Irish Political News

The Lib Dems have some more proposals about voting reform over on Lib Dem Voice. On this occasion it is Laurence Boyce proposing "weighted votes". I have an alternative suggestion.

This week's Britblog Roundup is at Philobiblon.

Come back on Wednesday morning for the podcast, which is a short interview about the roundup on Radio 5's "Pods and Blogs" programme.

Ellee remarks: The outfits were elegant and demure imageand deliberately understated to accommodate the renowned British reserve. But one thing stood out and disappointed me about Carla Sarkozys carefully planned wardrobe during her visit to the UK last week -where were the heels? I’m the biggest fashion ignoramus in the world, but it must be the height, [...]

Which is why cricket is so great? It's one of the only games in the world where you have sufficient time to wander round a field thinking 'why am I doing this?'

This morning I caught a news item on the Radio [Update: Radio 4] about Alistair Darling being barred from pubs for all the tax rises in the price of drinks. Here is the audio. Download audio file (20080326-bbc-radio4-today-alistair-darling-barred-from-pubs.mp3) I first heard about this movement from the Devil: Johnstone Urges Pub Ban For Darling Following an Edinburgh landlord’s decision to [...]

The Daily News Roundup is a selection of stories from the media and websites. It includes News and Comment, and also stories from both Wales and Scotland. Occasionally it includes an obituary or a blog item. The aim is to highlight unusual stories, or interesting angles on the main stories - to highlight items that you may not find elsewhere.

Click through to the Wardman Wire for the written summary.

If you are following your own technorati "Authority" score you may have noticed a decline in the last few days.

It's that time - 6 months since the Usmanov imbroglio, and all the links are dropping out of the Technorati scores. I'm down by 50 in 4 days.

The Technorati rankings don't matter a damn, but perhaps it is a reminder - 6 months later - that it is time to pick up the Freedom of Expressions cudgels once again.

The dodgy libel laws are still on the books, and Shillings Lawyers are still to be seen strutting about bullying people into self-censorship on the basis of untested and unproven allegations that material that happens to be disliked by rich clients is defamatory.

I haven't forgotten; neither should any of us.

And I'm looking for more nominees for the Usmanov Schillings Duck-n-Cluck awards.

If you are following your own technorati "Authority" score you may have noticed a decline in the last few days.

It's that time - 6 months since the Usmanov imbroglio, and all the links are dropping out of the Technorati scores. I'm down by 50 in 4 days.

The Technorati rankings don't matter a damn, but perhaps it is a reminder - 6 months later - that it is time to pick up the Freedom of Expressions cudgels once again.

The dodgy libel laws are still on the books, and Shillings Lawyers are still to be seen strutting about bullying people into self-censorship on the basis of untested and unproven allegations that material that happens to be disliked by rich clients is defamatory.

I haven't forgotten; neither should any of us.

And I'm looking for more nominees for the Usmanov Schillings Duck-n-Cluck awards.

From Mark Pack via Twitter: 12:30: Wondering if heading in same direction as lots of speeding police is a good idea 12:32: Police now heading back past me at high speed in opposite direction. Hope they aren’t lost. They probably spotted a 5-year old blowing a raspberry, and it’s Gary Pugh, Barney MacGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb in the DNA van. Tags: gary pugh, dna testing, mark pack

I’m on record as wishing more power to the Independents locally, but I’d like to acknowledge Alan Meale, the MP for Mansfield, who rebelled against the Post Office closure act. Good one, Alan. I blogged this back last June when our Post Offices were being slated for closure here on the Derbyshire side of the boundary, and the option was “save one another one dies”. Article Series - Post Office Closures Political Implications of Gordon Brown’s Decimation of the Post Offices The Labour Manifestos 1997, 2001, 2005 on Post Offices: What did Gordon Brown and Tony Blair promise? Politics Podcast: The Post Office Closure Programme On the Derbyshire side, they have already gone. via Daily Referendum.

I have not done a Daily Roundup today, as there are two reports coming out later this morning about weekly events at Holyrood and Westminster on the Wardman Wire. There will also be the first introductory column in our new “Senedd Circular” column by Pippa Wagstaffe, who edits the “Miss Wagstaff Presents..” blog watching the Welsh Assembly Government. Miss W is currently in a hiatus - so I may post the introductory column. The “Circular” Title was inspired by the shape of the chamber, rather than a plan view of any Senedd member after too many political lunches, or the path followed by debates. Really. The link to find ALL our weekly reports from Parliaments is here. Tags: daily roundup, the skinny, matt wardman, wardman wire, mattwardman, independent newspaper

