British Royal Family granted new right of secrecy

Clegg vows to restore civil liberties in Britain
Reporting from London — Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg pledged Friday to restore "our great British freedoms," saying that too many basic liberties had been eroded in the name of keeping Britain safe from Terrorism. Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats who last year teamed with Conservatives to form a new Coalition Government, accused previous Labor Party governments of a relentless assault on Civil Liberties, pledging to reverse it. "The British people have become accustomed to...

Kate in black at friend's wedding
The nation is eager to see her big white dress, but Kate Middleton chose a little black one for a friend's Wedding this weekend. Prince William, 28, and his future bride attended the Wedding of Harry Aubrey-Fletcher and Louise Stourton in Boroughbridge, West Yorkshire. Miss Middleton - who turns 29 on Sunday - wore a black velvet coat, black dress and black pill box hat. The royal couple will tie The Knot themselves on 29 April. The Mail on Sunday reported that Prince Harry and Princess Be...

No glass coach for Wills'n'Babykins? It's an outrage
Provide feedback to the multimedia producers. Thank you. Your feedback was successfully sent. Video will begin in 5 seconds. What type of connection do you have? Your video format settings have been saved. Palace officials reveal key details about the upcoming royal Wedding, announcing that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will marry Prince William and Kate Middleton. LOOK, it's quite frightful, really. Royal weddings have to be rather unrealistic to succeed, don't you think? That's why a...

Thumbs Aloft! Paul McCartney to Play at Royal Wedding?
The world's greatest Wedding just got that much greater. It's being reported that Prince William and Kate Middleton have asked Britain's beloved Sir Paul McCartney to do the honors and perform at their Wedding reception. And if he's got any sense, he'll surely answer "Love Me (I) Do." The couple believe that Macca's music has universal appeal, and it doesn't take a genius to work out that they're on safe ground with their thinking (even Wings is looked upon more kindly in recent years!) A source...

Britain vows to change 'embarrassing' libel law...
Britain's plaintiff-friendly Libel laws have become an international embarrassment, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Friday, vowing to change rules that have made the country a "libel Tourism" destination for angry corporations and foreign celebrities. In a Speech on Civil Liberties, Clegg said the existing laws, which place the burden of proof on defendants, have a chilling effect on journalism and scientific debate. It is "simply not right when academics and Journalists are effectively bu...

UK moves to extend freedom of information laws
Britain's No. 2 official says the government should release its secrets sooner and has proposed reforming the U.K.'s freedom of information law. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says he wants to cut the time officials can keep records from the public down to 20 years from the current 30 years. He also wants to expand the scope of law, which now covers U.K. government departments and local councils. Clegg says he wants it to cover more para-governmental bodies, such as Britain's Association of Ch...

UK moves to extend freedom of information laws
LONDON - Britain's government should release its secrets sooner, the country's deputy Prime Minister said Thursday, proposing reforms to strengthen the U.K.'s relatively new freedom of information law. Nick Clegg said he wanted to cut the time officials can keep records from the public down to 20 years from the current 30 years. He also said he hoped to expand the scope of law, which now covers U.K. government departments and local councils. Clegg said he wants it to cover more para-govern...

Clegg Admits Defeat: UK Control Orders to Remain in All But Name
With his political star already clearly fading, British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg saw another defeat today when his much publicized effort to end the practice of “control orders,” the British term for House Arrest without charges, has been a failure. This comes less than a week after his party was touting the secret “Compromise” deal as a big win, but now reports say that the program will remain essentially unchanged, except that they will stop calling them ̶...

Coalition 'faces test in Oldham'
The by-election in Oldham represents the first chance for voters to pass judgement on the Coalition Government, Labour leader Ed Miliband has said. Mr Miliband was campaigning in Oldham East and Saddleworth for a third time ahead of Thursday's by-election. He told party volunteers voters could "send a message" about Tuition fees, police cuts and the VAT rise. David Cameron has rejected claims the poll amounts to a Referendum on the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition. The by-election w...

British PM says trusts deputy, but not friends
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he trusted his deputy Nick Clegg but would not go so far as to say they were friends, in an interview out Saturday. Cameron told the Daily Mail newspaper that both his Conservatives and Clegg's Liberal Democrats had taken a risk in governing together. Asked if he would describe himself and Clegg as friends yet, Cameron replied: "Hmm. Well, we wouldn't go to the cinema together, quite, but we've had him and (his wife) Miriam round for supper." Cameron has...

British PM says trusts deputy, but not yet friends
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he trusted his deputy Nick Clegg but would not go so far as to say they were friends, in an interview out Saturday. Cameron told the Daily Mail newspaper that both his Conservatives and Clegg's Liberal Democrats had taken a risk in governing together. Asked if he would describe himself and Clegg as friends yet, Cameron replied: "Hmm. Well, we wouldn't go to the cinema together, quite, but we've had him and (his wife) Miriam round for supper." Cameron has...

Misery With Plenty of Company
By BOB HERBERT NYT Consider the extremes. President Obama is redesigning his administration to make it even friendlier toward Big Business and the megabanks, which is to say the rich, who flourish no matter what is going on with The Economy in this country. (They flourish even when they’re hard at work destroying the economy.) Meanwhile, we hear not a word — not so much as a peep — about the poor, whose ranks are spreading like a Wildfire in a drought. The politicians and the media behav

Creativity vs. Social Engineering
Professor Lipsman's observations when considered in light of historic fact point to an interesting paradox. One fact that has always confounded me is that the modern liberal invariably considers himself or herself to be a thinker of great ideas, and when they propose a solution to one of life's difficulties they believe that their solution is always new and revolutionary, despite the fact that the solution unvaryingly consists of massive Government Spending to back up a new bureaucrati...

