Fri 11th
21:44

Atypical

So Netflix have a new series, Atypical, centred around an autistic teenager. I watched an episode out of morbid curiosity. It did not go well. It still went slightly better than I imagined it would going in, to be honest. ... Continue reading →

Posted by Andrew Hickey on Sci-Ence! Justice Leak!

In Irthlingborough we have seen the church tower that may also have been an inland lighthouse, the sparse remains of the Nene Park stadium where Rushden & Diamonds once flourished and the two bridges across the river. Take the older of those two bridges and you will come to the site of Irthlingborough station. It stood on the line from Northampton to Peterborough, which often appears on lists of lines that should never have been closed. Certainly, both settlements are rapidly expanding, but to get from one to the other by rail involves a circuitous route taking in towns like ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Liberal Democrat Voice reported the news on Wednesday, quoting Tim Gordon's statement: It has been an honour to work for the Party for the past half decade. These have not been easy years but I am proud to have worked with both Nick Clegg and Tim Farron who so clearly and eloquently articulated the Liberal voice that Britain needs. We now have a great new leader and deputy in place and after the challenges of the past few years this feels like an appropriate moment for a change. There are other opportunities that I have delayed pursuing for long enough ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Fri 11th
19:58

Six of the Best 716

"There is no doubt in my mind that Brexit will leave the country poorer, and sadder, and it will hurt the vulnerable among us the most. As I see the thinkpieces and columns start to trickle out about how we must rally behind Corbyn even if we oppose Brexit, I find myself surer than ever: I will not vote purple just because it's half red." Katie has seen through Jeremy Corbyn. Dan Atkinson takes us back to the summer of 1975 when retired generals were drilling their private armies in case, as they saw it, they were needed to restore ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

A climate of denial It was good to see former U.S. Vice President Al Gore in the UK yesterday, for the British debut of his new film 'An Inconvenient Sequel' and he was touring the broadcast media studios to promote it. Mr Gore is one of the most knowledgeable and trustworthy non-scientist voices on the impending doom that is man-made climate change and the urgent changes we need to make to stop it. He's dedicated his post-political life to raising this worldwide issue and using his significant platform and very high profile to encourage today's political leaders to ensure it ...

Posted by Mathew Hulbert on Liberal Democrat Voice
Fri 11th
15:46

Friday Five

(questions via [IMG: [community profile] ] thefridayfive) 1) What is the most outrageous style you've ever rocked? When I was a young 'un, there was that brief period when shell suits were incredibly fashionable, but before they had been discovered to be ridiculously dangerously flammable, and we had a non-uniform day at school. Every single other person in my class came in a shell suit. Some of them had those colour change t-shirts that showed your armpit sweat even worse than grey marl does. I wore cut-off denim hot pants, fishnet tights, an Alice Cooper t-shirt and a leather biker ...

Fri 11th
14:37

All in the Title

Newspaper editors have long realised how important headlines are as teasers to attract people to read the articles that follow, and the same is true of book titles. A title should give some indication of what the book is about, or at least intrigue, so that the person who picks up the book in a [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer

If you want to take advantage of the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners' (ALDC) early-bird ticket rates for their Autumn Kickstart 2017 campaign training weekend (24-26 November), then you need to act fast as they're currently available on a first come first served basis. If you've been before you'll know all about the weekend's benefits. And if you've not, you should go along to get tailored, professional advice; training and bespoke mentoring for your campaign team from experienced Liberal Democrat campaigners and councillors. There's something on offer for everyone; whatever your role in a campaign and regardless of ...

Posted by ALDC on Liberal Democrat Voice

I was elected as Oxfordshire County Councillor in the May elections, my first time ever being elected to public office. What a whirlwind the first two months have been! Complicated by the small matter of being a parliamentary candidate in the GE for the first month of being County Councillor. Would I recommend being a councillor? Yes! For any of you out there thinking about putting yourself forward for next May's local elections, do have a go. I have always felt passionately that politics is about a range of people getting involved, with various backgrounds and expertise to bring to ...

Posted by Kirsten Johnson on Liberal Democrat Voice
Fri 11th
11:49

Swalwell Fayre

Swalwell Community Group are holding a summer fayre in Swalwell Park on Saturday 12th August from 12pm - 4pm. There will be fairground rides, animals, stalls and much more. All welcome. Funds raised will help pay for the Swalwell Christmas tree. Look out for the stall selling jam!

Posted by jonathanwallace on Jonathan Wallace
YouGov
Fri 11th
11:00

My tweets

Thu, 12:22: RT @mrundkvist: Zen Cho, award-winning scifi/fantasy author from Malaysia, is saying interesting things about nationhood & statehood. #worl... Thu, 12:22: RT @ThornCoyle: @zenaldehyde @NicholasWhyte @PhilDyson @SariPolvinen Discussion of establishment/invention of national identity via art btw... Thu, 15:22: RT @Rorydhj: @worldcon75 @nwbrux: "nations arose from a longing for people to see their identities reflected in those who govern them" Thu, 15:24: RT @diana180: Takes a lot to unmake a nation even if it has a rocky start - Newfoundland is one example where it happened - @nwbrux #World... Thu, 15:25: RT @diana180: Asserting priority for rights based on family ...