To mention it once again, I continue - since the hyperlinks which they broke when they redesigned their website continue to be broken, and I have received no response to requests for them to sort it out. I have added this paragraph to the Daily Roundup template. Here is today’s roundup of stories. Comment Simon Jenkins (Comment is Free) - Closure mania ignores the real cost of axing post offices The state pursuit of shortsighted savings is ripping the heart from communities. No wonder Britain is up in arms Jonathon Freedland (Comment is Free) - London’s election holds the future for progressive politics, not just Ken Livingstone needs voters to take the issues and candidates seriously in a contest that will have repercussions nationwide Economist (Economist) - A setback for Mr Sarkozy The ruling centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (UMP) suffered heavy losses in municipal elections on March 16th, in what was widely viewed as a protest vote against the president, Nicolas Sarkozy, whose popularity has slumped sharply. Economist (Economist) - A ravenous dragon The hunger of China for natural resources has set off a global commodity boom. Developed countries worry about being left high and dry, but the biggest effects will be felt in China itself, says Edward McBride. News BBC (BBC) - Watching Ken re-election launch At the launch of his official campaign at the Royal Festival Hall on the south bank of the Thames, Ken Livingstone aimed to persuade seven million Londoners that he is worth another go at the helm. Johny Caldwell (BBC) - Pub had Good Friday Agreement link Imagine the scenario: a man pulling you a pint in a pub tells he was involved in negotiating one of the most significant documents in both British and Irish history. Nicholas Watt (Guardian) - McGuinness: there was no need for Bloody Sunday inquiry Sinn Fin regarded Bloody Sunday inquiry as not necessary, says Blair’s former chief of staff Frances Gibb (Times Online) - Damning ruling that Heather Mills tried to bar is published Heather Mills was castigated yesterday as a greedy fantasist who indulged in make-believe; a less than candid witness and a woman whose claims about her marriage to Sir Paul McCartney were devoid of reality. Carolyn Asome (Times Online) - Top designers join fad for putting pre-teens in adult clothes Beyond Boden: designers like Marc Jacobs and 3.1 Phillip Lim are creating stylish clothes with eye-watering prices Times Online (Times Online) - Text of full judgment: Heather Mills v Sir Paul McCartney Neutral Citation Number: [2008] EWHC 401 (Fam). Case No: FD06D03721. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE FAMILY DIVISION THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE BENNETT. Between : James Paul McCartney Petitioner/Respondent - and - Heather Anne Mills McCartney Respondent/Applicant Scotland BBC (BBC) - Tony Benn to give Holyrood homily The veteran politician and former Labour MP Tony Benn is to lead the time for reflection at the Scottish Parliament later. BBC (BBC) - Rapist met open jail criteria Robert Foye, 28, admitted raping the 16-year-old in Cumbernauld in August last year after absconding from Castle Huntly, near Dundee. Blogs Richard Spencer (Telegraph) - A stand-off with Chinese police Those patriots who fear that corruption and weakness have fatally damaged the ability of China to defend itself need not fear: today, the forces of law and order were pitted against the sharpest wits The Daily Telegraph could offer (viz., me), and won hands down. Tags: daily roundup, the skinny, matt wardman, wardman wire, mattwardman, independent newspaper

Arthur C Clarke, the science-fiction author, has died at 90. One of my favourite Sci-Fi authors - I liked his work because he never lost the human dimension. Clarke’s books were about fallible human beings learning to adapt to changed circumstances created by logic and his imagination. For me, that was always deeper than the approach taken by other authors trying to imagine technology developing far enough to become proto-human. Others will comment on his other achievements - such as the invention of geostationary satellites, and the scope of his contacts and writing. I’ll leave it there. Another writer who was formative for me gone. Tags: arthur c clarke, 1999 a space odyssey, obituary

Arthur C Clarke, the science-fiction author, has died at 90. One of my favourite Sci-Fi authors - I liked his work because he never lost the human dimension. Clarke’s books were about fallible human beings learning to adapt to changed circumstances created by logic and his imagination. For me, that was always deeper than the approach taken by other authors trying to imagine technology developing far enough to become proto-human. Others will comment on his other achievements - such as the invention of geostationary satellites, and the scope of his contacts and writing. I’ll leave it there. Another writer who was formative for me gone. Tags: arthur c clarke, 1999 a space odyssey, obituary

