SUNDAY MORNING SALON IS OPEN HERE keep to the Fen Causeway
The government is facing fresh criticism today over another embarrassing lapse in security after a second batch of secret official files were found left on a train. The papers, which cover the UK's policies on fighting global terrorist funding, drugs trafficking and money laundering were handed to The Independent on Sunday. This latest blunder has prompted calls for civil servants to be banned from taking confidential documents out of their offices.
The papers, which cover the UK's policies on fighting global terrorist funding, drugs trafficking and money laundering were handed to The Independent on Sunday.
This latest blunder has prompted calls for civil servants to be banned from taking confidential documents out of their offices.
Gordon Brown thought his luck had changed when the shadow home secretary said he was resigning over 42-day detention. Conservatives, by contrast, thought he had gone mad. Yet to judge from the emails sent by Tory activists, Labour voters and people who had never given a thought to politics, the MP for Haltemprice and Howden may be on to something, writes political editor Gaby Hinsliff
Without going that far, a principle ought to be widely applicable. A principled resignation should be inspirational, making the rest of us hope that we would have the courage to do likewise. Above all, principles should be easily distinguishable from pique. So what principle was David Davis upholding? Is he arguing that whenever an opposition MP disagrees with an item of government policy, he should resign and force a by-election? On that basis, there would be several by-elections every week. We have a parliamentary democracy in which the opposition sets out its arguments; we have general elections, at which the arguments reach their climax. Last week, the Opposition lost the vote, but won the argument. The House of Lords will almost certainly ratify the latter victory, which will probably be the end of the matter. Ministers have no enthusiasm for re-bribing the DUPs. On this occasion, Parliament worked as it ought to. There is absolutely no need for the distraction of Don David Quixote Davis fighting the windmill by-election.
So what principle was David Davis upholding? Is he arguing that whenever an opposition MP disagrees with an item of government policy, he should resign and force a by-election? On that basis, there would be several by-elections every week. We have a parliamentary democracy in which the opposition sets out its arguments; we have general elections, at which the arguments reach their climax.
Last week, the Opposition lost the vote, but won the argument. The House of Lords will almost certainly ratify the latter victory, which will probably be the end of the matter. Ministers have no enthusiasm for re-bribing the DUPs. On this occasion, Parliament worked as it ought to. There is absolutely no need for the distraction of Don David Quixote Davis fighting the windmill by-election.
Germany and France moved to isolate Ireland in the European Union yesterday, scrambling for ways to resuscitate the Lisbon Treaty a day after the Irish dealt the architects of the EU's new regime a crushing blow. Refusing to take Ireland's 'no' for an answer, politicians in Berlin and Paris prepared for a crucial EU summit in Brussels this week by trying to ringfence the Irish while demanding that the treaty be ratified by the rest of the EU. The scene is now set for a major clash between the Irish and their European partners after a Dublin minister and sources in the ruling Fianna Fail party ruled out any chance of a second Irish referendum on the treaty.
Refusing to take Ireland's 'no' for an answer, politicians in Berlin and Paris prepared for a crucial EU summit in Brussels this week by trying to ringfence the Irish while demanding that the treaty be ratified by the rest of the EU.
The scene is now set for a major clash between the Irish and their European partners after a Dublin minister and sources in the ruling Fianna Fail party ruled out any chance of a second Irish referendum on the treaty.
It is catch-22. Without reforming the way it makes decisions, freeing itself to act on global issues that really matter, the European Union will continue to look like a self-serving, arcane bureaucracy. But the EU can't negotiate the devilishly detailed process of reforming itself without resembling the conspiratorial caricature portrayed by its detractors. That portrayal is the one that persuaded Irish voters to reject the Lisbon treaty last week. The Irish 'No' campaign was a broad coalition of contradictory interests. Many of the arguments were unique to Ireland. But the overarching theme - suspicion of a process that appears to serve elites more than ordinary people - resonates across the Continent. Pro-Europeans lament that the Lisbon treaty was derailed by a majority of 100,000, a minute fraction of the EU population. But they cannot credibly deny that those voters reflect a much larger constituency. Paradoxically, Europeans seem to be converging around a common scepticism.
