#Vernon Bogdanor

[zmkccommonplace]

The task of the wise is to undo the damage done by the good.

Isaiah Berlin, as quoted by Vernon Bogdanor in his new book, Making the Weather

[xasha777]

In the fractured cosmos of the Andromedan spiral, the astral winds carried the legend of Axiara, the Emerald Enchantress of the Green Nebula. Once a guardian of the cosmic balance, Axiara had become a myth, whispered among starfarers and sung in the ballads of cybernetic minstrels.

Her skin was imbued with the life force of the Nebula, the emerald glow illuminating the darkness of space like the pulsing light of a quasar. Her eyes, as deep and green as the ancient forests of a thousand forgotten worlds, held within them the secrets of the universe. She adorned herself with the essence of the stars, her armor reflecting the golden light of dying suns.

Axiara's quest was eternal, as was her vigil over the fabric of spacetime. But the equilibrium was shattered when the enigmatic Vernon Bogdanor, a traveler from a reality untethered, emerged through a rift in the very fabric Axiara sought to protect. Bogdanor was a scholar from an alternate dimension, where he was a revered sage, his intellect dwarfing the quantum computers of Axiara's realm.

In his world, Bogdanor had theorized the existence of parallel universes, but never did he expect to find himself in one. Armed with knowledge yet powerless in this foreign cosmos, he sought the Emerald Enchantress, for in every story and every academic tome, her wisdom was unparalleled.

Their meeting was foretold by the Oracles of the Black Hole Congregate—a convergence of two beings that could either mend the tear in reality or doom all existence to oblivion. Together, they ventured through the galaxies, Axiara's mastery over cosmic energies complementing Bogdanor's boundless intellect.

As they journeyed, they encountered sentient comets that wept cosmic ice, nebulae that birthed new dimensions, and rogue planets that harbored ancient evils long dormant. Each challenge they faced, Axiara and Bogdanor grew in understanding of one another's worlds. She showed him the wonders and horrors of a universe alive with mystic forces, and he offered her insights into the laws that underpinned the very essence of her powers.

In the climax of their odyssey, they reached the heart of the disturbance—a singularity that threatened to devour the cosmos. Axiara channeled her nebular energies, her form shimmering with verdant light, while Bogdanor recalibrated the reality anchor, an arcane device that could seal the rift.

With the fate of multiple realities hanging in the balance, Axiara unleashed her power as Bogdanor activated the device. The singularity collapsed upon itself, sealing the breach. The cosmos held its breath as the fracture mended, and then, in an outburst of relief, the stars shone brighter than ever.

Axiara, the Emerald Enchantress, and Vernon Bogdanor, the accidental voyager, had saved existence itself. Their alliance, born of necessity, had grown into an unbreakable bond. Together, they would continue to watch over the cosmos, guardians of all realities, their story etched in the annals of the Andromedan spiral for eternity.

[llewelynpritch]

https://lnkd.in/ekn6mmPZ Share this thread      NOTE "The constitutional system of the EU ... is, by contrast with the British system of government, protected against the abuse of governmental power ... if 'taking back control means a return to the sovereignty of parliament, Brexit could easily become a paradise for an overweening executive." https://lnkd.in/eEKwGQzb  ‘Beyond Brexit Towards a British Constitution’ Vernon Bogdanor 7 February 2019

Overweening is a negative term meaning arrogant or excessive. People can be described as having overweening pride or overweening ambition. It's too much and not good. Confidence and pride are okay in moderation.

[anyoneknowwhatbrexitmeans]

What the hell are we doing? Or rather what is that bunch of incompetent, lying charlatans in so called charge, think they’re doing?

[cycas]

...people can also ride horses, carry swords, have electricity, running water and flushing toilets in the real world too...?

Thing is, if I go to Asda on a horse, the first thing people are going to ask is 'why?' and this is not an unreasonable question to ask about a world you are spending time in. (There are places where turning up somewhere on a horse is still fairly normal, of course. It's Asda and the horse together that provokes questions, since Asda only exists in a world with tarmac and lorries.)

Running water and flushing toilets are old technologies, if your location is rich/organised enough, of course it can have them! (Though you might want to describe them a bit, so that I'm envisaging something that feels like an exciting fantasy world, rather than a private en suite bathroom at a Premier Inn.)

If you have electricity though, I am going to wonder where it's coming from and how it's generated and maintained, in a world that doesn't have trains or metalled roads or lorries or factories that are intimately connected with my ability to turn on a light.

