This is my thirteenth leap year. I hope that's not a bad omen, though it's hard to see how things could be worse for me than 2015. I was born in 1966, a good year in many ways, even if you don't support England at football, so I was largely oblivious to my first leap [...]
It's been difficult not to get completely swept up in referendum-mania. But while the press and many campaigners are pre-occupied, the Conservative Government is up to its old tricks again. Yep, the Investigatory Powers Bill is back.
Rather fewer than usual this month - consequence of several trips where I wasn't able to read much either in transit or when I got there. Non-fiction: 3 (YTD 9) A People's Peace for Cyprus, by Alexander Lordos, Erol Kaymak and Nathalie Tocci The Sinn Féin Rebellion As I Saw It, by Mrs Hamilton Norway The Insurrection in Dublin, by James Stephens [IMG: 7f56220328dc9945979354155674346414c3441.jpg] [IMG: 1523638702.01._SX133_SY190_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg] [IMG: 1438504330.01._SX133_SY190_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg] Fiction (non-sf): 1 (YTD 3) Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver [IMG: 7f56220328dc9945979354155674346414c3441.jpg] SF (non-Who): 5 (YTD 17) Tik-Tok by John Sladek Europe at Midnight, by Dave Hutchinson The Fifth Season, by N.K. ...
[IMG: An Oscar. Photo CC BY 2.0 courtesy of Davidlohr Bueso] Chris Rock's opening monologue for the Oscars, was in parts funny, poignant, controversial and blunt. One section in particular made me think of the debates over discrimination in political parties and what measures should be taken to move away from the dominant model of politician equals white, straight, middle class man. It was this section: The real question everybody wants to know, everybody wants to know in the world is: Is Hollywood racist? Is Hollywood racist? You know, that's a...you gotta go at that at the right way. Is ...
Ahead of the 2015 general election, the Liberal Democrat campaign in Ashfield fell apart after its charismatic central figure, Jason Zadrozny, was suspended following his arrest by the police. Nearly a year on, the wheels of justice have finally ground on: A Nottinghamshire county councillor has been charged with 10 child sex offences. Jason Zadrozny, 35, of Sutton Road, in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, has been charged with offences ranging from rape to indecent assault. The offences are alleged to have been committed between September 2003 and September 2006. Mr Zadrozny, who "vehemently refutes the allegations", is due at Mansfield Magistrates' Court on ...
I learn from a conversation on Twitter that East Midlands Trains is in the process or phasing out the quiet coaches on its services. The reason given - "because our onboard team were unable to enforce this rule" - sounds a bit wimpish. What would the team do if a passenger took it up on its constant urging to report "unusual" behaviour? But I find it hard to be outraged at this decision, because it is ages since I chose to sit in a quite coach. They sounded a good idea, and for the most part people respected the rule ...
I've been blogging for a long time admittedly recently I've not had the time or indeed the inclination and God knows there has been little to inspire this grumpy old man to comment. Still I am struck by just how much banality and mediocrity there is in public Life. I have to say that Rodger Gale fired my imagination last week with his recent communication regarding the European Union which unfortunately was very much sitting on the fence eventually tipping over toward prison Europe, such is his passion sir Rodger won't be involving himself in either campaign, has Gale ever ...
Just over a week ago, on the Saturday, we had the news that it's on 23 June. The following Sunday's papers seemed to say that "it" is a Tory leadership challenge: depending on the paper, Cameron was "declaring war on the rebels", others painted it as Gove versus Cameron, and then Boris Johnson joined the fray. The problem with referenda is the danger of people voting on a question other than the one on the ballot paper, but this seemed particularly extreme. It left a sense of the referendum being primarily about the internal mechanics of the Conservative party. Also ...
We have already seen an attempt by Newport Council to criminalise rough sleepers dropped following strong public opposition, including by local Liberal Democrats, however it seems that they are not alone. According to the Independent, one in ten local councils are using Public Space Protection Orders introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act to prevent anti-social behaviour to criminalise homelessness persons: Freedom of information requests to local authorities by the VICE News website found that 36 local authorities were targeting rough sleepers with Public Space Protection Orders. PSPOs are local regulations which can be used by councillors to ...
