Wednesday's comment from the papers in...

Today in Times Comment

• Alice Miles: The Heathrow protesters don't vote so their greatest weapon, the power of the ballot box, is lost
• Magnus Linklater: In England Mr Brown has been enjoying his bounce, in Scotland Alex Salmond has leapt
• James Harding: The American consumer remains the Charles Atlas of modern world economic growth: he holds it up
• Daniel Finkelstein: Restrictions on the number of foreign players would damage the growth of youth football in England
• Bronwen Maddox: It is unnecessarily provocative to deny the real help Iran has given Afghanistan over drugs
• Richard Morrison: I expected the punks to kick my sticks away and fall about laughing. Instead they strode into the road and helped me across
• Melanie McDonagh: If casual contact with lead is a problem for infants who play with toys coated with lead paint, what does it do to workers who use the paint?
• Patrick Kidd: Today's chavs are the descendants of Shakespeare's mechanicals; the gormless aristos are found throughout literature

And from the rest of the papers…

• Shashi Tharoor: (The Guardian) - Indian identity is forged in diversity. Every one of us is in a minority
• David Clark: (The Guardian) - Brown must understand that we won't win the fight against terrorism until we live up to our own high moral claims
• Ewan Crawford: (The Guardian) - In his first three months, Scotland's first minister has promoted consensus, won over the press and left Labour bewildered
• Johann Hari: (The Independent) - We must pay attention to Pakistan
• Deborah Orr: (The Independent) - These two canny Scots, as they celebrate 100 days in power, have much in common
• Mark Steel: (The Independent) - Atheists and believers have got religion wrong
• Irwin Stelzer: (The Daily Telegraph) - Employers - the winners from immigration - should be required to reimburse society - the losers - for the costs their decisions impose on it
• Jan Moir: (The Daily Telegraph) - I've never felt less like hugging a hoodie
• Toby Harnden: (The Daily Telegraph) - Bush has greeted Sarko the First Buddy - a title, uncontested by Gordon Brown, that has been up for grabs since Tony Blair stepped down
• Allison Pearson: (Daily Mail) - An A-grade insult to our intelligence

And from around the world…

• Robert J. Samuelson: (Washington Post) - Global warming has clearly occurred; the hard question is what to do about it
• Benjamin R. Barber: (Washington Post) - Moammar Gaddafi's Libya may turn out to be a recipe for peace and partnership in the unlikeliest of places
• Mohsin Hamid: (New York Times) - After 60 Years, Will Pakistan Be Reborn?
• Ramachandra Guha: (New York Times) - Despite their shared culture, cuisine and love for the game of cricket, India and Pakistan seem prepared to fight more wars
• Stephen F. Hayes: (The Wall Street Journal) - The surveillance and interrogation programs Dick Cheney helped implement have prevented further attacks
• Salil Tripathi: (International Herald Tribune) - Pakistan made religion its centerpiece. India, despite its overt religiosity, officially swore by secularism