CAMPAIGN FOR GENDER BALANCE
Bringing Balance through Support
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CAMPAIGN FOR GENDER BALANCE Bringing Balance through Support |
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| CAMPAIGN FOR GENDER BALANCE | <info@genderbalance.org.uk> | 11th March 2010 |
Don't know what blogging is? Check out the BBC's webwise website. Campaign for Gender Balance Blog AwardsThe Campaign for Gender Balance has announced the shortlists for its Blog Awards, to be announced at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference. The shortlists are as follows: 
Best Blog by a Woman Liberal DemocratThis shortlist will form the basis of two awards - the Judge's Choice and the Peoples' Choice. To vote in the People's Choice category, follow this link: http://cgbblog.notlong.com/ 
Best Blog Post by a Woman Liberal Democrat
Best Blog by a Woman Non-Liberal DemocratWe are sad to report that Rose Hacker died on 4 February, one month before her 102nd birthday. Her remaining columns are continuing to be published by the Camden New Journal. Congratulations to everyone who has been shortlisted and commiserations to everyone who was not. The final results will be announced at the Campaign for Gender Balance Blog Awards' Drinks Reception, taking place on Saturday 8th March 2008, between 8.00pm and 9.30pm, at Canada Suite, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Liverpool. The awards will be decided by a prestigious team of judges:
To read blogs by Liberal Democrats (women and men), see the Lib Dem Blogs website (http://www.libdemblogs.co.uk). Latest Lib Dem BlogsThu 11th Mar 2010: What happens if you fail to include an imprint in an online advert? One for the techno-legal-political geeks amongst us (hello? anyone still there...?). Last year when writing about the issues with online imprint rules in the UK I made reference to Florida where: the Florida Election Commission has banned the use of Google Ads because they necessarily do not include the Florida equivalent of an election imprint - as there isn't enough room. That ruling is being contested, and may yet trigger a change in the law but it shows the risk of doing nothing and hoping all will come out okay. The ruling was indeed contested and it was decided that ... Tuesday, spoke at a tea organised by the All-Party Group on Kashmir. We were all agreed that the resumption of talks between India and Pakistan was to be welcomed, and that the people of Kashmir should be fully consulted before any agreement is reached on the political status of the territory. I added that our Foreign Secretary had to be careful what he says about the dispute, remembering that Milliband and before him Robin Cook had both trod on sensitive corns. In the evening, to Midsummer Night's Dream at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, arriving in the nick of time ... I have to praise Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Whether he actually meant that there is a link between priestly celibacy and child sex abuse scandal that's inflicting the Vatican, or merely that the link needs to be examined, he has reopened the debate. The Archbishop of Vienna, who is a protégé of Pope Benedict XVI and seen as a potential future candidate for the Papacy is hardly opening a can of worms. Although his hastily released clarification may well be a sign that the church is not prepared to publicly face that discussion. His original article in his archdiocese's magazine called ... A by-election fundraiser with a difference. Now there are those of you who might wonder what sort of organisation would hold a fundraiser for by-elections in the run-up to a General Election. The answer is the Orpington Circle of the National Liberal Club, and I had the great pleasure to attend this year's fundraising dinner in the Lloyd George Room of the Club last night. Naturally, the Club was able to attract an all star cast, with Ros introducing the main speaker, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Lord Avebury giving the toast to our candidates past and present, and Lord Steel of Aikwood taking care of the ... Opinion: The BBC - Snog, Marry or Avoid? It has been open season on the BBC of late. We all have our reasons for criticism: the incompetent decision to close 6 Music, the failure to manage budgets, the excessive salaries of performers and especially of senior managers create a climate of anger which serves only to underline the perhaps more important failures to deliver quality public service broadcasting. I have long been a critic of the 'Today' programme, which is overlong, too pleased with itself and too inclined to slide into its comfort zone of two party politics. Andrew Neil's political vehicle 'This Week', a weekly genuflection before ... Southport and West Lancs Health Services. Beware the spin which is no doubt meant to divert the eyes and confuse but two recent documents from NHS Sefton issued today are very significant. Both can be accessed from our Website in the download sectionComments will follow. It's clear that the coming election will be fought over adjectives. Specifically, the adjectives one likes to place in front of 'Britain'. Anyone with even a cursory interest in politics can't help but notice the proliferation of phrases like 'Blackout Britain', 'Breakdown Britain' and other pejorative epithets riding on the back of Cameron's 'Broken Britain' ... Lib Dem love-in IS on its way. Well, Well.. No sooner is my ink dry stating that a Cameron Mockumentary is on its way, I am told that we are to get a Cleggfest too, courtesy