat on a municipal council for the first time in Saudi Arabia, after the kingdom lifted its bar on women taking part in elections. Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi won a seat in Mecca province in Saturday's vote. Women have also won in several other regions in the country, including Jeddah and Qatif, reports suggest. The election was the first where women were allowed to vote and stand as candidates. [BBC] ...
The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was born on 8 December 1865, in a country then under Russian rule and undergoing a tremendous cultural awakening. He became a symbol of his country's independence struggle, and lived to 1957, forty years after independence. His lifespan was longer than any two of Schubert, Mozart, Bizet, Gershwin, Mendelssohn, Weber, Chopin and Schumann combined; but his creative period was constrained to the middle of his life, roughly from 1890 to 1926; in 1940 he notoriously burned all of his unpublished music in the fireplace of his home, Ainola. I've loved his music since I was ...
Wow! How did that happen? The United Nations has just agreed the first ever universal climate deal - and it's better for the global environment than anyone had dared hope for. For once, believe hyperbole: this is the most significant international agreement since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945. Here's just 5 things from Paris that make this so good: In the run up to Paris, more than 180 countries made commitments to cut emissions significantly; They agreed a surprisingly strong 5 year review or "ratchet" mechanism for bolder future commitments to cut emissions further; They backed a ...
Local residents recently attended my Ward Surgery and raised concerns regarding the lack of any form of lighting at the bus stop on Werrington Parkway, near Dukesmead and that the footpath leading to it, is in need of repair. One local resident recently said, "I came off the Delaine bus today at Werrington Parkway at [...]
There are some very interesting jobs and opportunities with the Liberal Democrats which close this week. You'll need to be quick off the mark to apply for a 12 week internship at the party's Scottish HQ at Clifton Terrace in Edinburgh as it closes on Tuesday. It's under the Access to Elected Office scheme through Inclusion Scotland: The role will involve carrying out a research project in concert with Inclusion Scotland and the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the barriers to involvement by disabled people in party activities and the seeking of elected office, while carrying out work within the Party ...
Choosing Fight for My Country by Balls a couple of years ago I wrote: A couple of Saturdays ago I saw Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at Market Harborough Leisure Centre. The opening act was Steve Gibbons, a legend of the Birmingham music scene. Back in 1977, when the Steve Gibbons Band had a hit with Tulane, he was a leather-jacketed rocker - a sort of Brummie Fonz. Today he looks like a Southern gentleman, albeit one you would be wise not to play cards with for money.So here is Steve Gibbons in his pomp. The bass guitarist in his band ...
There have been stories over the past week about Stop the War removing the more controversial (i.e. antisemitic, pro-dictator) articles from its website. So thanks to The Real Stop the War for preserving those articles before they disappear down the memory hole.
Well, well. Boris is against Heathrow expansion, isn't he? You have to then wonder why his office is investing millions in Heathrow airport. According to the Independent on Sunday, the Mayor's office invested £3.54 million in the airport just two weeks ago. Liberal Democrat Assembly member Stephen Knight is quoted: The GLA said that notwithstanding Mr Johnson's trenchant views on Heathrow, it remained a suitable investment. But critics of the Mayor, who is ultimately responsible for GLA investments, said there was a clash between the mayor's public position and his officials' investment decisions. Mr Knight said: "Only Boris Johnson would ...
Yesterday was the Swalwell Community Centre Christmas Fair. I was due to take Pinkie, one of my goats, who would do an impersonation of a reindeer and help raise funds for the Community Association. Alas, it was raining when I was due to take her down. As goats don't like wet weather, she could n't be moved. I went along anyway and bought an absurdly large quantity of pies and cakes. It's
Embed from Getty Images The world woke yesterday morning to an early Christmas gift. Not a novelty knitted jumper or bottle of tipple, but something more poignant altogether. Unconventionally, the gift in question was not only immaterial, but universal, unquantifiable, and intergenerational: the prospect of a deal on climate change in Paris. The final agreement includes a commitment to keeping temperature rises 'significantly below' 2C, with the aim of 1.5C as a target. Whilst 2 degrees may sound inconsequential, the difference between today's average global temperature and that during the last ice age is around 5 degrees. Our climate has ...
