Jonathan Arnott, UKIP MEP for the North East of England is something of a "Nice But Dim" character who is as inspiring as the proverbial drying paint. Mr Arnott has, today, decided to declare independence from UKIP, claiming there is too much nastiness, back-stabbing and unpleasantness in his former party. I am rather surprised that that it has taken him until today to spot these not
(questions via [IMG: [community profile] ] thefridayfive) 1. Where did you grow up and do you miss it? Where I live now, so no. 2. Which are your three favorite words in the dictionary and why? Flaucinoccinihilipilifiaction, because it won my mum a prize once Gin Love 3. What is a vegetarian dish that you really like? I like loads of vegetarian food. I like meat as well, because I am a carnivore, but I like food in general. A vegetarian dish I really like? OK, try my Egg Handmaids. 4. What do you do when you have a misunderstanding ...
Here is my initial reaction to the non-constitutional motions before the committee tomorrow*. Obviously I remain to be convinced by other committee members, I am not infallible. Also, bear in mind that some motions fit into more than one category. Key:Unsuitable: for one reason or another, this motion is not suitable for debate at conferenceMH&AP: Motherhood and Apple Pie. They're suitable, but will be boring debates because nobody** disagrees with them.Acceptable: this motion is OK, but I can muster no enthusiasm for it.Commendable: I think this motion will lead to an interesting debate, and will argue for it's inclusion.Essential: I ...
Second paragraph: Those were stone-solid enough, though. The fireplace was chin-high at least twice that long, and filled from end to end with roaring flames. Above were the square doors of the ovens in a row -- his Wife baked for part of their living. Above the ovens was the wall-long mantelpiece, too high for his Mother to reach or Mr. Guts to jump any more, set with all sorts of ancestral curios, but any of them that weren't stone or glass or china had been so dried and darkened by decades of heat that they looked like nothing but ...
A couple of years ago I was invited to a posh lunch held in a prison in Surrey. I can't now remember its name but it ran a training scheme to enable its inmates to qualify for work in the restaurateur industry. The food was good, served very civilly (though the "waiters" had an astonishing number of tattoos on their arms) and I understand the scheme was and still is reasonably successful In the entrance hall of the prison was a plaque quoting these words by Winston Churchill: The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment ...
Residents living in the flats above a row of shops in Acocks Green Village are having to pick their way through piles of dumped rubbish to get to their homes. Councillor Roger Harmer has called in the Council's Waste Enforcement Team to take action. They have now issued a legal notice to get the waste behind 1136 Warwick Road cleared within 21 days. They have also sent letters to the owners of the other shops between 1136 and 1144 asking them to to clear their land or risk being issued with legal notices as well. Roger commented: "The conditions residents ...
To celebrate the fact that our Maghull based Trust made prime time TV on Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys programme on Thursday evening last we are holding an Open Day at Meadows Leisure Centre from 11.30am to 5pm this Sunday 21st January. Above you can see our display case with many Hornby historical items held within it. We will also have a large Hornby tinplate O gauge model railway up and running in the Hornby Room thanks to Dave Howel , a fellow Trustee. It's the same layout that was seen on the TV programme. In the Hornby Room ...
It's not Holocaust Memorial Day until next week, but yesterday there was a debate in the Commons to mark the occasion. Here's Stephen Lloyd's contribution: I thank the hon. Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy) for sponsoring the debate. It is a pleasure for me to co-sponsor it. This is the fifth or sixth time I have co-sponsored a debate on this important day. When I was first a Member of Parliament I was proud to do so, and now that I am back in the House, I am even more delighted. Let me also congratulate the indomitable Karen ...
Fri 19th
13:30
Jo Swinson debates ethics and artificial intelligence - and suggests the Lovelace Oath
This week, Jo Swinson held a Westminster Hall debate on ethics and artificial intelligence. While recognising the huge advantages of AI, there are some ethical challenges we need to do something about. Jo looked at this from a very liberal perspective, as you would imagine. Here are some of the highlights of her speech. You can read the whole debate here. I would like to start with the story of Tay. Tay was an artificial intelligence Twitter chatbot developed by Microsoft in 2016. She was designed to mimic the language of young Twitter users and to engage and entertain millennials ...
Paddy Ashdown has been speaking to PoliticsHome about the development of UK foreign policy in the age of Trump and how the US President's unpredictable actions have an unsettling impact on the world. "It does not mean that the Atlantic axis is going to be less important, but it ceases to be our primary axis on which to base our defence and probably our foreign policy as well." "That relationship must be much more mature, where both sides realise that there will be times when their interests in the world diverge," he explains, citing US policy on Iran and Israel ...
Jesse is a skinny but artistic 16-year-old living in a suburb of a small town in Massachusetts, bullied at high school and largely ignored by his handsome but sometimes violent alcoholic father. As a small boy, he found his mother's body, dead in bed from taking an overdose of pills. No wonder the kid is [...]