To mention it once again, I continue - since the hyperlinks which they broke when they redesigned their website continue to be broken, and I have received no response to requests for them to sort it out. I have added this paragraph to the Daily Roundup template. Here is today’s roundup of stories. Comment Max Hastings (Comment is Free) - The Iraq experience has laid bare the limits of raw military power The next US president must reject the juvenile Bush vision, reach out to Iran and seek justice for the Palestinian people AC Grayling (Comment is Free) - Precious liberty As civil liberties come under ever greater pressure, it is time we exposed the old lie that says the innocent have nothing to fear News BBC (BBC) - Devolved policing crucial - Bush President George Bush has stressed the importance of devolution of policing for Northern Ireland. BBC (BBC) - Over 108,000 in detention in UK More than 108,000 people are being held in detention in Britain, amounting to two in every 1,000, a survey suggests. BBC (BBC) - Extent of secret links between government and IRA revealed The full extent of a secret 20-year back channel between the British government and the IRA is revealed today by Tony Blair’s former chief of staff, who declares that the peace process might never have been possible without the link. Economist (Economist) - Adam Smith - The economist’s house is on the (free) market IN MOST countries it would have been marked by a fanfare of press releases and a long roll of fund-raising drums. Not in Scotland. This week Edinburgh’s city council put on the market the house where Adam Smith spent his last 12 years, from 1778 until 1790. Advertisements in the property sections of local newspapers seek offers in excess of ?700,000 ($1.4m) for a 17th-century house of historical interest, but fail to point out its connection with the father of modern economics. Telegraph (Telegraph) - Bryony Gordon Toytown was left reeling at the weekend when Mr Plod announced to a packed press conference that he was investigating resident fox Basil Brush for making racist slurs against Rosie and Jim, the famous ragdoll travellers. Alex Pell (Times Online) - Hey, Facebook, just let go of me Joining the networking site is easy but closing down your potentially embarrassing account is not Times (Times Online) - IOC finds no reason to hide pollution risks Organising body says that tests have revealed that air quality will be good enough to compete in. Scotland BBC (BBC) - Row over ambulance complaint rise The Scottish Ambulance Service has defended its performance after figures showed that the number of complaints had more than doubled in three years. Christopher Martin-Jenkins (Times Online) - Ryan Sidebottom fulfilling promise for England Six years shalt thou labour and on the seventh have thy reward. Thus might one paraphrase a familiar biblical text to summarise the rise, fall and rise again of Ryan Sidebottom, the left-arm fast bowler with the Charles II curls who has become England’s key to success in New Zealand. Wales BBC (BBC) - Assembly building success story The Welsh Assembly’s new home was built broadly on time, on budget, and reached the highest environmental standards, a financial watchdog has concluded. Tags: daily roundup, the skinny, matt wardman, wardman wire, mattwardman, independent newspaper

George was preparing for his next party conference… …and trying to decide which section’s conference to go to this week. Inspired by Friday Lolcats meme. Tags: george galloway mp, respect, bethnal green, stop the war

To mention it once again, I continue - since the hyperlinks which they broke when they redesigned their website continue to be broken, and I have received no response to requests for them to sort it out. I have added this paragraph to the Daily Roundup template. Here is today’s roundup of stories. Iraqi Interpreters Deborah Haynes (Times Online) - Iraqi interpreters and families prepare for new lives in Britain Iraqis who risked their lives working for Britain have been cleared to resettle in the UK, with the first families expected to arrive next month, The Times can reveal. The first wave will include seven former interpreters who have met the strict criteria for resettlement and have chosen to come to Britain. Many others have accepted cash payments to stay in Iraq or decided to resettle in a neighbouring country such as Jordan or Syria. Comment Jeff Jarvis (Comment is Free) - A smothering embrace - Bebo AOL - which is paying $850m for the social networking site, the other Facebook - is where innovations go to die. Remember Netscape? Bought for $4.2bn and now dead. News BBC (BBC) - All MP claims may be published The Commons has been ordered to publish details of the claims of 14 MPs under Freedom of Information laws. Sources say all claims may be published by December. Economist (Economist) - US Election - The scrap is getting uglier THE Democratic race for the presidential nomination has settled into a pattern. Barack Obama gains momentum, and is nearly crowned the winner. Then Hillary Clinton wins a high-profile contest and makes a comeback, before Mr Obama builds up steam yet again. Mrs Clintons latest resurrection came with big wins in Texas and Ohio. But now Mr Obama is back. Over the weekend he won a caucus in Wyoming and on Tuesday March 11th he emerged as victor at a primary in Mississippi. He won both by margins of over 20 points. Deborah Summers (Guardian) - Brown dampens Mandelson hopes of second term at EUGordon Brown last night moved to quash the hopes of Peter Mandelson of staying on as EU trade commissioner, despite suggestions earlier this week that the feud between the pair was diminishing and Mandelson was prepared to serve a second term. Elissa Gootman (NYT) - For Bronx Schools Dancers, the Moves Are Irish With a student body that is 71 percent Hispanic and 27 percent black, Public School 59 does not seem an obvious home for a thriving Irish dance troupe. And when Caroline Duggan first arrived from Dublin at age 23 to try her hand as a New York City public school music teacher, it wasnt. Many of her students had never heard of Ireland. Why, they wanted to know, did she talk funny? Rosa Prince (Telegraph) - Revealed: what MPs can claim on expenses The John Lewis list was released under the Freedom of Information Act after weeks of pressure. The list of allowances is used by finance officials to pass or reject MPs’ expenses claims for decorating their second homes and buying household items. Until recently it was kept secret even from MPs who were not given formal guidance on how much they could spend on individual items. It shows that MPs are allowed to spend £10,000 for a kitchen and £6,000 to install a new bathroom. Air conditioning units, beds, food mixers and rugs are all allowed, while carpets and wood flooring can be bought at £35 per square metre.” James Bone (Times Online) - Prostitute Ashley Alexandra Dupre behind Eliot Spitzer sex scandal cashes inAshley Alexandra Dupr, a struggling singer, uploaded a new track to Amie Street, an online music-seller, hours after she was exposed as the prostitute Kristen talking on tape about the disgraced Eliot Spitzer. Suzy Jagger (Times Online) - Father and daughter team duped 15,000 pensioners out of £35mAround 15,000 British pensioners are thought to have been duped out of more than $70 million (£35 million) by a father and daughter team working an aggressive investment scam in Florida. Scotland BBC (BBC) - Salmond’s Trump action cavalier First Minister Alex Salmond took a cavalier approach to his involvement with Donald Trump’s £1bn Scottish golf resort, a parliament committee said. BBC (BBC) - High heels spark car parking rowA councillor said she has been denied free parking that would save her walking half a mile in her high heels for meetings with the public. Wales BBC (BBC) - Inquiry into stabbed vicar deathA heath watchdog is examining why a man with paranoid schizophrenia who stabbed a vicar to death was not identified as a threat. Tags: daily roundup, the skinny, matt wardman, wardman wire, mattwardman, independent newspaper

