Top Stories and Blog Review – 29th Sept
Tories
City must share blame – Osborne
Brown’s had his boom, now he’s bust says Cameron
It’s not policies that the Tories need, but a bit of gravitas
Tories: £20bn 180mph rail link instead of 3rd H’row runway
Elsewhere
UK: Tests for drugs in tap water
Bailout bill day of reckoning
Banks rattled by rescue
Olmert: Israel must quit East Jerusalem and Golan
DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Jennie Rigg
Plenty of comment on the Bradford and Bingley situation: Stephen Glenn reports a conversation between Senor Bradford and Senor Bingley; Chicken Yoghurt has productive suggestions for buy-to-let landlords; Jonny Nexus has no sympathy for small shareholders; Nich Starling has some regulatory suggestions for Gordon; Anton Vowl comments in his usual, inimitable, style; even So Very Doomed have picked up on it…
RM, a native New Yorker, has an open letter to Sarah Palin, telling her to stop using 9/11 as a political football.
Jonathan Calder has some suggestions for the Tories on how to conduct their conference.
Charles Darwin, meanwhile, has been casting a rheumy Victorian eye over the Labour party conference.
Live Science points out scientific proof that immigration reduces crime rates. Commenters pick holes with anecdotal “evidence” and no sense of irony.
Amused Cynicism has a retort for those who think that whatever Labour do, the Tories will be worse.
Liberal Harpie muses on the lack of male primary school teachers.
Charlotte Gore, champion of the underdog, sticks up for smokers.
Top Stories and Blog Review – 28th Sept
Elsewhere
Vaz under pressure over 28-day query
Tories plan to create 5,000 new schools
Breakthrough Reached in Negotiations on Bailout
McCain and Team Have Many Ties to Gambling Industry
DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Jennie Rigg
James Graham has been to Labour Conference and found it wanting.
Liberal England discusses the picture of Ed Balls in Nazi uniform.
Junkfood Science reports on the “success” of BMI assessment of children. My own daughter took part in the UK pilot of this recently…
Peter Black is stunned to discover that some dodgy folk have been contributing to Tory coffers.
Showbiz: Chicken Yoghurt’s tribute to Paul Newman; and Spirit of 1976 has the trailer for the new biopic of Dubya.
Cookery: This Little Piggy Went To Market has been making cookies; and organic box company Farmaround has a fine selection of vegetarian recipes for you to choose from.
(if you’re wondering why we have a showbiz and cookery section now, click here)
And if that’s not enough links for you, Scepticisle has more.
Why Labour Voters Ought to Think Again
Yeah, I figured that headline would get the attention of some of you. Cory Doctorow has posted what it’s like to be on the sharp end of Labour’s current policies. Because I know that some of you won’t be arsed to click the link, I’m going to copy and paste.
Earlier this year, I married my British fiancée and switched my visa status from “Highly Skilled Migrant” to “Spouse.” This wasn’t optional: Jacqui Smith, the British Home Secretary, had unilaterally (and on 24 hours’ notice) changed the rules for Highly Skilled Migrants to require a university degree, sending hundreds of long-term, productive residents of the UK away (my immigration lawyers had a client who employed over 100 Britons, had fathered two British children, and was nonetheless forced to leave the country, leaving the 100 jobless). Smith took this decision over howls of protests from the House of Lords and Parliament, who repeatedly sued her to change the rule back, winning victory after victory, but Smith kept on appealing (at tax-payer expense) until the High Court finally ordered her to relent (too late for me, alas). continue reading… »
Lib Dem Party Presidency – Three to Choose From
Just to pause among all the posts about Labour at the moment: nominations closed today for the Lib Dem party presidency, and (as reported on the beeb and LDV) three candidates have gone forward to the next stage: Baroness Ros Scott, Lembit Opik, and Chandila Fernando.
Top Stories and Blog Review – 22nd Sept
Brown plans crackdown on world markets
British Airways suspends flights to Pakistan
Dems say they won’t get fooled again
Radical Shift for Goldman and Morgan
DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Jennie Rigg
To Miss With Love has a rather discomfiting post on racism in schools.
