Recently I spent a few minutes changing the look and feel of IHEC Blog.  I liked the previous look and feel but after three years in operation I thought it was time for a change!  There are still some bugs to be worked out but I think I like the new layout and colors and in particular, light blue on brown!  From time to time you may notice small changes but hopefully they will be small enough that you won't even notice.  I would love to hear your thoughts on the new design!  Please feel free to leave a comment if you have a moment.

Photo credit:  David Reece

Organic Valley Family of Farms, America's largest cooperative of family farms and one of the nation's leading organic brands, recently recognized 396 of its farmer-owners, nearly 24 percent of its total members, with quality awards. Organized in 1988, Organic Valley represents 1,652 farmers in 33 states and four Canadian provinces with the mission of saving family farms through organic farming. Approximately 300 of its farmer-owners descended upon La Crosse, Wis., last week to attend their annual meeting to discuss the cooperative’s current direction, issues and goals for the year ahead. Organic Valley dairy, produce, soy, egg, juice and feed crop farmers and Organic Prairie beef, poultry and pork farmers were recognized for 2009 quality achievements during an awards banquet on Friday of the annual meeting. Organic Valley honored its dairy farmers in Gold, Silver and Milk Quality Recognition categories. To achieve these honors, Gold Award recipients needed an average Somatic Cell Count (SCC) of less than 150,000; Silver Award recipients an average SCC between 151,000 and 200,000; and Milk Quality Recognition recipients an average SCC between 201,000 and 250,000. In addition, all levels had to achieve a Standard Plate Count average below 25 and a Preliminary Incubation Count averaging less than 30. All of the gold and silver winners received a plaque and the quality recognition winners received certificates for their accomplishments. The following farmers received the top milk quality Gold Award, the "Cream of the CROPP," in each region:

• Eastern Region: Meyer Family, North Hardwick Dairy LLC, Hardwick, Vt.
• Midwest Region: Kevin and Mary Jahnke, Jahnke Family Farm Limited Partnership, Lancaster, Wis.
• Western Region: Greg and Marci Bingham, Bingham Farms, Weston, Idaho

The following farmers received Organic Valley's Top Egg, Produce, Feed Crop, Juice and Soy Quality Awards: Egg Pool

• Midwest Region Omega-3: Michael Miller, M&M; Organic Farms, Wonewoc, Wis.
• Midwest Region: Chuck Voehl, Voehlganic Farm, Westby, Wis.
• East Region: Aaron Lapp, Allenwood, Penn.
• Kalona (Iowa) Pool: Marcus and Grace Kauffman, Kalona, Iowa

