LIBDEM DODGES GAG ORDER

Nationwide
Thousands to march for jobs on Saturday
Royal succession rules may be reformed
Met facing crisis after rape failures
UK teens among heaviest drinkers in EU

International
Pope ‘distorting condom science’
How the West lost its way in the East
Obama won’t back down
‘You have dishonoured family, please kill yourself’

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Pickwick’s Papers - on a crisis in journalism.

Rupert’s Read - Is turning rainforests into charcoal to save the planet really evidence of a logical though process?

Andy Worthington – Binyam Mohamed was offered a plea bargain to stay silent on torture.

Two Doctors - All this talk about succession is a pointless distraction tactic.

New Direction - puts a case for state intervention for green energy.

StroppyBlog - Rowan Williams continues to talk himself out of a job.

… previous Netcasts

THE $1.5 TRILLION STIMULUS

Nationwide
Brown seeks Obama-style bonus cap
Government may offer cash-back for scrap cars
MPs demand apologies from fallen bank bosses
Surge in sex abuse calls to children’s helpline

International
Polls open in Israel’s closely watched elections
Hadron Collider relaunch delayed
Republicans balk but Americans side with Obama
The Taliban in Pakistan are raising U.S. fears

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Stumbling and Mumbling - Democracy and religion both appear to make people happy. Do the two have to be mutuallly exclusive?

Jennie - finds a rather good reason to bash the BBC.

Back Towards the Locus - does not like Obama’s inside-out underwear.

Charles Darwin’s Blog - prefers dinosaurs to the Tories.

Our Kingdom- Time for the taxpayers to make the rules on banks, says Tony Curzon-Price

Protesters Buy Third Runway Land

Nationwide

Funding Halted For Stem Cell Research.
Tories Back in Double Figure Poll Lead.
Army Must Confront Barrack Culture.
£10,000 Golden Handcuffs Offer for the Best Teachers.

International

Ban Ki-moon pleads for peace in Gaza.
Bush defends his record in office.
Obama Will Close Gitmo in First Week in Office.
French Intellectual Tries to Solve World Poverty.

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

The Lay Scientist - lays into spurious medical claims.

Poliblog Perspective - reviews online archives of British election material. Gave me almost as much a thrill as this.

James Hooper - deconstructs the Pro-Life.

Splintered Sunrise - on Unionism’s strange affinity with invaders.

The Daily (Maybe) - Israel has effectively banned Arab MPs from sitting in the Knesset. Even those who think Israel should exist. Hamas must be pleased.

New Direction - 76% of Mail readers have racist tendencies. ORLY?

Forces Into Retreat

Nationwide
Millions stranded in trains fiasco
Flu ‘heading for nine-year high’
Recession deepens in the UK and US
Conservative treasurer admits non-disclosure

International
It’s the end of the line for S.U.V.s
Pope ’spreading fear’ of homosexuality
‘Green’ jobs compete for stimulus aid
Katrina’s hidden race war

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Our Kingdom - Does data protection inhibit basic rights of expression?

Wired - on RIAA’s latest attempt to choke the internet.

Scribo Ergo Sum - James thinks the Pope’s problems extends beyond homophobia into a more general misanthropy.

Huffington Post – on Obamania in Hawaii.

BlairWatch - Losing an election has only increased Sarah Palin’s capacity for self-delusion, it seems…

29% Of Teachers: Teach Creationism

Nationwide
Counterterrorism chief under pressure to quit inquiry
Government buildings emit more CO2 than Kenya
Voters revolt over taxes, Labour polls drop
Britons stay at home over Christmas holiday

International
China to send warships after pirates
Plot to kill Bolivian president foiled
Clinton moves to widen role of State Dept.
India offers Pakistan proof of gunman’s letter

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Tygerland - loves those Saudis so much.

Machine Gun Keyboard - The Internet Watch Foundation continue their particularly unpleasant expansion. All the way to Australia.

Adam Bienkov - Racial politics isn’t dead yet.

The Enemies of Reason - on Labour’s war with everyone but the rich.

Hagley Road to Ladywood - The Pope feels homosexuality is as great a threat to humanity as climate change. As does more or less the rest of the Vatican, too.

StroppyBlog - has a report on the day of action to free the Shministim.

Under Poll Pressure

Nationwide
Brown faces Labour revolt on post plans
Family courts set to be opened up to media
Doctor guilty of Glasow car bomb attacks
Planning targets ‘creating bias’

International
US rates slashed to nearly zero
‘Thousands made slaves’ in Darfur
Explosives found at Paris department store
Sicilian mafia ‘decapitated’ by mass arrests

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Back Towards the Locus - compares a terrible band with a terrible party.