of good old ITV. Having deployed Piers Morgan and Sir Trevor to cover the other party leaders, we must surely expect an interrogator of the fairer sex to cover Nick Clegg's softer side (might as well tick gender balance while you are at it ITV). So will it be the uber sexy Katie Derham or Mary Nightingale perhaps? No tx date yet but watch this space.... Harriet falls victim to the jargon police. Today's Daily Telegraph reports that Harriet Harman's buzzword to describe "a new cohort of well, active, healthy older people" has made the list of 250 words used by central government, councils and quangos that baffle people. They say that along with 'wellderly', other banned words include 'webinar', or an online seminar, 'goldfish bowl facilitated conversation', or having a conversation round a circular meeting table; and 'low hanging fruit', or going for an easy win: The equality minister and deputy Labour leader said earlier this year: "The change in the number of well older people demands a change in public policy. ... Colin Ross chosen to stand as next Liberal Democrat MP for Wolverhampton North East. Wolverhampton North East Liberal Democrats have selected Colin Ross as their candidate at the General Election. Why Vote? by Jo Phillips and David Seymour is one in a series just published by biteback. Whilst the others promote voting for a particular party, such as the Liberal Democrat title reviwed here, this book is simply about encouraging people to take part in elections. It takes a rather curious approach because, as the book itself explains: [This book] wants to persuade you to vote but gives dozens of very good reasons why you shouldn't. On the positive side, it should give you a few laughs and provide enough trivial information to amaze your friends ... What we hope ... Hardcore porn director stands as Lib Dem PPC. [IMG: anna] I couldn't see this story elsewhere on LD blogs*, so thought it was worth a posting. Reports local meeeja Kent Online: "Britain's first female director of hardcore porn films is aiming to become Gravesham's MP. Anna Arrowsmith, 38, has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate ... at the looming general election." Quoted by The Sun, Anna says: "In this day and age people who live in a democratic society should be able to choose what they want to watch." "Personally the reason I have gone into politics is I was rather disgusted at the expense issues. "I ... SCANDAL OF £1.3m ID CARD MARKETING CAMPAIGN. I received a nice letter from HM Government/Identity & passport agency yesterday. The letter and accompanying leaflet was extolling the virtues of the Governments Identity card scheme which is currently being piloted in Manchester and London. Of course they do make it clear its voluntary and they do eventually mention that they would like you to part with £30 for the privilege. Of course they don't mention the fact that the marketing campaign across Manchester and London is estimated at costing £1.3 million of taxpayers money. Money that could pay for 50 more Police officers (on basic starter pay) at ... What should you be doing at 8pm on Friday evening? Why, talking politics of course: Make authoritarian MPs pay at the ballot box 8pm, Hall 8b, Birmingham ICC (Lib Dem spring conference) Many MPs have a record of repeatedly voting for authoritarian measures in Parliament. But will they suffer for that at the ballot box? Come and hear how we can make authoritarian votes in Parliament a vote loser for MPs on general election day - and see the new Liberal Democrat Voice website which will help do just that. Speakers: Paul Burstow MP (Chief Whip) Bridget Fox (PPC Islington South and Finsbury) Mark Pack (Co-editor, Lib Dem Voice) Alex ... Pornography and violence: what does the evidence show? Is there a link between the availability of pornography in a society and sex crimes like rape? And does watching more pornography lead men to see women as mere sex-objects? It's a debate that's bounced back and forth for decades. Both sides have plausible explanations as to how their claims can be true. Perhaps, after watching pornography, men are more likely to feel agressive and commit sex crimes. If the increased availability of pornography over the last thirty years has led to more rapes and sexual assaults, surely there's a good case for our society being more censorious. Or maybe ... Second view: blaming the surplus nations too much? I have on this blog drawn (favourable) attention to Martin Wolf's long-held view that not everyone can be Germany. In his latest: But Germany can be Germany - an economy with fiscal discipline, feeble domestic demand and a huge export surplus - only because others are not. To my initial surprise, I have read some kickback against ... What IS on at conference at party Website? Just been looking at the party website, acting as an interested visitor would. In particular the pages on the spring conference. Lots of easily available information about conference in geneal but where are the easy clicks to find the Spring agenda, the reports and the speeches that may be made? Yes I do know where to link to the reports (and by the way at the time of writing the clearprint version of the agenda is in fact the plain text file repeated) but the only click-on link at present says 'training programme now available' or words to that efefct. ... Facebook vs Daily Mail: In the online age, is rewriting a story sufficient? At one level the legal threats by Facebook against the Daily Mail are fairly straight forward: newspaper runs horror story about a firm, firm says story is all wrong