Produce Pool: Jonathan and Wilma Bontrager, Hillsboro, Wis. Feed Crop: Greg and Teresa Brawner, Brawner Farms, Hannover, Ind. Juice Pool: Roper Growers, Fla. Soy Pool: Quality Organic Producers Cooperative (QOPC), Iowa The following farmers received Organic Prairie's Top Beef, Pork and Poultry Quality Awards: Beef Pool: Fred and Linda Pedretti and Jason and Courtney Pedretti, Genoa, Wis. Pork Pool: Chuck Cornillie, Black Oak Farm, Byron, Mich. Poultry Pool: Clint, Gary and Bill Welsh, Welsh Family Organic Farm, Lansing, Iowa "Our Annual Meeting of all the farmer owners of Organic Valley is a gathering in which our family farmers across the country determine their future, have a say in their livelihoods and celebrate our collective success as a cooperative and for organic," said George Siemon, one of the founding farmers and chief executive officer for Organic Valley. "As such, it's the right time and place to present quality awards to recognize our strengths as individuals and as a whole. We're pleased to honor nearly 400 of our dedicated farmers who consistently went above and beyond to produce the best quality organic products possible last year." Organic Valley also awarded the Ray Hass Organic Pioneer Award to Jerome McGeorge for his pioneering spirit and visionary work in the organic community. The Ray Hass Organic Pioneer Award is an annual memorial award given to an individual who is a pioneer in the organic movement and in the Cooperative. The award is named after Ray Hass, a founding member of Organic Valley and one of the very first organic dairy farmers in the United States. Ray's vision of a farmer-owned organic cooperative and his tireless work advocating for family farmers were important and critical aspects to the success of the cooperative. Farmers, by state, receiving Organic Valley’s Gold Dairy Quality Awards for 2009: California Bill and Michelle Van Ryn, Gawne Organic Dairy, Stockton Idaho Greg and Marci Bingham, Weston Kyle and Marie Knapp, H&S; Dairy, Inc., Preston Iowa Monroe and Lydia Ann Herschberger, Bloomfield Indiana Roger and Lisa Garland, Vevay Mervin Hochstetler, LaGrange Alvin Shrock, Middlebury Harley Shrock, Topeka Kentucky James Huber, Mount Hermon Maine Steve Morrison, Charleston William and Sandra Osborne, Farmington Lewis and Loretta Nuite, Atikinson Paul and Michele Philbrick, Knox Garin and Sarah Smith, Skowhegan New Hampshire John and Beth Haynes, Claremont Kathy Harrington, Stonewall Farm, Keene New York Steven Bartlett, Earlville Cliff and Patti Brunner, Sunny Slope Farm, Cooperstown Richard and Lisa Bruno, Twin Farms, Cazenovia Kevin Fuess, O'Riskany Falls Siobhan Griffin, Raindance Farm, Schevenus Irene Hurst, Locke Les and Marge Miller, Richfield Springs Vaughn and Sue Sherman, Dryden Benjamin and Katherine Whitemore, Dead End Farm, Candor Nick and Erica Wood, Woodhaven Jersey, Dundee Robert and Rachel Yoder, Morrisville Ohio Dave Colvin, Creston Steve and Pat Gamby, Mt. Victory Elmer Graber, Millersburg Simeon and Laura Kanagy, Sunset Meadows, Shreve Mark and Geneva Miller, Millersburg Leroy and Rose Meyer, Ft. Loramie Jerry L. and Mary Miller, Elm Grove Acres, Fredricksburg Amos Jr. and Nora Nolt, Shiloh Ron Pohl, Coldwater Paul and Carol Schmitmeyer, Versailles Mark and Linda Weaver, Dundee Raymond Yoder, Jr., Dundee Joseph and Martha Yoder, Butler Oregon Thomas and Diana Brown, Myrtle Point Devin and Elena Johnston, Spring Valley Farms, Tillamook Ilene Knight, Bennett's Acres, Boring Gary and Connie Moore, Boring Richard and Jill Smith, Hermiston Pennsylvania Henry and Emma Beiler, Spring Mills Todd Swartz, Broad Acres, East Waterford James and Janet Byers, Mercersburg Clellen and Rhoda Leh, Towanda Wayne and Esther Weaver, Gray Stone Farm, Loysville Bobbie and Harvey Wood, Mansfield Vermont Alice and Laurance Allen, Wells River Scott and Randy Bidwell, Morrisville Stephen and Amelia Bothfeld, Fieldstone Organic Farm, Cabot Tom and Bonnie Boutin, Newport Center Dave and Elaine Callan, Mountain View Farm, Fairfield Morgan and Jennifer Churchill, Fairfield Leon and Linda Corse, The Corse Farm Dairy, LLC, Whitingham Allen and Sandra Cutting, Irasburg Andrew and Kathy De La Bruere, Derby Joseph and Emily Donegan, Charlotte Mike and Barbara Eastman, Addison Earl, Susan and David Fournier, Swanton Neil Fromm and Lenore Beers, Irasburg Bob Grenon, North Troy Roger and Patricia Le Blanc, Hazen Monument Farm, East Hardwick Tim Maikshilo and Kristen Dellert, Coventry Valley Farm, Coventry Mike and Teresa Menard, Fairfield Ben Moulton and Amanda Taylor, Knox Ridge Holsteins, Troy W. Silas Myrick, Bridport Marcel and Gaetane Patenaude, Maple Cedar View, Derby Line Meyer Family, North Hardwick Dairy, Hardwick Mike and Carol Pettis, Fair Haven Warren Rankin, Top Rankin' Farm, East Johnson Karl and Anita Sjolander, St. Johnsbury Paul and Kristine Stecker, Cabot Tyler Webb, Enosburg Falls Cortni and Alicia Whitehead, Fairfield Washington Walter and Irene Abplanalp, Ethel Jim and Janie Austin, Austin Farms, Oakville Gerald and Delores Bishop, Bishop Dairy, Chimacum Gary and Susan Burkhalter, Grays River Holsteins, Rosburg Matt and Robin Eldridge, Everson Ross McMahan, Randle Randy and Kimberly Peterson, North Fork Dairy, Arlington Allen and Cheryl Voortman, Pride and Joy Dairy, Granger Andy and Linda Styger, Chehalis Dean Wesen, Wesen Organic Dairy, LLC, Bow Wisconsin Daniel and Darlene Coehoorn, Rosendale Leonard DeFere, DeFere Family Dairy, Sturgeon Bay Robert and Jeann Farrar, La Farge Jim and Tammy Fahey, Edgar Marianne Hermann, Hixton Rich and Ila Holman, Breezy Hills Farm of Baldwin, Baldwin Martin and Wilma Hoover, Colby Kevin and Mary Jahnke, Jahnke Family Farm, Lancaster Ernerst L'Heureux, Fairview Farm, Iron River John and Anna Mast, Boyd William Morren and Patricia Laskowski, Hillsboro Mike and Julie Petherbridge, Petherbridge Family Farm, Dresser William Bogdonovich and Maria Stockbrand, Sunny Valley Farm, Willard Robert, Jeanette and Caleb Winkel, Winkel Farms, Waupun Organic Valley Family of Farms: Independent and Farmer-Owned Organic Valley is America's largest cooperative of organic farmers and is one of the nation's leading organic brands. Organized in 1988, it represents 1,652 farmers in 33 states and four Canadian provinces, and achieved $520 million in 2009 sales. Focused on its founding mission of saving family farms through organic farming, Organic Valley produces a variety of organic foods, including organic milk, soy, cheese, butter, spreads, creams, eggs, produce and juice, which are sold in supermarkets, natural foods stores and food cooperatives nationwide. The same farmers who produce for Organic Valley also produce a full range of delicious organic meat under the Organic Prairie Family of Farms label. For further information, call 1-888-444-MILK or visit www.organicvalley.coop, www.organicprairie.coop and the cooperative's farmer website, www.farmers.coop. Organic Valley is also on Twitter @Organic_Valley and Facebook www.facebook.com/OrganicValley.

King Vince, the man who predicted the recession, wins the most laughs and biggest applause in Channel 4's Chancellors' debate

So who won and were there any knock out blows? The consensus tonight, at Westminster and in the Twittersphere, is that "King Vince" was the runaway winner of the first major televised debate of the general election campaign.

Vince Cable won the biggest laughs and the most applause as he tweaked both Alistair Darling and George Osborne in the Chancellors' Debate on Channel 4. Perhaps his finest moment came in his closing statement when Cable said:

The Labour government led us into this mess. They have done severe damage to pensions and savings, they have wasted a vast amount of money on over-centralised public services.

The Tories presided over two big recessions in office, they wasted most of the North Sea oil revenue, they sold off the family silver on the cheap. Now they want to have another turn to get their noses in the trough and reward their rich backers.

The Liberal Democrats are different. We got this crisis basically right. We are not beholden to either the super rich or militant unions.

Osborne dismissed the Lib Dems as irrelevant:

You have a choice. With the greatest respect to Vince there is not going to be a Liberal Democrat government after the next election. There is either going to be a Conservative government or a Labour government.

Osborne is, of course, right that the Lib Dems are not going to win the election. But Cable's performance tonight shows that the Lib Dems are going to be a powerful force in this election campaign.

Labour and Tory strategists are both scratching their heads working out what impact the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg will have on the biggest event of this election -- the three television debates between the main party leaders. They are asking whether Clegg will:

• Tack to the middle and cast himself as the reasonable man in contrast to Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

• Attack both Brown and Cameron but indicate that his heart lies more on the centre left.

