Politics

George Galloway MP General Election Fundraiser - Sunday 4 April 2010

VOTEGEORGEGALLOWAY

George Galloway is seeking his 6th successive election win and invites all his friends to attend this special fund-raising event.

Venue: Porchester Hall, Porchester Road, London W2 5HS
Date: Sunday, 4 April 2010
Time: 7.00pm
Tickets: £50

You can buy tickets online using your credit/debit card or Paypal account at http://www.votegeorgegalloway.com/2010/ ... ction.html

You may also book through GGelectionfund@hotmail.co.uk or contact Zak on 07908 959 982

Cheques to be made payable to George Galloway Election Fund, 130 Longbridge Road, Barking, Essex IG11 8S

If you are unable to attend, do please donate to the election fund via http://www.votegeorgegalloway.com/2010/ ... ction.html

SINISTER PARALLELS OF HATRED

SOCIALISTUNITY

There are weeks to go before a general election and the main parties are struggling. Cue the filthy politics of scapegoating and divide and rule.

If it were only the fascists of the British National Party and their street-fighting associates in the English Defence League it would be bad enough.

But so widespread and respectable has demonising Britain’s Muslim and immigrant communities become that unscrupulous mainstream politicians are tempted to slide from the gutter into that sewer.

Coincidentally - or maybe not - the Israeli intelligence services have warned of action to undermine the alliance between the left and Muslim communities in Britain, in London in particular, embodied in the movements against war and for Palestine.

Gordon Brown intervenes to delay EU hedge funds rules

GUARDIAN Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:22:26 GMT

• France and Germany press for tougher regulations •Tim Geithner, says EU is adopting protectionist agenda Gordon Brown delayed EU proposals for tighter rules covering hedge funds and private equity groups after he intervened to block a discussion by finance ministers meeting in Spain. A debate in the EU parliament is scheduled to go ahead tomorrow, but MEPs will discuss the Alternative Investment Fund Managers's (AIFM) directive without a recommendation from the finance ministers' group, Ecofin. It is understood the prime minister telephoned his Spanish counterpart, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who holds the European Union presidency, to call for more time to debate the rules. The compromise directive was due to be hammered out at a meeting of finance ministers, but the item was dropped from the agenda. A spokesman for Brown welcomed the move. He said: "The fact that it has been postponed is good news. More time is needed." Britain, home to four out of five hedge funds in Europe and about a third of all private equity firms, had been concerned that the proposed rules would damage Europe's competitiveness. Most of the debate has focused on rules for non-EU funds and managers, which the UK government believes unfairly discriminates against US fund managers as well as those in offshore jurisdictions, many of them with offices in London. Private equity firms have lobbied intensely to block plans for greater disclosure and hedge funds have protested at limits on borrowing under AIFM rules. The US treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, has also accused the EU of adopting a protectionist agenda. Simon Havers, chairman of the British Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, said recently the new rules would encourage firms to locate outside the EU in Dubai, Zurich and New York. "Europe would be less shooting itself in the foot than squarely in the temple," he said. Britain is expected to push for the G20 to bypass EU plans and agree rules covering private equity and hedge funds. French and German politicians have pressed the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the chancellor, Angela Merkel, to take a tough line. They believe there should be strict curbs on the high levels of debt adopted by private equity firms and what they see as the destabilising impact of hedge fund investment strategies. The Tories' City spokesman, Mark Hoban, accused the government of failing to stand up for London's financial sector."The decision to drop the AIFM directive from Ecofin's agenda hides the fundamental weakness in the government's position. If the debate had gone ahead, the government's failure to build alliances to block damaging parts of the directive would have been obvious for all to see. "The government has had to play up throughout the debate on AIFM because it failed to provide leadership when the directive was being drafted. This mess reinforces the argument we have made for a senior Treasury minister to spend as much time as is necessary in Brussels and other European capitals to shape directives and build alliances with other member states to make sure that the voice of London's financial services sector is heard," he said. Hedge funds Private equity Euro Regulators Gordon Brown Financial crisis Phillip Inman guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Letter: Michael Foot obituary

