Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Brown trousers

Very few inches in the today's papers on Brown's 'immigrants to do community service' speech yesterday, squeezed out by wild speculation about a challenge, the best/least substantiated being Patrick Wintour's in the Guardian - Clarke and Milburn launching website, ergo Miliband, despite repeated denials, will stand. You gave to feel sorry for the poor bastard (don't you?) he keeps radio silence so as not to look like a PM-in-waiting throwing himself around, then when he does come out with a big gesture speech no one's interested. Maybe it's because he's not very good at them, and we've heard it before. How many speeches on Britishness is that now? I ended up reading this fun bit of polly filla from India Knight, I think she hits the presentational nail on the head

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Lobbyist bollocks-speak

There was once an old Indian craftsman who carved elephants from blocks of timber. When asked how he did it, he would reply, ‘I just cut away the wood that doesn't look like an elephant.’
That is the philosophy of The Chase, one of the Hasgrove Group’s businesses, but it sums up the essence of a business that places creativity at its very heart. What we do is simple. It is the result of great thinkers, great talent, great passion and great ideas. Simple.

Why bother covering the Middle East

Sky sporadically trail what's the most-read story on their website. Today it is 'woman dying from hugs'. Mind you that still sounds more substantial than the Florida court case to decide what to do with Anna Nicole-Smith's body. Why is that such a big story?

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

arsembly

Very entertaining, very libellous:

http://arsembly.blogspot.com/

Sunday, February 18, 2007

the sane legal climate of the Victorian era

News. It's full of the mentally unsound. But standing head and shoulders above all others in terms of unalloyed lunacy is Dr Sean Gabb, of the Libertarian Alliance. I give you his solution to the gun-related deaths in London and elsewhere: arm everyone.


"RELEGALISE GUNS: POWER TO THE PEOPLE", FREE MARKET AND CIVIL LIBERTIES THINK TANK TELLS BLAIR GOVERNMENT
The Libertarian Alliance, the radical free market and civil liberties policy institute, today calls on the British Government to take firm action over the shootings of young men in South London.
It believes the best action would be to relegalise guns and let ordinary people fight back with lethal force against the violent criminals who presently rule the streets of our cities.
Libertarian Alliance Director, Dr Sean Gabb, says:
"The Libertarian Alliance believes in a return to the wise laws of our ancestors, under which a person could walk into a gun shop and, without showing a licence or any form of identification, buy as many guns and as much ammunition as he pleased, and could keep these at home, or carry them about in public, for the defence of his life or property.
"We have the most restrictive laws in Europe on gun ownership. These have plainly not worked. In 1968, in 1988, and twice in 1997, we were promised a safer country if only we gave up our guns. We were cheated.
"In fact, the only people who have no guns are the respectable. Those who do commit assaults are no more likely to obey the gun ban than they are to stop listening to horrid music or to wash their hands after using the toilet.
"Even turning the country into a police state, with powers of random stop and search and scanners in public places, will do nothing to disarm these creatures. Such laws will only inconvenience the respectable. They subject us to the indignity of being searched by police officers who are increasingly useless and corrupt. They disarm us to the point where criminals can roam among us like foxes among chickens.
"Laws against keeping guns at home and carrying them about for defence of life and property are an infringement of our liberties.
"We need to get back to the sane legal climate of the Victorian era, when citizens were expected to take part in defending themselves, and were encouraged to use lethal force when they believed it necessary.
"At the same time, we need real punishments for real crimes. Those who commit assaults on others should be caught and punished with terrifying swiftness and severity. Assuming due process of law, I see no objection to the use of the death penalty."

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Valentines Day - Karachi style


None of us like Clinton Cards, but I still think this is a bit over the top. Must have been a slow news day on the Islamist street.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

more solid gold from the world's greatest newspaper

I've got to admit I usually skip past Leo McKinstry in the Express. But this is jerking-knee, one-eyed, self-contradicting mouth-frothing out of the very, very top drawer. An attack on speed cameras...it's just such a fresh angle


"A group of sanctimonious citizens had taken on the selfappointed role of spying for the local constabulary, using their hand-held video cameras to check on the speed of passing motorists.