That portrayal is the one that persuaded Irish voters to reject the Lisbon treaty last week. The Irish 'No' campaign was a broad coalition of contradictory interests. Many of the arguments were unique to Ireland. But the overarching theme - suspicion of a process that appears to serve elites more than ordinary people - resonates across the Continent.
Pro-Europeans lament that the Lisbon treaty was derailed by a majority of 100,000, a minute fraction of the EU population. But they cannot credibly deny that those voters reflect a much larger constituency. Paradoxically, Europeans seem to be converging around a common scepticism.
The Government wants the Lords to ignore the Irish "No" vote and go ahead and ratify the Treaty, even though it cannot now come into law, as planned, on January 1, 2009 - and will probably never come into law in its present form. By any conceivable test of democratic procedure, the House of Lords should vote to put Treaty ratification on ice, at least until there is an agreed EU policy as to how to handle the Irish "No" vote. To simply plough ahead on a straight vote to accept or reject the EU (Amendment) Bill is to demonstrate nothing less than a contempt for the democracy on which the European Union is supposed to be founded.
To simply plough ahead on a straight vote to accept or reject the EU (Amendment) Bill is to demonstrate nothing less than a contempt for the democracy on which the European Union is supposed to be founded.
The number of homes built in Britain this year will plunge to its lowest level since 1945 and plummeting construction activity is expected to lead to the loss of 100,000 jobs. The country's most senior housebuilders confirm that completions will be around 100,000, some 70,000 less than last year. The dramatic collapse will shred any hopes Gordon Brown may have had for a rapid acceleration in housebuilding, which was to have been a central plank of his premiership. Brown wants 240,000 homes built each year to house the 3 million new households expected by 2018. Mark Clare, chief executive of crisis-hit developer Barratt, said: 'The small guys have pulled out and the big companies ... are not opening new developments. I think it certainly will be around 100,000, and if there's a further deterioration, it will go under 100,000.'
The dramatic collapse will shred any hopes Gordon Brown may have had for a rapid acceleration in housebuilding, which was to have been a central plank of his premiership. Brown wants 240,000 homes built each year to house the 3 million new households expected by 2018.
Mark Clare, chief executive of crisis-hit developer Barratt, said: 'The small guys have pulled out and the big companies ... are not opening new developments. I think it certainly will be around 100,000, and if there's a further deterioration, it will go under 100,000.'
When he was chancellor, Brown's pitch to the electorate had been the man of prudence and probity, the equivalent of the solid shopkeeper who would never sell his customers shoddy goods. Today the situation is somewhat different, with the voters - in the immortal words of Monty Python - registering a complaint and ministers seeking to reassure, loudly but unconvincingly, that the parrot is not quite dead but is just resting. There is much talk from Alistair Darling about how the economy is better placed than those of other countries to withstand the global downturn ("the Norwegian Blue prefers kipping on its back"), and that there are parts of Britain - away from the financial sector and the housing market - that are still doing well (Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, beautiful plumage). As far as the voters are concerned, the plumage don't enter into it. They seem utterly unmoved by the idea that Britain is, by all accounts, envied as a bastion of creativity when their homes are dropping in value and their real incomes are being squeezed. Rather like the angry customer in the pet shop, they have taken a closer look at the parrot and decided that the only reason it stood on the perch for so long was that the government nailed it there with both public and private debt
Today the situation is somewhat different, with the voters - in the immortal words of Monty Python - registering a complaint and ministers seeking to reassure, loudly but unconvincingly, that the parrot is not quite dead but is just resting.
There is much talk from Alistair Darling about how the economy is better placed than those of other countries to withstand the global downturn ("the Norwegian Blue prefers kipping on its back"), and that there are parts of Britain - away from the financial sector and the housing market - that are still doing well (Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, beautiful plumage).
As far as the voters are concerned, the plumage don't enter into it. They seem utterly unmoved by the idea that Britain is, by all accounts, envied as a bastion of creativity when their homes are dropping in value and their real incomes are being squeezed. Rather like the angry customer in the pet shop, they have taken a closer look at the parrot and decided that the only reason it stood on the perch for so long was that the government nailed it there with both public and private debt
City firms last night reacted angrily to a clampdown by the main financial watchdog on the lucrative practice of short selling shares on the London market. The move followed accusations that traders were seeking to profit from the destruction of some of Britain's best-known companies. Hedge funds, law firms and some investment houses accused the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of making sweeping and long-lasting changes to the City rulebook to shore up the short-term finances of a group of beleaguered banks and house builders.