GUARDIAN Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:43:50 GMT

Francis Beckett writes: Soon after he became Labour leader, Michael Foot (obituary, 4 March) travelled to St Albans for a meeting for the agricultural workers' trade union. I was its head of communications, and we knew there was to be a demonstration by the left against Foot's Northern Ireland policy

Cartoon: British Airways strike is 'unjustified and deplorable', says Brown

GUARDIAN Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:28:32 GMT

PM turns on Unite union as talks fail to produce breakthrough and three-day stoppage by cabin crew looms Steve Bell

Breaking News » Politics

Iran issue 'unites' UK and China

BBC Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:42:34 GMT

The UK foreign secretary says Britain and China have "a shared goal" in solving the issue of Iran's nuclear programme.

Lords pass internet piracy bill

BBC Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:16:04 GMT

The Digital Economy Bill, which includes measures to ban persistent illegal file-sharers, has been passed by peers.

Campaign to get Muslims to vote

BBC Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:54:34 GMT

Leading Muslim scholars give their backing to a campaign to try to get more people from their community to vote in the general election.

Cut ministers by a third, say MPs

BBC Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:08:09 GMT

The number of UK ministers should be cut "by as much as one third" to reduce costs and make Parliament more independent, MPs say.

Clinton affirms US Israel support

BBC Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:25:09 GMT

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denies US-Israel relations are in crisis amid a row over Jerusalem settlements.

Israel's Titanic moment: Does Obama want Bibi's head?

Cartoon : Nourishment

WORLDPRESSNETWORK 17 Mar 2010

Breaking News » Politics » Leon Kuhn

HAARETZ Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:25:55 GMT+02:00

Hamas has designated this day, in this place, its Day of Rage. Why, then, the smiles on the faces of Mahmoud Zahar and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

Perhaps it's because after more than 22 years of costly trial and error, Hamas has finally come upon the secret of how to bring down the Jewish state:

Let the ship sink itself.

This month, down here in the engine room of the Titanic, a single coherent order continues to sound from the officers shrouded in fog on the bridge: "More power!"

To the delight of Mahmoud Zahar and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Israel's homemade weapons of mass destruction - pro-settlement bureaucrats with conflicts of financial and ideological interest - have done in one meeting what Israel's foes have sought for generations: driving a stake through the heart of Israel's relationship with the White House.
...
The Holy City, meanwhile, has the held-breath wariness of a fuse whose end had been lit, but whose other end was not in sight. For some on the right, there was evident relish in the situation, and not a little pride.

In one of the more remarkable, and ill-advised, editorials in its 77-year history, the Jerusalem Post poured oil on the smolder this week, rewriting Jewish history and tradition to declare that the newly dedicated Hurva synagogue in the Old City, "symbolizes, perhaps more than any other site, the Jewish people's yearnings to return to its homeland."

The piece is an extraordinary example of internal logic, and an indirect confirmation of fundamentalist Islamic fears of hopes to encroach on the Muslim shrine of Al Aqsa for the ultimate purpose of building a third Jewish Temple. Referring to the literal meaning of the Hurva, the editorial goes on to state that "To name something that is built a 'ruin' reveals a stubborn unwillingness to accept the present reality as unassailable."

Israel can no longer hide true colors

PALTELEGRAPH Tue, 16 Mar 2010

"Israel has stabbed Obama in the back." U.S. President Barack Obama is said to be "incandescent with anger."
...
It appears that British newspapers have sensed that Israel is now fair game. Papers that pointedly ignored George Galloway's efforts to break the siege of Gaza with convoys of trucks and ambulances are now publishing scathing columns.

Israel can no longer hide true colors

PALTELEGRAPH Tue, 16 Mar 2010

Phillips blamed for equality row

BBC Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:31:23 GMT

A parliamentary committee raise concerns over the leadership of UK equalities chief Trevor Phillips and questions his reappointment.

What is behind Nick Clegg's refusal to pick a party?

