Greta Thunberg to Parliament: "Is my microphone on?"Here is the full text of Greta Thunberg's speech to Parliament today, via the Guardian: My name is Greta Thunberg. I am 16 years old. I come from Sweden. And I speak on behalf of future generations. I know many of you don't want to listen to us - you say we are just children. But we're only repeating the message of the united climate science. Many of you appear concerned that we are wasting valuable lesson time, but I assure you we will go back to school the moment you start listening to science and give us a future. ... (more) |
On having one mildly successful tweet...If you are reading this then I suspect there is a decent chance that you know me or at the very least follow me on twitter. In that case you'll know I'm pretty much a nobody. An insignificant speck that resides on this great vast planet we call the Earth. I have around 1,500 people who follow me on twitter. That isn't a large number by any means. So in terms of having a social media platform, I have one just like oh so many others, it is just infinitesimal. This takes me to this past weekend. On Friday night ... (more) |
"If we were to choose to stay in the EU"My heart sank again as I saw that our European Election campaign was going to major on the fact that a vote for us was primarily a pro-EU, pro-PeoplesVote Vote. Again we will be conducting this as a proxy vote rather than for what it should be for. However, a non-LibDem voter friend said to me he would vote LibDem for the first time in this election for precisely this reason, so the party are probably right. However, we would be missing a trick if we didn't also constantly say "If we were to choose to stay in the EU, ... (more) |
Reflections on the Tory Party Revolution - part one[IMG: Conservative Party logo] Part 1: From the 2019 Constituency Revolt to the 1846 Corn Law Split, and back In its April 22th coverage of the Tory Constituency Party leaders' revolt in demanding an "Extraordinary General Meeting" to shake May's throne, the BBC inserted the link to its article from August 2018 about how, between the Chequers Cabinet Brexit Agreement and May's disastrous Tory 2018 Autumn Conference, a Hard Brexit revolt started brewing in the Tory grassroots. That 2018 article, by BBC researcher Georgia Roberts, referred to the Tory party Conference revolt of 1950, right after the general election that ... (more) |
Greta Thunberg speech in Parliament today should help everyone to take notice of protecting our planet - CableToday I'm speaking at the British Parliament in London. #FridaysForFuture pic.twitter.com/z5bvDz4TV8 — Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) April 23, 2019 Today, schoolgirl Climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks at the Houses of Parliament. Vince Cable has said that he hopes that this event will greatly increase the profile to our climate emergency. He remarked: Young people leaving their classrooms and lying down on the streets of London have given much needed profile to the climate emergency our planet is facing. As we welcome the hugely impressive Greta Thunberg to Parliament - a sixteen year old who has led a global movement - I ... (more) |
Beyond Brexit: Vince Cable's valedictoryAs we left the Liberal Democrats conference in York we were handed a small book: Beyond Brexit: Liberal politics for the age of identity, by the party leader Vince Cable. Vince had already announced his imminent departure as leader. This was his parting shot. Good and bad, it is a fitting verdict on his leadership. ... Continue reading Beyond Brexit: Vince Cable's valedictory (more) |
Why I feel almost certain that if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister, the UK will Remain in the EUNo matter how many times BoJo's ambition of becoming PM is pronounced dead and buried by the Westminster lobby, it somehow manages to rear its head again. This time in the form of several polls, one of Tory councillors, the other of Tory voters, both of which put Boris way ahead in terms of first choice of next leader. Sure, he would have to get enough MPs to back him to get to the final two, which is no mean feat given how many of them he's managed to alienate over the years, but if he managed that it seems ... (more) |
In praise of The Gambia and the Economic Community of West African StatesA fishing boat is unloaded at the Gambian fishing town of Tanji Three years ago I wrote about a visit to The Gambia in West Africa which was bitter sweet. As always the country itself, and the people of The Gambia, were charming. However, the country was in the last days of a dictatorship which lasted for 23 years. Indeed, I left out the name of the country in my article to avoid any problems with future entry. I recently revisited The Gambia. It was very heartening to see the progress of the elected President, Adama Barrow. I was particularly ... (more) |
My tweetsMon, 12:34: RT @everywhereist: Inventor of the Dishwasher: I HAVE CREATED SOMETHING THAT WILL MAKE ALL YOUR LIVES EASIER. Humanity: WHOA. So we just p... Mon, 12:56: Fascinating short thread. https://t.co/AFLeDoo4ZO Mon, 15:13: The Capital, by Robert Menasse https://t.co/HklZJWYPKj Mon, 15:37: Great thread, worth reading in full. I was in the audience when Tusk made this speech. Effective and accurate. https://t.co/9xHVSAiZJf Mon, 16:05: The look on her face... https://t.co/2ODr2YAxlW Mon, 17:11: How Andy Warhol and Tintin Creator Hergé Mutually Admired and Influenced One Another https://t.co/pf7LK1sslq Sometimes it's a small world. Mon, 20:48: Detailed thread, well worth reading. https://t.co/25vsFYDIB5 Tue, 08:31: ... (more) |
Sending thoughts of sympathy and support to all those affected by the Sri Lankan horrorsThe photo above shows the view from the Sri Lankan Independence Memorial Hall in Colombo. The flag flying is the Buddhist flag. I took the photo last November. The Memorial Hall is very much a centre of national events in Sri Lanka. Annual Independence celebrations are held there. It is a very peaceful place. When I visited, children played in the hall while families sat admiring the sunset. That peacefulness is very much a keynote of Sri Lanka. The majority Buddhist religion is pervasive in its emphasis on meditation and spiritual development. The people of Sri Lanka are generally very ... (more) |