Last Wednesday at Bury's Budget Council Meeting the ruling Labour group of Councillors voted for an increase in Council Tax from 1 April 2016 of 3.8%. The increase is made up of a basic increase of 1.94%, plus a further 2% social care levy, together with Police and Fire increase of £5 and 1.99%. Council house tenants will see their rents reduced by 1%. The bulk of the extra money raised in this 3.8% increase (£2.7 million) will go towards increasing costs in social care costs, particularly the need to pay staff the Government's living wage. A smaller amount (£0.6 ...
To celebrate on Thursday 3 March, Bury libraries will be giving £1 World Book Day tokens to children and young people aged under 18 – but move quickly, because tokens are limited. These tokens can be exchanged for a £1 book at bookshops or supermarkets, or they may also be put towards the cost of a more expensive book. (Only one token can be used per transaction). [IMG: gbqxdf7lews5lytb6qqi]
Two new planning applications have been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 59808 Registration Date: 26/02/2016 Location: 40 Poppythorn Lane, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 3BY Proposal: Non-material amendment following grant of planning permission ref. 59518 for rebuilding of existing garage: Change of roofing and external wall materials Application Number: 59783 Registration Date: 18/02/2016 Location: 46 Poppythorn Lane, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 3BY Proposal: Demolition of garden room at rear and single storey extension at side/rear and two storey rear extension (resubmission) Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with these. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim ...
The Parklife Event is back in Heaton Park again this summer. Earlier in the year Cllr Mary D'Albert attended a briefing meeting with Heaton Park and the organisers of the Parklife Festival which we wanted to feed back to residents: More information on Parklife, tickets etc at their website which is here. [IMG: Screen Shot 2016-02-29 at 18.20.26] Event Basics Parklife 2016 takes place on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 June 2016. There is no Friday event this year, which was a decision of the event promoter, but this might not be the case in future years. The opening times ...
"Lots of folks back East, they say, is leavin' home every day, Beatin' the hot old dusty way to the California line. 'Cross the desert sands they roll, gettin' out of that old dust bowl, They think they're goin' to a sugar bowl, but here's what they find Now, the police at the port of entry say, "You're number fourteen thousand for today." Yes, for those who recognise it, this is the first verse of Woody Guthrie's song 'Do-Re-Mi'. It is a faint memory of how the dust bowl refugees reached a police line on the California border. I was ...
Watch the latest video from the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign: If you'd like to know more about the wider topic, see my other European referendum posts, and in particular Nick Clegg's demolition of the anti-EU case.
If you think Tory rivalry is at fever pitch, you ain't seen nothing yet. The accidental coincidence of the forthcoming constituency boundary changes with the aftermath of the EU Referendum campaign may come to haunt David Cameron or his successor. The imminence of the boundary review - with its planned reduction of Commons Members from 650 to 600 - means that almost every single Conservative MP will be facing his or her new "selectorate" in a matter of a few months' time. The volume of Tory MPs siding with "LEAVE" is hardly surprising in that light. Tory activists are increasingly ...
[IMG: flag_yellow_low] There's still over sixteen weeks to go until June 23rd, but when the referendum finally rolls around I will be voting for the UK to remain a member of the European Union. This hasn't been a hard decision for me, and I've been making many of the same arguments for Britain to stay a member of the EU since the 1990s. This post, though, is about explaining my reasoning as to why Britain is better off as a member of the EU, not an attempt at soaring polemic. My starting point is that Britain is a European country. ...
Embed from Getty Images I had not heard of the Manifesto Club until today, when the BBC Today programme featured their report into Public Space Protection Orders (1 hour 21 minutes in). On their website they claim: The Manifesto Club campaigns against the hyperregulation of everyday life. We support free movement across borders, free expression and free association. We challenge booze bans, photo bans, vetting and speech codes - all new ways in which the state regulates everyday life on the streets, in workplaces and in our private lives. We believe that the freedom issues of the twenty-first century cut ...
