Owner: The Wardman Wire URL:http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/ Join Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:40:30 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Matt Wardman writes about British Politics, commentating from a centre right perspective. Special interest area: democratic process, whys, hows and wherefores of political blogging, culture, technology, freedom of information and the arts. Site statistics:Click here
All hyperlinks are now underlined on the Wardman Wire 2008-03-09 18:47:58 I had a couple of people who got lost looking for links yesterday (including the one I had left out by mistake), so I have swallowed the bitter design medicine and started underlining all the links. I don't like the appearance myself, but ease-of-use comes first.
I may make the underlinings slightly less intrusive by making them dotted (compare with the UK edition), and leaving underlinings of links on menus and in the sidebar - but I hope that you find that navigation is now easier (if less beautiful).
Tags: hyperlinks, design, blog design
[tags]hyperlinks, design, blog design[/tags]
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The worlds 50 most powerful blogs by the Observer. Use Eliza next time. 2008-03-09 09:46:56 It's Sunday, it's sunny and I'm at the computer typing because I'm grumpy.
This morning the Grobserver has another "top bloggers" list. This one is as self-absorbed as all the others, being a (drum roll, hold breath, straighten shoulders, salute the Grobserver) list of (taran-tara):
The world's 50 most powerful blogs
I hate this sort of list in the national media. Read more:Observer
Tucker Carlson on the British Media: Samantha Powers and Gerri Peev 2008-03-09 05:00:00 Via Iain Dale and the Spectator CoffeeHouse.
Obama adviser SamanthaPowers
confided to a Scotsman journalist that she regards Hillary Clinton as a monster. It was an on-the-record interview but after Powers misspoke she instructed Peev thats off the record.
There's been a bit of a dust-up. Read more:Tucker
, Carlson
, British
Daily News Roundup - 9th March 2008 2008-03-09 00:38:00 Here is today's roundup of stories.
Comment
Henry Porter (Comment is Free) - Why I told Parliament: you've failed us on liberty
After a celebrated two-year campaign to protect our freedoms, The Observer's Henry Porter was called last week to give evidence to a panel of peers and MPs assessing whether a Bill of Rights is necessary for Britain today. Here is his impassioned submission
Mail (Daily
Mail) - Cambridge University sex attack victim did NOT want fellow student punished
It took a jury just two-and-a-half hours to clear 23-year-old Cambridge University graduate Jack Gillett of sexually assaulting a fellow student after a night of drinking. She claimed that after they kissed he had repeatedly ignored her pleas to stop as he pulled off her clothes in his room and pinned her to the grou Read more:March
, Daily News
Website upgrade at the Sun as well? 2008-03-09 00:29:00 This is the current front page at the Sun:
The site is currently undergoing maintenance.
Sorry for any inconvenience, please come back in a little while.
Tags: the sun, under construction, site upgrade
[tags]the sun, under construction, site upgrade[/tags]more
Website upgrade at the Times Online? 2008-03-08 23:50:00 This is the current front page at the Times
Online:
Times Online has got the builders in. We've closed for a couple of hours to make some improvements to the site.
I wonder what is afoot? More later.
Tags: times online, under construction, site upgrade
[tags]times online, under construction, site upgrade[/tags]
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On The Stump with OurKingdom: bloggers debating policy every week 2008-03-08 14:56:00 I've been working with Jon Bright who edits the OurKingdom blog for a couple of months on a policy project that we are calling "The Stump
" or "On The Stump".
It is a rotating policy debate that moves around each week like the Britblog Roundup.
It works like this:
On Sunday "host for the week" Blogger A publishes an article about any issue or aspect of policy that they are interested in.
During the week anybody who wants to responds on their own blog and links back to the original post.
On the next Saturday Blogger B publishes a summary and analysis of the responses, including linking back to all those who responded.
On Sunday (i.e., the next day) Blogger B becomes the "host for the next week" and the cycle starts again.