Summary This week Will Patterson writes his first column for the Wardman Wire about events at the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. This is a new one for both of us - a regular article on a Derbyshire-based blog about Scottish Politics, so comments are very welcome indeed about the “Holyrood Herald” weekly report. This time: The Lib Dems and the SNP go speed-dating. The Edinburgh property market may ease after MPs Accommodation Allowances are reviewed. The Labour/LibDem-controlled Stirling administration - the only Council in Scotland to cut it’s level of local taxation - is rewarded with a vote of no confidence. Wendy Alexander’s Deep-Throat turns out to be Jackie Baillie, who gets roasted in return. And the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has a pow-wow after last year’s punch-up. Burying the Claymore Could this be the start of a beautiful relationship? After months of Scottish LibDem Leader Nicol Stephen refusing to speak to SNP First Minister Alex Salmond, the two have started to talk. After about a year of the Lab-LibDem Coalition being in effect continued into opposition, Stephen appears to have turned his guns around, criticising Labour and making nice with the SNP. What’s prompted the change? Why, it could only be local taxation. The SNP managed to get 31 of Scotland’s 32 Councils to freeze their Council Tax rates. The 32nd Council - Stirling - actually cut it, though the Labour-LibDem administration there has been rewarded with a no-confidence vote, which they lost on Wednesday night. Council Tax vs Local Incomes Tax Anyway, the SNP and LibDems agree that the Council Tax is a bad thing, and they both agree that a Local Income Tax (LIT) should replace it. So with the SNP moving to implement a major part of their 2007 manifesto, it was only natural that the two parties would bury the hatchet and start talking. Problem is, they’ve stopped talking: the SNP want to set the LIT at 3% nationally, and the LibDems say that if it’s set nationally, it’s not a LOCAL income tax, and they want the rate to be set by Councillors. But they started talking at all, so progress has been made, and no legislation has actually been proposed yet: the Scottish Government is still consulting on the matter, so Finance Secretary John Swinney and LibDem Finance Spokesman Tavish Scott have four months to come up with something. Yet if firm proposals do come to Holyrood, and the LibDems do support them, the vote will be tight, and there will be pressure on the Greens - who don’t support an LIT but aren’t too fond of the status quo either - to declare their hand, as the outcome could be in their hands. Meanwhile, back at Holyrood Meanwhile, Holyrood is allegedly the home of ‘new politics’, where MSPs don’t just simply ape Westminster practices. Which is why there have been three major expenses scandals since 1999, and why MSPs have panicked and agreed to a review of allowances. Well, the review board have reported back, and if they have their way, membership of the Scottish Parliament will not be an easy way into property speculation, but MSPs will be able to hire more staff. Or at least, some will, and different parties will take different positions on the review depending on whether the bulk of their MSPs were elected in Constituencies or on the Regional Lists. In a way, it shows that Holyrood is different from Westminster, where in the aftermath of Derek Conway’s appointment practices, the parties fell over each other to look like they were the best at cleaning up their act and opening up their records. MSPs, on the other hand, will probably support whatever makes life harder for the other side. Brothers, Sisters and Comrades - Apparently And why need they bother, when Labour Leader Wendy Alexander has enough problems with her frontbenchers? Shadow Health Secretary Margaret has been caught briefing against her leader, and she wasn’t overly subtle about it, which makes her look both treacherous and rubbish at the same time. She’s probably in line for an ugly punishment, but Convenership of the Equal Opportunties Committee is not in Wendy Alexander’s gift - a Tory is destined to exile in that end Scottish Parliamentary Siberia - and the LibDems have been lumbered with Convenership of the Subordinate Legislation Committee. So Curran will, I suspect, get sent to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, where she’ll find herself dealing with the Parliament’s procurement and expenses rules that have got people so wound up. If it does come true, it will be a cruel and unusual punishment, but it may be too tempting for Wendy Alexander to resist. But what does Wendy Alexander do about Labour Councillor Pat Watters, President of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, who has been getting on rather better with the SNP Government than Councillors did with Labour Ministers before the election? Maybe she should set the Leader of North Lanarkshire Council, Jim McCabe, on him. Or she could see if he’ll step aside in favour of Corrie McChord, one of COSLA’s Vice-Presidents, and Leader of the aforementioned deposed administration in Stirling. He probably won’t be all that enamoured with the SNP - who suggested getting rid of him - right now. (more…)

