I am gay. I am free. I am in love. The struggle was long, and the fight was hard, but freedom comes to us all in the end if we search for it. For me, it meant dealing with my sexuality, my identity, my anxiety and risk of suicide and my core belief in freedom for all humankind. But it all started with a young boy not accepting he wanted to screw other boys. Anyone who has been through the process of acceptance that comes with being gay, they will know it is one of the hardest situations you will ...
Watch Vince Cable react to the news that Theresa May has approved strikes against Syria without Parliamentary Approval.
The world appears to be heading for a perfect storm. It just needs a catalyst to blow it onshore or—hopefully—a change in the political winds to divert it. The storm is being driven by the forces of nationalism, historic conflicts, a sense of justice and injustice, and the absence of a coherent diplomatic strategy. It is fed by ill-judged rhetorical bluster which creates political hostages to fortune. The United States - almost certainly in conjunction with the two biggest European military powers Britain and France—is on the brink of responding to the repeated use of chemical weapons by the Russian-backed ...
I have just come back from a wonderful week in the Highlands with only intermittent connection to the internet. The apologetic note from the housekeeper of our rented holiday cottage saying that the wifi was out of action was unexpected but very welcome. It was incredibly restorative to have a few days when the only thing I had to worry about (and this is not insignificant, I have to say) was the incredibly dim pheasants with no instinct of self preservation whatsoever that would blithely wander into the path of the car on the single track road to the cottage. ...
Hang on in there, readers, there is only one more entry to go after this. Saturday When Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party I naturally stationed gamekeepers armed with orchard doughties at the lodge gates lest he try to claim my estate in the name of the people. However, news reaches me from the Commons that, far from leading a Bolshevik uprising, he is hand in glove with the Conservatives. For Tory MPs have taken to calling him 'Pop'. "What do you think of foreigners, Pop?" they cluster round to ask, whereupon Corbyn grimaces, shakes his fist and ...
Several classics here, three of which I had read before. NB that both "The Weapon Shop" and "There Shall Be Darkness" have female human or human-ish characters. ("The Star Mouse" has a non-human and non-speaking female character.) NB also that the protagonist of "The Weapon Shop" shares the name "Fara" with a secondary character in "Bridle and Saddle" and "Foundation". 6) "The Weapon Shop," by A.E. van Vogt Second paragraph of third section: Fara sniffed once more at the meaning of the slogan, then forgot the simple thing. There was another sign in the window, which read:THE FINEST ENERGY WEAPONS ...
It should come as no surprise to anyone who has read anything I've written about Doctor Who over the last few years that I am not a fan of Steven Moffat. I think much of the work he has done ... Continue reading →
Members of the Liberal Democrats in Taunton Deane have re-selected Gideon Amos to be their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for the next general election.
I worked for BBC World Service for 20 years from 1983 and was proud to be part of an organisation that broadcast quality, objective news around the world. From Hanoi to Santiago de Chile, millions of poeople tuned in to hear the stories their own local media denied them. So it has been personally distressing [...]
Is Radio 4 weaponising racism by broadcasting the 'Rivers of blood' speech? The Windrush Generation: Fighting to be British I am deeply, deeply ashamed of the way we are treating these people. miss_s_b | Some swine posted a post titled "Spring is Here" and now I'm earwormed ... because nothing says spring like cold blooded slaughter AFAIC If you like what you see here (or even if you don't) please consider dropping me a tip: [IMG: Paypal Donate Button] [IMG: Buy Me an uncaffeinated beverage (because I'm allergic to coffee) at ko-fi.com] [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Helen Belcher was re-selected as the Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for Chippenham at a packed meeting in Melksham on Thursday evening.
... So you can be too [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Fri, 12:56: Makropoulos To Run For FIDE President https://t.co/7sex6cfVcd The extraordinary politics of international chess. Fri, 16:05: RT @other_shoe: Gandalf standing in front of the Gates of Moria trying to remember a password makes a lot more sense to me now than it did... Fri, 18:06: The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, by Philip Pullman https://t.co/99wl3lIaGV Fri, 19:35: RT @MatGreenfield: Queue for #DoctorWho signing at @ForbiddenPlanet stretching out into the street of a major London thoroughfare during ru... Fri, 19:55: Tremendous stuff, @davidwkerr https://t.co/ceScwc9rka Fri, 20:48: The Long Road to Brexit https://t.co/W2Mp9e8XBD Books reviewed by @GarvanWalshe. Fri, 20:51: Alas, ...
Liberal Democrat members in Hazel Grove have re-selected Lisa Smart, councillor for Bredbury Green & Romiley and a director of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC).
In recent times I see my country acting in ways that make me deeply ashamed of it and this is another sad and worrying example of us turning on our own people as the powers that be seek out scapegoats for our increasingly everyday racism. Channel 4 has the story on its web site – see link above What really gets me about this is that instead of regularising the paperwork each time one of these seemingly unregistered (and there could be 50,000 of them!) cases comes to the surface some of the poor people involved have been locked ...
Residents have drawn to my attention that in Nethergate - north side, between Park Place and bus stop just west of that - one of the large pavement edging stones has been dislodged, probably by heavy vehicle. As a result, a big hole has appeared between the stone and the pavement, which someone might easily put their foot into and twist their ankle. I reported this to the council's Roads Maintenance Partnership and have received the following positive response : "The Road Maintenance Partnership inspector for the area has raised an order to re-set the whin kerb at this location." ...
I have been struggling a bit with the decision of BBC Radio four to broadcast an actor voicing the entirety of Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of blood' speech from fifty years ago. The BBC argues that the broadcast will include "rigorous journalistic analysis", that the speech will be placed in context and the show was not endorsing controversial views: Delivered to local Conservative Party members in Birmingham, days before the second reading of the 1968 Race Relations Bill, then MP Powell referenced observations made by his Wolverhampton constituents including "in 15 or 20 years' time the black man will have the ...