This process prevents anyone having to do too much work continual Read more:bloggers
, every
Daily News Roundup - 7th March 2008 2008-03-08 11:00:00 To mention it once again, I continue - since the hyperlinks which they broke when they redesigned their website continue to be broken, and I have received no response to requests for them to sort it out. I have added this paragraph to the Daily
Roundup template.
Here is today's roundup of stories.
Comment
Jakob Illeborg (Comment is Free) - Danish doormats
The Swedes were supposedly wiping their feet all over Denmark - thanks to Ikea. But no one had checked the facts
Global Muslim networks - How far they have travelled (Economist)
A Turkish-based movement, which sounds more reasonable than most of its rivals, is vying to be recognised as the world's leading Muslim network
Clare Dyer (Guardian) - Medical tests after rape may be handed to NHS
Responsibility for the medical examination of r Read more:March
, Daily News
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Why do we require drugs to have fun? Touching Base 2008-03-08 08:00:00 GK Chesterton said a lot of profound things, here is one of them:
"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged.
They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.
But perhaps God is strong enough... It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again," to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again," to the moon.
It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.
It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."
W
Wanted: List of MP websites in a Spreadsheet 2008-03-08 03:55:00 Does anyone have a list of websites of current MPs in a spreadsheet, OPML file, or other easily-digestible form?
I'm trying to find the list for a (non-paying!) colleague who already has all the Labour ones, so I'm mainly after the others. Read more:Spreadsheet
He survived by gnawing one of his own legs off 2008-03-08 02:30:00 Via Guido:
Guido just received this via email. The perfect end to a perfect week for Clegg. Well it is late on a Friday night...
However, there is a quip worthy of the Tavern in the comments:
He is now known as Nick C - because he hasn't got a legg left to stand on....
I say no more, since I only have one source on this and that is Mr Fawkes...
Wrapping up
Just in case you're wondering: it's from Hitch Hiker. I somehow think most Lib Dems would know that already (for the record - that's a compliment).
Vogon poetry is widely accepted as the third worst in the Universe. The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a recitation by their Poet Master Grunthos the Flatulent of his poem "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning" four of his audienc
Musical Luddite of the Day: Rebecca Armstrong the Games Mistress 2008-03-07 16:44:00 Every so often a sequence of as few as 3 words grates like a screwdriver on a blackboard.
From the Independent's "computer games" column this week, by RebeccaArmstrong
the "GamesMistress
" in a review of "Patapon":
...you're the ruler of a bunch of winsome little warriors who can be manoeuvred through the beat of a tribal drum - but if you don't have pitch perfect rhythm...
Pitch perfect rhythm !!!!
Aaaaarrrrgggghhh !
Presumably her lingerie is perfectly aerodynamic, her cold tap is perfectly articulate, the cornflakes she had for breakfast are an excellent building material, and the tyres on her car are ideally flavoured to the correct degree of orangey tastiness.
This Games Mistress needs to be gently taught not to make category errors by the Belles of St Trinians (old and new versi Read more:Musical
Gorgeous George tries to be in two places at once: Galloping Galloway 2008-03-07 08:00:00 George hoped that a computer would help him vote in Parliament more than 11.1% of the time, while performing his own show on stage in a theatre at the same time .
It didn't seem to be working.
Inspired by Friday Lolcats meme.
Tags: george galloway mp, respect, bethnal green, stop the war
[tags]george galloway mp, respect, bethnal green, stop the war[/tags]more Read more:George
, tries
Save a Tree: Opt out of National Trust Mailings 2008-03-07 07:57:00 I'm a life member of the National
Trust. A highly recommended investment.
But there are three of us who are members in the household, so we get three sets of everything:
Handbook.
Magazine.
Regional Newsletter.
Puffs for Appeals.
Puffs for Third Parties allowed to use the list.
Puffs for god-knows-what-else.
Renewal reminders (does not apply to me).
And all the rest.
