8.07pm: My colleague Hélène Mulholland is on patrol in Westminster and she's just bumped into a senior Lib Dem who explained the situation like this.
The dilemma for the Liberal Democrats is that it would be easier arithmetically to do a deal with the Conservatives, but it would be easier politically to deal with Labour ... I think the mood of the party is in favour of a deal with Labour.
Says it all really. The sandal wearing, wind farm fanatics, never really wanted a pact with the conservatives. It was a sympathy ploy all along.
Maybe I will be proved wrong but I doubt. If I am I will do an Iain Dale and sprint stagger drunkenly naked through the town.
*I suggest you avert your eyes as I'm not a pretty sight.*
UPDATE:
Posted to the wrong blog. LOL
The End of the World- Once upon a time, the United States was a land of unparalleled freedom. The rest of the world envied the freedom that ordinary Americans had to think, say and do what they wanted. But all of that has changed. Now Americans have to fear that they will be tackled by a squad of security goons and dragged off to a detention facility somewhere if they spill a Pepsi on a flight attendant or take a few too many pictures of a public building. more
Business Insider- In an about face on the weekend's negotiations, Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats have turned to embrace the now Brown-less Labour Party. more
Telegraph- Police staff are being diverted away from crime-fighting duties so forces can "hire" them out to guard supermarkets, universities and even motorway service stations. more
You remember that this was the outfit that tried to bring in a super injunction to prevent their transgressions being reported in the House of commons records.
Here and Here
Well they're getting their comeuppance in the from of substantial costs against them.
A record £105 million in legal costs has been claimed by a London firm acting for the victims of the alleged dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast by oil trading giant Trafigura.
The figure dwarfed the previous record of £54 million in the wake of the collapse of BCCI bank in the Nineties.
Mr Justice McDuff approved the confidential settlement in the High Court. Today he was told of the staggering figure claimed by Leigh Day and Co, which compares with Trafigura's costs of £14 million.
Occasionally justice is served.
SOURCE
Times-I do not intend to dwell on the consequences here because I’m more interested in stopping the rot. And to do that, we need to work out why, all of a sudden, so many small shops are shutting up for good. more
Infowars- When one really looks into how money is created and used, and how interest is generated from loans, it becomes clear that the banking industry is one of the pillars of the New World Order and is at the core of the elite’s ability to control people, politicians, and even governments of large countries. more
Prison Planet- The unprecedented €750bn EU bailout represents part of an ongoing program of mass centralization of governance in Europe according to the world’s leading bankers and economists. more
Dprogram-There has been lots of talk about a coming food crisis due to the massive looting of the nations under the cover of an “economic crisis”. Recently, a report published by The Trumpet has shown food prices spinning out of control. more
Personnel Today- Civil service redundancies could be "delayed" following a High Court ruling that changes to Whitehall severance packages were unlawful.
The ruling means the government's proposed changes - intended to create £500m worth of Whitehall savings over the next three years - will have to be redrafted and renegotiated. more
Telegraph- The next Government will have to deal with a £163bn budget deficit, with households feeling the pinch of public sector redundancies, cuts in benefits and rising VAT and other taxes.
Meanwhile, the equity, gilt and currency markets do not know what to think, with the crisis in Greece further muddying the waters. Now is the time to prepare your finances for a new Age of Austerity, and here is how to get started. more
Daily Mail-The woman who presided over Britain’s ‘Third World’ voting chaos is a former Left-wing campaigner dubbed ‘The Modern Militant’ who now earns £100,000 for a three-day week as head of the election quango.
Jenny Watson has been a long-term agitator for voting reform and was once active in a pressure group seeking major constitutional change. more
Business Insider- UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has effectively announced his resignation, opening the door for discussions with the Liberal Democrats over a coalition government. more
Canoe technology- Internet cafes in the United Kingdom are the latest victims of privacy invasive counter$terrorism measures. Scotland Yard recently asked Internet cafe owners to monitor customers' use of public computers. The authorities are encouraging owners to check activity on their computers and keep an eye on any suspicious activity. more
Natural News- In response to recent bans on junk food advertising in the U.K., junk food manufacturers like Fanta, which is part of Coca-Cola, have found a loophole to the restriction. Producers are paying children the equivalent of roughly $40 a week to plug company products to their friends through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. more
Raw Story- With the impending threat of a growing oil slick just offshore, US Gulf coast states are seizing at all straws to avert disaster, with police in north Florida even suggesting protecting beaches with rolls of hay. more
International Forecaster- It was 7 years ago we said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were bankrupt. Most everyone within the beltway knew it, but no one would say anything about it. This as it now turns out they were the poster companies, which led to sovereign debt problems, but also showed that they were involved in massive fraud over several years and many in Washington knew it. more
Daily Mail-Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland today said it planned to cut 2,600 UK jobs at its insurance and retail banking arms. more
Daily Mail- Millions of holidaymakers are facing a summer of misery caused by four weeks of airline staff strikes as experts warn there will be months of chaos due to the volcanic ash cloud. more
Global Research- A quick glance around the globe reveals a ruined international economy, wars and more wars in the works, and revolutionary movements aplenty — all connected phenomena. No, the apocalypse is not coming; but the international economic system currently used to arrange the social order is crumbling, taking everyone down with it. more
Digital Journal- Sugar production, a very important supporter of Cuba’s economy, is in deep trouble. Production targets will not be met. Senior government officials have been dismissed and replaced. more
Digital Journal- Toronto is preparing to host the G20 at the end of June. Those living in the downtown area could be facing severe restrictions, tear gas and protesters if they venture outside their doors. more
Global Economic Analysis- To defend the Euro, the ECB now is committed to throw up to $1 trillion at interventions in public and private debt.
