Tuesday, April 27
The other day I was wondering when I would first read this story. Lo and behold, it's today. Passive smoking is more dangerous than smoking. How about that?
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Just because you're paranoid.... David Farrer grabs his crystal ball, and does not like what he sees.
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Monday, April 26
Ian Black finally spills the beans:
"Here at the Guardian we try to tell it like it is - though frankly our tolerance for the detail is limited".
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"Here at the Guardian we try to tell it like it is - though frankly our tolerance for the detail is limited".
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Sunday, April 25
ID cards are going to be essential in the fight against terrorism. Or so says David Swampy Blunkett. So naturally, everyone must have one. Well, not quite everyone. Guess which special interest group is going to be allowed to opt out of having photos of their faces on them. Is it?
1. Very ugly people.
2. David Blunkett.
3. Female suicide bombers.
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1. Very ugly people.
2. David Blunkett.
3. Female suicide bombers.
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"Sending women to jail is inhumane and does nothing to keep us safe"
intones yesterday's Indy, which would come as news to these three little moppets I imagine, if they were still alive. And here's another Maxine suffering at her Majesty's pleasure. It's rough in there, isn't it? Still, the Indy would never let three dead babies stand in the way of its feminazi obsession:
"Some think our rapidly-expanding prison population is evidence of success, rather than failure. They believe it shows we are getting "tougher" on criminals, rather than being a sign that we are failing to confront the conditions that lead people into committing crimes in the first place".
It's our old friend 'the roots causes' again. Whatever. I reckon it would be cheaper to hire this girl's boyfriend to be put in touch with any girl named Maxine and sort them out. He wouldn't stand for any of their nonsense. Even if he would need a healthy supply of mouthwash.
Still, in case you were wondering whether the entire Liberaloid universe has it tongue buried deep within the female ass, well there's always one whose very name can just spark them off into frenzies of hatred and moronism. And it ain't this one.
"You can't understand Thatcher," says UK novelist Iain Sinclair,
"except in terms of bad magic. This wicked witch who focuses all the ill will in society. I can't understand her except as demonically possessed by the evil forces of world politics. Everything else follows from that: oil revenues blown in dubious arms deals, all real values trashed. She becomes a godhead to those who want to destroy the city's power. But the godhead is created for a system which destroys her, as always happens. Now she's been banished to a kingdom of whisky and mockery. But the fact remains that she introduced occultism into British politics and that the role of the writer was to counter that political culture."
She's only been out of power 14 years, you know.
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intones yesterday's Indy, which would come as news to these three little moppets I imagine, if they were still alive. And here's another Maxine suffering at her Majesty's pleasure. It's rough in there, isn't it? Still, the Indy would never let three dead babies stand in the way of its feminazi obsession:
"Some think our rapidly-expanding prison population is evidence of success, rather than failure. They believe it shows we are getting "tougher" on criminals, rather than being a sign that we are failing to confront the conditions that lead people into committing crimes in the first place".
It's our old friend 'the roots causes' again. Whatever. I reckon it would be cheaper to hire this girl's boyfriend to be put in touch with any girl named Maxine and sort them out. He wouldn't stand for any of their nonsense. Even if he would need a healthy supply of mouthwash.
Still, in case you were wondering whether the entire Liberaloid universe has it tongue buried deep within the female ass, well there's always one whose very name can just spark them off into frenzies of hatred and moronism. And it ain't this one.
"You can't understand Thatcher," says UK novelist Iain Sinclair,
"except in terms of bad magic. This wicked witch who focuses all the ill will in society. I can't understand her except as demonically possessed by the evil forces of world politics. Everything else follows from that: oil revenues blown in dubious arms deals, all real values trashed. She becomes a godhead to those who want to destroy the city's power. But the godhead is created for a system which destroys her, as always happens. Now she's been banished to a kingdom of whisky and mockery. But the fact remains that she introduced occultism into British politics and that the role of the writer was to counter that political culture."
She's only been out of power 14 years, you know.
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Friday, April 23
BigRonGate rumbles on, and two of the UK's most prominent moral titans have joined in: Roger Lyons of the TUC, and Ian Wright, formerly of Arsenal and Crystal Palace, and currently of the BBC. Meanwhile, his fellow commentator Clive Tyldesley waxes lyrical here, and there's a week old interview here. I hope he comes back. It would be a shame if this were all he were to be remembered for.
UPDATE: And here's a selection of Guardian readers' views on the matter. I found the response of Steve McDonald particularly horrifying. Steve explains himself thus:
"I am an Equalities and Diversity trainer and consultant. My vision and mission is to work towards a fair society offering equal access and chances to all and respect for everyone's differences, but even I feel there is another way of tackling what occurred.
Could you not put it to Ron that he work with an Equalities and Diversity expert in exploring what happened. Ron is very popular and I know that if the Guardian were to support his transitional training and counselling, many people would welcome that move.
Equalities mentors, including myself, challenge without threat, and work with people to explore their ethnocentric behaviours and deep-rooted fears and prejudices. There are many training and consultancy agencies you and Ron could choose from, but wouldn't it be better to explore this than invoke the blame culture.
No one should disrespect anyone else and making racist remarks is never acceptable, but I believe that if Ron could work through this properly, he could become a great public advocate and champion for equality as he proved to be in the past".
There's an offer it would be hard to refuse.
