pimg class="float_right" src="/~~/f?id=47a93a104b543772005e7184maxX=300maxY=241" border="0" alt="murdoch.jpg" title="murdoch.jpg" width="300" height="241" /In the emGuardian/em's a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/dec/01/wall-street-journal-dow-murdoch"excerpt/a from Michael Wolff's new bookem The Man Who Owns The News/em, it's April 2007 and News Corp. (NWS) Rupert Murdoch wants to buy emWall Street Journal/em parent company Dow Jones. The family that owns the paper, the Bancrofts, won't talk to him, but he's developed a relationship with Dow Jones CEO Richard Zannino. Murdoch has decided to make him an offer:/p p style="padding-left: 30px;"During most of the winter, Murdoch's people (his "henchmen", they tended to call themselves) had continued to analyse the Dow Jones business. The company was trading no higher than the mid-30s; Murdoch had heard about Rich Zannino's estimate of getting the share price to, tops, $45. Nobody at News Corp thought Dow Jones could be worth, most optimistically, more than $50./p p style="padding-left: 30px;"But Murdoch insists they should offer $60 - and because he's Murdoch no one is going to tell him he's a fool. Dow Jones management and the Bancroft family may act sanctimonious and high and mighty, but $60 [which values the company at $5bn], Murdoch knows, will call their bluff./p p style="padding-left: 30px;"In early April he makes the call./p p style="padding-left: 30px;"He's apologetic when Zannino, on vacation at the Ocean Club in the Bahamas, calls him back, sorry to disturb, but it's important, he says, that he see Zannino as soon as he gets back. Suspecting something large, Zannino might here, too, have consulted with others at the company. But he doesn't tell anyone - he persists in allowing himself to believe that seeing Murdoch, even urgently, could be about many things./p p style="padding-left: 30px;"After 45 minutes in which they talk again about American Idol, Murdoch says: "Well, I'm thinking about making an offer to buy Dow Jones."/p p style="padding-left: 30px;"Zannino demurs a bit: "You know Rupert, you know as well as anybody, this isn't my call, it's the family's call. And the family has consistently - and Rupert, even as recently at our last board meeting - said that they're committed to the independence of Dow Jones and they have no interest in selling the company."/p p style="padding-left: 30px;"Murdoch: "I know that. I was thinking I'd take the offer directly to the board. I know the family feels that way. I've called [Michael] Elefante in the past. He won't even take a number. The number I'm thinking of is ... 60."/p p style="padding-left: 30px;"Zannino: (internally) Holy Shit! (externally) Silence./p p style="padding-left: 30px;"Murdoch: "So I'm thinking I'll just take that directly to the board to try and get that through the board ... So that's what I'm going to do - I'm going to make an offer to the board. Did I just make an offer to you?"/p p style="padding-left: 30px;"Zannino: "No you didn't. You mused about wanting to buy Dow Jones. I told you the family has the call and it's not for sale, and you told me you were going to contact the board."/p p style="padding-left: 30px;"Zannino is trying to find his balance - he's walked out to the furthest point and now, teetering on the precipice, he's trying to come back. Zannino tells Murdoch he isn't going to tell his board about the offer, because it's really not an official offer, suggesting to Murdoch that if anybody asks him about it, he should say he was just joking about the $60./p p style="padding-left: 30px;"But, in the car, Zannino understands that the breach has just occurred - that he's let Murdoch in. He breathlessly calls Joe Stern, the Dow Jones general counsel, and tells him: "He gave me a number." Back at the Dow Jones office, each successive person let in on the news understands that the breach is real - and that they can't close it./p p style="padding-left: 30px;"Murdoch has correctly analysed that Zannino, who might have blocked his access to the board, has not./p p style="padding-left: 30px;"[a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/dec/01/wall-street-journal-dow-murdoch"Continue reading at the Guardian./a]/p pstrongSee Also:/stronga href="../../2008/11/new-york-times-nyt-now-losing-business-to-wall-street-journal"br /New York Times (NYT) Now Losing Business To Wall Street Journal/a/p p /p pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/DXG-iNVd6sMIFqdSKc90_unyrtU/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/DXG-iNVd6sMIFqdSKc90_unyrtU/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=SMukVMhx"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?i=SMukVMhx" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=ttNOtWLJ"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=52" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=V0FicYx4"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=80" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=uNV9EWQZ"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?i=uNV9EWQZ" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=pJflhJi5"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=131" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=nFuDMZpW"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=336" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=9DPCku5F"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=bjYrEn7O"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=50" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~4/MAhEHRHikMw" height="1" width="1"/