I was in Low Fell in Gateshead on Saturday to help with the action day in the ward. Low Fell is Lib Dem held though the majority is not large. It is home to a large number of Labour councillors who live in nice houses whilst representing less well heeled areas in other parts of Gateshead. On Saturday we spent the morning delivering target letters. I discovered that Low Fell is built on the side
[IMG: catherine bearder] The European in-out referendum dominated the South Central Regional Conference last Saturday. Speakers included Catherine Bearder, our own MEP, who spoke of the complete negativity of the large contingent of UKIP in the European Parliament. Not everyone accepted that the EU is a force for good. As one questioner asked, how can our party muster enthusiasm to campaign for an organization that is obviously undemocratic and very deeply flawed? Perhaps the Outers are right; there really are sunlit uplands outside the EU, where the UK can benefit from truly representative democracy, run companies uninhibited by red tape ...
Mon 29th
14:45
fed up with the obsession with Tory issues in the EU referendum? There is a better case which must b...
To judge from most coverage of the EU referendum you would be excused for thinking that the key issues are the fear of immigration, the wholly erroneous assertion that folk come here to claim benefit and how we can make some rich businessmen richer by opting out of rights won for workers actoss the EU There is a positive case and it was good to hear Willie Rennie Lib Dem Leader in Scotland putting that view: Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "The United Kingdom's future should be at the heart of the European Union. Next to the NHS ...
The Guardian has the story on its web site – see link above Another financial crisis is "certain" and will come sooner rather than later, the former Bank of England governor has warned. Mervyn King, who headed the bank between 2003 and 2013, believes the world economy will soon face another crash as regulators have failed to reform banking. With thanks to Roy Connell the spotter of this story
Mon 29th
13:04
Southport – Sandbrook Way run-down former shops – Sadly such problems affect many commun...
[IMG: IMG] Click on the article from Lynn Thompson's FOCUS newsletter above to enlarge it I was interested to read about the campaign launched by Lynne Thompson in Southport to try to get Sefton Council to take decisive action to bring about real change to some very run down shops in Ainsdale's Sandbook Way. Having seen the properties on many occasions I can only conclude that in my opinion they are very much a blight on the surrounding community. But whilst wishing Lynn, Cllr. Haydn Preece and indeed John Pugh MP very success in their campaign it does not take ...
Michigan and California, vying for control of our driverless future, are each proposing crumbling World War II military sites as ideal locations to test robot cars. Michigan's secret weapon? Better potholes... "California is not the real world — they don't have four seasons," said Debbie Dingell, the Democratic congresswoman representing Ypsilanti. "We've got real potholes. It's a much more real-world scenario." The states are competing for a chunk of almost $4 billion in federal funding that President Barack Obama last month proposed for development of self-driving cars. [Bloomberg]
Embed from Getty Images With Boris declaring for Leave at a point where Remain has finally played its less than decisive hand, there is a distinct feeling abroad that the referendum momentum has shifted from Remain towards Leave. As I see it, the Remain camp is stuck with five problems. People have had enough of a constant stream of dire warnings about life after Brexit and are coming to the conclusion that the Remain argument is based on scaremongering. We face a largely hostile press that will continue to urge the public to support Leave. The 'what have the Romans ...
In my opinion of course.... The good: Spotlight winning Best Picture. It gets called boring but what it is actually doing is getting you to progressively rediscover the horror of clerical sexual abuse. It treats the subject like Jaws does the shark. It's only at the end you see the full scale of the monster [...]
"Bright, intelligent and brave" those are the words that Willie Rennie used to describe me in his speech to Conference. My direct messages on twitter were somewhat different. I had to disable the function to receive messages from anyone but my followers - but that didn't stop those who already followed me. One man even suggested I'd made up the story for the attention. Because that's all women's experiences are to some men. Nothing but a ploy to get attention from men in any form of power. The same people cry out "We need more women in politics but in ...