'Not a kingmaker'

BBC Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:40:53 GMT

Defiant Brown will 'keep going'

BBC Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:46:16 GMT

Gordon Brown says he wants to "keep going", after being asked if he would resign if Labour failed to win the general election.

US-Israeli relations: White house sets out demands to Netanyahu

GUARDIAN Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:00:01 GMT

Pressure mounts on Barack Obama as Jerusalem homes plan shatters talks hope TV show host Jay Leno made a cruel joke last week that will have hurt the White House more than a hundred critical comment pieces in the New York Times or Washington Post. Leno, host of the Tonight Show, said a poll showed some people in favour of Barack Obama's presidency so far and some opposed, but most reserving judgment until he had done something.

Selection row MP fights concerns

BBC Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:56:36 GMT

A Labour MP caught up in a reselection dispute is fighting claims from local party members she is not up to the job.

Elected Lords plan 'coming soon'

BBC Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:49:23 GMT

Proposals for a fully elected House of Lords will be set out shortly by the government, the transport secretary tells the BBC.

The snake oil salesmen who hijacked my party: After 25 years as an MP, Peter Kilfoyle hits out at hypocrisy of New Labour

DAILYMAIL Sun, 14 Mar 2010

By the Eighties, Thatcherism was the order of the day in public life. The economic landscape had shifted, and with it the industrial profile of the nation.

Unions were under the cosh and in rapid retreat from their power and numbers of the Seventies. The stresses spread from wider society into the Labour Party, complicating Labour’s internal battles, first between Right and Left and then with Militant.

Along came New Labour, in a last-ditch attempt to win power before the Labour Party splintered after a feared defeat in 1997.

It worked – at least, for while. What it also did, however, was to emasculate Labour ideologically.

Clegg bids to cool coalition talk

BBC Sun, 14 Mar 2010 02:06:22 GMT

Nick Clegg is to say he is "not the kingmaker" amid speculation about the Lib Dems' possible role in a coalition government.

Breaking News » Politics

UK MPs deny charges over expenses

ALJAZEERA Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:34:08 GMT

Four British politicians tell court they are not guilty of charges of false accounting.

CIA tainted French bread with LSD for test

PRESSTV Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:05:53 GMT

After 50 years of suspicions over the cursed bread of the French village of Pont-Saint-Esprit and its people's hallucinations, a journalist found CIA in the background of the tragedy.

Breaking News » Politics » Cover ups and Deceptions

Conservative technology manifesto

GUARDIAN Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:55:13 GMT

The Tory document in full Manifesto in full Conservatives guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Damaged water main to be replaced

BBC Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:10:24 GMT

A water main which regularly bursts, leaving residents without supplies, is to be replaced in Hampshire.

Breaking News » Politics » Water

Four due in court over expenses

BBC Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:24:37 GMT

Three Labour MPs and a Tory peer are due in court later to face charges in relation to their expenses claims.

MPs query non-political ministers

BBC Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:09:22 GMT

Ennobling people from outside Parliament to make them ministers should be "exceptional", cross-party MPs say.

Cartoon : STASHCROFT

WORLDPRESSNETWORK 10 Mar 2010

Economic storm 'not over' - Brown

BBC Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:00:27 GMT

Gordon Brown is expected to say he has guided the economy through a "storm" and is best-placed to secure its recovery.

UK seeks Afghan political drive

BBC Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:04:10 GMT

Foreign Secretary David Miliband is to urge the Afghan president to seek a political solution to the conflict with the Taliban.

Why the parties' biggest donors are treated differently

Nick Robinson

BBC Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:30:32 GMT

Labour peer to end non dom status

BBC Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:28:38 GMT

Labour peer and donor Lord Paul has said he will end his controversial "non dom" status from the next tax year.

Paisley jnr picked to fight seat

BBC Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:47:18 GMT

Ian Paisley jnr will contest his father's North Antrim seat in the general election after being selected by his party.

Bush asks Tories to save NI deal

BBC Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:30:39 GMT

Ex-US President George W Bush asks David Cameron to try to get the UUP to back devolution of justice and policing.