Hedge funds, law firms and some investment houses accused the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of making sweeping and long-lasting changes to the City rulebook to shore up the short-term finances of a group of beleaguered banks and house builders.
A defiant President Robert Mugabe yesterday vowed he would 'go to war' if he lost the presidential run-off due to take place in less than two weeks. Describing the opposition as 'traitors', he claimed Zimbabwe would never 'be lost' again. Speaking at the burial of a veteran of the independence war, Mugabe said he would never accept the Movement for Democratic Change taking over. 'It shall never happen ... as long as I am alive and those who fought for the country are alive,' he said. 'We are prepared to fight for our country and to go to war for it.' The threat was seen as an angry response to the pressure mounting on the government from other African leaders over the regime's harassment of the MDC leadership and supporters in the run up to the 27 June election.
Describing the opposition as 'traitors', he claimed Zimbabwe would never 'be lost' again. Speaking at the burial of a veteran of the independence war, Mugabe said he would never accept the Movement for Democratic Change taking over. 'It shall never happen ... as long as I am alive and those who fought for the country are alive,' he said. 'We are prepared to fight for our country and to go to war for it.'
The threat was seen as an angry response to the pressure mounting on the government from other African leaders over the regime's harassment of the MDC leadership and supporters in the run up to the 27 June election.
Frantic diplomatic negotiations took place in Tehran yesterday as Iran weighed up a package of trade inducements offered by world powers in exchange for the abandonment of its uranium enrichment programme. European foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Tehran with the offer of the last-ditch deal on behalf of Britain, the US, Germany, Russia, France and China. Tehran is being given a month to agree to suspend enrichment of uranium in exchange for economic, technological and political incentives or face further punitive measures, including the prospect of unilateral sanctions by the EU. Almost as soon as Solana arrived, a senior Iranian government spokesman insisted that the suspension of Iranian enrichment demanded as part of the deal was not 'debatable'. 'Iran's stance is clear. The precondition of a halt and suspension of nuclear activities cannot be brought up,' said Gholam Hossein Elham. Several hours later a second government official offered a cautiously optimistic account of the talks saying that they had opened 'a new diplomatic path' in the efforts to resolve the long-running nuclear dispute
European foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Tehran with the offer of the last-ditch deal on behalf of Britain, the US, Germany, Russia, France and China. Tehran is being given a month to agree to suspend enrichment of uranium in exchange for economic, technological and political incentives or face further punitive measures, including the prospect of unilateral sanctions by the EU.
Almost as soon as Solana arrived, a senior Iranian government spokesman insisted that the suspension of Iranian enrichment demanded as part of the deal was not 'debatable'. 'Iran's stance is clear. The precondition of a halt and suspension of nuclear activities cannot be brought up,' said Gholam Hossein Elham.
Several hours later a second government official offered a cautiously optimistic account of the talks saying that they had opened 'a new diplomatic path' in the efforts to resolve the long-running nuclear dispute
In a desolate field just beyond the Rome ring road, a single line of caravans is a stark sign of the times in the new and increasingly anti-immigrant Italy. The vehicles are the modest homes of 25 Gypsy families, who have become the first victims of a campaign waged by the city's new right-wing mayor to crack down on foreign criminals and illegal Gypsy camps 'We work for a living, but in a couple of hours, everything we had created, the relationship we had built with locals over decades, was wiped out,' said Alessandro, 36. The eviction, against the advice of Rome's police chief, was the latest sign of the disturbing groundswell of resentment building across Italy against the 150,000-strong Roma population. In Naples, a camp was recently firebombed. Near Venice, well supported demonstrations have mobilised locals against a proposed new camp agreed by the council. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's promise to get tough on the perceived lawlessness of Gypsies and foreigners earns him huge approval ratings and gives the green light to right-wing allies, such as Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemanno, to take drastic action. Marking the first such demonstration in Italy, the protesters wore the same black triangle bearing the letter Z as worn by Gypsy inmates at the camps. 'We don't want to be scapegoats,' said Roma singer and academic Santo Spinelli, who helped organise the march. 'Italians are not racist, but we must put an end to the misinformation, mystification and media violence in this country.' Such sentiments cut little ice with the likes of the mayor. The fact that many of those targeted are Italian citizens also appears to offer little protection. Alessandro, like the rest of the Gypsy group, was born in Italy and carries an Italian passport. Not surprisingly, he is furious. 'I did my military service, I vote and I would like a few rights,' he said.
