a Chris R. Tame Memorial Lecture
b Sean Gabb on BBC Radio 5
c Sean Gabb on the BBC TV Politics Show
d “Islam: Our Enemy?”
e “Does Britain Need a Libertarian Party?”
f Libertarian Party UK
g Newest issue of “The Individual”
h David Carr to Speak on 9th June 2008
i Additions to Botsford Archive
j Judith Hatton RIP
k Libertarian Alliance Website
NB – I will make further announcements in the next few days about the
Libertarian Alliance Conference in London this coming October, and about the
Libertarian International Conference in Warsaw this coming June.
a Chris R. Tame Memorial Lecture
On the 18th March 2008, Professor David Myddleton gave the first Chris R. Tame
Memorial Lecture on the subject of “slimming Down Government”. This was given
at the National Liberal Club in London, and was a great success.
You can read the text of his lecture at:
http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/persp/persp023.htm
http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/persp/persp023.pdf
You can see a video of the lecture at:
=====================
b Sean Gabb on BBC Radio 5
On the 3rd April 2008, I was on BBC Radio 5 to speak about whether we need
omnipresent CCTV surveillance. You can hear a recording of the broadcast here:
http://www.libertarian.co.uk/multimedia/2008-04-03-cctv-sig.mp3
=====================
c Sean Gabb on the BBC TV Politics Show
On the 13th April 2008, I was on the BBC 1 TV “Politics Show” to discuss
whether obesity should be a matter for government involvement. I sat in the
Shepherd’s Restaurant in Marsham Street for two and a half hours, going again
and again over the arguments, while the camera crew fussed with lighting and
angles. In the event, about 30 seconds of my contribution made it to the
broadcast. Such is television.
You can see the whole item here:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=7184782081070118038
I look no more than passably insane. But the undoubted star of the item is
Margaret Beckett. I once watched Joan Crawford do better, but I have never
seen a performance of such reptilian creepiness from a mere politician.
=====================
d “Islam: Our Enemy?”
On the 14th April 2008, I spoke to a Libertarian Alliance meeting on the
subject of “Islam: Our Enemy?” This was a well-attended event, and the
questions and comments at the end showed the diversity of libertarian thought
on Islam. You can see a partial video of the event here:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-1563061097162180649
=====================
e “Does Britain Need a Libertarian Party?”
In the past few days, we have published “Does Britain Need a Libertarian
Party?” by Marek Kleinwald. You can see it here:
http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/tactn/tactn031.htm
http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/tactn/tactn031.pdf
=====================
f Libertarian Party UK
This was a late entry for last year’s Chris R. Tame Memorial Prize, the winner
of which was announced at the last Libertarian Alliance conference. At the
conference, the LA Committee was confidently agreed that a Libertarian Party
would be a bad thing for British libertarianism. Little did we know that the
Libertarian Party UK was even then coming together. Here is a link to its
website: http://www.lpuk.org/
Please be aware that the LPUK is NOT a front organisation of the Libertarian
Alliance. It is inevitable that there should be an overlap of support for the
two organisations. It is also desirable that the leaderships of both should be
on good personal terms. But neither of us should be taken as speaking for the
other.
Tim Evans and I are still doubtful about the value of a Libertarian Party. We
also question its viability over the long term – political activism burns up
astonishing amounts of time and money. But a Libertarian Party now does exist,
and we wish it all the very best. Though we do not think we are wrong about
the value of a political party, we hope we are wrong.
=====================
g Newest issue of “The Individual”
The Society for Individual Freedom, which is a sister organisation of the
Libertarian Alliance, has published the latest issue of its journal, “The
Individual”. Its contents include:
Contrarian Thoughts from a Disabled Libertarian - Ziggy Encaoua
The Freedom of Information Act Two Years On - Robert Henderson
Libertarianism and Welfare: Is Charity Enough? - Richard Garner
The Battle for Liberty: More than Just "Europe" - Nigel Meek
This is well worth reading and is available for download at:
http://www.individualist.org.uk/pdf/2008aprilindiv.pdf.
You can find the SIF at:
http://www.individualist.org.uk
=====================
h David Carr to Speak on 9th June 2008
On Monday the 9th June 2008, David Carr, who is Legal Director of the
Libertarian Alliance, will speak to the Society for Individual Freedom on this
subject:
“Is loyalty to your country compatible with being a libertarian? And if you
are loyal, then what is it exactly that commands your loyalty? Or should
libertarians hold the entire idea in contempt and be truly internationalist?”
