91Èȱ¬

A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

the blossoming love-in between the US secretary of state and UK foreign secretary at the Afghanistan summit in London:

"They used to talk about Bill and Hill but Billary is so last century: these days it's all about Millary."

In the House of Lords, one peer raised the question of whether politicians can be prosecuted for war crimes. there was an elephant in the room throughout, as everyone avoided reference to the one person they were all thinking of:

"As the Teletubbies used to say: 'Uh-oh!'
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"Mr Blair's name was not actually mentioned. The Upper House is too subtle for that."

Meanwhile, along the corridor in the Commons, Harriet Harman was taking questions in her role as leader of the house. one MP's query as to why a single government department needed 225 communications officers:

"Ms Harman said they didn't just pick up phones. They were vital for 'transparency and accountability'. So, as we thought, they spend their day drinking coffee and doing the sudoku."

Elsewhere, a committee of MPs has been scrutinising a government bill which will make it law that schools provide a "balanced and flexible curriculum". what could be on offer for school pupils of the future:

"[W]hat is a balanced and flexible curriculum? Is shariah on it? Weapons training, as we had in the Corps? Obesity and diversity? Latin?"

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Dr Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who first suggested a link between MMR vaccinations and autism, acted "dishonestly and irresponsibly", the official medical regulator has found. Commentators consider what can be learned.

The the significance of the case:

"The damage that he has inflicted on Britain's public health is still being felt. For a profession whose first principle is 'do no harm', it is a chilling legacy."

The director of Straight Statistics the media was also at fault:

"This was a case of a well-meaning but deluded doctor whose claims merited a beady-eyed scepticism. Instead there was an uncritical gush from commentators whose only qualification appeared to be that they themselves had children. Having an autistic child was a bonus."

Dr Ben Goldacre was critical of coverage of Dr Wakefield's report early on. He he thinks a similar situation could happen again:

"The MMR scare has now petered out. It would be nice if we could say this was because the media had learnt their lessons, and recognised the importance of scientific evidence, rather than one bloke's hunch. Instead it has terminated because of the behaviour of one man, Andrew Wakefield, which undermined the emotional narrative of their story. The media have developed no insight into their own role, and for this reason, there will be another MMR."

The a note of caution:

"There must be a place for scepticism in science, or any other field: it is important for the prevailing orthodoxy to be challenged, because it is not always right. But it is not always wrong, either - and there is a developing hostility towards science, fuelled by half-truths and false arguments easily disseminated on the internet, which feed a suspicion that the truth is somehow always being deliberately hidden."

The by warning against a "witch-hunt":

"It would be a tragedy if the result of that was to deter future scientists from the kind of bold thinking that might one day find a cure for autism."

The that Dr Wakefield should not take all the blame for the scare and that the government need to take some responsibility:

"Ministers were slow to react to public concerns and their refusal to countenance the idea of allowing parents to choose to have the three jabs administered to their children separately, though medically correct, probably stoked the panic. To some extent they also paid a price for previous misleading governmental assurances in the early 1990s over the health threat posed by BSE."

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Commentators discuss the recent meetings about the future of Northern Ireland.

that Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen flew home leaving it to Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson to demonstrate that they can do grown-up politics, "all on their own":

"Some think it is perhaps too late for logic, and that Assembly elections are unfortunate but inevitable. The problems over transferring policing and justice powers and parading won't go away after elections, but there's a view that a poll might cleanse the political system.
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"It's as bleak as that. Wisdom and experience tend to indicate that Robinson and McGuinness won't be able to lead a functioning Executive and Assembly, and that the time and effort of Cowen and Brown will be frustrated and mostly wasted."

the body language of the two ­leaders and their facial expressions asked "what on earth are we going to do with these people?"

"There are a few days left to save this Northern Ireland assembly. If it can't be retrieved, look out for direct rule: or worse - for unionists - joint authority between London and Dublin.
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"There's an old adage in Northern ­Ireland: every time the unionists walk away from the table, the less there is for them when they come back.
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"A personal prediction? Some kind of halfway house deal will be done, fairly soon. The parties have invested too much in the process to let it go."

the intervention by the leaders of the four main churches:

"It's a favoured tactic of government to drag out these clerical clowns and get them to act as echo chambers for prevailing policy.
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"After all, they were to the fore in cheerleading to get convicted murderers out of prison so we can all see how morally bankrupt they are.
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"And now, they plead for the political class to prostitute the essential tenets of policing and justice so that the IRA can also corrupt that. Wholly fools."

a meeting of the party's assembly team will focus on discussing "a pretty sad week's politics":

"That the big two seem determined to keep our politics in the sectarian trenches firing pot shots at each other from the comfort of their own defences is a sad reality we are going to have to confront.
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"The people of this region are over parades. They are over squabbling about the date to devolve policing and justice. They voted for inclusive government but got two exclusionary parties who prefer side deals to collective agreement. They voted for reconciliation but got block politics which shows no signs of tackling the divisions in our society."

the two prime ministers to two figures from literary history:

"Mr Cowen and Mr Brown left the parties to sort it out among themselves in the next 48 hours, leaving Micheal Martin and Shaun Woodward, the Northern Secretary, to help them along if they can.
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"Mr Martin will have plenty of time to go sightseeing in this quaint plantation town in Co Down, as Sinn Fein and the DUP both indicated they'll ignore this deadline.
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"In Hillsborough, Mr Brown and Mr Cowen were comparable to Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho Panza on an ultimately doomed quest.
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"The Shinners and DUPers are the windmills that just won't be tilted."

what the impasse means for each of the parties:

"Sinn Fein faces a difficult choice with the very credibility of the party at stake.
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"Republicans historically play the game long but even they could be about to take the ball and walk off the pitch.
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"The DUP can 'hang tough', even into the challenge of another Assembly election, arguing it fought off pressure from two governments and refused to dance to Sinn Fein's tune on policing and justice, while defending the right of the loyal orders to their ancient rights to parade."

the Tory leader David Cameron's recent talks with Northern Ireland's unionists have raised concerns about his role in NI if he becomes prime minister:

"His decision to forge a political union with the Ulster Unionists was already a high-wire act. Long ago the Ulster Unionists ruled Northern Ireland as a one-party state but the compromises forced upon them by Mr Blair's determination to drag Sinn Féin into the democratic tent left them badly beaten by the new top dogs the Democratic Unionists.
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"But with Unionist votes likely to split three ways in coming elections and the consequent ascent of Sinn Fein to become Northern Ireland's largest party, the talk is once more of the need for a political realignment.
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"Mr Cameron has a few months in which to convince sceptics in Northern Ireland that his party's mission really is to draw the sectarian poison and push the Province into mainstream national politics."

that the two prime ministers deserved A for effort but were walking away with an F for failure:

"It was all so different in Tony Blair's day when he could trot off little sound bite gems like feeling the hand of history on his shoulder. The hand of history is still there, but now the main Stormont players seem content to direct it at each other's throats."

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Commentators consider the merits of the government's National Equality Panel report which revealed the gap between rich and poor has widened since the 1970s.

The the panel did not tell us anything we did not already know, and asks what this means for the election:

"Sensible governments harness the wealth - creating power of free markets to pull us all - as a society - in the right direction. The challenge for all three parties in the run-up to the election is to convince us that they understand this and that they possess the policies to achieve it."

The the government "brazen" for the report:

"This paints a suitably lurid picture of Britain as a divided society, in which the gulf between rich and poor is wider than ever. Proof, proclaims Miss Harman, that new laws - her laws - are needed to right this wrong.
In fact, it is not new laws we require from Miss Harman, but an apology."

the only good news for Equalities Minister Harriet Harman is on gender:

"Whichever way you look at it, the National Equality Panel report makes shocking reading. But some will try to spot a crumb of comfort in the relative narrowing of the gender income gap."

whether the data in the report is skewed, making the gap between rich and poor appear bigger than it is:

"Those with zero or near-zero incomes have in the past been shown to have bigger houses, spend more money, pay more tax and do more work than people who are apparently slightly less poor. In sum, it seems as if those recorded as the poorest are not truly poor at all."

on Harriet Harman's "social engineering," which he says has increased inequality and focused wrongly on class:

"The educational chasm is the one that matters, and Labour's social engineers bear an overriding responsibility for it.
Until state schools revive the cult of excellence, until teachers are obliged to teach and pupils to learn, the underclass will indeed remain tragic victims - of Harmanism, not social discrimination."

poverty is more important than equality:

"Growing inequality would not matter if we were all getting much richer. What this report shows is something far more damning. On several measures the poor under Labour have not merely made slower progress than the rich. They have made no progress at all. Defeating poverty is the key objective rather than defeating inequality. Labour has failed to defeat either."

Labour MP that the increased gap between rich and poor is due to a few people becoming astronomically rich, increasing relative poverty:

"Faced with such an imbalance, how can any government try to narrow that inequality gap? By taxing the rich more and giving large cheques through the benefits system to the less well off? Well, yes, you could do that, even though it would be insane. But don't let that put you off. Yet it will simply not be possible for any government of any persuasion to reverse that inequality unless they impose really punitive taxes on the riches in our country."

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President Obama's State of the Union address is poured over by US commentators, coming as it does at the end of a difficult year for the nation, and for the president.

