Tuesday 23rd August 2005

10pm update: David Davis remains bookies' "red hot" favourite - Leadership Blog

7.45pm update: US Christian leader calls for America to assassinate Venezuelan President Chavez - BBCi

7.45pm update: Eric Pickles' appointment as Deputy Tory Chairman and Malcolm Rifkind's attack on increasing inequality under Labour are new on conservatives.com

7pm update: Amity Shlaes: Tax cuts boost revenues - Commentators Blog

Blogs

Leadership Blog: Cameron supporters rule out alliance with Ken Clarke, the Tories' new Eurosceptic

Comment

"Tony Blair is holidaying on Barbados. So why on earth did No 10 fight so hard to keep it secret?  The Sun is distinctly unimpressed by the security argument.  George Bush makes no attempt to holiday in secret.  And as many have remarked in London, if ordinary citizens face up to the al-Qaeda danger every day on buses and the Tube, why should our PM hide himself away?  ...The Sun is forced to suspect the real reason for the secrecy is that No 10 would rather we didn’t know the Blairs are on yet another free holiday in someone else’s mansion..."

...Sun leader: Tony Blair's holiday

George Monbiot: Ken Clarke's British American Tobacco role renders him unfit for public office - Guardian

Philip Stephens: The Tories are still talking to themselves - FT

George Trefgarne: Japan's economy reforming PM Koizumu hailed as the new Margaret Thatcher - Telegraph

Dean Godson: Policing concessions to Irish republicans will come back to haunt the Government - Times

Conservative News

David Cameron rejects alliance with Ken Clarke (citing Europe) - BBCi

David Cameron interview emphasises rigour in exam standards and teaching methods - ePolitix.com

Ken Clarke's links with BAT and leadership bid - Letters to The Guardian

The Tories are to start target seats campaigning early next year - Guardian

Other News

Sister of 7/7 victim urges end to the "crucifying" of Met Police - Telegraph

Tony Blair's 'secret' holiday is being spent on Barbados - Independent

64% tell ICM that "government should not be funding faith schools of any kind" - Guardian

Useful stem cells that do not create and destroy human embryos - Wired.com

Sunni concerns delay Iraqi parliament's constitution vote - FT

Have I missed any important story?
Please use the 'comments' option to tell other visitors about interesting links...

Monday 22nd August 2005

7.30pm update: Tony Parsons: Jean Charles de Menezes was a casualty of war (Commentators Blog)

6pm update: Sunni opposition to federalism is main obstacle to Iraqi constitution - New York Times

Blogs

Commentators blog: Muslim nations are turning from terror toward democracy

Leadership blog: Is Bernard Jenkin or Edward Leigh about to join the race?

Comment

"At present most people assume that the Conservative Party will meekly agree to return the choice of leader from the membership to the parliamentary party. This is what Michael Howard, the present leader, has proposed... The effect would be to reduce the leadership electorate from 250,000-300,000 party members to 198 MPs. Trust the professionals; do not trust the people.  There would be no votes from the big cities, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle or Sheffield. There would be one vote from Scotland and three from Wales. Women would have 17 votes..."

...William Rees-Mogg: Tory members should keep their vote on the next leader - Times

Roy Hattersley: The shambolic Tory leadership race presages electoral disaster  - Guardian

"We know how “family balancing” in other countries skews the balance that really matters — the national gender balance. In China, there are only 833 girls for every 1,000 boys born. In some areas of India the corresponding figure for girls is less than 800. Nature does a much better job, setting a girl:boy ratio of about 950:1,000. We should leave well alone..."

...Anjana Ahuja: Britain should not choose sex selection - Times

Times leader: The Pope’s first foreign tour achieved its aims triumphantly

Stephen Glover: The great Bill Deedes - Independent

Wall Street Journal leader: It's time for something tougher than Europe's approach to Iran

Conservative News

Bernard Jenkin or Edward Leigh may stand in leadership race - Times

Theresa May says Government call for action against Zimbabwe's cricketers is 'too little, too late' - Daily Mail

Other News

Muslim Council of Britain 'failed to perform basic vetting' on member groups - D Tel

70% back total workplace ban on smoking - ePolitix.com

'Piano man' is gay Bavarian - Daily Mirror

Stem cell research breakthrough could avoid  need to create and destroy human embryos -  Fox News

US Democrats split over staying the course in Iraq, or quitting - Washington Post

Have I missed any important story?
Please use the 'comments' option to tell other visitors about interesting links...

Sunday 21st August 2005

Blogs

Commentators blog: A flat tax could boost growth, incomes and tax revenues

Leadership blog: Heseltine touts Clarke-Cameron 'dream ticket' to stop beatable Davis

Comment

Andrew Allum: Time is ripe for a flat-tax system - The Business

Gerald Warner: Conservatism should stand for patriotism, sovereignty, monarchy, civility, marriage, family, self-help fuelling philanthropy, low taxes, diminishing state power and evolved community - Scotland on Sunday

Conservative News

Stuart Wheeler, Tory donor, calls on leadership candidates to back marriage - S Tel

Ken Clarke under pressure to cut tobacco ties before leadership bid - Observer

Other News

"One of the Army's most senior officers has warned that it is in danger of losing its reputation as a "highly respected British institution" because it is being forced to recruit soldiers from a "morally corrupt and dysfunctional" society, where young men idolise foul-mouthed footballers..."

...Major General Graeme Lamb warns about recruitment difficulties facing British Army - S Tel

"Australian soldiers are being blindfolded, stripped naked and menaced by savage dogs for up to three hours in extreme training exercises to prepare them to resist torture..."

...Australian army prepares for growing threat from 'extreme enemies' - The Australian

Muslim Council of Britain is in denial about the extreme views of some of its member groups - BBCi

China's Hu Jintao is imposing new limits on free speech in bid to protect Communist Party's monopoly on power - Washington Post

BBC's £58m 'Rome' drama is British TV's most violent and sexually-explicit - S Tel

Have I missed any important story?
Please use the 'comments' option to tell other visitors about interesting links...

Saturday 20th August 2005

Blogs

Commentators blog: Kristol, McElvoy and Reid - Stay the course in Iraq

Leadership blog: Cameron calls for users to help pay for new motorways and expanded higher education

Leadership blog: David Davis to unveil supporters throughout September in rolling thunder campaign

Comment

"It’s about the Game. It’s about jousting. It’s about personality, performance, plots, ploys and counter-ploys. With sinking heart I realise that I and my ilk are really no more than sports commentators of a rarefied sport..."

...Matthew Parris: How political punditry imitates sports reporting - Times

Charles Moore: No church should host Hollywood's filming of the silly Da Vinci Code - D Tel

Guardian leading article: UK acts to stop poaching of medical staff from sub-Saharan Africa

Bartle Breese Bull: What's at stake in the Iraqi constitutional negotiations - Wall Street Journal

Linda Bilmes: The war in Iraq is costing America $6bn a month - New York Times

Conservative News

Interview with David Cameron on his radical plans for new ways of funding public services - FT

Windsor's new MP Adam Afriyie has married policy analyst Tracy-Jane Newall - icBerkshire

Other News

Some London police constables are earning £50,000 in overtime - Times

Have I missed any important story?
Please use the 'comments' option to tell other visitors about interesting links...