British PM Cameron's Fiasco

• Allegra Stratton, political correspondent
• guardian.co.uk, Sunday 11 December 2011 20.05 GMT
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Nick Clegg promised to rebuild the government's shattered relationship with the rest of Europe and risked opening a coalition rift by going public with his "bitter disappointment" at David Cameron's decision to block a new EU agreement.

The deputy prime minister said Britain risked becoming "isolated and marginalised" from the European mainstream and, along with seniorLiberal Democrats, spent the weekend contacting European leaders in a "strategy for re-engagement to recover lost ground", according to a senior government source.

Several high-profile figures, including the former leader Paddy Ashdownand the party president, Tim Farron, joined Clegg in a wide-ranging attack on Cameron's resort to a British veto.

Clegg will hold a meeting with business leaders this week to convince them "they had not completely had the door shut", according to an aide. There is growing concern that the 26 EU countries who agreed on greater fiscal integration last week will now be able to strike deals affecting British banks and businesses.

The business secretary, Vince Cable, who warned the prime minister in Cabinet last Monday against the strategy he went on to follow in Brussels, is concerned that global companies including banks and pension funds will now shun investments in the UK, having previously favoured it as a "gateway" to the continent.

Clegg was biting in his critique of developments in Brussels but spoke of correcting the path chosen by Cameron by getting "back into the saddle". "I'm bitterly disappointed by the outcome of last week's summit, precisely because I think now there is a danger that the UK will be isolated and marginalised within the European Union," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.Read more.

Save The Euro But Not The EU

By LEO CENDROWICZ / BRUSSELS

Dec. 9 is bittersweet for Europe: at a summit in Brussels, its leaders struck a deal that might save its beleaguered currency, euro — but at the expense of the European Union itself.

The deal could mark a turning point in the raging euro crisis if it convinces jittery markets that, by way of strict budget rules, member countries can claw their way out of debt woes. It is potentially historic, taking the continent deep into fiscal integration and union as the member states concede sovereignty on taxation and spending to a central authority.

The problem is the E.U. isn't heading into this adventure as one. Ten hours of tense talks failed to persuade U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to sign up to the pact, and so the other 26 member states agreed to forge ahead on without Britain. Cameron argued that the planned deal would threaten key British interests, including its financial markets and the preeminence of the City of London as Europe's financial capital. And so he vetoed an amendment of the full Union treaty. Hence, the others had to take a different route to an agreement: the intergovernmental agreement they will hammer out by March will be written outside the E.U.'s legal framework.(See "Euro Treaty Takes Shape, But Without Britain.")

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2102019,00.html#ixzz1gCniEfQ7

"Angry Birds" Malaysia's Beacon Of Hope

Hantu Laut

The hyperbolic "Angry Birds" has become a beacon of hope for PAS Youth, asking Malaysians to emulate the birds killing pigs that stole their eggs.

If pigs could fly angry birds would be dead meat.

Food for thought. As a Muslim, given the choice, I would rather kill the birds and eat them and leave the pigs alone.I guess my non-Muslim friends would kill both birds and pigs and eat them all ( if you'll forgive the pun)

I must admit, I too play '"Angry Birds" and it's a challenge every steps of the way. If you reach a very difficult level use the genocidal "Black Eagles". Presto! You massacre all the pigs.

There are many comic characters fighting against injustice and evil.

Superman, Spiderman, Batman and host of other do-gooders which seemed far too complicated for PAS Youth to understand.

Was it the birds or the pigs the source of inspiration?

Cows And Condos As Election Symbols

Hantu Laut

The clarion calls for Shahrizat to exit from her ministerial post and her position in the party have intensified.

Former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohammad has joined the fray and sounded the alarm bell here asking Shahrizat to go before she gets the boot.Will she gets the boot? UMNO's political culture does not command cleaning its house of political garbage. That's why they are in the shithouse.

UMNO has a long history of defending the indefensible.Innocent or guilty, many have gotten away scot free.With the exception of former PM Mahathir Mohammad none have put party before self.

Mahathir, the devil he may be, can read the atmospheric pressure rising against his long tenancy, decided to step down and hand over the helm to his deputy. There was widespread euphoria and the man, his anointed successor, pulled off the biggest elections windfall in Malaysia's political history. The PM that Malaysia should never had, had in less than one term saw a reversal of fortune, when people saw the true Pak Lah. The biggest winner turned out to be the biggest loser, the BN was severely punished due to acute deficiencies of his administration.

With all the skeletons coming out of UMNO's closet it is not difficult to predict an uphill battle to commandeer a bigger victory. Unless, something astonishing happened between now and the elections UMNO's fate would hang in the balance.

Shahrizat cannot play dumb on the scandal involving her family. It is absurd that she does not to know the going-ons in her family's business. Her recalcitrant would be costly to UMNO. The opposition will certainly play up the issue in the general elections.

DAP has fired the first salvo.

Labuan: Independent candidate in the last general election here, Lau Seng Kiat, suggested that the Election Commission (EC) allow cow and condominium to be used as symbols by Independent candidates in the coming general election.

"These two things are now very popular. The cow reflects hard work while condominium reflects prosperity of the nationÉthey are meaningful symbols and appropriate," said Lau, in response to EC's plans to withdraw some of the election symbols.

After the last general election, the EC said some of the symbols used by Independent candidates, such as umbrella, tiger head, scissors and smoking pipe, would be withdrawn.

The symbols considered for replacement were bulb, brief case, television and hibiscus along with the older symbols like fish, rooster, coconut tree and tractor.

In the last election here, Lau, who is now DAP Chairman, used the umbrella as his symbol and collected 2,014 votes, and managed to retain his deposit in the Barisan Nasional's (BN) stronghold.

The cow and condominium have become popular nationwide following the cattle scandal involving the family of Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who is Women, Family and Community Development Minister and national Umno Wanita Chief.

The issues were connected to the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) run by the Minister's husband and siblings.

Many called it a "cow and condominium" scandal due to the purchase of expensive property by NFL though this was not seen as relevant to NFC's core business.

Commenting on the NFC scandal, Lau said he was delighted that Kinabatangan Member of Parliament Datuk Bung Moktar Radin had boldly criticised the alleged dealings of NFC and repeated his accusation though a few other Umno leaders had defended the Minister.

Lau said it was the Auditor-General's Report that exposed the NFC was in "a mess."

For anyone to challenge this would be tantamount to saying the Report was flawed, said Lau.

Daily Express