Archive for the 'politics' Category

Where is The Equator?

Today I ventured out of Quito with Margaret (who I met in Samara in my first language class) to find The Equator.
Armed with my Garmin GPS we took the public transport buses, 50 cents for a 30km journey, to Mitad del Mundo where the Equator was determined in 1736 and the nearby Museo Inti-Nan which [...]

Local lady makes good!

Congratulations to Boni for being recognised by the Queen and The Establishment,
Former News journalist Boni Sones, 54, of Fair Street, Cambridge,
is made an OBE for services to broadcasting and public relations.
Ms Sones, who helped set up BBC News 24, said: “I am absolutely thrilled
and tearful. There haven’t been many journalists who have been honoured [...]

Tale of two bridges..

Today was the official opening of the £3million pound Riverside Bridge in Cambridge, Partially funded by Tesco through a s106 agreement on its Newmarket Road store (All we know is that £1.7million came from 3rd party sources). Isn’t it crazy that the exact amounts are not easily publicly available and that it seems council policy [...]

Driving up standards at the OGC

Here is a twist on a proposed new logo (The current logo is here) designed at our expense, by the UK Office of Government Commerce.
The ones responsible , in their own words for “driving up standards” Very tasteful
Loads of great comments on The Register site. My favorite is “keeping a firm grip on government [...]

Medieval view of Cambridge..

Whilst at the planning office in the Guildhall today I couldn’t help but snap this view, about the only view in Cambridge not spoilt by modern developments. Ironically its the view the planners get on their way to work, if they use the stairs

Yes Minister in real life…

What ever would Humphrey in Yes Minister make about Post Office closures:-
“One of the organisations opining extensively on this issue (Post Office Closures) is Post Watch. And the way they talk, you imagine they are an independent consumer champion, particularly since that’s the way they’re introduced on the media. But in reality they’re not independent [...]

Local feeds

Really strange feeling when I’m reading my Google reader for a post to pop up that relates to my own street!
This now happens thanks to  PlanningAlerts.com This is a free service built by Richard Pope, Mikel Maron, Sam Smith, Duncan Parkes and Tom Hughes. The site is kindly hosted by [...]

Australia apologises

Here is the full text of the apology given by PM Kevin Rudd on behalf of the Australian government to the Aboriginals. The you tube video of him giving the speech is at http://youtube.com/watch?v=AtfMIJqQwPk
Text of PM Rudd’s ’sorry’ address
February 13, 2008 – 4:08PM
I move:
That today we honour the indigenous peoples of this land, the [...]

My Local MP in action…

So this is what we pay our MP’s to do:-
David Howarth (Cambridge, Liberal Democrat) Link to this | Hansard source
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am having some difficulty understanding how motion No. 1 on today’s Order Paper can be in order. It appears to have been made under Standing Order 15(2)(b), [...]