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UPDATE: And here's a selection of Guardian readers' views on the matter. I found the response of Steve McDonald particularly horrifying. Steve explains himself thus:
"I am an Equalities and Diversity trainer and consultant. My vision and mission is to work towards a fair society offering equal access and chances to all and respect for everyone's differences, but even I feel there is another way of tackling what occurred.
Could you not put it to Ron that he work with an Equalities and Diversity expert in exploring what happened. Ron is very popular and I know that if the Guardian were to support his transitional training and counselling, many people would welcome that move.
Equalities mentors, including myself, challenge without threat, and work with people to explore their ethnocentric behaviours and deep-rooted fears and prejudices. There are many training and consultancy agencies you and Ron could choose from, but wouldn't it be better to explore this than invoke the blame culture.
No one should disrespect anyone else and making racist remarks is never acceptable, but I believe that if Ron could work through this properly, he could become a great public advocate and champion for equality as he proved to be in the past".
There's an offer it would be hard to refuse.
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Thursday, April 22
So it's early doors, then, for Big Ron. Bit of a shame, really, as I thought he was the best in the business. Now we're going to have to settle for the likes of Jim Beglin or David Pleat when watching Chelsea play in the Champion's League Final. If Chelsea play. In the mean time there will always be Ronglish. And Here's a selection of the sixty best football quotes. I can't quite decide which is the best. 2 or 9. Bobby Robson or Mark Draper? It's too close to call.
UPDATE: It's also worth relishing the fact that Ron is also a columnist for the leading liberal newspaper the Guardian. Interestingly, as of this minute, they haven't sacked him yet. I can't quite see them showing such tolerance for Polly Toynbee, say, if she were to be caught mouthing such obscenities about Paul Boateng, even if she thought she was off camera, five minutes after the end of Question Time. Gary Younge? Well that would be different, wouldn't it?
FURTHER UPDATE: He's gone.
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UPDATE: It's also worth relishing the fact that Ron is also a columnist for the leading liberal newspaper the Guardian. Interestingly, as of this minute, they haven't sacked him yet. I can't quite see them showing such tolerance for Polly Toynbee, say, if she were to be caught mouthing such obscenities about Paul Boateng, even if she thought she was off camera, five minutes after the end of Question Time. Gary Younge? Well that would be different, wouldn't it?
FURTHER UPDATE: He's gone.
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"We should applaud Joyti, not jail her" proclaims the buck-toothed theorist Janet Street-Porter in the Indy.
"Give that woman a medal" agrees rabbit-toothed thinker Richard Adams in the Guardian.
Who is Joyti? The Florence Nightingale of our day? Mother Teresa reincarnated? No, she's a PA who stole £4.3 million from her employers. Small fry, really, in the scheme of things. I wonder if they'll take such a relaxed attitude when discussing this kind of naughtiness.
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"Give that woman a medal" agrees rabbit-toothed thinker Richard Adams in the Guardian.
Who is Joyti? The Florence Nightingale of our day? Mother Teresa reincarnated? No, she's a PA who stole £4.3 million from her employers. Small fry, really, in the scheme of things. I wonder if they'll take such a relaxed attitude when discussing this kind of naughtiness.
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Wednesday, April 21
Following on from the three articles yesterday in the Guardian declaring that any referendum on the EU consitution would get scuppered by the xenophobic jackals of the right-wing press, Johann Hari of the Independent joins in the fray, albeit on a slightly more upbeat note:
"The referendum will give pro-Europeans the chance to nail the Murdoch lies".
enthuses the young liberal firebrand.
"This is a European country and we must not allow the media to poison our sense of our own national interest".
The Indy isn't part of the media, apparently. I could have told him that ages ago. I see it more as a horror comic for jaded liberaloids, anti-Americans, and innumerate eco-freaks. Still, those are only excerpts, and I dare say a slightly more sophisticated argument might eventually develop, and if you're inclined to find out, I'm sure the whole piece will turn up later today at johannhari.com. However, for what it's worth, I think this rather bizarre attempt by the Europhiliacs to turn this into a "Who Governs Britain?" type referendum - the government or Rupert Murdoch - will backfire spectacularly. 97%! Still, if that's the ground these goons want to find this on - rather than on the constitution itself - than they will get it up the jacksy. But then our Johann isn't so hot on the maths, even at the best of times.
His heroine Polly is a bit more sanguine:
"This has indeed been the week that marks the beginning of the end of the Blair era. However long it takes, the power is ebbing from him before our eyes".
Oh well. I'm sure they'll find somebody equally nice and cuddly to take the Master's place.
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"The referendum will give pro-Europeans the chance to nail the Murdoch lies".
enthuses the young liberal firebrand.
"This is a European country and we must not allow the media to poison our sense of our own national interest".
The Indy isn't part of the media, apparently. I could have told him that ages ago. I see it more as a horror comic for jaded liberaloids, anti-Americans, and innumerate eco-freaks. Still, those are only excerpts, and I dare say a slightly more sophisticated argument might eventually develop, and if you're inclined to find out, I'm sure the whole piece will turn up later today at johannhari.com. However, for what it's worth, I think this rather bizarre attempt by the Europhiliacs to turn this into a "Who Governs Britain?" type referendum - the government or Rupert Murdoch - will backfire spectacularly. 97%! Still, if that's the ground these goons want to find this on - rather than on the constitution itself - than they will get it up the jacksy. But then our Johann isn't so hot on the maths, even at the best of times.
His heroine Polly is a bit more sanguine:
"This has indeed been the week that marks the beginning of the end of the Blair era. However long it takes, the power is ebbing from him before our eyes".
