Second paragraph of third story ("Old Faithful", by Raymond Z. Gallun):The two messengers who had come to his workshop that afternoon had not seen into his heart, and he received their message with the absolute outward calm that was characteristic of his kind - at the end of forty days Number 774 must die. He had lived the allotted span fixed by the Rulers.I got this in 2014 because the last story, "A Matter of Form" by H.L. Gold, was up for the Retro Hugo for Best Novella that year (beaten by the classic "Who Goes There?", which got my ...
The news that this government wishes to increase the number of nuclear warheads is not welcome news. It sends out the wrong message. Global Britain, it seems, is a regression to the past of imperialism and jingoism. It is not the way to win friends and influence in the world. Nuclear weapons are terrible weapons that should never be used. The horrors that were inflicted on Japan were enough. There is a need to prevent nuclear proliferation. Do Pakistan and India need the bomb? The unstable nature of Kashmir means an endless source of conflict that could well escalate. What ...
The Burscough Curves are in West Lancashire. This historic shot of them is from when they were in place, in 1960's. Some time ago government made a high profile bid for the railway enthusiast/environmental vote by saying they were putting up money to reinstate the railway cut-backs of the 1960's Beeching era. It was all good stuff but when you have an idea how much a railway costs to reinstate then the amount of money on offer was to say the least rather insignificant whereas the expectations raised have been very significant. The amount on offer was (and I think ...
Coming up at the Lib Dem spring conference is a motion to enhance the role of Vice President "responsible for working with BaME communities".
Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote a blog for Lib Dem Voice on the Government being behind the curve in introducing measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. Little did we know then what was coming then. By 21 March last year, there had already been more than 400 deaths from Covid in UK hospitals , and that seemed shocking at the time. A year later, there have been 125,580 deaths within 28 days of a Covid test and 143,259 deaths where Covid was listed as the cause on the death certificate (all data in this article are quoted ...
It is well known that Lib Dems like few things better than a good raffle. Somewhere back in the mists of time - even before the bit about no one being enslaved by ignorance or conformity - it must have been written, "wheresoever two or three are gathered together they shall tear up strips of cloakroom tickets and contest the ownership of cheap wine and a box of Milk Tray. Forgive me then, if I offer a heretic's view. There is one thing I like even better than a raffle and it is an auction. I suspect I am not ...
Among the boasting and bluster of our government's defence review published yesterday the one piece of concrete information seems to be that we are to increase our stockpile of nuclear warheads from 180 to 260. Given that the US already has 3 800, and that it is inconceivable that we could use some of ours without the co-operation and permission of the US, who I understand control the the delivery system, it is difficult to see the point of our having an extra 80. Maybe it's to appear to be in the same league as France, which has 300 (and ...
Conservatives despise local government. English local authorities have been starved of funds since the coalition government began, with a sharper downward curve since 2015. The one-size fits-all model of elected mayors has been imposed on successive 'city regions' - in the case of Yorkshire, against the settled preference of almost all the local authorities in the region. Worst of all, ministers bypassed local authorities when the pandemic struck, ignoring local public health officers and the local knowledge that councillors and staff embody, and spending huge amounts of money on contracts with outsourcing companies. When Russian spies poisoned the Skripals Salisbury's ...
Tue, 12:54: Tremendous detail here. (Would like to see the same for Belgium.) https://t.co/CvhbzS68nz Tue, 12:56: RT @cult_edge: Sad to learn of the recent passing of writer James Follett. James wrote two episodes of Blake's 7 - Dawn Of The Gods and Sta... Tue, 13:12: RT @AyoCaesar: Julie Burchill abused me for being Muslim - but at the time, the press made her out to be a victim of 'cancel culture'. Ou... Tue, 14:00: 90 hours left to nominate for this year's Hugo Awards! If you were a CoNZealand member, and you want to nominate, check now to make sure ...
Just a brief note on the day. It's well known that St Patrick's Day parades were originally a diaspora phenomenon, and the first really big parades were in the eighteenth century in the USA. But the first recorded celebration of St Patrick's Day in what is now the United States was a good deal earlier. St Augustine, in Florida, is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the contiguous USA founded by Europeans, in 1565. It was a Spanish settlement, but in 1600 the parish priest was an Irishman, Richard Arthur, known as Ricardo Artur locally; and he invoked the protection ...