What's next? Direct intervention in the stock market? more
Deputy- And the Federal "Firefighter not Arsonist" Reserve slipped out a little note late on a Sunday that they'd be ready with bucketloads of "dollars" to "help out". Hands across the world now, kids, we're in this together... more
26-year-old Chambers will go on trial today after allegedly posting a Tweet that threatened to blow an airport 'sky high'.
Chambers, of Balby, Doncaster, denied tweeting the message about Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster on January 6.
The post was picked up by routine investigations into the site, which lead to Chambers' eventual arrest.
The alleged tweet read: 'Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week... otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!'
Twitter users have mounted a campaign to raise awareness of the trial, with #twitterjoketrial appearing high in the UK trending topics.
More....
Update: He has been found guilty and fined £1000.
Telegraph- The "Pre-School Nutrition Project", which was set up by Knowsley Borough Council and Chester University, sets out strict rules for nurseries which critics claimed risk "spoiling childhood".
Sweets and cakes brought in for children's birthdays cannot be eaten in the nursery, but must be handed to parents at the end of the day. more
Op Ed News- Petroleum is the force that drives the world's economies; it fueled America's industrial engines and created the world's foremost economic power. It was also the primary reason that the American lifestyle became the envy of the world. Now in a startling turn of events petroleum is destined to be a major cause for a dramatic change in the lifestyles of the American people. more..
Salon- Sunstein advocates that the Government's stealth infiltration should be accomplished by sending covert agents into "chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups." He also proposes that the Government make secret payments to so-called "independent" credible voices to bolster the Government's messaging. more
Examiner- Below are key excerpts of important news articles which include revealing information on Wall Street insiders making a killing from the stock market plunge, collusion between the oil industry and government regulators behind the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, lack of regulation of hundreds of cancer-causing chemicals, and more. more
Newsmax- Americans are being "bombarded" with chemicals, gases, and radiation that can cause cancer, and the federal government must do far more to protect them, presidential cancer advisers said on Thursday. more
Israel's Financial Expert- We are early 2008 all over again. When the sub prime crisis hit in late 2007 the Federal Reserve started to inject liquidity in to the system and slash interest rates. more
Business Insider- There will likely be a lot of thoughts to come with regard to the E.U.'s nearly $1 trillion package of bailout loans, but the most glaring issue is that, despite its enormous size and scope, Europe's new 'solution' misses the root of the Eurozone debt problem and worse yet could be amplifying it. more
Times- David Cameron is facing an immediate clash with Europe after Alistair Darling prepared last night to sign up to a massive new fund to back the euro that could cost British taxpayers £15 billion. more
New York Times- European leaders agreed on Monday to provide a huge rescue package of nearly $1 trillion in a sweeping effort to combat the debt crisis that has engulfed Europe and threatened markets around the world. more
Telegraph- Four out of five children are not getting their ‘five a day’ potentially storing up health problems for the future, a cancer charity has warned. more...
Global Research- What with multiple wars and occupations, an accelerating economic meltdown, corporate malfeasance and environmental catastrophes such as the petroleum-fueled apocalypse in the Gulf of Mexico, I'd say we have a full plate already.
Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new, destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit into another "battlespace," pouring billions into programs to achieve what Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) has long dreamed of: "space dominance." more...
The Oil Price- WMR has been informed by sources in the US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Florida Department of Environmental Protection that the Obama White House and British Petroleum (BP), which pumped $71,000 into Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign -- more than John McCain or Hillary Clinton, are covering up the magnitude of the volcanic-level oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and working together to limit BP's liability for damage caused by what can be called a "mega-disaster." more...
Richmond Times- What we're seeing in Greece is the death spiral of the welfare state. This isn't Greece's problem alone, and that's why its crisis has rattled global stock markets and threatens eco nomic recovery. Virtually every advanced nation, including the United States, faces the same prospect. more...
Alternet- A series of studies find that activism brings pleasant emotions, greater life satisfaction, and more experiences of freedom, competence, and connection to others. more...
Adding to the Everything-Causes-Global -Warming file comes the nuttiest idea yet! Researchers have used computer modelling to show plants actually cause global warming. more...
“To have civilian police departments now using heavy military equipment, automatic weapons, and the tactics, training, and even uniforms of the military, means but one thing: our governmental establishments are setting themselves against us – the people.” more...
The NHS has been accused of scaring patients into agreeing to have their personal information included on the controversial electronic records database. more...
Junk food and sugary drinks could be hit with 'fat taxes' in an effort to combat obesity and help fill the black hole in Government finances.
The Food Standards Agency is planning to consult on whether such taxes would help make people eat healthier food. more...
Alistair Darling has caved into a demand that British taxpayers underwrite at least £10bn of debt held by other European governments, amid fears that the Greek debt crisis could spread. more...
Years of national denial about looming bankruptcy have turned to resentment as Greece is told how it must tackle its debt crisis. more...
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