Bravo, Mr Cable! Bravo! Vince Cable Attacks Bankers as 'Spivs and Gamblers'
THE TELEGRAPH: Vince Cable has attacked the “spivs and gamblers” who he claimed are more of a danger to the economy than militant union leaders.



The Business Secretary told the Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool that it was right that the public was angry about the bankers’ bonuses.

He refused to tone down his comments, which have angered business leaders, about the “murky world of capitalism.”

He said: “I make no apology for attacking spivs and gamblers who did more harm to the British economy than Bob Crow (the RMT union leader) could achieve in his wildest Trotskyite fantasies, while paying themselves outrageous bonuses underwritten by the taxpayer. There is much public anger about banks and it is well deserved.”

In another move that is likely to anger the Conservatives Mr Cable revelled in the fact that the Lib Dems had forced David Cameron to drop his pre-election commitment to a new inheritance tax limit.

To cheers from the Lib Dem delegates, he said: “You'll remember our Conservative colleagues campaigned in the General Election to lift the inheritance tax burden on double millionaires. But they have dropped that commitment.

“They have gone halfway to accepting our case for equalising income tax and capital gains tax rates. They have accepted in the Coalition Agreement that the priority for cutting income tax is for low earners not top earners.”

He also repeated his wish for a new tax on properties worth more than £2 million.

Mr Cable said: “I personally regret that mansion tax did not make it into the Coalition Agreement but in a coalition we have to compromise. But we can and should maintain our distinctive and progressive tax policies for the future.”

Mr Cable was unrepentant for talking about capitalism's failings.

He said: “The Government's agenda is not one of laissez-faire. Markets are often irrational or rigged. So I am shining a harsh light into the murky world of corporate behaviour. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI Says Christian Faith Remains Strong in Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain remains a country in which Christian faith is “still strong and active at every level of society”, Pope Benedict XVI said in his first remarks after returning from his historic four-day visit to England and Scotland.

The Pope said the visit, which was widely judged a success despite being preceded by months of controversy over cost, clerical sex abuse scandals and the issue of gay and married clergy, marked a new phase in the Vatican’s “complicated” relations with the Church of England.

"This was a historic event marking a new and important phase in the long and complicated history of relations between (the British) and the Holy See," he said during his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square, after flying into Rome by helicopter from his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, in the hills outside the capital.

"In the course of the intense and very beautiful four days spent in this noble country, I had the great pleasure of speaking to the heart of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom and they spoke to my heart, most particularly with their presence and the testimony of their faith," he said.

"I witnessed how the Christian faith is still strong and active at every level of society," he said. >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Switzerland Has Women Majority Cabinet for First Time
THE TELEGRAPH: The Swiss government has more women in its cabinet than men for the first time in the country's history.

The new Swiss government pose during the autumn Parliament Session in Bern. Photo: The Telegraph
Swiss women have for the first time taken control of the reins of power in an Alpine country that denied any females the vote until 1971.

One Swiss canton, Appenzell Inner-Rhodes, continued to bar women from local elections until 1990, making Switzerland the last European country to introduce universal suffrage.

The historic shift in the balance of power came as the Swiss parliament in Bern voted Simonetta Sommaruga, a Social Democrat MP, on to the cabinet, a Federal Council.

The council is comprised of seven politicians from different parties, four of whom are now women, and does without a fixed Prime Minister or President to rule Switzerland - one of the most prosperous countries in the world.

"It's a great day to see a female majority in the Cabinet," said Claudine Esseiva, a cabinet ministers and member of the pro-business Free Democrats. >>> Bruno Waterfield | Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Liberal Democrat Conference: 'Oil Price Could Double in Return to 1970s Style Shocks'
THE TELEGRAPH: Energy secretary Chris Huhne has ordered his officials to look at the impact of a 1970s-style oil price spike on the British economy.

Mr Huhne said the UK was having to prepare itself for “lots of shocks”, forcing the price of a barrel of oil to double, mirroring the volatility last seen in the 1970s.

The news came as Mr Huhne said he would only give the green light to more nuclear power stations if Chancellor George Osborne agreed to taking millions of the lowest paid out of income tax. “A deal is a deal,” he said.

Mr Huhne said he was concerned about the future fluctuations in the price of a barrel of oil, which would send the price of petrol soaring.

A 1970s-style doubling in the price of oil would drain £45billion from the UK economy in two years, hitting investment and jobs.

