Top Stories and Blog Review Sunday 22nd February
Nationwide
The march of the atheist movement
Call for new £20bn economy boost
Parents told: avoid morality in sex lessons
Woolworths ‘last’ pic’n'mix fetches £14,500
International
After Guadeloupe, Sarkozy faces a storm at home
US housing crisis moves beyond sub-prime houses
Al-Qaeda founder launches attack on bin Laden
The secret plan to lift Whale hunting ban
DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Jennie Rigg
Andy Worthington talks about the repercussions of the Binyam Mohammed case now that he’s coming home. John Rentoul comes at it from a different angle.
Jonathan Calder talks about how top down management is as bad in business as it is in politics, and why.
Alas, A Blog! despairs of the misogyny in mainstream news reporting. There’s a good article in The Graun about misogyny in movies this weekend too. Yes, in the same issue as Sunny.
Lib Dem Voice has two Tory Sleaze stories.
Mr Quist, Lady Mark and Amused Cynicism are discussing the prospect of the BNP winning seats in the Euro elections.
In more cheerful news, Lynne Featherstone is encouraging local wildlife and Steve Webb has obtained a rescue doggie.
And Septicisle has more. LOTS more.
Event: Future at our fingertips?
Despite many viewing biometrics as an issue exclusively relating to ID cards and passports, the reality is that such data is already in use on a daily basis across Britain in a wide variety of settings from providing security in schools, nurseries and hospitals, to gaining access to computer systems, and monitoring turnstile entry to building sites.
continue reading… »
Top Stories — 22nd February
Nationwide
The march of the atheist movement
Call for new £20bn economy boost
Parents told: avoid morality in sex lessons
Woolworths ‘last’ pic’n'mix fetches £14,500
International
After Guadeloupe, Sarkozy faces a storm at home
US housing crisis moves beyond sub-prime houses
Al-Qaeda founder launches attack on bin Laden
The secret plan to lift Whale hunting ban
DAILY BLOG REVIEW / coming later…
The problem with single mothers
It’s official: single parents are scroungers, and their time has come. Don’t listen to me, listen to the DWP, which plans to compel single parents (by which they mean, in 9 out of 10 cases, single mothers) back to work by the time their children are one year old, as part of its Welfare Abolition Reform Bill, the third reading of which will take place next month.
A report this week by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation attests to the spectacular hypocrisy of New Labour’s plan to ‘make work pay’ for the poorest and neediest whilst failing to take a stand over tax fraud committed by the super-rich. However much Purnell may claim that this is all for their own good, however much he may spit out the mantra that‘work is the best way out of poverty’ for single mothers and their families, he is belied by the fact that that the majority of children in poverty have at least one parent who works.
So there it is, in shiny think-tank black and white: without a decent living wage system, getting single mothers back into paid work will not increase quality of life for the poorest families, nor will it do anything for the nation’s children other than ensuring that they receive less primary care. Even those mothers who are lucky enough to find work – in a downturn where women are being made redundant at twice the rate of men – may find, like the distressed young woman who I met at Saturday’s Gender, Race and Class conference, that the only work available to them does not even cover the cost of childcare.
Just a reminder: being the primary carer of a small child is work. continue reading… »
Distorting St George’s day
To the dismay of the hysterical anti-PC brigade in Sandwell, the local council has cancelled funding for a St. George’s Day parade. Suddenly a cause celebre, the issue is discussed on Stormfront, and has become part of a campaign by nationalist nutjobs, the English Democrats.
This news has been picked up by our own Bob Piper and has received stinging rebuke from Tory Harry Phibbs of Conservative Home. One wonders if Councillor Phibbs knows what sort of company he is keeping on the issue. He should do, if he reads his own comment box.
It has always seemed something of an irony that the imagery adopted by parts of the far right in the UK has been of a mythical individual, a foreigner, who never visited England.
continue reading… »
Top Stories and Blog Review – 21st February
Nationwide
Alarm over rise of the BNP
Fear for deal on agency workers’ payoffs
New Banking Act comes into effect
Family policies ‘dad-proofed’ to give them role
International
Clinton rewrites script for her position in Asia
Netanyahu asked to form Israel’s next government
Tamil Tiger planes raid Sri Lankan capital
U.S. review finds Guantanamo humane
WEEKEND VIDEO / by Sunny
NY Post apologises for Obama cartoon
This evening, the New York Post issued a half-apology for Wednesday’s notorious stimulus/chimp cartoon which inspired outraged among many readers.
Though editor Col Allen defended the cartoon in a statement earlier this week, the editorial goes a bit further: “to those who were offended by the image, we apologize.”
But the apology repeated Allen’s attack on the cartoon’s critics: “To them, no apology is due.”
Our all-star lineup for the Convention
I’m pleased to announce that the LC/CIF lunchtime event at the Convention on Modern Liberty has an excellent line-up of panellists. Joining me will be:
Phil Booth – National coordinator for the No2ID campaign, Phil has been instrumental in building up the technology infrastructure for the campaign and building its profile online.
Heather Brooke – A journalist and writer living in London, Heather is author of ‘Your Right to Know’ a citizens’ guide to using the Freedom of Information Act and accessing official information. She runs a blog of the same name. Most recently, Heather won a High Court case against the House of Commons for the full disclosure of MPs’ second homes allowances.
Dr Ben Goldacre – The ‘Bad Science’ columnist for the Guardian, who runs a blog of the same name, needs little introduction.
I’m just trying to confirm one last panelist, hopefully from My Society. The event isn’t aimed merely at bloggers but campaigners and activists of all stripes who want to know more about how we can use technology to prise open Westminster and protect our civil liberties (or for other means, if you so wish).
Now, what questions would you ask these panelists? I’ll pick the best ones for the convention if you can’t attend.
Update: I’ve just heard they’ve sold over 1,200 tickets! Jesus.
Nick Clegg: more libertarian than he thinks
Having just listened to a very interesting IPPR podcast from their event last week featuring Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, it is clear that this thing called ‘liberalism’ matters enormously to him.
He is, perhaps, the Liberal Democrat leader who has given most emphasis to the ‘liberal’ dimension of Liberal Democrat thought. It is hugely refreshing to see a politician willing to go out and make a case for ‘liberalism’ in this way. Clegg is a politician of genuine ideas, and, as one might expect, there is a lot in his speech which liberals in the Labour party (like me) would agree with.
But just what kind of liberal is Nick Clegg?
[Update: Evan Harris MP defends his party in the comments]
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Report: UK companies linked to Israeli settlements
A new research paper has identified 68 British companies which have direct or indirect relationships with illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory; 49 of which have their head office in the United Kingdom and 19 of which are British subsidiaries of companies based in Israel or other countries.
The report focuses only on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It does not examine settlement products emanating from the occupied Golan Heights or whether any UK companies are involved in the construction of settlement infrastructure, including the West Bank wall.
continue reading… »
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» The real agenda behind Telegraph’s abortion investigation
» How Scotland Yard monitors prying bloggers and journalists
» When disabled people want to work – employers can hold the back
» Revealed: the reality behind Workfare and why it doesn’t work
» Job snob? No, I’ve got the T-shirt
» Why country-by-country reporting matters to our wellbeing
» If Unions want to become stronger, they need to modernise
» Why work “reforms” in Spain are a warning for workers across Europe
» Five things you need to know about the NHS bill
» Bigger. Fatter. Gypsier. More Racist.
» Laziness levels in Britain getting lazier, wails government
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