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Ahead of the public sector strikes over changes to pensions on Wednesday commentators debate whether the cuts are fair.

The union leaders aren't facing up to reality:

"Of course, the real culprits are the union leaders, who - like the antediluvian monsters they are - refuse to accept that an ageing population and the dire state of the national finances make public sector pension reform unavoidable.
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"Indeed, one of the growing scandals of 21st century Britain is how, on average, the public sector is both better paid and better pensioned than a private sector on whose shoulders alone rests the awesome task of dragging the UK out of recession."

The it is impossible to justify a strike in this economic climate:

"Faced with a slew of gloomy indicators, any avoidable economic drag is inexcusable. The trade unions must go back to the negotiating table, hammer out a deal and avoid industrial action. This is not about an ideological battle over the size of the state. It is about what the taxpayer can afford."

The pension cuts are fair to the taxpayer:

"Asking for higher contributions is undoubtedly hard on people whose living standards are already being adversely affected by a pay freeze at a time of high inflation. And being asked to work longer before retiring is unwelcome news for many. Being hard and unwelcome is not, however, the same as being unfair.
听
"Reform of public sector pensions is essential. Agreement on proposals made during the previous Labour Government's term must be accompanied by measures that make an earlier impact on the amount spent. Without reform it will take too long before savings are made and the taxpayer will be asked to bear too much of the risk that projected spending has been underestimated."

The Founder of the Taxpayers' Alliance, he has other concerns about the costs to taxpayers - the cost of union reps:

"There are more than 1,000 local authority staff who could be keeping services such as libraries open; 645 at various agencies such as the HMRC who aren't around to make sure they get your taxes right; 458 staff at government departments including Work and Pensions who could be out catching benefit cheats; 282 in hospitals, 100 staff at primary care trusts, 82 staff at mental health trusts and 44 staff at ambulance services who should all be looking out for patients; and 54 at fire services who should be helping fight blazes . Instead they're all working for the unions."

The union leaders to think again about a strike it says is increasingly resented:

"It is selfish because millions of public employees - from teachers and nurses to council workers - already get a terrific pension deal denied to other employees.
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"Also, public sector salaries are typically 拢4,000 higher than the private sector. The strike is reckless because it will cost the country half a billion pounds as we battle an appalling financial crisis."

But that she'll be striking because she sees a pension cut isn't fair given how hard she works:

"This is why it's hard to carry on regardless when you are consistently put down as not being good enough, and given more to do with less time in which to do it, and told you are worth less money for your efforts. This is why it's demoralising to be told you should keep giving as much of your time and energy as you do already until you are nearly 70. This is why I'm fed up enough with the way my profession is being treated to do something about it.
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"I can't say for sure whether the coffers are empty or not. But does that mean I shouldn't strike? Not even slightly."

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Commentators ask what effect the Leveson inquiry into UK media practices will have on privacy.

that she is sickened by the newspapers who have been "breaking and entering into private grief - the burglary of men's and women's souls to sell newspapers":

"Not all journalists are the same. Some of us shudder at the vultures who make money, fun and increased circulation out of human misery. Since when did the destruction of a family become public sport? Let's hope that Lord Justice Leveson teaches the culprits a lesson they'll never forget. "Hack Fact Rats 'caught with pants down in legal sting'." Close quotes."

that it's readers who have a responsibility not to read the kind of articles which infringe people's private lives:

"Stop doing what is already illegal. But also recognise the blurring between broadsheet/tabloid, private/public, dead word/digital that is happening as we speak. I hear a lot of whinging about all the press, as I also work for Associated Newspapers. Some of it is absolutely justifiable and I hope Leveson is able to come up with better and sustainable regulation. But much whining about and by celebrities is hypocritical. Rather like pre-election polling that says we will vote for higher taxes for better public services which proves to be a nonsense when it comes to the actual ballot box, what people say they want to read and what they do actually read are two different things."

that, unless regulated, there is great motivation for the press to carry on invading people's private lives:

"As the online competition to printed newspapers grows, and ever more intimate gossip appears somewhere on the internet, where privacy is even more under threat than in the old-fashioned world of print, so the commercial pressure on tabloids to keep the voyeuristic revelations flowing will only increase. It is hard to see how self-regulation alone can stop them. The profit motive is too intense."

The there is an analogy to be drawn with the current exposure of newspaper tactics in enquiring into the private lives of celebrities and victims of crime:

"At the time, it was repeatedly argued by those who ought to have known better that by placing themselves in the public eye, and discussing their private lives at all, actors and celebrities had sacrificed all right to privacy.
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"Those people who thought it was OK to hack into strangers' phones and publish the intimate results must have considered it as a price they were entitled to demand. The cost of participating in the modern world of celebrity was, it seemed, that you sacrificed your right to have a conversation, unheard by strangers, with your spouse or friends. Who imposed that condition? Why, the people who would benefit from it. The fact that that condition, undoubtedly true to a degree, had limits which were imposed by decency and respect is only now being made painfully clear.
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"The same is true of the demand that our bodies be inspected in detail as a cost of travel, of taking part in modern life. At some point, it must become apparent that in every area of life, we are prepared to accept a risk rather than throw away civilised standards."

Finally, that the irony is that the appearances of famous people at the inquiry is fuelling celebrity obsession:

"Grant himself is a decent and unremarkable actor, and seems a decent, if unremarkable, man. And he has clearly been the subject of some unacceptable media intrusion. But I'm unclear how his performances in Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bridget Jones: the edge of reason qualify him to pass judgment on issues such as media regulation and the sensitive balance between a free press and the state. Yet once again, Leveson bent over backwards to obtain his expert opinion; "From my perspective it's abundantly clear this is a topic you've thought about carefully", he gushed.
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"The Leveson enquiry is supposedly exposing, and finding solutions to, the issues generated by the media's obsession with celebrity; though actually, it's our own obsession with celebrity, as [barrister] Carine Patry Hoskins has just discovered. But far from exposing it, Leveson is fuelling it."

Commentators ask what now for Egypt? This follows another night where Egyptian protesters occupy Cairo's Tahrir Square despite an offer from the military to bring forward presidential elections.

Amor Eletrebi has participated in protests at Tahrir Square in January why he went back to take part in the current protests. He says the protesters have discovered a difficult truth:

"Even the promised parliamentary elections to be held by the end of this month, has become a big zero at the back of our heads. We've learned a hard lesson: no act of revolution can exist under military rule, and therefore no further moves should be taken with the military still in power."