I mean, it could be magic, but if so, that in itself is interesting and potentially spectacular. What demon is trapped in the generator? Why is it that magic here uses a centralised generation system rather than on-the-spot spells? Where do the metal wires for carrying the current around the place come from? Are electricians magicians? The characters will have some idea of the answers to all of that, and it will shape how they think about stuff, just as my ability to boil a kettle without having to make a fire first shapes mine.

Or are the generators powered in some other way? Generating energy to do work using wind and water is a very old way of doing things, adding electricity to them could work of course, but will be visible, exactly as our own power stations and power lines and maintenance trucks are visible.

If you have electricity, but no electricity generation system or power lines or mines, and the metalworking otherwise is at the level of 'local blacksmith', that can feel like you couldn't be bothered to think it out and have papered some horses and swords over the top of the world you live in, and then awkwardly rubbed out the bits that you don't feel fit your aesthetic.

I mean, you can leave it to the reader to imagine the river's electricity-mill and its twelve stalwart workers that keep the paddles turning and the lights on, and their feud with the flour-mills (in summer when the river's low, would you rather have brown-outs or wait a few weeks for your flour? demands Master Much the Miller) but the world will feel a richer place if you at least give them a hint about it.

[castielsupernatural]

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"Politicians like to see themselves as shaping the future. Historians sometimes collude with them." - Vernon Bogdanor

(literally SORRY for having studied history and political science at the undergraduate and graduate levels)

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[paulinedorchester]

Contrasting views on dealing with Jew-hate

From The Jewish Chronicle, London:

At top, a link to "Why do people care about dead Jews more than the living ones? The only real lesson to be drawn from commemoration of dead Jews is that live Jews, like everybody else, should be allowed to live freely and without fear," by Vernon Bogdanor. Below that, one to "Being Jewish is about more than past suffering: Our habit of focusing on the dark side can overshadow our ability to celebrate thriving life," by Jennifer Lipman.

(I've had some back-and-forth with the Tumblr help desk about the formatting problem here. Apparently there's something in The JC's website that prevents Tumblr from creating a more visually engaging link.)

[themerrycourtier]

King George V - Professor Vernon Bogdanor: 3 of 6 in a series of lectures from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II. Gresham College. 

[duchessmegs]

Charlotte of Mad About Meghan has written a brilliant piece highlighting some of the topics we’ve all been discussing lately. From a ‘global’ royal family to foundations in the US, commercial partnerships, fundraising and overshadowing senior royals. It is extremely well researched and I recommend you all to read it!

An excerpt: 

“Prince Harry has been a global star all his life; his wife was always going to be under the spotlight. It is not the Sussexes' fault the media are obsessed with their every move. They are an asset to the monarchy and have carried out their roles with aplomb. From the day of their engagement, Meghan has thrown herself into her role, and she hasn't put a foot wrong. To chastise and tear her down because she's an intelligent woman who wants to succeed in this role is appalling and frankly sexist. Ambition is not a dirty word, especially when it's being channeled into a life of philanthropic dedication. The royals have a fantastic platform; they are uniquely placed to be in the position to help others and effect change. The fact they are being belittled for doing their jobs is truly baffling to me. We should unreservedly expect the very best from working members of the family.

The reality is the monarchy must modernise to survive and the Sussexes will play an important role in that modernisation. More from Vernon Bogdanor who famously wrote: "Monarchy has to adapt and evolve to survive. It can't be ahead of public opinion, but it can't be too far behind:

'In November 2005, Chris Mullin, the former editor of Tribune and then Labour MP, was invited to Clarence House where he heard the prince [Charles] speak "without notes, with passion and self-deprecating humour, holding our attention for a full 20 minutes. Always he comes back to the same point. How to widen the horizons of the young, especially the disaffected, the unlucky and even the malign … What influence he has he uses, sometimes to great effect, even at the risk of treading on official toes. It isn't just talk. His mentality is can-do – and he has a track record of achievement clearly visible for anyone who cares to look. Let he who has done more cast the first stone.'”

[nextwavefutures]

Breaking up with Brexit

Five reasons why Brexit is too complicated to deliver. New post.

There are at least five reasons why Brexit is too complex to deliver. The most likely outcome is a transition period that continues until the political demographics have changed.

