Welcome to the Thursday casting the net slot. The parliamentary recess is soon to be underway and we had our last PMQs, so bring on the months of benign news! A request from myself, if you have a blog that you would like to have checked for posts let us know on tips[at]liberalconspiracy[dot]org. We have plenty of liberal and Labour blogs, but less so of more independent ones! As usual this, along with a few further links, will be up on my blog.

Gl0rfy! - Seven years ago Blair backed the brutal actions of Genoese police, actions that have yet to be punished.
CiF/Libby Brooks - A woman is (rightfully) asking for issues of rape to focus on the offender, it only took an hour for someone to undermine the point in the comments. Is this progression?
Peter Black AM - Peter Black points out some very hypocritical views in the Welsh assembly.
Millenium Elephant - House of Lords reform? Not if Jack “never make a decision” Straw has anything to do with it!
Linylooz Muze - Adding to the voices of concern about Cameron’s qualification for making certain statements, Linda wonders how much he can do for Black fathers.
Bloggasm - Simon has done some poking around to find some stats for blog readership in the US. Anyone want to do the same for the UK? Continue reading…

Welcome to the July 10th edition of casting the net. Contributions as usual to tips[at]liberalconspiracy[dot]org to let us know of the amazing works being posted around. This has been a quiet week, maybe it’s just the weather, but with a hilarious Harriet Harman performance in PMQs, a communities bill announcement, the G8 summit and (of course) the H&H by-election I expected more. Bad bloggers, must do better! As usual my extended round up will be up shortly on my blog.

The Register - OK, not a blog but Sunny will poke me with sharp, hot things if I post where I got this link from. Jacqui Smith and the government start a propaganda site to indoctrinate our children in to ID cards. Fails spectacularly.
Andreas’ Blog - Someone is a little critical of those calling themselves liberal these days.
A Lanson boy - Who do those liberals think they are, telling our children to be off our streets by 9pm?
Though Cowards Flinch - David is unimpressed with the politics of fear, especially the Tories hypocritical role in it.
Lib Dem Voice - Who said what now? Certainly it seems David Davis is in the clear despite many Lib Dem supporters anger.

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Welcome to the Thursday casting the net. Surprisingly there is no analysis I can find of yesterdays Finance Bill vote. This is ok though as you should be able to check back at my blog site after 6pm and see my analysis of what I thought was an all round shoddy debate. Meanwhile, on to the good stuff, as always more links will be posted shortly on my site, and links can be sent to us at tips[at]liberalconspiracy[dot]org.

OurKingdom - Anthony Barnett asks what is next for those that are interested in democracy with the H&H by-election looming. Make sure you put aside 30 minutes to read this!
Crooked Timber - Henry wonders about the impact of blogs and participation on them in the political process amongst other things. A truly interesting article that doesn’t come around often.
The Yorkshire Gob - Jennie was one of the first to comment on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s poverty findings, and is actually not doing too bad in her impoverished state, thankyouverymuch.
Obsolete - There is a darker side to CiF, and this analysis of the treatment of Majid Ahmed (refused entry to Imperial because of a theft conviction) on the site shows it plain as day.

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The Telegraph has gained access to a handwritten letter by Chief Whip Geoff Hoon, addressed to Keith Vaz, leader of the Home Affairs select committee, on the 12th of June that he hopes Mr Vaz “will be appropriately rewarded!“.

Welcome to the Thursday casting the net. It’s Henley by-election today so exciting times for 24 hours and I’m sure a wealth of links fo Aaron tomorrow. Yesterday was the blog nation event, and this week has provided great material to blog on, so here are the links. Feel free to post up your favourite links in the comments, especially thoughts on last night’s Lib Con event. As always please send lovely tips to tips[at]liberalconspiracy[dot]org!

Brian Barder - What Jacqui Smith said yesterday regarding Homosexuality and Iran is completely unacceptable and it certain seems to have irked a fair number of us out there.
Max Dunbar - A thoroughly interesting and, from my perspective, spot on analysis of a recent occurrence on Big Brother. With so much tension around, the actions of the few muslims and immigrants in the house are bound to be under scrutiny.
Beeblebear/ukpolitics - If you’re brown and muslim then the moment the police break in to your house to arrest you you’re targeted by the media immediately. Kiddy fiddling, fascist, white terrorist? Well you’ll make the paper only when charged.
Neil Harding - He doesn’t like Labour MPs unless they’ve got a spine.