Putney Bridge jogger: man arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm Shame they've gone for GBH and not attempted murder, having watched the video. The Democrats: Do We REALLY Need A New Anti-Brexit Centre Party? Loz Kaye (who has been leader of an upstart political party in the UK, and therefore knows what he's talking about) on why The Democrats are probably doomed to fail. Attitude Pride Award winner wins asylum bid to stay in the UK Hoorah! Brexit: UK no longer desired choice of destination for global tech talent Oh what a surprise. This is my surprised face. [IMG: ...

This blog is cross-posted from Radix and the Real Press. You can see how this kind of manufactured argument happens, especially in the period they used to call the silly season. The Children's Commissioner takes over the lead story of the Observer, urging parents to limit their children's online bingeing. Then the Telegraph hits on the idea of asking a former head of GCHQ to hit back, bizarrely, in the national interest. Then that becomes their lead, and so it goes on. And actually, this is a real debate and a vital one which has not yet been joined. There ...

Posted by David Boyle on The Real Blog

The most famous example is in the 1960's: the Cuba of Fidel Castro turned dictatorial after he let the Soviet Union take over training domestic policing and his secret service (in exchange for buying up his sugar an most of Cuban cigars; see Tad Szulcs biography of Fidel). But also in the 1980's the regime of Robert Mugabe over Zimbabwe appeared to start out in 1980 as a better alternative to South African Apartheid, but there the instant imposition and eternal prolongation of the State of Emergency, the role of the North Korean (guaranteed Stalinist) military training mission, their Zimbabwean ...

Posted by Bernard Aris on Liberal Democrat Voice

You can see how this kind of manufactured argument happens, especially in the period they used to call the silly season. The Children's Commissioner takes over the lead story of the Observer, urging parents to limit their children's online bingeing. Then the Telegraph hits on the idea of asking a former head of GCHQ to hit back, bizarrely, in [...] The post Can you tell the difference between real, virtual and bureaucratic? appeared first on Radix.

Posted by David Boyle on Opinion - Radix

There are serious problems in the playground at Nuclear Weapons School 101. There is a new boy—Kim. Nobody likes him. He is loud, obnoxious and into domestic abuse in a big way. Kim is especially disliked by Donald who is president of the student council, captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams, number one in his class and popular with all the girls. And he has been at the school less than a year. Donald also controls a big chunk of what Kim regards as his home turf. In fact, Donald and his family have been calling the shots ...

Posted by Tom Arms on Liberal Democrat Voice

From Sheena Wellington : 1.20pm to 1.50pm - The Wighton Singers - Verdant Works, West Henderson's Wynd Join us for the last of the special fortnightly summer programme of lunchtime concerts in the High Mill, covering a wide range of music genres. The Wighton Singers describe themselves as "a group of friends who love to sing together" and they meet on Tuesday afternoons at the Wighton Heritage Centre. Their repertoire is mainly Scottish traditional but they might provide a surprise or two! Concert, £2 includes tea/coffee, no booking required. Children, free.

A walk across the level crossing at Maghull Station recently brought this into sight:- Network Rail have weed spraying trains that travel the rails of the UK dealing with the unwanted growth between and at the side of the rails and it looks like the Liverpool – Ormskirk Northern Line of Merseytrail must be due a visit. Beautiful award winning flower displays at Maghull Station by Maghull Station Volunteers. Considering the work Maghull Station Volunteers do to make Maghull an award winning station a little weed spraying by Network Rail would not go amiss me thinks. The first photo is ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

Commenting on the news that the National Crime Agency estimates there are tens of thousands of victims of human trafficking and modern slavery in the UK, former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "This shocking report shows that modern slavery is alive and well in 21st century Britain."It's a hidden national scandal."People are being bought and sold like cattle across the UK right under our noses."The government must step up efforts to stamp out this vile trade."Local police forces across the country need to be trained to spot the signs, and victims need to know that they'll be fully supported ...

Posted by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

The Independent details the story of Nobel Prize winning physicist, Andre Geim and the impact of Brexit on his work and that of his fellow scientists. In particular they say: A Brexit survey run in March by Nature found that of the 907 UK researchers who were polled, around 83 percent believed the UK should remain in the EU. Paul Drayson, former minister of science in the Department for Business, told Scientific American: "The very idea that a country would voluntarily withdraw from Europe seems anathema to scientists." In Geim's case, he and most of his engineers are not British ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black
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