One Tower Hamlets – or two? - Labour councillors join Respect

WORDPRESS Mon, 08 Mar 2010

“On Friday outside the House of Commons jack-booted skinhead thugs of the English Defence League paraded with banners saying ‘Close the East London Mosque Now’ and ‘Ban the Burkha’,” said George Galloway at a press conference in Brick Lane yesterday. “This is where the witch-hunt launched by Jim Fitzpatrick last summer against Muslim weddings was bound to end up.

....With the Tories the gap between Labour and the Tories narrowing in the polls, there is every prospect now of a hung parliament. This could make Tower Hamlets the decisive influence over the next government.

Very senior Labour figures have approached George Galloway to find out our attitude towards a potential minority Labour government. This is our response.

If there is a hung parliament and George Galloway and Abjol Miah are returned as Tower Hamlets MPs, Respect will have three minimum conditions on which we will support a Labour-led government:

A MASSIVE COUNCIL HOUSE BUILDING PROGRAMME TO ADDRESS THE HOUSING SCANDAL IN THIS BOROUGH AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY

THE RAPID WITHDRAWAL OF BRITISH TROOPS FROM ALL ILLEGAL AND POINTLESS WARS

THE RADICAL DEMOCRATISATION OF OUR CONSTITUTION WITH A FAIR VOTING SYSTEM, ABOLITION OF THE APPOINTED HOUSE OF LORDS AND CLEANING UP PARLIAMENT – NO MORE SECOND HOMES FIDDLES.

Leaving the house: MPs' diaries

Cartoon : STASHCROFT

WORLDPRESSNETWORK 10 Mar 2010

Breaking News » Politics » Leon Kuhn

BBC Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:26:01 GMT

MPs retiring at the election reflect on their careers in Parliament and their remaining days in Westminster.

Tebbit says Lord Ashcroft should have admitted tax status years ago

GUARDIAN Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:07:16 GMT

Formal complaint alleging 'pecuniary advantage by deception' sent to Scotland Yard's specialist crime directorate Lord Ashcroft should have admitted that he was a non-dom many years ago because keeping the matter secret suggested that he had done something wrong, Lord Tebbit said today. The former Conservative party chairman told the Guardian that although Lord Ashcroft had not broken any law, he had forgotten that what matters most in politics is public perception. Many Tories have criticised Ashcroft strongly in private, but Tebbit is one of the few senior figures in the party to speak out in public. He made his comments as it emerged that Scotland Yard has been asked to launch an investigation into Ashcroft, the Conservative deputy chairman, for allegedly profiting from a peerage obtained through a lie. Tebbit said that Ashcroft had not committed any offence, and in paying the minimum amount of tax he was legally obliged to pay he was doing "what we all do, if we have any sense". But that what mattered politically was that Ashcroft had not asked himself "the Daily Mail question". He went on: "Many, many years ago this was explained to me by Harry Legge-Bourke, the then chairman of the 1922 committee, when he said of a certain course of action that was being discussed: 'If you would not be happy to read that in tomorrow's Daily Mail, then don't do it.' That Daily Mail test is the one that matters above all in politics." Tebbit said he was not in a position to say whether he thought that Ashcroft had complied with the undertakings he had given William Hague, or whether Hague and David Cameron had handled the matter properly, because he did know the details of the conversations that had taken place. But he said that Ashcroft should have been more open: "The prurient always gain a kick from the prurience if what they see is seen through a not-quite-closed curtain. Probably it would have been better for Lord Ashcroft to have said what we now know some years ago." Ashcroft was sharply criticised in several newspapers over the weekend. The News of the World, owned by Rupert Murdoch and previously edited by Cameron's communications chief, Andy Coulson, appeared to urge the leadership to drop Ashcroft as deputy chairman. "A very rich bloke is managing to sort his own taxes very quickly, thank you, while the rest of us have to pay through the nose to bail out his banker pals. Cameron, and particularly Hague, have had chance after chance to lance this boil of a problem, but they didn't. Now it has come back to haunt them." In a separate development, the Guardian can reveal that a formal complaint was sent last week to Cressida Dick, the head of the Metropolitan police's specialist crime directorate. It claims that the Tory peer has gained "a pecuniary advantage by deception" by failing to keep promises that he would become a permanent resident in Britain. Jim Miller, a writer from Leominister, Herefordshire, said he made the complaint because Ashcroft had deceived the British people and profited from that deceit. "I've read what's happened and I'm not happy about it. I wanted to put it before the police so they could decide whether an offence has been committed," he said. In a letter to Dick on Wednesday, Miller said that a letter sent by Ashcroft to Hague when Hague was opposition leader gave a "clear and unequivocal assurance" that he would take up residency in Britain. "Lord Ashcroft did not take up permanent residence in the UK in 2000, and 10 years later he has still not taken up permanent residence in this country; he has done this in order to benefit from non-domicile tax status. He deceived the leader of the Opposition, and through him deceived the honours scrutiny committee, the prime minister's office, and the press and general public," Miller wrote. A spokesman for Scotland Yard said today that it had not yet officially received the complaint. Today Ashcroft's spokesman did not respond to messages left by....