Daily Kos - on participatory democracy in food activism.

Feministing - wonders if the internet is more important than sex.

Peter Cranie - provides another reason to reduce our dependence on oil.

Pickled Politics - Apparently, Anthony Browne didn’t mean it. Yeah…

StroppyBlog - Are we on the verge of seeing a renewed prudery in the media?

Smith Cracks Down on Council Spying

Nationwide
Darling: UK facing severe downturn
Ministers apologise for misleading over police
50,000 jobs at risk in Royal Mail break-up
Iraqi sewed up mouth to avoid deportation

International
Arctic melt passes the point of no return
Shoe-hurling Iraqi becomes a folk hero
Britain adds 300 soldiers to support Afghan force
US rate cut towards zero expected

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Green Ben’s Kemptown Blog - wants free school meals for all.

Two Doctors - doesn’t understand why anyone still uses Internet Explorer.

The Daily (Maybe) - reports on the recent HOPI conference.

James Grieves - Why do so many conservatives have such a deranged position on sex?

Peter Cranie - thinks we need more honesty about NHS service provision.

Obselete - on murderous tabloids.

BorisWatch - on why blogs are important.

80% Approval Rating

Nationwide
Iraq withdrawal ‘begins in March’
Purnell: Benefit claimants ‘must do more’
Clegg: Freedom taking a battering under New Labour
Tesco to be world number two by 2012

International
New Deal: Business likes Obama plan
Funeral leads to more Greece mayhem
Writer poised to lead Canada’s Liberal Party
India identifies Mumbai attackers

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

The Daily (Maybe) - Why doesn’t the media promote best practise rather than simply squeal that sex is dangerous?

Back Towards the Locus - thinks an invasion of Zimbabwe wouldn’t work.

Earthpal - A few delayed journeys now are better than no journeys at all in the future.

Ten Percent - on the whitewashing of the de Menezes case.

Jennie – worries that the remit of the IWF is about to increase.

This is Zimbabwe - There is nothing for Zimbabwean’s to celebrate on human rights day.

Machine Gun Keyboard - Bart Simpson is now legallly a “person” in New South Wales.

Profits Plunge at High St

Nationwide
Tories and Lib Dems to boycott Green inquiry
Baby P official fired without pay
Retail sales ‘fall still further’
Obama spending pledges boost FTSE and markets

International
America’s NY Times, LA Times in crisis
Bush hands out jobs at the last minute
Taliban ‘noose’ around Kabul
Alleged 9/11 plotters offer to confess at Guantánamo

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Splintered Sunrise - thinks the reaction to the Karen Matthews case is overblown.

The Daily (Maybe) - rounds up posts on Plane Stupid. Are they becoming the Fathers 4 Justice of the environmental movement?

Socialist Unity - Why bother with bowdlerism?

Rhetorically Speaking - Why does Melanie Phillips not understand the disconnect between assaulting the minority rights of homosexuals and defending the minority rights of evangelicals?

Stroppyblog - mourns Oliver Postgate.

Bart Jones - Chavez is no saint, but not is he the monster depicted in the Western media.

DAILY BLOG REVIEW *EXTRA* / by Aaron

anticant’s arena – A brilliant round-up of the regressive stances taken by Ratzinger’s Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church here. Hard-line conservatism bordering intolerant fascism would be my take. Important.

Obsolete – The recent fury over the Virgin Killer album cover highlights the unchecked power of Internet Watch Foundation.

The Barnet Eye – Rog is amazed by the changes made in kiddies version of The Oxford dictionary. Are we really seeing a fledgling Newspeak via the famous tome?

Clairwil – The Karen Matthews incident has little or nothing to tell us about the benefits system as a whole.

Hagley Road to Ladywood – The government’s latest assault on the humble fag is to force it underground. Well, under the counter, anyway.

The Sun – Tabloid Lies – On The Scum’s coordinated assault on the Plane Stupid protesters.

Wot, yer still want more? Our Neil has a selection of links over at The Bleeding Heart Show.

Tory lead cut in post-PBR poll

Nationwide
The ‘British Fritzl’ and his reign of terror
Revealed: Labour’s £37bn stealth spending cuts
UK: All Starbucks’ coffee to be Fairtrade
GM passes begging bowl around Europe

International
U.S. plans $800 billion in lending to ease crisis
Blasts shut Bangkok airport
World’s top marijuana producers identified
Record crowd for Obama inauguration?

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

The Daily (Maybe) - on the Venezualan elections.

Tory Troll - has essential viewing for all the Nerdistanis.

