Palin, the new Thatcher
The viciousness of the attacks on Sarah Palin is a testimony to the degree of panic her appointment has generated in Leftist circles, writes Janet Daley. According to the official feminist sisterhood (which was taken over by the totalitarian Marxist tendency long ago) you can represent the views of Women only if you accept the tenets of their ideology. Ergo, Mrs Palin is not a Woman Candidate. Like Margaret Thatcher before her, Mrs Palin is coming in for both barrels of Left-wing contempt: misogyny and snobbery. Where Lady Thatcher was dismissed as a "grocer's daughter" by people who called themselves egalitarian, Mrs Palin is regarded as a small-town nobody by those who claim to represent "ordinary people". Janet Daley Daily Telegraph
Full article: Sarah Palin gets the spiteful Margaret Thatcher treatment 
Alexander Cockburn's verdict on the Boadicea of the Backwoods
Christopher Hitchens: What's right about America
Clumsy, reckless Gordon Brown
In his Prime Ministerial role Gordon Brown has become clumsy and reckless, says Steve Richards. In unveiling the government's housing package this week, was Brown seeking to revive the economy, rescue the housing market, or help a few victims of the credit crunch? Before the announcement, some people were expecting the first on this list. On the day the package was launched Brown implied the second. The reality was probably closer to the third. The blurred presentation, with its hint of rushed panic, is a vivid contrast with Brown's approach to policy-making when he was Chancellor and highlights what has gone wrong since he made the move to No 10. Steve Richards The Independent
Full article: Clumsy, reckless and a shadow of his former self
The Mole: Labour's reverse midas touch exposed by grim OECD forecast
The Business Pages: Top stories from the world of finance
Google could hang us all
The company is like a friendly octopus: it started with search, and one by one, Google's tentacles have entangled us: news, maps, gmail, YouTube. Google's ability to use the success of its search engine to lure users to embrace its other features will make it a one-stop shop for many people using the internet. If it corners a larger share of the browsing market on top of what it knows about our search, video, writing and reading habits, it will know more about us than is healthy for any organisation. Cardinal Richelieu once said that if you gave him ten sentences written by the most honest man he would find something in them to hang him for. Google could do that in a fraction of a second. Vic Keegan The Guardian
Full article: Information masters of the universe
Google enters the browser wars
Darling's Braveheart moment
The interview was Alistair Darling's attempt to brand himself as Captain Lifestyle by inviting the Guardian to Braveheart-on-Sea, or whatever his Hebridean hideaway is called, says Mary Riddell. Navigating his boat through choppy waters, lifejacket flapping, Darling was enjoying his Sarah Palin moment. You could almost imagine him arm-wrestling the Loch Ness monster or planting a deck shoe on a felled Highland stag. Darling is lucky he is not already spending more time with his barnacle-scraper. For any Chancellor to destabilise the economy, as he did, is a cardinal sin. But, despite the initial fury at No 10, there is no mood to sack or, it seems, reshuffle Brown's old friend and close confidant. Mary Riddell Daily Telegraph
Full article: Alistair Darling's Braveheart act wouldn't make waves across the Atlantic
Should immigrants have equal rights?
There is no cast-iron reason why immigrants who have been here for five years should automatically acquire a permanent right to remain, writes Camilla Cavendish. Nor is it axiomatic that they should have the same entitlements as British citizens. Many countries with open borders refuse to give immigrants equal rights. When I lived in Bangladesh I met many families whose income came from guest worker relatives in Kuwait and Jordan. During the Gulf War, the sheer number of disgruntled returnees astonished me. For me, the term "guest worker" was flush with imperial exploitation. But these people were just grateful that they could earn. They did not expect additional benefits. They were keen to get back, even to Singapore - which expels guest workers if they become pregnant. Camilla Cavendish The Times
Full article: Britain 2028: we need ten new cities, please
