From the comments here: Starting an illegal war and allowing the banks to ruin the economy, neither of those is sufficiently serious to bring down a government. But a couple of free dinners… The original piece is interesting as well - the Telegraph smearing a couple of Lib Dem MPs, one for letting his daughter … Continue reading Quote of the day
Banditry
Charlie Brooker sums up Britishness with t3h excellence: I was born in the 70s and grew up in a tiny rural village. There was, I think, only one black kid in my primary school. One day, someone pushed him over and called him "blackjack". The headmaster called an impromptu assembly. It involved the entire school, … Continue reading A thing of beauty
The shouty left are far more likeable than the New Labour 'left' or the Tory right in general, and their opinions on the things that really matter - murdering foreign civilians, locking people up without charge, banning freedom of speech, and such like - are generally spot on. However, one way in which they drive … Continue reading Evidence-based policymaking
Doctors? Engineers? Refugees from torture? No, the consensus is apparently that the people we most want are third-world mercenaries. Not quite sure why 'being a mercenary who signed up in the full knowledge they'd get a giant sack of money and no British passport' ought to put one to the top of the 'British passport' … Continue reading What sort of people do we want in the UK?
In an example of 'embarrassing lack of imagination', I'm going to post the top words that my phone believes I want to type when presented with a given letter. Maybe this could be a new meme, if people are really that bored. NB I use my phone to blog, Twitter and send work emails, as … Continue reading Top words
In light of recent events, and some people's comments on them, it's worth clarifying English law on murder. The current direction on when an act can be classed as murder was handed down by the House of Lords in R. v. Woolin: Where the charge is murder and in the rare cases where the simple … Continue reading Whatever it is, it ain’t murder
People appear to actually be slightly surprised, shocked, and even upset that Gordon Ramsay's gastropubs use pre-made food. People are silly. Absolutely everyone in foodservice, outside of the very top end (which gastropubs charging £15 for a main course are, obviously, not) uses pre-made, bought-in dishes. Indeed, Ramsay is a step higher than most: at … Continue reading In Australia, it means ‘food poisoning’
I recognise that reading the comments on CiF is a surefire route to apoplexy and insanity. However, this is an excellent bullet-pointed list of Mad Things That Angry Right Wing People Believe, and hence worth reproducing: In response to your puzzling question, what specific 'freedoms' have we lost? And please be specific. Although it was … Continue reading Did you forget to take your medication?
On reading of Phil Spector's murder conviction last night, and the suggestion that it might devalue his (indisputably great) achievements, my first thought was 'anyone who thinks that is a tit'. That starting point got me thinking about historical figures who, despite providing unequivocal net good to society, were despicable bastards in their private lives. … Continue reading Da do ron ron ron da do ron ron
Still mblogging, so can't face messing about with links. If anything intrigues and confuses you, google is your friend. 1) Stephen Frears's High Fidelity. Best geeky boy film ever, one of best love stories ever, terrifyingly accurate insight into my past relationships ever, etc. I know Nick Hornby also relevant but I've boycotted praising him … Continue reading Top 5 Things That Have Made Me Happy Today