SongBird est un lecteur de musique Open Source. Voir a href=http://getsongbird.com/.http://getsongbird.com/./abr / br / Quand on installe la version Windows, le premier lancement présente une EULA qu'il faut accepter pour continuer.br / br / Cette EULA précise que certains fichiers binaires peuvent contenir du code en provenance de VLC. Il est indiqué aussi que le produit est conposé de deux ensembles : le player lui même, et les add-ons. La licence du Player est la GPL, mais les add-ons sont propriétaires.br / br / Jusqu'à présent, je croyais qu'il n'était pas possible de distribuer un programme dérivé de code GPL en y ajoutant des plugins propriétaires. Est-ce un précédant, ou ai-je raté un épisode ?br / br / Ci-dessous, texte complet de l'EULA :br / br / SONGBIRD SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENTbr / br / PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE DOWNLOADING, INSTALLING OR USING THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER SOFTWARE (SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER) AND THE SONGBIRD ADD-ON SOFTWARE AND ITS ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION (COLLECTIVELY, THE SONGBIRD ADD-ONS). THE SONGBIRD ADD-ONS DO NOT INCLUDE THIRD-PARTY ADD-ONS (DEFINED BELOW). THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER IS LICENSED PURSUANT TO AN OPEN SOURCE LICENSE AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 1 BELOW TITLED LICENSE TO SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER. CERTAIN FILES IN THIS BINARY APPLICATION (BINARY) ARE COPYRIGHT © 2005-2008 POTI, INC. CERTAIN FILES IN THIS BINARY MAY CONTAIN CODE FROM VLC AND XUL RUNNER WHICH IS COPYRIGHT THEIR RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS. THESE FILES MAY INCLUDE MODIFICATIONS WHICH ARE COPYRIGHT © 2005-2008 POTI, INC. THIS BINARY ALSO CONTAINS TRADEMARKS OF POTI, INC. INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE NAME SONGBIRD, LOGOS, ICONS, AND PAGE LAYOUT FILES (FEATHERS). POTI, INC. DOES NOT EXPRESS OR IMPLY ANY PERMISSION TO USE OR DISTRIBUTE THESE TRADEMARKS.br / br / THIS SONGBIRD SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT (AGREEMENT) GOVERNS USE OF THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER AND SONGBIRD ADD-ONS UNLESS YOU AND THE PIONEERS OF THE INEVITABLE, INC. (POTI) HAVE EXECUTED A SEPARATE AGREEMENT.br / br / POTI IS WILLING TO LICENSE THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER AND SONGBIRD ADD-ONS TO YOU ONLY UPON THE CONDITION THAT YOU ACCEPT ALL THE TERMS CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT. BY CLICKING ON THE I ACCEPT BUTTON BELOW OR BY INSTALLING OR USING THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER OR SONGBIRD ADD-ONS YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ALL OF ITS TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT POTI IS UNWILLING TO LICENSE TO YOU THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER OR SONGBIRD ADD-ONS AND YOU SHOULD NOT CLICK THE I ACCEPT BUTTON OR INSTALL OR USE ANY PART OF THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER OR SONGBIRD ADD-ONS. IF YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS ON BEHALF OF A BUSINESS, YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU HAVE AUTHORITY TO BIND THAT BUSINESS TO THIS AGREEMENT, AND YOUR AGREEMENT TO THESE TERMS WILL BE TREATED AS THE AGREEMENT OF THE BUSINESS. IN THAT EVENT, YOU AND YOUR REFER HEREIN TO THAT BUSINESS.br / br / 1. License to Songbird Media Player. The Songbird Media Player is free software and is licensed to you under the terms of the GNU General Public License, Version 2 (GPLv2), with a special exception that allows you to combine and link both GStreamer plugins and NPAPI browser plugins with the Songbird Media Player Software. You can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GPLv2 (with or without the exception). For the exact terms of the GPLv2 exception provided by POTI, refer to the notices contained in the Songbird Media Player Software, the corresponding source code or at a href=http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.txt.http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.txt./a This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. For all the terms of the GPLv2, refer to the text of the license, which you should have received with this program; if you have not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA or visit the following link a