Embed from Getty Images Read about the artist Adrian Scott Stokes on Wikipedia.
Is being troubled worse than being embattled or beleagured? Anyway, my favourite newspaper is the place to turn for the latest news on the Conservative MP for Telford. The latest Shropshire Star story on her begins: Troubled Lucy Allan has been asked to apologise for her comments about "bully boy" Labour councillors in the town - or face a lawsuit. The Telford MP launched a Facebook rant against "a small group of bully boy councillors, thugs and henchmen" who she claimed had hounded her for two years, before going on to name them. Members of the executive committee of the ...
I have noticed during my time in Spain, and research prior, that equivocation and outright policy reversals are not met with the same scorn and derision by the media and general public here that they are in UK politics. Mariano Rajoy, Pedro Sanchez and Pablo Iglesias have all, at some point in recent years, reneged, retracted, backtracked or outright refuted stances or statements they once held or pronounced, with very little cost to their wider popularity. In the United Kingdom at least, this is a cardinal sin; pure sacrilege. An example of how overt Spanish politicians are when backpedalling can ...
Like a lot of people, I have occasional battles with insomnia. The advent of the smartphone has made things worse. Whereas in the old days, you could pick up a book to read in the dark hours and put it aside when your eyelids finally started drooping, the phone is insidious - Let's click through to that last update on Facebook or Twitter! Let's check the BBC or Guardian one last time! - and tends to keep you awake raher than lull you to rest. I am told (and I can well believe it) that the mere fact of the ...
Our Headline of the Day comes from the Shropshire Star.
This marks the end of my project to get up to speed with the sf novels of 1940, and it's a reasonably high note to finish on. This was the first of a couple of dozen stories featuring the eponymous Captain, who goes around the solar system righting wrongs - in this case, liberating the grateful natives of Jupiter from the evil Space Emperor - with his allies, a brain in a box formerly known as Simon Wright, a robot called Grag, and Android called Otho, and a spunky gal from the Planetary Police called Joan. It's pretty formulaic but ...
In Europe, you're legally protected from "automated decisions". The US Army, in a recent report, may have to take issue with that. What's the battlefield of the future going to look like? And why is there a tank painted bright blue in the middle of London?
Labour moderates don't need a new party, they need new ideas and new purpose, argues Jonathan Todd. Mike Smithson says that if you want the opinion polls to tell you who will win the next election you should look at the ratings of the leaders not the parties. "Gideon Haigh summed it up in The Australian. 'The West Indies used to be baaaaaaad. Now they're simply bad'." Peter Miller on the decline of a great test power. Steve Galloway celebrates the restoration of Walmgate Bar and the east end of York Minster. Inside the Box has an audio interview with ...
In this week's Standard column, Nick Clegg looks at the controversy surrounding Donald Trump and Tyson Fury and questions the knee jerk reactions that call for them to be banned: But there are always things in life which are unpleasant and offensive. Donald Trump is a dangerous loudmouth. Tyson Fury is a terrible role model. Germaine Greer is wrong on transgender rights. Maybe it's the instant, push-button, "something must be done" culture of the internet age. Adding your name to an online petition without a second's thought is a gratifyingly rapid reflex to something that is irritating or outrageous in ...
The Independent reports: The chairman of the Liberal Democrats' ethnic minority group, who was controversially ejected from the party last month, has had his membership re-instated. Race equality campaigners expressed outrage at the decision against Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera, chair of the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats (EMLD) group, who had his membership revoked by a disciplinary panel amid accusations of intimidation and harassment. However, an appeals panel this week unanimously reversed the decision, ruling that the original investigation did not take into account the circumstances surrounding complaints against the former Newbury Town councillor. Mr Uduwerage-Perera has always denied the allegations and says ...
Sat 19th
13:25
"Look after the unemployment, and the budget will look after itself " (Keynes 1933). Is he still rig...
Embed from Getty Images Keynes was undeniably a genius of his time, but he wasn't infallible. We should not just assume that he was always correct. As with all prolific writers we can cherry-pick quotations to suit our own political purposes. If we want to argue for more government spending, we can use this: For the proposition that supply creates its own demand, I shall substitute the proposition that expenditure creates its own income. (Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes, Volume XXIX, pp 80-81) Keynes meant that the mere supply of a commodity is not enough to ensure the sale ...
Embed from Getty Images Well done ITV! The World According to Kenny Everett is a superb portrait of the great man. There have been several cut-and-paste documentaries about Kenny Everett in the past, but this one uses a wonderful selection of previously unseen home movie and other footage. It is very special. You can see the full programme here until it expires. Share
Embed from Getty Images Private schools educate 7% of pupils, but account for 42.5% of Oxford students. This statistic, according to Baroness Clare Tyler, puts the UK behind even Harvard, the most elite US university. She wrote for the Huffington Post in the wake of a damning report on social mobility in the UK. At Oxford, the percent of state school students hasn't budged since 2002. And today, just 14.3% of Oxford's students come from the bottom half of households by income. Whilst one in five children are on free school meals, this can be said of just one in ...
[IMG: ALDC Master Logo (for screen)] There were two second place finishes for Liberal Democrat candidates in this week's six principal council by-elections. In Brent (LB), Sarah Dickson recorded an 8.7% vote share increase for the Lib Dems in Kensal Green as the party polled 23.9%, with Labour holding the seat with 53.4% of the vote. There was another second place for the Liberal Democrats in East Hertfordshire (DC). Rob Lambie polled 19.5% in Hertford Heath ward, with no Lib Dem candidate having stood there in May. The winning candidate was due to represent the Conservatives, but following a problem ...
Our Ward Councillors Advice Surgery for December will be held in the Iris Tomlin room at Wallington Library from 10-11.30am. This is a change from our usual venue of Sainsburys and is just for the December surgery.