Chicken Yoghurt agrees with Jack Straw. No, really. Click it, honest, he does.
Peter Black discusses public attitudes to the Welsh Assembly.
A Lanson Boy has been “recycling” old cars.
Caron is joining a fair tips campaign. As a barmaid (whose boss is shocked and disgusted that anyone would even think of taking tips from the staff) I applaud this.
And for those of you who still need one, Duncan Borrowman has updated the code for the “I’m 4 Ros” blog button.
Top Stories and Blog Review – 15th Sept
Elsewhere
Ministers fuel talk of anti-Brown challenge
Has Palin’s attacks on the media worked?
Lehman CEO Fuld’s hubris contributed to meltdown
Obama supporters ready for fight
DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Jennie Rigg
Lib Dem Conference Special!
There is something of a theme to today’s review, and house style has gone completely out of the window. Sorry Sunny. If you get me a media pass for next conference so I don’t have to spend 12 hour days stewarding to attend… 
The main event of Conference so far was obviously the blog awards, of which LDV has an audio recording. Alix Mortimer won pretty much everything, and deservedly so (creepcreepcrawl). She only just managed to make the awards, though, due to being caught up in the XL thing… I still say the Elephant wuz robbed.
Ros Scott’s presidential campaign continues unabated. Although not everybody is happy about it. Rumours that Lembit Opik is throwing his hat into the ring seem true, as he was handing out Ipik Opik stickers. Have run out of “I’m 4 Ros” badges…
There have been a series of blogger interviews, none of which I have attended because I have been working 12 hour days. Did I mention I have been working 12 hour days? James Graham didn’t get to attend one of them either.
Oh, and because we are an inclusive and liberal party, David Lammy and Charles Clarke have attended conference to speak. And not to defect. As I at first thought when they arrived at the Marriot with Proper Security and glared at me lest I dare ask them for passes. No, Sunny, I wasn’t MEAN to David Lammy. I gave him my best winsome smile.
You can follow the conference gossip on Lib Dem Blogs, or, more likely, Lib Dem Tweets.
And now I must go and stand on the door of the Marriot again. If yer name’s not down, yer not comin’ in. Sadly, Iain Dale’s name IS down…
Sarah Palin, the Feminist
Loath as I am to bring up Sarah Palin’s feminist credentials again so soon after the last episode, I have to report that she is such a strong feminist and so determined to deal with the issues affecting women, that if they have been raped she thinks it’s a good idea to charge them $1200 to have the evidence collected.
Lest we think that she is merely doing this out of fiscal concern for the state, lets not forget that this is the same Sarah Palin who claims travel and meal expenses for herself and her family to stay at home…
Now, I know that men get raped too. I don’t know if THEY get charged $1200 for evidence collection or not. What I do know is that this is something which is punishing the victims of a crime to push the stats down (which poor person is going to report a rape if they know it will cost them $1200?) and those victims are disproportionately women.
Whatever your definition of feminism, surely it can’t be argued that THIS fits it?
E-Campaigning: Ros Scott is doing it right
Those of you (I would guess the majority of you) who are not Lib Dems might be wondering what Ros Scott’s campaign to become party president has to do with anyone outside the party. Well, listen closely, because you are about to find out how a baroness who was, well, not exactly a household name just last year got to a position where she looks to be a shoo-in for a position which generally entails at least a LITTLE handbags at dawn in the election.
Top Stories and Blog Review – September 1st 2008
Elsewhere
Global warming: ‘extreme action’ required
2 million flee hurricane Gustav
Indian flood victims face food shortages
Russia claims sphere of influence
DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Jennie Rigg
Steph Ashley has news of a special offer from the Joseph Rowntree Trust: if you donate to No2ID, the trust will double your money.
GinaSketch, in the light of Gustav, blogs about how previous hurricanes have affected her and her loved ones.