Writer	Verdict	Score
Editorial, New York Times	"We respect Mr Obama's deliberative nature. But too often in the last year he lingered on the sidelines, allowing his opponents to define and distort the issues and, sometimes, him - as happened last year in the health care debate. His speech Wednesday was a reminder that he is a gifted orator, able to inspire with grand vision and the simple truth frankly spoken. It was a long time coming."
EJ Dionne, Washington Post	"There was an unexpected poignancy to the moment. Barack Obama, who once strode across the political landscape as a master of the persuasive arts, found himself needing to prove that mastery all over again... "It was clear that the Obama who addressed the nation on Wednesday also understood that he confronts a Republican Party that sees unflinching opposition as blazing a path to victory. And he offered himself as a president ready to do battle. 'We don't quit,' he said. 'I don't quit.'"
	"Humility. Check. Bipartisanship, debt reduction, populist anger. Check. Check. Check. More jobs? On it. President Barack Obama checked every political box needed to restart his troubled presidency Wednesday night, but that may not be enough to consider his State of Union address a success. Did he strengthen his connection with the American public? Or did he sound like a politician with a stack of prescriptions for his political ills?"
Katie Connolly, Newsweek	"Obama Unleashes His Inner Tough Guy... "He threatened vetoes, refused to pass problems on, he scoffed at suggestions of his naivete, foreshadowed consequences for Iran and made it powerfully clear that he won't accept second-place for America on the world stage."
Kevin McCullough, Fox News	"As far as expectations for the State of the Union the president's speech was a sizable failure... "It was messy, incoherent, disorganized, and most regrettably defiant. "Which I guess when you think of it, defines the state of our union pretty well."
	"Everything changes except President Obama. His agenda doesn't change. He has had no second thoughts about the wisdom of his health-care policies, or any of his policies; resistance is always and only a reason for redoubling.... All in all, though, our impression was of an administration that has no real understanding of the political straits in which it finds itself and thus no way to escape them."
	"The president, we were told, spent a good deal of time in the days leading up to his State of the Union address, going over it with a fine-toothed comb, making changes and additions in longhand. But judging from the speech, he also spent a lot of time going over the results of focus groups and polls. Indeed, the speech, despite its charm, humor, and occasionally impassioned rhetoric, had the feel of being focus-grouped within an inch of its life. There was a decidedly paint-by-poll-numbers air about it."
	"He almost seemed to be having fun up there; he delivered the speech in a free, almost informal manner. It was easily digestible, user-friendly...but it was also a fighting speech. Certainly, he stuck the needle time and again into the hides of the recalcitrant elephants in the room. It started early in the speech when he recounted the numerous tax cuts that had been passed in the past year as part of his much-distorted Stimulus Plan, to applause from Democrats and silence from Republicans, and he ad-libbed, staring at the Republican side of the room, 'I thought I'd get some applause on that one.'"

The scores assigned to the candidates represent the 91Èȱ¬'s interpretation of the writers' comments. One star indicates that they judged it a poor performance; five stars an excellent one.

Links in full

A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

There was a first at the Iraq inquiry when Elizabeth Wilmshurst, a former foreign office lawyer, received a spontaneous round of applause from the public gallery.

it as the "most electrifying moment" of the whole inquiry so far:

"It reminded me of when Tony Blair left the Commons and MPs surprised themselves with a standing ovation. The irony of that will not be lost on Ms Wilmshurst - or the public here."

Ms Wilmshurst to a "lioness" during the session:

"It was like being torn apart by a cross between Judi Dench as 'M' and Princess Diana - softly spoken, but as hard and inflexible as a crowbar."

Ms Wilmshurst's defence of her decision to resign in protest against a war that she thought was unlawful:

"In civilian terms, there was something heroic about that, something most unusually admirable."

Over at Portcullis House, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King was giving evidence to the Treasury Select Committee. On a day when Britain was declared to be out of recession, the an upbeat affair but was left disappointed:

"Governor King is not one of life's cartwheelers. Thigh-slapping is not his forte. Optimism is not his default setting."

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An estimate from the Office of National Statistics said the economy grew by 0.1% in the final quarter of 2009, showing we've exited the recession. Commentators consider who will benefit from this news.

the "feeble" results are nothing to celebrate:

"The uncomfortable question thrown up by yesterday's feeble figures is this: if cutting VAT, running a £174bn budget deficit, and having the Bank of England slash rates to 0.5 per cent and print £200bn won't work, what will?"

the news a damp squib and predicts that the next three months of statistics could reveal another downturn:

"The truth is that in the final months of 2009, buyers of big ticket items such as fridges and flat screen televisions brought their purchases forward to avoid the VAT rise. This means that high street sales will dramatically lose momentum in the current quarter - even if the downturn might be softened because retailers such as Tesco did not immediately pass on the tax rise."

for the recession and it's not at the US:

"Mr Brown is culpable for two reasons, and they ought to be engraved on his tombstone. First, his re-regulation of banking in 1997 left that sector free to behave in the idiotic way that had banks sending for taxpayer bail-outs in the autumn of 2008. Second, however, he provided the means for banks to be idiotic."

The called the growth "an achievement as thin as a statistical Rizla" but credited the government's choices for the success:

"Amid the overall disappointment of yesterday's numbers, the Treasury can find vindication for much of its action in the small print. It revealed that public expenditure had underpinned such growth as there was, and that what the statisticians still quaintly label the "motor trade" had at last steered round the corner."

The for politicians using the recovery to help their election campaigns:

"Politicians are asking a lot when they demand electoral reward for recovery. The memory of the recession is too recent and, for many, not yet a memory at all. For some, its effect may still lie in the future. No credible politician can claim that the downswing is an accident but the upswing is all his doing, especially when he has confidently claimed to have abolished such swings. The argument needs to move, from credit for recovery, to getting the country back in credit."

The the "meagre" growth isn't good for either Labour or the Conservatives:

"It also seems possible that without government measures such as the car scrappage scheme and the VAT cut, the second of which the Conservatives vociferously opposed, Britain might have seen no economic expansion at all in 2009. Weak growth poses difficult questions not only regarding Mr Brown's record, but also David Cameron's judgement."

Blogging politicians have been teasing each other. Labour MP the Tories are 'gutted' we're out of e recession:

"For sheer curmudgeonliness cast a glance over at Conservative91Èȱ¬ where the growth figures are described with magisterial meanness as 'measly'."

Conservative MP a pessimistic message:

"All that well orchestrated hype, all those well honed briefings concerning the end of the recession, brought forth a mouse of a recovery, the smallest margin possible. Let's hope the figures are not revised downwards."

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A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

David Cameron's decision to hold his news conference just before Gordon Brown's had members of the lobby racing around Westminster.

, who dashed from one to the other, compares the Tory leader and prime minister to a couple of fighters about to get into the ring:

"Dave was on good form, like a pugnacious shadow boxer."
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"Gordo was also on good form, relaxed, confident, authoritative and completely in election mode... The Great Clunking Fist has become the Great Clunking Karate Chop."

For , the most noteworthy element of Gordon Brown's conference was that he told a joke - about Bob Ainsworth's "gaffe", when he alluded to an election date :

"So unexpected was this zinger that we heard the rarest sound at a Brown press conference: laughter."

to the Labour party ahead of the general election, having watched Education Secretary Ed Balls answering questions in the House of Commons:

"Do anything to prevent this man appearing next to a Labour logo during the election push. Muzzle him. Throw a Guantanamo hood over him. Catapult him to the South Pole. Whatever it takes!
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"Just make sure he is frozen out of your push for votes, because otherwise you may not receive many."

The Independent's Simon Carr reports on another day at the Iraq inquiry, where the committee members, in his opinion, fall short of their role as grand inquisitors, citing a question from Sir Lawrence Freedman to former Defence Secretary Des Browne:

"'Was Iraq an embarrassment or did you feel it had to be brought to as good a conclusion as possible?'
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"Honestly, Deirdre! What did the old fool expect his witness to say?"

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Later this week Tony Blair will speak at the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war. Commentators gear up for the event with predictions about his performance and the fall-out.

In the the inquiry is not set up to ask what he sees as the only important question:

"The only question that counts is the one that the Chilcot inquiry won't address: was the war with Iraq illegal? If the answer is yes, everything changes. The war is no longer a political matter, but a criminal one, and those who commissioned it should be committed for trial for what the Nuremberg tribunal called 'the supreme international crime': the crime of aggression."

Mr Blair's critics will be disappointed:

"There will be plenty for the inquiry to seize upon if it wants to criticise the way Mr Blair took Britain to war. But these are issues of judgment, competence and process rather than mendacity. That will not satisfy the Blair-is-a-war-criminal brigade. But then the quest for a smoking gun has always seemed likely to prove as futile as was Mr Blix's search for WMD."

the anger against Mr Blair is not just about Iraq but reflects a wider sense of betrayal after being disappointed that he didn't live up to some people's hopes:

"Tony Blair's appearance at the Chilcot inquiry on Friday is turning into a voyeuristic spectacle, a modern-day equivalent of the public hangings where crowds gathered around the gallows to jeer... For weeks Mr Blair has been studying papers, talking to friends writing longhand notes, as he prepares for Friday. He will, says a friend, be 'candid and direct', admitting some mistakes - although he will not concede that it was wrong to go to war. It will, no doubt, be a polished performance. For his critics, though, it will never be enough because their angst is not just about the war in Iraq. "

Mr Blair will be well-prepared, with a good performance:

"Come Friday, Blair will almost certainly survive his grilling with ease. Yet the inquiry's real damage to the former Prime Minister is not from any admissions it extracts, but from the political effect it has created. For the real cognoscenti, the inquiry has found few new facts. But it has for the first time brought those facts together, on the record and on television, over a relatively short period of time. The political impact of that can already be seen in Gordon Brown's surprise decision to testify early."

That political impact is . He suggests that the Blair's appearance will overshadow reports that we may be exiting a recession:

"The economy will dominate the next couple of new cycles but then our attention will turn in a big and a dramatic way to Friday's appearance before the Iraq Inquiry of Tony Blair and the questions, no doubt, of what his chancellor's role was in New Labour's signature policy.
The timing is in my favourite phrase 'less than optimal' for Brown Central for instead of focussing on the economy, the inquiry will take centre stage."

that David Cameron aims to be, like Tony Blair, a "preacher politician" which people will get a reminder of:

"Tony Blair, for all his folly, had charisma, weight and a social reform agenda. That does not wash Iraqi blood from his hands or excuse the demonising of British children, but it does explain how he got away with playing Messiah for so long. This week, as Britain watches the former PM give his evidence, it should ask whether it really wants to install Blair Lite."

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The case of two brothers torturing two young boys in Edlington, South Yorkshire, is a matter of discussion for columnists. They consider the case for and against revealing the identity of the brothers, their parents and the council staff working with them. They also look at the merits of the case cited as evidence of "broken Britain".

