Well the piss-up I was trying to organise for London’s emergency service workers is a go. It will be taking place on the evening of Thursday September 1st (8 weeks to the day after the first attacks) not far from … Continue reading →

12 hours of being trapped in a window seat behind the biggest man in the world with his seat all the way back making reading (or, indeed, moving) impossible; knees contorted beyond belief; forced to watch a double bill of … Continue reading →

Canada seems pleasant. Almost suspiciously so… Everyone’s polite. And it’s sunny. And despite being far too cold, the beer’s rather pleasing. And the food’s great. In fact, so far Vancouver appears to be everything that London so often pretends to … Continue reading →

I’m off to sample the delights of British Columbia on my first proper overseas holiday in about 18 months to climb mountains, swim in the Pacific and drink huge quantities of Canadian beer – back around the 26th. In the … Continue reading →

Is the government making laws that it doesn’t need to make in a vain effort to look like it’s doing something when it doesn’t know what can be done? I wouldn’t be at all surprised…

Headline of the day: Vandals continue attacks on beavers – apparently, “This time, four beavers were targeted. Reader Beaver, Beaver Crete and Busta Moves Beaver were blasted with white paint sometime before Thursday morning. Bib’s Beaver was partially unclothed last … Continue reading →

Hard to tell in the present circumstances. Either way, using an explicitly non-political meeting to commemorate the victims of the London bombings to instead spout a load of over-the-top bullshit about Blair, Israel and the US – including calling for … Continue reading →

Got m4d w3b 5k177z? Want to help democracy and stuff? Go lend your services to Tim Ireland with The Political Weblog Project. More info here: “I want to get more elected officials blogging properly. I want to do this by … Continue reading →

Another group to be added to the “potential terrorists to be scared of” list: (apparently) white Americans with no prior connection to any extremist groups. Right, so that’s anyone in traditional Muslim dress, Arabs, Pakistanis, Jamaicans, East Africans, people with … Continue reading →

Pissing hell – the world really has gone mental. I’m agreeing (almost) wholeheartedly with Max Hastings. Highlights: “Whatever steps a society takes to defend itself, these must be subject to extra-parliamentary review. Democracy in Britain is already in poor health. … Continue reading →

Russian Liberals, Communists Ask European HR Court to Cancel 2003 Elections. They won’t get anywhere, but still… And in other Russian “travesty of democracy news”, Putin’s most detested opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former boss of the oil company Yukos which … Continue reading →

Afghanistan elections relying on Canadian ink and donkeys – hurrah for incredibly confusing 400 candidate ballot papers! Yay for donkeys! Woo for Canadian ink high in silver nitrate! Huzzah for me going on a proper holiday on Monday for the … Continue reading →

Reuters – UK holds 10 foreigners deemed to be security threat. The BBC >reports these include some of the tabloids’ favourite bogeymen like Abu Qatada. Who’s already been banged away without charge for two years and is also subject to … Continue reading →