Recent Articles

Why Arab governments keep quiet about Iran

Obam has been widely criticised for his tardiness in openly backing the pro-Mousavi protests in Tehran, although on balance, STFU probably was the best course from a diplomatic point of view.

But as far as I know, not one Arab government has yet pronounced on the situation in Iran, either for or against. That strikes me as rather more interesting.
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The left needs to make a difference case for fairness

an article by Dan

There has been a lot of discussion of a new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on attitudes towards tackling economic inequality (at Directionless Bones, Left Luggage, Sunder Katwala on CiF, Don Paskini at Liberal Conspiracy, and David Osler). Quoting Alderson at Directionless Bones, one of the key findings of the report is:

People didn’t seem to endorse the idea of ‘equality’ as a general principle as much as they endorsed ‘fairness’.

This is a point that several of the posts linked to above considered, and there has been a feeling that the left needs to find a new way to promote their view of the world to people (which traditionally is based on equality).
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The faux-outrage over BBC expenses

As non-stories go, BBC executives claim hardly anything on expenses over five year period is a pretty high ranking one. Director-General claims for flight back to Britain to deal with manufactured newspaper scandal, as any other business would accept in an instant, creative director claims on insurance for stolen handbag, and a £100 bottle of champagne for someone regarded by many as a national treasure is about as weak as it gets.

To give an idea of just how removed these are from the MPs expenses, Radio 1′s controller Andy Parfitt claimed £340.43 on meals last year (PDF), the highest such claim. That’s £60 less than most MPs were claiming in a single month on food.
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Who’s trying to stop psychotherapy being regulated?

article by Zarathustra

Earlier this month the arts therapist Derek Gale was struck off by the Health Professions Council for an appalling litany of misconduct and abuse .

He touched patients inappropriately, discussed his sexual fantasies with them, called a patient a ‘cunt” and breached confidentiality by telling a therapy group about a patient’s self-harm. Despite being struck off, he was able to simply retitle himself as a psychotherapist and carry on practising.
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How Judge Eady went from press villain to hero

It’s not unusual for public figure to experience severe reversals of reputation, and the distance between “nation’s sweetheart” and “national disgrace” can be as short as a few column inches. But Lord Justice Eady’s recent rehabilitation in the eyes of the press is a remarkable one – for the swiftness with which some editors have shifted position, and for what it suggests about the future possibilities for scrutiny in the media.

Around the end of 2008, Eady was the most unpopular judge on the circuit as far as newspapers were concerned. His rulings on privacy –  including extending indefinite protection from publicity to Maxine Carr, preventing the exposure of an adulterous sports star, and most famously awarding hefty damages to Max Mosley when he sued the News of the World for publishing details of a private S&M session – seemed to get lambasted every time a tabloid editor made a speech.
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Is Michael Jackson still alive?

The answer is here. (via @tygerland). Sorry, couldn’t resist – this is all over my Twitter and Facebook feeds. As Leon said, at least Iranian leaders will rest easy from the media glare.
Funny Twitters as I get them below:
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Conservative Future force YouTube to pull video (updated)

What does Conservative Future have to hide? A new video by the free online magazine Don’t Panic, on CF, was forcibly pulled by the latter off YouTube “due to a copyright claim”.

(video now below)
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Why the EHRC should challenge the BNP’s membership rules

As has been widely reported, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has written to the British National Party and, according to its own press release, ‘demanded that the party address potential breaches related to its constitution and membership criteria, employment practices and provision of services to the public and constituents.’

It’s been suggested, by Joseph Harker, that such a move is almost certain to be counterproductive…

I’m all for taking action to counter these bigots – restricting the BNP’s ability to spread its message of hate and banning its members from public service roles such as teachers and police. But what would the commission’s course achieve? If the BNP wins the case, it gains masses of publicity, is able to claim it has seen off the PC brigade – and Nick Griffin’s smirk and his odious propaganda will be all over the media. If the commission wins, the BNP gains masses of publicity and can bemoan an oppressive PC brigade – and Nick Griffin’s smirk and his odious propaganda will be all over the media.

… while others (Hi, Matt), seem not to have quite understood the nuances of the EHRC’s challenge to the BNP’s membership criteria, not that the mainstream media have been much help in that respect and, admittedly, even the EHRC’s press release is far from clear in its explanation of the thinking behind this challenge. continue reading… »

Value for money Boris spends thousands on taxis

Whatever happened to London Mayor Boris Johnson’s bicycle?? Apparently he has spent over £4,698 in taxi bills since taking up his position, according to details published yesterday.

That enormous amount includes one bill for £237.50 to travel across two postcodes, from his former home in Furlong Road, N7 to Foxglove Close, N9.
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Today programme gives Dorries free ride over plot

The Today programme was accused of giving Tory MP Nadine Dorries a free ride on Tuesday regarding the new speaker John Bercow.

A reader wrote in to Liberal Conspiracy to say she had sent a complaint to the programme after John Humphrys interviewed Dorries on Tuesday. In his preamble to Vernon Bogdanor interview, just after his Nadine Dorries interview at the 8.10am slot, he said that there was talk of MPs wanting to unseat the new Speaker, but Nadine Dorries was “not part of that”.
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