The for the full uncensored council report of the case to be published:

"So far, we have had only an executive summary of the investigation into the way the case was handled, with most of the details removed. How are we to know whether the failings are being addressed if we are not told what they were?
This is not about bashing social workers or seeking scapegoats: the people who were really to blame here are the brothers' parents, who so far have remained hidden behind a mask of anonymity."

The all the people who work for Doncaster council to be held accountable for their mistakes:

"As the Mail reveals today, not a single council official, police officer or health worker is named in the Edlington review.
How will these catastrophic mistakes be avoided in future, if those who make them know they can escape censure?"

Child psychologist that the reason children don't get taken away earlier from problem families is a lack of expertise in child protection services:

"The problem that I think we see constantly is that having got the information over a number of years colleagues of all disciplines often don't seem to be able to understand it. They don't seem to be able to analyse the accumulating data that, to some people, might clearly suggest: look, here is a child in real trouble from a very high-risk family who ought to be helped."

The against the campaign to reveal the identity of the two boys:

"What purpose would be served by revealing the boys' identity? It is true that a little money would be saved by the public purse. But if justice is to be motivated by such economies, why not allow chopping off the hands of thieves?"

the pressure to lift the boys' anonymity focuses on the wrong target:

"It's the parents whose anonymity should be lifted. There was the father who battered their mother in front of his children, who let them watch horror films and pornography that could only have cauterised their childish humanity. And the mother who allowed the children to be abused, who gave them cannabis so that she could have quiet nights in. Let their photographs be all over the papers, let their details be made public for us to marvel at, revolted. They deserve prosecution - and exposure."

In his blog on the David Cameron for bringing up the case as an example of "broken Britain":

"All it does is show how shallow and out of touch Cameron and his team really are. Chasing tabloid headlines for the sake of it."

:

"Politicians are also justified in asking what such an attack tells us about the state of our society.
Those who say that it tells us nothing of any significance merely illustrate the moral blindness in which such monstrous deeds are incubated."

Links in full

A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

The attention of Westminster hacks was focused on former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as he answered questions from the Iraq inquiry committee.

how Mr Straw endeavoured to tread a very fine line, putting distance between himself and old boss Tony Blair - but not so much so that the latter could turn on him when it's his turn next week:

"He gave a sigh and said he would much prefer it if the hearing had been in private (code: Then I could tell you what I REALLY thought about Blair). He said he believed in loyalty (translation: I had disloyal feelings about Blair but suppressed them)."

that while it was unclear whether Mr Straw had supported the decision to go to war, there was no such confusion regarding his own self-belief:

"[W]hat we could all see from the beginning was that Jack Straw was very pro all things Jack Straw.
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"Mr Straw is neat, pin-striped, eager to be noticed. He is not so much pompous as nerdily self-important."

, saying that the former foreign secretary's evidence was the polar opposite to that of Geoff Hoon, who'd been at the inquiry the day before:

"Mr Straw was right at the centre of everything - indeed, was the fulcrum of the whole policy."

that the session gave Tony Blair nothing to worry about, but does ask whether the inquiry's committee members gave Mr Straw enough of a grilling:

"Is the Committee going off the boil again? They must know what Jack Straw's like but they didn't get anywhere near making him sweat."

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President Obama has unveiled proposals to rein in the US banking industry, including setting a limit on the size of banks and restricting the investment activities of retail banks. Commentators consider the merits of the plans.

President Obama's tougher approach reflects a changed political climate and a shift in big banks' fortunes:

"In calling for new limits on the size of big banks and their ability to make risky bets, Mr Obama was throwing a public punch at Wall Street for the third time in a week, underscoring the imperative for him and his party to strike a more populist tone, especially after the Republican victory Tuesday in the Massachusetts Senate race."

Mr Obama's proposal comes as his administration shifts from efforts to bail out the banks to attempts to restrict the practices that fuelled the economic crisis:

"In essence, Obama is now aiming to force the firms to choose between the federal benefits that come with being a bank and the unbridled pursuit of profits. After opposing proposals such as hard limits on executive bonuses, the administration is embracing a tougher line - more evidence that Obama has the industry in his sights as he seeks to show Middle America that he feels its economic pain."

it took months of wrangling for Mr Obama's economic team to agree on a shift in policy towards the biggest US banks:

"The White House's relationship with Wall Street is close to its breaking point. Democratic lawmakers and the administration have made banking policy a central part of their 2010 campaign playbook. Now, America's big banks are facing a double threat: an increasingly tough policy response to the financial crisis that is getting a goose from the White House's increasingly heated political rhetoric."

UK response

The UK media have been looking at whether President Obama's reforms should be copied in the City.

that the UK couldn't rein in the banks without the US doing so first:

"The threat to quit Britain over the tax made by some bankers is both sickening, and cynical. But it is real.
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"That's the problem with unilateral measures. And that's why they have yet to be followed by anyone else. Until, that is, President Barack Obama decided to join in. The advantage he has is that it's much harder to threaten the US President. He sits at the head of the world's biggest economy, many of the world's biggest banks are American and he has the tools to haul them into line."

The Gordon Brown to follow Barack Obama's lead:

"Still, say this for the president: when other governments kept harping on about how any serious reform could only be done internationally, he has just gone ahead and done it. No G20 agreements, no OECD working party, just political will. Gordon Brown, over to you."

it's now the UK government's turn to act:

"The argument every timid policy maker in Britain makes when confronted with the need for reform of the City is that there is no point in doing anything unless the Americans are on board.
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"Now, after what has clearly been a bloody internal battle within the Obama administration, they are. Everything that Obama said about Wall Street could have been said by Gordon Brown about the City. London needs an even stronger dose of the same medicine."

The the Conservative party as wanting to follow Obama's example with the banks:

"This is encouraging news - and it's even better that George Osborne wants to do the same thing here in Britain. It's early yet, but at long last the days of undeserved plenty for greedy bankers may be numbered."

The against the UK copying Mr Obama's policies:

"In the UK, the Treasury, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have all welcomed Mr Obama's proposals. Theirs too is a short-term populist response with little economic logic. A thriving financial services sector is essential to an efficient economy. Tight financial regulation is essential, but badly designed measures will merely drive business to other banking centres. The City of London may prove to be the biggest beneficiary of Mr Obama's campaign, apparently to the discomfort of British politicians. There is nothing wrong and much to prize in a bloated financial sector, if that is the way that the UK corporate sector can generate profits. It is past time to stand up for bankers."

The 91Èȱ¬'s Business Editor Robert Peston said on Radio 4's Today programme that splitting up retail and investment banking may not be possible in the UK:

"The other interesting question is how easy it would be to implement reforms in the UK if the European Union were going in another direction. I suspect that, in a purely legislative sense, it would be pretty tricky for the UK to go with America but against the wishes of the rest of the European Union."

Links in full

A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

It was a sober event at PMQs with David Cameron asking questions on Haiti and the attack on two boys in Edlington. It was down to Labour's own MPs and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to raise the issue of Cadbury being taken over by Kraft.

that the PM's attempts at humour, which have worked in recent weeks, are now failing, as the Tory leader has changed the rules of the game by choosing sombre subjects:

"David Cameron has spent years tormenting the Prime Minister with cruel jokes. Now that Gordon has replied with two or three jokes of his own, Cameron has said, 'We're not playing that game now.'"

by the behaviour of the two main leaders:

"Gordon Brown was not only rude and childish (hey, that's the sketchwriters' job!) but also repeatedly evasive. Gosh he thought he was clever. Smirked a banana smile at Ed Balls with a look that said 'ain't I just the one?'
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"David Cameron essayed his Little Miss Tragic act and asked about misery issues (Haiti, child abuse) which bought him some insurance from insults and saved him looking negative."

the PM's new chosen tactic is to talk his opponents into submission:

"In his determination to impose his will on the House, he delivered such long answers that he seemed intent on crushing his enemies by sheer weight of words."

a new nickname for the Liberal Democrat leader following his Cadbury-based question to the PM, calling him "Mr Creme Egg" and continued with the egg theme in describing the exchange:

"Another egg flew through the air. Gordon picked it up (Clegg's aim is not good. He is, after all, a Lib Dem) and threw it back."

Links in full

Businessman Munir Hussain, who was jailed for permanently injuring an intruder who attacked him and his family, has been freed with a reduced sentence by the Court of Appeal. Commentators discuss where we stand with the laws on self-defence.

The the outcome of Munir Hussain's case shows the difference between the law and justice:

"The Appeal Court's decision does not change the law on self-defence, nor give the green light to revenge attacks. But we trust it sends a clear message to the police and prosecutors that they should be careful in future before beginning a process that criminalises the victim - a trend that has done as much as anything in recent years to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice."

Also in the "hugely sensible":

"Without pandering to mob law or vigilantism, the Lord Chief Justice has shown that the senior judiciary does not always have to seem remote from the wishes of the people on whose behalf they dispense justice."

The the decision to reduce Munir Hussain's sentence, but called the judiciary out-of-step with the society it serves for convicting Frances Inglis of murder after giving her severely brain-damaged son a lethal dose of heroin. The editorial gives a warning about when judges decisions go against public opinion:

"When judges fail, the public starts judging judges. When this happens, the politicians step in. This is rarely good. When politicians attempt to draft laws in direct response to public uproar, their efforts are generally cack-handed and unenforceable, if not downright unwise."

:

"So the sympathy is undoubtedly there. Police, politicians and the judiciary all appear to have sensed the public mood in relation to good Samaritans is hardening.
Now it is up to Parliament to pass a law which ensures the public - and not the criminal - is first in the queue for legal protection."

In a podcast, the making large conclusions about the state of the law based on this very unusual case:

"There's this hysteria at the moment about the rights of householders to defend themselves... I think there's so much misunderstanding about the law. The law in this area works quite well and if you are a homeowner who is acting reasonably to defend yourself, you won't be prosecuted... Here, we're looking at a minority of cases which have very unusual facts. Unfortunately sweeping conclusions on the state of the law have been based on those."

On the Today Programme, Michael Wolkind QC said even though he defended Munir Hussain, he does not agree with Conservative proposals to further protect people who act in self-defence:

"The test at the moment is that the defendant behaved reasonably and that should be good enough."