Oh well. I'm sure they'll find somebody equally nice and cuddly to take the Master's place.
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At the end of January the Indy was predicting a new ice age. We'd all be able to club seals from the comfort of our own living-rooms. Three months later, it's all change. No polar bears; apparently it's going to be tuna and sharks. Hey ho.
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Tuesday, April 20
There's going to be a referendum on the EU constitution, assuming our elders and betters can actually get to agree on one. And assuming the neo-Socialists win the next election. And assuming that some of our European partners don't kill it first. The Guardian, typically, takes this all in its paranoid stride:
"This provides a suitable springboard for Labour and the Liberal Democrats to make the case for the new Europe in real earnest. But they will have to be brave - braver than they both, particularly Labour, have been on the issue - if they are to turn public opinion around. And they will have to insist on some rules of debate - including rules about fair press coverage of the campaign - which may provoke howls of protest from the anti-Europe press but which are essential to the proper functioning of the democratic referendum that we now face".
Now that should be fun: 'rules of debate', 'fair press coverage'. Time for a Fairness Czar, perhaps. Martin Kettle doesn't like it, either:
"It will inescapably be a contest fought on terms dictated by the unelected media rather than by the elected politicians.
This is where the European Union referendum really will be a defining moment. It will mark the extraordinary watershed at which this country's debased, biased and unaccountable media formally take control of the political process".
And Timothy Garton Ash?
"Since the early 1990s, the Eurosceptic press, led by the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph, has dictated to the elected prime minister what he can and can not do in Europe... some 22 million newspaper readers pick up a dose of Euroscepticism every day, compared with about 8 million readers of papers broadly favourable to the European project".
There they go again. It's all our fault we don't buy the Guardian. This is good fun, though, isn't it? I mean, if this is what they think now, wait till it actually happens...
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"This provides a suitable springboard for Labour and the Liberal Democrats to make the case for the new Europe in real earnest. But they will have to be brave - braver than they both, particularly Labour, have been on the issue - if they are to turn public opinion around. And they will have to insist on some rules of debate - including rules about fair press coverage of the campaign - which may provoke howls of protest from the anti-Europe press but which are essential to the proper functioning of the democratic referendum that we now face".
Now that should be fun: 'rules of debate', 'fair press coverage'. Time for a Fairness Czar, perhaps. Martin Kettle doesn't like it, either:
"It will inescapably be a contest fought on terms dictated by the unelected media rather than by the elected politicians.
This is where the European Union referendum really will be a defining moment. It will mark the extraordinary watershed at which this country's debased, biased and unaccountable media formally take control of the political process".
And Timothy Garton Ash?
"Since the early 1990s, the Eurosceptic press, led by the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph, has dictated to the elected prime minister what he can and can not do in Europe... some 22 million newspaper readers pick up a dose of Euroscepticism every day, compared with about 8 million readers of papers broadly favourable to the European project".
There they go again. It's all our fault we don't buy the Guardian. This is good fun, though, isn't it? I mean, if this is what they think now, wait till it actually happens...
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Monday, April 19
The Metropolitan filth have decided that the most pressing need in the fight against crime is to keep out the honkies. The noted egalitarian Roy Hattersley, not surprisingly, is in favour:
"White critics of the attempt to "fast track" black and Asian police recruits ought to imagine how they would respond to a force which, almost entirely, consisted of black officers".
thunders the great big lump of lard. Well, I'm not technically a white man - I'm more of a half-caste, really - but let me throw in my pennyworth: I wouldn't give a damn. I just want the best. Not the blackest, the whitest, the gayest, the oldest, I just want the best cops you can get. If all the cops were black I'd be sublimely indifferent, just so long as they were the best. Where does Roy stand on this issue? He doesn't even answer his own question. Which tells us all we need to know. This isn't about 'fairness', this is all about government meddling. Hattersley evidently thinks that private companies and individuals must not be racist; Government agencies ought to be.
The former deputy leader of the Labour Party defends his bigotry thus:
"If we wait for the gradual evolution of society into a prejudice-free utopia, ethnic minorities will never get their fair share of anything".
Which, insofar as it means anything, means that the white majority will always keep out their black brethren. Does this mean that Roy thinks that the white majority are intrinsically racist, or just biologically superior? Again, Roy doesn't tell us. It's nice to know that Roy Hattersley, champion of the poor and lover of the underdog, has such high regard of his fellow Britons.
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"White critics of the attempt to "fast track" black and Asian police recruits ought to imagine how they would respond to a force which, almost entirely, consisted of black officers".
thunders the great big lump of lard. Well, I'm not technically a white man - I'm more of a half-caste, really - but let me throw in my pennyworth: I wouldn't give a damn. I just want the best. Not the blackest, the whitest, the gayest, the oldest, I just want the best cops you can get. If all the cops were black I'd be sublimely indifferent, just so long as they were the best. Where does Roy stand on this issue? He doesn't even answer his own question. Which tells us all we need to know. This isn't about 'fairness', this is all about government meddling. Hattersley evidently thinks that private companies and individuals must not be racist; Government agencies ought to be.
The former deputy leader of the Labour Party defends his bigotry thus:
"If we wait for the gradual evolution of society into a prejudice-free utopia, ethnic minorities will never get their fair share of anything".
Which, insofar as it means anything, means that the white majority will always keep out their black brethren. Does this mean that Roy thinks that the white majority are intrinsically racist, or just biologically superior? Again, Roy doesn't tell us. It's nice to know that Roy Hattersley, champion of the poor and lover of the underdog, has such high regard of his fellow Britons.