The news that Labour has resolved its policy on Brexit is welcome for short-term, medium-term, and long-term reasons. It is also smart politics, because it is becoming increasingly clear that Brexit is too complex to…

[cathkaesque]

Diana Mary "Dido" Harding, Baroness Harding of Winscombe (born 9 November 1967)[2] is an English businesswoman. She is chairman of NHS Improvement [3] and former chief executive of the TalkTalk Group.[4]

Harding is the daughter of Lord Harding, and the grand-daughter of Field Marshal John Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton, who commanded the Desert Rats in World War II.[5] Raised on the family pig farm in Dorset [Calm down, David], she was educated at St Antony's Lewestonfrom 1978–85. She then graduated from the University of Oxford in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, where she studied under Vernon Bogdanor and alongside David Cameron;[2] and then at Harvard Business School, gaining an MBA.[6]

On graduation she joined the management consultancy McKinsey & Company.[7] Leaving to become marketing director at Thomas Cook Group, she was then appointed commercial director at Woolworths Group. She then joined Tesco within Sir Terry Leahy's office as international support director,[5] before being appointed commercial director of “added-value foods” in 2001.[6]

Resigning her position in October 2007, she joined the board of directors at Sainsbury's as convenience director. She was named CEO of TalkTalk in 2010, during the period when the group split its Carphone Warehouse retail operation from the group telecoms operation.[8] She was appointed as a non-executive director on The Court of The Bank of England in July 2014.[9] She has also served on the boards of British Land and Cheltenham Racecourse.

In October 2015, TalkTalk experienced a "significant and sustained cyber-attack", during which personal and banking details of up to four million customers is thought to have been accessed.[10] City A.M. described her responses as "naive", noting that early on when asked if the affected customer data was encrypted or not, she replied: "The awful truth is that I don’t know". Her "inflexible line" on termination fees was also criticised.[11] Marketing ran a headline, "TalkTalk boss Dido Harding's utter ignorance is a lesson to us all".[12] The Evening Standard noted that "It has been a tough week for TalkTalk boss Dido Harding, facing complaints from customers and calls for her head."[13]

In February 2017 Harding announced she would stand down after 7 years as CEO of TalkTalk in May 2017 to focus more on her public service activities.[14] She was appointed chair of NHS Improvement which is responsible for overseeing all NHS hospitals, comprising foundation trusts and NHS trusts, as well as independent providers that provide NHS-funded care in October 2017.

She was created a Conservative Life Peer on 15 September 2014, taking the title Baroness Harding of Winscombe, of Nether Compton in the County of Dorset.[15][16]

Hey why the fuck is the head of NHS Improvement someone with a title like “Baroness Harding of Winscombe”, the former chair of basically every single big capitalist firm, and being paid £6,842,000 presumably to tell the NHS how to give her mates more juicy contracts??

[anyoneknowwhatbrexitmeans]

No such thing as a soft Brexit. Where are we heading, does anyone know. These are all discussions we should have had and consequences we should have known about before the referendum.

[anglenews]

Vernon Bogdanor on the most turbulent of Speakers Read Here

[mhsn033]

Coronavirus: Dido Harding and her meteoric rise

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Baroness Harding rides to victory at a Goodwood charity trip

The series of Dido Harding to speed the UK’s unique public health agency cements her region as one in every of the most extremely efficient unelected officers fascinated by the fight against coronavirus.

As chair of the Nationwide Institute for Correctly being Safety, she is going to grab preserve watch over of a enormous scientific, technological and bureaucratic empire which ministers hope will play a truly grand role in indirectly defeating the virus.

As successfully as continuing to supervise the powerful-criticised NHS Test and Price machine, which she helped launch in May per chance well, she is going to lift accountability for all local public health security teams following the abolition of Public Correctly being England, as successfully because the Joint Biosecurity Centre.

It caps a meteoric upward thrust via the Whitehall ranks for the excessive-achieving businesswoman, whose time as chief executive of Talk about Talk about used to be marred by a massive files breach which landed the firm a fable £400,000 splendid.

A a success newbie jockey whose ardour for horses is shared by her boss, Correctly being Secretary Matt Hancock, she has an impeccable Conservative pedigree.

She is married to an ex-minister, John Penrose, and represents the Tories in the Condo of Lords. Her fleshy title is Baroness Harding of Winscombe, a reference to the village in her husband’s Western-Gigantic-Mare constituency where the couple are residing.

While the coronavirus outbreak has thrust the 52-One year-primitive into the national highlight – she has appeared a total lot of times at televised No. 10 briefings – she used to be already an influential backroom figure within the NHS.

Image copyright PA Media

Image caption Traditional appearances at No. 10 coronavirus briefings raised her profile

For the past three years, she has been chair of NHS Enchancment, a body first created in the Unusual Labour years however which used to be reconstituted by the coalition authorities to present attention to driving up standards all the plot in which via the health provider one day of a length of business austerity.