href=http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/info/GPLv2.html.http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/info/GPLv2.html./a To the extent that any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement conflict with the GPLv2 and POTI’s exception, the conflicting terms and conditions of this Agreement shall not apply to the Songbird Media Player.br / 2. License to Songbird Add-Ons.br / 1. Grant. Subject to your compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, POTI grants you a non-exclusive and non-transferable license for a single user to install and use the executable form of the Songbird Add-Ons, distributed separately, on a single computer, solely for your personal and non commercial purposes. You may make a single copy of the Songbird Add-Ons for backup purposes. POTI reserves all rights in the Songbird Add-Ons not expressly granted to you in this Agreement.br / 2. Restrictions. Except as expressly specified in this Agreement, you may not: (a) copy or modify the Songbird Add-Ons; (b) transfer, sublicense, lease, lend, rent or otherwise distribute the Songbird Add-Ons to any third party; (c) make the functionality of the Songbird Add-Ons available to multiple users through any means, including, without limitation, by uploading the Songbird Add-Ons to a network or file-sharing service or through any hosting, application services provider, service bureau or any other type of services; or (d) use the Songbird Add-Ons in any unlawful manner, for any unlawful purpose, or in any manner inconsistent with this Agreement. You acknowledge and agree that portions of the Songbird Add-Ons, including, without limitation, the source code and the specific design and structure of individual modules or programs, constitute or contain trade secrets of POTI and its licensors. Accordingly, you agree not to disassemble, decompile or otherwise reverse engineer any components of the Songbird Add-Ons provided in object code or any other POTI products or services, in whole or in part, or permit or authorize a third party to do so, except to the extent such activities are expressly permitted by law notwithstanding this prohibition.br / 3. Proprietary Rights. The Songbird Media Player and Songbird Add-Ons are licensed, not sold. You agree that POTI owns all right, title and interest in and to the Songbird Media Player and Songbird Add-Ons, including without limitation all intellectual property rights therein. The Songbird Media Player and Songbird Add-Ons are protected by United States copyright law and international treaties. You will not delete or in any manner alter the copyright, trademark, and other proprietary rights notices or markings appearing on the Songbird Add-Ons as delivered to you.br / 4. Disclaimer of Warranty. YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK OF USE OF THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER AND SONGBIRD ADD-ONS. POTI PROVIDES THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER AND SONGBIRD ADD-ONS ON AN AS IS BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. POTI DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER AND SONGBIRD ADD-ONS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER AND SONGBIRD ADD-ONS WILL BE ERROR-FREE. POTI EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM POTI OR ELSEWHERE WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT.br / 5. Third-Party Add-Ons. The Songbird website may contain user generated add-ons (including any add-ons uploaded, posted or submitted to the Songbird website by a third party) (Third-Party Add-Ons). Your use of any Third-Party Add-On is subject to any terms and conditions provided with such Third-Party Add-On. You assume all responsibility and risk of use of any Third-Party Add-On and POTI hereby disclaims any and all liability to you or any third party related thereto. POTI does not have any obligation to examine or scan Third-Party Add-Ons, for any purpose, and is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, appropriateness or legality of any Third-Party Add-On. The fact that a Third-Party Add-On is available from the Songbird website is not an endorsement, authorization or representation of POTI’s affiliation with any third party, nor is it an endorsement of such Third-Party Add-On and you hereby waive, any legal or equitable rights or remedies you have or may have against POTI with respect thereto.br / 6. Term and Termination.br / 1. Term and Termination. This Agreement will commence on the date that you accept its terms by accessing or using the Songbird Add-Ons and will continue until terminated as provided hereunder. POTI may terminate this Agreement and any licenses granted hereunder immediately upon notice if you breach any term or condition in this Agreement. You may terminate the Agreement at any time by destroying all copies of the Songbird Add-Ons in your possession or control.br / 2. Effect of Termination; Survival. Termination of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver or release of, or otherwise be deemed to adversely affect, any rights, remedies