, the Egypt researcher at Human Rights Watch, thinks the military fails to understand that Egyptians lost their fear in January so cannot be ignored:

"The growing numbers in the square confirm that there is no way back. There are no easy fixes. The military has for months pretended that the civilian government has some independence, while every Egyptian knows that the Prime Minister has no power to make decisions without SCAF [Supreme Council of the Armed Forces] approval. These protests loudly proclaim a breakdown in trust in the military. They also reflect public outrage at the continuing military repression and at economic and political paralysis.
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"The SCAF needs to understand that it cannot ignore the demands of Tahrir protesters and dismiss them as a non-representative minority. The time has come for a genuine transition to civilian rule, led by a broad-based national consensus government."

But that elections should be postponed:

"Many political forces have suspended their campaigns, and few voters are focused on the election. It is unlikely that a body elected under these conditions will command real legitimacy. As much as it pains me to come to this conclusion, and for all my fears that this will only lead to a longer-term delay in a democratic transition or become an excuse to exclude Islamists, it probably does now make sense to postpone the elections for a short period."

that the elections are likely to fail because the rules suggested by military leaders "virtually guarantee" that the parliament elected will not reflect the votes of the Egyptian people:

"The sidelining of smaller Islamic and secular parties would damage citizens' faith in the democratic process, and the exclusion of the minority Coptic Christians from significant representation in Parliament could be catastrophic.
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"Copts are unlikely to vote for Islamic parties and, after October's violent street battles between Christian demonstrators and the military, they have lost faith in old liberal movements like the Wafd Party. They are instead coalescing around niche parties like the Justice Party and the Free Egyptians. But these groups are polling at less than 5 percent - not enough to win more than a handful of seats. And if Copts are shut out of Parliament, they are also likely to be absent from the committee which will draw up the new Egyptian constitution."

, chairman of the counter-extremism think-tank Quilliam, argues Islamists aren't a threat in Egypt:

"The simple fact is that though Egypt does indeed face a serious challenge with extremism, it was these repressive state policies that were largely responsible for the rise of such extremism in the first place. Closed societies will breed closed minds. In recent years, and due in part to the effects of social media, many of Egypt's younger Islamists are moving to the more democratic Turkish model."

The of the government using taxpayers' money to re-inflate the housing market, as long as the plan is temporary:

"Some will worry about encouraging people to make highly geared investments in assets that could well fall farther in value. But the risks look reasonable as long as housebuyers treat them as very long-term investments and lenders continue to apply the strict criteria introduced after the credit crisis...
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"Given the current state of the market, the scheme looks justified now and the Government has said that it will be reviewed in three years' time. The presumption should be that it will then be shut down unless private insurers are prepared to take on the risk."

Professor in urban economics at the University of Glasgow that the measures won't tackle the problem of unaffordable housing:

"The government is failing to confront the fundamental problem, which is that house prices are still too high. We might expect house prices to earnings to rise over time as people can afford to devote more of their income to housing - but the income growth from the late 90s doesn't justify the step change that occurred.
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"We simply must confront the inflationary psychology that still prevails in the housing market, which means that well-intentioned government interventions are really helping to keep house prices unaffordable for the many whilst providing assistance only for the few."

that the focus should be on the rental market:

"The criteria for letting needs to be rethought. Once the working class and homeless topped the list; in the current climate housing need has widened to all classes - those unable to get on the property ladder, those that can't afford the high rents of the private sector, those whose homes have been repossessed. These all add to those heavily laden waiting lists. In order to create a system that allocates homes to those most entitled, this idea of 'need' must be redefined."

"Of all the differences, the most significant is Britain's pro-landlord regulatory system that gives tenants no more than six months' security of tenure and uncontrolled rents. People rent mainly because they can't afford to buy. The government is now promising a review of the rules. Redesign them so that tenants have real security in decent housing. Compensate landlords with tax breaks. Then a return to the days when a third or more of us rent will be recognised for what it is: a sign of a stable, sustainable economy."

But that a rental market is against Britishness:

"There is an alternative, of course, which is to encourage the growth of a European-style, dynamic, private rented sector for those who do not want to be part of the property-owning democracy. But as Mr Cameron said, this is inimical to the British character, which has been shaped over the centuries by the rights and liberties that have arisen from property ownership."

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Following the capture of the late Libyan leader's eldest son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, commentators ask how he should face justice.

In against a death penalty as Said al-Islam has the makings of an "arguable" defence:

"He was, after all, part of Libya's legitimate government and thus entitled to urge and use force reasonable in the circumstances to put down an armed insurrection. In The Hague, if he plays by the rules, he could put the prosecution case to a scrupulously fair test. He would be permitted to summon witnesses to his good character -Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson, perhaps, or an LSE professor. His judges would be independent and his conviction beyond reasonable doubt is by no means a foregone conclusion."

that there should be a trial. However,听it shouldn't be in Libya but should instead be conducted by the International Criminal Court:

"Many of those who say the trial should take place in Libya nevertheless recognise that Iraq's proceedings against Saddam circumvented many of his greatest crimes and came to an expedited conclusion, and wonder whether sham, local justice can ever be avoided in the aftermath of a bloody conflict. Also, the international justice may not offer the swift justice some will want, as the abortive trial of Slobodan Milosevic made clear. Others with a clear interest in what happens next will include those in the west who were, until recently, friends with Saif, wondering whether his extensive contacts will be more or less public in a trial in Libya or The Hague.
听
"The ICC intervention helped transform the outcome in Libya by contributing to the delegitimisation of the Gaddafi regime. Military action followed and was decisive. But the ICC's role made the crimes an international matter, and in staying the hand of vengeance the Hague judges will have to be involved."

But that the ICC might not get a chance to hold the trial:

"The NTC [National Transitional Council], and many of its figures, want to remain popular. Handing Saif to the ICC will not win them any popularity. Any Libyan politician who dares to hand him over will probably face popular outrage, political outbidding and, possibly, an armed response. Unless the NTC receives major incentives, the chances of it handing Saif to the ICC are slim."

why having a trial in the ICC will be such a sticky issue:

"A key element in the Saif endgame now will be the position of the Western governments that ensured the NTC's victory and still have important leverage. And here the ICC has cause for concern. Key Western officials have often appeared agnostic as to where the Gaddafis should face justice. For the court, those signals raise a disturbing possibility: that the institution has been used as an instrument in the broad Western push to isolate, delegitimize, and ultimately remove the Gaddafi regime. With that accomplished, will the West still make the ICC a priority?"