He told a meeting on the fringe of the party’s conference in Liverpool: “We will have a world where there may be lots of shocks, we may well have oil price rises which are similar to the ones that we had in the 1970s, a doubling.

“I have asked for some work to be done in the department about what the impact of that might be in terms of British business, businesses that have nothing to do with energy, with green growth, entirely outside.

“The corner shop is affected if we have an oil price shock because the economy is hit very seriously.” >>> Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor | Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Bristol Palin on 'Dancing with the Stars'
THE TELEGRAPH: The daughter of Sarah Palin made reference to her Republican mother when she appeared on Dancing with the Stars by singing “Mama Told Me Not to Come.”

Bristol Palin, 19, performed a version of Randy Newman’s hit on the 11th series of the dance show and explained that she had not always taken her mother’s advice.

The 19-year-old was thrust into the public spotlight when Mrs Palin stood for Vice-President as John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 American election.

Mrs Palin, who has advocated the virtue of no sex before marriage, faced some embarressment when Bristol and her boyfriend revealed during the election campaign that they were expecting a baby. >>> | Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Far-right Success in Swedish Elections
CNN: The far-right party took 20 seats in the Swedish parliament after a nail-biter of an election.

Bruni: Mrs. Obama Never Said Job Is Hell
CNN: French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy denies U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama ever said being first lady is "hell."

First Lady On Restaurant Food
CNN: Michelle Obama addresses the National Restaurant Association about the role restaurant meals play on children's health.

Lieberman: ‘Don’t Ask ‘Un-American’
CNN: Sen. Joe Lieberman has a warning for those who planned to vote against the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

CNN Claptrap & Whitewash!
CNN: Author Deepak Chopra discusses the misconceptions surrounding Islam and advocates tolerance and understanding.

Stick With Me, Clegg Begs Lib Dems

France Raises Paris Terror Alert Over Al-Qaeda Warning
THE TELEGRAPH: France raised its terrorist alert warning today amid fears of suicide bomb plots against the Paris transport network.

French police officers and security personnel stand guard at a security cordon around the Eiffel Tower after a bomb threat was called in. Photo: The Telegraph
French intelligence services are hunting a female would-be suicide bomber who they believe could be planning to target the Paris metro.

The alert followed a tip-off from a friendly intelligence agency – thought to be Algeria’s — warning of an imminent al-Qaeda threat.

Five French nationals have been kidnapped close to a French uranium mine in Niger in the last week, while a bomb scare caused alarm at the Eiffel Tower.

In a separate development armed guards were deployed to protect prominent Islamic moderate Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Paris mosque. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, Septemebr 20, 2010

Pastor Who Threatened to Burn Korans Told to Pay Police Bill
THE TELEGRAPH: US pastor Terry Jones, who threatened to burn copies of the Koran, has been told he must pay $180,000 (£115,000) for security costs triggered by the controversy.

Pastor Terry Jones arrived in New York the night before the anniversary after cancelling his scheduled burning of the Koran. Photo: The Telegraph
The city of Gainesville, Florida said that local police agencies spent more than a month working on security plans to ensure the community close to the planned site of the burning was safe.

Mr Jones sparked outrage when he announced his plan to burn the Muslim holy text on the anniversary of the September, 11, 2001, attacks. He eventually agreed to abandon the idea after pressure from Barack Obama and other world leaders.

Gainesville police spokeswoman Cpl. Tscharna Senn told CNN that the threat led to a large police operation. >>> | Monday, September 20, 2010

Why should he pay the police bill? Has the police bill been paid by al-Qaeda? – Mark

Hillary Clinton Urges Iran to Dump Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
THE TELEGRAPH: Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, has called on "responsible" leaders to assert control in Iran and said tough UN sanctions were turning the screw on the military-backed regime.

Short of an explicit call to the Iranian people to revolt, Mrs Clinton's comments represented a sharpening of rhetoric as she increasingly seeks to portray Iran as a military dictatorship.

Mrs Clinton said the military, especially the elite Revolutionary Guard, was wielding more and more power to prop up a regime struggling to maintain its legitimacy since last year's "very flawed" presidential elections.

"And I can only hope that there will be some effort inside Iran, by responsible civil and religious leaders, to take hold of the apparatus of the state," she told ABC News.

"When you empower a military as much as they have to rely on them to put down legitimate protests and demonstrations, you create a momentum and unleash forces that you do not know where they will end up.