Obsidian Wings reports that the Republicans didn’t vet Palin before selection. Hat tip: Amused Cynicism who has views; similar views eloquently expressed in graphic form by Dr. Beren (with extra points for BSG geekery).
The Support Hicham Yezza Blog reports on the consequences for academic freedom of Hich’s plight.
Peter Black AM reports on something that those of us with postgraduate degrees who work in pubs are already fully aware of.
Anton Vowl is pleasantly surprised by comments on the Daily Mail website. No, honestly, he is.
And finally, Scans Daily has a 1970s Incredible Hulk story which might be of interest to the feminists among us. I LOLed.
Easy Like a Sunday Morning
Steph Ashley has a fantastic post on the politics of sexuality and how people judge you by the labels you apply to yourself (and I’m not just saying that because she links me in it).
Amireal has a project with the potential to be HUGE: convince the MSM that sci-fi fandom is not exclusively white, male, and under 30. Over 500 comments on one blog entry is pretty impressive… I suspect the message will be heard but not listened to by those it is aimed at, since we still have to deal with the canard that women don’t blog, though.
My Very Prestigious Blog of the Year Awards have reached their final phase. Go and vote for who should be the overall winner!
Our very own Aaron has an interesting video on the creeping police state we are enduring. How much further is it going to creep, I wonder?
Tyrell points and laughs at the Daily Fail for their story that 50,000 are women abandoning church every year as Buffy the Vampire Slayer turns them on to witchcraft.
Amused Cynicism has a pair of Great Tits.
And if that isn’t enough links for you, both Septicisle and Mat have more.
Ernest Borgnine has the secret to eternal youth.
Voting is Open in my Very Prestigious Blog Awards. If you haven’t got a LiveJournal account there’s a tutorial here to logging in to LJ with Open ID (which is ridiculously easy) so that you can vote. One of the nominees has got so excited that she’s gone and delivered an email gauntlet to fellow-nominee Wil Wheaton, which is only adding to the entertainment value as far as I am concerned…
The Heretic considers the impact that the Georgia situation will have on fuel supplies in the Peak Oil group blog.
Steph Ashley is a bit annoyed about the expenses claims made by some Welsh Assembly members.
Our Kingdom continue to examine possible post-Brown futures for Labour.
Political Betting report on some interesting comments made by dear Mr Cameron. Is the mask slipping?
Dreaming of Simplicity looks at the relationship between NICE and the drug companies.
Alex Wilcock has picked out his best posts and ALMOST managed to restrict himself to ten.
And finally, Sexual Intelligence celebrates Ernest Borgnine. Depending on your boss’s sense of humour, this may be NSFW.
The Something of Boris. The song’s in my head…
Steph Ashley is mega mega mega excited about the Lib Dem conference agenda. No, seriously, she is.
Amused Cynicism has spotted the government breaking their own laws. Hands up anyone who is surprised? … Anyone?
Smash Boredom eviscerates Julie Burchill in the Powerswitch group blog.
Junkfood Science discusses spurious correlations and the media reporting of them.
In the light of our unprecedented Olympic successes (and the inevitable attempt by New Labour to claim credit), Charlie Stross has come up with a new Olympic Sport which we Brits can’t fail to be world-beaters at, just in time for London 2012.
And if that’s not enough links for you, SepticIsle has more.
Shiny Shiny Awards For Some, Not For All – UPDATED!
Absolutely not in imitation of anyone else at all, I am holding a Very Prestigious Blog Awards with a silly nickname. Do please come and nominate your favourites – anonymous comments are enabled, so you don’t even have to log in!
The Hugo Awards’s winners have been announced. Congrats to the winners and commiserations to the losers.
Douglas Johnson points out that the left didn’t abandon Blair in disgust because of who he was – they abandoned him because he consistently failed to cater to their demands (on Scribo Ergo Sum).
Amused Cynicism is keeping up his coverage of the Georgia situation admirably. I agree with Pickwick’s rather pithy WTF, Russia?
Jonny Wright considers the possibility of a British Bill of Rights.
Junkfood Science reports that The Fat Police are becoming a reality.