Links in full

US Republican Scott Brown has won the senate seat of Massachusetts over Democrat Martha Coakley, a victory which could derail President Barack Obama's planned healthcare reform and threatens future Democratic legislation on issues such as climate change. This is how some of the US media have reacted.

the election is a clear sign of a diminishing confidence in Mr Obama's agenda which could affect the mood of Democrats when it comes to attempts to pass financial reforms:

"Lawmakers already worried about addressing issues such as climate change and immigration may grow more anxious about taking politically dangerous votes in an election year where voters have suggested they are disillusioned with Washington."

In the Mr Brown's victory is a sign that the Obama administration's decision to focus public spending on healthcare rather than economic recovery was "a dreadful error" which does not bode well for the rest of Mr Obama's term:

"Obama now has the highest disapproval rating in the history of Gallup polling for a president entering his second year in office. He has been handed a series of political humiliations. If he takes all of this as motivation to "stay the course," the humiliations have only begun."

Mr Obama has been humiliated on the first anniversary of his inauguration and is now facing a long list of tough choices:

"Will Mr Obama now make further accommodations to Republicans in an effort to move legislation through Congress with more bipartisanship, even at the cost of further alienating liberals annoyed at what they see as his ideological malleability? Or will he seek to rally his party's base through confrontation, even if it means giving up on getting much done this year?"

But that while a Republican victory may be "catastrophic" for healthcare reform, other areas of the Democratic agenda could yet survive:

"A smattering of Republicans may be willing to play ball on their own pet issues, giving the president's party at least a theoretical shot at passing some form of financial reform, an energy bill - without cap-and-trade - and a watered-down deficit-reduction package."

On all presidents in US history have made political mistakes, but asks whether the "untested, young, inexperienced" Mr Obama has the necessary skill to recover from the Massachusetts defeat:

"The test of a President is how he handles the jam once he has gotten himself into it. Does he continue to do the same thing, hoping against hope that somehow, someway doing the same-old same-old will yield a different result? Or does he recognize that he has made mistakes, try to learn from them, and ultimately make adaptations? That's the mark of a superior political talent."

Several blogs and editorials criticise the pre-election campaign of Martha Coakley, including that voters' anger towards the White House agenda was compounded by Mr Brown's "vigorous, smart, and error-free" appearances:

"To be sure, Brown was the beneficiary of the blundering campaign of his opponent, Coakley, who blew a 31-point lead in two months, according to one poll. But in electing Brown, a large segment of the electorate declared that there is little appetite for near-universal national health care, the chief domestic policy initiative of Obama, who carried the state by 26 percentage points only 14 months ago."

the Democrats allowed Republicans to "define the campaign" in Massachusetts but also turned voters against them by taking too long to pass the healthcare reforms through the Senate they previously controlled:

"The Obama White House should have been keeping a watchful eye on this race, realizing the 60th Democratic vote in the Senate was at stake. More broadly, Obama also needed to create a national narrative that Democrats could proclaim with pride. The narrative has been missing, and conservatives have filled the vacuum."

that the Democratic defeat should be a signal to the party that they can no longer afford to move cautiously on promised social and financial reforms but should begin making bold decisions:

"There is a generalized anti-establishment anger at loose in this country, reinforced by a White House team that has delivered for Wall Street but not enough for hurting communities. It is an anger also fueled by often savage right-wing anti-government attacks. This special election is a wake up call and should lead to a course correction. The Democratic party can no longer run as a managerial and technocratic party. Going populist is now smart politics and good policy."

Links in full

A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

Geoff Hoon's appearance in front of the Iraq inquiry received little praise from those lobbly correspondents present.

that the former secretary of state for defence was less than inspiring in front of the committee:

"The man is a triumph in the art of camouflage. He's so much part of the background you need special eyes to see that he's there."

, saying that she got the impression that, despite being defence secretary at the time when Britain went to war with Iraq, Mr Hoon wasn't really there:

"He came across as a genial, stolid, middle-of-the-road manager of, say, an insurance office. He is a lawyer but even that seems too flashy. It seemed impossible that, only a fortnight ago, this man had tried to lead a coup against Gordon Brown. It is actually a miracle he showed up for that."

On Mr Hoon's insistence that he wasn't privy to any of the meetings between Tony Blair and George Bush, succinctly:

"Like Manuel, he knew nothing."

Elsewhere, Gordon Brown was holding a news conference with the new president of the European Union. that Mr Van Rompuy resembles a driving instructor:

"You know the type: stoical to the point of inscrutable, near-silent, there for the ride. From time to time he slipped his right hand discreetly into his jacket and extracted a lean ballpoint pen from his breast pocket, silently to make tiny notes. 'Three-point turn less than perfect', perhaps. Or, 'does not look enough in the rear-view mirror'."

Links in full

Commentators consider Kraft Food's takeover of British chocolate maker Cadbury, why the deal came about, what it means for the UK economy and whether politicians should have got involved.

The Lord Mandelson's attempt to discourage the sale of Cadbury's was inconsistent:

"So on what grounds does the Government think it acceptable for foreign interests to have a say in how Britain's airports are run, or our electricity is supplied, and to own our football clubs, but not to get their hands on a Cadbury's Flake?"

Gordon Brown's pledge to protect British jobs was not only meaningless but also harmful:

"Nor should Britain's politicians have the right to interfere. If the British government began intervening in such decisions, no foreign company would want to operate here and the impact on unemployment would be far greater."

In the she was involved in campaigns to stop Cadbury being sold. She asks what changed between the bids last week and this week:

"The answer must surely lie in the activities of hedge funds and other investors who buy shares with the sole aim of making a fast buck from a takeover battle. Such casino investors have no interest in the long-term health of a company and, in the case of Cadbury, are quite happy to see the company saddled with over £7bn of debts, so long as they get their payout."

the British companies still doing well globally to reassure the reader that Cadbury's sale doesn't mean the end of the British economy:

"These businesses may not command the affection or love that Cadbury did - but they are going to be far more important to Britain's economic future. Credit Crunchie or not."

Cadbury and Kraft's images are outdated as in reality they are both gobal conglomerates, which begs one question:

"The issue, then, is who might be the better manager of these brands. Here the response must be subjective. My own impression is that Cadbury has in the past been a company without a sufficiently clear objective; it became a hodge-podge of brands rather living on its reputation. But in recent years it has lifted its game and is currently well-managed.
Kraft has had only three years since it fully emerged from the Philip Morris umbrella and has yet to prove itself. I hope I am wrong in my instinct that it will make a mess of this purchase."

for Cadbury employees:

"The reality is that the takeover of Cadbury has been financed by £7bn of debt, making the confectioner ripe for a bit of what the management gurus call rationalisation but the rest of us call asset-stripping."

that this takeover doesn't guarantee success:

"It may sound unlikely that investors in both Kraft and Cadbury will lose out, but unfortunately that is perfectly feasible, on the basis that both companies may well have been better off on their own. Most takeovers destroy value, and the great Warren Buffett, a major investor in Kraft, has repeatedly warned its executives of the dangers of overpaying."

Links in full

Robert Peston | 91Èȱ¬ | Kraft takeover of Cadbury: the terms

Today in Web Monitor: why glossier remakes fail, the plague of the blue plaque and the next cyberspace.

A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

At the Iraq inquiry as Tony Blair's former chief of staff Jonathan Powell gave evidence, has revised his opinion of the committee led by Sir John Chilcott:

"We oiks who'd been throwing vegetables at the committee for its pre-Christmas performances felt a bit abashed. The questioning which had been so mandarin had suddenly become demotic."

has little praise for those appearing in front of the committee:

"The long list of former big-shots in the Blair regime giving evidence to the Iraq Inquiry leaves a flavour not unlike Saddam's ex-clowns and mass murderers being paraded in that court in Baghdad."

was in south-east London with David Cameron as he made a speech about education in which he pledged to encourage the highest qualified graduates to become teachers:

"He loves Teach First and is creating something called Teach Now, which, I think we can agree, sounds better than Teach Sometimes in the Future When I'm Too Tired to Do my Real Job."

In the House of Commons, MPs were discussing product placement in TV programmes. reckons that the support shown by culture, media and sport ministers for the idea might not be so positive should it be applied to other areas of the arts:

"If the ending of La Bohème was rewritten so that instead of dying in an ice-cold garret, Mimi was saved through the installation of safe, reliable gas central heating. Or if Lady Macbeth could get rid of the stain of blood with the help of a leading biological washing powder. Or if Tate Britain made a bit of extra cash by painting a Vauxhall Astra onto Constable's The Hay Wain?"

Links in full

David Cameron announced that the Conservatives would be "brazenly elitist" when recruiting teachers. Commentators consider the merits of Tory education policies.

that the cultural shift to attract high-achieving teachers will cost more money than the government has:

"Cameron seeks some worthwhile ends but also plans an emergency budget after the election in which the spending axe will fall. If I were a new Maths teacher I would worry that this does not quite add up."

being more selective in teacher recruitment will lead to larger class sizes, which isn't necessarily a bad thing:

"But are the Tories prepared to really bite the bullet and explain to parents what, in the end, this means? It means accepting bigger classes and explaining to parents that an obsession with lower class sizes (which holds in Britain and beyond) is actually counterproductive."

The David Cameron will come against opposition to "elite" teachers from the teaching unions:

"His fine words will be worthless if they're not matched by a ruthless determination to face the unions down."

In the Mr Cameron's proposed bar on people with poor degrees becoming teachers:

"Having been a teacher in various comprehensives for 20 years now, I know better than to judge teachers by the quality of their degree. I have seen too many graduates with first-class degrees die in the classroom: they've been chewed up by the demands of the job, enraged that their pearls of wisdom have been so rudely dismissed in a deluge of chatter and misbehaviour."

asking for higher qualifications from teachers is a silly move:

"The private school system is where those without teaching qualifications (post grad degrees in education etc) can find jobs as teachers. The private school system seems to have better results."

Politics blogger this could be a significant policy:

"This may not appear to be the biggest political issue of our time, but if the next government gets teacher training right, it could have a lasting effect on the quality of education for the next generation of children."

