Some old news I’ve only just noticed. Police in Malaysia have proposed fingerprinting babies at birth. And the UK is worried about mere ID cards… I remember my prints being taken when I was 11. Even then I worried that someone could track my every trivial movement, dusting library books for prints and naming/shaming me […]
New post (continued from here) so that it’s dated accurately. 0007h: Pleasant conversation between Paxman and Blunkett. Neither are favourites of mine, so good show all round. And Ken Clark was amusing before. As always. Possibly one of the few Tories I can listen to without gagging. 0010h: The increased turn-out in Erewash has just […]
Very sad this… We’re playing bingo, using bingo cards from the Times. We have strict rules: it must be on BBC2’s coverage (David Dimbleby and friends on BBC2 Scotland, as BBC1 has been dedicated to Scottish news). No channel hopping to BBC1 or ITV purely to get words. 22-something: Plus point of GE2005… Kirsty Wark […]
I’m done with sitting on the fence. I’ve read Polly Toynbee’s appeal that left-thinkers should hold their noses and vote Labour, and Francis Beckett’s rebuttal. And from non-Guardian sources: blood & treasure, ellis sharp, harry’s place, guido fawkes, and chicken yoghurt. Many other pro or anti-Labour sources out there, but there’s a limit to how […]
Yet another election-related quiz: Vote by Issue. It’s not the most comprehensive quiz, with one statement from each party to summarise it’s best point about 10 of the hottest topics. It reflects most of my results from previous tests, with agreement with the Lib Dems on 8 issues, and Labour on 2. The only issue […]
The Public Whip has a detailed record of Mark Lazarowicz’s votes. To his credit, he voted against the declaration of war with Iraq, and supported a failed motion stating that “the case for war against Iraq has not yet been established, especially given the absence of specific United Nations authorisation“. That, however, is pretty much […]
What use is the gift of a pair of pandas when there are several hundred missiles pointing straight at you? Perhaps this goodwill gesture/PR grandstanding (delete according to level of cynicism) can be turned to Taiwan’s benefit. Surely China won’t fire on their own pandas… Background information: A chronology of recent events in Taiwan How […]
From the Guardian: Hunt lobby in covert bid to oust Labour MPs. Is this a bit of American-style politics here to stay? Will “527“-like groups be plaguing our screens/airwaves/papers? I noticed a full-page ad by the GMB in the Independent last week. Under a photograph of a serious-looking Michael Howard was the following text: ACCUSING […]
From BBC news: Rivals hold historic China talks. From the Guardian: Taiwanese opposition leader in Beijing talks. From Xinhua: CPC, KMT leaders shake hands in historic meeting. I’m mildly amused by how UK news outlets refer to Lien Chan as the opposition leader, and how Xinhua refers to him as Chairman of the Kuomintang（国民堂） first […]
Warning, long post ahead. I spent my lunch hour reading all the bumpf that’s been shoved through our letterbox while the cat fought for attention by shedding hair on the leaflets (she didn’t like the Tory leaflets, that’s for sure… Must remember to tell Tory-boy…). I thought I ought to list the key point the […]
akatsuki ra-ra-ra 