This Friday is the second reading of a private members bill to increase the length of time recorded music can be kept under copyright. Extending copyright beyond 50 years would increase the record labels's profits by around 2% per year, but it wouldn't benefit the vast majority of working musicians, and it would cost the record buying public at least £240m per year.

Labourhome's Mark McDonald wrote a piece recently (/story/2008/2/4/53026/88010) on Vasily Aleksanyan, imprisoned in Russia and refused treatment for AIDS, except in return for false testimony, despite FOUR European Court of Human Rights rulings insisting he be treated.

Today I received the message below. It seems Vasily has now been moved and neither his family, nor his lawyer, know where he is or what treatment he is receiving - if any.

Vasily is charged with money laundering and embezzlement, not any kind of terrorist-related charge - and he now no longer has access to his lawyer, let alone medical treatment.  Please help Vasily (http://www.mka-london.co.uk/caseHome.asp).

Former education minister and MP for Enfield Soutgate, Stephen Twigg, has won the Liverpool West Derby selection, beating the incumbent MP Bob Wareing.

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/regulatory-issues/regdonregulateddonee.cfm

The Electoral Commission has published a donation to  Jon Cruddas from Amicus of £15,000.00 - paid on 22nd December.

Is the Labour Party taking 15% of this or not?

Guido Fawkes publishes here Peter Hain's entire deputy leadership campaign strategy.

A strange thing is happening. Compass is holding a ballot on who they should recommend members to vote for - for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party.

Sod giving Scotland independence. London needs an independence movement. We can still pay the rest of the Union £20bn a year but we can call it International Aid.

Aspiring Prime Minister John McDonnell has threatened to take legal action against a blogging Labour researcher and to report his boss to the Chief Whip under the new "Yellow Card" rules.

Click Here for details.

Sources suggest that former Special Adviser to Gordon Brown Christopher Wales is in the running for the Cambridge parliamentary seat.

Click here for the Accountancy Age profile of the man credited with coming up with the Windfall Tax.

According to the national press, the Conservative Party accrued £30m of debt last year. But with only £18m declared as election expenses, where did the rest of the money go?

Bad boy blogger Guido Fawkes (http://5thnovember.blogspot.com/2006/06/labourhome-goes-live.html) has apparently outed Labourhome before it's ready to go live - largely due to the indiscretion of one of our team. I wonder if the UberTory Fawkes has Labourhome in his crosshairs or if this is just a minor sideswipe to be forgotten?