'We work for a living, but in a couple of hours, everything we had created, the relationship we had built with locals over decades, was wiped out,' said Alessandro, 36.
The eviction, against the advice of Rome's police chief, was the latest sign of the disturbing groundswell of resentment building across Italy against the 150,000-strong Roma population. In Naples, a camp was recently firebombed. Near Venice, well supported demonstrations have mobilised locals against a proposed new camp agreed by the council. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's promise to get tough on the perceived lawlessness of Gypsies and foreigners earns him huge approval ratings and gives the green light to right-wing allies, such as Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemanno, to take drastic action.
Marking the first such demonstration in Italy, the protesters wore the same black triangle bearing the letter Z as worn by Gypsy inmates at the camps. 'We don't want to be scapegoats,' said Roma singer and academic Santo Spinelli, who helped organise the march. 'Italians are not racist, but we must put an end to the misinformation, mystification and media violence in this country.'
Such sentiments cut little ice with the likes of the mayor. The fact that many of those targeted are Italian citizens also appears to offer little protection. Alessandro, like the rest of the Gypsy group, was born in Italy and carries an Italian passport. Not surprisingly, he is furious. 'I did my military service, I vote and I would like a few rights,' he said.
Standing in a cavernous hall in the headquarters of the evangelical group Focus on the Family, Lisa Anderson has some bad news for John McCain. 'This is going to be an interesting election,' she said with a smile. The phrase conveys a stark warning to the Republican candidate. Focus on the Family, where Anderson is a director, is one of the most powerful evangelical groups in America. Many of its supporters - and millions of other US evangelicals - helped elect George W Bush twice, giving him their votes and volunteering for his campaign. McCain, who desperately needs their votes, would like them to support him, too. But many evangelicals neither trust nor like McCain.
The phrase conveys a stark warning to the Republican candidate. Focus on the Family, where Anderson is a director, is one of the most powerful evangelical groups in America. Many of its supporters - and millions of other US evangelicals - helped elect George W Bush twice, giving him their votes and volunteering for his campaign. McCain, who desperately needs their votes, would like them to support him, too. But many evangelicals neither trust nor like McCain.
(Maybe they'll just stay home.) You have a normal feeling for a moment, then it passes. --More--
The 7.2 magnitude quake caused huge landslides that blocked roads across Iwate, a picturesque - but relatively unpopulated - area 190 miles north of Tokyo. In the capital itself buildings trembled but there were no reports of damage. The government sent almost 800 soldiers to the area to assist with the recovery efforts. "The top priority is to save lives," said Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. "We're doing our best in rescue operations."
The government sent almost 800 soldiers to the area to assist with the recovery efforts. "The top priority is to save lives," said Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. "We're doing our best in rescue operations."
The first gay "marriage" has been carried out in an Anglican church between two priests, it has been reported today. The Rev Peter Cowell and the Rev Dr David Lord exchanged vows at St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London last month. Although some clergy have carried out blessings for civil ceremonies before, this is the first time the traditional wedding marriage service has been held for a same sex couple, the Sunday Telegraph reported. .................. The news will renew the bitter debate among Anglicans over the issues of gay priests and homosexual marriage.
The Rev Peter Cowell and the Rev Dr David Lord exchanged vows at St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London last month.
Although some clergy have carried out blessings for civil ceremonies before, this is the first time the traditional wedding marriage service has been held for a same sex couple, the Sunday Telegraph reported. ..................
The news will renew the bitter debate among Anglicans over the issues of gay priests and homosexual marriage.