Clinton calls leaders over deal

BBC Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:18:18 GMT

Hillary Clinton conducts telephone diplomacy with NI politicians ahead of Tuesday's vote on the devolution of justice.

Brown's Afghan pledge questioned

BBC Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:56:15 GMT

The Conservatives query Gordon Brown's announcement of 200 new patrol vehicles for British troops in Afghanistan.

Tony Blair's memoirs to be published in September

GUARDIAN Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:38:56 GMT

Tony Blair: The Journey aims to 'describe the human as much as the political dimensions of life as prime minister' Tony Blair's memoirs, signed for an estimated £5m almost three years ago, will be published in September, Random House announced today, promising a "frank, open and revealing" account of the former prime minister's life. In a statement issued by the publisher, Blair said he had "really enjoyed" writing the book. "I have tried to write a book which describes the human as much as the political dimensions of life as prime minister," he said. "Though necessarily retrospective, it is an attempt to inform and shape current and future thinking as much as an historical account of the past. Most of all I want readers to have as much pleasure reading it as I had writing it." Blair will promote his memoirs with a national and international tour on its release in September, four months after the expected date of the next general election in May. The autobiography, to be called Tony Blair: The Journey, will be published by Random House Group imprint Hutchinson, priced at £25, with an audiobook read by Blair himself, and an ebook edition, out at the same time, along with American and Canadian editions from Knopf and Knopf Canada. Gail Rebuck, who heads up Random House and who is also married to Blair's former pollster Lord Gould, said the book would "break new ground in prime ministerial memoirs just as Blair himself broke the mould of British politics". She called the book "frank, open [and] revealing", and said it was "written in an intimate and accessible style". "As an account of the nature and uses of power, it will have a readership that extends well beyond politics, to all those who want to understand the challenge of leadership in today's world," she added. Blair refused to disclose the advance he received from Random House when he signed a deal with the publisher for the memoirs in 2007, but publishing experts said at the time that it could be worth as much as £5m. The former prime minister is also set for significant royalty earnings: Margaret Thatcher's memoir The Path to Power sold an estimated 500,000 copies in hardback when it was published in 1995, according to the Bookseller, while John Major's autobiography sold over 200,000 hardbacks for an advance of around £1m. Whether the timing is right for Blair's autobiography remains to be seen, however. According to a select committee report into government memoirs in 2006, "it is in the financial interest of memoir writers to get their accounts published as soon as possible, and to ensure that they are titillating". The select committee said it was told by Sir Simon Jenkins "that he could remember very well a certain chancellor of the exchequer, who shall be nameless, inquiring as to what his memoirs might be worth and the answer was: 'A quarter of a million tomorrow, £100,000 next week, £10,000 two months from now. How fast can you write them?' It was as simple as that - because there were going to be no sales two months from then. It is show business." Politics Tony Blair Politics past Alison Flood guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