This morning I called them up and was able to opt out of everything, except for the things that matter such as the AGM mailing and Handbook.
They have a system where you can opt out of individual items. And I still get to see everything.
I reckon that will save a good chunk of tree each year.
The phone number you want is 0844 800 1895. You will also need your Membership Number or Post Code, and will need to satisfy them that
Open Thread (nearly): Seven ideas for Free-for-all Fridays. Suggestions please. 2008-03-07 05:50:00 I'm thinking about what type of posts would be best on the Wardman Wire on Fridays
Since we now have a (fairly) regular posting schedule for the rest of the week, I'm tempted to look for a way of making Fridays less organised, and perhaps give an opportunity for a range of guests to post. The chaos will come out somewhere, so it might as well be somewhere expected...
I have come up with some suggestions, but would welcome any comments you might have. Read more:Thread
, Seven
, ideas
An EU Referendum 2008-03-07 03:01:27 The Thunderdragon's "We The People" column this week is about the EU Referendum
(or lack thereof).
He posts on a Thursday evening every couple of weeks, a time which has a habit of missing most of the visitors - so we are starting to put a plug in on Friday morning.
Tags: Thunderdragon, We The People
[tags]Thunderdragon, We The People[/tags]
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Daily News Roundup - 7th March 2008 2008-03-07 01:49:00 Here is today's roundup of stories.
Comment
Nick Cohen (Comment is Free) - The awful squeal of fundamentalism
Authoritarians seeking to extend repression have always drawn innocents into manufactured crises. None was more innocent than Jacques Barrot, who, in 2005, helped trigger a wave of death when he entered the Frrench annual pig squealing contest at the Pyrenean village of Trie-sur-Base.
Economist (Economist) - New Russia president - The name is Dmitry
His record is more mixed. A lawyer from St Petersburg, Mr Medvedev has been by Mr Putin's side for most of his professional life, even running his presidential campaign. In 2000, when Mr Putin became president, his protg became his deputy chief of staff, and later a deputy prime minister.
NYT (NYT) - The Office as Architectural Touchsto Read more:Daily
, March
, Daily News
An EU Referendum: We The People 2008-03-06 11:19:10 As the news informs us that MPs have decided not to allow us a democratic vote on the Lisbon Treaty...
The European Union and related issues is a topic that causes great schisms across most parties, one that is usually widest across the Conservative party, but recently it is the Lib Dems who have been most split by it, primarily over what we should have a referendum on, the "Libson Treaty" or EU membership itself.
Referendum
s and Democracy
Referendums are a form of direct democracy, whereby we the people answer a yes-or-no question on a subject of importance. In some countries, such as Switzerland, referendums are standard events. In others, such as here in the UK, they really aren't. After all, we have had only one referendum ever. Which just happened to be on entry to what is now the EU
Wardman Wire Mobile Version : An Experiment 2008-03-12 16:12:00 If you visit there is a version of the Wardman Wire formatted for mobile phone use.
I'd be interested in your comments on whether it works on different devices.
To create this version, I have used a service called Mowser that simply reprocesses your RSS feed. Read more:Mobile
, Experiment
The Church Times it Hath a Blog: Review 2008-03-12 12:00:00 Yaaay! or Grooooccchhhh! depending on your attitude.
Here.
Here's what it is about:
Welcome to the ChurchTimes
blog. A 'blog', for those mystified by the term, is widely regarded as 'a website where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order' (Wikipedia). The Church Times blog will be written and drawn by Dave Walker and will feature cartoons, commentary and links.
The RSS feed is here.
It should also (unless Dave Walker has lost his touch) be both engaging and amusing. I like the cups of coffee on the bloggeration machine.
Worth tracking, as it may end up being used for breaking News Stories, as a complement to the website and reaching a different audience.
