The effects of the credit crunch and the slowing economy could see two million families stuck in the queue for help, local authority leaders have warned.

Councils are already struggling to cope with increasing demand for housing association accommodation, and the number of households waiting for it has grown from one million in 2001 to 1.6 million in 2007.

Hundreds of thousands more are expected to join them by 2010 as high house prices, fewer mortgages, increasing numbers of repossessions and a slowdown in housebuilding bite.

Housing Minister Caroline Flint warned the Cabinet this week that housebuilding was "stalling" and that prices could fall by up to ten per cent "at best" this year.

Councils today called for freedom to increase their housing stock by being able to borrow freely and remortgage assets to reinvest.

Lembit Opik, Lib Dem housing spokesman, said: "Ministers should feel ashamed for presiding over a doubling in the social housing waiting list since Labour came to power."

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/latestnews/Waiting-list-for-social-hou...

2 weeks ago, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela announced the nationalisation of a steel company that apparently supplies the US military. Then today, discredited allegations about links to FARC guerillas resurface in the form of selective leaks from documents apparently on computers seized in Colombia's invasion of Ecuador.

Isn't that a coincidence...

This is just weird. All over the news we have everyone from the council to the Scottish Gov to the Rangers Supporters Association going on about how dreadful a small group of the Rangers fans in Manchester last night were. The phrase "no excuse" features in most quotes. And who are the only people quoted anywhere saying "Maybe the police could have handled things better?". The Scottish Tory Party!!!

In fact, they're going much further than a "maybe":

Scots Tory deputy leader Murdo Fraser said the decision to deploy riot police was an "over-reaction" which may have inflamed the situation.

...

Mr Fraser, a Rangers fan, said the Greater Manchester force had "serious questions" to answer about its tactics.

He said: "I thought there was an over-reaction in terms of deploying riot police which possibly enflamed the situation and I think there has to be an inquiry here looking at how ready were the police for so many fans to come and visit the city.

Quotes taken from this BBC story

I'm not commenting on the rights or wrongs of anyone's actions last night - personal experience suggests the likelihood is both sides bear some of the blame but I wasn't there and I don't know. I'm just slightly freaked out by the Tories being the only people to say it!

The Guardian does one of its occasional nods towards the existence of radical politics in this article asking "what happened to the anti-globalisation movement".

From The Register.

An anti-scientology website has had its advertising pulled by Google. Amusingly, some of the adverts on the page had been for the Church of Scientology. Google of course own YouTube, whose censorship of Scientology critics is credited with kicking off the "Anonymous" protests.

Worried about the economy? Time for a conference on how to keep bosses' pay high.

British Gas to hike prices again

Moroccan authorities have denied allegations its soldiers deliberately sank a boat off the port of Al Hoceima carrying African migrants to Spain.

Workers accused of theft or damage could soon find themselves blacklisted on a register to be shared among employers.