People have been complaining about a clanking manhole cover on Gatley Road by Gatley Station. It's been reported before – by us and others – but clearly hasn't been fixed. We've now contacted the Council who, in turn, have been in touch with United Utilities who have the responsibility to maintain it. The Council officer has told us: They will have to arrange traffic lights due to the location, before they can excavate the frame and lid. I have received a message from them this morning confirming they will attempt to 'wedge' the lid in the meantime to prevent the ...
Writing of a recent Republican Presidential debate, Slate reported: Rubio dumped a lot of opposition research on Trump—about the immigrants who built Trump Tower and the foreign workers he's brought in to avoid paying American laborers over the years. Rubio wisely punctuated each of these lines with Googling instructions for viewers at home. That is a smart tactic in the ever-present fight for politicians to have their statements believed by doubting voters: invite voters to fact check your comments there and then as you make them. And have your online advertising team on hot standby in case an opposing campaign ...
There was a piece in the Telegraph yesterday announcing that Corbyn was getting the former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, to advise Labour in "some capacity". At first I thought this was probably the Telegraph blowing nothing up into something, in other words McDonnell had had a coffee with the guy or something, that's it, and the story was all an attempt by the right of centre media to make Corbyn look bad. But it's today being reported in other outlets complete with genuine Corbyn quotes on the topic, so it now looks totally legit.To say this is a bad ...
More than 85% of public tips on benefit 'frauds' are false | Society | The Guardian RT @latentexistence: FOI request reveals that 887,468 out of 1 million allegations of benefit fraud were wrong. 25 books that will stick with you and blow your mind | News | Culture | The Independent I suppose we are meant to be grateful that this list has one woman on it Needs MOAR LeGuin, Butler, Atwood etc. RT @WeNeedFeminlsm: Catcalling is NOT a compliment, it's a threat. Alan Rickman starring in a radio remake of one of my favourite Hitchcocks Rickman being one of ...
Embed from Getty Images A number of problems spring to mind as we plan to "take back control of our borders" in the event of Brexit. Inevitably envisioning various scenarios demands a degree of speculation, but the following causes me a good deal of concern. I suspect Calais may become less of a flash point, though I have an inkling Cherbourg may develop as more of a destination de choix. Four times a week a giant ferry leaves there for Rosslare. For desperate people that have trekked across a continent and a half I doubt it'll be seen as too ...
Mon 29th
09:00
Ludlow Foyer - which does so much to help young people - is threatened with closure as cuts bite
The Ludlow Foyer is highly regarded for its work with young people. It provides a secure and supported pathway from a difficult childhood into work and independent accommodation. But it could well close as local and national spending cuts bite. The Foyer provides low cost rented flats for fifteen young people (aged 16-25) who are... Continue reading Ludlow Foyer - which does so much to help young people - is threatened with closure as cuts bite →
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD FOR WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 29 FEBRUARY 2016 Perth Road (at West Park Road) - off-peak temporary traffic lights on Tuesday 1 March for Scottish Water iron work repair. Tay Square - closed for one week for BT duct laying works. You can read the weekly road report for the whole of the city here.
The transformation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from impoverished sheikhdoms along the Trucial Coast to a dynamic post-modern society with one of the fastest rates of economic and population growths in the world is surely one of the most remarkable development trajectories of the second half of the 20th century. As a country, the [...]
Jo Swinson: Why I now back all women shortlists Exactly. (tags: libdems ukpolitics sexandgenderandsexuality ) NMBS to launch wi-fi pilot project on Ostend-Eupen line | Flanders Today At long last! (And on my line!) (tags: Belgium rail technology ) Razzie Awards 2016 "Winners" Announced The worst of 2015 cinema. (tags: films ) The 12 cognitive biases that prevent you from being rational Yep. #fb (tags: psychology )
The Massacre by James Cooray Smith My rating: 5 of 5 stars (Crossposted between Goodreads and my blog — apologies for those who see this twice) Before I start the review proper, an obligatory note: I am currently towards the ... Continue reading →
