Libertarians: this means we need more guns
The Libertarian Alliance have responded to the Cumbria massacre rather earnestly haven’t they?
Their press release still cites five deaths (at the time of writing), so it must have been drafted pretty quickly.
Head-honcho Sean Gabb says:
This outrage will certainly bring calls from the police and other victim disarmament advocacy groups for further gun control. However, bearing in mind that civilian ownership of handguns was outlawed in the two Firearms Acts of 1997, we fail to see, unless the murder weapon was a shotgun, what there is left to be outlawed.
And then it becomes even more of a parody.
The Libertarian Alliance notes that these shootings would have been extremely difficult in a country where the people were allowed to arm themselves.
It’s pretty easy for citizens in the United States to arm themselves. That hasn’t stopped shootings though has it?
In the United States, at least one campus shooting was brought to a premature end by armed civilians.
That’s what you call serious evidence based decision making.
[Hat-tip Sunder Katwala at Next Left]
2010 could be warmest year ever, worldwide
New data from some of the world’s leading climate researchers and institutions suggest that 2010 is shaping up to be one of the warmest years ever recorded.
Scientists at the US National Snow and Ice Centre Data Centre (NSIDC) report today that Arctic sea ice – frozen seawater that floats on the ocean surface – is now at its lowest physical extent ever recorded for the time of year, suggesting that it is on course to break the previous record low set in 2007.
Satellite monitoring by the NSIDC in Boulder, Colorado, shows that the melting of sea ice has been unusually fast this year, with as much as 40,000 sq km now disappearing daily.
The melt season started almost a month later than normal at the end of March and is not expected to end until September.
Should the media temper its Cumbria murders coverage?
This was the video I was looking for earlier, made by Charlie Brooker for BBC4 Newswipe, not long after I heard about the shootings.
Isn’t there a danger similar here that excessive coverage might prompt copycat killers? I asked this earlier on Twitter and Mr_Onions replied:
I don’t think so. Our attitude to guns and our tight gun laws says different. Worst since Dunblane, though that was 14 yrs ago
I’m still not convinced. There are far too many studies that confirm this. The Guardian has a timeline of shootings (via SimonNRicketts).
Is Cameron backtracking on rape trials anonymity?
I’ve just watched Cameron’s first Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, where he said, when challenged by Harriet Harman over the proposals to grant anonymity to those accused of rape, that he “believed there was a case for it between arrest and charge.”
While I still don’t agree with the ConDem’s proposal, Cameron’s response appears to be a step back from the original “We will extend anonymity in rape cases to defendants” statement that was made a couple of weeks ago.
continue reading… »
Mail wrongly claims whites barred from job
A Daily Mail reporter writes:
A council has been accused of discrimination after white people were barred from applying for two £18,000-a-year jobs. Bristol City has created the management training posts for graduates in an effort to recruit more minority employees.
As a result the council will only accept applications from ethnic minorities for the two-year placements.
Except that barring people from applying for jobs on the basis of their race is illegal, and has been at least since the Race Relations Act 1976.
So what’s going on?
Blogger Five Chinese Crackers explains:
See where it says ‘management training posts’? A training post is not a job. It’s training. Once these people finish their training, they have to apply for the job on the open market.
In the 1976 Act, exceptions are made for training. If a particular group is under-represented in a particular area – and this includes white people – an employer can offer training to people from those groups to try to redress the balance.
The Mail does know this, because it explains in the very final sentence that “The Race Relations Act 1976 states that if a racial group is under-represented councils can offer training to individuals from that group.” And yet despite knowing that it is talking about avdertising a training programme and not a job, which would be illegal, the paper still tells its readers that white people cannot apply for jobs.
Isn’t that lying?
You could say that.
Update: The Telegraph have also run the same fatuous story. (via @Getlabourout)
Labour leaders should pledge to avoid raising student fees
Some time later this year, the Browne Review about higher education funding will report, and is expected to recommend that universities be allowed to increase the fees that they charge students.
I would be interested to know what the candidates for the Labour leadership think about this, as it presents a problem and an opportunity.
Until April 2010, it was reasonably clear what most politicians thought about this issue.
continue reading… »
Is Labour stitching it up for Ken Livingstone this time?