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It’s time to stop the bullshit, we’ve now been sitting around for about a week and a half doing little more than bicker about the integrity of a single person while standing around gawking.

The question now should be: what can we do, and can we do it, in a way that can unite those that support and loathe David Davis’ stance?

I’ll be heading on the journey over to London today for the Liberal Conspiracy gathering and hope that this subject can be explored in more depth by those that attend.
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Welcome to a slightly later Sunday edition of Casting the net. Jennie is off doing far more important things than sitting by a computer, whereas I, on the other hand, have nothing better to do. Remember to send your tips for article. to us. You can catch my extended review over at my blog shortly.

Existential Rage - Gordon Brown knows he’s unpopular and that he won’t last as long as Blair, allegedly. Are wishes coming true slowly but surely?
Lib Dem Voice - Is this the plan Z I was asking for? Thomas records his thoughts on the way forward for the EU.
Zebra-Mbizi - After todays news about the withdrawal of Mugabe’s main opponent, will the unfortunate realities suggested by this article hold true?
Lynne Featherstone - Lynne thinks an MPs life is far from easy, and lets us know about her job outside parliament.
Mark Tran: Guardian blog - Iran hates Israel and vice versa, but it could all just be leading to a counter-productive end result.
The Bickerstaff record - Paul wonders where proportional punishment for crimes has gone.
Bob Piper - Total Politics is upon us, but is it as great as a “balanced” editorial board suggests?

Casting Back:

Johnathan Freedland: Guardian - In 2005 we were well aware of the integrity of information that took us to war, but where was the fuss?

Happy emancipation day everyone, and welcome to Thursday’s Casting the Net. Looking back on the last 24 hours(ish) of blogs it’s been hard to pick out anything that doesn’t reside on CiF. Must do better bloggers, you can’t rely on dodgy grades from me to get your gold star for the day! Remember that you can send in your tips for articles to be included in these round ups, we’re all happy to receive them.

Jonathan Freedland/CiF - It’s coming up to Gordon’s first anniversary of having achieved bugger all. If the cake he gets is reflective of his performance then it’ll have to be a stale chili muffin as far as I’m concerned.

Timothy Garton Ash/CiF - Timothy muses on plans D and E for the EU. Personally I’m thinking of taking bets on if we reach a plan Z before 2010.

Alex Hannaford/CiF - The death penalty has slowly come back in to being after a legal review deems it acceptable to lethally inject once more. Alex reiterates some old arguments that can’t afford to not be repeated.

Stephen’s Linlithgow Journal - Stephen talks about an issue fairly close to my heart, and questions the arbitrary limits that society is placing on natural instincts, as if laws and rules are heeded by hormones and DNA.

Happymarx - Who’d have thought that Labour just shove people in to prison and forget about them as human beings? Everyone then…

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The real problem with Labour is right, more than anything, is the perception that we’re being bled dry by various different outlets of our hard earned cash.

If Gordon Brown is to have any hope of a fightback, the best place to start is with our energy prices, a subject that the government clearly feel is a priority given the announcements made on the 30th of May. Don’t be fooled though, if you’re hoping for a cure to the ever booming gas and electricity prices then you’ll be sorely disappointed by this latest official announcement.

All in all the plans seem to do as much as the idea of the big six energy companies investing a further £225million over 3 years in to social tariffs, a scheme that if you take British Gas’s profits (which is from my perspective a good average of the other companies) would mean merely 2-3% of their annual profits being “reinvested” in to helping the poorest customers afford their rising energy bills.
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Welcome to the Thursday edition of Casting the Net, the round up of the last 24 hours of political blogging. And what else could dominate the list of links today other than the victory by Brown and his government on the issue of 42 days, by only 9 votes, 36 Labour rebels after 5 hours of debate. That’s so many numbers Carol Vorderman must be getting flustered just thinking of it. On to the review!