If there is a trial, the discussions turn to whether Saif al-Islam might reveal details of his pre-downfall friendships with Tony Blair, Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson:

"Certainly there are issues on which Saif - if he's allowed to speak - may bring clarification. The mysterious process whereby madman Muammar Gaddafi was embraced by his former enemies in the West after renouncing terror and giving them access to his oil. How did that work?
听
"None of what Saif might say necessarily reflects well on our politicians - Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat. Nor on the Americans, our Secret Intelligence Service, the Royal Family, Big Oil and the banking sector. Not forgetting the London School of Economics. Whichever way you look at it, the Gaddafis just knew far too much, didn't they? They had to go."

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Ahead of听the UK Prime Minister David Cameron's talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, commentators suggest what David Cameron should say in Germany to try to resolve tensions over the eurozone crisis.

The David Cameron鈥檚 aim in talks with Angela Merkel听to be to make sure that Britain doesn鈥檛 foot the bill for the eurozone crisis:

鈥淗is task is to prevent Britain being drawn further into the eurozone crisis, and to see what advantage can be had from the mess. Evidently, this is not an attitude understood by German leaders, for whom shared sovereignty within the EU has been an article of faith, rather than something grudgingly surrendered. Mrs Merkel will doubtless try to convince Mr Cameron that now is not the time to rock the boat - yet from Britain鈥檚 point of view, this is precisely the time, because it is only now that we can exert the leverage to bring about the kind of changes outlined by David Davis on this page. If not now, when?鈥�

The while Chancellor Merkel wants more Europe, Mr Cameron wants less. But the difference is that Mr Cameron can't express his vision well:

"At least there is an articulated version of a 'German Europe', so we can point out its flaws. What is Cameron's vision for a "British Europe"? At the moment, purest waffle. He denounces 'utopian visions', but says nothing at all about how his own utopian vision of a 'networked Europe' would work in practice."

He comes up with a solution:

鈥淥ver dinner, let Merkel present her vision of German Europe (more tactfully: German vision for Europe). Let Cameron present his British Europe. Their fellow leaders should proceed to vote, in a strictly secret ballot, on which they would rather be part of. Then, of course, the result has to be leaked - but, even in these uncertain times, that we can still rely on.鈥�

Mr Cameron is split about what to say:

鈥淭he Cameron government faces a dilemma. On the one hand, they want to keep the greatest possible distance between Britain and the euro crisis. At the same time, they are insisting on their right to have a say. After all, what's being discussed is a change in the very nature of the EU, and the UK is still one of the big three in the bloc.鈥�

However, he goes on to predict Angela Merkel will have to listen to the British Prime Minister:

鈥淏ut Chancellor Merkel will probably be a bit more diplomatic on Friday. She knows she'll need Cameron on her side if she is going to be able to push through an amendment to the Lisbon Treaty, given that changes must be unanimously approved by all 27 EU member states.鈥�

But that any talks could be in vain as Germany is not going to change its mind on how to save Europe:

鈥淪tabilising the eurozone is in the interest of all 27 EU member states, not least the UK, with its extremely close economic ties. Time to find a solution is running out fast鈥o overcome its weaknesses the eurozone needs deeper integration through tighter economic governance and tougher rules for the stability pact. The challenge is to manage this without creating a split within the EU.鈥�

The thinks that before we blame the eurozone crisis for sharply rising unemployment, we should look at our homegrown failures:

"A study published this week by the Institute for Public Policy Research showed that in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, at least 40 per cent of school-leavers enter three-year apprenticeships leading to a recognised qualification. In England, only 6 per cent of 16- to 18-year-olds were in apprenticeships in 2010, and apprenticeships here last, on average, just over one year.
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"Every country has its own weaknesses, and one of ours is a historic, persistent neglect of education and training."

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that it isn't just Europe that is being used as the wrongful scapegoat for joblessness:

"The price being paid in wasted lives and broken public services is the direct result of the City's uncontrolled derivatives trading and monumental debts - far outweighing the public debt run up to clear their wreckage - that sparked the 2008 crash. The eurozone crisis reflects the aftershocks of that breakdown and the attempt to protect banks and bondholders across the continent.
听
"A transactions tax would not only raise cash but help to calm the speculative frenzy in financial markets that led to meltdown in the first place."

that the reason why youth unemployment has risen is because politicians aren't interested:

"Youth unemployment has been increasing for years. And nobody in Westminster has done anything about it. It is not just the recession that's to blame. In 2005, at the height of the economic boom, 25 per cent of 16 to 17-year-olds were not in education or employment. Indeed David Miliband has admitted that the problem started under Labour. So why have politicians been so slow to act?
听
"The truth is they just don't think youth unemployment matters. After all, young people are at the bottom of the jobs market. They earn less. They spend less. They are taxed less. They can claim fewer benefits."

The joblessness can create a "slow social decline" so he likes the idea of guaranteed jobs:

"The Institute for Public Policy Research has, for example, suggested that there should be a job guarantee scheme where anyone unemployed for more than a year will be given (and obliged to take) a job subsidised by government. And yesterday the chief executive of the RSA, Matthew Taylor, floated the idea of selling a 'bond for hope', in which members of the public bought a special bond, the proceeds of which would fund, say, 250,000 one-year jobs for the young unemployed, many of them in the area of public services. Real Big Society stuff.
听
"I'd buy these bonds. So would the Archbishop. So might you. And we wouldn't even have to wait for Europe to do what David Cameron tells it to."

also looks at the proposed solutions in his blog and wonders why policies increasing demand are not being heard:

"The moderate left is aware that its fiscal tools to tackle the immediate crisis are horribly limited. The idealist left is uncomfortably aware they don't actually have a plan to offer, other than disbelief at the way things are now. As a result, the right tells the electorate that pain is the only way forward, and they at least sound sure of their prescription."

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Commentators wonder what to make of the former UK border force chief Brodie Clark鈥檚 evidence to MPs about the row over the dropping of some border checks over the summer.