Yaaay! or Grooooccchhhh! depending on your attitude. Here. Here’s what it is about: Welcome to the Church Times blog. A ‘blog’, for those mystified by the term, is widely regarded as ‘a website where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order’ (Wikipedia). The Church Times blog will be written and drawn by Dave Walker and will feature cartoons, commentary and links. The RSS feed is here. It should also (unless Dave Walker has lost his touch) be both engaging and amusing. I like the cups of coffee on the bloggeration machine. Worth tracking, as it may end up being used for breaking News Stories, as a complement to the website and reaching a different audience. Wordpress it ain’t - rather they are displaying creative use of their website-management system - but the only real problem I can see is that on individual article pages (example) the RSS icon you see in the header actually leads to the News RSS feed not the Blog RSS feed. That requires fixing or there will be some confused people out there. [Update 17:15 pm] Dave Walker confirms that this has now been worked around by adding an extra RSS icon in the blog header bar. A couple of hours since I mentioned it - not a bad response time. You do get a link to the RSS feed on summary pages, however. (Cartoon credit: Cartoonchurch.com) Tags: church times, blog, dave walker

Over at Tom Watson’s blog, there’s an article and a good conversation going on in the comments - concerning what guidance should be developed for Civil Servant bloggers. Tom suggests something short and sharp in 12 points: 1. Write as yourself 2. Own your own content 3. Be nice 4. Keep secrets 5. No anonymous comments 6. Remember the civil service code 7. Got a problem? Talk to your boss 8. Stop it if we say so 9. Be the authority in your specialist field " provide worthwhile information 10. Think about consequences 11. Media interest? Tell your boss 12. Correct your own mistakes Various commenters add things (which I’m numbering mainly sequentially, and of which I’m only quoting a portion): Shane 13. Be accurate - dont tell porkies. 14. Treat comments as part of your blog. Make sure they adhere to the guidelines s much as possible. (more…) Previous in series

There are 7 ways I can think of to blog about your employer: Don’t Persuade them to let you. Be anonymous, but not anonymous enough. Ask, and risk a “no”. Be anonymous and notorious. Do it as part of your job. Employ yourself. In this article I describe each option, and my assessment of the pros and cons - where they occur. If you do blog about your employer, any option (except number one) should make your life more “interesting”, for a time at least. (more…) Previous in series Next in series

Via Twitter: Mick Fealty of Slugger O’Toole and Brassneck is going to Twitter the key points from the budget speech tomorrow, starting at 12:30pm. As he puts it (in 140 characters or less): I’m planning to twitter the UK budget from 12.30 tomorrow… then do a wrap on Brassneck. You can sign up to receive the updates here by following Mick’s twitter channel, but you may first need to get a Twitter account at the Twitter website home page. Tags: twitter, mick fealty, brassneck

This is a short segment about the Civil Serf blog imbroglio from The World Tonight on BBC Radio 4, an interview with Catherine Sanderson, who wrote the Petite Anglaise blog about her life in Paris - which cost her her job. Catherine Sanderson makes some perceptive comments: for totally pseudonymous blogging your content must be as anonymous as your name, and the devil is in the detail. The segment is 4 minutes. Download audio file (20080311-bbc-radio4-world-tonight-civil-serf-interview-with-petite-anglaise.mp3) At around 3pm I will be publishing an article “How to blog about your employer”. This is the excerpt. There are 7 ways I can think of to blog about your employer: 1. Don’t 2. Persuade them to let you. 3. Be anonymous, but not anonymous enough. 4. Ask, and risk a “no”. 5. Be totally anonymous and notorious. 6. Do it as part of your job. 7. Employ yourself. In this article I describe each option, and my assessment of the pros and cons - where they occur. If you do blog about your employer, any option (except number one) should make your life more “interesting”, for a time at least. Tags: politics podcast, David Hartley, Labour party, Doug Hope, ukip, matt revell

