Elsewhere in today’s Guardian, George Monbiot admits that it’s awful that he’s profting from the unfortunate fact that newspapers continue to run advertisements paid for by awful car companies and airlines who are – as you know – hellbent on destroying the planet. Happily he has an ingenious solution: But some lines seem clear. Why
He wrote this nearly a month ago but it’s still pertinent. So, in a bid to encourage my old friend Neill Harvey-Smith to post more frequently, take a gander at his (excellent) advice to David Cameron and the Tories: The message coming from the Tories has been that Brown’s pre-Queen’s speech was “nothing new”, that
I must say I haven’t enjoyed a hatchet job as much as this one in, well, far too long. It is deliciously, extravagantly spiteful. I have no idea – and frankly care not – if Matthew Scully’s hilarious assault on the reputation, person and character of Bush speechwriter Mike Gerson is at all accurate. It
Norm alerts me to the concept of the googlenope (similar to the googlewhack, just less common). So I’m delighted that (until now I suppose), the phrase “Happiness in Galashiels” has been beyond google’s reach. This will come as no surprise to residents of Selkirk, Hawick, Melrose, Kelso, Jedburgh… etc ad infinitum.
Americans or, for that matter, anyone unfortunate enough to know little about – and worse, care nothing – for cricket may be advised to pass by this post. You’ve had your warning. As a kid I used to spend rather more time playing imaginary games of cricket than might have been considered wholly healthy. Actually,
A by-god-he’s-right post from Julian Sanchez: A little while back, I heard a band that introduced me to a new and particularly tragic category of artistic badness: They were exactly good enough to suck… Read on, dear friends, read on…
Cheney makes the anti-war case rather convincingly (in the light of recent events). Of course he’s speaking in 1994, explaining why the first Bush administration declined to press for regime change in Iraq after the liberation of Kuwait (or, rather, after restoring Kuwait to its own less than liberal regime): Now, sure, this clip is
Sorry: mini and arguably unnecessary blog-holiday. Back to regular posting this week.
Even political bloggers and policy wonkers seem to feel the need to write something about Barry Lamar Bonds. Matt Yglesias says he must be the best ever; Brian Beutler – being a self-respecting Dodgers fan – must and does decline to endorse that opinion; Megan McArdle is infuriatingly non-commital while Dan Drezner reminds one that
Mr Worstall alerts one to some useful new words, including: Testiculating – waving your hands around and talking bollocks.
Dave Weigel is doing yeoman work, live-blogging the Presidential candidates’ forum at YearlyKos in Chicago. Even allowing that politicians are at their worst when speaking to baying mobs of their own crazed supporters this sounds unspeakably grim. Reading Dave’s commentary it’s clear that it’s as vital to stop John Edwards as it is to derail
Iain Dale, the eminence grise of the UK blogosphere, is asking for submissions for his latest guide to the best political blogs. Apparently the top blogs will be decided by a public vote this time, meaning that you, dear reader, can have a say. Exciting stuff, no? Iain tells me that he may compile a
This eyebrow-raising quote comes from Ezra Klein: “Insofar as there’s a tension between the army and progressives, it’s cultural and ideological…Progressives are quite skeptical of using military force, if not of those who make up the military ad that creates his own frictions. To say that the argument is between progressives and the military is
As someone who doesn’t possess a driving license I am, natch, super-excited by this: [Hat tip: Hit and Run]
Wes Clark is, once again, doing well at YearlyKos. One of the oddities of the 2004 election was the feebleness of Clark’s campaign. True, he lacked political experience and that showed, but even so the lack of focus and the strategic failures of his campaign were palpable. Then again, not everyone would have been surprised.
Anther snippet from Alastair Campbell’s Diaries which, despite being partial in every sense of the word, are packed with crack for political junkies: Saturday December 15th 2001: TB [Blair] told me from the [EU] summit that Berlusconi was arguing that the food agency should go to Parma because of the cuisine there. TB said he
Reason’s Michael Moynihan reminds me that I’ve been remiss in not posting the video of George Galloway pretending to be a cat while appearing on Celebrity Big Brother. There’s no pressing need to post this, beyond reminding oneself just how vile Galloway is. And to think that this is a Member of Parliament… O tempora,
Once more across the transatlantic divide, my friends… I’m not sure televised sheepdog trials would ever be likely to become a hit in the United States. This, then, is another difference between the old and new worlds. So it is sad to record the end of an era: Phil Drabble, the long-time presenter of One
I’ve defended Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of the Wall Street Journal, but that’s not an endorsement of his political sensitivity. From the Campbell diaries: Thursday January 17th, 2002:Murdoch was coming in for dinner and… brought James and Lachlan [his sons]…Murdoch was at one point putting the traditional very right-wing view on Israel and the Middle East
If you’ve not tired of the “Baghdad Diarist” pseudo-controversy, The New Republic has published a statement defending and, to my mind, confirming the essential accuracy of their story. I doubt even this will be good enough for the hacks and harpies on the loony right, but it ought to satisfy reasonable observers. (Then again, being