The there is much confusion but no documentary proof that Home Secretary Theresa May lied to parliament:

鈥淲hat Ms May appears not to have known is that, alongside the pilot she had approved, normal checks were being lifted routinely, as 2007 health and safety rules were invoked by airport operators anxious to reduce queues. Fingerprint checks at Heathrow were suspended far more frequently than even Mr Clark appears to have thought wise. That is a debacle that the Government now needs to address. Border controls should be enforced, with appropriate sensitivity."

The the argument over border control masks the bigger story of why it has become necessary to relax border controls at all:

鈥淭his country鈥檚 transport infrastructure is simply creaking under the strain of dealing with so many people. Perhaps the greatest revelation from yesterday鈥檚 hearing was that on 50 occasions over the summer, border checks had to be suspended on health and safety grounds at Heathrow because planes could not land. If ever there was a case for a new London airport, this was it.鈥�

Also looking at the wider context, the the debate highlights two colliding Tory aims:

鈥淚t is a great irony that the idea of better focusing border checks, which is what Mrs May and Mr Clark were in different ways trying to do, is not merely sensible but imperative in the context of deep cuts. While necessary, it is not something which Conservative ministers feel able to articulate, after years of hectoring Labour for losing control of immigration.鈥�

that the 鈥渟immering feud鈥� between Brodie Clark and Theresa May is not good for her career:

鈥淗er reputation in government has been built on the idea that she's a 鈥榮afe pair of hands鈥� at the Home Office; but, until we reach some sort of catharsis, these attacks from Clark will cast that into doubt. And already people are voting with their betting slips. Over at Ladbrokes, May is now the 6/4 frontrunner to be the next departure from the Cabinet. And her replacement if she does leave? Let's just say that the favourite is a Clark-with-an-E.鈥�

Finally, at the centre of the debate is the former head of the UK Border Force, that an inquiry isn鈥檛 necessary:

鈥淭his whole affair has exploded so fast that it quickly went out of control. Several questions remain: who was feeding the press a stream of untruths together with the Home Secretary鈥檚 expression of outrage? Why were declarations of my guilt made without proper investigation? Why was the top of the Home Office shop so weak it failed to keep control of its own affairs? I am sure the public will welcome an inquiry - but do we really need the three that were announced today? It might have been more cost-effective to have established the facts first.鈥�

As youth unemployment is predicted to reach 1 million and the Bank of England is expected to cut the UK's growth prospects to 1%, commentators suggest what should be done for the economy.

that ministers should look less at education and more at the benefits system for how to avoid creating a "lost generation":

"Labour started the New Deal for Young People in 1998, which gave all 18-24 year olds out of work for six months or more a personal job adviser. According to one evaluation, this reduced joblessness in this group by 20 per cent. So when in 2004, the government's focus shifted from young people to lone parents and those on incapacity benefits, that may have been a reason for youth unemployment to start rising again."

, the underlying reason for lack of growth is that UK banks are not lending enough -so the government should step in:

"To achieve a revival of manufacturing the Government needs urgently to establish an industry bank charged with making investment decisions on commercial grounds.
听
"Economists worried about the state 'picking winners' should relax. Setting up an industry bank would be following the example of our main rivals in the free world: America and Germany. The ideal to aim for is a blend of America's Small Business Administration and Germany's state development bank, KfW. If it's OK for capitalist America to subsidise business investment, it should be OK for us."

Tax reform is key to growth :

"If the government would only be bolder and could overcome the nervous ninnies in parts of the Treasury, there are all kinds of supply side improvements that could be made.
听
"Among the changes might be tax simplification, including a single tax rate for national insurance and income tax to remove the burden on business. Another would be the removal of the 50 per cent tax band so as to enable our best companies like Diageo, Rolls-Royce and GSK to keep senior staff in the UK."

The against jumping to the conclusion that the eurozone crisis is to blame for unemployment in the UK:

"British companies are freezing the recruitment of young workers today in the here-and-now of 2011 not because of the eurozone but because of conditions existing in Britain already. Those conditions predate the current implosion in the euro group. The woes of Britain's jobless should not be laid at the door of the European Union."

Also focussed on who is to blame, that people are no longer blaming the previous government for the current state of the economy:

"Labour's position is still not good. Their argument, that the crisis was international and the UK's debt was a necessary investment to avoid a worse recession, has apparently still not won through.
听
"They haven't gained much ground on this question the last few months. But half the country now blames the coalition for the cuts, at least in part. The present switch in the government's line from "we're clearing up Labour's mess" to "we're facing a European crisis" perhaps reflects a recognition that the first letter has had its day."

Following the appointment of new prime ministers in Italy and Greece, commentators give their recommendations to save the eurozone.

that eurobonds are now the only way to save the eurozone:

"The presence of a risk-free asset can hardly be overstated in a modern financial system. Each insurance company, each pension fund needs to invest part of its income in such assets. Through a combination of short-sightedness and financial illiteracy, the European Council has now put itself in a position where it desperately needs Eurobonds, if only to assure the existence of a functioning financial sector."

But the . He says the answer to the eurozone crisis is in copying America:

"When debating where the eurozone should go from here, many observers point to America as the model. The 50 states share a common currency but this only works, the argument runs, because alongside monetary union they have political and fiscal union. Rich states need to make big financial transfers to the poor, which means they must have more say over how the poor states are run. This line of thinking concludes that if the eurozone wants to keep the single currency - and to bail out members that run into trouble - it needs to move further towards common tax and spending policies. And that requires more political integration.
听
"But, according to one top American official, this is taking the wrong lesson from America. What the eurozone should be focusing on is the discipline that comes from the 'no bailouts' rule. Greater integration of tax and spending policy is not the only option."

The a choice has to be made to save the euro:

"There is no possible way at this late stage to reconcile Italy's needs for massive devaluation with Germany's hard-money doctrines. One or the other must give."

The that if the fate of the whole eurozone is in the hands of Italy's new Prime Minister Mario Monti:

"If they [the markets] detect any loss of resolve and momentum, interest rates will climb again, once more crossing the threshold of 7 per cent. In that case, alarm bells will be ringing all across Europe for the simple reason that, as has often been said, the Italian economy is too big to rescue. No financial firewall currently exists to guarantee debts as large as Italy's, so a default might then be unstoppable, inflicting such damage to those banks in neighbouring countries that are most exposed to Italian debt that the single currency could not survive the shock."