"And I know that that's a concern of people inside Iran. We read reports coming out of Iran. And it is something that would be even more distressing for the Iranian people." >>> | Monday, September 20, 2010

Interview With Hillary Clinton
ABC NEWS: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sits down with Christiane Amanpour.



Interview With Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
ABC NEWS: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joins Christiane Amanpour on "This Week."

Liberal Democrat Conference: Nick Clegg Defends Coalition Cuts
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Nick Clegg has defended the coalition's policies amid criticism from activists over the impact of the impending spending cuts.

The Deputy Prime Minister denied that the Government "relished" having to impose tight budget reductions, but insisted there was "nothing fair" about forcing future generations to pay off the nation's debt.

He said the Government had restored the earnings link to pensioners and was reversing the "grotesque inequality" in the tax system.

But he was told the deep spending cuts to be outlined in next month's spending review would "disproportionately" affect the poorest in society.

Speaking to party members during a question-and-answer session at the Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool, Mr Clegg said: "The fact of this deficit, which (Labour) created, you and I can't wish it away.

"You cannot build social justice on the sands of debt. It can't be done." >>> | Sunday, September 19, 2010

Pope Visit: Benedict XVI Says Goodbye to Britain
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Britain's historic papal visit has come to an end as Benedict XVI gave his final wave from the steps of his aeroplane.



The Pontiff took off from Birmingham Airport on a windy Sunday evening after thanking the nation for its hospitality.

In speeches to a small crowd of dignitaries on the airport's apron, both he and Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to strengthen relationships between Britain and the Vatican.

The hustle and bustle of the airport continued throughout the day, with holidaymakers oblivious to frantic behind-the-scenes preparations for the Pope's departure.

Hours before his arrival, police and officials swarmed round the Alitalia plane, checking every detail, while officials practised "walk-throughs" on a specially-laid cross-shaped red carpet. >>> | Sunday, September 19, 2010

Pope Visit: Britons Thirst for Holy Word, Says Holy Father
THE TELEGRAPH: The British people have a “deep thirst” for the message of Christianity, the Pope said as he ended his historic state visit to Britain.



On his arrival, the Pope said the country’s Christian culture was under threat from “aggressive forms of secularism”. But before his departure he said that he had seen evidence of a continued interest in religion.

He called upon the local Roman Catholic bishops to help people turn away from the “vain enticements of this world”.

The Pope made his comments to Catholic bishops in Birmingham after beatifying Cardinal John Henry Newman, the Victorian theologian who converted to Rome.

Despite controversy over his speeches in some quarters and a well-attended protest rally, the Vatican believes the first papal state visit to Britain has been a “wonderful” success with an estimated 500,000 attending open-air services or lining the streets to see the Pope over the past four days.

Images of the Pontiff meeting the Queen at Holyroodhouse Palace, embracing the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster Abbey and addressing four former prime ministers in Parliament will go some way to restoring the Church’s reputation after the scandal over clergy abusing children.

Last night Britain’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, spoke of his hope that the four-day trip would lead to a “Benedict bounce”. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Monday, September 20, 2010

The Pope's Parting Gift
THE TELEGRAPH: Benedict XVI's historic visit to Britain has been a resounding success – and may have changed attitudes towards the role of religion in modern life, says Peter Stanford.

In a damp Birmingham park before a crowd of 55,000 worshippers, Pope Benedict XVI rounded off his visit to Britain yesterday by beatifying the Victorian convert and theologian John Henry Newman. Like Newman (best remembered, said Benedict, for his "keen intellect and prolific pen"), this Pontiff has long enjoyed a reputation for being a complex, clever but rather dry academic, favouring language that is difficult to understand and moral positions that are uncompromising. Hence his nickname, "God's rottweiler". Or at least that was how Benedict was seen until he arrived in Britain. What a difference four days can make.

When the Pope argued in his homily that, contrary to popular prejudice, Newman was in fact a "warm and human" character, a parish priest and "pastor of souls" as well as a great thinker, he might well have been referring to himself. If this state visit has achieved anything, it has been to show a decidedly sceptical public that the parish priest of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics does indeed have a heart. Since the theme that the organisers chose for the trip was Newman's motto "Heart speaks unto heart", they must be congratulating themselves on a mission accomplished.