Labour believes that if Clegg goes for the former, he may not change the dyanimcs of the campaign. They hope that if Clegg goes for the latter, Cameron may look isolated.

Judging by Cable's performance tonight, it looks like the Lib Dems want to attack both parties. But on the big picture they remain closer to Labour. This is what Cable said tonight about the Tory plans to cut national insurance contributions -- to be financed by new efficiency savings in government spending:

George, last week you went round denouncing these government supposed savings as complete fiction – which apparently a lot of them are. You are now using these fictional savings to finance your tax cuts. That is utterly incredible.

Britain's third party has not been taken seriously in a general election since the 1980s when it looked like the SDP / Liberal Alliance might hold the balance of power. The Lib Dems are in a similar position again in a wholly different election campaign where they are giving the big parties a headache.

Make no mistake, this was the moment the bell rang for the start of the fight. And it was Osborne who was under the most pressure

Who would have thought it? Alistair Darling has been the occupant of 11 Downing Street during the biggest economic bust in Britain's postwar history, yet it was George Osborne who had it all to prove in last night's debate.

All things considered, the shadow chancellor didn't do badly. Sure Osborne looked pleased with himself, as he always does, but he made Darling admit that Labour was dropping the idea of a "death tax" to pay for long term care, and fess up to nicking the Conservative plan to raise the threshold on stamp duty in last week's budget.

Not that the youngest of the three men who would be chancellor had it all his own way. He had his own spells of wriggling when put under concerted pressure over the latest attempt by David Cameron to reverse the Conservative slide in the opinion polls – lower national insurance contributions.

It was, if you get your kicks out of re-regulating the banks or the right time to tackle the deficit, rattling good fun, even though Darling, Cable and Osborne all appeared to be dressed for a reunion of undertakers. The sombre attire, presumably, was to show how all three took the challenge of cutting the budget deficit. But, apart from Darling's backtracking on the death tax, there were no bombshells and little to stop the apathetic voter switching to Coronation Street, EastEnders or Raymond Blanc's kitchen secrets.

There may be many more times in the next five weeks when the viewers grope down the back of the sofa for the remote, for this – rather than the moment Gordon Brown goes to the Palace to see the Queen – was the moment the bell rang for the start of the fight.

And it was Osborne who was under the most pressure to deliver.

After a shaky start to the crisis,Darling has had a good war and is close to attaining national treasure status. Vince Cable, one of the few at Westminster to have warned in advance of debt-fuelled consumerism, has already been elevated to that status. And Darling and Cable were quickly on the attack. After a bit of shadow boxing in which they and Osborne bragged about their credentials to do the job – tenacity (Darling), energy (Osborne), getting it right (Cable) – the debate quickly turned to the shadow chancellor's planned cut in national insurance contributions.

Darling dropped his normal rope-a-dope approach and came on aggressively, warning that Conservative plans for immediate spending cuts risked "tipping us back into recession". Cable, who had all the night's best soundbites ("pin-striped Scargills" to describe the bankers being the best of them) and got nearly all the laughs from the carefully vetted Channel 4 studio audience, said the proposed war on waste that Osborne claimed would pay for lower NICs was fictional. The Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman wasted no opportunity to remind the audience of his foresight, and came across as just a tad smug.

Osborne went for the populist approach. Voters knew from their own experience that the "sooner you deal with a debt problem, the better", the shadow chancellor said. "We need to cut wasteful government spending instead of increasing national insurance taxes on hardworking people," he added. That may go down well on the doorsteps in the coming weeks, but it is economic nonsense. If the government cuts spending when households are tightening their belts, it simply leads to lower demand and a longer, deeper recession, as Darling, in one of his better interventions, pointed out.

The chancellor's team got in some early spin, saying that preparing for the budget meant their man was under-cooked. He looked it, stumbling over his lines at times and looking uncharacteristically nervous.

The dog that didn't bark was VAT. Pressed to rule out higher VAT, Darling and Osborne used the traditional formula that they had no plans to raise the tax. But that was what Margaret Thatcher said before the 1979 election. She raised it six weeks after polling day.

The news that football fans could get the opportunity to buy their clubs under radical Labour plans is fantastic and something we have been campaigning for (No 10 plan to fix football, 29 March). A recent survey by YouGov revealed that across the country 56% of fans felt their club would be in better hands if it was owned co-operatively. Not surprisingly, 83% of Manchester United fans and 72% of Liverpool fans feel the same way. The British game has borrowed many tactics from foreign teams, so it is only logical that we follow the example of one of the most successful foreign teams – FC Barcelona – and use the co-operative idea of the fans owning the team.

Ed Mayo

Secretary general, Co-operatives UK

• First it is announced in the budget that Labour will mutualise British Waterways. Now Labour is mutualising a quarter of the shares in football clubs to give fans a bigger say. Is Labour on the brink of publishing a manifesto which promises a revolution in ownership? The mutual model can be applied to all kinds of companies and institutions, from your local swimming pool and park, to disused land owned by the NHS or MoD, to post offices and pubs. In a mutual organisation people learn the building blocks of democracy. Mutuals can point the way to a stronger society and fairer economy.

Paul Richards

Eastbourne, East Sussex

• Labour's plan to give clubs back to fans is not only a brilliant vote winner, but an issue which will engage many to use their vote. Football clubs are exactly that, clubs, not plcs or collateral for leveraged buyouts. It is also another lesson for banks, who preferred to lend to owners who merely use a football club as means to earn a fast buck. There should also be a requirement to transform any debt into equity reserved for fan based co-ops.

Steve Downing

Liverpool

• While not generally a supporter of Gordon Brown, I must warmly congratulate him on his proposals to regulate football finances and give fans a greater share of the action. These will help to restore football to its grassroots and the community where it rightfully belongs. The devil will be in the detail and it will be interesting to see the content of the proposals and how soon they will be implemented; or whether, as claimed by David Cameron, they will turn out to be just a gimmick to win votes.

Professor Ian Blackshaw

International Sports Law Centre, The Hague, Netherlands

• How pleasing to note that No 10 has a plan to give clubs back to the fans. Can we assume that they have a similar plan to give back to the people the railways, the power companies, the utility companies and the other pieces of the family silver sold off?