But the that the unelected leaders in Greece and Italy will eventually be more trouble than they are worth:

"The dispatch of elected if flawed prime ministers in Greece and Italy, and their replacement by supposed economic experts, is viewed not as a problem but as an affirmation that these nations mean business. In the Italian case in particular, this weekend's departure of the undoubtedly dreadful Silvio Berlusconi has for the moment soothed political nerves frayed during last week's bond market rout. But the installation of a new cadre of leaders such as Lucas Papademos in Athens and Mario Monti in Rome - men being ubiquitously branded as 'technocrats' - will soon raise more questions than it has answered."

Texas Governor Rick Perry's moment of forgetfulness during a nationally televised Republican presidential debate in Rochester, Michigan, has left US political commentators asking if it has fatally damaged his campaign.

says that Mr Perry's blackout is symbolic of his whole campaign:

Rick Perry was the biggest loser. The man simply cannot memorize his talking points. It was the only Perry moment anyone will remember, and a metaphor for his erratic campaign.

At the Huffington Post, Mr Perry's freeze could do lasting, even fatal, damage to his election prospects:

Perry has already been beset by unforced errors in his less than three months as a presidential candidate, but this topped all of his previous gaffes. It was a moment that very well might have extinguished his chances of coming back and competing with Romney... Perry's jaw-dropping memory lapse created a solid minute of full-color video memorializing the governor as a bumbling joke.

Writing for the New Yorker, that Wednesday night's blunder was the final nail in the coffin for Mr Perry's campaign:

Before we all forget about him and consign him to history, I have one request: Can somebody in authority please appoint a bipartisan commission, or send a team of investigative reporters, to find out how this buffoon became the governor of the country's second largest state by population and area?

The New York Times Caucus blog was slightly more forgiving, with it was a mistake anyone could have made.

It was a human moment (that, indeed, was his campaign's defense as soon as the debate was over) but it was also a political nightmare that extended nearly a minute but seemed to go on forever. The reaction was fast, furious and unrelenting in its conclusion that Mr Perry's stumble was not only embarrassing, but quite likely devastating to his candidacy.

But says it was just the latest in a string of mistakes for Mr Perry:

For Perry, this was more than just a meaningless gaffe. It seemed to sum up his entire candidacy: a candidate maddeningly unable to consistently perform at the level of basic competence. Ever since he entered the race, Perry has made unforced error after unforced error, from threatening the Federal Reserve chairman with physical harm to accusing conservatives of heartlessness to seeming possessed by a number of alien personalities during a speech in New Hampshire. And now this.

Following this week's publication by the International Atomic Energy Agency which accuses Iran of trying to acquire a nuclear weapons, commentators ask what this means for the relationship between Iran and the US.

The the IAEA's findings increase pressure on Western governments to do everything in their power to stop Iran from developing weapons, including military action to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities:

"In the immediate future, all the talk at the UN will focus on ramping up the sanctions programme against Iran - and winning the support of China and Russia, which is crucial to its effectiveness - in the hope that the mullahs can be brought to their senses.
听
"But given that most experts believe Iran will have the means to build a bomb within a year, military action may become inevitable if sanctions fail. As things stand today, it seems that the very different worlds of revolutionary Islam and Western democracy are determined on a collision course."

why President Obama will bomb Iran, the last being that a nuclear weapon would threaten the US dominance in the Middle East:

"Ever since President Carter declared the Middle East a vital US interest, American primacy in the region has been a key plank in Washington's foreign policy. Sustaining a dominant position in the Middle East would be infinitely more difficult (though not impossible) once an Iranian bomb enters the equation. Large military bases, such as the ones housing the Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, would be instantly vulnerable to attack. An Iranian bomb would also deter the U.S. from attacking Iran, potentially freeing them to exert their own hegemonic influence in the region."

But his money is on the US not bombing Iran. That's because of the detrimental effect a war with the country would have on US economy:

"If there's one reason above all others that likely stays the administration's hands it's the impact any prospective war against Iran would have on the U.S. (indeed, the global) economy in the short term. Economies in both Europe and the U.S. are wobbly, if not in outright recession territory. An attack on Iran would open the door for Iranian retaliation targeted at the industrial world's largest vulnerability - the 20 percent of global oil supplies that pass through the narrow chokepoint of the Straits of Hormuz. An Iranian attempt to close Hormuz would send oil prices soaring and almost certainly send the Eurozone into a recession (if it's not already there) and push America right back to the brink, or over the edge."

that a decision by President Obama to attack Iran would morally insupportable. But, given the pressure being put on him, Tisdall doesn't rule it out of the question:

"It all comes down to Obama because, in the end, the US alone has the military firepower to stop Tehran in its tracks. Now Libya, supposedly, is done and dusted, Israeli officials have turned hyper, talking up the Iranian threat and arguing the time for diplomacy has all but passed. Those glum doomsayers, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, defence chief Ehud Barak, and president Shimon Peres, are frantically ringing alarm bells like a trio of demented churchwardens. Something, they say, must be done, preferably involving some very large American bombs."

And why he thinks President Obama will heed Israeli pressure:

"The president has a deep understanding of Jewish history, and is repulsed by Iranian anti-Semitism. He doesn't want to be remembered as the president who failed to guarantee Israel's existence.
听
"This isn't to say that Obama has decided to use whatever means necessary to stop Iran. (He faces opposition in the Pentagon, for one thing, though the U.S. military has much greater capabilities than Israel.)"

Vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council that the US doesn't need to launch military action as the most effective way to stop building up nuclear capabilities in Iran would be punish the Chinese companies which supply Iran:

"Washington, worried about potentially destabilizing economic effects, has historically shied away from putting pressure on Beijing over its ties to Iran. But if the Obama administration is serious about halting Iran's nuclear program, it must do so by sanctioning companies like the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or Cnooc, which has been developing Iran's mammoth North Pars natural gas field since 2006, and PetroChina (which supervises the import of some three million tons of liquefied natural gas annually from Iran). Both are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and therefore subject to penalties under existing law. "

After Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's announced resignation, commentators debate to what extent Italy's financial woes are down to him.