Embed from Getty Images BBC4 have done it again. I'm Not In Love: The Story of 10CC is an absolutely sublime documentary. The remarkable range of footage and interviews tells the fascinating story of one of the most innovative and under-rated bands ever. I often struggle with answering the question: "Who's your favourite singer or what's your favourite band?". After years of reflection it's "David Bowie" and "10CC". I know the album "Sheet Music" like the back of my hand. It is one of the most elaborate and ingenious albums in the history of pop music. After watching the BBC ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H965m0Hkk5M A German supermarket doing Christmas their own way – it is certainly worth watching and more to the point listening to – check out the link above. It Looks Like a normal shop, but when the lights go out – Awesome. It took a team of cashiers, 13 different hidden cameras, and a whole lot Christmas spirit to pull off this epic holiday surprise! Edeka, Germany's largest supermarket chain, decided to surprise its shoppers with a seasonal treat. In an attempt to liven up the otherwise boring chore of grocery shopping, these cashiers opted to delight their patient shoppers ...
Just as we are settling down to watch Labour's civil war get underway, UKIP jumps in with its own conflict. Presumably, they were feeling left out. The Independent reports that the party's only MP, Douglas Carswell has told the BBC that UKIP need "to change gear and change its management if it's to go to the next level" and said the party's disappointing result at the Oldham by-election had revealed the need for a "fresh face". This direct challenge to Nigel Farage has provoked a typically robust response. The paper says that divisions between Mr Farage and Mr Carswell have ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
Toby Young wrote a piece in the Telegraph this past week entitled, "An invitation to Dan Hodges to join the Conservative Party". It was written in the wake of Dan quitting the Labour Party and writing about this fact in his own Telegraph column. In response, Dan wrote a piece called "Why I won't join the Conservative Party" in which he gave his reasons for turning down Toby's offer. Some decried this as an exercise in Westminster navel gazing. But I disagree. It gets to the heart of an important point. And after reading Toby's piece, I had to ask ...
I have not touched on this controversial subject for a while now as little has been happening. However, wheels are in motion and my understanding is that a planning application is now before West Lancashire Borough Council, although not all the required paperwork had been filed as typed this posting by Coriolis Energy (the applicants). The land in question whilst being in West Lancs is actually sandwiched between Ince Blundell and Lydiate both of which are in Sefton Borough. The environmental pressure group HALT continues to lead the opposition to the proposed wind farm of 12 taller than Blackpool Tower ...
[IMG: Arc de Triomf (Barcelona)] Barcelona have never been particularly enthused by the right wing Partido Popular - although Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy´s party is still expected to pick up three or four seats - however it´s no longer just them that a vast majority of the population now rally against. Mayor of Barcelona and En Comu Podem member, Ada Colau, expands her anti-´la casta´ (the establishment) rhetoric to include not just PP and the socialist PSOE, but also Convergencia and Ciudadanos. "I've never seen PP, PSOE, Ciudadanos or Convergencia in a protest to stop evictions, defend healthcare or protect ...
With the holidays approaching, my last ward surgery of 2015 takes place this Monday at 4.20pm at the Mitchell Street Centre - all residents welcome! My other Monday surgery at the West Park Centre does not take place on Monday 21st December as the centre closes for Christmas earlier that day. Surgeries recommence on Thursday 7th January 2016 at the start of the new school term, with my surgery at Blackness Primary School at 6.15pm. Over the festive season, I can still be contacted on any local issues or concerns through my e-surgery - just e-mail esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk. I can also ...
Two years ago we published an open letter from a Spanish astrophysicist to Mariano Rajoy on the occasion of her leaving Spanish science for a job in the US. On the eve of the Spanish elections, she writes again. Dear Mariano, I apologise for writing you another open letter. I did try to write to you at your office but that letter was returned undelivered (addressee absent). Related: Farewell letter to the Spanish PM from a scientist who is packing her bags | Amaya Moro-Martín Related: Spanish science: still suffering Continue reading...
The African Union, moving with uncharacteristic speed, has decided to send 5,000 peace-keeping troops to Burundi, even though the government there has not asked for them. This is a legitimate move under an evolving concept in international law: the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which basically argues that the international community has a moral duty to [...]
Embed from Getty Images Congratulations to Paul Revell, whose Sock Monsters (948 points) continue to lead the LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League after Week 16, just ahead of Edward Douglas's Use Your Ed (931) and Christopher Buck's Moves Like Agger (922). The week's top performer was former LDV contributing editor Mark Valladares, whose 85 points catapulted him into the top 10. But let's also hear it for two players outside the top 10: Alan Worthington's No Vardy, No Party had the second best week's performance, with 80 points — with an honourable mention to Mr. Howse's Ephen Stephens with 79 points. ...
From fracking to the bedroom tax: The 7 pieces of bad news the Government tried to bury today My students have paid £9,000 and now they think they own me Fat is a neurocognitive issue (Wired UK) - interesting if flawed More of my fellow white folks should be like Peter Norman Big Brother is born. And we find out 15 years too late to stop him Disability discrimination is awful. Watching Star Wars for the first time, aged 29 [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Looking for the Perfect Gift? Social Science Can Help Timely! (tags: psychology ) Why are so many Americans in the thrall of conspiracy theorists? Good question. (tags: uspolitics )
Mark Williams, Member of Parliament for Ceredigion, has called for the government to rethink proposals over access to legal aid and the closure of courts in Wales during a debate on Tuesday. Mark raised the worries of constituents and local legal firms who were concerned by changes to what is covered by legal aid as well as the impact of new contracts on those firms who will provide the service. In the Dyfed-Powys 2 contract area which covers Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys, it is suggested that only four solicitors' practices will offer legal aid help, making it increasingly difficult for ...
