What could be simpler: five categories, each with five links. And it’s Friday.

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

1. Lib Dem HQ: read what Nick said, not what the press reported! (67) by Stephen Tall
2. Lib Dem Voice publishes exclusive general election prediction (54) by Mark Pack
3. +++ OFFICIAL: Lib Dems cleared by Electoral Commission over Michael Brown’s £2.4m donation (33) by Stephen Tall
4. Clegg asserts Lib Dems’ ‘hung parliament’ equidistance. (The headline you won’t read in today’s papers). (28) by Stephen Tall
5. Prime Minister removes all Christmas imagery from official Christmas cards (9) by Mark Pack

5 recent Lib Dem tweets

>> jamesgraham The new UKIP leader hates FPTP. That means the Tories will be the only party supporting the status quo in the next General Election.
>> helenduffett Who’s at ALDC Kickstart this weekend?
>> nickjbarlow Watched Lord Pearson on C4 News – if Farage thinks only he can lead UKIP, how low must his opinions of the rest of the party be?
>> stealthmunchkin RT @krishgm UKIP leader retracts claim muslims “breeding 10 times faster than us”, but claims Sharia has overtaken British law in Blackburn
>> alexfoster Packing the various analgesics, decongestants and prophlylactics necessary for a Lib Dem weekend.

5 top non-Lib Dem LibDig postings to look at

1. The Yoosk Leadership Contest: help us find the country’s best MPs
“I’m sure we’ve got some ideas we can suggest…” – submitted by markpack.
2. Why we report on disasters | Economist (Democracy In America)
“A warning not to over-read Sarah Palin’s high profile: ‘It is important for the press to remind ourselves periodically that it is possible for people to be powerful, famous, entertaining, and not very bright. We recently elected someone like that to two terms as president of the United States, and it was not a pleasant experience.'” – submitted by stephenftall.
3. Lib Dems can keep £2.4m donation, rules watchdog (BBC News)
“The elections watchdog has ruled that the Liberal Democrats can keep £2.4m in donations which it had been suggested came from a fraudster.” – submitted by nigel ashton.
4. Jack of Kent: Paul Clarke: An Anatomy of an Injustice
“Excellent discussion in the comments of the Paul Clarke case, kicked off by a post brimming with useful facts unearthed by some investigation.” – submitted by markpack.
5. Testimonials – The Most Powerful Marketing Copy in the World (nancyschwartz.com)
“Okay, so she’s talking fundraising not politics – but the same skills apply when getting vox pops from voters.” – submitted by stephenftall.

5 active LDV Members’ Forum threads

Andy Coulson
base metal
Community Land Trusts
EU/UK Consumer protection
ACT – social action network – beta launch

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

1. cyril smith
2. “general fund” ukip “electoral commission”
3. what is slavery
4. patrick murray lib dem
5. parliament has a shooting gallery

That’s yer lot, folks, from this latest bite of the LDV Friday Five (ish). Let the weekend commence in 5-4-3-2-1 …