The problem with one man blogs as highlighted by ...Blogging is, in general a good thing. It gives people a voice, it bypasses the mainstream media, and in many cases it gets news out in to the open which in other cases would not be heard, for example, after the attempts by Trafigura to muzzle the mainstream press with injunctions or the case of Oligarchs trying to stop criticism of them. But today, the shortcomings of the one man blog was highlighted for all to see, in my opinion, today. One advantage that the main stream media has over bloggers is that there are sub-editors, lawyers, and people who ... (more) |
Tony Blair's "dangerous game" comments run much deeperSo in Tony Blair's memoirs the former Labour Prime Minister has revealed a number of revelations. The Countryside Alliance will be fuming that he apparently didn't want to introduce a ban on fox hunting, which will certainly confuse voters who were constantly told "Vote Labour or the fox gets it", but the one I want to focus on is his comments about Welsh devolution. Now, the soundbite claiming that Welsh devolution was a "dangerous game" will unsettle Labour activists and certaintly anger the Nationalist faction of their Welsh Assembly coalition partners Plaid Cymru. But Tony has in my opinion, both ... (more) |
Quality of life, suffering and decisionsWe have a cat. He's fifteen years old and has a lovely relaxed nature. He loves being fussed, and sunning himself. He's a lot slower now than he used to be, but even in the spring he was able to catch a bird in the garden, and until last year was fairly regularly bringing the ... (more) |
William Hague and Buddhist EthicsRumours have been flying around the internet for weeks now about William Hague and his special advisor Chris Myers. I had considered blogging about it a week ago but decided otherwise because it just felt wrong to give a greater ... Continue reading → (more) |
No. 10 Media Chief Andy Coulson accused in phone tapping investigationThere was a moment of shocked silence in the Parliamentary Committee Room, in which the Culture and Media and Sport Committee was sitting, when it was announced that Princes William and Harry's phones had been tapped by News of the World's then royal correspondent Clive Goodman, and his associate Glenn Mulcaire. Today, the New York Times has revealed that editor Andy Coulson not only knew about such goings on at his newspaper, but actively encouraged it. Mr. Coulson now happens to be Director of Communications at Number. 10.... The investigation into the affair, conducted by Scotland Yard, has always been ... (more) |
A lesson in answering a question succinctly...I like this. The Mayor New York City, Michael Bloomberg has recently been plagued with questions about whether he will stand down. Now he has refreshingly answered those questions: At his Bronx Q and A, The Post's Dave Seifman asked if there were "any circumstances" under which he wouldn't finish his third – and hard-fought-for – term. "Yes," the mayor replied. "What are they?" asked Seifman. "If I died," Bloomberg said. (more) |
A stadium for the Truro-centricAt a cost of £78,000, Cornwall Council has today published the news that an expert report has proposed that there should be a 'Stadium for Cornwall' built in either Truro or Threemilestone. Yet the Council has yet to publish any evidence that a stadium for Cornwall is needed or would be anything other than a white elephant. Some of my colleagues have blogged asking why the stadium should be in Truro, rather than Bodmin or elsewhere in Cornwall. They have a point. Truro is not on the main A30 and simply being in the middle of the population doesn't seem ... (more) |
Even Alaskans don't want Sarah Palin as PresidentFrom Political Wire: Though a majority of Alaskan Republicans still like Sarah Palin, a new Public Policy Polling survey shows she can't count on a whole lot of support back home if she runs for president in 2012. Key findings: 62% of Alaska Republicans are opposed to her making a White House bid and she gets only 17% in a hypothetical 2012 primary in the state tying for her second with Mike Huckabee behind Mitt Romney. (more) |
Hague or Coulson - I know who I think should be forced out of officeOn a day when even Tony Blair's autobiography has been forced from the top of the news bulletins by the William Hague story, it seems that no other political subject could possibly make the headlines. Yet there is one story which should do. It is the New York Times story on the involvement of Andy Coulson in the royal phone tapping scandal. At the time, Coulson was editor of the News of the World and denied any knowledge of the phone tapping by the paper's royal reporter Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. Yet he resigned anyway and went ... (more) |
Total Politics Top 50 Scottish Blogs - the only way is upSo, Total Politics are starting to drip feed the results of this year's Total Politics Best Blog lists and today was the turn of the Top 50 Scottish Blogs. There are 23 new entries, just 8 blogs went up from last years position (including mine), 2 stayed where they were from last year including Tom Harris MP who retains the top spot and 17 slipped down the pile. So, thank you to everyone who voted for my little blog. Congratulations to Tom Harris for holding the top spot, Caron Lindsay for moving up to 4th position, Stephen Glenn for finally ... (more) |