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Clegg vows: I won’t let Osborne cut 50p tax

Nick Clegg has declared that he will veto George Osborne’s plan to abolish the 50p top rate of tax. He warned that cutting it could “destroy” public support for the entire tax system and provoke a taxpayer revolt. In an exclusive interview with The Independent, the Deputy Prime Minister promised the Government would do more to kickstart the economy in a “Plan A-plus“, including a boost for housebuilding.

Mr Clegg issued the clearest possible warning that he would not allow the Chancellor to bow to pressure from business leaders and Conservatives to axe the 50p rate on earnings over £150,000. Speaking on the eve of the Liberal Democrats’ annual conference in Birmingham, Mr Clegg said: “What I, and any government including Lib Dems, are interested in is lowering the tax burden on the millions of people on lower and middle incomes – not rushing to make sure the very, very richest pay less tax.

It would be utterly incomprehensible for millions of people who work hard, do their best for their families, and play by the rules, if suddenly the priority is to give 300,000 people at the very, very top a tax break.

Reading man jailed for dead girl “trolling” insults

Natasha MacBryde threw herself under a train after being bullied.

A Berkshire man has been jailed for posting abusive messages online about a schoolgirl after she committed suicide.

Sean Duffy, 25, of Reading, was handed an 18-week sentence for posts on social networking sites about Worcester teenager Natasha MacBryde.

He previously pleaded guilty at Reading Magistrates’ Court to sending indecent or offensive communications.

Police said Duffy also posted abuse about dead teenagers in Northumberland, Gloucestershire and Staffordshire.

Duffy admitted two counts of sending a communication of an indecent or offensive nature. The charges related to Facebook and YouTube posts about Miss MacBryde, 15, who Duffy had never met.

She had thrown herself under a train in February after being bullied.

Duffy subsequently posted messages on a remembrance page set up by Miss MacBryde’s friends.

In one of the posts he called the teenager a slut. He also posted a video on YouTube, entitled Tasha the Tank Engine, showing the children’s character Thomas the Tank Engine with Miss MacBryde’s face.

The magistrates were also asked to consider three other cases when sentencing Duffy.

He had also posted offensive messages, known as “trolling”, about Lauren Drew, 14, of Gloucestershire, who was found dead after suffering a suspected epileptic seizure, Hayley Bates, 16, of Staffordshire, who died in a car crash, and Jordan Cooper, 14, who was stabbed to death in Northumberland.

Magistrates also gave Duffy an Asbo, banning him from using social networking sites for five years.

It’s official: Beyonce is pregnant!

Beyonce confirmed at the MTV VMAs that she's pregnant!

It’s official: Beyonce and Jay-Z are going to be parents! The 30-year-old singer confirmed the news on the MTV VMAs black carpet Sunday night.

OMG Beyonce just made a huge announcement on the #vma carpet! #baby!!!!!” MTV tweeted along with a photo of Beyonce clutching her stomach.

Beyonce pregnancy rumors have dogged the couple since they married in April 2008, including a huge rumor last fall that turned out to be false.

I always said I’d have a baby at 30,” she told CNN’s Piers Morgan earlier this summer. “I’m 29. But I also said I was going to retire at 30. I’m not retiring.

“I feel like a woman,” she revealed. “I feel like I’m very aware of who I am. I feel great and I feel like 30 is the ideal age [to start a family], because you’re mature enough to know who you are and to have your boundaries and your standards, and not be afraid, too polite — but you’re young enough to be a young woman,” she said. “I’m so looking forward to it.”

It looks like Beyonce is a few months along — and no word on whether or not it’s a baby Queen Bee or baby Hov.

Boy or girl, the Beyonce and Jay-Z baby is bound to be super talented.

Image courtesy MTV Twitter

Are you happy that Beyonce is pregnant? Do you think she’ll be a good mum (mom)?

Tim Cook to Apple Employees: “Apple is Not Going to Change”

Ars Technica reports that new Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent out an email to Apple employees expressing his enthusiasm for officially taking the reins of the company and reassuring employees that “Apple is not going to change.” The full text of the email:

Team:
I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I’ve ever made and it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve’s optimism for Apple’s bright future.

Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve’s ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple’s unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that—it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Tim

Cook has gained a solid reputation for his leadership abilities and work to streamline Apple’s operations. He has also clearly embraced the Apple concept as revealed by the “Cook Doctrine” he laid out over two years ago as he took on the role of overseeing Apple’s day-to-day operations during one of Steve Jobs’ medical leaves of absence.

TUAW’s Michael Grothaus, a former Apple employee, also offers a personal impression of Tim Cook, noting the thoughtfulness and careful consideration he gives when speaking as an example of his leadership abilities “sans ego“.

Tim Cook is one of those rare people who stop and think before speaking. Standing in the same room with him I realized that he’s comfortable with silence as long as that silence is productive and appropriate. He’s not like other tech execs who ramble almost immediately and incoherently at any question lobbed at them, as if doing so will convince others they know everything about everything.

Tim Cook is a person who has confidence in his position as a leader, sans ego. Ego doesn’t take pauses. It’s rapid-fire. And it’s that confidence and lack of ego that allows him the time to examine the issues and questions at hand, no matter how lowly or silly others may think them, and address them appropriately.

Cook has been at Apple since 1998, and while he has played a primary role in hosting Apple’s earnings conference calls, he has until relatively recently remained quietly in the background when it comes to Apple’s mainstream public appearances. But the company in recent months has been making a more active role for him, most notably as the on-stage representative for Apple at the introduction of the Verizon iPhone earlier this year.

Facebook Wanted to Buy Instagram, Will Release Photo Filters Instead

Following a failed attempt to acquire Instagram, Facebook will roll out up to a dozen photo filters in a mobile application release, according to a report from The New York Times Bits Blog.

Several Instagram-like photo filters are ready for release, two unnamed Facebook engineers cited in the report say, but the release date is unknown at this time.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pushing engineers and artists “to create more filters before releasing the new product” Bits reports. “Facebook will also try to introduce new styles of filters with the hopes of drawing users away from other photo apps.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of Facebook photo filters. TechCrunch reported in June that Facebook was working on a spin-off photo-sharing application for iPhone. Screenshots obtained by the blog indicated the app would have “location elements, likes and comments, multi-picture mode, filters, multi-user albums, face-tagging, and more…

more to come… follow this post for updates (Mashable)