and threatens to sue for libel. At another level though this story highlights how much difference there is about correcting a story in the online sphere. The Daily Mail has changed the text of its story but as The Guardian reports, that's not enough for Facebook who complained that a story supposedly about it was in fact about a different social network: The giant social networking site, which has 23 million ... Last night there was a meeting in the Fortune Green Play Centre (sorry about the little chairs!!) for residents to talk to Camden officers about the problems in Fortune Green Road attended by your 3 ward Councillors, Flick, Nancy and Russell. One proposal put forward was welcomed as a first step which is to create a "loading/unloading bay" out of the very wide pavement by the new shops - don't forget there are 3 other shop units still to be taken up and they will all need some unloading facilities. In the longer term, Camden have agreed they will looks ... Let me cut to chase. Here is the latest Monster's Poll calculation. CONSERVATIVES: 38% LABOUR: 25% LIB DEMS: 22% No changes from last time because of one simple reason: methodological change. But why so abrupt? Well, to get your attention, and then let you scurry off now without having to bother about explanations. Go on, on your bike! Still here? You ... Fire at Tabernacle Street, EC2. Reports of this major fire down in Bunhill on the City fringe have been coming through all morning. Richard was diverted on his way to work, texting me to report "Luckily was walking in as City Road closed but still had to double back and divert to get past. They have blocked off a huge area". A ... "Innocence is a vague term" say Greater Manchester Police. My campaign for a fairer system on Criminal Records Bureau checks and Police DNA retention continues. Frequent readers will remember that I have been highlighting for a while now the injustices in the current CRB system, where rumours, hearsay and spent convictions are revealed on many people's disclosures. The campaign for reform continues, and I have heard from dozens of people unfairly penalised by the current unfair laws. A related topic is DNA retention by the Police. At present, despite the European Courts ruling the practive illegal, the government still allows the Police in this country to keep DNA records ... Launch of policy paper for young people. One of the interesting things about the Bury North general election campaign is that two of the three major-party candidates are under 30 - the Labour Party candidate and me. This election is the first time people born post-Thatcher will be voting, and represents an election where new media, the internet and single-issue causes that are important to young people will have influence like never before. Liberal Democrat Spokeswoman for Youth and Equality, Lynne Featherstone today launched our party's 'Free to be Young' policy paper, which we hope will be of interest to everyone, but in particular to the young ... St Helier Hospital gets Planning Approval. The Development Control Committee last night gave outline planning approval for the refurbishment of St Helier Hospital. The Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust had submitted an application for a new, larger building replacing the existing Ferguson House, and a multi-storey car park to make up for the loss of surface car parking space. The new building ... Caravan dumped, then burnt out. On 5th February I was contacted by a man who lives in my ward to ask for help with getting a dumped caravan shifted. It was near a first school and next to a playground. He had contacted the police who told him to contact Bradford Council; they told him to contact the police. You know the kind of thing. So he was a bit stuck as to what to do and phoned me. When I contacted Bradford's Cleansing Department I spoke to a very helpful official who said they had indeed logged the request and had been in touch ... Guest post from Hugh O'Donnell MSP on the Venezuelan motion in Holyrood. Hugh O'Donnell MSP writes for my little blog in response to my earlier posting about the 4 SNP MSPs and the Labour MSP who have tabled a motion praising President Chavez, Hugh has also tabled an opposing motion; "The indecent haste of some Members of the Scottish parliament to rush to the aid of the Chávez administration, by signing up to a sugary sweet motion in the name of Jamie Hepburn MSP reveals a naivety which beggars belief. While praising the 'achievement of the socialist regime, signatories conveniently ignore the increasingly dictatorial style of the President of Bolivarian Republic of ... Opinion: Poverty, equality and solutions. Politicians talk constantly about "lifting people out of poverty", mending our "broken society", giving people "equality of opportunity" and, more rarely "creating a more equal society". What none of them seem to be prepared to face is the fact that people are poor principally because they have less money than others; and that when poverty goes along with a feeling that it is not going to be possible, whatever one does, to get out of poverty, it does not matter what "opportunities" are provided - poor people will see through the pretence that the opportunities apply to them and will ... David Cameron... "much more conservative" than the image he projects. Great story in today's Independent confirming what many of us have said for a long time, namely that David "Tony Blair-lite" Cameron is much more conservative by nature than he acts, or than he is forced to be by political expediency. The man will say and do