Politics Online: Blogs, Chatrooms and Discussion Groups in American Democracy
Stephen's Linlithgow Journal (Free subscription) | 4 hours ago
The breaking news of this morning is that the five British yachtsmen who had been held in Iran for encroaching their territorial waters while racing from Bahrain to Dubai have been released.
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
I’ve never had any objection to the creation of this People’s Bank that so many on the left aseem to have their hearts set on. Simple, low cost banking for the poor? Sure, why not? Millions more people on lower incomes will be able to open a bank account….. and qualify for cheaper direct debit fuel [...]
Stephen's Linlithgow Journal (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
Did anybody else notice that in yesterday's reshuffle Alex Salmond made himself job-share Mike Russell's old non-cabinet level brief with Fiona Hyslop? So Alex Salmond is now not only MP for Banff and Buchan, MSP for Gordon and First Minister of Scotland, he is also Secretary for Constitutional Affairs. The last being the only portfolio of the major manifesto big pledges that is still currently standing,...
Pickled Politics (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
This article in the Financial Times is eye-popping, as it goes inside what is dubbed ‘Tony Blair Inc’. Here’s once excerpt: For a man being pitched as a potential leader for Europe, Mr Blair has spent little time in the continent since leaving Downing Street. He pops up in the most disparate of places: posing with [...]
Stephen's Linlithgow Journal (Free subscription) | 4 hours ago
It appears that the SNP instead of being able to run a government are an unruly rabble. When threatened with the Lib Dem led vote of no-confidence in the Education Secretary that was Fiona Hyslop, they had threatened to resign en masse to force an election. They have threatened to do so before, indeed it is a constant refrain come budget time, indeed you would expect to hear it again soon, only they...
politicalbetting.com (Free subscription) | 9 hours ago
How dangerous is the issue for the Tories? Only days before the Copenhagen climate summit Andrew Grice in the Independent is reporting what’s said to be growing split between many parts of the Tory party and its leadership on the issue. It will be recalled that just four years ago one of Cameron’s first acts as leader [...]
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
The perils of life as a sporting Wag loom large this week. Tiger Woods appears to be in the doghouse after claims – malicious, I’m sure – of an extra-marital dalliance with a pillow-lipped birdie. But if it had been true, and wife Elin took revenge [...]
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
Unselfconsciously, the man in the baggy brown suit dropped one stalk of wheat and selected another from the mound beside the road. He carefully picked off the individual grains and popped them into his mouth. In fields that stretched to the horizon, men, women and children [...]
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
As we know, there’s all sorts of people telling us that it’s finance capitalism which is the problem. Those shareholders greedy for their returns: if we just got rid of them and had mutuals as the major part of that finance system then all our worries would go away. Yeah, right. Capital adequacy is a mutual headache [...]
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
“The funny thing is I’m not actually all that bright. I think I’m just good at seeing things that fairly obviously need to be done – and getting on with doing them.” Sir John Crofton, creator of the Edinburgh Method of TB treatment.
SUBROSA (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
I'm sad this morning even though I knew it was coming. Another blogger, who I consider a friend, has decided to put his keyboard in storage. Advanced Media Watch has decided, for the reasons he states, he has had enough. He supports the SNP and independence for Scotland with a passion and I'm sure he will continue to do so. Once, only once, he made an error but was quickly forgiven for the mature...
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
Apart from the fact that you’d have to count your fingers afterwards, and they’d probably charge you for it anyway: MPs crisis: House of Commons hit ‘by loo roll shortage’ On the other hand, how could this happen? How could there in fact be any use of loo roll in the building given that politicians are so [...]
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
New figures released by the Conservatives show that around two million vendors have paid a combined total of £657.6 million since the controversial scheme was launched amid opposition from estate agents in August 2007. Also known as Sellers’ Packs, HIPs have raised £94 million for Government coffers [...]
Pickled Politics (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
Obama has finally announced his plans with regards to Afghanistan. His plans are outlined here. Why I like it: 1. He didn’t blindly heed General McChrystal’s view that chucking troops at Afghanistan will solve the problem. 2. Announced July 2011 as the date when U.S. forces in Afghanistan will begin handing over security responsibilities to Afghan soldiers and [...]
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
Britain has plummeted to the foot of an international league table for the number of young people remaining in education beyond the age of 15, according to research. It has been overtaken by Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Hungary and New Zealand in major rankings showing the number of teenagers in college and university. The University and [...]
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