Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 203rd weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (2nd – 8th January, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. Jeremy Ambache Resigns Update…………. by Linda Jack on Lindylooz Muze.
Jeremy Ambache’s email explaining why he’s resigned from the Liberal Democrats. See also 6.

2. Why I’m not going to Oldham East and Saddleworth by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
“I would totally love to be there again just now, but dodgy health and snow are two insurmountable barriers for me,” says Caron, and shows us where to donate.

3. Here I am with Tim Farron, LibDem President, stuffing envelopes in Oldham yesterday afternoon by Paul Walter on Liberal Burblings.
The view from Campaign HQ.

4. New Years in Oldham East and Saddleworth by Richard Davis on The Self Defined Polymath.
The views from the hills are great too.

5. Are Labour incapable of being in a coalition? on Mark Thompson’s blog.
On Labour’s new-found appetite for un-compromise.

6. Jeremy Ambache Resigns by Linda Jack on Lindylooz Muze.
How Linda broke the Nuze (see also 1).

7. Simon Hughes writes in the New Statesman by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
Jonathan highlights Simon’s article.

And now to the five blog-posts that come highly recommended, regardless of the number of Aggregator click-throughs they attracted. These are normally chosen using the LibDig bookmarking website for party members, the site where you can highlight blog-posts you want to share with your fellow Lib Dems. Remember, though, you’re still more than welcome to nominate for the Golden Dozen a Lib Dem blog article published in the past seven days – your own, or someone else’s – using the steam-powered method of e-mail … all you have to do is drop a line to [email protected].

8. We will all miss you Rachel Smith (@rachelolgeirsso) by Lisa Harding on Spiderplant Land.
“Today we lost LibDem blogger Rachel Smith to Leukaemia. I’m posting this link to my blog so fellow LibDems can see how wonderful she was and perhaps donate to her fundraising efforts for the unit in Sheffield that was treating her.” (Submitted by lisaharding42 via LibDig.)

9. Women and body image – a personal perspective on Susan Gaszczak’s blog.
“The balance between body image and achievable dreams: Susan Gaszczak shares her story.” (Submitted by helenduffett via LibDig.)

10. Fraser Nelson’s Daily Telegraph column: Reeves responds on Andrew Reeves’ Running Blog.
“In forensic, but respectful fashion, Andrew Reeves tells Fraser Nelson to go and boil his head over his column suggesting that Tories and Lib Dems could merge. That’ll be over every Lib Dem’s dead body.” (Submitted by Caron via LibDig.)

11. No2AV’s got it – mythomania. Yet more fabrication from the No2AV camp. by Chris Richards on On Liberty Now.
“This leaflet highlights the extent to which No2AV (or Yes2FPTP) will go to try and get their way in this referendum, through spin and deception.”. (Submitted by Chris Richards via LibDig.)

12. The sound of gunfire by Sara Bedford on Always Win When You’re Singing.
“Politicians have a duty to moderate their language and not stir people to violence or hatred”

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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