[IMG: Voter apathy is a gift to the Brexiteers] The stock phrase, "I wish they would just get on with it", is, frankly, a gift to the Brexiteers. It is a phrase and, far more importantly, a mind set that reeks of apathy. It... The post Voter apathy is a gift to the Brexiteers appeared first on FeministMama @ambitiousmamas.
Nick Corble of Diagonal Walking searches for the source of the River Lea near Luton. When you can find it, the Lea flows all the way to East London to join the Thames.
This post first appeared on the Radix website... I went to the Social Liberal Forum conference last weekend and found it completely transformed - no more endless whingeing but real debate about big ideas for the future. They really had made the transition, as the Greens used to say, from opposition to proposition. Anyone who has read my political blogs will know is how I believe the left needs to gear itself up: concentrate on the ideas; cut out the off-putting rage. See also John Harris on this. I was there to talk about tackling monopoly and the future of ...
The success of the Canadian Liberal Party in coming back from disaster has made it a popular current reference point for discussions about how the Liberal Democrats in the UK can recover. Long-time readers will, of course, be familiar with much of the Canadian story as I've been writing about those lessons for two and a half years now, since before it became fashionable. (An excellent reason of course for you to sign up to Lib Dem Newswire to keep ahead of what's happening in the party, just as LDN readers were the first to hear substantive information about plans ...
Earlier today Carole Cadwalladr sent and then deleted a tweet suggesting that asked whether bots and trolls are fabricating antisemitic messages to fan the dispute in the Labour Party. She pointed out that such forces work by augmenting and amplifying divisions that are already there. Before we examine this idea, let me first emphasise that Labour does have a problem with antisemitism. Step forward, for instance, the recent mayor of Shrewsbury, Ioan Jones, and his belief that the Rothschilds have "financed both sides of every war since Napoleon". And it has to be admitted that Carole was foolish to use ...
Non-fiction: 3 (YTD 30) The Complete Ice Age, by Brian M. Fagan The Man Within My Head, by Pico Iyer The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England, by Ian Mortimer Fiction non-sf): 3 (YTD 19) The Way By Swann's, by Marcel Proust Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters Maigret Loses His Temper, by Georges Simenon Poetry: 3 (YTD 3) 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 sf (non-Who): 15 (YTD 76) Robot Visions, by Isaac Asimov Discount Armageddon, by Seanan McGuire Your Code ...
Remember how Brexit was supposed to make Britain a truly global nation? That's not how it's turning out in practice. Today's Guardian quotes Peter Gabriel talking about his experiences of organising this year's Womad world music festival, where three acts were prevented from entering the country and a fourth arrived late: "The right to travel for work, for education and even for pleasure is increasingly being restricted and often along racial and religious lines. "It is alarming that our UK festival would now have real problems bringing artists into this country ... [many of whom] no longer want to come ...
There's worrying news of my favourite part of Shropshire.in the Shropshire Star: People living in a rural village on the Welsh border have demanded immediate county council action after being threatened with being effectively cut off by unfinished roadworks. At a meeting held at Priest Weston Village Hall locals told of their frustrations concerning the roads' poor maintenance and the damage it was causing to their cars. Among those present was the school bus driver and the primary school minibus driver - both of whose routes have been affected by the lack of work to remedy the road surfaces.The meeting ...
News from Norfolk about a forthcoming council by-election: Lorne Green, the county's Conservative police and crime commissioner, has seconded Lib Dem Erika Coward in the election for West Norfolk council's Snettisham ward, which is taking place on Thursday. Mr Green said he agreed to sign after being approached by a member of Mrs Coward's campaign team, who said she was struggling to obtain enough signatures to confirm her nomination. "I support democracy and I was happy to sign it," he said. "I'm fully supportive of anyone who wants to run for any party, that's democracy, but I did it on ...
Second paragraph of third section (depending how you count the sections): Early sun gold-frosted the horizontal upper foliage of the old tree and brought its gnarled limbs into sharp re-lief, tough brown-gray creviced in velvet. Only the companion of a bonsai (there are owners of bonsai but they are a lesser breed) fully understands the relationship. There is an exclusive and individual treeness to the tree because it is a living thing and living things change—and there are definite ways in which the tree desires to change. A man sees the tree and in his mind makes certain extensions and ...
I've been reading Toby Young's The Public Humiliation Diet, an autobiographical account of his very public defenestration as first, a non-executive director of the new universities regulator, the Office for Students, and then his day-job as chief executive of the New Schools Network, the government-funded charity which promotes free schools. He was forced to quit at the start of this year amid mounting outrage at some of his journalism — "I've written some pretty sophomoric pieces, many of them for 'lad mags'" — as well as some of his public utterances, including what he refers to in veiled terms as ...
Tue 31st
14:30
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If we could all have a healthy old age like these youngsters we would not be facing the huge costs in the NHS which are happening because so many of us are living so much longer Today I have spent ... Continue reading →
There is a LEGO Club at Bury Library during August for children to be inspired to build, create and imagine. The sessions are for children aged 5+ and cost 50p per child. Youngsters must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Dates and times: Wednesday 1 August (1.30pm to 3.30pm) Saturday 4 August (10.30am to noon) Wednesday 8 August (1.30pm to 3.30pm) Wednesday 15 August (1.30pm to 3.30pm) Saturday 18 August (10.30am to noon) Wednesday 22 August (1.30pm to 3.30pm) Wednesday 29 August (1.30pm to 3.30pm)
Parliament is now in recess but our work to fight against Brexit continues. I am speechless at the sheer contempt and arrogance of those who rigged the voting system of the UK during the EU referendum and try to get away with it. We, as Lib Dems, who uphold the rule of law and believe in fair play did not act illegally as some supporters of Vote Leave or Leave.EU did in the run up to the referendum. People such as Dominic Cummings have used Cambridge Analytica to micro target online users with their untruthful ads without their knowledge or ...
