GUEST POST Is Isaac Asimov's psychohistory fiction or reality?Peter Chambers mixes science fiction with computer games, the numerical simulation of history, computer games and a take on political warfare. The term 'psychohistory' originated in the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. He started writing this in the 1940s, and after a long gap following the first three books continued to the end of his life. They sold very well. Psychohistory is the concept that the future of societies can be predicted - in outline - given a lot of data and a lot of computer power. At the time in which Book 1 was set, a Galactic Empire existed ... (more) |
You can't elect a Community Champion without a communityAs Liberal Democrats, we pride ourselves as being "local champions". It's on every Focus leaflet, in every direct mail. Our spatulas, fitbits and our friends and family who are oft abandoned in favour of doorknocking on a Saturday morning can attest to the fact that we are community people who believe in community politics. But how can you be a champion of a community that doesn't exist? This is the question that has been running around my head after speaking to hundreds of residents in my ward of Waterloo and South Bank, the most central ward in London, in the ... (more) |
Words matter, use them carefully!There are any number of slogans linked to the Palestine / Israel conflict that mean different things to different people. Accordingly we must be incredibly careful in how we speak. Our words can have a different meaning for those who hear them from the meaning we intended to convey. Some well known examples spring to mind. Those who shout "Free Palestine" at demonstrations, marches or concert stages may well mean a free Palestine alongside a secure Israel. However, to many Jewish Israelis and British Jews these words are heard as a call for an attack on all Jewish residents between ... (more) |
Does money buy votes?I have been reading in today's papers that the Republican Party are about to spend $880 million to try and win back the support that they are obviously using in the US midterm elections. This dwarfs the £72 million which two offshore crypto business people have put into Reform UK in recent weeks in the United Kingdom. As I have read these announcements I have been amazed at two things. Firstly, that vast amounts of money can buy votes, and secondly, that in neither the United states nor United Kingdom There are few mechanisms in place to adequate adequately control ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1583The New World warns that Rupert Lowe is coming for your parents: "Lowe's success exemplifies how Facebook has weaponised the anxieties and concerns of millions of Britons to drive its increasingly older, isolated users into unreality." "Monday's judgment ... means that unless the client agrees to release the material, those private conversations are now beyond the regulator's reach. This is particularly bad news for the SRA's ongoing attempts to tackle SLAPPs, the abusive legal actions used by the rich and powerful to shut down scrutiny."Nathaniel Peutherer analyses a judicial ruling that threatens efforts to curb Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. ... (more) |
Inside the refurbished libraryWhickham Library is currently being refurbished. On Saturday I was able to see inside. It's looking great. Doors reopen on 30th September. (more) |
Sunniside MacMillan coffee morningsOn Friday, Sunniside hosted 2 MacMillan coffee mornings, at the Pharmacy and at the Social Club. I went to both! (more) |
Inside the refurbished libraryOn Saturday we (ie the Whickham Lib Dem Councillors) held our monthly advice surgery outside Whickham Library. The reason we were outside rather than inside is because the Library is undergoing refurbishment. We were given the opportunity to have a look around. The work is nearly finished and the Library is looking great. It reopens on 30th September. (more) |
Is the Labour government split on immigration?The Independent reports that Angela Rayner has hit out at Shabana Mahmood's plans to make it harder for migrant workers to claim settled status in the UK, warning it would "change the goalposts". The paper says that in an interview with The Times on the eve of Labour's party conference in Liverpool, the communities secretary and former deputy prime minister stood by her previous description of the home secretary's plans as "un-British": The reforms will increase the timeline for permanent residence from five years to 15 years for foreign social care workers, and will apply to all those who have ... (more) |
How did people cross the Humber before the bridge?Andytoknow introduces us to New Holland, a railway village on the south bank of the Humber, and in particular to New Holland Pier station, where trains met the ferry that made the crossing to and from Hull. (more) |