News you might have missed: May 2015

From shocking election results to a fake barrister, and marriage equality across Europe to a non-scientist Science minister...

Here's the news you might have missed in May... 

Fancy a language podcast that's not afraid to swear? Listen to Lexicon Valley!

I subscribe to a large number of podcasts and try to keep up by listening to some during my journey to and from work. Reviews of other podcasts I listen to can be found here.

Slate Magazine is one of my regular reads and so when they started podcasting I was keen to listen. Slate now produces a large number of podcasts covering a wide-range of subjects. I don't intend to review them all but want to highlight some of my favourites. I have reviewed the Culture Gabfest but now want to look at Lexicon Valley...

Want informed yet engaging conversations about culture? Listen to the Slate Culture Gabfest

I subscribe to a large number of podcasts and try to keep up by listening to some during my journey to and from work. Reviews of other podcasts I listen to can be found here.

Slate Magazine is one of my regular reads and so when they started podcasting I was keen to listen. Slate now produces a large number of podcasts covering a wide-range of subjects. I don't intend to review them all but want to highlight some of my favourites and so will start with the Culture Gabfest.

News you might have missed - February 2014

From young Prime Ministers to protests in Venezuela, celebrities coming out and dog brain scans, also with ABBA outfits and rugby thighs for entertainment.

Here's the news you might have missed in the last month... 

Listen to Left, Right and Center - Balanced American political discussion is possible!

I subscribe to a large number of podcasts and try to keep up by listening to some during my journey to and from work. Reviews of other podcasts i listen to can be found here.

Most of the podcasts i listen to are politics-related (like most posts on this blog) and Left, Right and Center is no exception!

As someone that likes to listen to both sides of an argument and then making up my own mind, a show that describes itself as a "civilized yet provocative antidote to the screaming talking heads that dominate political debate" was always going to appeal to me - and it does.

The podcast is a 30 minute (never enough!) public radio show, produced weekly by KCRW in California. It normally covers about three topics and ends with each host having a mini rant on the topic of their choice.

It is moderated by Matt Miller, representing the centre. He is a Democrat and and worked in the Clinton White House but is willing to criticise the Democrats and the Republicans. I like his evidence-based what-works approach to policies (as that is generally my approach to things!). 

Bob Scheer is the voice of the left. His passion is clear and he is able to draw on his personal history of political reporting from all over the world. He has his hobby horses (normally banking regulations or lack thereof) but they are normally relevant to the discussion.

When i started listening , the voice of the right was Tony Blankley. He was an articulate advocate for conservative politics. Unfortunately he died from cancer in 2012. Since then, the show has had various guest hosts representing the right. One of the more frequent ones is Rich Lowry. Given i am a centre-left englishman, his politics were never going to be my cup of tea but i appreciate his ability to criticise President Obama for every action he does or does not do.

The show regularly has special guests, providing a fourth voice. Originally this role was mainly filled by Arianna Huffington whose politics had moved from right to left and then somewhere in between over the last 20 years. The show has a good record of finding interesting people to fill this fourth role, although they do tend to slant more on the left than on the right.

I have previously compared the House of Comments podcast to this show. This is clearly a professional produced radio show compared to the amateur British version. However both shows generally succeed in getting a range of political views expressed and challenged without voices being raised (too much).

In summary, if you are interested in american politics but dislike politicians just ranting at each other, this this is a good place to start.

iTunes
Website
Hosts: 
Matt Miller: Website Twitter
Bob Scheer: Website Twitter,
Rich Lowry: Twitter, 

Gay marriage in 2013 - A reflection

It's the season to look back (and forward). Last year i posted Five Equal Marriage predictions for 2013 and the world has definitely moved on - so how did i do...

1. Equal marriage will be passed in England and Wales
The big vote in the House of Commons on the Marriage (Same Sex) Couples Bill was on it's third reading in May - a vote won by 366 votes to 161 votes. The bill then progressed to the House of Lords. A wrecking amendment was defeated in June and finally approved the bill in July. Royal Assent was soon granted and the bill became law. Not surprisingly I was pleased. It was recently announced that same-sex weddings will take place from 29 March 2014 although it is still not clear when civil partnerships will be able to be upgraded.