Brian Matthews

Wrexham, Clwyd

Former prime minister returns to the political fray to criticise David Cameron for offering 'vacuous' change

"So guys, was that OK?" Tony Blair will probably mutter to his old friends in the Sedgefield Labour party. "Boy, that most certainly was OK," they will reply.

What they probably don't realise in the Trimdon Labour Club is that two people will have been mesmerised – and a little frightened – by Blair's performance. David Cameron and George Osborne, who always regarded Blair as unbeatable, will see his speech as the most effective attack on them in nearly four years.

And when was the last time the Tories were subjected to such a forensic dissection of their values, policies and approach? That would of course have been Blair's last speech as Labour leader to the party conference in Manchester in 2006.

This was Blair's most famous line:

If we can't take this lot apart in the next few years we shouldn't be in the business of politics at all.

These are the reasons why Cameron and Osborne will have been rattled by Blair's speech and mightily relieved he is no longer around. Blair identified the following Tory weaknesses:

• The main Tory mantra, echoing Barack Obama, of time for a change:

As I always used to say when some in our ranks urged a mantra of "time for a change" in 1997, it is the most vacuous slogan in politics. "Time for a change" begs the question: change to what exactly? And the reason an election that seemed certain to some in its outcome is now in sharp contention lies precisely in that question.

• There is a "puzzle" about where the Tories lie on the big policies:

When it comes to the big policy issues, there is a puzzle, that has turned into a problem, that has now become a long, hard pause for thought: where are they centred? Is there a core? Think of all the phrases you associate with their leadership and the phrase "you know where you are with them" is about the last description you would think of.

• A lack of consistency, in contrast to New Labour, which offered "clear and mutually coherent" positions in the run-up to 1997:

On Europe, they've gone right when they should have gone centre. On law and order, they've gone liberal when actually they should have stuck with a traditional Conservative position. And on the economy they seem to be buffeted this way and that, depending less on where they think the country should be, than on where they think public opinion might be.

Or on economic policy, one week the absolute priority is deficit reduction. OK, again clear. But yesterday a big tax cut became the centrepiece, and not a vague "when things are better" aspiration but a full-on pledge.

Leave aside for a minute the rights and wrongs of the policies. What can't be left aside is that they are plainly diametrically opposite. So why the confusion?

So awe and admiration at Tory HQ. And in Downing Street? Gratitude. But maybe the thought that the person really in Blair's sights was Gordon Brown. Remember the quote from 2006: Labour shouldn't bother if it can't take the Tories apart.

'Time for a change' if the voters do not know what change will bring, former prime minister says

Tony Blair hailed Gordon Brown's leadership today, praising his successor as prime minister for setting the country on the road to recovery after the financial crisis.

In his first intervention into the pre-election fray, Blair declared he was "optimistic" about the prospects for the future under Labour.

Speaking to activists in his former constituency in Sedgefield, County Durham, the former prime minister hit out at David Cameron, dismissing the Conservative leader's "time for change" slogan as "the most vacuous in politics".

Blair said that while Britain was not yet "out of the woods" following the financial crisis, it was "on the path out" as a result of the actions taken by Brown.

"At the moment of peril the world acted. Britain acted. The decision to act required experience, judgment and boldness. It required leadership. Gordon Brown supplied it," he said.

Blair acknowledged that it would be a "big thing" for Labour to win a fourth successive general election – something the party had never achieved before.

However, he said that as voters began looking more closely at what the Tories were offering the race was narrowing.

"The tough thing about being in government, especially as time marches on, is that the disappointments accumulate, the public becomes less inclined to give the benefit of the doubt, the call for 'a time to change' becomes easier to make, the prospect of change becomes more attractive," he said.

"But, as I always used to say when some in our ranks urged a mantra of 'time for a change' in 1997, it is the most vacuous slogan in politics.

"'Time for a change' begs the question: change to what exactly? And the reason an election that seemed certain to some in its outcome is now in sharp contention lies precisely in that question."

He said that, when it came to the big policy issues, there was a "puzzle" over what the Conservatives stood for.

"Think of all the phrases you associate with their leadership and the phrase 'you know where you are with them' is about the last description you would think of," he said.

"They seem like they haven't made up their mind about where they stand, and so the British public finds it hard to make up its mind about where it stands. In uncertain times, there is a lot to be said for certain leadership.

"What happens after a long period of one party in government is this: the flipside of change being attractive is that the public put a question mark over the party seeking to be the change.

"It is not a cynical question mark. It is not loaded. It's just a simple inquiry: what is it that I am getting?"

Blair said that in the run-up to the 1997 general election, as he and Brown had set out New Labour's positions across a range of policies, the question marks over what they stood for had faded.

In contrast, he said, the question mark over the Tories had "gone into bolder print".

"They look like they're either the old Tory party but want to hide it or they're not certain which way to go. But either is not good news," he said.

"On Europe, they've gone right when they should have gone centre. On law and order, they've gone liberal when actually they should have stuck with a traditional Conservative position. And on the economy they seem to be buffeted this way and that, depending less on where they think the country should be than on where they think public opinion might be."

He highlighted what he said was the "confusion" over the Tories' position on the economy, with the party saying one week that cutting the deficit was the absolute priority, and then the next offering a big tax cut as the centrepiece of its policy.

"The benign but still disqualifying explanation is that the policymakers are confused, not just the policies," he said.

"The less benign one is that one set of policies represents what they believe in; the other, what they think they have to say to win. That's not a confusion, actually – that's a strategy, and the British people deserve to have that strategy exposed before polling day."

In contrast, he said that Labour had mapped out a clear way forward.

"It is consistent. It is solid. It matches a strong commitment to public services with a strong commitment to reform," he said.

"It is clear on crime. The economic policy is measured and set out by the steady hand of Alistair Darling [the chancellor]. The package is coherent and thought through."

Brown welcomed Blair throwing himself into the pre-election race.

He said: "I welcome Tony Blair campaigning and I welcome him saying that there is a real risk, a real danger, a real threat from the Conservative party.