Wordpress it ain't - rather they are displaying creative use of their website-management system - but the only
Civil Service blog code: Existing Civil Service Code will suffice: Civil Serf 2008-03-12 09:20:00 Tom Watson has picked up on my proposed Guidelines for Civil
Servants:
Matt Wardman has a different take on the issue. Hes saying theres no need for any guidelines. For Matt, the civil service code will suffice. Id be interested to know if current blogging civil servants think that code provides the clarity you need to blog sensibly without fear that youre doing something wrong.
I'm arguing for a strongly minimalist approach:
99.9% of Civil Servants are sensible and professional people of integrity.
Civil Serf is an exception in not behaving professionally.
Exception control for the 0.1% in this case should be by disciplinary action of the 0.1% under the Civil Service
Code, not by creating guidelines for the 99.9%.
Blogging guidelines are only an unnecessary result of a need to be seen to
Blondes, Trivia and Housework: Joke of the Day 2008-03-12 03:30:00 A blonde joke this week.
From the Adam Smith Institute blog.
"A blonde was playing Trivia
l Pursuit one night.
It was her turn, she rolled the dice and she landed on "Science & Nature".
Her question was, "If you are in a vacuum and someone calls your name, can you hear it?"
She thought for a time and then asked, "Is it on or off?"
And there will be a blond joke next week. Read more:Blondes
, Housework
A New Code of Conduct for Civil Servant Bloggers: Civil Serf 2008-03-11 19:20:00 Over at Tom Watson's blog, there's an article and a good conversation going on in the comments - concerning what guidance should be developed for Civil
Servant bloggers.
Tom suggests something short and sharp in 12 points:
1. Write as yourself
2. Own your own content
3. Be nice
4. Keep secrets
5. No anonymous comments
6. Remember the civil service code
7. Got a problem? Talk to your boss
8. Stop it if we say so
9. Be the authority in your specialist field " provide worthwhile information
10. Think about consequences
11. Media interest? Tell your boss
12. Correct your own mistakes
This article argues for a minimalist approach. Read more:Conduct
Highlighting Journalistic Howlers 2008-03-11 14:57:20 I think I will start a category for mistakes by journalists to highlight some of the errors we have in the national press.
That way, when the next drive by blog denouncer comes past waffling about bloggers and pyjamas there will be evidence to hand.
How to Blog about your employer: let me count the ways: Civil Serf 2008-03-11 10:00:00 There are 7 ways I can think of to blog about your employer:
Don't
Persuade them to let you.
Be anonymous, but not anonymous enough.
Ask, and risk a "no".
Be anonymous and notorious.
Do it as part of your job.
Employ yourself.
In this article I describe each option, and my assessment of the pros and cons - where they occur.
If you do blog about your employer, any option (except number one) should make your life more "interesting", for a time at least. Read more:Civil
, count
The Budget Speech on Twitter 2008-03-11 07:26:00 Via Twitter
:
Mick Fealty of Slugger O'Toole and Brassneck is going to Twitter the key points from the budget speech tomorrow, starting at 12:30pm. As he puts it (in 140 characters or less):
I'm planning to twitter the UK budget from 12.30 tomorrow... then do a wrap on Brassneck.
You can sign up to receive the updates here by following Mick's twitter channel, but you may first need to get a Twitter account at the Twitter website home page. Read more:Speech
Short Interview with Petite Anglaise :Civil Serf 2008-03-11 05:45:00 This is a short segment about the Civil
Serf blog imbroglio from The World Tonight on BBC Radio 4, an interview with Catherine Sanderson, who wrote the Petite
Anglaise blog about her life in Paris - which cost her her job.
Catherine Sanderson makes some perceptive comments: for totally pseudonymous blogging your content must be as anonymous as your name, and the devil is in the detail.
The segment is 4 minutes. Read more:Short
Britblog Roundup #160 - 11th March 2008 2008-03-11 04:58:00 Is over at Amused Cynicism - short but tasty.
The roundup is a compendium of last week's outstanding posts in the British Blogosphere.
Tags: britblog roundup, britblog
[tags]britblog roundup, britblog[/tags]
more Read more:March
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