Score - 1 for me!

2. Equal marriage will be passed in Scotland
Scotland has been lagging a bit behind England and Wales. A proposed draft bill was published in December 2012 for consultation. The actual draft bill was published in June and reviewed by a committee in September before being approved by them in November.There are still more stages to go through but the signs are looking good.

Score - 1/2 (for now)

3. Equal marriage will not be passed in Northern Ireland
Whilst the Marriage (Same Sex) Couples Bill only covered England and Wales, MPs from Northern Ireland (and Scotland) could vote on it. Only two MPs from Northern Ireland voted in favour of it, whilst nine voted against and two did not vote. This set the scene for a vote in April in the Northern Ireland Assembly on a motion calling for legislation to allow same-sex marriage in the province. The vote was lost by 53 votes to 42 (with all the unionists voting against, the nationalists in favour and the Alliance party split). The Northern Ireland Equality Commission has declared that it supports equal marriage but i doubt that the politicians will change their minds.

There has been some progress on other areas of gay equality in Northern Ireland with the condemnation of the irrational lifetime ban on blood donation by gay men and lifting of a ban on adoption by gay (and unmarried) couples. I hope that equal marriage will eventually come to Northern Ireland, but i fear that that will be in many years.

Score - 1 (Unfortunately!)

4. Equal marriage will be passed in more countries around the world, but not the USA as a whole
The USA Supreme Court will be reviewing two gay-related cases in 2013 - one against the Defence of Marriage Act and one against Proposition 8. I'm no lawyer (and not American) but i expect the Defence of Marriage Act will be struck down, recognising that marriage is a state issue in the USA and therefore the federal government should recognise same-sex marriages if the relevant state does. The Prop 8 case is more complicated. I strongly doubt that the Supreme Court would rule that there is a nation-wide constitutional right to equal marriage. I expect that there will be a compromise so that equal marriage becomes legal in California but not automatically anywhere else.
During 2013 Brazil, France, Uruguay, and New Zealand legalised same-sex marriage. In the USA, back in June the Supreme Court first of all struck down part of the Defence of Marriage Act and then ruled that the proponents of Prop 8 had no right to appeal an appeal court decision allowing equal marriage in California (but only California). During 2013, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, and Utah (temporarily) all legalised same-sex marriage. So now 17 states (and the District of Columbia) has legalised same-sex marriage - good progress!

Score - 1 for me

5. Equal marriage will not mean the end of: the world/religious liberty/the right to criticise
OK so this was me being sarcastic but it true that the world is still here and the universal declaration of human rights still includes the right of freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

Score - 1 

Result - 4 1/2 out of 5 - Woop woop!

It's time for Cher

Image from her website

In light of Cher posting her campest video yet, i thought i would post some of my favourite Cher songs/videos.

First of all, here's that camp extravaganza... (and the song isn't too bad)

Two images of Cher come immediately to mind. The first is her 1980s image, sat astride a cannon, wearing leather, surrounded by sailors (insert your own innuendo here)

The second is her 1960's image, very much the hippy chick

As my clubbing days peaked in the late 90s and early 00s, the Cher song i have probably danced to most is "Believe"

Other 1990's songs i like include "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in his kiss)" and "Walking in Memphis" - both covers but also definitive versions...

And to finish, last month Cher was on the Graham Norton Show recently where she was praised by Jennifer Saunders and then sang - great TV...

News you might have missed - October 2013

Political

The Case for Canamerica
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/10/03/the_case_for_canamerica_canada_america_merger?wp_login_redirect=0

The case for Canada and the USA becoming one country... Intriguing!

Plymouth lollipop man resigns over high-five council row
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-24516676

It's health and safety gone mad...

Tristram Hunt rules himself out of ever being a minister in a coalition or minority government
http://markreckons.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/tristram-hunt-rules-himself-out-of-ever.html

LGBT

Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman Probably Had Sex Once
http://the-toast.net/2013/09/17/oscar-wilde-and-walt-whitman-did-it/

When Oscar met Walt...