"I ask people to take a second look at Labour but to take a hard, long look at the Conservative risk and the Conservative threat, and what they would do to ordinary families in our country."

The prime minister added: "I think Tony Blair wants to explain, like so many other people in our country, the risk of a Conservative government. That it's got a choice now at the election and people can make their choice.

"They've got to know that the Tory party would take away the guarantees for cancer care, they'll take away the guarantees for tuition being available in schools.

"They'll take away the child tax credits from middle-class families, they'll take away the child trust funds. People need to know that the choice means that we will sustain the recovery out of recession, the Conservatives would wreck the recovery."

Cameron said he was "not at all" worried about Blair's entry to the campaign, joking: "It is nice to see him making a speech that no one is paying for."

Blair has been able to command huge fees as one of the stars of the global speaking circuit since leaving office.

The reappearance of Labour's ex-leader wasn't scary but helpful – and proof once again of an enduring ability to survive sleaze

A tanned and relaxed Tony Blair returned to the domestic political scene today to do what he does best. Former leaders can be a mixed blessing to an election campaign – the reappearance of Lady Thatcher periodically sent shivers down the spine of Tory strategists – but Blair did his successor a service.

He didn't mention Gordon Brown often, speaking of his hope for a fourth term Labour government rather than the first Brown mandate – but when he did, he was wholly supportive. He didn't mention Iraq either, other than one glancing reference to Basra. He was an on-message as the party's election planners could have hoped.

Given what we think we know about his private views on Brown, he has repaid his once troublesome chancellor with more loyalty than many former Blairites.

It wasn't a barnstorming performance of the kind that might have eclipsed Brown, but instead something more helpful. It was an argument. The coming weeks will be replete with slogans and soundbites and, of course, Blair was once the master of both. But he has a more important talent: the ability to take his listeners through a coherent explanation for why Labour is better placed politically to take the country forward.

There are those who will never listen to a word he says again and those who would take out their diaries to check if he told them today was Tuesday. Yet those who were listening will have heard a coherent case for why David Cameron has failed to match Labour's pre-1997 success.

"Time for a change", he said, was the most vacuous slogan in politics. And the cynics will be quick to argue that if anybody should be able to recognise vacuity it is Blair. But in truth, whether you supported Blair or not, you knew where he stood. With Cameron you don't. And with Brown? Blair didn't exactly say, but I suspect he'd argue privately that while it took the prime minister a painfully long time to work out what he wanted to do with the job, he got there in the end.

Tony Blair clearly has the survival gene. Iraq could have destroyed him – it didn't. Disillusion with spin and sleaze could have wrecked his reputation – but he can still command an audience. Even his hair, which many of us didn't expect to survive one term, never mind three, is still more or less intact.

Blair haters will have been enraged by his reappearance. And Labour's media managers scored an own goal by unsurreptitiously booting out the journalists and cutting the TV feed before questions were allowed. He'll be used judiciously in the coming campaign, but judging by today's performance he is not going to embarrass the party. He has been quoted as telling "friends" that he doesn't think Brown can beat Cameron, but he clearly thinks he deserves to.

Labour has decided to fight the election offering cautious optimism about Britain's prospects compared to the Tories' negativism. In that context, Blair the eternal optimist is surely an asset. "The British economy has defied predictions," he said. It is now for Gordon Brown to prove that Labour can do the same.

I've just been watching last night's Channel 4 broadcast of the Chancellors' Debate, and was fascinated to see that Vince Cable was the only one of the three spokesmen who prompted applause from the audience during his closing statement (see transcript & video clip below).

Filed under: The Daily FLOTUS with Lynn Sweet

 

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In Sports Illustrated, Lee Jenkins profiles Pau Gasol, who is fascinating. The article proves the Laker big man really can play many different roles:

• At Children's Hospital he met with doctors in a conference room, quizzing them about their treatment of patients with scoliosis, asking how they ensure that their procedures do not stunt lung development. "We all looked at each other like, How does he know this stuff?" says Dr. David Skaggs, chief of orthopedic surgery. Next month Gasol is scheduled to sit in on a spinal surgery with Skaggs, dressed in scrubs. "We talk to him now almost like he is a surgical colleague," Skaggs says.
• The morning after the deal the Lakers met in the lobby of their Toronto hotel to catch a bus, and trainer Chip Schaefer rubbed his eyes. "I had the strangest dream last night," he said. "I dreamt we traded Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol."
• Pau glides around opponents; Marc charges through them. Pau goes to art house theaters; Marc goes fishing. Pau debates; Marc scraps. "They have totally different mentalities," says Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. Yet Marc talks to Pau at least every other day and lives in Pau's old condo in downtown Memphis. "Little brothers have to go their own way sometimes," Marc says. "But Pau has always been the best example for me to follow." The Grizzlies have morphed from 60-game losers to playoff contenders, not in spite of the trade -- the only time in league history that one brother was traded for another -- but because of it. "Pau has been like an NBA organ donor for us," says [Chris] Wallace, who turned the draft picks and cap space and other spare parts from Los Angeles into nine players on the current roster.

Gordon Brown and David Cameron’s campaigns are taking a leaf out of Barack Obama’s book.

Sam Stein, Huff Post
One of the president's closest advisers said on Tuesday that Republican opponents of health care reform let down their guard following Sen. Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts, in the process allowing Democrats and the administration to make a final, successful push for the bill.In an interview with the Huffington Post hours after the president signed health care reform into law, senior adviser David Axelrod pointed to that special election in late January as a pivotal point in the long path to passing legislation."Some of the steam went out of the opposition after...

The first battle on the UFC 111 main card will feature a lightweight tussle between New Jersey-native Jim Miller (16-2, 5-1 UFC) and Canadian-born Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Mark Bocek (8-2, 4-2 UFC) in what could turn out to be an appealing match-up for those fans drawn to the technical aspects of mixed martial arts. Miller enters the contest riding a three-fight win streak with victories over Mac Danzig, Duane Ludwig, and Steve Lopez. Bocek has also had some success as he's produced his own three-fight winning streak with wins over Alvin Robinson, David Bielkheden, and Joe Brammer.

