Twit-Fit of the Week from Nicholas Lezard: It’s Monday, so let’s Wibble about Twitter…
Articles in newspapers complaining about bloggers and twitter users seem to come along like bills from the taxman - at a rate of about 5 a week. We have had the remarkable exhibit of Janet Street-Porter (or "Janet Self-Publicist") complaining about "publicity seeking bloggers", and more recently

Three gay teenagers are on death row in Iran: please help to try and save them
Iran is preparing once again to execute young gay men arrested while they were a minor. Guilty of ‘lavat’ (i.e. sexual conduct between two men, regardless of penetration), the three teenagers do not yet have dates set for their state-sponsored murders, but according to Human Rights Watch and Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees it could happen [...]Post from: The Wardman WireThree gay teenagers are on death row in Iran: please help to try and save them

Lord Martin on Damian Green: car-crash committee evidence
A special Commons committee chaired by Sir Ming Campbell is currently inquiring into the arrest of Damian Green MP last year, and search of his Parliamentary offices; and last Monday they heard evidence from the former Speaker, now Lord Martin. You can watch the full session here, and if you're interested in this affair, you should. This evidence is the final proof that Martin was unfit for his office.A special Commons committee chaired by Sir Ming Campbell is currently inquiring into the arrest of Damian Green MP last year, and search of his Parliamentary offices; and last Monday they heard evidence from the former Speaker, now Lord Martin. You can watch the full session here, and if you&#

Welsh police spend 20k investigating murder of man reported by his ghost via a medium
I've quoted a whole Guardian piece because I am shocked into silence. An element of the Welsh police force appears to be disturbed in the balance of their mind, and the Welsh Police have made themselves, as the source admits, a laughing stock. From the Guardian: A police force has defended spending £20,000 investigating a man's death after his ghost was said to have told psychics that gangsters had forced him to drink petrol and bleach. Carlos Assaf, 32, a baker, was found dead at his flat in Lampet

Open Europe calls for an opt-out from equal pay
For many years Eurosceptic Conservatives have wanted the UK to be "opted out" of EU social legislation - John Major negotiated an opt-out from the "social chapter" at Maastricht and Michael Howard has long been arguing for repatriation of power in the social and employment field. A very important point that I think needs drawing attention to, though, is that Open Europe is calling for an opt-out from all EU social law - including what's now article 141 TEC, and what will soon be article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the Union. I think Open Europe, and Conservatives and others who want "social repatriation", need to be explicit about it if they want out of equal pay - it may affect