As someone who had spent the majority of her business profession in the retail business, starting up out at Kingfisher and Thomas Cook dinner earlier than shifting to Sainsbury’s and Tesco, she used to be viewed as being successfully positioned to profit power prolonged-timeframe transformation and integration whereas asserting affected person provider and security ranges.

Cyber attack

The appointment used to be no longer uncontroversial, given her lack of information in health issues and coming because it did correct six months after she stepped down as boss of Talk about Talk about in the wake of 1 in all the most excessive-profile and detrimental files breaches in UK telecoms historical past.

A sustained cyber attack in October 2015 ended in four million customers having their private files build at chance. Some 157,000 had their critical functions stolen, including 15,000 whose bank critical functions were compromised.

Her handling of the crisis used to be strongly criticised, seriously her admission that she did now not know whether or no longer the suggestions used to be encrypted or no longer, an oversight she described as an “unpleasant truth”.

The firm used to be fined £400,000 by the Data Commissioner for wretched online page security however the board stuck by her, in spite of the episode costing the firm £60m and 95,000 customers.

Image copyright PA

Image caption A spell as head of the telecoms firm resulted in controversy

It used to be a enormous blot on a hitherto unblemished blue-chip business profession, which had begun two a long time earlier when she joined administration consultants McKinsey & Co after graduating with an MBA from Harvard College.

Baroness Harding’s grandfather, Self-discipline Marshal John Harding, commanded the successfully-known Military division the Barren build Rats one day of World Battle Two. Her father used to be also an Military officer, as successfully as a hereditary witness.

Born and privately expert in Dorset, she studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford at the identical time as David Cameron. Every were taught by the prestigious constitutional historian Professor Vernon Bogdanor.

It used to be the historic top minister who nominated her for a peerage in 2014. And it used to be under Mr Cameron that her husband made it into authorities, serving as a culture minister and authorities whip.

Dido Harding blazed a slump for girls in the most regularly unforgiving world of the City. She is one in every of an exclusive club of girls to bask in speed a FTSE-100 firm, whereas she would possibly per chance per chance be a non-executive director of the Bank of England.

But since coming into public provider, some counsel she has benefited from a net based of professional, tutorial, social and marital connections which bask in reignited claims of cronyism at the stop of the Conservative Event.

Cheltenham winner

She is an achieved horsewoman, owner and patron of the horseracing business, one in every of whose finest supporters happens to be the health secretary.

Throughout her profession in the saddle, she used to be runner-up in a prestigious trip for amateurs at the Cheltenham Competition, whereas her horse Frosty Rupture of day won the Blue Riband match of the Nationwide Hunt season, the Gold Cup, in 1998.

Image copyright PA Media

Image caption Dido Harding’s horse Frosty Rupture of day won the 1998 Cheltenham Gold Cup

While Mr Hancock’s exploits on the racecourse are much less famed – he won a charity trip in 2012 – he represents the constituency of Newmarket, where the UK’s most costly bloodstock is stabled.

He’s the business’s unofficial champion in the Cabinet, despite the truth that some bask in raised eyebrows at donations he has obtained from powerful figures and companies in the sport, including equine auctioneers Tattersalls.

Questions bask in also raised in regards to the authorities’s plot to award Covid-19 testing contracts to Randox Laboratories, a part of the Randox Correctly being business which sponsors the Tremendous Nationwide at Aintree.

Every the racecourse and the firm bask in links with the Conservative Event.

Dido Harding sits on the board of the Jockey Membership, which owns Aintree, and the MP and historic Conservative cupboard minister Owen Paterson’s slack wife Rose used to be chair of the racecourse.

And Mr Paterson himself has been an adviser to Randox Laboratories since 2015.

Mr Hancock has been lavish in his praise of Baroness Harding one day of their appearances together at Downing Avenue, rejecting criticism of the delayed take a look at and tag app and even describing it because the “cherry on Dido’s cake”.

Every can seek files from intense scrutiny in the approaching months as Mr Hancock’s “relentless mission” to present protection to people from the virus and the belief he has positioned in Baroness Harding is build to the take a look at.

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[themerrycourtier]

The Queen at 90 by Professor Vernon Bogdanor FBA CBE. Several years old, but highly relevant as he discusses the Queen’s evolving roles in the UK and the Commonwealth. (In fact, you should probably watch the whole lecture series. It’s awesome.)