On Radio 4's PM programme, ex-school inspector Peter Harding suggests what he would change in the teaching profession instead:

"You take away many of the pressures which teachers are put under today. Teachers are under huge pressures from targets, from league tables, from the pressure of Ofsted, from the pressure of being inspected in the classroom so regularly. I think teachers need to be allowed to get on and teach."

And finally, the famous people with thirds who wouldn't be allowed to be teachers under the plans:

"Unfortunately, a quick bit of research shows that Carol Vorderman - Mr Cameron's prized Maths Taskforce chief - didn't do all that well when she studied engineering at Cambridge. She got a third class degree."

Links in full

Gordon Brown's speech at the weekend for the Fabian Society set out to appeal to middle-class voters. Commentators consider what influenced this decision and how the electorate will react.

The 91Èȱ¬'s political editor that the speech will define Labour's election strategy:

"He exhumed the idea of New Labour - a phrase that he never used in his conference speech, and used repeatedly this weekend. And with it, a new and much more subtle form of class war. The one that we're used to - the battle for the support of the middle classes.
Ìý
"What Gordon Brown did was to say that he was born and brought up in the middle classes. He didn't point out - he didn't need to - that David Cameron was not, in his view. And he claimed that the Tories didn't understand the needs or the worries of middle-income Britain."

engaging with middle-class voters shows the influence of Lord Mandelson:

"This is a huge change in emphasis. Combined with Alistair Darling's tough words on bringing down the deficit through serious cuts, it makes clear that Brown is no longer in charge as he was a month or two ago.
Ìý
"There are plenty of people in the party who regret this move away from the core vote. Some doubt the wisdom of the 'we are middle class now' idea - as Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University has pointed out, it is tantamount to announcing the abolition of Labour's traditional working class base. Yet the 'class war/core strategy' seemed a counsel of despair rather than hope, simply shoring up those limited seats where Labour is unbeatable.
Ìý
"Edging away from the core vote, however, won't save Labour from electoral slaughter. What the party has desperately needed is what one of the election inner circle calls 'a forward offer': a series of good reasons to vote Labour once more. It is astonishing that this is being assembled so late in the day."

the policy highlights Labour's inconsitencies:

"It highlights just how inconsistent the government have been over the last few months. I mean, a government which only weeks ago proposed national insurance hikes - and which has, day after day, cast misleading aspersions about the Tories' inheritance tax plan - is now talking about aspiration? Get away.
Ìý
"The simple fact is that Labour's policy is now determined by who is on top in the struggle between Brown and Balls, on one side, and people like Mandelson and Darling, on the other. Any shift in the power relations between now and the next election, and we're likely to see a different emphasis again. This does not a credible government make."

that Gordon Brown is trying to "straddle two horses":

"Social mobility has that quality of being like justice, choice or freedom: everyone agrees with it but no one quite knows what it looks like. By making it a key election strategy, it enables Brown, rhetorically at least, to keep together Balls and Mandelson on a united ticket. So Brown's two horses might be able to stay parallel for now, but I am not sure they have morphed into one."

that Gordon Brown's appeal to middle class voters will force the Tories to rethink their policies:

"At first the Tories might be inclined to dismiss it as desperate political zig-zag forced on Brown and Balls by a cabinet that wisely wants to fight for middle-income swing votes rather than just core-votes in a defeatist retreat into welfarist clientelism. Except middle-income voters are bound to ask: 'What will the Tories do for us?'"

whether the Tories have deserted middle-class voters:

"But however brazen this pitch for Middle Britain may look, Mr Brown and his strategists (ie Lord Mandelson) see an opportunity here. The most provocative section of his speech deliberately accused the Tories of 'betraying' the middle classes. Does he have a point?
Ìý
"Have the Tories become so cautious and so frightened of wooing their own 'core vote' that they are in danger of scaring them off - not into the arms of Mr Brown but to other parties or to sullen indifference?"

In the of Gordon Brown:

"And there were millions of us thinking that he was, in fact, the unreconstructed arch-enemy of the middle classes and of everything they hold dear. For sheer unadulterated brazen gall, his pretence surely takes the latest of many mouldy digestive biscuits."

Links in full

A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

It was a historic day in the House of Lords on Thursday with the first Commons-style questions session to cabinet ministers who sit in the upper chamber. Transport Secretary Lord Adonis was first to take his turn.

a marked difference between the behaviour of those who sit in the two Houses in reaction to Lord Adonis's remark that London had too much money:

"Had a minister said that in the Commons there would have been an immediate yelp of confected protest from the Opposition. In the Lords, however, they consider yelping to be infra dig."

the mature make-up of the upper chamber when one peer pronounced that she had a bus pass:

"It's not much of a declaration: there may be only two other peers who don't have one."

Lord Adonis's claim that "No complacency are my middle names".

Elsewhere in the Palace of Westminister, Speaker John Bercow addressed the parliamentary press gallery. how well-suited to the role he is:

"Mr Speaker does what it says on the tin, which is, speak. His oratory model is Fidel Castro and, truly, the onslaught of words is monumental. It was like trying to swim in a teeming mass of syllables."

questions regarding the views of Mrs Bercow (who was present) on David Cameron are "legitimate" and "inevitable".

"It's as if the Archbishop of Canterbury was married to a practising Satanist."

Links in full

On Thursday, Communities Secretary John Denham asserted that racism now has less effect on life chances in Britain than poverty and social class. Commentators discuss the merits of this claim.

that white working-class anger has become a force that no politician can ignore:

"Denham's speech has been seen as a hasty response to the BNP's electoral success. That sounds to me like democracy working as it should. For the past 15 years, the phrase 'working class' - once flung across the Commons Chamber like knickers at a Tom Jones concert - has been almost absent from political debate. Bravo to the voters for forcing it back on the agenda."

The that class has more to do with success than race and criticises Labour for not improving the lives of working-class people:

"After 12 years of Labour government, Mr Denham's analysis represents a shocking indictment of failure to achieve the mobility and economic betterment of marginalised sections of society. The fact that all ethnic groups apart from black boys have a better chance of getting to university than white boys shows how much there is still to do. The relevant category for this group, as Mr Denham points out, is not that they are white. It is that they are poor. But, for all his claimed success on race, there has not been much progress on class."

racial disadvantage is still thriving, unlike debate about race:

"[John Denham] acknowledged, too, that Britain is far from being a society wholly free of prejudice, discrimination and inequality. That said, he then pleads for the 'debate about race' to move on.
Ìý
"But what debate about race? The government killed that off a long time ago, and uses the presence of what it calls a black middle class to front its claims of ending racial disadvantage. Maybe they are debating the issues among themselves."

Labour shouldn't be taking the credit for a reduction in race discrimination; it's just happened over time:

"The fact is that, for most families, racism has died out now that generations of people from different ethnic groups have grown up together. Many of us who once had bigoted relatives with a terror of miscegenation now have black and mixed-race family members. The minds of a majority have opened over time."

that John Denham simplifies the issues:

"One has yet come up with a decent, all-encompassing description of what 'working class' really is. Does a man or woman automatically become middle class the moment they gain an A-level? Or a degree? In which case, class inequality will always be embedded, because the success stories are excluded from the figures - and it will always appear that the working class are worse-off than minority groups."

In the that class was always the main discriminating factor, but Labour never realised it:

"Even your main headline that being black or Asian 'no longer means you will be automatically disadvantaged' is absurd - being black or Asian never meant that you were by definition disadvantaged."

class returning to the agenda is more traditionally Labour:

"... nothing new to older Labour supporters but for our younger middle-class 'New' Labour members it may come as a bit of shock, so take a deep breath before reading."

Links in full

A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

It was a noisy day in the Commons as Gordon Brown's leadership and a poster of David Cameron were discussed at PMQs.

that the two leaders have become more concerned with their put-downs of each other than actual policies:

"The lamps burn late as satirists, ironists, flyting dialogue-writers and every manner of publicly funded sarcasticiser hones his barbs and shafts."

As Gordon Brown chose a recent, allegedly air-brushed, poster of the Tory leader that is on billboards around the country for his line of attack, that he looked more relaxed and cheerful than he has in years:

"The man has become a joker, a tease and - shock, horror - playful. It is most unnerving, as if Victor Meldrew had gone all sunnyside up."

When David Cameron asked Labour MPs to put their hands up if they'd have the PM on their own election literature, a handful did as he said, causing hilarity on the opposition benches. that any fell for Mr Cameron's "stunt":

"This is a heffalump trap, clearly marked with a flashing neon sign saying 'heffalump trap'. Four Labour members, all with less common sense than Winnie the Pooh, stepped in and raised their hands."

that Nick Clegg should be pronounced the winner of yesterday's contest with his question about whether the PM would appear in front of the Iraq inquiry before the general election:

"While Mr Brown and Mr Cameron traded custard pies - Mr Cameron accusing Mr Brown of being unpopular, Mr Brown accusing Mr Cameron of being vain - the Lib Dem leader at least raised a vaguely newsworthy point."

Links in full

Google said on Tuesday that Chinese cyber-attacks aimed at human rights activists might force it to close its Chinese operations. Commentators consider what Google's motivations were and the wider implications to business.

Google's decision is less to do with human rights and more to do with business:

"Does anyone really think Google would be doing this if it had top market share in the country? For one thing, I'd guess that would open them up to shareholder lawsuits. Google is a for-profit, publicly-held company at the end of the day. When I met with Google's former head of China Kai-fu Lee in Beijing last October, he noted that one reason he left Google was that it was clear the company was never going to substantially increase its market share or beat Baidu. Google has clearly decided doing business in China isn't worth it, and are turning what would be a negative into a marketing positive for its business in the rest of the world."

, saying Google is just the highest-profile of many businesses that have judged business in China as not worth the trouble:

"Even in a market with around 338 million Internet users (an estimated 30 million of whom use Gmail), that position translates into annual revenue of a few hundred million - peanuts compared to world-wide revenue of $22bn."