More major roadworks this month – for the full list see the GM Roadworks site here The major roadworks in August are: – Heywood Road/Heys Road roundabout – multi-direction signals again 7-8 August 2018 (Virgin Media) – Heywood Road just north of Bury Old Road – 2 way signals between Bury Old Road and No.214 AND between Parrenthorn Road and Corday Lane from 30 July to 9 September) – Bury Old Road (just south of Kings Road) – 2 way signals 31 July – 1 August – Hilton Lane – 2 way signals near Rainsough Brow to 3 August – ...
Mon, 12:56: RT @paulj71: I was born and grew up in east Kent. Was a Customs Officer in Dover clearing export freight 1989-1997. This is lunacy. https:/... Mon, 14:17: RT @MSmithsonPB: This hits the nail on the head https://t.co/ubcQuEMV4k Mon, 14:21: Bizarre that this has popped into my timeline. (Promoted tweet using taxpayers' money of course.) Rather misses the... https://t.co/LC6isQ81kq Mon, 18:07: And so, the holiday begins! https://t.co/olX0zkri3s Mon, 19:58: Doctor Who at London Film and Comic Con https://t.co/79pI9nbRn9 #bloodmoon #doctorwho #lfcc #lfcc2018 Mon, 20:01: Monday reading https://t.co/b2roXJ3Exo Tue, 10:45: Brexit: Deutsche Bank moves half of euro clearing business from ...
Constant dissatisfaction is an essential part of the liberal spirit. That which, over the decades, has characterized liberalism is the constant search for progress. Progress that seeks to create open societies that welcome diverse views and allow, in Popper's formulation, constant challenge from below. Progress that breaks down imposed power from the top and liberates the disadvantaged and those that do not have a voice. The essential flip-side of achieving progress is a constant dissatisfaction with the status quo. The ability and determination to imagine that a better world is possible. As Robert Kennedy's very liberal statement put it: "Some ...
The Liverpool Echo has the latest gun crime 'event' on its web site (this time in Bootle) see link below:- Worryingly, there is every danger that we will start to see gun crime incidents as normal every day events as the media relentlessly churn them out. Normalising may creep up on us when we should be treating each event as totally unacceptable in a civilised society.
I was a bit rueful this morning reading in the Independent that Labour propose to introduce legislation to guarantee "quality youth services for all young people", which would be overseen by a new national body with ring-fenced government funding. They envisage that this organisation would work with partners in every local area to fund services for young people, including youth centres, sports facilities, youth workers and counsellors. This policy only applies to England, which is right and proper as that is how devolution works. However, it is also legitimate to ask why the Labour-led Welsh Government have not already done ...
New high speed buses with special Yate numbers are being introduced from 2 September. The numbers change, and the times will change slightly - so you need to check YOUR journey carefully. Most of it is rebadging, so all the Yate buses have a Y number, making them easier to find. But tucked in there are some significant changes. In particular, Cranleigh Court and Wellington Road areas lose the 46/X46 route - the route will exist, but it won't go through Cranleigh Court / Halifax/Wellington Road. Nearest bus stops will be Church Road or Station Road. For many people it ...
I went to the Social Liberal Forum conference last weekend and found it completely transformed - no more endless whingeing but real debate about big ideas for the future. They really had made the transition, as the Greens used to say, from opposition to proposition. Anyone who has read my political blogs will know is [...] The post The old order is crumbling – what should we do? appeared first on Radix.
Today marks 35 years since I joined the SDP on my 16th birthday. What motivated me then was a desire to turn this world into a kinder, fairer place where all people had power over their lives. My parents thought it was a rebellious phase that wouldn't last. Being involved in this party has brought me an extended family, my best friends, some amazing highs – Willie Rennie winning in Dunfermline, Christine Jardine and Alex Cole-Hamilton in Edinburgh for a start. There's been the sheer joy of working with others on a common cause. You never know how wonderful the ...
From Blether Tay-Gither : Our July Blether will be tonight - Tuesday 31st July - at 7.30pm at The Butterfly Café, 28 Commercial Street. PERTHSHIRE FOLK TALES : Lindsey Gibb and C.A. Hope, authors of recently published folktales book are joining us to share some of the tales from the book and tell us about their research. Don't worry though there will still be time for a few of you to share your own tale be it from Perthshire or not. Hope to see some of you there - all welcome!
Commenting on a Home Office report into "the economic and social costs of modern slavery" Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey said:"Monday's Home Office report lays bare the huge costs of modern slavery to both our society and our economy."The extent of slavery in the UK today rightly appals us. Theresa May once called it 'the great human rights issue of our time', but many of her own policies are now undermining efforts to tackle it."The Conservatives' 'hostile environment' policies, cuts to the police and the Border Force, and their insistence on a destructive hard Brexit, all make it ...
A month is a very long time in Brexit politics. At the start of July Theresa May had stayed at the helm and held together her minority government for a year longer than many thought likely. She was edging towards getting her fractious party and cabinet to accepting a carefully crafted Brexit plan that delivered [...]