anything to get into power, and once in the mask will slip and it'll be back to the horribly divided, damaged, and destructive Britain of the 1980s. The ghost of Thatcher lives on... Oh hold on, she's not yet dead... sorry! Quotas versus meritocracy: what is the cost of equality? By now you will have seen that India's parliament approved a bill on Tuesday 9th of March to reserve a third of all state legislature and parliamentary seats for women. You would think from reading the UK press that this is an exceptional move but actually around 40 nations have some form of quota system in place for increasing the percentage of female MP's. The UK as a whole does not advocate the use of quotas, although the Labour Party has used this fairly unpopular device for a number of years, which resulted in the UK briefly rising the global ... Now you're talking my language! Wouldn't it be wonderful if Darlington Borough Council acted on the LGA's suggestion and ceased using these 200 words and started writing in plain English. The ones I really hate are "Quick win", "Stakeholder", Sustainable Communities", "Third Sector", Step Change", Place Shaping", Funding Stream" and Benchmarking". No DBC report is considered complete without the Lib dem plans to cut the budget deficit win plaudits in the press. Today's Independent says the following about one party's clear, costed plans to reduce the budget deficit as quickly as possible: 'It is ironic that financial markets seem jittery over the fiscal consequences of a hung parliament because the Liberal Democrats, who could hold the balance of power in such circumstances, actually have the most detailed deficit reduction plans of all three main parties. 'The party's Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, has proposed scrapping Trident, a civil service pay freeze, abolishing regional development agencies and reducing tax credits for wealthier families - cuts considerably more extensive than anything Alistair Darling or George ... Friends of Longford Park - Quiz Night. Just a quick reminder that the next quiz night is actually this Friday at Longfords. Here are the details:- Our popular Quiz Night will include a fully licensed Bar, Raffle and excellent food available (including vegetarian option) The Quiz night commences at 8pm 12th March at the Longfords Suite (adjacent to the Longford Park Athletics stadium). The address is Ryebank Road, Chorlton Cum Hardy, MANCHESTER, M21 9TA All this debate over the last week has again piqued my interest anew in the politics of Britain's defence budget (although as many who know me will tell you, I'm always pretty interested in it). Most notably, the comments which sparked this particular post came from General Lord Guthrie, one of the most senior and ... smoking in films part 2 - airbrushing history. After yesterdays post regarding 18 certificates for smoking in films one of my followers on Facebook sent me this link which is a rather comprehensive and passionate piece against airbrushing cigarettes out of history (and films.) Worth a read. H/T Peter Minns (no relation!) Only 16 days to go! Are you going to switch off your lights at 8.30pm on Saturday March 27th to show your support for Earth Hour? I am. The first local internet general election. For the third general election in a row, the run-up is seeing numerous meetings and articles asking whether this election will be the first internet general election. However, much - in fact, nearly all - of the discussion falls into two traps which are common across political journalism in the UK. First, an undue focus on the central, national picture and, second, an undue focus on the novel. Ask those involved in organising internet campaigning for any of the major parties about what really matters and you'll get two answers repeated. They repeatedly - and rightly - emphasise the importance ... Three acronyms to help with justifying social media: Part two. Love it or loathe it, many clients instinctively try to evaluate social media in ways similar to advertising. Whether it's because you want to justify social media on those grounds - or because you want to persuade the client why that isn't appropriate - you need to know the lingo. This three part mini-series introduces you to the main acronyms you might come up against. Part 2: AVE [IMG: Billboard poster going up] Can social media be compared to advertising? AVE or "advertising value equivalent" is a way of attempting to turn different forms of activity into a common set ... How you can help Liberal Democrat Voice. The Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that's fine, we're grateful for people taking the time to read the site. You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are three simple ways: 1. Let us have your tips for stories. Perhaps there's something outrageous going on in your local council? Or you're an expert in a particular area and have spotted a story other people have missed? Or ... I am dismayed at the BBC Trust's proposal in its Strategy Review to close BBC Radio 6 Music. To quote the BBC itself, the station "brings together the cutting edge music of today, the iconic and groundbreaking music of the past 40 years". Radio 6 Music is distinctive and valuable, and offers a place for exciting new acts to be heard. It provides its listeners with content that no independent commercial broadcaster offers, and has helped artists like Florence + The Machine reach greater audiences. At 3.4 pence per listener hour, 6 Music is also good value for money. Closing ... Campaigning HQ : This is now located at 126 Conwy