When Amazon Went to War With Lesbians

http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2013/10/21/amazon_com_versus_amazon_bookstore_the_1999_legal_tussle_was_rancorous.html

Linkbait headline but still interesting...

UK Supreme Court rejects Northern Ireland Health Minister’s appeal against gay adoption
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/10/22/uk-supreme-court-rejects-northern-ireland-health-ministers-appeal-against-gay-adoption/

Good

Sussex head teacher takes a stand against bullies who use ‘gay’ as derogatory insult
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/10/26/sussex-head-teacher-takes-a-stand-against-bullies-who-use-gay-as-derogatory-insult/

Why is this news? Surely all schools should be doing this...

Irish Deputy Prime Minister promises equal marriage referendum by 2015
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/10/28/irish-deputy-prime-minister-promises-equal-marriage-referendum-by-2015/

Sounds good...

Mathew Hulbert meets...Stephen Donnan (Convener of the LGBT group in the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland)

http://lgbt.co.uk/interviews/531-mathew-hulbert-meets-stephen-donnan

An interesting Q&A

Entertainment

Boy Meets World Cast Reunites On The Pages Of Entertainment Weekly
http://perezhilton.com/2013-10-17-boy-meets-world-entertainment-weekly-reunion-reunited-original-cast#sthash.YuZo5d9u.gbpl

Boy Meets World cast reunite...

I Can't Keep It Covered Up Any Longer!
http://www.erinboag.com/boagsblog/i-cant-keep-it-covered-up-any-longer

More strictly news...

The Great British Bake Off: why did our show attract so much vitriol? http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/22/great-british-bake-off-ruby-dandoh

Ruby fights back...

'Murder, She Wrote' Reboot in the Works at NBC With Octavia Spencer
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/murder-she-wrote-reboot-works-650632

Was bound to happen sooner or later...

X-Men: Days Of Future Past Trailer Lands
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=39207

Looks great

Science

How not to run a women in science campaign
http://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2013/oct/14/science-policy-women

Danielle Lee called an "urban whore": How Scientific American bungled the racist, sexist incident.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/10/14/danielle_lee_called_an_urban_whore_how_scientific_american_bungled_the_racist.html

Not the reaction i would have hoped for...

Sexual assault and drinking: Teach women the connection.
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/10/sexual_assault_and_drinking_teach_women_the_connection.html

Good advice (and not victim blaming)

Northampton

Restoration of Delapre Abbey secures Heritage Lottery Fund investment
http://www.northampton.gov.uk/news/article/1695/restoration_of_delapre_abbey_secures_heritage_lottery_fund_investment

Good news

And finally…

29 People Who Make You Proud To Be British
http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/29-true-british-heroes

There are some modern classics here - Hooty McOwlface!

Interested in genealogy? Listen to the Genealogy Guys!

I subscribe to a large number of podcasts and try to keep up by listening to some during my journey to and from work. Review of other podcasts i listen to can be found here.

Most of the podcasts i listen to are politics-related (like most posts on this blog) but i do listen to some others and one of my favourites is the Genealogy Guys podcast.

Website: http://www.genealogyguys.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Genealogy-Guys-Podcast/38852105568

I have been interest in genealogy for as long as i can remember. I have gone through periods of active research (getting lots of certificates etc.) and periods of inactivity. I do have my own genealogy blog (Jon's Family Tree) which i should really update again! Even when i've not been particularly active, i have wanted to stay relatively up to date and the Genealogy Guys podcast helps me do that.

Presented by George G Morgan and Drew Smith, this monthly-ish hour-long podcast should be required listening to anyone interested in genealogy. Each show generally starts with news (normally press-releases from a wide range of sources). The rest of the show is normally responding to listeners' email and that is when the hosts expertise shows. Both authors have published numerous genealogy books (some are available in the UK here) and their passion is clear when you listen to them. There is an understandable focus on America (I first heard about the War of 1812 on their show despite it being a war between Britain and America!) and genealogy resources available to americans, the actual genealogy information referred to is global (reflecting the global roots of american citizens). They regularly mention genealogy news from the UK (including from the National Archives) and events like Who Do You Think You Are Live (which i really want to go to again).