Feminist SF has a very long and detailed dissection of Orson Scott Card’s religiously-informed views on Same Sex Marriage.
Hullfire is at the Edinburgh Festival. Her first review is interesting, if sweary, and doubtless the others will follow in the same pattern.
And finally, if you’re hungry for more links, there’s a goldmine in the International Blog Against Racism Week Blog. Keep it in your diary for next year.
Late Addition: Caroline Lucas interviewed in the Indy with regard to goings-on at Kingsnorth
SEX! And American Elections and Climate Change and a smattering of the Olympics
Sexual Intelligence wonders why anyone cares who John Edwards slept with? I share his mystiication.
Kiji Kat has an open letter to John McCain.
The Daily (maybe) has been monitoring goings on at Kingsnorth.
Douglas Johnson has a horrible new colour scheme post incredulous at some of the comments on Pickled Politics about the goings on at Kingsnorth
Political Betting wonders if Miller Band could be Labour’s Nick Clegg.
Same Difference has a shocking tale of institutionalised discrimination in Canada.
Newsarama has discovered that the more the politics of comics writing changes, the more it stays the same.
And finally, Minnesattva’s other half has made up a song about Richard Dawkins. It’s very catchy.
Pride (in the name of Belfast)
Patrick Corrigan blogs about Belfast Pride. It’s great to see the Belfast politisphere overtly disowning Iris Robinson and her homophobia. Given that NI is one of the most homophobic places in Europe it’s not a minute too soon; although the linked study shows that we on the mainland have much work to do too. Perhaps signing this petition would be a start?
The Honourable Lady Mark Valladares has spotted some dodgy journalism in the Grauniad. There’s an interesting troll in the comments too, displaying all the hallmarks of conversational terrorism.
A Lanson Boy reports on the latest Tory finger-wagging. Apparently “Lad mags” encourage irresponsible behaviour among young men and promote a negative image of women, so instead of providing an alternative, the Tories want to tell people off for “reading” them.
Irony alert: in which I prove how sick I am of hearing about Iain Dale by posting about Iain Dale. YAY for unbridled ranting when half-asleep and nicotine deprived! Still, the results of the poll at the bottom are interesting. You’ll need to get your open IDs out, to vote and/or see the results, folks.
Stephen Fry has cross-posted the latest Dork Talk to his blog.
And finally, if there’s anybody out there not sick of Batman debate yet, Kevin Williamson didn’t like it one bit. And has some rather choice epithets to apply to those who did.
Casting the net: I made it before noon!
Penny Red has a fantastic post on the objectification of women dehumanising us all. I’d caution that even those of us who refuse to “pluck, shave, starve, bleach, shop, polish, powder and wax” still get stared at, and occasionally groped. though. Refusing to engage in expected behaviour is not an automatic protectant against unwanted attention…
Required Reading: The Orwell Diaries, serialised in the form of a blog. Posting in earnest starts on the Ninth of August.
Irony Alert: Amused Cynicism has designed a satirical Beijing Olympics T-shirt, only to have the design vetoed by the people he chose to print it, who are based in the Land of The Free.
Brad Hicks is unsurprised that the anthrax scare in the US was engineered by a mad scientist at AMRIID.
PC Bloggs is unsurprised to be marked as spam.
UK Polling Report and Political Betting both report on a depressing ICM poll for the Lib Dems.
You’ll all be glad to hear that Joe Otten still aten’t dead. I certainly am, since he was the first person to add me on facebook specifically because he was a fanboy of my blog (more have followed, but you never forget your first fanboy )
And finally, there’s still one night of the weekend left, so if you’re planning on going out, you might find this handy guide to what the words on club flyers really mean useful. I LOLed.
RIP Lord Russell-Johnston of Minginish
The main news today is that Lib Dem Peer Lord Russell-Johnston of Minginish passed away last night. Here are a couple of blog reactions: Ros Scott; Stephen Glenn; Duncan Borrowman; Jonathan Fryer.