From the moment the television cameras picked up Benedict and the Queen chatting amiably in the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Thursday, during the traditional exchange of gifts, it was clear that the Pope was determined to reveal himself more as a kindly German shepherd than a rottweiler. Every time the Popemobile pulled to a halt to allow Benedict to reach out and kiss a baby, that pastoral image was reinforced. And it was not a cynical, mechanical ploy. Benedict's voice may have been devoid of intonation, and his face curiously immobile, but his eyes conveyed that same pastorly warmth and humanity that he praised in Newman. Here was an essentially modest man; if not charismatic in the mould of his crowd-pleasing predecessor, John Paul II, then certainly possessing a quiet charm, and emphatically not the woman-hater, gay-basher or ivory-tower bigot of stereotype.

In advance of the visit, siren voices had warned that it would all be a disaster. Few would turn up, we were told. Yet 125,000 lined the streets of Edinburgh, according to the police, and 75,000 came to Glasgow's Bellahouston Park. Everywhere the Popemobile went, the crowds were 10 or 12 deep. As reporters moved among them, it was clear that these were not simply the faithful, coming out of a tribal loyalty to their embattled leader, but people of faith and none, simply curious to witness a moment of history – the first state visit by a pope since the Reformation – and to hear a distinctly counter-cultural message, questioning the remorseless march of the me society, with its twin obsessions of consumerism and celebrity. Read on and comment >>> Peter Stanford * | Monday, September 20, 2010

* Peter Stanford is a former editor of the 'Catholic Herald' and author of 'The Extra Mile: A 21st Century Pilgrimage' (Continuum)

Bermuda Lashed by Hurricane Igor
THE TELEGRAPH: Fierce waves have pounded Bermuda's breakwaters and shores and battered oceanfront hotels as Hurricane Igor lashed the British territory.

Bermudians battened down their homes in pelting rain to wait out Igor, a relatively weak Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The wind uprooted trees and power poles, knocking out electricity in many parts of the island. But there were no early reports of major damage.

"We're certainly getting our money's worth in drama," lawyer James Dodi said while standing outside a hotel in downtown Hamilton watching Igor's winds whip through palm trees and howl around buildings.

Some storm-seasoned islanders ventured outside during the day to watch as the hurricane force winds drove 15-foot surf onto shore. Flooding was reported in low-lying areas, while streets in downtown Hamilton, the capital, were covered in several inches of water and littered with tree branches and other debris. >>> | Monday, September 20, 2010

Igor Powers Ashore in Bermuda


Bracing for Igor in Bermuda >>>

Bermuda in More Tranquil Times

Sweden Elections End in Hung Parliament, Rise of Far-Right
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Swedish elections on Sunday night ended in a hung parliament after the rise of a far-Right group narrowly prevented the conservative-liberal coalition government from winning an outright majority in Sweden’s parliament.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and his wife Filippa. Reinfeldt appears to be heading for an historic second term. Photo: The Telegraph
The result, which gave Frederik Reinfeldt's Moderate-led alliance the largest share of seats in the Riksdag, was the worst result since 1914 for the Social Democrats, effectively ending the party's 80 year domination of Swedish politics.

Official preliminary results showed Mr Reinfeldt’s centre-Right coalition winning 173 seats in the 349-seat parliament and the Social Democrat led Left-Green coalition with 156 seats.

However, the big news of the night for a country which has long prided itself as being one of the most tolerant in Europe was that the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats (SD) looked set to win 20 seats, their first entry to the national parliament.

Despite winning the largest share of the vote, Mr Reinfeldt’s coalition could face weeks of horse-trading after both his conservative-liberal alliance and the opposition left-Green bloc ruled out working with the far-Right.

“If this result stands we will have an uncertain situation,” said a government spokesman.

Before polling opened, Mr Reinfeldt had pleaded for a clear majority amid fears that in the event of a hung vote far-Right MPs from the SD party could play a “kingmaker” role in forming a new government.

“Don’t expose Sweden to this experiment. Make sure they don’t get any power,” he said of the far-Right. >>> Bruno Waterfield and Matthew Day | Sunday, September 19, 2010

Sweden's PM Re-elected But Fails to Win Majority
THE GUARDIAN: Sweden's ruling centre-right coalition led by prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt beat the Social Democrat opposition in Sunday's election but failed to win an outright majority. The far right Sweden Democrats have won seats in parliament for the first time

Watch Guardian video here
Read article: Sweden's ruling coalition heads for minority government: Prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt becomes first non-socialist to win re-election since 1930s >>> Julian Borger | Monday, September 20, 2010