James Bulger killer: Gordon Brown defends refusal to reveal new offence

GUARDIAN Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:51:41 GMT

Prime minister says he understands 'public outrage' after jailing of Jon Venables but justice system must run its course The prime minister, Gordon Brown, today defended the government's refusal to disclose why Jon Venables, who was convicted at the age of 10 of the murder of two-year-old James Bulger, has been sent back to prison for unspecified breaches of the conditions of his release on a life licence. Brown said he understood "public outrage" but insisted it was impossible for the specific details of the breach to be revealed. "What we are talking about is a totally abhorrent crime that happened some years ago but that still, rightly so, disgusts and offends the British people and I can rightly understand the public outrage, even after so many years," he told reporters at a Downing Street press conference. "But the public know that we cannot comment on individual cases that are going through the system and I think the justice secretary explained the particular constraints in this case. "But I want to be absolutely clear that what matters here is that the justice system is allowed to run its course and that justice is done, whatever wrongs are committed. "The justice system must be allowed to take the action that is necessary. That is what people would expect and that is what is going to happen." The prime minister's intervention came after the justice secretary, Jack Straw, was last night warned by lawyers and probation officers that it is inevitable that Venables's new identity will become known while he is back behind bars. Straw yesterday strongly defended his decision not to reveal why Venables, now 27, has been recalled to prison more than eight years after he and his co-defendant, Robert Thompson, were released on life licences from local authority secure units. "I know there's an intense public interest in why he has been recalled," said Straw. "I would like to give that information but I'm sorry that for good reasons I can't, and that's in the public interest." Only 89 offenders released on a life licence were returned to jail last year after breaching the terms of their licence. Only a handful of justice ministry officials, senior probation officers and prison governors currently know Venables's new identity. But as his trial solicitor, Laurence Lee, pointed out: "Every prison in the country will be looking round to see whether or not there's a 27-year-old who looks a little bit like that boy." Lee said it was too early to condemn Venables until it was known what he had done to justify the recall to jail. He said a breach of his ban on going to Merseyside or something similar might be regarded as minor technical infringements that would not mean spending long in prison. Harry Fletcher of Napo, the probation union, also said he believed Venables's new identity would be quickly compromised inside prison. Justice ministry officials said yesterday that disclosing the details of the breaches involved could prejudice the forthcoming parole board hearing to decide whether the recall is justified. It is also thought that disclosing the nature of the breach could jeopardise the anonymity order in force since Venables and Thompson were released in 2001. Bulger's family have not been told the details. Two-year-old James Bulger was abducted from a Bootle shopping centre and murdered by Thompson and Venables in 1993. His body was found was found by children playing on a railway line. The grainy CCTV footage of his abduction has lost none of its emotional power to shock. The killers were released in 2001 on life licences which included conditions such as not contacting each other or going near Merseyside. Both were given new names and a worldwide anonymity order was granted to protect their identity. James Bulger murder Crime Criminal justice Gordon Brown Jack Straw Alan Travis Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions...

Obama wants swift vote on healthcare

PRESSTV Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:37:33 GMT

US President Barack Obama has called for a speedy Congressional vote on his contentious healthcare overhaul bid despite obstacles for the bill's passage.