The Enemies of Reason - considers whether the Mail really cares about suicide. Answer: no.

Jess McCabe - doesn’t understand the concept of Web 2.0 celebrities. Neither do I.

Hagley Road to Ladywood - Why will repeating the behaviour which created a crisis help end it?

J. Arthur MacNumpty - on the fury of Anne Moffat.

Agnes Poirier - Could the French socialists collapse any more farcically?

Tory poll lead slumps

Nationwide
Prostitute users face clampdown
Haringey apologises over Baby P
MP loses cash over ‘rude’ blog
A rare glimpse into BNP support

International
Soros funded think-tank becomes Obama policy font
Obama ‘picks’ US attorney-general
Democrats gain another Senate seat
UN: More peacekeepers won’t bring peace to Congo
Last-minute Bush abortion ruling causes furor

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

The Daily (Maybe) - brings a fresh perspective on pirates landing in Somalia.

Tygerland - doesn’t think the BNP membership list should have been leaked.

Two Doctors - Offshore oil won’t fund Scottish independence.

Tory Troll - Welcome to the Congestion Cold War.

Shuggy’s Blog - Did evolution take a wrong turn somewhere if we have Reality TV?

Cruella Blog - on lying headlines.

Too young to refuse surgery?

And more…
Cameron’s £2.6bn tax break rebutted
Narrow elite? Harriet Harman wants change
Congo “worst place to be a child”
Obama may reverse Bush policies quickly
Single men invited to adopt a child

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

BoRev - George Bush’s first priority in talks with Obama was that he refuse to work with Colombian human rights groups. What a surprise…

Dave Hill - on the launch of Progressive London.

Dave’s Part - Prohibition doesn’t work.

Kubatana - In Zimbabwe, matters have reached the stage that people are besieging banks for their money.

Philobiblon - has very fragile good news from Congo.

Plattitude - on an unusually cross-party campaign.

Two Doctors - Does Obama herald the fourth republic?

President-Elect Barack H. Obama.

And more…
Brown hails ‘inspirational’ Obama
Why Obama won
GOP: Deep in the Wilderness
Times: Full video and text of speech

Elsewhere…
UN caught in new DR Congo clashes
Stocks rise after Obama victory
Trauma rife in Afghanistan troops
Devolution body to take evidence

Election Netcast Special / by Douglas Johnson

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! (Ahem.)

Next Left - tries to find the essential reads of the election.

Shiraz Socialist - The Reagan Coalition is dead. At last!

Plattitude - exercises the inner Obama.

Penny Red - rather sums up how I felt last night.

Pickled Politics - has pictures from an Obama office on election day, and a fitting reaction to victory.

Bob Piper - wishes that we had the same chance to vote for change in 2010.

Socialist Unity - Obama isn’t Blair, and this won’t be a New Labour style disappointment; the campaigns were different, and so will be the terms.

Stroppyblog - Melanie Phillips isn’t happy. Oh dear. (YES!)

The Yorksher Gob - has three pleasing open letters.

Rayyan Mirza - has some thanks to say.

Daily Kos - has pretty pictures.

More later, when I’ve had some sleep. Tips very welcome in the comments!

John McCain’s last stand

And more…
BBC on defensive over Brand and Ross
Will McCain annoy independent voters?
Obama and McCain’s mobilisation efforts compared
Dozens killed in Pakistani earthquake
Iceland: Britain has devastated our economy
The killing fields of Afghanistan

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

The Daily (Maybe) - interviews Jean Lambert on workers’ rights.

Obselete - When Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross are considered key political material, isn’t something wrong?

Harpymarx - wonders what can be done about child poverty.

Daily Kos - In this election, states that haven’t mattered for years now have the chance to make a difference. Which the Republicans aren’t very happy about.

Feministing - shares issues with heteronormative dating.

Stroppy Blog - on women and the economic crisis.

Several killed in US drone attack

Elsewhere
Cameron: It’s all about character
Lloyd TSB’s HBOS rescue in jeopardy
US senators to vote on bail-out
Nervous GOP urges McCain to attack
Bloomberg Called Ready to Announce Third-Term Bid

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

New Direction - manages to include Kinnock and Tony Benn in a list of Labour heroes.

Pickled Politics - Sunny reports from Kathmandu.

HarpyMarx - What’s happened to the pension funds?

The F-Word - Come to abortion rights public meeting on the 7th.

Tory Troll - How long can Boris live on fantasy island?

Back Towards the Locus - How Obama should respond to McCain’s latest ad.

Rupert’s Read - When does consensus become ideology?