The that the root cause of problems was not the prime minister but the country's membership to the euro:

"Even if a perfect government of national unity were to be installed, it would not address the underlying difficulty, which is not really Italian resistance to reform, but the euro itself. The bottom line is that Italy is in the wrong currency. It is certainly possible for economies to regain competitiveness through the painful corrective measures the eurozone prescribes - wage and spending cuts included - but the political and social damage of such an adjustment is going to be extreme."

The that Italy's problems remain after Mr Berlusconi's departure and Italy can't take its eye off its commitment to balance its budget by 2013:

"Even once he is gone, Italy's economic problems will remain critical. They pose a threat to the eurozone far more severe than the indebtedness of Greece. The only prospect of rescue is radical structural reform of its economy coupled with far greater fiscal integration within the eurozone... The current financial crisis dwarfs any in Europe's postwar history. Mr Berlusconi's rapid departure will be a minimal but essential step to acknowledging and resolving it."

Italy's problems are from before Mr Berlusconi's got in to power:

"While it seems that the colorful billionaire is at times more interested in promoting his forthcoming album of Italian love songs than solving his nation's fiscal woes, Italy's problems predate his rule. Tough austerity measures will still need to pass if the country is to receive further assistance from the EU bailout fund and the European Central Bank. Berlusconi has already passed some tough measures that have put the country on the right course, but it still falls short of steering the errant battleship back to port."

Conversely the that it is clear when you compare Italy to Greece that Mr Berlusconi was the root of the country's problems:

"George Papandreou's departure from office will weaken Greece, but Silvio Berlusconi's fall, assuming it now occurs, will strengthen Italy. The rates on Italian debt, after all, went down on rumours of Berlusconi's resignation, and then up again when he initially rebutted them. When he confirmed that he would quit once his budget has been approved later this month, the euro quickly rallied against the dollar.
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"There can be no clearer indication that in Italy it is the man who is the immediate problem and not the country, whereas in Greece it has been the other way round."

Historian the legacy of "Berlusconi-ism" will run for a while more:

"Politics became a 'one-man-show' centred on the increasingly-absurd figure of Berlusconi: sexual scandals, police investigations, defence of his financial empire. This went along with increasingly hard-line proposals to stop wiretapping, change juvenile prostitution laws, and prevent journalists scrutinising politicians - it was an idea that modern democracies could be governed like a personal business without too much internal opposition and international interference. This was the triumph of personal interests over public duties and collective needs, and like the Emperor Nero, government leaders seemed to play the violin while Italy was financially 'burning'."

Commentators react after Home Secretary Theresa May's admitted that she had authorised officials at the UK Border Agency to relax security procedures on some travellers coming into the country.

The what it sees as the incompetency of the UK border agency:

"Many questions must now be answered, and chief among them is whether the much-vaunted introduction of biometric passports was worth the expense, given the UK's apparent inability, five years later, to treat them any differently from their paper predecessors.
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"More pressing, however, is the culture of chaos at UKBA. This is not a failure which has occurred in a vacuum. It is a whole five years since John Reid, then Home Secretary, described Britain's immigration as "not fit for purpose". The UKBA, formed in 2008 to put this right, has instead continued the chaos by another name."

The what is disappointing about the home secretary's statement was the tone of animosity and suspicion against people coming into this country:

"To her, they seem an alien group of would-be terrorists or, worse, 'economic tourists'.
听
"In reality, most of the people arriving here are either tourists helping an economy badly in need of their revenues, or people on business. The largest proportion are from the EU, with rights of passage and work. The problem with the anti-foreigner rhetoric adopted by Theresa May and regrettably unquestioned by the opposition - which seems to see this simply as an opportunity to catch her out - is that it fails to distinguish between, on the one hand, threats to security from terrorists and criminals, and, on the other, problems caused to society by illegal immigration for economic ends."

Standing up for Theresa May is the this affair risks jeopardising a "sensible" development in immigration policy:

"Despite its weaknesses, in the face of the daily count of 100,000 travellers passing through Britain's ports it can only make sense to develop a risk-based approach. Yes, the UK border force must improve. The home secretary must also be more transparent. And the conversation about immigration has to grow up."

The , in part, for the idea of relaxing border controls to make people's first encounter with the country more welcoming:

"The irony is that Ms May's pilot scheme, which allowed border guards greater professional discretion in letting low-risk visitors through with lighter checks, was a step in the right direction: less suspicion of low-risk groups but tighter checks on those pinpointed by intelligence as more likely to be unwanted visitors.
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"For this to work, deep changes are needed in resources and attitudes. Cutting UKBA staff by more than a fifth by 2015 will make an intelligent immigration policy less achievable. So will the obstinate view that the only goal of immigration rules is to keep people out."

The the previous Labour government:

"It ill behoves Labour to make such a song and dance about this affair, given that it was the last government that so lost control of our borders that hundreds of thousands of people entered the country illegally and will never be removed. In the fight against terrorism, our borders are the first line of defence and they need to be as secure as possible. Yet, in an unforgivable act of neglect, the previous administration scarcely had a clue about who came and who left. Labour's time in office was characterised by a porous frontier, shambolic administration and abandoned promises. While we may not yet be entirely clear who is to blame for the latest mess, we certainly know who was responsible for the last one."

Finally whether Theresa May will resign:

"The home office is always vulnerable to scandals like this - just look at how many home secretaries there were in the last Labour government. The critical thing for May's survival is whether she was involved in the decision."

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Commentators ponder the chances of the euro currency surviving.

that if all the countries in the eurozone continue to fail to accept that they have to take on collective responsibilities for each others' debts then that only leaves two options for the euro:

"One is to abandon the currency altogether, which would cause mayhem and probably a Great Depression, given the integration of Europe's financial systems. The other is to return the currency to its original conception, that of a mechanism run according to strictly enforced rules, but adding one further enforcement method, namely the threat of expulsion. This should begin, as it should have done a year ago, with Greece's departure from the euro."

