Perceptive article by Seumus Milne in Guardian today: EXTRACT The Syrian crisis operates at several levels. Part of it is a popular uprising against an authoritarian nationalist regime, which still retains significant public support. In the face of sustained repression that uprising has increasingly morphed into what the Arab League mission’s leaked report described as

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 259th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (29 January – 4 February, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don’t forget: you

The Twitter hashtag #BankerOutrage was launched by Radio Four yesterday summing up a very popular mood. It’s not unusual for bankers to be hated after crashes. After the South Sea Bubble burst in 1721, there were calls in the Lords for the bankers involved to be dumped in sacks filled with serpents and dropped in the Thames. But that was the immediate aftermath: what’s odd now is the t...

Perhaps contrary to expectations, the largest demographic for buying country music is working class women, and right from the 1950s Country more than any other genre of popular music has allowed women an assertive and positive role. This has included a tradition of surprisingly robust almost vigilante responses to domestic violence, even the gorgeous but

        The Euro crisis has been postponed. The Euro area has now adopted the very popular approach in the modern west of simply printing more cash to see them over a rough patch. The ECB’s decision to lend more than half a trillion euros to Euro area banks, for 3 years at 1%, was

Yesterday's YouGov poll for the Sunday Times had a few interesting nuggets buried beneath the top line (Lab 40, Con 39, as it happens). Here are some of the most topical findings: 1) Clegg’s tax proposals are very popular. 83 per cent support the Lib Dems’ policy of increasing the personal allowance to £10,000. This might explain the 12-point jump in Nick Clegg’s net ap...

The Left is retreating around the world. The Great Recession has produced a landscape so favourable for right-wing parties, their opponents can only feel sorry for themselves as they watch support drain away from them. At least, so goes the popular narrative. But the last 12 months don’t bear out the argument that the Left is on a losing streak.

The Tory party and its leader are much more popular with men - hence the recent attempts to soften David Cameron's image. James Kirkup reports.

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 258th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (22nd-28th January, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden

Believe it or not, the most popular video on YouTube this week, with over 40 million hits and climbing. ( hat tip, Carl)