I'm a great believer in truth in politics which, on the face of it, seems like an obvious statement. Lying in politics is, to my mind, reprehensible, because you are wilfully offering a false prospectus to those who are asked to choose between candidates and ideologies to find the person or persons most appropriate to represent them and their community. However, I'm not naïve. As a politician, do you tell the whole truth, or just those parts that support what you're trying to achieve - after all, your opposition has the opportunity to pick out and highlight the faults or ...
Campaigners are urging the government to give poor families cash and not food vouchers, reports Vincent Wood. "Trump disguised what he was doing by operating in plain sight, talking openly about his intent. He normalized his actions so people would accept them. I've been studying authoritarian regimes for three decades, and I know the signs of a coup when I see them." Fiona Hill believes in calling Trump's coup a coup. Simon Wilson argues that it is not worth trying to recycle plastics. Karen Liebreich on the othering of cyclists: "For some years people on bikes have been perceived as ...
Just a few minutes ago, I watched as Nancy Pelosi brought down her gavel on the US House resolution to impeach Trump a record second time. That means, the President is referred to the US Senate for a trial chaired by the Chief Justice, where a two-thirds majority is needed to convict President Trump of "inciting an insurrection". The timetable appears to suggest that a Democratic-controlled Senate will consider the matter after President-elect Biden is sworn in. Extraordinarily, ten Republicans voted for impeachment in the US House. This included Rep Liz Cheney – which is very significant. This was the ...
As previously mentioned, I have been following the Doctor Who multi-platform "event", Time Lord Victorious, of which the most substantial elements not written up so far are a novel, a comics story and a couple of audios. DWM comic story: "Monstrous Beauty", by Scott Gray Second frame of third installment: The Ninth Doctor returns to the pages of DWM, with a story involving Rose, vampires and the pre-Time Lord Gallifreyans. Neatly executed. Novel: All Flesh is Grass, by Una McCormack Second paragraph of third chapter:'Under attack! Return fire! Return fire!'Follows on from the above, and from the Tenth Doctor novel ...
A party press release brings this welcome news from the House of Lords: Liberal Democrat peers have helped to pass cross-party amendments to the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill, as the number of Government defeats on the controversial new law rose to four. A cross-party amendment (Amendment 15), co-sponsored by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Paddick, places limits on the types of crimes that can be authorised under the Bill - ruling out murder, torture and sexual assault. It was passed by 299 votes to 284. It follows a Liberal Democrat amendment (Amendment 6) that was passed on Monday, ...
Congratulations to all those that campaigned to keep DPD driver Paul in Ludlow. It is invidious to single out individuals but the campaign was led brilliantly by Emma Elizabeth Kennet. So many others took part. Hundreds of people emailed DPD's chief executive and chief press officer. The news came in Tuesday afternoon, DPD are to keep Paul in Ludlow. This was a textbook campaign. Short, sharp and driven on social media with hundreds of contributors. I'm impressed. Paul and Emma
Time-consuming new customs and health paperwork is sparking long delays, with one Scottish fishing business losing £50,000 on a single consignment. In another alarming development, fish prices have plummeted by 80 per cent at Peterhead Fish Market, while a third of Scotland's fishing fleet is tied up in the harbour. Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has secured an urgent question in Parliament tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 10.30am, in which he will address the devastating impact the Government's trade deal with the EU is having on the industry Alistair Carmichael said: "After a week of intensifying disruption for seafood exporters ...
The "angels' share" is a popular term for the quantity of whisky that is lost to evaporation as it ages in oak barrels. But in Ken Loach's film (available through BBCiPlayer) a portion of a rare and extremely valuable malt is syphoned off in a Highlands Distillery by wily little Robbie (Paul Brannigan) and his [...]
I recently purchased a copy of this cracking black & white photograph* It shows a 2-4-2T steam locomotive No.10655 at Maghull Station on 22nd August 1949. It really is a very nice shot and it's one I've previously not seen of the station. In many ways Maghull Station remains substantially unchanged, with the original footbridge and station buildings still being in place, as these far more recent shots illustrate:- Click on the photos to enlarge them * I have the permission of the copyright holder (Robert Humm) to use it in this posting. The post Maghull Station August 1949 first ...
Tue, 12:56: 'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard To Commit To Working Out — And Why We Should https://t.co/2v7z6Be0An Fascinating book review. Tue, 14:48: Interesting opening for any of my science writer friends who would like to move to a warmer climate... https://t.co/twRsFQcemH Tue, 15:01: Steppe, by Piers Anthony Neither the plot, nor the setting, nor indeed the characterisation are quite as well-rounded as the couple depicted by Boris Vallejo on the cover, whose relevance is as minimal as their clothing. #nwbooks https://t.co/NAnH6P7EiJ https://t.co/5xYci6dLcn https://t.co/wL3MquSeeL Tue, 15:10: RT @UKPoliticalNews: Exciting news at APCO towers today https://t.co/fEoStY9tuz Tue, 15:46: Last ...
We have been here before of course, notably over the fiasco of rolling out Covid 19 tests, when every promise, pledge and target that came out of the mouths of Ministers proved to be unattainable, over-ambitious and not based on any rational assessment of capacity. Now, we see reports such as this one in the Independent that Ministers have admitted their target to vaccinate 2 million people a week may not be hit until the end of January. As ever, the problem can be traced back to Boris Johnson, who promised to inoculate the 12 million most at-risk people in ...
[IMG: John Pugh and Sir David Attenborough ] John Pugh with Sir David Attenborough We are, by nature, political outsiders. None of us has been able to find a home in the establishment parties that dominate our political landscape. The political climate – electoral system, media, financial backing- is not favourable to us either. We struggle to get our voice heard, and our limited grip on power is always in peril and often short-lived. As an endangered species, we would merit the David Attenborough treatment and as any endangered species need to husband carefully and efficiently our resources to survive. ...
i) births and deaths 13 January 1923: birth of Jack Watling, who played Professor Travers in The Abominable Snowmen (Second Doctor, 1967), The Web of Fear (Second Doctor, 1968) and Downtime (unofficial, 1995). ii) broadcast anniversaries 13 January 1968: broadcast of fourth episode of The Enemy of the World. The Doctor and friends escape Salamander's base, at the cost of Fariah's life. Salamander visits the underground base where he has imprisoned his scientists. 13 January 1973: broadcast of third episode of The Three Doctors.The Second and Third Doctors confront Omega, and discover that his physical body has been destroyed. 13 ...
I am pleased to advise that the City Council has confirmed to me that it is looking at improvements to where the Green Circular route crosses the Perth Road. Currently at this location cyclists and pedestrians use the existing carriageway junction cross as there is no footpath provision at this point. The proposed works will include a new footpath creating a safer crossing as the images indicate : There are also a couple of locations along Riverside Avenue where vegetation will be cutback to effectively widen the useable footpath/cycleway.