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Sunday, April 18
So, the pint-sized pop princess Dido is dating a footballer! But it's the wrong one. What's wrong with this guy?
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Saturday, April 17
Dr. David James can be added to the long list of medics I wouldn't want probing around my nether regions:
"It is surely ill-judged that so many Western governments have rushed to rule out all future negotiations with Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'ida. History shows that, eventually, governments have to talk to terrorists if the killing is to stop. We may find such a process distasteful, but the old axiom of jaw-jaw being better than war-war is undeniably true in most cases.
As for our government taking the moral high ground and dismissing such a prospect as impossible, well, they should look at their own dealings with the IRA and ask themselves at what point do terrorists move to being freedom fighters before becoming politicians?
Look at the bloody mess of Israel and Palestine, and then compare that with the peaceful re-election of the ANC this week: the former exemplifies mutual loathing and a refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue, whereas the latter shows us all that sworn enemies can move towards mutual respect and understanding if the will exists on both sides. History often judges those who say "never" as nothing more than irresponsible fools".
Come on, Mo. I can feel the hand of history on my shoulder. Europe is calling.
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"It is surely ill-judged that so many Western governments have rushed to rule out all future negotiations with Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'ida. History shows that, eventually, governments have to talk to terrorists if the killing is to stop. We may find such a process distasteful, but the old axiom of jaw-jaw being better than war-war is undeniably true in most cases.
As for our government taking the moral high ground and dismissing such a prospect as impossible, well, they should look at their own dealings with the IRA and ask themselves at what point do terrorists move to being freedom fighters before becoming politicians?
Look at the bloody mess of Israel and Palestine, and then compare that with the peaceful re-election of the ANC this week: the former exemplifies mutual loathing and a refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue, whereas the latter shows us all that sworn enemies can move towards mutual respect and understanding if the will exists on both sides. History often judges those who say "never" as nothing more than irresponsible fools".
Come on, Mo. I can feel the hand of history on my shoulder. Europe is calling.
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Ever wonder what Robin Cook has hidden under his kilt? Well it might just be a packet of semtex. At least, that's my reading of the latest free paragraph from Deborah Orr:
"There is, a Palestinian friend informs me, an affinity between the Palestinians and the Scots, who tend to identify heavily with the Palestinian struggle, seeing parallels with the travails of the Scottish nation. Possibly, this sympathy could appear somewhat self-indulgent, or over-dramatic, if not actually absurdly histrionic. The Scots, in comparison to the Palestinians have not undergone such a huge amount of national suffering. Not lately, anyway".
Time to rebuild Hadrian's Wall, I think.
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"There is, a Palestinian friend informs me, an affinity between the Palestinians and the Scots, who tend to identify heavily with the Palestinian struggle, seeing parallels with the travails of the Scottish nation. Possibly, this sympathy could appear somewhat self-indulgent, or over-dramatic, if not actually absurdly histrionic. The Scots, in comparison to the Palestinians have not undergone such a huge amount of national suffering. Not lately, anyway".
Time to rebuild Hadrian's Wall, I think.
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Say what you like about His Holiness the Pope, at least we all know where he stands on the vexed issue of whether it's okay to shag birds out of wedlock. Don't even go there, is, I think, the sum total of the ageing Polack's view. No nookie till nuptials, in other words. But the former C of E preacher David Bryant has also weighed in. And frankly I'm none the wiser:
"Sexuality is not something to be sniggered at or argued over. It should not be entombed in archaic laws, nor forbidden or reluctantly tolerated as a pandering to human weakness. Nor should it be hijacked and turned into a gender argument about who should sleep with whom. It is a unique blessing, a source of deep fulfilment, a profound joy, there to be enjoyed, reciprocated and appreciated.
Is this to advocate unbridled sexual licence? Of course not. That would lead to moral anarchy. Our sexual encounters need to be infused with a non-exploitative compassion, or they become empty and ultimately destructive. That rules out of the equation sexual violence, degradation, coercion and deceit".
Time to get rid of my old copy of Lesbian Spank Inferno, then. And time, I reckon, for Mr. Bryant to go back to the bowls.
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"Sexuality is not something to be sniggered at or argued over. It should not be entombed in archaic laws, nor forbidden or reluctantly tolerated as a pandering to human weakness. Nor should it be hijacked and turned into a gender argument about who should sleep with whom. It is a unique blessing, a source of deep fulfilment, a profound joy, there to be enjoyed, reciprocated and appreciated.
Is this to advocate unbridled sexual licence? Of course not. That would lead to moral anarchy. Our sexual encounters need to be infused with a non-exploitative compassion, or they become empty and ultimately destructive. That rules out of the equation sexual violence, degradation, coercion and deceit".
Time to get rid of my old copy of Lesbian Spank Inferno, then. And time, I reckon, for Mr. Bryant to go back to the bowls.
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Thursday, April 15
People mocked her, but it seems that Mo's olive branch has been taken up at long last. And who's to say, that with she and OBL sitting around the table, having a cup of tea and a scone, that maybe peace will prevail, once and forever?
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Wellsy's moved. Adjust your blogroll accordingly. Anybody else want to be on my blogroll? I'll put up the five most obsequious commenters, irrespective of talent, worth, or political allegiance. Just say something nice about me, and you'll be down there, lurking between investiblogger Scott Burgess, and my old pal with the hard-bitten butt, angelo, and I will leave you up there for, well, at least a week. Promise. Deadline is this time tomorrow.