or claims, whether for damages or otherwise, which POTI may have under this Agreement or which may arise out of such termination or expiration. Upon any termination or expiration of this Agreement, you agree to immediately cease using the Songbird Add-Ons and to return or destroy any copies of the Songbird Add-Ons in your possession or control. Sections 1.2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.2, 7 through 13 will survive termination or expiration of this Agreement.br / 7. Representations and Warranties. You agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations when using the Songbird Add-Ons. You will not use the Songbird Media Player or Songbird Add-Ons to infringe anyone’s copyrights.br / 8. No Obligation. POTI is not obligated to maintain or support the Songbird Media Player or Songbird Add-Ons, or to provide you with updates, fixes, or services related thereto.br / 9. Government Users. Any use, duplication, or disclosure of the Songbird Add-Ons by the U.S. government is subject to the restrictions as set forth in this Agreement and as provided in DFARS 227.7202-1(a) and 227.7202-3(a) (1995), DFARS 252.227-7013(c)(1)(ii) (OCT 1988), FAR 12.212(a) (1995), FAR 52.227-19, or FAR 52.227-14 (ALT III), as applicable. Manufacturer is Pioneers of the Inevitable, Inc.br / 10. Export Laws. You agree to comply fully with all U.S. export laws and regulations to ensure that neither the Songbird Add-Ons nor any technical data related thereto nor any direct product thereof are exported or re-exported directly or indirectly in violation of, or used for any purposes prohibited by, such laws and regulations.br / 11. Indemnity. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold POTI and its officers, directors, and employees harmless from and against any loss, liability, costs or expenses (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from or incurred as a result of any third party claims, to the extent that such claims relate to or are based on your breach of this Agreement or your use of the Songbird Add-Ons.br / 12. Limitations of Liability. IN NO EVENT WILL POTI BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOSS OF USE, DATA, BUSINESS OR PROFITS) OR FOR THE COST OF PROCURING SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE USE OF THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER AND SONGBIRD ADD-ONS, WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY ARISES FROM ANY CLAIM BASED UPON CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, AND WHETHER OR NOT POTI HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGE. THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS WILL SURVIVE AND APPLY EVEN IF ANY LIMITED REMEDY SPECIFIED IN THIS AGREEMENT IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. IN ANY CASE, POTI’S ENTIRE LIABILITY UNDER ANY PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS OF THE FEES THAT YOU PAID FOR THE SONGBIRD MEDIA PLAYER AND SONGBIRD ADD-ONS (IF ANY). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.br / 13. General Provisions. This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without regard to or application of conflicts of law rules or principles. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods will not apply. You may not assign or transfer this Agreement or any rights granted hereunder, by operation of law or otherwise, without POTI’s prior written consent, and any attempt by you to do so, without such consent, will be void and of no effect. Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement, the exercise by either party of any of its remedies under this Agreement will be without prejudice to its other remedies under this Agreement or otherwise. Any notice or other communications to be given under this Agreement will be in writing and given (a) by POTI via email (in each case to the address that you provide), (b) posting on the Songbird website located at a href=http://www.songbirdnest.com/http://www.songbirdnest.com//a or (c) by you via email to support@songbirdnest.com or such addresses POTI may specify in writing. The date of receipt will be deemed the date on which such notice is transmitted. The failure by either party to enforce any provision of this Agreement will not constitute a waiver of future enforcement of that or any other provision. Any waiver, modification or amendment of any provision of this Agreement will be effective only if in writing and signed by authorized representatives of both parties. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the other provisions will remain in full force and effect. This Agreement is the complete and exclusive understanding and agreement between the parties regarding its subject matter, and supersedes all proposals, understandings or communications between the parties, oral or written, regarding its subject matter, unless you and POTI have executed a separate agreement.br / 14. Contact Information. If you have any questions regarding this Agreement, you may contact POTI at support@songbirdnest.com.