Fluoride in drinking water: Will the EPA get tougher?
Environmental health groups are now looking to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to impose tougher standards on Fluoride in Drinking Water, building on a decision Friday by the federal Department of Health and Human Services to lower the recommended level for the first time in nearly 50 years. The HHS move came in the wake of a government study showing that about 2 out of 5 adolescents have tooth streaking or spottiness because of excessive fluoride. In extreme cases, teeth can become pit...

Critics blast new study that suggests ESP is real
First Person: Marilyn Denis (she returns to TV Jan. 10!) Have a seat! Italian furniture maker Calligaris opens its doors in Toronto Last year, colour was reserved for cushions. Now, it’s on the sofa Asked to summarize his views on ESP,or extrasensory perception, Prof. Bem said in an email: “I believe the data (not just my own data) are strong enough to convince me that psi is real.” Derek Abma, Postmedia News · Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011 A new U.S. study that suggests extrasen...

Law 'will keep Queen on stamps'
What is happening to the Royal Mail? A law is set to be passed guaranteeing that UK stamps will continue to feature the Queen's head - even if Royal Mail enters foreign hands. At present, there is no legal obligation to show the monarch's image, although Royal Mail has always done so. Postal Affairs Minister Ed Davey said any potential buyer would have to be "mad" to drop it, but the new law would provide a "safeguard" just in case. German and Dutch operators are ex...

Britain parries threat to Queen's head on stamps
The British Government said Sunday it had closed a Loophole that could have seen Queen Elizabeth II's head chopped off stamps if the Royal Mail national Postal Service was sold to a foreign firm. Ministers have squared the plans with Buckingham Palace and the sovereign's head will be kept on stamps in the future, Postal Services Minister Ed Davey said. "After listening to views of members of both houses of parliament and the palace, we have agreed this additional safeguard," he told The Mail on ...

Archbishop to marry Will and Kate
The Daily Telegraph said Clarence House, the official residence of the British royal family, released more details regarding the April 29 royal Wedding on Wednesday. After exchanging vows, the couple will travel in a carriage procession past Parliament Square, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and The Mall to Buckingham, Palace where the Queen will honor them with a reception, the Telegraph said. Their Wedding day will be observed as a national public holiday, Clarence House said. NEW YORK, Jan. 5 ...

Nader: US airport scanners erode rights
Stumble This! "The TSA is a basketcase, collectively," Nader said at the first US conference on Controversial new security measures that are being rolled out at airports around the United States. These include X-ray scanners that produce a graphic image of a person's naked body, Genitalia and all, and body searches including a frisk of the private parts of travelers who refuse to go through the scanners. Some travelers have complained that the scanners are too revealing, while others, including...

NH Man, Ex-Wife in Home Schooling Legal Battle
The New Hampshire Supreme Court is considering whether it should force the 11-year-old daughter of a divorced couple to attend Public School. Brenda Voydatch and her ex-husband, Martin Kurowski, have been unable to agree on how to educate their daughter Amanda. The girl has been home schooled by her Christian mother from first through fourth grade. Kurowski said his ex-wife's strict religious teachings were socially isolating their daughter. In August of 2009, a trial court sided with the fath...

Not Just for the Left
The opening of the new Congress with a reading of the Constitution on the floor of the House of Representatives has triggered some angry reactions on the left, but it wasn’t intended just as a criticism of them. The GOP leadership was also implicitly criticizing those Republicans who have strayed from the ideals of Limited Government, individual liberty, and constitutional originalism. The perception that our national politicians on both sides of the aisle have abandoned those principles a...

New Arizona gun law allows concealed weapons without permit
In horrific timing, Arizona govenor Jan Brewer just signed a new law lifting restrictions on Concealed Weapons. Phoenix — Favoring the Constitutional Right to Bear Arms over others' concerns about gun safety, Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday signed into law a bill making Arizona the third state allowing people to carry a concealed weapon without requiring a permit. The measure takes effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends, which likely puts the effective date in July or August....

US Says Too Much Fluoride in Water (and the Real Story)
Drudge Report is running with this AP report on Fluoride. In part, it says: Fluoride in Drinking Water — credited with dramatically cutting cavities and tooth decay — may now be too much of a good thing. Getting too much of it causes spots on some kids' teeth.Huh, if they only knew half the real story. The real truth is that, at best, there is very mixed scientific evidence about fluoride in the first place. The positive story on fluoride was promoted by paid state-of-the-art propagand...

THE 3-MINUTE INTERVIEW: Rich Park
Park, a member of the CLIO Hall of Fame for advertising, is the creative director at Williams Whittle, an agency in Old Town Alexandria. How did you get into advertising? I went to the Maryland Institute College of Art. I answered an ad in the paper for a print production artist because there weren't any sculptor jobs listed. So this wasn't what I intended to do. It was a very exciting job as a young guy. It was very glamorous to get into. How was advertising different in those days? There were...

Crocs names Gebhardt as senior creative director
Footwear maker Crocs Inc. announced Thursday it has named advertising executive Becky Gebhardt as senior creative director, a new position. Gebhardt will be responsible for concept creation for sales and brand strategies, and for online and store operations. Crocs says it sells shoes in 125 countries. The company has been attempting a comeback after a surge in demand for its brightly colored, lightweight clogs faded. Last spring, Crocs reinvented itself with a new campaign focused on comfort and...