The agreement reached by 200 countries is one of the best item of news in recent times. Climate Change is here and now and serious yet there are still so many that deny it. To get so many to sign up to some challenging targets is immense Limit temperature rises to "well below" 2C above pre-industrial levels This long-term goal aims to limit temperatures to a level beyond which the worst impacts of climate change are expected. Additionally, nations would attempt to limit any increase to 1.5C, which the countries most at risk from the effects of climate change say ...
If there is one thing business does not like it is uncertainty. That is why the warning by IMF managing director Christine Lagarde, that uncertainty over Britain's membership of the European Union is putting the UK's economic recovery at risk,should be heeded. Her annual report on the state of the UK economy makes clear that this uncertainty needs to be resolved: She said the UK economy had made "considerable progress" since the 2008 financial crash, but warned there remained "uncertainties" which endangered the UK's economic recovery over the next few years. Her report stated: "The presumed recovery of productivity growth ...
Sun 13th
08:57
Catherine Bearder MEP writes...Nominate a hard-working local activist or councillor for a Europe lea...
I am encouraging Lib Dem members to help me nominate a hard-working local activist or councillor for the Europe-wide Local Leader award. Last year I was delighted when two of my nominations, Andrew Nesbitt from Scotland and David Tutt from Eastbourne made it through to the final round. I was hugely proud that David went on to win the prize for "Achievement in Government". I know that we have lots of talented people working hard on their communities, so do let me know so I can nominate them. The Liberal group in Europe (ALDE) are offering a variety of awards ...
Grateful thanks go to Dundee 330 Round Table and the folk at Tesco Riverside for their help yesterday. A group of us from the Friends of Magdalen Green took part in a fundraising effort for the bandstand restoration. Our thanks go also to the very generous Tesco Riverside customers! Here's a couple of photographs :
[IMG: Tim Farron on Paris Climate Change talks]
The Liverpool Echo has the story on its web site – see link above
Looking at the news you'd be forgiven for assuming that the House of Commons debated nothing but Syria and terrorism recently, of course that's not actually the case. One item I found of particular interest was the issue of out of area placements in mental health raised by Norman Lamb. Norman himself has a fantastic record of campaigning for mental health to be taken as seriously as physical health problems are, and indeed his work in this area was one of the things that led to my decision to vote for him in the leadership elections. The issue he raised ...
Ayn Rand's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe LOL! (tags: sf funny ) The Unbearable Lightness of America's War Against the Islamic State Home truths from @StephenWalt. (tags: uspolitics waronterror ) Outstanding interactive maps of 2015 There are a lot of them. (tags: maps ) Paris silence on aviation and shipping casts doubt on who should lead *wince* (tags: climatechange ) Welcome to Belfast, where bomb scares are part of daily life Glenn Patterson reflects. (tags: northernireland ) Why the 2016 Election Will Be One of the Pivotal Moments of Our Time A historical perspective. (tags: uspolitics )
The Welsh Liberal Democrats will work to ensure that infant classes normally contain no more than 25 pupils, prioritising the largest classes first. Over 71,740 infant pupils in Wales are currently taught in classes of 25 or more, with 59% of infant classes having over 25 pupils. In July it was revealed that over 800 teachers and support staff are being made redundant across Wales, which will have a major impact on pupils and their learning. The Welsh Liberal Democrats would ensure that schools have the funding to employ more teachers so that class sizes can be capped at 25, ...
More than 3 hours 20 minutes of Midland Main Line nostalgia with a commentary explaining what you are seeing and some comparison footage of the line today. Thrill to Market Harborough (1:39:00) still with its canopies, Leicester (1:58:30) still with its overall roof and the numerous semaphore signals and signal boxes along the route.
