Osborne signals shale gas tax breaks
The Treasury is consulting on a “generous new tax regime” for the emerging shale gas industry so that the UK is not left out of the worldwide dash for gas, George Osborne told the Tory conference.
Jim Pickard, Sylvia Pfeifer and Pilita Clark, Financial Times, 8 October 2012

The Disappearance of Public Intellectuals
Since the 1970s, we have witnessed the forces of market fundamentalism strip education of its public values, critical content, and civic responsibilities as part of its broader goal of creating new subjects wedded to consumerism, risk-free relationships, and the destruction of the social state.
Henry A Giroux, Counterpunch, 8 October 2012

Why the Women’s Minister Shouldn’t Deny Women Later Abortion
Early access to abortion services is extremely important. Thanks to tests which can detect pregnancies before a woman has even missed a period, women who know they do not want to continue with their pregnancy can now often refer themselves directly into services, with their care paid for by the NHS.
Clare Murphy, Huffington Post, 4 October 2012

Don’t Shout at the Telly: Re-thinking the riots
In this timely on the sofa discussion, North London teacher Neil Davenport is in the hot seat. Volunteers quiz his compelling analysis of the riots.
WORLDbytes

David Lammy MP says absent fathers 'key cause of knife crime
A London MP has suggested that absent fathers are a key cause of knife crime.
BBC News, 3 October 2012

Abortion limit: Tory minister for women backs reduction to 20 weeks
Pro-choice campaigners express alarm after Maria Miller insists law must 'reflect the way medical science has moved on'
Ben Quinn, Guardian, 3 October 2012

What we want
A democratic Britain with an elected head of state
Republic

A scale model of European implosion
The budgetary austerity zealously applied by Madrid has revitalised demands for independence in Barcelona. Engaged in a fiscal and economic power struggle with the central government, Catalonia is threatening to disrupt the social and regional equilibrium that underlies Spanish democracy.
José Manuel Pureza, presseurop, 2 October 2012

What happens when you take the politics out of protest?
Unlike past protest movements where ideologies came into conflict, today's uprisings are raw and reject traditional political structures
Ashley Frawley, Independent Voices, 2 October 2012

Youth unemployment: the crisis we cannot afford
The costs of these levels of long-term youth unemployment – now and in the future – are enormous. This is a crisis we cannot afford
The ACEVO Commission on Youth Unemployment, 2012