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/31630?ns=guardianpageName=Politics%3A+Britain+is+not+a+police+state%2C+says+Jack+Straw+in+Damian+Green+rowch=Politicsc3=guardian.co.ukc4=Damian+Green%2CPolitics%2CUK+news%2CConservatives%2CPolice+%28politics%29%2CJack+Strawc5=Unclassified%2CPolicy+Society%2CNot+commercially+usefulc6=Andrew+Sparrowc7=2008_12_01c8=1126809c9=articlec10=GUc11=Politicsc12=Damian+Greenc13=c14=h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FDamian+Green" width="1" height="1" //divpJack Straw today denied claims that the arrest of Tory MP Damian Green and the police raid on his office in the Commons meant Britain was "a police state". /ppThe justice secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are not in a police state. A police state would be where ministers were directing a police operation." /ppWhen Green, the shadow immigration minister, was arrested last week over allegations that he had procured leaked documents from a civil servant, the police were not following orders from ministers, Straw said. /pp"We have an independent police service. What's important here is that politicians do not interfere with the natural course of an investigation."/ppStraw also said that he expected parliament to review the procedures that led to the police raiding Green's office in the Commons. Green strongly denies any wrongdoing. /ppWith MPs from all parties still furious about the way the police were allowed to search Green's office last week and take away his computer and details of constituency correspondence, Straw said that he was "pretty certain" that there would be a parliamentary inquiry into the affair when the case was closed./ppThe justice secretary also defended Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, over her decision not to apologise for what happened to Green./pp"If any home secretary had offered an apology, there would have then been a huge furore about the fact that the home secretary was prejudging the actions and activities of the police without an investigation," Straw said. /ppStraw said that if the Tories were unhappy about what had happened, they could complain to the independent police complaints authority. /ppMPs have complained that the raid on Green's office in the House of Commons was a breach of parliamentary privilege – the principle the MPs are entitled to special protection to enable them to carry out their work as members of the Commons./ppStraw said that he accepted that in this case competing constitutional principles were in play – the right of MPs being free to carry out "legitimate business" on behalf of their constituents, the independence of the police to investigate, and the importance of protecting secrecy and confidentiality "where it is necessary" in government. /ppMichael Martin, the Commons Speaker, will make a statement about the affair to MPs when the new session of parliament begins with the Queen's speech on Wednesday. /ppToday Denis MacShane, the Labour former minister, said that Martin had to assure MPs that what happened to Green would not happen again. /pp"The police have made a mistake, I think the Home Office bureaucracy have made a mistake, and I think the Speaker on Wednesday has to say this will not happen again," he told Today. /pp"The inner sanctum of our parliamentary democracy is the Palace of Westminster and, in the Palace of Westminster, MPs, yes they are protected under privilege when they speak in the House of Commons, but there is a broader constitutional privilege that says they can meet anyone, talk about anything, discuss their political passions, they can hold files, and the police, the agents of the state, do not storm in there and start breaking in or going into offices and taking away confidential files that all our constituents think will be treated confidentially." /ppHe suggested that the situation could not happen if the UK had its own written constitution: "In other countries ... the police would never be allowed into a parliament." /ppBut one of Britain's leading constitutional experts, Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at the University of Oxford, told the programme: "This does seem to me something of a storm in a teacup. /pp"The important principle is that MPs, apart from when they are speaking in the chamber and dealing with constituents' correspondence, are as subject to the law as the rest of us. /pp"If the police decide not to take action against an MP which they would against an ordinary citizen then that would be discriminatory./pp"Then people might say: 'Well, we are not living in a police state but a state where people, because they have been elected to parliament, have certain exemptions from the law.' That can't be the case. They are subject to the same laws as the rest of us."/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/damian-green"Damian Green/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/conservatives"Conservatives/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/police"Police/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/jackstraw"Jack Straw/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/DD4qsQNEjaQeV3Q479TuMZBXj-M/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/DD4qsQNEjaQeV3Q479TuMZBXj-M/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p