Daily View 2×2: 1 August 2009 – social networking meets man with beard

The rest of The Voice’s Daily View team may have decided to have a lie in each morning during August, but we’re made of sterner stuff here on the Sunday slot. And as it’s a Sunday, this time by popular demand (sort of) there’s a special bonus social networking meets beards sing-a-long supplement.

2 Big Stories

Iranian protesters go on trial

Forcing critics of a government to recant in implausible public confessions is both a display of a regime’s power but also of a display of absurdity. If it makes people fear that power it strengthens the regime, but if it makes people ridicule that absurdity it weakens it. So far in Iran it seems to be doing at least some of the latter:

Iran’s biggest reformist party has dismissed the court appearance of 100 people, including leading opposition figures, as a “laughable show trial”.

The accused are on trial for alleged involvement in post-election violence, on charges including acting against national security and vandalism.

Pro-government media reported what they said were confessions by some of the leading reformists.

But the party, Mosharekat, said the “confessions” had been forced.

It said “even a cooked chicken” would laugh at the charges.

Kasra Naji, special correspondent for BBC Persian Television, says the timing and scale of the trial came as a surprise and suggests Iran’s leadership wants to send a message to stop any more protests.

But judging from messages on micro-blogging site twitter and the internet, our correspondent says, the move may have the opposite effect, with several people talking about the need for new demonstrations and calling those on trial “national heroes”. [BBC]

Immigration

The Government’s new points-based system for managing migration may favour recent graduates with paper qualifications over workers with long professional experience and ability, a report warned today.

The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee gave a “cautious welcome” to the implementation of the system, introduced last year, which is intended to ensure that migrants from outside the EU gain entry to the UK only if they have skills which are needed for the British economy.

But it said that changes are needed to fine tune the way in which points are allocated for different professions and skills, as well as the compliance responsibilities for companies recruiting from overseas. [The Independent]

2 Must-Read Blog Posts

• Anders Hanson picks up the issue of why MPs having unpaid staff can actually be rather a good thing: Forcing interns to be paid, will just end the chance of being an intern.
• Camden councillor Alexis Rowell highlights interesting urban green spaces: Green walls and edible gardens [Link now defunct].

Sunday Bonus

Social networking meets a man with a beard. Ready your singing voice and hit play: