Meanwhile, in other police news, Coppers in Birmingham are being armed with Tasers as a matter of course. Until recently, only firearms officers were so equipped. Sadly, this means that it’s only a matter of time before someone is killed by one of these things. That’s what happens when you start flinging 50,000 volt charges
Like the Devil’s Kitchen, I’m late getting to this story travesty. The most enraging aspect of it is, of course, that one can no longer be surprised by this kind of behaviour. Yet again the police and the criminal justice system prove themselves out of touch with common sense or decency. A grandmother has been
I am a great admirer of John Rentoul’s series of Questions to Which the Answer is No and recommend it to you without hesitation. Until today, however, I had not known of the inspiration for this splendid feature. Discovering that it all began with the Daily Mail is no great surprise and could anything really
I’m not going to intrude into private grief. But, as mentioned before, there’s a considerable disconnect between the England fans (many of them anyway) and the tabloids. As this wince-inducing Sun frontpage from the day after the draw was announced makes clear… So, readers, what do you think England should do next?
It’s beautiful Friday afternoon, the World Cup is on and, frankly, it’s no time to be working. So, here’s a good thing for you: a brilliant mash-up of The Wire and Toy Story. Trust me, you’ll like this: [Hat-tip: Ezra Klein]
Sunder Katwala has already done a terrific job dismantling this fatuous piece of New Statesman guff by James Macintyre. But that doesn’t mean other people can’t play the game too. Macintyre, you see, wants to see a United British football team. Not, mind you, because he thinks it might be better than England’s but because
Well, up to a point. Too Big To Fail is a phrase we often hear these days and one that by now you may well be bored by. We don’t hear much about its companion: Big Enough To Fail. But that would seem to be the case with BP and the Gulf of Mexico. Even
One of the stranger aspects of watching World Cup coverage in the United States is ESPN’s choice of colour commentator and studio analyst. Who knew that what this tournament really needs is Robbie Mustoe’s analysis? Then there’s Steve McManaman and Ally McCoist and Efan Ekoku all of whom are working for the Americans for, frankly,
In Washington at the weekend, I spent some time talking to a friend who works on privacy and civil liberties concerns. He’d been a little worried, professionally that is, that the Obama administration might reduce his workload and disappointed, personally that is, that it has not. Far from it in fact. Today’s example is a
Never let it be said that politicians will cling to even the meanest post until the torch and pitchfork brigade come calling. Labour MSP Frank McAveety has stood down from his position as the convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee. And why? Because, during a committee meeting he was heard to say: “There’s
James Joyner has a good round-up of liberal disappointment with Barack Obama’s oil-spill televised address last night and Jonathan Bernstein’s take seems measured and sensible to me. So does Ross Douthat’s since Ross points out, correctly, that the President couldn’t win, not least because he’s supposed to “take control” of a political problem that cannot
Pleased to be back in Blighty and pleased too to see that the Economist has launched Johnson, a blog about language and politics. From the most recent entry: Germany has a cranky coalition government and garrulous politicians, and so conditions are good for political insults. In one intramural fight a health ministry official from the
Hats off to the New York Post: And we’ll have no more jokes about Scottish goalkeepers, ok? [Thanks to RF for the tip.]
Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images Not sure how much blogging there will be these next few days as I’m off to Washington to a) attend a wedding, b) catch up with old friends and c) watch a lot of football. Granted c) could be accomplished here too. Nevertheless, consider this an open thread for, well, anything
In 2006 David Cameron said: “This coyness, this reserve, is, I always think, an intrinsic part of being British. We are understated. We don’t do flags on the front lawn.” Now that he’s Prime Minister and there’s a World Cup on, Dave has (quite reasonably) decreed that the Cross of St George will fly above
Oh my, what a credulous press corps we have. Selectively credulous that is. Put it this way: if a report compiled by a Philip Morris board member suggested smoking was good for you it wouldn’t be taken terribly seriously. But let an ASH board member – in this case Dr Anna Gilmore – put together
I dare say this sort of thing happens in other countries too but, in general, it seems a Very British Story: A woman from Cwmbran, Torfaen took out a bank loan and lived on beans on toast for a year to pay £1,800 in vet bills after her pet chicken injured its leg. Vicky Mills,
As the build-up to the World Cup continues, my latest item at Goal Post defends Italy and the Italian way of playing football. Some of this, I confess, is based on sentiment. If Scotland cannot prevail – and it seems that some techinicality has made that more than usually impossible this year – then Italy
My old friend Iain Martin wonders if or when David Cameron will pick up the phone to have a word with the American President: Team Obama has chosen to set about a British company with increasing ferocity. Will there come a point when Cameron decides that the British national interest and pride makes a measured
I’ve only just got round to reading Ed Balls’ piece in the Observer in which he argues that Britain should be more protectionist in europe. Of course that’s not quite what he says, but “revisiting” the question of the free movement of peoples across the EU is essentially a protectionist measure. Anyway it reminded me