Wed 17th
09:37
Integrated Review: Moran says that Johnson and the Tories are putting economic ties before human rig...
Responding to the Government's Integrated Review, published yesterday, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Layla Moran MP commented:"This Integrated Review slashes support to the world's poorest and puts economic ties before human rights in China, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere."The UK's development spending represents the best of British values. During a global pandemic, none of us are safe until everyone is. Reneging on the commitment to retain 0.7% of GNI is a short-sighted mistake that will hit the world's poorest the hardest - promising it will be 'temporary' are weasel words. We need a cast-iron guarantee and roadmap that will see ...
Responding to the Government's Integrated Review, released yesterday, Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson Jamie Stone MP said:"The Government's Integrated Review is not strategic, not integrated, and not a proper review. Rather, it is full of retreat and broken promises."Our Armed forces are being cut back and the Defence budget is in a mess."Proposals to increase the number of Trident warheads should not be taken forward. Such a policy would be a breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Increasing our nuclear arsenal now will not strengthen our defence. The world faces many threats to peace and stability. We should not add to ...
Responding to the Home Office decision to close Penally camp, a former military camp near Tenby used as accommodation for asylum seekers, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Home Affairs Alistair Carmichael MP said: "The Government have had to be shamed into acting when anyone with an ounce of compassion would have done this weeks ago. They have looked the other way for too long as asylum seekers are forced to stay in inhumane accommodation."The Conservative Government has treated these asylum seekers appallingly. True to their form during this pandemic, they have cut corners and ignored public health advice. Innocent asylum seekers ...
In just 50 days time Wales will go to the polls. It will be the first elections to our now renamed Welsh Parliament - Wales' own Parliament. It will be the first time the people of Wales have had their say on the parties since Brexit and the first time they'll get to vote for parties on their taxation policies - an area only recently devolved to Wales. No matter who you speak to in Wales, the number one priority that people have is what next after Covid? Our fantastic health service is stretched, our economy has stalled, and most ...
Reacting to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill passing its Commons Second Reading last night, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: "These new Conservative laws to crackdown on protests are dangerous and draconian. "The right to peaceful assembly and protest is a fundamental human right. It has always been a crucial part of our democratic society. "The weekend's appalling events at the Clapham Vigil show why this Bill must be stopped in its tracks. They should force Priti Patel to think again. "These new laws are part of the Conservative Government's anti-democratic attempts to silence any ...
The other day I had an argument with a friend about the Census. He told me that he wasn't going to fill in the form because it was an attack on his civil liberties. "The state doesn't need to know ... Continue reading →
i) births and deaths 17 March 1942: birth of Ken Grieve, director of Destiny of the Daleks (Fourth Doctor, 1979) 17 March 2011: death of Michael Gough, who played the Toymaker in The Celestial Toymaker (First Doctor, 1966) and Hedin in Arc of Infinity (Fifth Doctor, 1983). He was also married to actress Anneke Wills. ii) broadcast anniversary 17 March 1973: broadcast of fourth episode of Frontier in Space. The Master has the Doctor and Jo captive, but all three are captured by the Draconians. iii) dates specified in-universe: 17 March 1898: death of Mary Eliza Millington in The Curse ...
Personally, I believe that Johnson's failure to act earlier, to take on board lessons from past pandemics and his inability to send the right messages a year ago meant far more people died of Covid than should have done, others appear to agree. The Mirror reports that Boris Johnson faces explosive claims of complacency, mistakes and stubbornness in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic - which led to "more cases and more deaths": In the early days of the outbreak, the PM reportedly suggested the best way to deal with Coronavirus would be to "ignore it", according to the ...
As residents know, I have long campaigned for road safety improvements at the junction of Cleghorn Street and Lochee Road. There have been a number of minor accidents at the junction and, following my request to the then Director of City Development some time ago, it was agreed to include the junction for a safety audit and any resulting improvements. The feedback from residents has been that the right turn out of Cleghorn Street into Lochee Road is a potential safety issue. It also, at busy times, leads to tailbacks at the junction in Cleghorn Street, in an area of ...