Time: 6:30pm, Monday 9th June 2008
Place: Westminster Arms
London SW1P 3AT (near Westminster Abbey and Parliament)
Admission: free
General enquiries:
chairman@individualist.org.uk
=====================
i Additions to Botsford Archive
I have just added the following three videos to the Botsford Archive:
Sydney Parker, talking in 1991 about Max Stirner
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5730960199635672149
Judy Englander, talking in 1991 about the libertarian vision
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6525699622048906979
Ron Miller talking in 1991 about socialism
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=2805696826833569274
You can see the whole of this most interesting archive at:
http://www.libertarian.co.uk/botsford.htm
=====================
j Judith Hatton RIP
It is with deep regret that I announce the death last Thursday the 10th April
2008 of Judith Hatton.
I knew Judith moderately well without ever knowing much about her. During the
years that we spent in conversation, I may have learnt that: she was a barmaid
in an Irish hotel in the 1930s; that she was a governess in Vienna at the time
of the Anschluss; that she worked on the German codes at Bletchley Park; that
she wrote two novels in the 1950s under an assumed name; that her husband was
murdered by the KGB. On the other hand, I may not have learnt any such thing.
Judith was always close about her own past, and would often seem to imply
without claiming anything. I do not even know how old she was when shed died.
If I am right in my suppositions about her earlier life, she must have been
over ninety. To be sure, she seemed very aged when I first met her in 1988.
What I can say is that she was for many years one of the most formidable
defenders in our Movement of the right to smoke. One of her last achievements,
indeed, was to advise the makers of the film Topsy Turvy on smoking
habits in Victorian England. Thanks to her, this already remarkable film is
drenched in alcohol, nicotine and other recreational drugs. She turned a film
about Gilbert and Sullivan into a window on how life was lived in a free
country.
In January 2007, Judith went into long term care in a religious home in
Kingston. My wife and I visited her several times there; and if diminished in
body, she remained unconquered in spirit. She was kind enough to read and
comment on two of my books before publication. I saw her last in October, when
I guessed she would not be long for this world. Even so, she eagerly accepted
the copy of Macaulay I had taken her, and we spoke about him several times on
the telephone.
Her death is to be lamented. However, bearing in mind its great length, and
its general richness, we ought much more to celebrate her life.
Here is a 10 minute video of her in action. I extracted this from something
much longer.
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5758505923397652562
=====================
k Libertarian Alliance Website
If you look at the main two political websites that I control –
http://www.libertarian.co.uk
http://www.seangabb.co.uk –
you will see much that I hope you will agree is admirable. Together, they
contain about five million words of text. These cover a wide range of issues,
and are made available in a simple and logical structure of web pages.
You will also see that, in terms of presentation and technical ability, these
two sites would disgrace many schoolboys. My problem is that I do not have the
time to learn how to improve them.
I was put in charge of our Web outreach by Chris R. Tame in the summer of
2000. He chose me because I had a basic knowledge of HTML, and because I was
likely to keep doing the job. He was worried that he might find someone else
to do a better job than I could do, but who would then go mad or fall out with
us or get married or emigrate to New Zealand. This would leave us with a mass
of coding that none of us understood. In the circumstance, I was the best
person for the job.
I repeat – I have not produced two very bad websites. But my web writing
skills have not advanced beyond the late 1990s. And, bearing in mind the size
and complexity of the sites as they now stand, I do not know where to begin. I
did acquire a copy of “Dreamweaver”. I even bought a book on how to use it.
But the book remains unopened, and the framesets of hand-coded HTML continue
to grow.
The time has come for our Web outreach to be improved. We need to look more
professional. I believe it is now possible to set up a series of templates,
and that content can then be poured into these and tags added so that the
material organises itself. If so, I want this for us. I also want to be able
to allow other Members of the LA Executive Committee to access our website.
This has not so far been possible, because of the need for consistency of
coding.
Without wishing to discuss its content, I do admire the technical skill behind
the website of the British National Party (http://www.bnp.org.uk).
I am told this was produced very simply and without much money.
So is there anyone out there who can help us do better than the BNP?
I do not think I am appealing here for money. What I want much more is advice
and assistance What we want will look good, and will be easily maintained by
us.