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Wednesday, April 14
Never let it be said that there is never anything good on the telly. And if that doesn't get you salivating, in a couple of weeks, "I'm a Foetus, Get Me Out of Here". And what's that lurking on the horizon, ready to dazzle us all on 28th of May? Yes, it's Big Brother V. TV just gets better and better, doesn't it?
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Thursday, April 8
Dennis Waterman doesn't strike me as the kind of chap who'd be happy exploring his feminine side with a bunch of middle-aged slappers. The square-jawed thespian and star of two of the UK's greatest-ever television series is a bit of a straight-talker:
"I hate political correctness. It makes liars out of everyone".
And will he be voting for Tony come the next election?
"I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire, quite frankly. I haven't always felt like that. When he was first elected, I thought "This is nice and fresh". Now I don't believe a word he says".
You know you're in trouble when you've lost the Waterman vote. It's all over for Tony. But who will replace him? Michael Howard or Gorgeous George? Only time will tell.
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"I hate political correctness. It makes liars out of everyone".
And will he be voting for Tony come the next election?
"I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire, quite frankly. I haven't always felt like that. When he was first elected, I thought "This is nice and fresh". Now I don't believe a word he says".
You know you're in trouble when you've lost the Waterman vote. It's all over for Tony. But who will replace him? Michael Howard or Gorgeous George? Only time will tell.
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Are you a Gorgeous Real Original Woman? If not, why not? It's an experience embracing the 'Feminine Way,’ apparently, "where women – and men – can live their lives based on feminine values of love, compassion, nurturing, relationship building and community.
Excuse me while I hurl.
"By women working in co-operation with their inner selves, each other, the environment, and all of society, I believe we can create a new kind of world based on love, not fear. And it doesn’t have to be too serious. In GROW you’ll find exercises and stories that contain fun and laughter; experiences that will introduce you to new kinds of wonder and magic; and tools that will guide you into living life to its full potential".
I'd rather live in a spider-hole.
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Excuse me while I hurl.
"By women working in co-operation with their inner selves, each other, the environment, and all of society, I believe we can create a new kind of world based on love, not fear. And it doesn’t have to be too serious. In GROW you’ll find exercises and stories that contain fun and laughter; experiences that will introduce you to new kinds of wonder and magic; and tools that will guide you into living life to its full potential".
I'd rather live in a spider-hole.
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Wednesday, April 7
Three years ago Polly Toynbee was in a somewhat triumphalist mood:
"We liberals are closer to the majority. Hague is marooned in yesteryear with his shrinking blue-rinse party while we are swimming in the sea of pluralism, multiculturalism, complex families, difficult choices, all the muddle born of freedom. If we are the elite, that is because we are winning: British Social Attitudes shows people become more liberal the more educated they are. Conservatives have always been the stupid party. Graduates will soon be half the population, so Tories will be educated out of existence. To be liberal is to be free of superstition and irrational fear, open to the new, optimistic about the future, knowing there has never been a better time to be alive than now".
But that was then and this is now:
"Sometime soon, one or more Madrid-type horrors is expected in Britain with hundreds dead and thousands injured. Maybe a dirty nuclear bomb in a suitcase will blow up all over London or Manchester. Parliament is already a fortress. Atrocity will be done in the name of a rogue crazed creed, destroying the infidel for reward with heavenly virgins. Insatiable and unrealisable, there is no negotiation, no peace process, only long endurance in the face of lunacy. We will talk of causes: the Iraq war, the disgraceful failure of Bush-Blair to press peace on Israel-Palestine. We will admit blame for discrimination, school failure and unemployment among Bangladeshi and Pakistani young men. But we are looking into the face of an insane and unassuagable cult. No kind of multiculturalism "understands" this".
Well, three years is a long time in politics, eh, Poll?
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"We liberals are closer to the majority. Hague is marooned in yesteryear with his shrinking blue-rinse party while we are swimming in the sea of pluralism, multiculturalism, complex families, difficult choices, all the muddle born of freedom. If we are the elite, that is because we are winning: British Social Attitudes shows people become more liberal the more educated they are. Conservatives have always been the stupid party. Graduates will soon be half the population, so Tories will be educated out of existence. To be liberal is to be free of superstition and irrational fear, open to the new, optimistic about the future, knowing there has never been a better time to be alive than now".
But that was then and this is now:
"Sometime soon, one or more Madrid-type horrors is expected in Britain with hundreds dead and thousands injured. Maybe a dirty nuclear bomb in a suitcase will blow up all over London or Manchester. Parliament is already a fortress. Atrocity will be done in the name of a rogue crazed creed, destroying the infidel for reward with heavenly virgins. Insatiable and unrealisable, there is no negotiation, no peace process, only long endurance in the face of lunacy. We will talk of causes: the Iraq war, the disgraceful failure of Bush-Blair to press peace on Israel-Palestine. We will admit blame for discrimination, school failure and unemployment among Bangladeshi and Pakistani young men. But we are looking into the face of an insane and unassuagable cult. No kind of multiculturalism "understands" this".
Well, three years is a long time in politics, eh, Poll?
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"Can J.Lo and the four quadrants of human experience revitalise social work?"
Asks Kirsty Scott in the Guardian. Yup. She could teach them a thing or two. By sitting on them.
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Asks Kirsty Scott in the Guardian. Yup. She could teach them a thing or two. By sitting on them.
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"Let's recognise some home truths and have an honest debate about immigration".