The at the idea that Google is pulling out of China for financial reasons:

"Google might not be the market leader in China, but it still makes money there; $600m according to some estimates. Moreover, the Chinese market is growing rapidly. If Google follows through on its threat to pull out, it will mean foregoing long-term strategic opportunities for revenue growth."

Bill Bishop is an American CEO of an online games business in Beijing. Chinese partners of Google such as China Mobile have taken it badly:

"I don't see how Google can not pull out of China now. Even in the very unlikely event that, after publicly staring down the government, Google gains enough concessions to decide to stay in China, who in China will want to work them? Given the suddenness of the decision and the apparent disregard for its partners, Google now looks unreliable and untrustworthy to anyone who might consider working with them."

the real motivations of Google are irrelevant - what matters is the effect it will have on the future of business between technology companies and China:

"How far Google execs are willing to take this fight with China will determine how well they sleep in the future. But good for them for beginning this move, which is critical to the Web evolving globally as a free, unfettered and transparent force.
Most of all, we should only hope that Google's actions spur other tech companies to try to change China the only way its government understands."

Former diplomat that China should accept the offer to re-negotiate its deal to provide a non-filtered service:

"China is a country, if ever there was one, that can afford to trust its people's patriotism. Let's hope that it does the intelligent thing, tempers its reaction, and gets into quiet talks with Google."

The that how China chooses to deal with Google will have an effect on its economic position across the world:

"The episode demonstrates the absurdity of the project: the great firewall is a folly which can never be made to co-exist with the demands of becoming the world's largest exporter. Let it crumble, and soon."

Chinese blogger Michael Anti told the 91Èȱ¬ World Service that if Google's services are blocked within China they will still be able to access it:

"We cross over the wall ...for example Twitter is blocked in China but we still use proxy, use the VPN, to cross the wall."

Links in full

Michael Anti | 91Èȱ¬ World Service

A selection of lines from parliamentary sketch-writers.

Alastair Campbell's appearance in front of the Chilcott Inquiry into the Iraq war was the focus for parliamentary writers.

The Guardian's Simon Hoggart says that Mr Campbell had an air of apprehension when he arrived but that this soon disappeared:

"The guy is a pro. He's been doing this gig for years by now: Hutton inquiry, Butler inquiry, various House of Commons committees, and now this. You'd think he'd get stage fright, but if he does it evaporates after the first exchange, to be replaced by an affable fellow-me-lad camaraderie, with an underlying hint of violence."

the length of proceedings, as a session which should have lasted three hours became six:

"Mr Campbell's stamina was impressive. His papery, northern English voice yarned away, shrugging at his own importance, lightly dropping VIP names."

that Tony Blair's former spokesman remained as faithful to his old master as ever:

"He's loyal you see, another of his virtues. He may save Blair but the rest will be hanged."

Links in full

Commentators dissect Alastair Campbell's appearance at the Iraq inquiry.

the "Campbell effect" may have added relatively little facts it seemed to lead the committee to raise their game:

"Together, over five hours of exchanges, questioners and witness managed to elevate the much-criticised inquiry from generally underwhelming to nearly unmissable. If nothing else, the stage has been set for Tony Blair's appearance in a few weeks' time."

Alastair Campbell stood by every word of the Iraq dossier:

"So Campbell established himself as the last of the true believers, still clinging to the talking points he scripted back in the first years of the last decade, even as earlier witnesses to the Chilcot inquiry have steadily sought to distance themselves from the Iraq debacle. He gave not an inch to the fainthearts who believe that going to war to disarm a nation that had already disarmed was a catastrophic error."

blown away with revelations:

"There was nothing thrillingly original in anything he had to say as by and large he trotted out his lines with the practised ease of one who has done so before, and boned up hard for this latest viva. On the surface he did it pretty well, holding his temper, smiling when possible, and treating his interrogators to the contemptuous patience of the prissy boarding school headmistress whom a pair of sporadically donned and curiously effete spectacles made him resemble.

As warm-up man for Mr Tony Blair, in fact, he was perfect."

why he thought Alastair Campbell hadn't really said anything new:

"The truth is that, thanks to the earlier Hutton and the Butler inquiries into the run-up to the war, the British public has already been told almost everything that can be known about the background to the invasion."

the crucial piece of testimony is yet to come:

"Influential though he might have been, Mr Campbell was ultimately a media spokesman. He was making the case, not the decisions on Iraq. The true significance of Mr Campbell's testimony - as with all the testimony Chilcot has thus collected thus far - is the questions it raises for Mr Blair when he is eventually called to give evidence to the inquiry."

some insight into the feeling from the people covering the event:

"There have been a few laughs in the press room, not least when he claimed he was never obsessed with headlines."

Alastair Campbell made it just like old times:

"Inspired by Uriah Heep, Campbell cast himself as the humblest of functionaries amid grand events. In doing so he was unremittingly arrogant, almost to the point of delusion. Most extraordinary was his unabashed pride for his, Tony's and Britain's role in Iraq."

to the questioning of Sir John Scarlett the chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee and later the head of MI6:

"Will Sir John Scarlett follow the Campbell line and admit that yes, he did indeed break every principle of his profession and tell Mr Blair and Mr Campbell that the Iraqi intelligence was 'beyond doubt.' If he does, his professional reputation will be severely damaged."

And finally, his own conclusions of the day's events in his blog:

"Fair to say there was loads of the usual abuse that comes whenever anyone goes out and defends British policy on Iraq, but there was also a big expression of the counter view, which rarely gets airtime but which is there nonetheless."

Links in full

Commentators react to Peter Robinson's decision to step down as Northern Ireland's first minister for six weeks following revelations about his wife's personal and financial affairs. They discuss what this means for devolution and power-sharing.

The some knock-on effects:

"His absence from office leaves an inescapable void. While he has pledged to continue working to resolve the impasse over the devolution of policing and justice, he does so without the authority of his office and the temporary holder of the office, Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster, will also lack the clout to reach any agreement with Sinn Fein."

Mr Robinson of procrastination:

"Some said the DUP leader standing aside as first minister was the price Mr Robinson had to pay to gain the party show of solidarity. The move had lanced the immediate crisis facing the Assembly, but simply put off the really hard questions for another day."

this exposes the intricate nature of power-sharing:

"The big problem for the DUP in permanently replacing Peter Robinson as First Minister is that they require Sinn Fein's co-operation and have little or no goodwill to call on... The party has misused its time in government and painted itself into a corner which it will be very hard to get out of without making immediate concessions on policing and justice."

DUP support for Peter Robinson:

"There are a number of factors that explain the party's backing of Robinson. One is simple self-preservation. The party seems likely to suffer in the Westminster elections expected in May or possibly earlier but by opening up the possibility of a deal on policing and justice there is a reasonable chance that the Northern Executive and Assembly could see out its lifetime to May next year."

Better known as the founder of politics blog Slugger O'Toole, Peter Robinson's "clever footwork" had stopped catastophe overwhelming his party:

"Had Mr Robinson resigned yesterday, it would have spelt the end of devolving policing and justice. And with unionism split three ways it would have been almost impossible to resurrect the current all-inclusive governmental arrangements.
His six-week stay of execution is a breathing space for everyone else. But for Mr Robinson, his political career is almost over."

The Mr Robinson's career may not be written off:

"Memories in politics are often short, but rarely in the politics of Northern Ireland. So, while Peter Robinson's decision yesterday to step aside temporarily as first minister may have struck London politicos as a last-ditch attempt to delay his seemingly inevitable resignation, it looks a bit different from a Northern Ireland perspective."

The if the peace process is bigger than one man:

"The Westminster election is uncomfortably close for a party swamped with sleaze. If he goes, it will be seen whether the peace process can successfully proceed without him or whether one man really is indispensable to its survival."

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Chris Evans has made his first outing as the new host of 91Èȱ¬ Radio 2's breakfast show, taking over from Sir Terry Wogan - who presented the show for a total of 27 years.

Evans set the ball rolling with two Beatles songs, All You Need Is Love and Got To Get You Into My Life. He also played out good luck message from Sir Terry himself and was joined by newsreader Moira Stewart, making her return to the 91Èȱ¬.

According to , it was "a bit stiff to start" but "warmed up nicely".

"The music was carefully chosen not to frighten the oldies. Moira Stuart resisted Evans' flattery and read the news beautifully. Lynne Bowles proved herself the champ of traffic and transport reporters. Jonny Saunders, the sports reporter, let himself be picked on. (In any Evans show there has to be someone he can bully a bit.)"

The normally sedate format of the show was ripped to pieces, according to , who said Evans "burst upon the stygian gloom of a deep-frozen Monday like a grinning, shouty supernova."

"Two and a half hours passed by in a second, studded with the sort of music to make an old heart glad. He even played Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen. Wogan was great, the message went, but there's a new, 43-year-old kid in town and, to continue the Eagles line, everyone's gonna love him."

However, the , was a little disappointed that a "nervous" Evans and his team "played it very straight, some might say too straight."

"Evans, clearly determined to allay fears that he'd radically alter the show's musical content, greeted the end of the song by saying, 'See I told you there was nothing to worry about. However, one bugbear, and something he will have to sort out straight away is his tendency to talk over the end of tracks."

The bloggers have had their say too, with Evan's music choice again being applauded. said: "There really was something for everybody."

"Fats Domino with his 1956 version of Blueberry Hill. Throw in some Sinatra and Beatles and you've got the older end pretty happy... and many of the younger end, too, come to think of it. You can't really go wrong with them. And the currents were catered for as well, with Robbie, Alicia Keys, the new one from Mika... and even a rather good new song from the 'Evans favourites' box - Ocean Colour Scene."

Meanwhile, said the show was a mixed bag - "nothing earth shattering, the same mix of banter and bands".

"The question now is if the UK will take to the host of what is the biggest morning show in the country."

But what about Sir Terry's faithful listeners - Terry's Old Geezers and Gals, as they were affectionately known? Writing in (one of the "old gals" herself) praised Evans for not "trying to please the Togs". Instead, she wrote, "it was about Chris trying to please his listeners."

"Chris is a completely different person to Terry Wogan. He's upbeat. You can't compare the two. I want to listen to Terry Wogan forever, and if he hadn't left it I would have been delighted, but we're looking forward to his Sunday show. Still, we had to change, and having Chris on now is just fine. He's a lovely person; I wasn't expecting Terry."