The appeal in this match-up revolves around the scrappy grappling skills that Mark Bocek has put on display in the Octagon in past bouts. The Nova Uniao black belt has produced six victories by way of submission in his eight wins as a professional mixed martial artist, and it's a sure bet that Bocek's skills are formidable enough to give Jim Miller a challenge on the ground.

Bocek will have to deal with a fighter who has built a reputation as being flexible, tough, and what many fans would call a "grinder" in the cage. Miller has been notable among fans and fellow fighters as having the ability to show up on a moment's notice and win, but he's also a fairly well-rounded fighter mixing brown belt level Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills, wrestling, and slightly above average striking. While he's by no means an unstoppable force, Miller will hang in a fight to the very end and still show that he's a threat to finish a fight.

Bocek's gameplan is pretty straightforward. He'll want to put Miller on the ground and positionally dominate him until he can work his way to his back and sink a choke in, or find some way to isolate a limb and submit him. In either case, he'll rely on his grappling acumen to secure a victory.

Miller has stated that his wrestling will be key in this fight, and Bocek has made some comments talking about Miller's "grinder" status and conditioning level as being an obstacle. Bocek has brought in plenty of southpaw wrestlers to mask Miller's style, and he'll be the first legitimate black belt that Miller has faced in his career. That sort of hints at the possibility of an upset here, and I wouldn't put it past Bocek to cause some problems.

I'm somewhat interested in seeing how this battle unfolds, and I'm actually glad to see a grappler like Bocek get a shot on the main card. Miller's best chance will be to use his wrestling to maintain the feet and pepper Bocek with strikes, and more often than not -- he'll succeed in that objective. Miller is the favorite, and he should be able to win this over the course of three rounds.

The bettor in me, however, is definitely looking at a play on Mark Bocek. He'll be the first black belt that Miller has fought, and while Miller is very scrappy on the ground -- he isn't immune to being trapped in bad positions. Bocek's level of grappling is very good, and he's been rolling through divisional talent as of late by using those skills. Miller will be a tough test, but Bocek has an opportunity to surprise a lot of fans on Saturday night.

Poll

Bocek or Miller?

• Mark Bocek
• Jim Miller

  47 votes | Results

Pau Gasol se impuso en su particular duelo con Tim Duncan

SAN ANTONIO (ESTADOS UNIDOS), 25 (EUROPA PRESS)

Un espectacular final de Kobe Bryant y la reacción de Lakers en la segunda parte resultaron vitales para que los vigentes campeones mantuvieran su racha victoriosa y encadenaran su séptima victoria consecutiva tras imponerse esta madrugada sobre los Spurs (83-92) en San Antonio.

Bryant, 24 puntos con 10 de ellos en el último cuarto y seis asistencias, se erigió de nuevo en el líder de los púrpura y oro, además, la mejora en defensa de los californianos y un Pau Gasol imponiéndose en su duelo particular sobre Tim Duncan, unido a los robos de Artest, fueron las claves del triunfo de los de Phil Jackson.

Lakers llegó a ir perdiendo de 10 puntos en la primera parte, pero supieron reaccionar a tiempo en la segunda para remontar y certificar un triunfo en el último cuarto gracias al acierto desde el triple de Kobe Bryant, que no falló y dio el triunfo a los suyos.

Enfrente unos Spurs, que siguen echando en falta al base francés Tony Parker, y donde el escolta argentino 'Manu' Ginóbili volvió a ser el mejor en los texanos con 24 puntos, cuatro rebotes y dos asistencias, mientras que George Hill contribuyó con 21. Los de San Antonio, además, acusaron la ausencia de puntos de Tim Duncan, bien 'secado' por Gasol, que le dejó en seis puntos y 12 rebotes.

Y es que el de Sant Boi, que no firmó su mejor partido, cumplió con su labor y se impuso en su mano a mano con el de Islas Vírgenes, en uno de los clásicos ya en la NBA, y ayudó a su equipo en defensa, además de firmar 10 puntos y 12 rebotes.

FICHA TÉCNICA.

--RESULTADO: SAN ANTONIO SPURS, 83 - LOS ANGELES LAKERS, 92.

--EQUIPOS.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS: Hill (21), Ginóbili (24), McDyess (2), Duncan (6), Jefferson (6) -cinco inicial-, Bonner (8), Mason (9), Bogans (-), Blair (5), Temple (2), Hairston (-) y Mahinmi (-).

LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Bryant (24), Fisher (3), Gasol (10), Odom (19), Artest (16) -cinco inicial-, Farmar (11), Brown (8), Powell (-), Mbenga (1) y Vujacic (-).

--PARCIALES: 25-22, 23-19, 18-30 y 17-21.

--ARBITROS: David Jones, Olandis Poole, Joe Derosa.

--PABELLÓN: AT&T; Center, San Antonio. 18.581 espectadores.

Sean Weatherspoon, OLB - Missouri

Pick made by FineClub:

While Cincinnati was the AFC North's best team last season, in order to go further they are going to have to improve especially defensively. Enter Sean Weatherspoon.

 

The Tangible:

 

Weatherspoon is 6-1, 239LBS. He is a first team Big 12 player. He had 20 tackles in a game versus Buffalo. He is fast and strong. He is pro level out of the gate and should be exceptional with the right coaching.

 

The Intangible:

 

Weatherspoon is known for a great deal of enthusiasm and is viewed as a team leader. He is also known for having a great work ethic.

If Weatherspoon is taken #21 by the Bengals, it would be the 3rd LB taken in the first round by the Bengals over the past 6 years (David Pollack & Keith Rivers).  He would be the first LB taken in the 1st round ever from Missouri, and the first LB drafted at all since 1984 (Bobby Bell).

Weatherspoon's Scouting Report from Mocking the Draft

The Patriots, and skywalker, are on the clock...