The blogger Civil Serf first mentioned (to my knowledge) by Dizzy a couple of weeks ago is - according to Ellee Seymour - to be covered on Newsnight this evening. I got this via Twitter: More than 800 hits today thanks to civil servant post, the story is on newsnight tonight, michael crick has tried to find her. (That’s one thing it’s for, Mr Devil.) If you’ve been incommunicado for the last 36 hours, Ellee said yesterday: A civil servant who wrote an unflinching blog where she described her working life, the incompetences and inadequacies she regularly encountered, could now be in very hot water for publishing her views. The Civil Serf blog now seems to have been removed after it was highlighted in todays Sunday Times, with the headline: “Hunt is on for demon blogger of Whitehall,” while the Sunday Telegraph reported: “Blogger lifts lid on Whitehall failings”. Her blog is easy enough to find, and the Times even has a link to it. But the site shows an error message saying the page does not exist. Its obviously been pulled. Ellee’s article includes some quotes. It is snarky and - in my view - must surely be too close to the bone not to be a breach of contract. I stand by the comments I made on Ellee’s post on Sunday (edited slightly): I gave her six months when I first saw it. I think that civil servants cannot write critical blogs without being in violation of their contract (conduct bringing employer info disrepute etc.). If they do so, they must be bulletproof in their anonymity. Pulled on a Sunday implies that she may have pulled it herself. It is a dangerous game to play - especially in the political niche. Its always a tricky one - if you plan to avoid work in your writing they could still say no if you ask. I have to decide whether to blog about clients, and it somethgin I have thought quite carefully about, and I still dont know if I got the balance right. (Note: my policy is not to blog about current employers, and never to break a contract or confidentiality agreement - criminal activity notwithstanding). At this point it looks as though Civil Serf pulled her own blog, so she may get away with it. Tags: civil serf, anonymous blogging, dooced, blog about employer

To mention it once again, I continue - since the hyperlinks which they broke when they redesigned their website continue to be broken, and I have received no response to requests for them to sort it out. I have added this paragraph to the Daily Roundup template. Here is today’s roundup of stories. Comment Mail (Daily Mail) - Sultry in sequins: Holly looks just like Toon sex symbol Jessica Rabbit It’s another week and another plunging neck line for controversial Dancing on Ice presenter Holly Willoughby. Clad in a daring, curve-hugging scarlet gown, the glamorous star, who is becoming famous for her revealing style of dress, resembled racy cartoon character Jessica Rabbit. Philip Webster (Times Online) - Petrol price rises and penalties for gas-guzzlers as Chancellor Alistair Darling goes green He will give tax incentives to companies that opt for greener vehicle fleets. And in a further move to show his green credentials Mr Darling will announce that Britains first five-year carbon budget, setting out the way independent experts believe that the country should meet the target of reducing emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, will be published next year alongside the main Budget Ed Pilkington (Guardian) - Bush vetoes move to ban water torture President George Bush maintained his collision course with the Democrats in Congress over the use of torture when he wielded a rare presidential veto on Saturday to block legislation that would have banned the CIA from applying force when interrogating terror suspects. News BBC (BBC) - Clegg urges new political system Nick Clegg says he will never join a Labour or Tory cabinet, but will push instead for a new type of government. BBC (BBC) - Pienaar view: Clegg looks comfortable After a trying week, Nick Clegg has come through his first party conference looking surprisingly comfortable - almost relaxed - in the role of leader. Philip Johnston (Telegraph) - Britain must not betray the Commonwealth How many of us any longer feel an affinity to the billion or more people who belong to this extraordinary comity of post-colonial nations? Quite a few, I suspect, especially to those with whom we share a common kinship. William Rees Mogg (Times Online) - And for our next lie . . . the great EU betrayal The facts about the Lisbon treaty are relatively simple, but the implications are deeply disturbing. In May 2005, the Labour Party won a general election on a manifesto that included a commitment to hold a referendum on the European constitutional treaty. BBC (BBC) - I did smash Sinn Fein - Paisley Speaking on the BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show, he said Sinn Fein could no longer be true republicans because they were in part of the British government. Gordon Brown (FT) - Time for the third act in public sector reform Time for the third act in public sector reform Louise Story (NYT) - To Aim Ads, Web Is Keeping Closer Eye on You A new analysis of online consumer data shows that large Web companies are learning more about people than ever from what they search for and do on the Internet, gathering clues about the tastes and preferences of a typical user several hundred times a month. Scotland BBC (BBC) - Info requests centre on politics Ministers and councils have been the subject of almost two-thirds of requests to the Scottish Information Commissioner, a report has revealed. BBC (BBC) - Information act hailed a success The rate of freedom of information appeals in Scotland is double that in England, it has emerged. Wales BBC (BBC) - Concern at cross-border services Patients and politicians in Wales have voiced concern about devolution eroding the shared use of public services such as health with England. Tags: daily roundup, the skinny, matt wardman, wardman wire, mattwardman, independent newspaper