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After Gordon Brown survived the early stages of a leadership challenge, commentators deliberate what is next for the Labour party.

In the last week as one of the most remarkable in political history. He says although Gordon Brown survived the challenge, most of his cabinet want him to lose the next election:

"Most of Mr Brown's own colleagues find him so impossible to work for that they cannot bear the thought of another Brown premiership. Working for Mr Brown is about as life-enhancing as working for Macbeth in Act V."

whether the attempted leadership challenge was as much a failure as it appears:

"Politicians as experienced as Hoon and Hewitt must have known that courage and clear-sightedness are not the most conspicuous characteristics among their erstwhile Cabinet colleagues.
So might this have been another strategy altogether - to weaken Brown so badly that sometime before the General Election he will have to be stretchered off the political scene?"

that voters will be turned off voting Labour as a result:

"I wonder, though, if even the cleverest on the Labour side fully grasp how heavy a price they have paid and will pay for the way they have conducted themselves during the Brown years. The essence of Blair's attack on the Tories was that they had become a sect, an irrelevant club at the margins of national life ('weird, weird, weird'). Now it is Labour that is courting precisely the same charge."

the attempted challenge brought up the question of who would be the next Labour leader:

"I would back the chances of Harriet Harman, the deputy leader of the party, if by then she wants the job. She was elected deputy leader as a centrist candidate with strong loyalty to the party. She has an appeal for trade unionists, women and backbenchers, a solid group of supporters in each section of the party's electorate."

The that Gordon Brown will stick it out, with negative consequences:

"In the meantime, we may expect a rash of meaningless initiatives designed to seize headlines rather than statesmanlike decisions that take the long view. The most statesmanlike of all decisions that could be made right now, of course, would be to call an early general election, not least so that the next Budget could be drawn up by a government that felt less desperate about its prospects and in consequence was less inclined to play the populist card."

And finally, free warm croissants on buses and the public execution of Simon Cowell may just win the election for Labour - according to . Mr Brooker's logic is based on a belief that Labour now has little chance of winning the next election:

"The party's condition is similarly terminal, so it might as well go for broke by announcing a series of demented and ill-advised election pledges in an openly desperate bid to retain power."

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The 91Èȱ¬'s Spotlight programme has revealed the financial dealings of Iris Robinson, the unfaithful wife of Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson.

about whether Peter Robinson may have breached the rules on accountability, something he notes the first minister has denied. But he says questions remain.

"Does knowledge of any potential or alleged breach of the rules by a spouse or partner entail breach of the rules by oneself?"

Elsewhere there are three Facebook pages dedicated to Mrs Robinson's young lover, one with more than 3,000 fans less than a day after Kirk McCambley's name moved into the public domain.

said that on Friday the DUP was waking up to a new reality:

"Revelations about sexual indiscretions and questions over financial dealings can be damaging for any politician and any political party.

But the DUP is not just any party. Its roots lie deep in fundamentalist conservative Protestantism and a brand of religion personified by Ian Paisley, who founded it and towered over it as leader until 2008."

In the Republic gives a precis of the programme, noting that Northern Ireland is a small place, it says this has implications for political transparency:

"Politicians and business people know each other very well. There are lots of informal links, and especially in the fundamentalist community it's quite common for business deals to be concluded on a handshake, without the need for anything so vulgar as a contract.

The only way you can guard against corruption is to have government transparency and a press that does its job. On both counts the north has been lacking."

Writing on the left wing says he believes Peter Robinson will survive, but that it is not guaranteed.

"The slow fall of the Paisleys, partly due to Ian Jr's relationship to a property developer, cannot be repeated here, with Iris already gone. But can Peter survive?"

that Mrs Robinson should resign.

Elsewhere on his site he announces that he has joined Jim Allister's Traditional Unionist Voice party, which bitterly opposed the DUP's decision to share power with Sinn Fein. But it is the wider issue that concerned him:

"Last year, we had the scandal of the Expenses scam. We start a New Year with these revelations - is it any wonder people get turned off from politics? It is important that all public figures behave honourably and transparently."

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Jonathan Ross announced that he will be leaving his job as a radio and television presenter at the 91Èȱ¬. Commentators are divided as to whether this is good or bad news.

The to the presenter who they say was overpaid and vulgar:

"Ross was hired because he was seen as edgy and possessed an appeal to young people, who do not necessarily pay the licence fee. Too many of those who did pay it never warmed to him and were appalled by his often vulgar humour. For them, he came to personify a corruption of taste across the 91Èȱ¬'s output - a collective madness we trust will follow him out of the door."

as he feels that those who complained about Jonathan Ross won:

"The shows have become tamer and duller, the guests more predictable. The prudes pulled him down in the end."

if "licence fee rebels" will now pay up, after refusing to pay after the decision to keep Jonathon Ross on:

"Can we expect the rebels to pay up? [Daily Telegraph columnist Charles] Moore insisted that he would refuse to pay the licence fee until the 91Èȱ¬ terminated Ross's contract. The presenter's voluntary departure may not be enough to satisfy the High Tory."

The Jonathan Ross's performance suffered after the "Sachsgate" affair so it was right for him to go:

"A presenter who won praise from bosses for having 'the fastest mind to mouth' in radio now records a once-live programme and double-checks his off-the-cuff comments. The result is a Friday-night chat show that should have been renamed Curb Your Enthusiasm. A huge talent, Mr Ross will do better out of the publicly funded spotlight for a while."

The editor of the Radio Times that Jonathan Ross will be missed:

"Jonathan is a wickedly mischievous but slick chat show host, and, above all, an inspired radio presenter long regarded at the 91Èȱ¬ as the natural heir to Terry Wogan - if only he'd ever been willing to get out of bed on weekdays."

bankers and Jonathan Ross have a lot in common:

"Nothing is the same again. There is no escaping the criticism about excess compensation now. From the City to White City, plans are set in motion for increased pay transparency ."

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US President Barack Obama has announced the conclusions of a review into security failings in the attempted airliner bombing on Christmas Day, and outlined how he intends to improve national and international security. This is how the US media have reacted to the speech.

welcomes Mr Obama's decision:

"It was a relief to hear him candidly acknowledge widespread failures in the vast and vastly expensive intelligence and homeland security system and insist that his administration do better."

Most of the failings were supposed to have been corrected in the years following the 11 September 2001 attacks, but clearly were not, the newspaper says:

"We would feel more reassured if these steps weren't so basic and self-evident: improve intelligence analysis; clarify the responsibilities of different agencies; upgrade computer technology; ensure faster distribution of intelligence reports; train National Security Agency personnel in watch list procedures; add more people to watch lists; enhance airport screening.

"More than eight years after 9/11, the United States has another chance to learn from its mistakes. So does al-Qaeda. President Obama has his work cut out for him."

, but also criticises Mr Obama for being "too vague about the actions that are needed to repair breaches in the nation's counterterrorism system":

"A key finding of the White House intelligence review ordered by Obama is that a reorganisation of the intelligence or broader counterterrorism community is not required to address problems that surface in the review.

"This assumes that the failure to properly interpret information about the failed Christmas attack was not caused by excessive layers of bureaucracy. It's a risky assumption, at best."

that the White House has not yet described a coherent and detailed strategy:

"America cannot afford to fight terror only with x-ray machines and visas, as the president has suggested. The Obama administration needs to develop, articulate, and implement a comprehensive strategy for defeating those terrorists and denying them safe-havens."

the risk the president faces with voters is the perception that his administration is "dumb":

"The Christmas bomber's near success produced the picture of an administration that was as almost as deaf, dumb, and blind--in its own technocratic way--as the blunderbuss Bushies who preceded it."

1. Fire some people
2. Blame Bush
3. Reconfigure the bureaucracy
4. Profiling
5. Don't allow airlines to sell one-way, luggage-less cash tickets to anyone, from anywhere, ever again.

a problem with the first change Mr Obama recommended:

"'I'm directing that our intelligence community immediately begin assigning specific responsibility for investigating all leads on high-priority threats so that these leads are pursued and acted upon aggressively, not just most of the time but all of the time.'
"Um, you mean we weren't doing that already?
"'It just seems like that would be the basic premise of any intelligence system,' NBC's Savannah Guthrie pointed out. 'I'm sure people wonder: 'Really? That's the reform we need?'"

, says Mr Obama has responded as best he can to the plot, but wonders why "no-one will actually face consequences for this failure":

"The only difference with Bush is that Obama wants to take full responsibility on himself. Here's what that says to the men and women of the security and intelligence institutions of government who failed us: you will never be fired, and you will never face real consequences for failing to do your job competently."

says Obama's "buck-stops-here" message marks a change in tone from earlier statements:

"In the past, Obama White House officials have complained that President George W Bush and his team were too slow to acknowledge mistakes and rarely took responsibility for them. Obama and his advisers seem intent on taking a different tack, in the hopes that Americans won't hold the mistakes against the president if they're convinced he's moving quickly to fix them."

But that old habits die hard:

"As with each successive challenge to the Obama White House, when all else invariably fails, the president and his aides blame the former administration with graduating intensity.

"Defence-related issues - on which the president and his party are, largely, observed as out of their depth - are of course no exception to Obama's petty politics of blame."

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Today in Web Monitor: the roots of British public mourning, political blogging explained using hip-hop, and group theory in the bedroom.

Politics bloggers try to make sense of a a day of drama in which two ex-Cabinet ministers called for a secret ballot of Labour MPs to decide on Gordon Brown's leadership.

In his money on Gordon Brown going the distance:

"Whatever your feelings about him you have to admire the extraordinary resilience of Gordon Brown. Will he be there on general election day? Most probably."

the challenge brought out support for Brown:

"Fair to say the news I caught was a bit of a disaster for the party, after what has been a better than expected start to the year in terms of getting stuck in a bit more to the Tories. It has also had the inevitable effect of making people come out and state their support for GB, somewhat defeating the object I'd have thought. I've seen the wave of support for GB on Twitter and Facebook from Labour activists, and it has been very encouraging. If it was a plot, it did not appear to be a very deep one."

Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon should ballot party members instead of ministers:

"Can I suggest they go back to their constituency parties, put their views, let them have a secret ballot, and then they'll know the results. After all, are not ordinary party members worth it?"

this is proof the Labour party has become a "farce":

"If Labour MPs cannot decide whether or not they have confidence in their party's leader, why on earth do they think the British people can be expected to have confidence in their leadership?"

to challenge Gordon Brown laughable:

"Tweedle-Who? and Tweedle-Hoon concocted a plot so comically useless that it seems possible that the only question is whether it will be remembered for its stupidity or its ineptitude."

the context:

"The irony here is that despite everything, Gordon Brown may well be on the verge of some relatively Happy Days, at least for himself.
There's a big date circled in the Number 10 calendar, and it's also circled by George Osborne's closest aides. Tuesday 26 January 2010. On that day, we will get official confirmation that the recession is over."

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Iceland's president has refused to sign a controversial bill to repay $5bn (£3.1bn) to the UK and the Netherlands instead vowing to hold a referendum on the bill. Commentators consider what should happen next.

why the Icelandic public feel angry:

"What people in the UK might not understand is that Icelanders feel betrayed by the UK government. When the Icelandic banks ran into trouble in late 2008 the Labour government added insult to injury by invoking the UK anti-terrorist act, freezing all Icelandic assets in the UK - which ultimately drove the banks into the ground. Icelanders therefore find the idea that they should foot the whole bill alone difficult to swallow."

sympathy for people in Iceland:

"The overall amount involved might not seem excessive - around £3.5bn - but only 300,000 people live in Iceland, so that equates to about £40,000 per family. The annual interest alone, if adjusted for population size, would be the equivalent of the UK paying over £40bn a year, almost half the cost of the NHS."

about what may happen if the referendum decides against current repayment plans:

"This extraordinary development jeopardizes stricken Iceland's attempts to join the EU, which wants the money paid to the U.K. and the Netherlands. Here one suspects that the Icelanders are about to find out how the EU works. If they dare vote no in the referendum, they can always be asked to vote again, and again and again. Until they get the right answer."

the referendum would be meaningless:

"But whatever the outcome of the referendum, they will have to pay. An earlier version of the law, passed last August, commits the country to starting repayments in 2016. Back in the boom years, banks liked to boast that they were too big to fail. Iceland's bad luck is to be small and weak, and to have failed spectacularly. The world can insist on getting its cash back."

that the UK government made the debt more than legally necessary:

"Britain's decision to seize the UK assets of Icelandic banks then compensate all UK depositors in full was one taken entirely of its own volition - it was part of Britain's general response to the banking crisis, when it was thought important to confidence in the banking system that nobody should lose any money. All the same, it is also the case that when push comes to shove, national governments should stand behind the international liabilities of their home grown banks."

confronting Iceland's central bank governor, David Oddsson, about the ethics of attracting UK savers to Iceland two years ago:

"Icelandic banks had been a no-go area for international investors for some time. Yet they raised huge sums, more cheaply, from unsophisticated investors in Britain."

about the UK government's approach to the situation:

"Whatever the rights and wrongs, Iceland was by then already being crushed by a financial tsunami. Britain's use of anti-terror laws at that moment will not sit pretty in diplomatic history."

the actions despite risking Iceland's credit rating:

"The irony in this mess is that Fitch [credit rating agency] immediately downgraded Iceland. Heck, the way I see it Iceland ought to be upgraded. With a debt overhand from the IMF, Iceland would have had a default looming over its head for a decade with it citizens struggling under a burden of that debt for a decade or longer."

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Following the attempt to blow up a transalantic plane at Christmas, Gordon Brown announced new security measures including body scanners and passenger profiling. Commentators discuss the merits of the plan.

The plans to profile passengers, saying they will create hostility and be ineffective:

"While Islam indubitably has a particular problem with dangerous people on its fringes, these remain such a tiny drop in the billion-plus ocean of Muslims worldwide that faith-based filtering scarcely makes them any easier to single out. Besides, once it was plainly in the interests of the fanatics to conceal their faith, they would soon do so by ditching the clothing and even the names that identify it."

new security measures are put in for show:

"The political necessity of being seen to do something in the wake of a terror attempt means security rules are always out of sync. We wait for something we know was possible to be attempted, then panic about it. We're like public-health programmes vaccinating against last year's strain of flu."

the problems with US security measures on flights:

"If we were really serious about airline security, we'd imitate the tough-but-effective system Israel uses to keep El Al terrorism-free. But the Israeli method requires real money and effort, intelligently spent: its security agents are expert professionals, and compensated accordingly. America, with many more airports to worry about than Israel, focuses on quantity over quality in its security agents."

security measures as a waste of money:

"When someone invents a way to hide explosive powder inside a toothbrush case, prepare to remove your toothbrushes, too. And while you're at it, throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder as you walk onto the plane. But never, at any moment, imagine that the rigmarole of airport security is guaranteed to make you safer, for no one knows which of these measures, if any, is necessary."

a possible legal problem with body scanners brought up in the Manchester trial:

"Within a few hours of the announcement that the next generation of 'convenient, hassle-free travel' was about to hit the security lanes, child protection campaigners were informing Manchester Airport management that any creation of an indecent picture of a child - 'indecent' meaning showing the genitalia, and 'child' meaning someone under 18 - is a criminal offence."

improving security specifically on US flights:

"After nigh on every attempt at bringing down aircraft has been aimed at flights to the USA, it would not have been rocket science to have deployed the scanners on these routes."

the introduction of body scanners reactionary and hocus-pocus:

"Real answers such as subsidising better pay and training for security staff at airports in developing countries may not be fashionable or even visible. But they would be better than a million body scanners."

profiling and body scanners:

"My right to arrive at my destination without being blown up by a jihadist dedicated to exploding himself to smithereens in an act of his exercise of religious freedom is more important than someone else's privacy."

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Today in Web Monitor: Star predictions, the rise of the super-accent and male ballerinas.

This edition of Green Room takes a look at the fallout from the deluge of snow that has hit various corners of the northern hemisphere, and offers you a seasonal suggestion on what to do with your Christmas tree once 12th night has passed.

The heavy snowfalls soon lost their magical appeal as it caused travel chaos in many parts of the US and Europe

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. While it may be the season to be jolly, for many people the weather outside has been a little bit more than frightful.

Thousands of people in the US and Europe found their holiday plans disrupted.

as snow storms swept down the eastern side of the country, reaching as far south as Florida.

In Europe, being dumped in a short space of time struggled to deal with the recent conditions.

Even Russia’s transport infrastructure, which most of us would assume could cope with the worst that nature could throw at it, suffered amid the bleak mid-winter power cuts. until the problems were sorted.

It has also been a bad year for a number of species. , according to US wildlife officials.

They attributed 244 of the deaths to "cold stress", as most occurred during January, which included the state’s coldest 12-day period since 1940.

Forecasters have found themselves in the eye of a storm as people vented their frustration over what they saw as a lack of preparation for the arrival of the big chill.

The UK Met Office’s chief scientist, Julia Slingo, said the past 12 months of extreme weather highlighted .

She told Nature News that they needed four times the computing power currently available to forecasters:

“The science is well ahead of our ability to implement it. It's quite clear that if we could run our models at a higher resolution we could do a much better job - tomorrow - in terms of our seasonal and decadal predictions. It's so frustrating.�

However, the Met Office says its severe weather warning system .

One project is looking for unwanted Christmas trees in order to make wooden stools

The one place in the northern hemisphere you would expect to be firmly in the grip of the frozen winter is the Arctic. Yet, shows that sea-ice extent is unusually low. It is too early to tell whether this is an anomaly or an indication that 2011 will set a new record low.

And finally, just in case you are wondering how you should make the most of your Christmas tree when the time comes to wrap your baubles in cotton-wool for another year, here is an idea.

The treehugger blog suggests that, once 12th night has passed, you that will make a rather fetching stool to help take the strain of the extra pounds accumulated during the festive season of excess and over-indulgence.

The general election must be held by June and the two largest parties have stepped up their campaign efforts this weekend.

The Gordon Brown's interview on The Andrew Marr Show marks the beginning of the a five-month general election campaign:

"From Labour we have had the ugly rumblings of class war, though the Prime Minister was at pains yesterday to insist that his jibe that Tory policies were dreamt up on the playing fields of Eton was simply a 'joke'. For a man not renowned for his wisecracks, perhaps we should treat that disavowal with suspicion."

In the Gordon Brown is getting stuck into party politics:

"Brown has no interest in trying to portray himself as some above politics figure, Cameron was trying to do this in both his New Year message and his speech on Saturday. Brown is instead going to be a unashamed partisan. Note how when Marr tried to stop him talking about the Tories, Brown replied, 'Well they made the wrong judgement on everything.'"

Gordon Brown showed new support for the Liberal Democrats in his interview. She predicts that support from both Labour and the Conservatives will define this election campaign:

"Gordon Brown let more than a little ankle show when asked yesterday about his attitude to the Liberal Democrats. Once, he would have contemptuously squashed them. When he and Tony Blair were sitting on New Labour's first landslide victory, nobody was more hostile to a deal with Paddy Ashdown than Brown. He may have had private friendships with the odd Scottish Liberal over the years, but he has always been thoroughly disdainful.
Now, it seems, he finds all sorts of common interests, from the reform of the voting system to the environment, from "fairness" to public services."

underwhelmed by Gordon Brown's interview, which he said knitted together familiar soundbites:

"Taking the Cameron speech and Brown interview together, I think enthusiasm for this phoney campaign may wane quickly. In their heart of hearts, all of them know the likely five months ahead represent a marathon, not a sprint."

supportive of Gordon Brown's performance:

"A lot of work has gone on to get him to this stage. He was much more fluid than usual and had some well-thought out sound-bites and arguments. He looked and sounded fairly confident."

dissatisfaction at Gordon Brown's responses to public spending questions:

"Mr Brown repeatedly refused to countenance spending cuts to plug the soaring deficit - due to hit £1.5trillion."

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