Twitters Hamish McRae in today's Independent. Actually it would be a bit more refreshing if he were to demand a dishonest debate. Honest debate? The Indy? Well let's start here.
Last Wednesday in the Indy, the UK was "a liberal nation".
On Thursday we had degenerated into "a country of philistines".
On Sunday Paul Barker was claiming that "sometimes in Britain it seems as if there is only one story: sheer, naked panic".
And today? Well, some new figures have been published about race crimes. And the verdict of the Indy:
"There is nothing consoling about these figures; they are facts that we as a country should be profoundly ashamed of".
Make your mind up, Indygoons. Are we liberal? Are we philistine? Are we panicking? Should we be ashamed? Figure that one out and maybe then we'll start listening.
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Twitters Hamish McRae in today's Independent. Actually it would be a bit more refreshing if he were to demand a dishonest debate. Honest debate? The Indy? Well let's start here.
Last Wednesday in the Indy, the UK was "a liberal nation".
On Thursday we had degenerated into "a country of philistines".
On Sunday Paul Barker was claiming that "sometimes in Britain it seems as if there is only one story: sheer, naked panic".
And today? Well, some new figures have been published about race crimes. And the verdict of the Indy:
"There is nothing consoling about these figures; they are facts that we as a country should be profoundly ashamed of".
Make your mind up, Indygoons. Are we liberal? Are we philistine? Are we panicking? Should we be ashamed? Figure that one out and maybe then we'll start listening.
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Tuesday, April 6
Over 2000 Brits have been interviewed for a survey, with these results:
"11 per cent of the British population believed Hitler did not exist and 9 per cent said Winston Churchill was fictional. A further 33 per cent believed Mussolini was not a real historical figure".
And the title of this article? 1066 and all that: how Hollywood is giving Britain a false sense of history
Well, it is the Independent.
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"11 per cent of the British population believed Hitler did not exist and 9 per cent said Winston Churchill was fictional. A further 33 per cent believed Mussolini was not a real historical figure".
And the title of this article? 1066 and all that: how Hollywood is giving Britain a false sense of history
Well, it is the Independent.
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"Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me".
If that line means anything to you then this is the place to go.
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If that line means anything to you then this is the place to go.
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"I'm strongly against abortion. I believe life begins at conception, and therefore unborn babies have rights. I think abortion is immoral."
Here speaks someone who will almost certainly be the next Prime Minister of the UK. But who is it?
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Here speaks someone who will almost certainly be the next Prime Minister of the UK. But who is it?
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Monday, April 5
2004 is Presidential election year, and Gary Younge sums up the choice:
"Bush is a former frat boy who wears cowboy boots and whose favourite philosopher is Jesus; Kerry has wavy hair, a foreign wife and enjoys reading and writing poetry".
Sounds like a walkover for the frat boy, reckon.
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"Bush is a former frat boy who wears cowboy boots and whose favourite philosopher is Jesus; Kerry has wavy hair, a foreign wife and enjoys reading and writing poetry".
Sounds like a walkover for the frat boy, reckon.
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Friday, April 2
What with our Bev gone, white males on the rampage, social progress stagnating, and the rising tide of everything, Polly is on a bit of a downer today:
"Labour is in a weary and uninspired state of mind. One crisis follows another and the political agenda keeps slipping from their grasp. Trying to turn away from war, nothing looks better at home with no escape from "nothing's changed", "all tax is wasted" cynicism. Labour's recipe? Trudge on with more managerial improvements, hoping gradually to break voters' disbelief.
What's needed now is not more of the same, but an unexpected shock of inspirational symbolism, real politics for a change. There is a promise that would be 100% believed - a pledge to...
Well what? I'll give you ten guesses:
1. Have a referendum on the Euro.
2. Remove Tony Blair from office and replace him with Gordon Brown.
3. Merge with Sweden as soon as possible.
4. Abolish all private education, and gradually bring in a new, compulsory SureStart system, run by government-trained paedophiles.
5. Get the SAS to assassinate George W. Bush.
6. Replace the House of Lords with the House of Ladies.
7. Put VAT on all tabloid newspapers.
6. Introduce internment for all Conservative voters, though only as a temporary measure.
7. Give Beverley Hughes her old job back.
8. Send Rupert Murdoch back to wherever he came from.
9. Double the licence fee.
10. Put up the top rate of income tax.
Which is it? Here's a clue. It would have "the virtue of transparent truth".
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"Labour is in a weary and uninspired state of mind. One crisis follows another and the political agenda keeps slipping from their grasp. Trying to turn away from war, nothing looks better at home with no escape from "nothing's changed", "all tax is wasted" cynicism. Labour's recipe? Trudge on with more managerial improvements, hoping gradually to break voters' disbelief.
What's needed now is not more of the same, but an unexpected shock of inspirational symbolism, real politics for a change. There is a promise that would be 100% believed - a pledge to...
Well what? I'll give you ten guesses:
1. Have a referendum on the Euro.
2. Remove Tony Blair from office and replace him with Gordon Brown.
3. Merge with Sweden as soon as possible.
4. Abolish all private education, and gradually bring in a new, compulsory SureStart system, run by government-trained paedophiles.
5. Get the SAS to assassinate George W. Bush.
6. Replace the House of Lords with the House of Ladies.
7. Put VAT on all tabloid newspapers.
6. Introduce internment for all Conservative voters, though only as a temporary measure.
7. Give Beverley Hughes her old job back.
8. Send Rupert Murdoch back to wherever he came from.
9. Double the licence fee.
10. Put up the top rate of income tax.
Which is it? Here's a clue. It would have "the virtue of transparent truth".