Road, Llandudno Junction. Already supporters are offering their help in the many tasks that will need to be done in the next few weeks.Please phone Christine Humphreys 07789964265 to offer your support or email mp4mp@aol.com Harris Academy Parent Council. Last night, I attended the March meeting of Harris Academy Parent Council - it was a very informative and interesting meeting - the main item for discussion being the parent survey results. Both Jim Thewliss, Head Teacher, and I updated the Parent Council on the school rebuilding project. I am grateful to the Director of Education for giving me a progress report in advance of last night's meeting. The department is meeting with the Scottish Futures Trust tomorrow regarding the project. Can we rely on the media to convey science accurately and fairly? A UCL Human Sciences Symposium. [LONG, RAMBLING POST ALERT] Yesterday I attended a symposium with the above title, where four very distinct and interesting speakers gave their perspective on science reporting in the media. Here's my brief take on proceedings.The first speaker we heard was Professor Steve Miller, who described an international study he published in the prestigious journal Science regarding scientists' This photograph from Photopolis shows a Hunter Street of old, hugely different to today's Hunter Street 'link road' between Old Hawkhill and the Hawkhill by-pass. A day in the life of a councillor. Yesterday was a day of meetings. First was with City West and the Police to address problems with crime on parts of the Valley. We've got a commitment for the police to provide more useful information to housing, and for housing to carry out more targeted tenancy inspections in the area to make growing ... Social Media Summit - March 10th 2010 - Event Review - #LewisSMS. I attended an interesting event last night hosted by Lewis PR and Salesforce.com which focused on social media and its effect on politics. The event was hosted by Paul Evans, a blogger and local democracy freelance journalist. The panel were Conservative Shadow Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt MP, former Labour minister Tom Watson MP, Deputy Political Editor of the Evening Standard Paul Waugh who is also a prolific blogger and Dan Burton from Salesforce.com. Dan Burton started by giving us a summary of how social media has helped in the US. He gave us an example of ... The Fruit of Gordon's Character. "It is for other people to judge but I believe that character is not about telling people what they want to hear but about telling them what they need to know. "It is about having the courage to set out your mission and the courage to take the tough decisions and stick to them without being blown off-course, even when the going is difficult. "For better or for worse, with me what you see is what you get." Well that is what Gordon Brown is saying should be the judgement on which people base their decision for this election. So ... Excellent US Presidential job approval site. This site is an excellent resource which allows you to compare Obama to previous US Presidents at the same time in their term of office. Obama is on Day 410, at 49% approval. On the same day, Ronald , one of the most popular US presidents, was three points lower. SNP and Labour MSPs pay tribute to Hugo Chavez! Yes, you did read correctly, 4 SNP MSPs (Jamie Hepburn, Bill Kidd, Alasdair Allan and Bill Wilson) and 1 Labour MSP (Elaine Smith) have lost the plot it seems or just gone Caracas. These five MSPs have supported a motion in the Scottish Parliament praising Hugo Chavez, the leader of corruption-ridden and out of control crime-ridden Venezuela, that's before we even get started on Chavez's role or the lack of human rights afforded to most of the country's residents. The story appeared in yesterdays Scotsman, but hat tip to Graeme Littlejohn for spotting the Motion when it had been tabled ... Daily View 2×2: 11 March 2010. Good morning, and welcome to Daily View. Today is notable as the day before LDV's fascinating fringe event on how to make authoritarian MPs pay at the ballot box – do join us tomorrow in Birmingham to find out how. 302 years ago today, Queen Anne was the last British monarch to withhold Royal Assent from a bill of Parliament. In 1864, Sheffield saw a Great Flood when a dam under construction burst. The ensuing inundation wrecked a number of bridges, destroyed 800 houses and killed 270 people. People born on March 11th include Laurence Llewellyn Bowen, Harold Wilson and ... Let the Train take the ... Travellers from Skipton to Colne. The campaign for a rail link to be restored between Skipton and Colne certainly has my support. The Skipton to East Lancashire Railway Action Partnership (SELRAP) is leading the campaign. Many years ago my father used to advocate the revival of the ... Don't write off council collaboration because of one failed project. On Tuesday (9 March 2009), WalesOnline carried an article by Martin Shipton reporting on the collapse of a plan to develop a shared service of HR, payroll and training between local authorities in South East Wales. In my view, the main reason the project collapsed was because of a drive from certain quarters amongst the council officers involved to deliver one huge, exemplar project between all ten local authorities in South East Wales, even though the finances didn't particularly stack up. We should simply have never have tried to get one shared service up and running between nearly half the ... Earlier Stories Complete archive on the official site.
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