David Lammy, who was considering running for the Labour nomination for London Mayor in 2012, is instead to chair Ken Livingstone’s Mayoral campaign.
He makes the case for Ken in today’s Guardian, acknowledging that he considered whether to enter the race himself.
continue reading… »
LC attracted 130,000 unique visitors in May as left-wing blogs grow more broadly
I don’t make a habit of publishing our reader figures every month but I have to make an exception this time. I’m pleased to say May was the first time Liberal Conspiracy broke the 100,000 unique visitors a month mark.
The actual figure was 129,927 Absolute Unique Visitors for entire month, recording just over half a million page views (502,957). Both figures are measured by Google Analytics.
continue reading… »
Poll: voters not sure what Libdems stand for
Voters have delivered an ominous warning to the Liberal Democrats, with nearly two-thirds saying they are not clear what the party stands for since it went into coalition with the Conservatives.
A ComRes poll for The Independent found that public opinion is divided on the merits of the power-sharing deal between David Cameron and Nick Clegg, but that voters overwhelmingly back the replacement of the first-past-the-post electoral system.
By a margin of more than two to one – 65 per cent to 29 per cent – they agreed that it was “difficult to know what the Liberal Democrats stand for” following their entry into the coalition. The sentiment was shared by 56 per cent of the people who voted Liberal Democrat in last month’s general election.
There are signs that Mr Clegg’s party is suffering a backlash from its decision to go into office with the Tories. Only 78 per cent of people who voted Liberal Democrat last month said they would vote the same way if another election was held tomorrow; 17 per cent said they would support Labour instead.
Where will these think-tanks go from here?
ippr’s innovative co-director team Carey Oppenheim and Lisa Harker emailed the think-tanks’ friends and contacts on Thursday last week about their decision to step down in the near future:
Next week ippr begins the search for a new Director as we step down to pursue new challenges. With more than 10 years of service to ippr between us we retain great pride and affection for an organisation that continues to produce unrivalled policy research in pursuit of a more equal, democratic, sustainable world.
On the right, Centre for Social Justice executive director Phillippa Stroud has joined Iain Duncan Smith as special adviser at the Department of Work and Pensions.
I have yet to see any official announcement from Demos about Director Richard Reeves’ departing to advise Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg on political strategy.
continue reading… »
You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
» What do we want from the BBC?
» The coming crisis of Conservatism
» Others should follow the Cooperative in boycotting Israeli settlement goods
» What’s the point of these justifications for the ongoing war in Afghanistan?
» The alternative: why Greece should NOT abandon the Euro
» For Cameron, looking weak is a bigger problem than being unpopular
» Most women don’t need counselling before abortion, shows study
» With Caroline Lucas stepping down, how the Greens need to change
» Advertising Standards Authority vs Archbishop Cranmer
» The far left versus the far right: French election part deux
» Our mental health services are a mess; can Labour change it?
|
42 Comments 44 Comments 53 Comments 64 Comments 3 Comments 27 Comments 14 Comments 33 Comments 25 Comments 28 Comments |
|
LATEST COMMENTS » Shinsei1967 posted on The coming crisis of Conservatism » modernity's ghost posted on Others should follow the Cooperative in boycotting Israeli settlement goods » David Flisher posted on IDS facing defeat at the next election » xtofer posted on The coming crisis of Conservatism » Cylux posted on Why are gay marriage activists so silent compared to the US? » Kojak posted on Others should follow the Cooperative in boycotting Israeli settlement goods » Graham posted on The coming crisis of Conservatism » tigerdarwin posted on IDS facing defeat at the next election » andrew adams posted on Others should follow the Cooperative in boycotting Israeli settlement goods » Churm Rincewind posted on What do we want from the BBC? » flyingrodent posted on Others should follow the Cooperative in boycotting Israeli settlement goods » vimothy posted on Most women don't need counselling before abortion, shows study » IDS Parole posted on IDS facing defeat at the next election » damon posted on Others should follow the Cooperative in boycotting Israeli settlement goods » So Much For Subtlety posted on Students: help us demand accountability from University Vice-Chancellors |