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Thursday, April 1
"Let me be absolutely clear. Bev Hughes is not going, she's not resigning, she is not going to be sacked,"
said Swampy, on Monday. Wrong!
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said Swampy, on Monday. Wrong!
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Yesterday we were "a liberal nation". Today we are "a country of philistines". I'm sure there's a connection in there somewhere.
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"Britain faces a pressing task of mapping an effective strategy of engagement with Islam, one that spans both the global and local contexts".
Announces the Guardian.
"It is about when and why we embark on wars with Muslim nations; but it is also about the kinds of schools and estates which are built and the methods used by police against Muslims".
I see a role for government here, don't you?
"This may take the British state into new territory - funding the training of imams, supporting mosques which run Arabic and scripture classes - and it is vital to listen to those who have been closest to the development of the Islamist threat over the last two decades".
So the solution to the rising tide of radical Islam is to nationalise the mosques and appoint Osama bin Laden as Terrorism Czar, so we can 'listen' to him more. Makes sense to me. Perhaps Islam could replace the C of E as our institutionalised religion. I dare say Rev Kittler might approve.
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Announces the Guardian.
"It is about when and why we embark on wars with Muslim nations; but it is also about the kinds of schools and estates which are built and the methods used by police against Muslims".
I see a role for government here, don't you?
"This may take the British state into new territory - funding the training of imams, supporting mosques which run Arabic and scripture classes - and it is vital to listen to those who have been closest to the development of the Islamist threat over the last two decades".
So the solution to the rising tide of radical Islam is to nationalise the mosques and appoint Osama bin Laden as Terrorism Czar, so we can 'listen' to him more. Makes sense to me. Perhaps Islam could replace the C of E as our institutionalised religion. I dare say Rev Kittler might approve.
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"The BBC is a national and international treasure. It's one of the very few British institutions that has retained its quality and standing. But it's under attack. We need to defend it".
Announces a worried Timothy Garton Ash.
"I know of no other country where you can receive such a superb flow of authoritative, balanced, interesting and entertaining news and current affairs radio, from the Today programme as you wake up to The World Tonight as you wind down".
This is not an April Fools Joke, team.
"The BBC website is quite simply the best news website in the world, with link after link leading you to high-quality, accurate information. News 24 and BBC World are now superior to CNN in many ways. There are few other fields in which Britain is so plainly a world leader".
Well, quite. But that's another story.
"What matters now is to recognise that the BBC is one of the best things we've got - at least as important for the defence of our freedoms as the courts, and even more important for our quality of life. So we, the people, need to stand up for it".
Come on, people. Stand and deliver!
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Announces a worried Timothy Garton Ash.
"I know of no other country where you can receive such a superb flow of authoritative, balanced, interesting and entertaining news and current affairs radio, from the Today programme as you wake up to The World Tonight as you wind down".
This is not an April Fools Joke, team.
"The BBC website is quite simply the best news website in the world, with link after link leading you to high-quality, accurate information. News 24 and BBC World are now superior to CNN in many ways. There are few other fields in which Britain is so plainly a world leader".
Well, quite. But that's another story.
"What matters now is to recognise that the BBC is one of the best things we've got - at least as important for the defence of our freedoms as the courts, and even more important for our quality of life. So we, the people, need to stand up for it".
Come on, people. Stand and deliver!
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Wednesday, March 31
Anybody speak any textlish around here? She really does sound like a nice, well brought-up young girl.
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Being an investigative blogger I've been and done and some research. It seems that the Rev Ken Littler quoted below is no newcomer to the world of writing letters to the UK's most compassionate newspapers. Here's one he penned to the Guardian in February last year:
"Your front-page picture of Iraq's "rag-tag army"
writes the peacenik padre,
"eloquently captures the pathos of the situation in that country - old men in ill-fitting uniforms bludgeoned into the service of a hopeless cause. These are the men that brave, born-again Bush plans to bomb to a bloody pulp, not to mention the children and women. It would be a fitting extension of the gratuitous desert burial of the retreating Iraqi army 12 years ago. Give the man a medal! He has chosen the perfect target for the most invulnerable war machine in history. What a great way to mark the "new world order" that the third Christian millennium was supposed to usher in. So far, in the political arena, the only sign of this has been the personal and principled courage shown by Joschka Fischer".
Given the emptiness of churches these day you might have those the renegade reverend would be grateful that Bush was born-again. Apparently not.
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"Your front-page picture of Iraq's "rag-tag army"
writes the peacenik padre,
"eloquently captures the pathos of the situation in that country - old men in ill-fitting uniforms bludgeoned into the service of a hopeless cause. These are the men that brave, born-again Bush plans to bomb to a bloody pulp, not to mention the children and women. It would be a fitting extension of the gratuitous desert burial of the retreating Iraqi army 12 years ago. Give the man a medal! He has chosen the perfect target for the most invulnerable war machine in history. What a great way to mark the "new world order" that the third Christian millennium was supposed to usher in. So far, in the political arena, the only sign of this has been the personal and principled courage shown by Joschka Fischer".
Given the emptiness of churches these day you might have those the renegade reverend would be grateful that Bush was born-again. Apparently not.
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Do you like Bob Dylan? Send Norm your five favourites now. Only a few hours to go, team. Here's mine:
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue.
Changing of the Guard.