Thu, 13:52: RT @BBCTalkback: Next up: @markdurkan & @nwbrux will be discussing the re-drawing of the electoral map of Northern Ireland. https://t.co/il... Thu, 16:05: Brexit: What if Britain changes its mind? (PDF) https://t.co/URJJ9A0PyK: What if Britain changes its mind?/pub_8208... https://t.co/DHmG2dhb8I Thu, 16:31: Correct link: https://t.co/w2sgZuBOUU https://t.co/cSub7PyY0u Thu, 18:45: Orlando, by Virginia Woolf https://t.co/xIkGayOggq Thu, 20:48: Brexit: What if Britain changes its mind? (PDF) https://t.co/Yv5tyQwxPD @AndrewDuffEU explains: no more rebate, no... https://t.co/2t4sx9arQF
Pakistani humanist denied UK asylum after failing to identify Plato I really fucking hate the home office. How to upset Gene Roddenberry Like the person I pinched this link from, I really hope this is true. xkcd: The End of the Rainbow Today's xkcd is a joy. Don;t forget to check the hover text. Crazy kaiju-robot antics only hint at Nintendo Labo's true potential I really really want one. miss_s_b | I love my new phone I posted I love my new phone to my dreamwidth blog If you like what you see here (or even if you don't) please ...
We are aware that a number of streets in Wallington South did not have their green garden waste collected on the scheduled day. We have raised this matter with Veolia who have advised that all the missed green garden waste collections will be completed by Monday 22nd January. Veolia also apologised for the delays. If [...]
Lib Dems are still waiting for a bounce in the opinion polls. So far this year, we've had Westminster voting intentions at 6, 7 and 9%. However, there are some very interesting things coming out of current polling generally. Scotland There was a very interesting YouGov Scottish poll this week which showed that we are not just hanging in there, but making progress as the SNP and Labour slip since the last poll in October Lib Dems show a slight rise in voting intention for Westminster and Holyrood constituency and regional votes. The Tories are holding their own at Westminster, ...
Promises made during the referendum campaign that it would be possible for the UK to have its cake and eat it by leaving the EU whilst at the same time accessing all the benefits of membership, were very swiftly disabused yesterday by the French President. During his visit to Sandhurst Military Training College, Emmanuel Macron rejected the idea of a tailored Brexit deal for the City, insisting Britain will not be allowed full access to European Union markets, including financial services, unless it pays into the EU budget and accepts all its rules. Financial services is one of the sectors ...
The Carillion site at Westerleigh Road near Chedworth The collapse of the massive company Carillion is having an effect on a wide range of local facilities and projects. These range from services they run at Southmead Hospital for North Bristol NHS Trust to local construction projects like the Carillion site at Westerleigh Road, Yate near Chedworth - the project to stabilise the bankment on the railway line that runs from Bristol Parkway north towards Yate and Gloucester. All of the hospital facilities are open as normal and patient appointments are not affected, but the effect on the target date for ...
MAD was the big acronym during the Cold War. For those who cannot remember, it stood for Mutually Assured Destruction. The thinking behind the terrifying term was that the nuclear arsenals of the two superpowers—America and the Soviet Union—would be maintained at such a level that neither could risk striking first for fear that the other power would be left with enough weaponry to launch a retaliatory strike that would leave planet Earth an irradiated cinder block. It worked. Earth is still green and blue But the political landscape has changed and is changing. There are new players and new ...
President Obama's two terms of office were marked by the search for consensus in International Relations. This yielded major diplomatic advances, such as the signing of the Iran's Nuclear Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement and the Paris agreement to limit human-caused global warming (December 2015). After a year of a Trump administration, it is [...] The post The ravages of American unilateralism appeared first on Radix.
From Sheena Wellington : Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library. Tomorrow - Saturday 20th January, 11am (doors open 10.30am) - Admission £5, tea/coffee available for small donation Cappuccino Concert with Simon Kempston, singer songwriter and guitarist Simon Kempston is an Edinburgh based award-winning singer-songwriter and leading acoustic fingerstyle guitarist composing and performing original and contemporary acoustic music. Though he is a Dundee lad, Simon's busy schedule rarely allows time for him to perform in his native city so we are especially thrilled to welcome him to the Wighton! Simon's original, distinctive guitar playing is founded upon a complex, finger-picking style which ...
I really really love my new phone. It's a Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and it's glorious. (this by way of an explanation for why I've still been a bit DW absent the last few days - I've been playing with it lots) I've always been a fan of the S-pen and all it can do, which is why I keep cleaving to the Note range even when they go asplodey; this one is even better than the last iteration. The Samsung version of Android has been pared of bloatware (not entirely, but lots). The Game Launcher is fantastic. The display ...
Responding to news that small businesses affected by Carillion's liquidation will receive support from a number of banks, Lorely Burt, Liberal Democrat Small Business Spokesperson said: "It is essential that small businesses do not bear the brunt of the Conservative government's inaction and Carillion's collapse. While the Liberal Democrats welcome the emergency measures that have been put in place, small businesses must continue to be supported in the longer-term. The government must act now to provide this support. The Liberal Democrats back the Federation of Small Businesses' call for the government to set up a Carillion task force to help ...
Fri 19th
06:26
I had a stroke (Part 1): It could have been the worst of times but it wasn't thanks to our NHS
Everyone's experience of the NHS is different, especially during episodes of trauma. Horror stories abound in mainstream media and on social media. My tale is different. I am sure I had more than my fair share of luck but I also witnessed first-hand the professionalism, dedication and sheer hard work of NHS staff in often trying circumstances. I wasn't sure about writing this article. But so many people have asked about what happened and what my experiences were. Some are asking out of politeness, others are curious. Some want to share experiences. At least a few are thinking, "that could ...