But in 21st-century Britain, a minority that refuses to commune with the rest of society cannot hide from politics. Gordon Brown wants to promote public expressions of 'Britishness'. New arrivals will be expected to avow their loyalty, while established Britons will wave flags and hug each other on a new public holiday. As a rule, policy only exists as a solution to a problem. In this case, the problem is a lack of what wonks and Whitehall call 'integration and social cohesion'. That deficit was brought to the government's attention by opinion polls that consistently show voters unhappy about high levels of immigration, and by the 7 July bombings, which showed how members of one community were so alienated from Britain as to be capable of treason. Since then, promoting 'integration' has become the shared aspiration of all mainstream parties. It is one of those lazy virtues that are easy to promote because no one in their right mind stands for the opposite. Who has a manifesto calling for disintegration? The Haredim pose an interesting challenge to this tidy consensus. If separateness in Muslims and immigrant communities is bad because it leads to crime and disorder, would it be fine as long as the ghetto was trouble-free? If people obey the law, why should they integrate and, if they must, with whom? Rich and poor Britons don't mix socially. They don't even drink in the same pubs.
As a rule, policy only exists as a solution to a problem. In this case, the problem is a lack of what wonks and Whitehall call 'integration and social cohesion'. That deficit was brought to the government's attention by opinion polls that consistently show voters unhappy about high levels of immigration, and by the 7 July bombings, which showed how members of one community were so alienated from Britain as to be capable of treason. Since then, promoting 'integration' has become the shared aspiration of all mainstream parties. It is one of those lazy virtues that are easy to promote because no one in their right mind stands for the opposite. Who has a manifesto calling for disintegration?
The Haredim pose an interesting challenge to this tidy consensus. If separateness in Muslims and immigrant communities is bad because it leads to crime and disorder, would it be fine as long as the ghetto was trouble-free? If people obey the law, why should they integrate and, if they must, with whom? Rich and poor Britons don't mix socially. They don't even drink in the same pubs.
George Bush flies into London today with a warning for Gordon Brown not to announce a timetable for a British pull-out from Iraq, and expressing deep scepticism about the Prime Minister's high-profile strategy for bringing down world oil prices. Asked what he thinks his legacy might be, he says he is happy to await the verdict of history. But he cannot resist also offering his own, suggesting 'the liberation of 50 million people from the clutches of barbaric regimes is noteworthy, at a minimum' Asked in the Rome interview about popular opposition in Britain to the war and his presidency, he replied: 'Do I care? Only to the extent that it affects people's view of the citizens I represent. Do I care about my personal standing? Not really.' He remained, he said, convinced that Iraq, and the world, was a better place without Saddam Hussein. And he said that while 'Presidents don't get to do re-dos' on issues such as Saddam's lack of weapons of mass destruction, there was one lesson from the run-up to the Iraq war that he felt was hugely relevant to the standoff in Iran. 'We didn't realise, nor did anyone else,' Bush said, 'that Saddam Hussein felt like he needed to play like he had weapons of mass destruction. It may have been, however, that in his mind all this was just a bluff ... that the world wasn't serious.' About this articleClose This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday June 15 2008 on p30 of the World news section. It was last updated at 01:09 on June 15 2008.
Asked what he thinks his legacy might be, he says he is happy to await the verdict of history. But he cannot resist also offering his own, suggesting 'the liberation of 50 million people from the clutches of barbaric regimes is noteworthy, at a minimum'
Asked in the Rome interview about popular opposition in Britain to the war and his presidency, he replied: 'Do I care? Only to the extent that it affects people's view of the citizens I represent. Do I care about my personal standing? Not really.'
He remained, he said, convinced that Iraq, and the world, was a better place without Saddam Hussein. And he said that while 'Presidents don't get to do re-dos' on issues such as Saddam's lack of weapons of mass destruction, there was one lesson from the run-up to the Iraq war that he felt was hugely relevant to the standoff in Iran.
'We didn't realise, nor did anyone else,' Bush said, 'that Saddam Hussein felt like he needed to play like he had weapons of mass destruction. It may have been, however, that in his mind all this was just a bluff ... that the world wasn't serious.'
About this articleClose This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday June 15 2008 on p30 of the World news section. It was last updated at 01:09 on June 15 2008.
It's 10 times as much in Paris and 120 times in New York. You can't be me, I'm taken
Please add as my list of search items is much more restricted than Glorious Fran. keep to the Fen Causeway
And thank you, Fran, as always! You are personally indispensable in this community for much more than the salon. Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.