Bailout Fails; Stock Plunge

Elsewhere
Markets carnage after bailout rejected
Palin gaffes spook McCain team
Tories ‘to help have-a-go heroes’
‘Millions’ of UK young in poverty

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Pickled Politics - Ahmadinejad acknowledges Iran may have a “few” gays. Progress?

Shuggy’s Blog - Why does the left always underestimate the right?

The Daily (Maybe) - Why do unpopular religious leaders bother to attack works of popular fiction? It only makes them yet more unpopular…

Tygerland - carries Mike Huckabee’s response to the bailout. What do you make of a party whose senators reject a plan as socialism while other prominent figures reject it for encouraging greed amongst the rich?

Gaian Economics - The mutuals should never have demutualised.

Two Doctors - has some advice for Werner Faymann.

Ann Pettifor - thinks Keynes would have known what to do.

Boris Johnson made his first conference speech as Mayor of London yesterday. In it, he made the proud boast that:

“…for the first time since the GLA was created, for the first time since London has had a mayor. I will not be coming back to the people and asking them for more money in tax. There will be no increase in our share of the council tax next year…”

He justifies these cuts with the claim that we must cut tax, because the credit crunch pinches hard on wallets. That’s an odd defence. To fund the hole in the GLA’s budget the cut makes, Boris will no doubt need to cut public services and increase fees for those that remain; putting pressure on incomes, just in another place.

It’s an especially odd defence when you consider that, in fact, Boris raised London’s public transport fares by some 11% recently. Hardly a move likely to aid those commuters suffering from the economic downturn that Boris claims his policies will make easier. Many who regularly use public transport use it because they must; either a car costs too much, or is simply impractical.

So, the claim that these cuts come because it’d be criminal to foist yet more money from Londoners during a financial crisis wears very thin; as, actually, he will take more money from other Londonders, elsewhere. As Mr. Stop Boris points out:

By taking disproportionate sums of money from public transport users in order to keep Council Tax down, rejecting the option of spreading the pain relatively fairly among all Londoners in favour of penalising those using public transport, Boris is benefiting those in suburbia with big houses and cars, who could best afford to pay more, at the expense of those living in poverty and reliant on the buses to get around.

The money for the council tax cuts won’t come from fare-rises, which come from another pot with other holes in it. But they will come from cuts to other public services used just as much as the buses by those who can’t afford anymore.

Boris tells us this is the most fundamental illustration of what a Tory does in power. Perhaps we should take note of what that is then; a series of policies whereby the wealthy pay less and the poor pay more. Osborne proposed similar cuts in council tax at the Conservative Conference today. If Johnson’s example is anything to go by, they’ll come from public services whose users just can’t afford that. Which first, I wonder?

Congress Objects to Lack of Help Aimed at Homeowners

Elsewhere
House GOP rises up against Cheney
Brown gets up close and personal
Ruth Kelly set to quit
First Chinese to spacewalk on Friday

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Back Towards the Locus - produces a post which sums up my feelings towards Brown’s speech entirely.

Cruella Blog - Which century are we in again?

The F-Word - Is feminism reaching everyone it could?

Kerron Cross - reacts to Ruth Kelly’s resignation.

Pickled Politics - on Richard Barnbrook’s big day out. So big, in fact, that Barnbrook had to make some parts ups.

Rayyan Mirza - What can the Greens do in 100 months?

J. Arthur MacNumpty - has some advice for the Scottish Greens.

An Onymous Lefty – comments on the state of bigotry in Australia.

A Blairite acquaintance languishing at the Labour Conference reports:

Conference is generally quite upbeat and behind Gordon. My less confident attitude hasn’t been too popular!

This just before another text asking me whether I’d seen yesterday’s poll in the Observer confirming Labour’s impending electoral annihilation. These delegates know how dire the situation is, and yet they refuse to act against it. A conference packed with loyalists. continue reading… »

3:20pm update: Lloyds TSB & HBOS merger talks

Elsewhere
Fed bails out AIG by buying it
Economists overwhelmingly prefer Obama
Russian stockmarkets dive 17%
Palin linked electoral success to Kenyan witchhunter
Israel’s ruling party to pick woman leader
Pelosi orders wide Wall Street probe

DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Douglas Johnson

Rizwaan Sabir - on six days of state-sanctioned abduction.

Obselete - Labour rebels need to find a figurehead.

Kubatana - Will the power-sharing deal beteen Mugabe and Tsvingirai actually work?

This is Zimbabwe - The Zimbabwean Human Rights NGO Forum is, meanwhile, cautiously optimistic.

Cruella Blog - on sex and the Tories.