Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
This week
Monday, discussion on Somaliland and Horn of Africa with Lulu Todd and Ahmed Ibrahim.
Tuesday, President Khama's meeting in the Grand Committee Room. I told him that his father Seretse Khama and I were freshmen together at Balliol in 1945. Then, initiated a motion to disapprove the Immigration Rules changes. Support for postponing the changes from all sides of the House, but the Tories wouldn't vote with us, though David Cameron had an identical motion, not debated, in the Commons. As a result, the changes come into effect tomorrow, halting research programmes in the universities and PCTs.
Wednesday, a presentation by the General Teaching Council to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gypsies and Travellers in the morning and in the afternoon, fielded a Queston on the processing of visa applications from Sri Lanka and the Maldives, then spoke in the debate on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The session was prorogued at 20.00, giving us a few days off until the new session begins on
December 3.
Today, meeting with two leaders of the United Resistance Front of Darfur, which brings together all the parties except the faction of the JEM that mounted an armed attack on Khartoum, supposedly at the behest of Chad as a reprisal for attacks by Sudan on their capital, Njamena, and SLA Unity, with whom there is a partnership agreement.
The Sudanese Initiative, a semi-official organisation, are recommending that Khartoum off a Vice-Presidency of Sudan to the peope of Khartoum; that comp[ensation be paid for the damage and loss of life caused over the last five years of conflict; that all detainees held by both ides be released, and that Darfur should be reunified. This would lay the ground for the new UN Special Envoy and Chief Mediator, Jilal Bassole of Burkina Faso, to convene a meeting between the parties with a view to a permanent ceasefire and political agreement. Mr Bassole is due in London within the next few weeks, and in the Queen's Speech foreign affairs debate next Wednesday I will have an opportunity of asking the Minister, Lord Malloch-Brown, what contribution the UK can make to the peace process.
Tomorrow, to Oxford for a meeting of the Maurice Lubbock Memorial Fund. Over the weekend and next Monday, I rather hope I'll be able to catch up on the paperwork, which has accumulated in several nasty piles!
Tuesday, President Khama's meeting in the Grand Committee Room. I told him that his father Seretse Khama and I were freshmen together at Balliol in 1945. Then, initiated a motion to disapprove the Immigration Rules changes. Support for postponing the changes from all sides of the House, but the Tories wouldn't vote with us, though David Cameron had an identical motion, not debated, in the Commons. As a result, the changes come into effect tomorrow, halting research programmes in the universities and PCTs.
Wednesday, a presentation by the General Teaching Council to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gypsies and Travellers in the morning and in the afternoon, fielded a Queston on the processing of visa applications from Sri Lanka and the Maldives, then spoke in the debate on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The session was prorogued at 20.00, giving us a few days off until the new session begins on
December 3.
Today, meeting with two leaders of the United Resistance Front of Darfur, which brings together all the parties except the faction of the JEM that mounted an armed attack on Khartoum, supposedly at the behest of Chad as a reprisal for attacks by Sudan on their capital, Njamena, and SLA Unity, with whom there is a partnership agreement.
The Sudanese Initiative, a semi-official organisation, are recommending that Khartoum off a Vice-Presidency of Sudan to the peope of Khartoum; that comp[ensation be paid for the damage and loss of life caused over the last five years of conflict; that all detainees held by both ides be released, and that Darfur should be reunified. This would lay the ground for the new UN Special Envoy and Chief Mediator, Jilal Bassole of Burkina Faso, to convene a meeting between the parties with a view to a permanent ceasefire and political agreement. Mr Bassole is due in London within the next few weeks, and in the Queen's Speech foreign affairs debate next Wednesday I will have an opportunity of asking the Minister, Lord Malloch-Brown, what contribution the UK can make to the peace process.
Tomorrow, to Oxford for a meeting of the Maurice Lubbock Memorial Fund. Over the weekend and next Monday, I rather hope I'll be able to catch up on the paperwork, which has accumulated in several nasty piles!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
This week
Since Maurice returned to New Zealand the Friday before last its been nose to the grindstone.
Monday, Matt Lister and Philip Malpass of Constellation came to lunch, at which the discussion centred round the use of cheap wines as loss leaders by supermarkets, which I intend to pursue.
Then fielded Sue Miller's question on the Government's plan to create a vast database of all mobile telephone calls and intermet accesses, since reported to have been dropped from the Queen's Speech.
In the evening we had a rehash of the US Presidential election over dinner, with Phil Krone, who was staying overnight, JW, returned from Denver that morning, and his friend Mark, who had been mainly in Augusta.
