There's a gap in my musical knowledge that many people will find very surprising. I only own two Rolling Stones albums, in total. These are The Story of the Stones, a K-Tel compilation of their early hits which I picked ... Continue reading →
This Saturday's expedition was cut short by welcome rain, but I found some more Aylestone ghost signs to add to last week's crop.
The Tobacco Tactics site reminds us of a piece of recent political history: In September 2011, Littlewood, wrote on his Daily Mail blog that the "Coalition's war on red tape is just hot air". Less than two months later, Littlewood was appointed as an independent adviser to the government's Red Tape Challenge for Disruptive Business Models. Speaking on his appointment, Littlewood said: The IEA has sought to educate people over recent months about the burden which red tape and regulation places on businesses in the United Kingdom. Holding back enterprise through unnecessary bureaucratic intervention lowers employment and stifles economic growth.Questions ...
The video above shows one of Jeremy Corbyn's controversial appearances on the Iranian government's television channel Press TV. Have a listen in particular to the exchange with Mehdi, which you will find between 6:42 and 8:05. Note that when Corbyn thinks Mehdi is saying the United States is trying to bring peace to the Middle East, he immediately picks him up. But when Mehdi says Israel is a "disease" that must be "got rid of" from the region he allows it to go unchallenged. I do not believe Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite. I do believe that he comes from ...
Current The Martian Inca, by Ian Watson The Politics of Climate Change, by Anthony Giddens High-Rise, by J. G. Ballard Last books finished The Æneid, by Virgil, translated by John Dryden The Æneid, by Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles The Æneid Book VI, by Virgil, translated by Seamus Heaney Wounded Heart, by S.W. Baird The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England, by Ian Mortimer Aliénor, la Légende noire, tome 5, by Arnaud Delalande, Simona Mogavino and Carlos Gomez Aztec Century, by Christopher Evans Aliénor, la Légende noire, tome 6, by Arnaud Delalande, Simona Mogavino and Carlos Gomez The Red Virgin ...
F and I went to London Film and Comic Con yesterday, despite some travel woes - our original accommodation plans for Saturday did not work out, and an appeal on Facebook brought a very welcome offer from A (who used to be on Livejournal) offering the use of her flat near Marylebone in her absence. So we arrived late-ish Saturday, ate, slept, and went by Uber to Kensington Olympia the next morning. [IMG: 8A1223C7-34A4-4571-85EB-0FEF6BD7497C.jpeg] On the way we passed Grenfell Tower. A grim sight. F spent most of his time gaming; I spent most of my time queuing for Doctor ...
I haven't commented yet on the struggles of the British Labour Party with antisemitism. It is a battle between two tribes: Labour's left and the mainstream Jewish community, and it is very hard for outsiders like me to make much sense of it. And yet it is an important issue and there are implications for ... Continue reading Labour's antisemitism row – what are the messages for the wider world?
Mon 30th
14:51
Why Gina Miller would be a great Lib Dem leader - and why it will probably never happen
Rumours swirl around Westminster about the possibility that Vince Cable is trying to change the rules around who can be leader of the Liberal Democrats (ie, make it so that a non-MP can take the role) in order to guide Gina Miller into the job. This could all be completely invented, I hasten to add, yet the story has at least caused me to think seriously about what could save the Lib Dems. What the party really needs right now is a high profile new leader who has the following attributes: Comes from outside of traditional, front line politics Well-known, ...
To paraphrase a man whose name I shall never again say or write. The UK cabinet, with collective responsibility supposedly fully restored, made the following statements within 24 hours on no deal: "make sure that there's adequate food supplies", "obviously an attempt to try and ramp up the pressure", "that kind of selective snippet that makes it into the media, to the extent that the public pay attention to it, I think is unhelpful", "well, I think that's a rather irresponsible thing to be coming from the other side. We ought to be trying to reassure citizens on the continent ...
Are you ready for Brexit? Got your food stockpiled? A few tins of baked beans stashed away under the settee for the day Britain regains it's sovereignty and rediscovers hunger? I find it remarkable that the government can casually talk about preparing for hard Brexit by stockpiling food and drugs. No doubt this is part of the explanation for the significant rise in support in today's Sky poll
Congratulations to Kevin and Vicky McClurey on their wedding on Friday last week. Kevin is the newly elected Councillor for Dunston Hill and Whickham East. He took the seat from Labour in May. The reception, which I attended on Friday evening, was held at the Vermont Hotel in Newcastle. In keeping with the local council spirit of the occasion, the building is the former HQ of Northumberland
Liberal Democrat activists will be familiar with two apparently contradictory refrains. One is that Liberal Democrats should pursue what is morally right for the country, regardless of public opinion. The other is that 'no-one ever voted Lib Dem because of our policy on (... insert obscure policy...)'. The point of the latter refrain is that the public's problem-solving priorities should dominate policymaking effort. There is another, potentially reconciling, refrain; that liberal democracy in the UK needs a new popular 'big idea'. Opposition to the Iraq war is a common reference point, a major contributor to Liberal Democrats having 60+ MPs ...
Email isn't anything new - it's been around only one year less than me. But we still don't use it nearly widely enough.