All Along the Watchtower.
Jokerman.
Just Like A Woman.
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It's All Over Now, Baby Blue.
Changing of the Guard.
All Along the Watchtower.
Jokerman.
Just Like A Woman.
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There are four letters in the Indy today responding to the Yazzmonster's recent epistle on the evils of Christianity. None take exception to her maverick belief that World War One only took place after 1930. Of the four, the last one takes the view that religion is a bad thing and we must all become humanists. It's a sign of the times, I suspect, that this is by far the most reasonable. The third letter just blames capitalism and the ruthless self-interest of politicians. That's not so surprising, either, considering this is the Indy. The first two letters, though, are far more vacuous. They're both written by priests:
"Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is to be thanked for her truthful and gently withering account of Christianity vis-à-vis Islam"
says Rev Ken Littler from Lincoln.
"It would seem that the Church, in its more reasonable and informed incarnation, has not been entirely blind to the approaching storm over the past half-century; and that, if a catastrophe is to be averted, what is needed more then ever is a reasonable and informed dialogue between these two world faiths on a basis of absolute equality".
Yes. Let's all sit around and have a cream bun and a chat. More tea, vicar?
"For innumerable people, Rowan Willams - with his profound intellect and imagination, and his Christ-like openness of mind - represents our best hope of making the Christian faith meaningful and more effective in overcoming the dangers of our time".
Does Catweasel have an open mind? Did Jesus? I thought he was a moralistic chap of rather firm views. Indeed I thought that was the attraction. But what do I know?
The Rev Chich Hewitt from Radcliffe, Gtr Manchester adds his pennyworth:
"I thank Yasmin Alibhai-Brown for the content of her article on Christianity and Islam, which contains a challenge to both faiths to look at themselves and some of the things with which they are associated. From this kind of base can come the foundation of mutual discussion and community-building among the millions of reasonable Muslims and Christians. This is not only desirable; it would also stand us in good stead if this country finds itself faced with a situation which the US and Spain have already faced".
Talk talk talk. Jabber jabber jabber. That'll put the wind up these guys.
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"Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is to be thanked for her truthful and gently withering account of Christianity vis-à-vis Islam"
says Rev Ken Littler from Lincoln.
"It would seem that the Church, in its more reasonable and informed incarnation, has not been entirely blind to the approaching storm over the past half-century; and that, if a catastrophe is to be averted, what is needed more then ever is a reasonable and informed dialogue between these two world faiths on a basis of absolute equality".
Yes. Let's all sit around and have a cream bun and a chat. More tea, vicar?
"For innumerable people, Rowan Willams - with his profound intellect and imagination, and his Christ-like openness of mind - represents our best hope of making the Christian faith meaningful and more effective in overcoming the dangers of our time".
Does Catweasel have an open mind? Did Jesus? I thought he was a moralistic chap of rather firm views. Indeed I thought that was the attraction. But what do I know?
The Rev Chich Hewitt from Radcliffe, Gtr Manchester adds his pennyworth:
"I thank Yasmin Alibhai-Brown for the content of her article on Christianity and Islam, which contains a challenge to both faiths to look at themselves and some of the things with which they are associated. From this kind of base can come the foundation of mutual discussion and community-building among the millions of reasonable Muslims and Christians. This is not only desirable; it would also stand us in good stead if this country finds itself faced with a situation which the US and Spain have already faced".
Talk talk talk. Jabber jabber jabber. That'll put the wind up these guys.
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"Britain is a liberal nation, and we should not be ashamed to celebrate our liberal values".
Announces the Independent. Discuss.
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Announces the Independent. Discuss.
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Tuesday, March 30
The Independent's esteemed theologian and contemporary historian the Yazzmonster has been musing on one of the vexed issues of the day:
"Is Christianity really better than Islam?"
She wonders, pointing out that:
"Since the 1930s the body count produced by the soldiers of Christ far, far outnumbers the deaths caused by other faiths".
Well, that's as maybe. It depends how you do the maths. But one question I myself would ask Yazza to address is this: given the option of spending a winter in a cave, which guy would be more likely to let you out with both your hands still attached to your arms, your body clad in a bikini rather than a burqa, and your clit still intact? This guy, or this one?
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"Is Christianity really better than Islam?"
She wonders, pointing out that:
"Since the 1930s the body count produced by the soldiers of Christ far, far outnumbers the deaths caused by other faiths".
Well, that's as maybe. It depends how you do the maths. But one question I myself would ask Yazza to address is this: given the option of spending a winter in a cave, which guy would be more likely to let you out with both your hands still attached to your arms, your body clad in a bikini rather than a burqa, and your clit still intact? This guy, or this one?
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Monday, March 29
- Comment Central
- Stephen Pollard
- Natalie Solent
- Two Blowhards
- Tim Blair
- Daimnation!
- Machinery of Night
- The Bewilderness
- Freedom and Whisky
- Jackie Danicki
- Biased BBC
- Civitas
- Samizdata
- Normblog
- Jim Miller
- White Sun of the Desert
- Progressive Reaction
- Dodgeblog
- Laban Tall
- Atlantic Blog
- House of Dumb
- Blognor Regis
- Burning Our Money
- The England Project
- Mick Hartley
- Iain Dale
- Tim Worstall
- An Englishman's Castle
- Unenlightened Commentary
- Squander Two
- Patrick Crozier
- Stumbling and Mumbling
- Guido Fawkes
- Brian Micklethwait
- Battenburg.co.uk
- The Devil's Kitchen
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