Pos	Team	Player	Pos	School	Drafter
1	St. Louis	Jimmy Clausen	QB	Notre Dame	TouchdownColts
2	Detroit	Russell Okung	OT	Oklahoma St.	coltsfan723
3	Tampa Bay	Ndamukong Suh	DT	Nebraska	TheAngelsColts
4	Washington	Sam Bradford	QB	Oklahoma	Colts Homer
5	Kansas City	Eric Berry	S	Tennessee	sanders_fan89
6	Seattle	Gerald McCoy	DT	Oklahoma	shake n bake
7	Cleveland	Earl Thomas	S	Texas	2ndBlueGeneration
8	Oakland	Bruce Campbell	OT	Maryland	LovinBlue
9	Buffalo	Bryan Bulaga	OT	Iowa	Cassieper
10	Jacksonville	Rolando McClain	LB	Alabama	peytonsthebest
11	Denver	Derrick Morgan	DE	Georgia Tech	JPBarnett
12	Miami	Dez Bryant	WR	Oklahoma St.	fpacheco
13	San Francisco	Joe Haden	CB	Florida	BlueVol03
14	Seattle	Charles Brown	OT	USC	shake n bake
15	N.Y. Giants	C.J. Spiller	RB	Clemson	gizzardfanny
16	Tennessee	Jason Pierre-Paul	DE	South Florida	Addai Another Day
17	San Francisco	Mike Iupati	G	Idaho	BlueVol03
18	Pittsburgh	Kyle Wilson	CB	Boise St.	LV Steelers Fan
19	Atlanta	Brandon Graham	DE	Michigan	fiftycal2004
20	Houston	Dan Williams	DT	Tennessee	Aerostar193
21	Cincinnati	Sean Weatherspoon	OLB	Missouri	FineClub
22	New England				skywalker
23	Green Bay				bracketismyboy
24	Philadelphia				TehRhino
25	Baltimore				SupermanWearsBobSander'sPJs
26	Arizona				NYKings
27	Dallas				jules62
28	San Diego				chad72
29	N.Y. Jets				diagenesis
30	Minnesota				DClark#44
31	Indianapolis				mgrex03
32	New Orleans				palco

Poll

What do you think of pick #21?

• Correct Pick. Fills a pressing need with best player available
• OK pick, but might be too high for Weatherspoon.
• Right Position, Wrong Player
• Wrong pick. Bengals need help elsewhere first.

  6 votes | Results

Iowa Hawkeye &Levi; Quilt With Pillow, Fits queen or full bed asking $200. Harley Davidson & Levi Quilt With Pillow, Fits queen or full bed $200. Budwesier & Levi Quilt With Pillow, Fits queen or full bed $175. Brown Leather & Levi Quilt ...

In this Issue: Nokola, Tim Heuer, Christian Schormann, Brad Abrams, David Kelley, Phil Middlemiss, Michael Klucher, Brandon Watson, Kunal Chowdhury, Jacek Ciereszko, and Unni.

Shoutouts:

Michael Klucher has a short post up For Love of the Game (Development)…, where he's looking for some input from the developer community.

Shawn Hargreaves has a link post up of all the Windows Phone MIX10 presentations

Chris Cavanagh has a Soft-Body Physics for Windows Phone 7 post up that goes along with one he did 1-1/2 years ago!

Jeff Weber posted An Open Letter To Microsoft Regarding The Silverlight Game Development Community

Pete Brown posted his MIX10 Recap ... lots of information, and discussion of what he was up to ... I liked the Trivia app Pete... glad to hear that was yours :)

---

I've changed my mind and added a WP7 tag to SilverlightCream. I'll straighten out all the Mobile plus Silverlight links to point at the WP7 tab hopefully tonight.

From SilverlightCream.com:

EasyPainter Source Pack 3: Adorners, Mouse Cursors and Frames

Nokola has been busy with EasyPainter adding in Custom, Extensible Mouse Cursors and Customizable Adorners with extensible adorner frames, and best of all... all with source code!

Simulate Geo Location in Silverlight Windows Phone 7 emulator

Among the things we don't have in our WP7 emulators is Geo Location... Tim Heuer comes to the rescue with a simulator for it... too cool, Tim!

Blend 4: About Path Layout, Part II

Christian Schormann is back with Part 2 of his tutorial sequence on the new Path Layout. Really good info and definitely cool presentations of the control.

Silverlight 4 + RIA Services - Ready for Business: Exposing OData Services

Brad Abrams continues his series with a post on exposing OData services. This looks like a great tutorial on the topic... will probably resolve some questions I've been having :)

No Silverlight and Preloader Experience(ish) - in 10 seconds...

David Kelley exposes the code he uses on his site, designed to be friendly to Silverlight and non-Silverlight users alike.

Merged Dictionaries of Style Resources and Blend

Phil Middlemiss has a nice article up on Merged Dictionaries and using multiple resource dictionaries that the app chooses, but also be compatible with Prism and Blend while not eating your system resources out of house and home.

XNA Game Studio and Windows Phone Emulator Compatibility

Michael Klucher has a definitive post up about getting your XNA and system up-to-speed for WP7... a must-read if you've been running any of the other XNA drops.

Windows Phone 7 301 Redirect Bug

Brandon Watson reports a 301 Redirect bug on WP7 ... see the code and how he got it, then follow along as he explains all the debug paths he took and what the resolution (?) really is :)

Silverlight 4: How to use the new Printing API?

Kunal Chowdhury has a tutorial up on printing with Silverlight 4 RC... from the project layout to printing and then printing a smaller section... all good

Printing problem in Silverlight 4.0 RC - loading images in code behind

Jacek Ciereszko also is writing about printing, and in his case he had problems with loading an image dynamically and printing it... plus he provides a solution to the 'blank page' problem.

ToolboxExampleAttribute - a new extension point in Blend 4 (and a few other extensibility related changes)

Unni has an article up about Expression Blend 4's new ToolboxExampleAttribute which allow you to have multiple examples of the same type resulting in different XAML produced.

Stay in the 'Light!