John Prescott has discovered that there’s this thing called the intertubes, and on it people do something called “blogging”.
Andrew Rilstone discusses the political implications of farting aliens, and Steve Bell, and Yes Minister. Absolutely reccommended.
Pink Dog (who is definitely not male) has uncovered more shocking stuff about Spoon Crime.
Amused Cynicism discusses the prospect of Scottish Independence.
And finally, something I was directed to by a friend: Life With Aspergers is written by an Aspie man and is very useful for understanding the mindset of people with Asperger’s Syndrome. The linked entry is from April, and is about how Aspies deal with love and other intense emotions, but the whole blog is very interesting.
Bumper Sunday Morning Netcast
Because everyone in the world has been to see The Dark Knight this weekend, I was expecting the intertubes to be quiet aside from reviews… How wrong was I?
James Grieves picks a fight with feminists. I think he has a good point, but I didn’t see it for a while because the red mist descended due to his patronising and condescending tone. Perhaps both sides in this debate could do with trying to preach to the opposition instead of the choir?
Dreaming of Simplicity wonders why Labour gives out special favours to groups which fund other parties?
Prolific Diarist talks about Veganism and her political reasons for adopting it.
SmashBoredom has done the maths on the Climate Change Bill and found the lacuna.
Jonathan Calder discusses the “if you wear a short skirt you’re asking for it” attitude to crimes other than rape, and especially David Cameron’s bicycle.
Lizbee has some tips for aspiring authors – political or otherwise – from the viewpoint of a bookseller.
Septicisle’s review of the weekend papers is worth a glance, especially the Torygraph link..
And finally, don’t forget to listen to the Doctor Who Prom which I am listening to as I type (see also here, here, here, and here)
Here Go MY chances of ever being Blog of the Year…
Iain Dale wants your votes for political blog of the year. I’d be very amused if nobody at all voted, but there’s little chance of that, and I’d probably be more amused if lots of liberal and leftie blogs made it into his charts. Vote Mortimer! Of course, for your vote to be eligible, it has to be for a blog that’s already on the TP blogroll. You can submit blogs to the blogroll here.
Pee Zed Tee, meanwhile, has reviewed La Dale’s Total Politics magazine, and found it high on gloss, but light on meaningful content, and slightly parochial. How Cameronesque…
Political Betting deconstruct the idea that Gordon is better off than John Major was at a comparable point in the parliament.
Rhythmaning reviews Channel 4’s documentary on The Qu’ran.
Adrian Sanders MP has news and comment on the MP’s expenses saga.
James Grieves indulges in some churchly point-and-laugh at Scribo Ergo Sum.
If Tuesday is Soylent Green Day, is Sunday Hangover Day?
Spirit of 1976 has found a secret video exposing the Gay Agenda to Take Over the World.
Steph Ashley can’t understand why everyone quotes Iain Dale as if his views actually matter. I share her mystification on this.
Alix Mortimer compares Lib Dem and Tory campaign slogans and (surprisingly!) finds the Tory one somewhat wanting.
Dreaming of Simplicity wants to pee on Aaron’s bonfire in linking to this article on Digital Spy about the BBC’s commercial impacts.
Aberavon and Neath Lib Dems examine the Tax Credit train wreck.
And finally, Lady Mark Valladares has been up in my neck of the woods. He (and Ros) will be in Bradford today and I shall, if I can drag myself out of bed, be going to have a cream tea with them. The perils of Lib Demmery…
You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or rss feeds.
» How bad is the feline obesity crisis?
» Why don’t MPs pay back tuition fees instead of increasing ours?
» Obama is right to slam BP – and why capitalists should too
» Why does Phillip Blond see civic cohesion as a security issue?
» So what if the Labour candidates went to Oxbridge?
» Last night’s Labour hustings: will it get interesting or turn to torture?
» It’s now down to Ken to win London for Labour
» The Labour people need
» Blog Nation: what would you like to see discussed?
» The Labour leadership’s token contender.. and it’s not Diane Abbott
» In defence of these fraternal nominations
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