On Saturday we had an action day in Pelaw and Heworth ward. Alas, we also had our first serious bit of rain in two months. That rather curtailed activities. I arrived, took three bundles of Focuses to deliver and returned home. I will head back there on a day when the weather is better, some time this week.
On Friday afternoon, I took a bit of time away from politics and self-sufficiency to visit the Baltic Art Gallery on the Gateshead Quays. It was my first opportunity to attend any of the exhibitions. An interesting time with some exhibits of interest to me, others of no interest at all and others I'm still thinking about.
I was in London last weekend and it was my first opportunity to use LNER. We were 40 minutes late into Kings Cross so my first impressions weren't good. I was hoping for an improvement on the return journey. It wasn't to be. The train was 10 minutes late leaving Kings Cross as the driver was late. It was not a good omen. By the time we got into Newcastle, I had been travelling for 7 hours on a
Sun, 12:56: The Mists of Avalon, dissected at length https://t.co/UJr4Gnn7Va Trigger warning for the obvious Marion Zimmer Bradley reasons. Sun, 13:24: RT @SimplySophieTwo: Only in Britain could you free-form a zigzag queue successfully. #LFCC Sun, 13:28: #lfcc Peter Capaldi: "I was in a show called 'The Thick Of It', which I won't go into because of some of the younge... https://t.co/xgafp5z7x3 Sun, 13:43: #lfcc Small audience member: "Who's your favourite Doctor?" Peter Capaldi, after moment of feigned reflection: "Jod... https://t.co/yDU6NPepKv Sun, 13:47: #LFCC: Moderator: "Would you come back and do a multi-doctor story?" Peter Capaldi, firmly, "NO." Sun, 13:54: RT ...
If you're a remainer, if you're for an open Britain, if you're a liberal, there's little to cheer in Jeremy Corbyn's latest policy announcement; helping firms make the most of the "opportunities" of Brexit by ending a "reliance on overseas workers" and returning government contracts to the UK from overseas, seemingly without any concern as to the costs. If there are any opportunities in the UK leaving the European Union, which appears increasingly doubtful, they are certainly not to be found in either the scapegoating of migrants or economic protectionism. The language of Jeremy Corbyn in his speech was more ...
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the whole authoritarian Soviet system in 1989 heralded what we all thought was a victory for liberal democracy. Convinced of the righteousness of our own ways, we imagined that it was only a matter of time before the whole world would adopt our Western liberal democratic values. How [...] The post How far between glasnost and tyranny? The emerging pseudo-liberals appeared first on Radix.
Hot on the heels of Margaret Hodge confronting Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons over anti-Semitism, the Independent reports that another Labour MP is to face disciplinary action for calling into question his party's record on this issue. The paper says that Ian Austin, a former minister who lost family members in the Holocaust, was sent a letter from Labour bosses saying he was being investigated for "abusive conduct" in parliament, which could result in suspension from the party. They say that the row stems from a "heated discussion" between the Dudley MP and Labour chairman Ian Lavery on ...
Mon 30th
08:55
Want to know more about what Lib Dems are up to? Then Liberal Democrat Newswire is for you
Liberal Democrat Newswire is the free monthly newsletter I produce about what's going on in the party, how the party is doing in elections and polls, the latest campaigns and policies and what the plans are for the future. "A must read for senior Lib Dems and politicos alike" – Daily Telegraph "Excellent" – Vince Cable Nearly 12,000 people read it, with kind feedback such as how it is "always so interesting", " it is THE way to keep up with things Lib Dem" and "keeps us so well informed". Don't miss out yourself; just sign up here: Email* Enter ...
Mon 30th
08:15
London Liberal Democrats announce timetable for GLA/Assembly selections, positive action for BAME ca...
The next known challenges for London Liberal Democrats are the Mayoral and GLA contests in May 2020. These are unique elections in British politics, with nearly nine million people electing one person to lead the City and twenty-five Greater London Assembly members (fourteen elected from constituencies, eleven from a top up list). Being the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor is a high profile role needing a candidate of the highest calibre and we will have a rigorous process to ensure that our candidate will cope with the scrutiny that the election will bring. The London Regional Executive places a great ...
It's been a very pleasant weekend in mid-Suffolk, with a Branch garden party to attend in Needham Market, a fascinating lunch with a new friend talking about Brexit and wider geopolitics and an intriguing dinner party, but it's now time to return to work, as the week begins anew. And what have we for you today, I hear you ask? It hardly seems like two years since the last London Assembly elections, but it really is, and as a sign of how seriously the Regional Party are taking 2020, we today can announce the schedule for the selection of the ...
As indicated in the council's weekly road report I shared yesterday, gas network work commmences on Riverside Drive today. Scotland Gas Networks' Stakeholder and Community Officer has advised me as follows : "Following discussions with Dundee City Council, our project will start on Monday 30 July and last approximately six weeks. We've split the project into two phases to help minimise disruption. During phase one of our work we'll be working in Riverside Drive, near the entrance for Barnetts Mazda garage. To ensure everyone's safety while we work, two-way temporary traffic lights will be in place around our work area. ...