However, that it has already been proven that the eurozone countries are resistant to strict rules that support the currency, acting in the interest of their nations instead:

"As nation states have survived more than five decades of euro-bombast, so supra-national politicians are finding themselves increasingly at odds with what might be called 'referendal' politics. Direct democracy, plebiscites, e-petitions, the 'Occupy' protests around the world, even the culture of phone voting in television shows: it is here that the impetus and the energy lie, uncoordinated and multidirectional though the phenomenon may be. The entire Cannes summit was nearly thrown off course by the wild-card threat of a referendum in Greece on the latest rescue plan. The psychology of the EU - a postwar elite bureaucracy - is entirely out of kilter with this very modern surge of popular protest: technology-driven, non-hierarchical, anti-elitist. It is like trying to connect an old ribbon typewriter to an iPad."

that the Greek resistance to being told what to do by an outside country will not only threaten the euro but also the EU:

"The bailout is a loan (which will be paid back fully; the "haircut" relates to privately held bonds only). A loan to a sovereign government does not give the lending governments the power to treat the country like a protectorate. But this is what has been happening, increasing popular anger. The dispatch of colonial-type administrators to run the country under the recent proposals has now been completed.
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"It is not only Papandreou: Europe's hubris is also exposed. The Greek people with their prolonged struggles and sacrifices will finally get rid of their government. The weakest link has fallen partly as a result of popular resistance. Now the dominoes will move west. The economic future of Greece will be difficult, but democracy has won. The elite's fear of 'contagion' should not be just about the euro - they should also fear Greek resistance spreading across Europe."

If the euro does survive, that Britain may not want to stay in the EU:

"If the eurozone holds together, it will mean putting the UK and another nine EU members into a second-tier Europe, which will resemble the European Free Trade Association of the early days. If that happens, Britain's staying in the EU becomes much harder to defend. So it may be worth staying in only if the euro breaks up - the thing all European leaders, including Cameron, are desperate to avoid."

But the that domestic politics is keeping Britain from asking if it should leave the EU:

"So why do we have to pretend we're happy EU campers, pulling together to save it in its hour of crisis? Frau Merkel and Monsieur Sarkozy know that behind David Cameron's public face of support is the private conviction that their cherished project is doomed.
听
"Cameron can't say so, of course, for fear of upsetting Nick Clegg and bringing his own short-term project - the coalition - to an abrupt end."

Commentators say what they think should be on the agenda at the G20 summit in Cannes.

, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and former chief economist at the Cabinet Office, thinks David Cameron could get something out of the G20 summit provided he ditches his austerity plans:

"Internationally we should not be content to be bystanders. The government cannot insulate us from the impact of developments in the eurozone; and equally it can't tell eurozone governments what to do. But we do have considerable influence in the G20. Expectations for the Cannes summit are very low. But if we swung our weight behind those - such as Christine Lagarde, the IMF's new managing director, and the Obama administration - who are saying that the short-term priority is not austerity but rather growth and jobs, we could shift the terms of the debate for the better."

Former prime minister and current Labour MP the summit should be an opportunity to reignite the idea of a growth pact between countries:

"If China increases its consumer spending and Asia opens it markets, and if America invests in infrastructure, then as the IMF has suggested, there could be 5 percent more growth, worth 25 to 50 million more jobs and up to 100 million people taken out of poverty.
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"Unfortunately the growth pact envisaged in 2009 has descended into a dispute over currencies, with the United States Senate now calling China a currency manipulator. A return to the 2009 idea would take us beyond bland statements of what each country is doing on its own to a genuine attempt to coordinate measures for shared growth and rising employment."

, former US treasury secretary, warns policy makers not to make dubious assertions as they end up undermining confidence:

"Like the 13th chime of a clock, policymakers who deny the obvious or claim to know the unknowable call into question all that they say. Examples include regulators' assertions in 2008 that large banks had enough capital, claims that the US was enjoying a summer of recovery, and recent claims that Greece is not in default. Why should any investor rely on any default insurance from European authorities who heatedly deny that Greece is in default? The sooner it is recognised that the ideas advanced so far for leveraging the eurozone's bail-out fund are incoherent, the sooner the crisis may be resolved."

The the summit the "Cannes debt festival" but joking aside he says the negotiations are make or break for the global economy. He explains that the Greek announcement that they will hold a referendum about the debt bailout has "exploded a grenade into the place":

"The G20 already had a crowded agenda before this fresh crisis broke out. There are due to be talks in Cannes on subjects ranging from agriculture, to trade, to climate change, to job creation and corruption... Those set-piece discussions will go ahead. But the flames of the eurozone crisis, raging right outside the conference room door, will make it difficult for most of the leaders present to concentrate on anything else."

Despite the distractions of the eurozone crisis, that French president Nicolas Sarkozy will try his hardest to convince nations of a new tax:

"He has long advocated a financial transaction tax as a means of raising money for development and climate change. At his behest, Bill Gates will report on the issue to G20 leaders. He is expected to give his backing to the tax, which could raise $50bn a year.
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"France has been working to secure a 'coalition of the willing' - a group of supportive countries such as France, Germany, South Africa and others -- that circumvents opposing countries such as the UK and US. The tax has long been popular in France, and it would be a lasting legacy of France's G20 presidency. Sarkozy has been banking on this, and not crisis management closer to home, to be the history that is written in Cannes."

This edition of Green Room considers the whether there is any real expectation of progress at the forthcoming climate summit in South Africa. It also brings you a selection of some of this year's best environmental photographs, and it looks at a gadget that recycles one of the most treasured teaching comodity - chalk.

South Africa's President Zuma has warned the climate talks will not be a stroll in the park

As the 17th such gathering approaches, the initial reaction is that it is unlikely to get the pulses racing. It certainly does not have the Copenhagen, nor the conclusion of the Bali summit, which seemed.

Maybe this is a blessing. Low expectations may just give the negotiators the luxury of a little wriggle room to reach something more meaningful than a woolly worded consensus that allows the process to continue by its finger tips.

South African president to manage expectations. He is quoted by AFP as saying:

"We go to Durban with no illusion at all that it will be a walk in the park. On the contrary, we are fully aware that in some areas the national interest of parties will make consensus a challenge."

The will be in Durban, acting as a Babel fish that translates the mysterious and brain-aching bureaucratic language and procedures into something a little coherent, to report, tweet and blog on the twists and turns at the annual climate showcase.

In the meantime, if you want to know what is catching the UNFCCC's eye in the build-up to the talks, you can follow them on twitter: .

Bleak to beautiful

Recently we have seen the harvesting of a number of stunning images captured by wildlife photographers around the world as a number of high-profile competitions announce their winners.

