This BBC documentary was made just after Garry Kasparov won the world title, which he was to hold until the year 2000. Many of the people interviewed here - Bobby Fischer, Viktor Korchnoi, Bent Larsen and the first British grandmaster Tony Miles - have since died. Michael Stean had already retired from chess by the time it was made and Boris Spassky is now an old, old man. Chess: A State of Mind also offers unexpected treats in the shape of a glimpse of an 11-year-old Nigel Short and of Ray Keene jogging. One quibble... Bobby Fischer certainly was an ...
Unsurprisingly, the Liberal Democrats have confirmed that the party's MPs will vote against any motion which backs the unconditional invocation of Article 50 Liberal Democrat Voice announced on Wednesday. In the event, things turned out to be more complicated than that. Only six of the nine Lib Dem MPs voted against the government motion. Three - Norman Lamb, Greg Mulholland and John Pugh - abstained. A useful Independent article has them giving their reasons. There's Norman Lamb: "I don't feel comfortable with having voted for the referendum in the first place - as we all did - and to then ...
Imagine living in a country where the government could just shove you in prison whenever it felt like it. And once they had you in their clutches, subjected you to cruel and degrading torture. There are plenty people who don't value their vote enough to use it, but imagine if we didn't have it at all. What if we weren't allowed to voice opinions that were out of step with our rulers? Or assemble to protest against their decisions. Anyone who has been brought up in this country will most likely not have had any direct experience of the things ...
"Richmond Park must be an inspiration for those wanting an open, tolerant Britain - and we must shout loud enough to wake the government from its sleepwalk towards a trade war," says Sarah Olney. "Surviving and overcoming the Trump era will require that citizens recommit with seriousness to those values, and find ways to keep them alive in day-to-day life." Martin O'Neill on how we can fight off the threat Donald Trump.poses to to civil liberties and other core democratic values. Rosalind Adams investigates how America's largest psychiatric chain turns patients into profits. Should we use "Dark Ages" to describe ...
Current Tolstoy, by Henri Troyat Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past, by Paul Cartledge Last books finished Angels & Visitations: A Miscellany, by Neil Gaiman Bullet Time, by David A. McIntee Next books De Mexicaan met twee hoofden, by Joann Sfar Last Exit to Babylon - Volume 4: The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny Twilight of the Gods, by Mark Clapham Books acquired in last week Political, Electoral and Spatial Systems, by R. J. Johnston Comparing Democracies: Elections and Voting in Global Perspective, eds. Lawrence LeDuc, Richard G. Niemi and Pippa Norris
Lydiate Parish Councillor Tony Robertson has found himself in deep water (or is that snow) for impersonating a Santa. He was rumbled by a little girl who came up to him this lunchtime outside Morrisons Store in Maghull and said 'are you George', no replied Santa I am Santa. [IMG: img-20161210-wa0001] But eventually Santa had to admit that George had been the previous Santa but that he had now gone back to Lapland. The little girl was seemingly unimpressed with that story and forced Santa to confirm that George had indeed just returned to his Maghull home. But Santa's embarrassment ...
Anyone with a slight interest in UK Boxing will probably be watching the unstoppable Anthony Joshua (17 wins, 0 losses, 17 KOs) defend his IBF heavyweight title tonight and almost certainly demolish Erik Molina. However, on the undercard is another heavyweight, Luis Ortiz, known as the "Real King Kong", who has an equally impressive record (26 wins, 0 losses, 22 KOs). He's quite interesting because Cuba has produced many great boxers, but no great heavyweights – Ortiz is considered the greatest ever Cuban heavyweight. As you may know, despite producing legendary boxers, the Stalinist regime in Cuba forbids them from ...
Sat 10th
12:23
What would Britain be like in 2030 if the Liberal Democrats were in power? Your chance to shape our ...
Last year, Your Liberal Britain was founded by five new members who were keen to set out a clear statement of what a Liberal Britain would look like. Their work has been supported by the Federal Policy Committee and they have already conducted a wide-ranging consultation. You can read some of the contributions made on this site here. Now they are taking their work to the next stage with a competition, for which the closing date is 23rd December. Members are asked to set out what Britain would look like in 2030 if the Liberal Democrats were in power. Your ...
The Lib Dems' health spokesman, Norman Lamb, is normally pretty good. On mental health, especially, he's done an extremely good job. But yesterday he co-authored a piece about autism that falls into almost every trap. The reasons for this can ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Sal Brinton Sal @ Crohns & Colitis Rec _2 CROPPED Nov 13] At last, there was a Liberal Democrat on a political programme panel on the BBC last night. It was such a welcome relief after the recent rightwash on all of these programmes. Sal Brinton did us all proud. I lost count of the times she was cheered rapturously by the audience. This was not just polite applause, but real, vocal agreement as she gave great, clear answers on all the questions. The best, I thought, was on the daft idea of private schools wanting money to offer ...
That's the question posed in the latest initiative by the ever-excellent Your Liberal Britain. As an email from Sal Brinton explains: As a party we strive to create and safeguard a fair, free and open society. We call it Liberal Britain for short. We know what it means to us – but what would it actually look like? And how far towards that goal could we reach by 2030? How might a single parent's life be different by 2030, for example? Or a pensioner's? Or teenager's? How would our towns, cities and countryside look different? What about our communities, jobs, ...
Behind the bad by-election result for Labour in Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election sits a nightmare which could tear the party apart.
Situated below the A488, this church is easy to miss. But it's worth stopping.
Ninewells Community Garden is holding a mosaic session on Wednesday 14th December. Bring along any ideas you have, whether making signs for the arboretum, starting a personal project, stepping stones, covering garden tools - you name it! It is free of charge and no experience necessary. Refreshments provided. Taking place from 1pm and 3pm in the luxury of the Community Garden's new garden room - more details here.
These two shots are of a rather famous Liverpool building but they are not what you would call usual views of it. Where is it? [IMG: courtyard-of-cunard-building] [IMG: ceiling-of-banqueting-suite-cunard-building] The answer is amongst on my Flickr photos at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/
How To Win A Referendum Vote Leave's story. (tags: eu ukpolitics brexit ) Don't Cry Over Dead Trade Agreements A different view. (tags: economics ttip ) The End of the Anglo-American order Ian Buruma - long but well worth reading. (tags: Uspolitics brexit ) A hard Brexit is the last thing Japan wants @Karel_Lannoo looks east. (tags: brexit eu japan ukpolitics ) Blogger reveals mystery websites' ties to Russia AstroTurf in Latvia. (tags: internet russia latvia ) Strangford ferry tied up as ramps will not allow cars to disembark Dear God! (tags: northernireland )
The Telegraph reports that the number of cats residing in Downing Street has now risen to five with the addition of a black-and-white cat called Evie and another called Ossie to deal with the mouse problem in the Government offices. They join Gladstone, the Treasury's cat, Palmerston the Foreign Office mouser and Larry the Number 10 cat on the street. The cats are not having it their own way of course as the Chancellor, Philip Hammond has moved his dogs into Number 10, where he lives with his wife. However, he has had to lock the dogs away to protect ...
