Author Archives: Richard Huzzey

2 Big Stories

Every phone call, email and internet click stored by ‘state spying’ databases – The Telegraph

Key oil figures were distorted by US pressure, says whistleblower – The Guardian

2 Must-read Posts

It’s a think tank reaction special…

Jonathan Calder compared the Taxpayer’s Alliance to a dead duck:

They are obviously very bright over at the TaxPayers’ Alliance. Because they are absolutely right. Animal rescue is not the central job of the fire service.

James Schneider praised a Tory plan for social housing, and noted its origin in a more radical scheme:

Tim Leunig’s original paper for Policy Exchange [...] goes a

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2 Big Stories

Police trainee fights for life after homophobic attack – Telegraph

Brown fights to save Blair’s EU Presidential hopes – Guardian

2 Must-read Posts

Politicians must chatter clearly in the age of twitter, thinks Mark Thompson:

Perhaps what will start to happen is that politicians will realise that being vague about something in a speech and then “clarifying” it in a briefing afterwards will not work in the world of Twitter and blogs.

Camden councillor Alexis Rowell’s mission to turn his borough green from top-to-bottom has reached the Town Hall roof:

Our green roof is little more than a blanket as

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2 Big stories

Afghanistan set for run-off ballot:

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, will bow to international pressure today and concede that he did not win a clear ­majority in Afghanistan’s bitterly contested election, and also accept there should be a second round of voting.

Top brass take on BNP:

The Armed Forces are in danger of being hijacked by far-right extremists “for their own dubious ends”, a group of former generals warn today.

The British National Party is tarnishing the Forces’ reputation by associating itself with the sacrifices of servicemen, they write. They highlight fears within military circles that the party is

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Two big stories

The Grauniad has been gagged:

The Guardian has been prevented from reporting parliamentary proceedings on legal grounds which appear to call into question privileges guaranteeing free speech established under the 1688 Bill of Rights.

Today’s published Commons order papers contain a question to be answered by a minister later this week. The Guardian is prevented from identifying the MP who has asked the question, what the question is, which minister might answer it, or where the question is to be found.

Bonnie Greer and Chris Huhne to tackle Nick Griffin on next week’s Question Time:

The black playwright and author

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2 Big Stories

Chancellor-on-way-out promises freeze in public managers’ pay:

The freeze in effect represents a pay cut. And by targeting the richest public-sector figures, it will be seen as a sign that the broadest shoulders must carry the heaviest burden.

Chancellor-in-waiting proposes raising retirement age:

Shadow chancellor George Osborne would raise the state pension age from 65 to 66 from 2016 if the Tories win the next election to help tackle the UK’s debts.

2 Must-read Posts

Cllr Daisy Benson gave her readers a story about the human stories behind the unemployment statistics:

This morning, on my way to work I bumped

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Two big stories

Flood crisis worstens in Philippines

From the BBC:

The Philippines government says 240 people are now known to have died in severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana.

The country has appealed for foreign aid to deal with the disaster, which has displaced more than 450,000 people.

A rare moment of hope for Gordon Brown

For the first time in… a very long time, Gordon Brown may be relieved by some polling news from Sky and YouGov:

Support for Labour has climbed five points since the start of the party conference, according to a brand new Sky/YouGov poll.

The survey – the first

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2 Big Stories

Airlines to halve emissions by 2050

The Guardian reports:

The British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, will unveil an agreement between airlines, airports and aircraft companies to cut emissions to 50% below 2005 levels by 2050. In a bid to seize the initiative from environmental groups clamouring for higher taxes on the industry, the plan will be presented to world leaders at the United Nations forum on climate change in New York.

Baronness Scotland Survives

Says The Times:

Gordon Brown has today spared his Attorney General the sack for employing an illegal immigrant as her housekeeper, but told Baroness Scotland to

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