Britain, by-elections, Conservative, Croydon North, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Labour, Nigel Farage, R.F. Wilson, Rotherham, UK Independence Party, UKIP, voting system

R.F.Wilson writes from London: You: Nigel Farage: Ukip is now Britain's third party (guardian.co.uk) – on Thursday, if you’re fussy and want to know all the details UKIP's now a shelter for the politically homeless as disenchanted voters abandon Tories and Labour (dailymail.co.uk) in good old Britain with Labour, the party that stands up for the wants of the working man - and people who have a serious dislike of working, holding on to all three seats. In case you’re keen on by-elections generally and keep a record of all of them, the contests were held in Rotherham, Middlesbrough and Croydon North, all places boasting the presence of a sophisticated electorate that does not fall easily for cheap gimmicks and stunts. To sum up the results, the governing Tories and Lib Dems have suffered humiliating defeats in all three elections, while UKIP beats Conservatives in by-elections - Reuters UK (uk.reuters.com) came twice second and once third, UKIP hail by-election results as the coalition suffers (itv.com) the other marginals registering a blip on the political radar as well. For some strange reason UKIP’s leader, Nigel Farage, went all ecstatic about the results, even though it has been pointed out to him on numerous occasions in the past that success in elections means winning in them and not coming second or third. But that’s Nigel for you, a hopeless have I Got News For You Farage hails Ukip rise after Coalition drubbing (standard.co.uk).

7 Days On The British Music Scene

The Rolling Stones

Freddie Matthews writes from London about  entertainment The British music scene The Rolling Stones Mumford & Sons Robbie Williams Paul McCartney Paloma Faith Isle of Wight Festival Stone Roses Rolling Stones Olly Murs kick off this week with one of the oldest bands in rock ‘n’ roll, The Rolling Stones. After their gig last weekend at London’s O2 Arena overran by just 35 minutes, they were hit with a £200,000 fine. Great news this week if you’re a fan of the UK music festival scene. The Isle of Wight Festival has announced The Stone Roses as its first headline act for 2013.

China New Passport Reveals The South China Sea

Gu Suhua writes from Beijing in reaction to the news U.S. to ask questions on China reports (upi.com) and Here's the Chinese passport map that's infuriating much of Asia (washingtonpost.com) brouhaha over the new Chinese passport is hotting up. China New Passport Reveals The South China Sea (stirringtroubleinternationally.com) .

What is this new Chinese passport?

 The hing is that the new ten year passport includes a map of China. Nothing strange in that, you might say.  The map also covers many small islands in the South China Sea which are claimed by Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. New Chinese passports 'counterproductive' - Indonesia (newsinfo.inquirer.net) Just to add spice to this mix, it also covers the islands in dispute between the Middle Kingdom and Japan.

New Album Review: Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire

Freddie Matthews writes from London: The fifth Alicia Keys album, Girl On Fire, has been 3 years in the making since 2009’s The Element Of Freedom dropped on to the music scene with a mighty bang.

The mass notoriety came from Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down, a song which was a rewritten from the original version performed by Alicia Keys with Jay Z. The original went on to sell close to the 10 million mark.