There have been a number of special episodes, consisting of interviews between Drew and a range of other genealogy experts, normally recorded at various conferences. Those episodes exposed me to a range of people and resources that i didn't know about but ultimately expanded the people i follow on twitter and who's blogs i read.

Despite each episode containing news, old episodes can be just as informative and useful to any genealogy researcher.

In summary, I like the subject, the hosts and the contents of this show. I only wish that they would produce more episodes!

Recommendation: Essential for anyone interested in genealogy

Five Equal Marriage predictions for 2013

It is the season to look back and look ahead. Here are some equal marriage-related predictions for 2013...

1. Equal marriage will be passed in England and Wales
The UK government recently announced that civil marriage would be opened to same-sex couples and that religions (except for the established Church of England) would be able to opt-in to also offer equal marriage. Even with all three major political parties having a free vote, i expect that this will pass the House of Commons with a clear majority. The House of Lords may be a problem but this has become a high profile government policy and so should be passed.


2. Equal marriage will be passed in Scotland
Marriage is a devolved issue and the Scottish government is also consulting on a draft Marriage & Civil Partnership bill. Equal marriage is supported by all the parties in the Scottish parliament (as long as religions are not forced to marry people they don't want to) so i also expect this to go through (probably quicker than for England and Wales as it does not have to go through the House of Lords).

3. Equal marriage will not be passed in Northern Ireland
Marriage is also devolved to Northern Ireland. There are civil partnerships in Northern Ireland as they were passed before the issue was devolved. A motion in favour of equal marriage was rejected in September 2012, with only the Greens and Sinn Fein in favour. The Alliance party has made some progress on the issue but unless the DUP changes its policy, i can't see equal marriage being passed for a very long time. The chair of the campaign for marriage equality in Northern Ireland has said that one future possibility is judicially forcing the recognition of same-sex marriages registered in the rest of the UK (but that won't be until 2014 at the earliest). 

4. Equal marriage will be passed in more countries around the world, but not the USA as a whole
There have been promising developments in Uruguay and TaiwanTaiwan, and also in states in Mexico and the USA. The USA Supreme Court will be reviewing two gay-related cases in 2013 - one against the Defence of Marriage Act and one against Proposition 8. I'm no lawyer (and not American) but i expect the Defence of Marriage Act will be struck down, recognising that marriage is a state issue in the USA and therefore the federal government should recognise same-sex marriages if the relevant state does. The Prop 8 case is more complicated. I strongly doubt that the Supreme Court would rule that there is a nation-wide constitutional right to equal marriage. I expect that there will be a compromise so that equal marriage becomes legal in California but not automatically anywhere else.

5. Equal marriage will not mean the end of: the world/religious liberty/the right to criticise
Since 2001, same-sex marriage has been legalised in eleven countries (Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden) and several sub-national jurisdictions (parts of Brazil,Mexico and the United States). The world has not ended. Religious organisations in those countries have not been banned. Citizens still have freedom of speech. Yes forms have been updated. Yes I'm sure children are now taught that same-sex marriage exists. Yes the definition of marriage has changed but that has happened multiple times. Before equal marriage, current marriage law is clearly different to biblical marriage law (as the infographic below shows).

US Presidential election debates - Lessons for the UK

First a disclaimer, the US is not the UK. US politics is different to UK politics. The electorate, electoral system and electoral history are different. Presidential elections are not the same as parliamentary elections. Having said that, here's some thoughts...

The general consensus was that Romney won the first debate (while Obama was practically asleep) but then the remaining two debates were either slim Obama leads or a draw. There was some correlation between the debates and movements in opinion polls but it is very hard to link winning a debate with winning an election. I think a key lesson is how the debates clearly framed the election as a two-horse race (Romney and Obama) rather than exposing voters to the range of parties with presidential candidates standing. Both the Libertarians and Greens were on the ballots in most states but not in the debates. One of my favourite podcasts, Democracy Now, created some election debate specials "Expanding the Debate" where they paused the broadcast debates to let the additional candidates contribute at the appropriate points - an interesting approach to take (although it meant that the debates were even longer!).

As far as the UK goes, the 2010 debates were between the top three parties (although there were additional Scottish and Welsh versions). The simple fact of having Nick Clegg having an equal platform as Gordon Brown and David Cameron, clearly raised his profile and lifted the party in the opinion polls (if not ultimately votes).

A key question for the 2015 debates will be whether to include UKIP (especially if they are polling similar to the Lib Dems and standing in most constituencies). Clearly the Tory's wouldn't want it but Labour and the Lib Dems would (as long as the Greens weren't also given a platform). I expect that UKIP will do well in the 2014 Euro elections so i think it will be very hard to excluded them from the 2015 debates. The negotiations will be interesting...

Read this... Random election news

Brazil candidate 'handed out cocaine with election leaflets'

World of Warcraft hobby sparks US political row

Podcasts i like: Democracy Now - News with a blatant American left-wing slant

I subscribe to a large number of podcasts and try to keep up by listening to some during my journey to and from work. "Democracy Now" is one of those that i regularly listen to.

Website: http://www.democracynow.org/Twitter: https://twitter.com/democracynow

Democracy Now is a daily american news programme, broadcast on radio and various TV channels. It is normally one hour long. It starts with a news round-up and then normally has 3-4 longer items, normally interviews. It is proudly independent of the big US media companies and covers stories of people affected by the US - mainly the rest of the american continent but also globally. The show clearly has a pro-worker, pro-women, pro-democrats, pro-gay rights, pro-choice, pro-immigration agenda that is rarely challenged.


Quite frankly, i do not have time to listen to five one-hour shows a week, but i do make an effort to listen to the news section, find out what the other items are, and then choose to listen to them or not - the benefits of listening to a podcast.

The show is hosed by Amy Goodman, supported by Juan Gonzalez - both respected reporters. Amy's interviewing style is not to start with a question but instead to say "Talk about..." - an approach which differs from most UK journalists but seems quite effective.

The show proudly talks about giving a voice to those excluded by the big media companies such as workers, activists and foreigners. They produced numerous stories about the Occupy movement, from the indignados in Spain (who arguably launched the movement) to the heights of Occupy Wall Street and now reflections on what will happen next. Each time they try to get the views of those that are actually involved, not just government spokespeople. 

The people on the roundtable debates on the show do not tend to have huge ideological differences but they are given time to make arguments, not just present soundbites.

The show is obviously made by Americans, for Americans, so it is always amusing when the cover a British story. They find a stream of Guardian journalists (or Johann Hari before his fall from grace) or a random Labour MP, who then makes lots of points about how the British people will rise up to overthrow the evil Coalition government/Rupert Murdoch/multinational companies. Not the view of a majority of the country, but i guess representative of the views of some vocal left-wing minority group.

Recommendation: A good sources of American/global news stories that don't normally make it to the UK.

Previous podcasts i like:
Broadcasting House - What podcasting was made for!

Read this... on Todd Akin, rape and US politics

An TV interview by a relatively obscure US Senate candidate launched days to discussion, argument and debate about rape.

A report on the interview with Rep. Todd Akin can be found at: 

Rep. Todd Akin: No pregnancy from 'legitimate rape'

Talking about conception following a rape, Rep Akin said "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something, I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child."

The Atlantic reported on How Often Does Rape Lead to Pregnancy? 

The Slate Double X gabfest (The P90X Edition) discussed the situation. As did the Slate Political Gabfest (The Legitimate/Forcible Gabfest). Their general consensus was that Akin was quoting bad science and was being punished by the Republican establishment for articulating the actual beliefs of the Republican party.


The Republican platform can be read here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/28/read-the-full-republican-platform/

The text includes the following:
Faithful to the “self-evident” truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.

This basically means that the party is completely anti-abortion (with no exception for rape or incest).


The 2012 Democratic platform has yet to be finalised.
The 2008 platform can be found here:http://www.democrats.org/about/party_platform
The text includes the following:

The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.



I do not want citizens from other countries telling me how to vote, so i try not to tell citizens of other countries how to vote. However it is clear that if US citizens vote on economic grounds, there will be social implications.