There was something un-British about their cowardly desire to tell the police about minor traffic offences. It was the sort of conduct I might have expected from Germans, wanting to see that the rules were obeyed, not from rural Essex people, traditionally renowned for their robust sense of independence.

In their way, they were just reflecting the phoney new morality of today's Britain where bogus environmental concerns and hysteria over safety are used to bully, lecture, tax, harass and control the public.

The same mood of oppression can be gauged by the vast increase in the number of speed cameras. Otherwise lawabiding drivers are now treated with far more contempt by the state than burglars or drugtakers "

Monday, February 12, 2007

judge a man by the company he keeps

Wheaty -- have you seen some of the odd-balls you're linked to by naming Hunt for Red October as your favourite film?
This one is bad:

Classen
20 year old male Cancer San Antonio : Texas : United States
6 recent posts (59 total)
Interests: Baseball, my friends, movies, video games, my truck, my computer


...this one is worse:

commonryan
male Huntsvegas : United States
1 recent posts (5 total)
Interests: Jesus Christ, spiritual disciplines, spending time with my family, playing with my children, hanging with friends,listening to music, playing guitar,


....and this one is positively terrifying:


Wes Montgomery
19 year old male Taurus Palo Alto : California : United States
4 recent posts (4 total)
Interests: Cross-Country Running , Sea Cadets , Small Arms , Computer Games , Shoe Shining , Sleeping , Pornography , Illegal Wars for Empire , Demonology , Serial Killers, History , Urban Spelunking , Indian Burial Grounds , Furthering the Sinister Aims of the Police State

dreadful press release No 9,453

I like the way the WRU point out that it was only until he died that Bill Clement was the oldest living Wales international:


The Welsh Rugby Union has lost another loyal servant following the death today (Sunday) of its former Secretary Bill Clement.
Mr Clement was 92 and was the oldest living Welsh international until his death.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Get your pics here, three for a pound

Today's Indy has illustrated the story about the children's laureate slagging of libraries with a pic of a kid sitting in one reading a book, but inexplicably it's quite obvsiouly a German library - she's reading a book called 'Leb Wohl, Lieber Dachs', and all the signs are in German. Must be using a particularly budget library, or pinching them off the internet. Reminds me of being a student journalist

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

10 sugars

This post at Rachel's Daily Canter (a trainee BJ) is well worth reading for its insight into the tea drinking habits of frontbenchers. Beckett (accompanied by Leo) insists on soya milk, and David Davis has as many sugars as he will fit. Sugary tea is about the only similarity between her work experience and any I ever did

Monday, February 05, 2007

Hateful New Labour phrases

Ugh. David Miliband, making a statement on the bird flu outbreak, just said he'd been in touch with the "wider poultry stakeholder community". By text message, no less.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

no chavs please, we're the BBC

Greg Dyke famously lambasted the BBC for being too white and too middle class. And, judging by this schedule for regional interveiws, not much has changed. Not many Waynes, Paiges, Nikkis or Chantelles here:



0600 CUMBRIA pres: Helen and Gordon prod: carmel
0608 RADIO MERSEY pres: LUCINDA + SIMON prod: GRACE
0615 FOYLE
0622 CLEVELAND pres: Matthew prod: david
0630 BBC RADIO OXFORD pres: dominic prod: dominic
0638 LEEDS pres: ANDREW & GEORGEY prod: SUE

Newport, Newport

What a place my home town is:


WITH PIC
Police in Newport are appealing for information regarding the whereabouts of 22 year old Peter Lewis who was last seen at midday on Saturday January 20th at his address in the Baneswell area of Newport
Peter is described as five feet six inches in height and of slim build. He has black hair that is shaved at the sides and long and swept back on top. He has a goatee beard and hazel eyes. When he was last seen he was wearing a white hoody with a navy reebok logo on the front, black jogging bottoms with a white stripe down the sides. He has the name TUPAC tattooed on his knuckles.
Police urge Peter to get in touch with them to let them know he is safe and well. Anyone who knows of Peter's whereabouts is asked to call xxx xxxx