One of the annual highlights is the , organised by London's Natural History Magazine and 大象传媒 Wildlife magazine. This year's overall winner, entitled Still Life in Oil, shows a pod of brown pelicans that were coated in crude oil as a result of the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The competition produced another stunning crop of images. The judges deemed Homeless as its overall winner. The photo captures the hopeless plight of a young child as he comforts a toddler amid the debris of a scrapyard in Kathmandu, Nepal.

At the other extreme, the invites photographers to submit their efforts that highlight the best of the views around us. This year's winner shows an isolated stand of haw frost-coated trees in the middle of a field.

'Recycling chalk'

Finally, a headteacher who is looking to tighten their budgetary belt may be tempted by a gadget featured on the US-based Treehugger website. ".

It apparently works by collecting chalk dust from the board with a tiny vacuum cleaner, then "uses heat and water to create a new stick of chalk out of what is collected".

No price is listed, but it is safe to say that it will be a little too costly for a teacher to hurl across a classroom at any pupil that dares to misbehave.

Commentators react to preliminary GDP figures which suggest the UK economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter of 2011.

The the growth in production isn't enough:

"These latest figures are consistent with an economy growing at around 1 per cent a year, maybe a little more but not much. That is not fast enough to stop unemployment rising, as the economy's natural growth rate is somewhere between 2 per cent and 2.5 per cent. While the private sector is still creating jobs, the rate at which it has been doing so is now too slow to offset the losses in the public sector. A year ago it was creating three or four jobs for every one lost; in recent months it has only been creating one job for two lost. On top of this, the forward-looking indicators such as the surveys of manufacturing opinion are disappointing."

- saying we are only narrowly escaping recession:

"The unfortunate reality is that we are only just beginning to see its effect here. The near stagnation of economic activity in the UK began in the fourth quarter of last year - well before the eurozone crisis reaching boiling point.
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"The slowdown in the UK is the result of a mix of domestic factors, particularly the chancellor's tough fiscal stance (which has knocked confidence in the private sector about future levels of demand), and global factors such as higher oil and food prices."

The - as it says the next quarter looks stagnant:

"The third quarter is, in any case, ancient history. The focus is now on the current quarter, which is likely to be ugly. The Bank of England's best guess is that GDP will be flat in Q4. The October purchasing managers' index (PMI) for manufacturing, released at the same time as the GDP figures, suggests even that might prove too optimistic. The headline index slumped from 50.8 to 47.4, below the 50 reading that divides expansion from contraction. November is likely to see another fall in the index, because order books are thinning at an alarming rate. Manufacturers say their nervous customers are delaying orders and running down stocks.
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"The main anxiety is of course the euro zone, where 40% of Britain's exports (and a fair chunk of its bank lending) go."

But . He says even though a breakdown of the euro would wipe out this growth, the UK would be in a position to recover quickly:

"We must not forget, however, that the natural condition of a global capitalist economy is one of fast growth - and that almost all of that growth now comes from rapidly developing countries far from Europe and largely unaffected by the problems of the eurozone. So on balance, it is more likely that world growth will surprise on the upside rather than the downside the next few years. And Britain, free of the fetters of the euro and now pursuing more sensible, pragmatic policies, will be better placed than its neighbours to take advantage of whatever opportunities the world presents."

Moving on to what politicians should do to promote growth, the the government's only policy to carry on growth - quantitative easing - is unlikely to help the majority of people:

"British economic policy remains spellbound by supply-side glamour. Big projects, like bank bailouts, are sexy. Leaving money in the pockets of consumers is not. Deep in the psychology of power lurks a yearning for the embrace of prestige, for life in a newly built Zil lane to a perpetual Olympics. Policy is essentially elitist. It distrusts the marketplace and the decisions of ordinary people. It strives to look after its own."

As protesters are expected to be asked to pack up their tents outside St Paul鈥檚 Cathedral and a third clergyman resigns, commentators ask how the church leaders should have reacted to the protesters outside the cathedral.

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that as the Dean's resignation yesterday is an all-too-rare illustration of the religious establishment acting for social justice:

"Long before this protest, the cathedral had become the Harrods of the spiritual world, greeting visitors with the peal of cash registers. Blessed are the poor? Not when God demands 拢14.50 a ticket (拢13.50 for students and seniors).
听
"Naturally, churches must make ends meet, but St Paul's does not appear to be on the breadline, with a charitable foundation and a City of London endowment trust showing millions of pounds in assets. Whereas visitors to other European cathedrals pay nothing, Britain's leading churches have ordained the Disneyfication of God. Even if charging and slick marketing are unavoidable, the pusillanimous behaviour of senior clergy suggests that the God industry has taken precedence over the voiceless and the vulnerable."

But the , saying churchmen were not responsible for the gathering and they are not responsible for the ending either:

"The demonstrators should reflect upon the damage their presence is now doing to innocent people and their families, and to an institution that promotes moral behaviour as an alternative to greed and selfishness. St Paul's was not their target, but it is now their victim."

may come too late for St Paul's:

"There's no tidy way out of this, but there is a wrong one, which is to continue digging the grave Knowles had with such effort prepared for the Church of England's reputation. The bishop will have to defy his own lawyers and negotiate a peaceful settlement with the protesters. Since he must do this, he had best do it at once. To wait for a week and then change his mind would be nearly as disastrous as settling for expulsion."

what the protesters could do to give the church a real dilemma - hold a prayer group:

"Presumably, St Paul's Cathedral is in favour of prayer. This is what makes the coalition of left-wing Christian groups, threatening to hold a prayer vigil in the protest tents if authorities attempt to confiscate the tents so critical to how the protest plays out.
听
"The sight of people being roughed up while praying will be giving the cathedral clergy nightmares. However, the temporal authorities of the City of London and the Chapter of the church may be so divorced from a sense of how public opinion works that they may plough on regardless. At the moment this appears to be the protesters' only trump card. They need to think more quickly to strengthen their hand."

St Paul's has inadvertently helped Occupy London's position:

"Writers, pundits and politicians have all spoken out against St. Paul's actions and consequently, even if only by default, they've lent support to the protest. One of the motivating ideas behind the Occupy movement is that the protesters make up the '99 %,' and therefore have the democratic power to change the system. By first aligning themselves with the '1%'- by, among other things, allying with city officials who are keen to evict the protesters - only to more or less implode under public backlash, St. Paul's has only confirmed the protesters' theory.
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"All things considered, this doesn't bode well for the Occupy movement's real target: the financial system."