Via Iain Dale and the Spectator CoffeeHouse. Obama adviser Samantha Powers confided to a Scotsman journalist that she regards Hillary Clinton as a monster. It was an on-the-record interview but after Powers misspoke she instructed Peev thats off the record. Here’s an NBC News report on msnbc.com, which to me seems a pretty straight report. and there was also a segment on MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson programme. First, an account from the Coffee House: Why, Carlson asked, didnt Peev do what she was told? She did a double-take. Are you really that acquiescent in America?. If the subject thinks woops, that was controversial and wants to strike a remark off the record thats too bad unless this has been agreed beforehand. A riled Carlson thought hed beat her up a bit and said journalistic standards in Great Britain are so much dramatically lower than they are here [in America] so its a little much being lectured in journalistic ethics. Doesnt what Peev did make it more difficult for journalists to get to the truth? Peev replied: If this is the first time that candid remarks have been published about what one campaign team thinks of the other candidate then I would argue that your journalists arent doing a very good job of getting to the truth. Or, as The Osterley Times puts it: I’m always stunned by the way American political journalists genuflect in front of politicians. Here Tucker Carlson explains why. They are worried they’ll lose access. Here’s the full 10 minute segment. Writing from this side of the pond, I think Gerri Peev gave a pretty good account of herself, and my first thought about Tucker - when he tried to defend the right of an interviewee to withdraw a quote in an on the record interview, while at the same time questioning the journalistic ethics of an entire country - was that he came across as a bit of a tosser wide boy. If he’s going question any ethics in this case, perhaps it should be the ethics (or lack thereof) inside the campaign teams. I don’t think the messenger should be the story, when the unforgiveable sin appears to have been revealing the “Clinton is a monster” attitude inside the camp, rather than holding that attitude. Tucker also focuses the debate in the interview on the Clinton campaign, rather than digging into the team - Barack Obama’s - who have been revealed as having the “internal difficulty”. Why? Wrapping Up Further links: Democracy in America says that Peev’s action was not in the public interest. Glenn Greenwald says that interviewees cannot demand to withdraw remarks on the record after the fact. Scotsman Editorial defending their decision to publish. Tags: tucker carlson, msnbc, gerri peev, hilary clinton, barack obama, Samantha Powers

To mention it once again, I continue - since the hyperlinks which they broke when they redesigned their website continue to be broken, and I have received no response to requests for them to sort it out. I have added this paragraph to the Daily Roundup template. Here is today’s roundup of stories. Comment Henry Porter (Comment is Free) - Why I told Parliament: you’ve failed us on liberty After a celebrated two-year campaign to protect our freedoms, The Observer’s Henry Porter was called last week to give evidence to a panel of peers and MPs assessing whether a Bill of Rights is necessary for Britain today. Here is his impassioned submission Mail (Daily Mail) - Cambridge University sex attack victim did NOT want fellow student punished It took a jury just two-and-a-half hours to clear 23-year-old Cambridge University graduate Jack Gillett of sexually assaulting a fellow student after a night of drinking. She claimed that after they kissed he had repeatedly ignored her pleas to stop as he pulled off her clothes in his room and pinned her to the ground and groped her. But the judge questioned why the case had ever been brought to court. Here a close friend gives a compelling insight into how the 22-year-old woman found herself in a judicial process she could not halt and the motives behind her reporting the case. For legal reasons she must remain anonymous " Sara is not her real name ” Antonio Maria Costa (Guardian) - Every line of cocaine means a little part of Africa dies The UN’s drugs tsar denounces celebrities such as Amy Winehouse for adding to the misery of already vulnerable countries News BBC (BBC) - Thatcher resting at London home Baroness Thatcher is resting at her London home after spending the night in hospital undergoing tests. Economist (Economist) - Chinese art-buyers are in overdrive FEW of the international specialists who deal in Asian art could have predicted the outcome of the main sale of the season at Christies in London last November. Of the ten most expensive lots, eight went to Chinese buyers, including an early 15th-century Song porcelain flask that was not in the best condition. James Politi in Washington (FT) - Obama wins Wyoming Democratic caucus Mr Obama clinched 59 per cent of the vote in Wyoming, against 40 per cent for Mrs Clinton, with 96 per cent of precincts reporting. Both candidates had campaigned in Wyoming ahead of Saturdays caucuses, the latest contest in the increasingly bitter battle to face Republican John McCain in the US presidential election in November. Paul Harris in New York (Guardian) - The most powerful people in American politics Their email accounts are full and their phones are ringing off the hook. They are the superdelegates - the 795 Democratic bigwigs who will now decide whether Obama or Clinton will become their party’s candidate for president STEVEN LEE MYERS (NYT) - Bush Veto of Bill on C.I.A. Tactics Affirms His Legacy Mr. Bush vetoed a bill that would have explicitly prohibited the agency from using interrogation methods like waterboarding, a technique in which restrained prisoners are threatened with drowning and that has been the subject of intense criticism at home and abroad. Many such techniques are prohibited by the military and law enforcement agencies. Obituary Telegraph (Telegraph) - Carol Barnes After a year as a radio reporter with the BBC, she joined ITN two years later. Her early assignments as a reporter included the return from exile of the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 and, two years later, the Brixton riots (which Barnes covered while seven months pregnant with her daughter). Scotland BBC (BBC) - Talks over scrapping council tax Talks have taken place between the Scottish Government and the Liberal Democrats over scrapping the council tax in favour of a local income tax. Tags: daily roundup, the skinny, matt wardman, wardman wire, mattwardman, independent newspaper