Tuesday the Eritrean Ambassador came to lunch at the House. I fielded a question by George Foulkes on countries with visa-free access for visitors to the UK. Then tea with Shadia Syed, who is returning to Bangladesh to present English-languade news bulletins on TV.
Wednesday, to the London Resource Centre in Holloway Road to give the keynote speech at the Irish Travellers' Movement Conference. Then back to the House to field the Bishop of Liverpool's question on drugs in prisons. Tried also to get in on the next question on indeterminate sentences but was beaten by the clock. Then to a hearing of the All-Party Alcohol Harm Group, questioning experts on the measures now available and changes they would like to see. In the evening, to the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP) 15th Anniversary celebration dinner (I'm their President).
Thursday, meeting with Rosemary Burnett of the Guatenala Solidarity Network, and Iduvina Hernandez, Executive Director of the Association for the Study and Promotion of Security in a Democracy (SEDEM), a Guatemalan NGO that promotes reform of the Guatemalan state intelligence services. SEDEM documents threats and intimidation against journalists and human rights defenders, and issues reports on the remilitarization of Guatemalan society, the need for civilian control over internal security, and presidential campaign financing.
In the evening, presided at the launch of a book on the Kurds, commissioned by Delfina Entrecanales of the Delfina Foundation for the KHRP at the SW1 Gallery. Mark Muller and Mark Thomas auctioned framed copies of some of the photographs used in the book and raised £5,000! I bought one, of the two Kurdish leaders Jalal Talabani (now President of Iraq) and Massoud Barzani, taken in 1991.
Saturday, at the Stockwell YMCA - a very attractive building, newly decorated - for the Peru Support Group's 15th Anniversary Conference and AGM (I'm President)
Monday, Matt Lister and Philip Malpass of Constellation came to lunch, at which the discussion centred round the use of cheap wines as loss leaders by supermarkets, which I intend to pursue.
Then fielded Sue Miller's question on the Government's plan to create a vast database of all mobile telephone calls and intermet accesses, since reported to have been dropped from the Queen's Speech.
In the evening we had a rehash of the US Presidential election over dinner, with Phil Krone, who was staying overnight, JW, returned from Denver that morning, and his friend Mark, who had been mainly in Augusta.
Tuesday the Eritrean Ambassador came to lunch at the House. I fielded a question by George Foulkes on countries with visa-free access for visitors to the UK. Then tea with Shadia Syed, who is returning to Bangladesh to present English-languade news bulletins on TV.
Wednesday, to the London Resource Centre in Holloway Road to give the keynote speech at the Irish Travellers' Movement Conference. Then back to the House to field the Bishop of Liverpool's question on drugs in prisons. Tried also to get in on the next question on indeterminate sentences but was beaten by the clock. Then to a hearing of the All-Party Alcohol Harm Group, questioning experts on the measures now available and changes they would like to see. In the evening, to the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP) 15th Anniversary celebration dinner (I'm their President).
Thursday, meeting with Rosemary Burnett of the Guatenala Solidarity Network, and Iduvina Hernandez, Executive Director of the Association for the Study and Promotion of Security in a Democracy (SEDEM), a Guatemalan NGO that promotes reform of the Guatemalan state intelligence services. SEDEM documents threats and intimidation against journalists and human rights defenders, and issues reports on the remilitarization of Guatemalan society, the need for civilian control over internal security, and presidential campaign financing.
In the evening, presided at the launch of a book on the Kurds, commissioned by Delfina Entrecanales of the Delfina Foundation for the KHRP at the SW1 Gallery. Mark Muller and Mark Thomas auctioned framed copies of some of the photographs used in the book and raised £5,000! I bought one, of the two Kurdish leaders Jalal Talabani (now President of Iraq) and Massoud Barzani, taken in 1991.
Saturday, at the Stockwell YMCA - a very attractive building, newly decorated - for the Peru Support Group's 15th Anniversary Conference and AGM (I'm President)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Aortic Aneurysm
This is the recent scan of my aortic aneurysm, a bulge in the aorta somewhere in the abdomen. As long as it doesn't get any bigger than 5 cm its harmless, and this scan showed that it was the same diameter as a year ago. For more information on Aortic aneurysms see:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aortic_aneurysm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aortic_aneurysm
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Remembrance Day
We lunched at Wellington Barracks at the kind invitation of David Saunders and his wife. I served with him in Wuppertal-Elberfeld in 1950-51, when I was doing my national service - and it was great to see him again after all those years, as well as to enter Wellington Barracks for the first time since 1950. HRH Prince Charles attended the lunch and we had the honour of meeting him. The service in the Guards Chapel was very moving, and the music wonderful. Then I marched with other former offoicers to Horseguards where we marched past Prince Charles.
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