---

Twitter SilverlightNews | Twitter WynApse | WynApse.com | Tagged Posts | SilverlightCream
Join me @ SilverlightCream | Phoenix Silverlight User Group

Technorati Tags: Silverlight    Silverlight 3    Silverlight 4    Windows Phone    MIX10

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Top stories on MediaGuardian.co.uk

China's internet generation breaks the silence
Google may have gone but the country's 400m internet users are finding ever more creative ways of evading censorship

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This week's featured media jobs

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For more jobs, career advice and workplace news visit guardianjobs.co.uk

Today's headlines

The Guardian

Leading scientists complain to PCC over inaccurate newspaper report of Sunday Times on global warming. P11
China's web generation pursues freedom denied by mainstream media. P24
Timothy Garton Ash on finding rules for a global village beyond China. P31
Obituary: US photojournalist Charles Moore. P36
Irish journalist David Cronin on the day he tried to arrest Tony Blair. G2 P3

The Independent

Avatar director James Cameron in fight with Fox News. P13
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Katy Guest on Sophie Dahl's show. P41
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Daily Telegraph

Telegraph wins six prizes at British Press Awards. P2
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Oprah Winfrey settles defamation legal battle. P18
Matt Warman on voters creating a new kind of politics on the web. P30
Life On Mars' Philip Glenister on how PC rules are ruining TV. P34
Independent sale near after parent company reported pre-tax loss of £27.7m. Business P10

The Times

Oprah Winfrey settles defamation legal battle. P40
GMG chief executive Carolyn McCall to join easyJet. P47
INM says sale of Independent to Alexander Lebedev is imminent. P51

Financial Times

Twitter and blogs put analysis in the hand of the people. P4
China Unicom to drop Google search on phones using Android. P27
YouGov embraces social websites. P28
Bejing appears uncertain how to react on Google. P32
David Pilling on Google. P35
Data traffic outstrips mobile voice calls. P41
Hopes of advertising rebound push ITV shares. P52

Wall Street Journal Europe

Google co-founder Brin's China decision was moved by his Soviet memories. P3
John Bolton comments Google. P14
GMG chief executive Carolyn McCall to join easyJet. P23
INM says sale of Independent to Alexander Lebedev is imminent. P25

Daily Mail

Two British Press Awards for the Daily Mail. P2
Jamie Oliver on David Letterman show. P38

Daily Express

News at Ten's Mark Austin has a dig at people who forget microphones are turned on in studio. P17
Interview with actor and presenter Nadia Sawalha. P40-41

The Sun

BBC may delay The Apprentice if there is a hung parliament. P13
Facebook claims The X Factor final day on 13 December was one of the happiest days of last year. P13
Kelvin MacKenzie attacks BBC flying Anne Robinson to Glasgow to record The Weakest Link. P15
Profile of Louie Spence of Sky1's Pineapple Dance Studios. P32-33
Coverage of BBC1's Over the Rainbow. TV Biz P1
Dancing on Ice Coverage. TV Biz P2-3
Woman billed as royal on BBC show Undercover Princesses criticised by Ugandan royal family. TV Biz P3
Alexa Chung and Henry Holland to host new series of Frock Me on Channel 4's T4. TV Biz P4

Daily Mirror

Actor Norris Cole 'fell asleep' during filming of Blanche's funeral in Coronation Street. P3
Dancing on Ice coverage. P3
Chris Evans pulling in 8% more listeners on Radio 2 than Terry Wogan. P11
Sophie Dahl's BBC2 cooking show loses out to Channel 4's Supersize v Superskinny. P35

Daily Star

Woman billed as royal on BBC show Undercover Princesses criticised by Ugandan royal family. P17
Dancing on Ice coverage. P39
Gavin and Stacey's Joanna Page to host Sky1's My Pet Shame
Katy Brand to get ITV2 series. P39

And finally ...

Countdown co-presenter Rachel Riley was left cringing on Tuesday's show after the F-word popped up on the letters board, report the Sun and Star. Host Jeff Stelling gave a wry smile when he noticed that the letters U, D, F, C, K, and E spelled out a six-letter version of the swearword. The contestants saved the show from viewer complaints by opting for the five-letter words 'Faced' and 'Caged' instead. Meanwhile, the dictionary team picked the six-letter 'Dockage' and the seven-letter 'Dogface'. The Sun P37, Daily Star P24

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Media Talk podcast
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Jackson Browne & David Lindley have announced a lengthy tour that includes a stop in Cleveland. This is the first time since 2006 that the pair, who have worked together nearly 4 decades, are hitting the road together. Accompanying Jackson Browne and David Lindley on tour will be Browne's band of almost 20 years: Kevin McCormick (bass), Mark Goldenberg (guitars), Mauricio Lewak (drums) and Jeff Young (keyboards, backing vocals). They're joined by members (since 2008) Chavonne Stewart and Alethea Mills, vocalists Browne (as a mentor) met in 2001 when they were attending Washington Preparatory High School in South Los Angeles, singing in the school choir.

Here are the complete tour dates:

read more

Hello I am new to this site and see a lot of useful information. I have had my tank set up in the past, and then packed it up and let it sit for the last three years. So I am not really new to having an aquarium. I am setting it back up again and seem to have a problem I have a 50 gallon freshwater tank, fluval 305 filter, heater, and undergravel filter. I set the tank up added Start Right. Let it sit for a 3 days, everything looked good so I added a couple ( 3 small) tiger barbs to get the tank to cycle. Looking good. I added a couple large pieces of shale to the tank, the next day my water was really cloudy and the stink was terriable. I removed the shale ( I think that was the problem) when I pulled it out it was slimey and almost like made of clay (explains the muddy looking tank and smell). I changed about 75% of my water, cleaned my filter, looked OK, the next morning very cloudy and stinks really bad. So I then changed 75% of my water removed the plastic weeds and the rest of the other rocks (which I used in the past with no problems I think they are granite and slate) I also cleaned my filter again the pads were very brown and have a very bad smell. Today I again did a very large water change, cleaned my filter, and removed and washed about half of my gravel, refilled my tank and it seems to already have a bad odor after only a couple of hours. This tank has only been set up for less than 2 weeks, I cant seem to get the bad smell to stay away. My poor starter fish are still hanging in there, and I am sure my filter is working. Sorry about the long post, but I wanted to give all the information for some intellegent help!! Thanks David*H2