This is the current front page at the Sun: The site is currently undergoing maintenance. Sorry for any inconvenience, please come back in a little while. Tags: the sun, under construction, site upgrade

To mention it once again, I continue - since the hyperlinks which they broke when they redesigned their website continue to be broken, and I have received no response to requests for them to sort it out. I have added this paragraph to the Daily Roundup template. Here is today’s roundup of stories. Comment Jakob Illeborg (Comment is Free) - Danish doormats The Swedes were supposedly wiping their feet all over Denmark - thanks to Ikea. But no one had checked the facts Global Muslim networks - How far they have travelled (Economist) A Turkish-based movement, which sounds more reasonable than most of its rivals, is vying to be recognised as the world’s leading Muslim network Clare Dyer (Guardian) - Medical tests after rape may be handed to NHS Responsibility for the medical examination of rape victims may be taken away from police and handed over to the NHS, amid concerns that services in some parts of the country are short-changing victims and contributing to the low conviction rate for rape. Joanna Bourke (Times Online) - Mini-skirt or burka - my choice What is it about the way women dress that excites so much fury? In Johannesburg, a young woman was recently stripped, sexually assaulted and paraded naked by a group of taxi operators as punishment for wearing indecent clothes. News BBC (BBC) - Lib Dems plan tax for super rich Lib Dem treasury spokesman Vince Cable says he wants to end the “ridiculous anomaly” which sees the owners of homes worth millions paying only council tax. Ian Urbina (NYT) - To Revive Hunting, States Turn to the Classroom When David Helms was in seventh grade, he would take his .22-caliber rifle to school, put a box of ammunition in his locker and, like virtually all the other boys, lean his rifle against a wall in the principals office so he could start hunting squirrels as soon as classes let out. Roya Nikkhah (Telegraph) - Local council to buy out doomed post offices Essex county council is set to become the first local authority to take over the running of post offices that have closed. Lucy Bannerman (Times Online) - Forced marriage fear prompts a national count of missing girls Ministers have called on local authorities to carry out immediate checks in 15 areas that have been identified as forced-marriage risk zones, after it emerged that 33 girls had vanished from the school roll in Bradford alone. Obituary Andrew Roth (BBC) - Lord Pym of Sandy After long and frequent battles with Margaret Thatcher in the privacy of cabinet, Francis Pym’s final defeat came at a pre-election press conference in 1983. Then foreign secretary, Lord Pym of Sandy, who has died aged 86, dared to contradict the prime minister in public. He said he would be satisfied with a majority of 50 to 100, while Thatcher proclaimed the sky as her limit. Scotland BBC (BBC) - E-count causes vote result delay Electronic counting should not be used in Scottish elections until improvements to the system are made, the Electoral Commission has said. It comes after a council by-election declaration was delayed by more than 12 hours after a technical fault. The same counting software was used for the Cambuslang East count as that used in last May’s chaotic Holyrood election. Wales BBC (BBC) - Six Plaid AMs to refuse pay rise Six of Plaid Cymru’s 15 assembly members say they will refuse to take an inflation-busting 8.3% pay rise. Tags: daily roundup, the skinny, matt wardman, wardman wire, mattwardman, independent newspaper

GK Chesterton said a lot of profound things, here is one of them: “Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough… It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again,” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again,” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” Winehouse vs Dolls House Watch children at play for any length of time. Having fun comes naturally to them. How do we lose that ability? How come that so many adults need to dose up on alcohol, drugs or adrenaline before we even feel ready to enjoy ourselves? Okay, children are free from a lot of the worries the rest of us have: they don’t have a mortgage to pay, a bullying boss, a struggling marriage, or a hairline receding at the same speed that our waistline is expanding. But watching the kids at the school gate on ‘Book Day’ this week, all dressed as pirates, princesses and superheroes, it was hard not to smile and sense the joy and thrill they felt. A wrong attitude to fun? Author John Ortberg argues that for a long time Christians have had the wrong attitude to fun. Because the happier we are, the easier we find it to do what’s right, rather than be tempted to do something wrong. If you’re content with you’re lot, you won’t steal. If you’re enjoying life, an affair or a tax fiddle seems like a daft option. (more…)