Obsolete – Septicisle thinks that there are definite positives to take from yesterdays result, a bloody nose for Brown perhaps?
Devils Kitchen – DK on the other hand is not so happy.
Comment Is Free – on CiF they feel a little disappointed about how the result came about.
Stephen’s Linlithgow Journal – Stephen is a little more placid about the whole situation, asking as many of us are about the DUP.
Centre Right – So perhaps you never though the LC would link to Centre Right? This time they’re talking sense, David Davies *was* superb and very liberal.
Program your own mind – And then there are my personal views on the events of yesterday for your pleasure also.
Neil Harding Blog – But wait! Not everyone is blogging about the events of yesterday, Neil is bitterly looking at his own party wishing for better.

Casting Back:
The Observer – The 12th of June 1999 marked a change in the war in Kosovo…the Observer once upon a time had a look deeper.

Welcome to Casting the Net this Thursday afternoon. The big news of the last day is of course Democrats seemingly working out who they want to be their presidential candidate. Most of us knew how this would end months ago, but it’s all over now and the vast majority of liberal bloggers around the web are celebrating.

Luke’s Blog – Not everyone is happy about Obama’s victory, Luke sheds a tear for the Clintons and laments on the loss of a “golden age.”
Harry’s Place – So if Clinton was the first black president, And Obama the first Jewish one, does that make Bush the first genius president?
Quaequam Blog – More backlash against the new Lib Dem road pricing proposals, could Nick Clegg have misjudged his levels of support this time?
Cicero’s Songs – The Ukraine has the potential to be the new Poland for our own economic benefit, but it’ll never win us the Eurovision Song Contest.
Dizzy Thinks – Since when do basic websites cost over £500 a month to host? Continue reading…

Quaequam Blog! – The justice department wants us to all close our eyes and tap our ruby red shoes together chanting “There’s no legislation like child abuse legislation.” Eventually we may actually see some evidence to back it up too…maybe.
Obsolete – Scepticisle delves in to the impact Mary Whitehouse has had on our governance in lieu of the BBC show “Filth.” It also turns out Melanie Phillips is a hypocritical idiot, so no shocks there.
The blog of Dave Cole – Dave revisits one of the more interesting debates on LC and talks in depth about abortion and the “viability” argument.
Between the Hammer and the Anvil – Smoking being the new paedophilia is perhaps a little over-dramatic (as Devil’s Kitchen laments), but the liberties being ignored in the quest for perfect health are too many in number
Neil Stockley – Neil takes a superb look at the politics of ridicule, and also compares the Lib Dems to Barack Obama. I wonder who should be more flattered?
Peter Black AM – This story is already getting all over the blogosphere, so it deserves a mention…Labour to be broke by Christmas?
Moments of Clarity – In a rare instance of a debate on LC being taken outside of this site, Darrell attacks the “no platform policy” idea
Casting Back: The Guardian (2001) – John Crace’s article, in hindsight, showing naivety over the integrity of electoral systems

Reform, change, improvement. These are words that are all important to us as voters and concerned citizens regardless of where we live and what our circumstances are. Unfortunately, as Nick Robinson states, politicians in the UK have got a hold of these words and made them mean something less than they are. While Barack Obama invigorates his campaign along with the hopes and aspirations of millions of Americans with the simple word “change”, it is getting to the stage on British shores that claims of reform are met with sideways glances and the rolling of eyes. “I’ll see it when I believe it,” says Nick, and I’d be surprised if he was alone in this way of thinking.

With the current vacuum of any real reform despite all of the talk at the beginning of Gordon Brown’s premiership, now is the perfect opportunity, as Sunny said on CiF last week, for those on the liberal-left to truly push reform forward.

At the very top of this list should be electoral reform.

I want to take you back in time, to 1969. This is the last time Britain saw meaningful reform on making the process of elections fairer by lowering the voting age to 18 for all eligible men and women in the UK. Twenty years earlier academic votes were abolished, twenty years earlier again women were given equal rights to men in voting. It seems the rate of necessary reform has begun to stutter and stumble since 1969.
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Once upon a time I was in secondary school and had to do cookery lessons with everyone else as part of a revolving door scheme of design and technology work. This meant that cooking was only taught for a fraction of the year but it was potentially valuable experience.

I feel that this is the reality for many going through “food technology” lessons, so I have to welcome the news today about cookery being made compulsory with mixed emotions.

It is, in an objective sense, great news. The idea that kids will be learning about basic ingredients, how to cook basic meals, how to keep a nutritionally balanced diet and do it in a fun and tasty way…all of these things need to be taught to people. But herein lies my concerns.
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