Aimed at attracting the best post-doctoral scholars in the world to the UK.

It’s not true…or is it? Swedish media went berserk over a report drafted by an Estonian MEP on media pluralism. It is denied that she proposed a register, or that if she had it would have happened…Hmmm. That’s when I start to get suspicious. Clarification of the identity of bloggers and their sources, eh?? It … FIRESTORM OVER EU BLOGGER REGISTRY

Guardian refers here to two reports, one on the insurgency and one on the Afghan Police and Army. This appears to be totally at odds with Gerard Baker’s triumphalist piece in the Times yesterday telling us to rejoice because we are winning the war on terror: http://tinyurl.com/43evnh I present both without comment. Will try to … TALIBAN TO INTENSIFY INSURGENCY SAYS PENTAGON

I love that the Italians blame crime on immigrants. They have the most notorious organised criminal gangs in Europe. Is this all about preserving market share? Echoes of Mussolini referred to in the article. It’s the perfect answer to all of those idiots who say “the innocent have nothing to fear” from police powers, electronic … ITALIAN PLANS TO FINGERPRINT ROMA CRITICISED AS “ETHNIC CATALOGUING”

Refers to an article in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22ksm.html?hpand an Amnesty International Report http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR01/003/2008/en/2ceda343-41da-11dd-81f0-01ab12260738/eur010032008eng.pdfI’ve tinyurl’d it here: http://tinyurl.com/695nop

Claim by UN official that Taleban impose 10% religious tax on opium production. Nice map. Heard interview on 5live this morning and thought…”better blog that!” Full programme available on File on Four site. There is a link from the article. Nice map too.

Not sure of the degree to which this practice- known as “raiding” is still going on. Was notorious in terms of property a few years ago, and picked up by other papers than the Guardian in 2005-6. Company owners find that they no longer own their company and enter a Kafkaesque world where corrupt officials … RAIDERS OF THE RUSSIAN BILLIONS

Update on Feds attitude to mortgage fraud. Sharon Ormsby gets tough!

Washington Post article on Al Qaeda’s Internet Presence. Bit of a historical mishmash and not a lot of analysis, but useful information in there in places.

Special Report from the Independent. Mostly about the counter-radicalisation campaign and the ideological opposition to al Qaeda and its affiliates. Article originally in the New Republic and is by US authors, but has a lot of material on London.