Parliament's last chance to reform| Meg Russell

GUARDIAN Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:00 GMT

The Wright committee debate should be taken seriously by MPs, so the Commons can make a fresh start before the election Today the House of Commons debates the recommendations of the Wright committee. These offer a real opportunity to reinvigorate parliament, and start restoring its reputation. In the closing weeks of this parliament, the Commons can leave a good legacy for its successor. The reforms would also fulfil one of Gordon Brown's very first pledges as prime minister: to strengthen parliament and return it to the centre of political life. Brown set up the select committee on reform of the House of Commons (chaired by Tony Wright) following the MPs' expenses crisis. It was charged with considering three things: the way select committee members and chairs are chosen, giving MPs more control over the Commons agenda, and increasing public influence in parliament. The first of these has been a bit of a running sore. Way back in 2001, Labour whips sought to block two "unreliable" select committee chairs from getting back onto their committees. This exposed how party whips (both Labour and Conservative) acted as gatekeepers to these committees. The select committees are increasingly well respected, but this affair damaged their reputation. Worse still, the whole reputation of parliament came to suffer. Robin Cook, then leader of the Commons, sought to reform the system and wrest control from the whips, but his proposals were ironically defeated in the house itself. Whips on both sides "encouraged" MPs, in an ostensibly free vote, to leave the system as it was. This puzzled and disappointed reformers. The Wright committee proposals would finally sort this out. Select committee chairs would be elected in a secret ballot at the start of each parliament by the house itself, thus raising their status, and the status of their committees. It would democratise the system, and finally start building the "alternative career path" which many reformers have long sought: allowing MPs to pursue high-profile parliamentary careers, rather than just aspiring to executive office. Select committee members would be elected too, in secret ballots by party groups. The proposals on public involvement have largely now been dealt with, through new arrangements agreed last week for petitioning parliament. This leaves the other big issue: MPs' control over what they can debate. Again, a recent parliamentary fiasco demonstrates the need for this reform. During the expenses crisis some MPs moved a motion calling on Speaker Martin to resign. He was however forced to admit that the only way to debate this was if the government chose to do so. Even on this most fundamental matter of how the Commons ran itself, MPs were dependent on ministers to grant them debating time, which exposed their powerlessness in a pathetic way. Problems with MPs' lack of control over agenda are usually more mundane. For example, the Wright committee proposals themselves have awaited debate for weeks, reliant on a government motion. Initially it was touch-and-go whether government would make the time. Similarly ministers decide which topics MPs can discuss during topical or general debates, at times leaving them disappointed. But in a democratic parliament of grown-up politicians, MPs should be free to make these decisions for themselves. The Wright committee draws a key distinction between management of "backbench" and ministerial business. Government should have no part in scheduling backbench business (eg general debates, debates on procedural matters or select committee reports): this should be a matter for the house. They propose a new backbench business committee, elected by MPs, to do this. Ministerial business (most obviously, government bills) is different: here ministers and shadow ministers will always need to be involved. For this they recommend creation of a house business committee, involving both front and backbenchers. This would bring the Commons into..

Terror is 'not an election issue'

BBC Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:54:18 GMT

The government's terror watchdog has said the fight against terrorism should not become a party political issue in the general election.

Breaking News » Politics » War on Terror

US creates terror groups, ex-intelligence chief says

PRESSTV Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:29:00 GMT

Former head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency Hamid Gol says the United States is seeking to create and train terrorist groups in the region.

Breaking News » Politics » False Flag Operations

US foreign policy 'dominated by military'

PRESSTV Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:50:20 GMT

US Department of Defense's top officer Admiral Mike Mullen says America's foreign affairs are dominated by military doctrines which need to be replaced by diplomacy.

Breaking News » Politics » Military and War

Guardian Daily: Michael Foot (1913-2010); plus Bulger murderer back in jail

GUARDIAN Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:00:00 GMT

People from across the political spectrum have been paying tribute to the former Labour leader Michael Foot, who died yesterday aged 96. Michael White and Martin Kettle discuss the legacy of the man whose 1983 election manifesto was described as the "longest suicide note in history".

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SPIDEREDVIDEO Saturday 20 February 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially an in-depth discussion...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 19 February 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEO Friday 19 February 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the Falklands and Tiger...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 13 February 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 13 February 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially marriage and interviews...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 12 February 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 12 February 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially Haiti, Nelson Mandela,...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 6 February 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 6 February 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially defence review (whilst...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 5 February 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 5 February 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially MPs' expenses, John...

GEORGE GALLOWAY: OUT OF IRAQ - OUT OF AFGHANISTAN

YOUTUBE 1 Feb 2010

STWC

Blair attends the Iraq Inquiry - George Galloway reports

YOUTUBE 29 January 2010

Video shot outside Iraq inquiry the day that Tony Blair gave 'evidence'

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 29 January 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 29 January 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially Tony Blair's performance...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 23 January 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 23 January 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the bankster bonuses, RBS...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 22 January 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 22 January 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially children's upbringing and...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 16 January 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEO Saturday 16 January 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially pharmaceutical companies'...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 15 January 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEO Friday 15 January 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially whether banning extremist...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 09 January 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 09 January 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially how the Robinsons'...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 08 January 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 08 January 2010

Must Hear : George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially George's...

George Galloway Deported from Egypt: "A Badge of honour from a Tin Pot Dictatorship"

YOUTUBE 8 Jan 2009

George Galloway whilst attempting to coordinate humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, is deported by the Egyptians. Thanks to SetFree who states "For those of you who say I only pick on...

Viva Palestina Convoy Breaks Siege of Gaza

YOUTUBE 6 Jan 2010

Al Jazeera Wed 06 Jan 2010 @ 1700GMT: First vehicle (C-11) crossing the Rafah border. 31d 07h 02m 26s from London.

Get News & Follow the convoy:

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 02 January 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 02 January 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the Iraq invasion, and...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 01 January 2010 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 01 January 2010

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially media...

Al Jazeera English trying to be Sky News : Viva Palestina Report on Al Jazeera English

YOUTUBE 29 Dec 2009

AJE's Sohail Rahman reports and discusses Egypt's decision to block the Viva Palestina Convoy from entering Egypt at Nuweiba. Includes commentary from Institute of Palestinian Studies' Mouin...

[Press TV] Egypt Bars Viva Palestina Convoy From Entering It's Territory

YOUTUBE 25 Dec 2009

The Viva Palestina Aid Convoy en-route to Gaza, has been prevented and blocked by Egypt from entering it's territory so as to provide aid and assistance to the people in the impoverished and...

Cow Sh*t to Clean Water

YOUTUBE 24 November 2008

Over 1.1 billion people in the world don't have access to clean drinking water. When I heard of a nanotech water purifier that can be used to purify water from even fecal matter contaminated...

Breaking News » Politics » Water

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 19 December 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 19 December 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially discrimination, Blair,...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 18 December 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 18 December 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the Copenhagen climate...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 12 December 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 12 December 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the MPs' expenses...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 11 December 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEO Friday 11 December 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the budget, economy and...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 5 December 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 5 December 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially Global...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 4 December 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 4 December 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially tax payers funding...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 21 November 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 21 November 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the Iraqi enquiry, the...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 20 November 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 20 November 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially Britain's failings in...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 14 November 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 14 November 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially discussing victims of...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 13 November 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 13 November 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the Glasgow North East...

Solidarity Scotland's Socialist Movement PEB

YOUTUBE

The Party Election Broadcast of Solidarity, Scotland's Socialist Movement - founded by Tommy Sheridan MSP and Rosemary Byrne MSP. This PEB was released to coincide with the Scottish Elections...

Civil Liberties in UK ? Video by cveitch

YOUTUBE 11 Jan 2010

Very funny, yet sickening view of societies "ills", and loss of liberty. Sadly the UK is a little worse off, than here in the U.S....So far.

I urge you to go to his page: His...

Breaking News » Politics » War on Terror

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 7 November 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 07 November 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially a discussion on the fall...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 6 November 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 06 November 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially Afghanistan - a futile...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 31 October 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 31 October 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially MPs' expenses reform and...

Blair attends the Iraq Inquiry - George Galloway reports

YOUTUBE 29 January 2010

Video shot outside Iraq inquiry the day that Tony Blair gave 'evidence'

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 30 October 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 30 October 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the drugs versus alcohol...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Saturday 24 October 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Saturday 24 October 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially Nick Griffin's appearance...

George Galloway on the talkSPORT radio show Friday 23 October 2009 "The Mother of All Talk Shows"

SPIDEREDVIDEOS Friday 23 October 2009

George Galloway's very popular and award winning radio show - the fastest growing radio show on the air waves. Today's radio show covers current affairs, especially the postal strike and...

U.S. Government Stages Fake Coup To Wipe Out National Debt

YOUTUBE 23 Nov 2009

Congress says that with no way to actually pay back our debts, faking a coup to eliminate financial obligations is the best plan for the U.S. economy.