David Aaronovitch offers some perspective on the cartoon row.
Superb.
Later
John
Been Away from the Keyboard for a few days due to my father coming for a visit. The flat he rented had no internet access so I was deprived of my usual unfettered access to Hemlock, Glenn, Simon and all the other great Bloggers.
Chelsea beat Colchester but not before Colchester took an early lead and forced Chelsea to sub on Joe Cole and Frank Lampard at half time - a performance worthy of a Championship side, which the U’s will no doubt be next year.
Saw “We Will Rock You”. It was a great musical which really got the audience going and which had totally shite writing. Seriously, Ben Elton dropped some really, really, really banal jokes in. His writing was almost as bad as the grammar found in this paragraph.
As the weeks roll by I step closer to moving back out to the Home of the Shiny Green Suit and in doing so, approach the task of overhauling this heaving website. I relish the challenge.
Right, time to sleep.
Later
John
Yeah, I couldn’t resist writing and posting a review on iTunes so I guess I can just copy and paste, heh.
Radin fans have been waiting a long time for the young songwriter’s first full length album and now that it’s arrived their patience has been rewarded.
Along with new arrangements of favourites from the “First between the 3rd and the 4th” EP such as ‘Closer’ and ‘Winter’ which both achieved fame on the soundtrack of the popular TV series ‘Scrubs’, “We Were Here” also features some astounding new material that showcases Radin’s evolution into one of the most promising new artists today.
“These Photographs” has a playful melody that sits very well on top of Radin’s earnest lyrics and “Star Mile” returns to the fundamentals of his guitar-based songwriting that made his early work such a great musical trip.
Truly an excellent album from an up and coming artist. Buy it now and enjoy the smug satisfaction of being able to point to its download date when the wave breaks and everyone starts picking it up.
Later
John
His first album since the brilliant “First between the 3rd and the 4th” - having made a few appearances on the latest series of scrubs, the new album looks to be a stormer, I’ll offer a review (complete with requisite pretentious overtones) in the coming days.
Later
John
This letter from the chairman of the England & Welsh Bar calls for a written English constitution.
I can’t begin to describe precisely how wrong the suggestion is. I will nevertheless have a bash at it:
Legislative Supremacy of Crown in Parliament.
A written constitution would require - amongst other things. The removal of every function of the Queen of England and with it fundamentally the throne including the reconstitution of every single existing criminal sentence under a different authority, the re-gifting of every honour received, the total dissolution of Parliament, the construction of a new parliamentary legislature, capable of binding itself, the creation of a body of judges who at once wield the power of constitutional interpretation whilst somehow dealing with the massive farce that is a party-political supreme judiciary (as in the US) and a hundred other matters.
This is utterly ludicrous.
Does an Englishman want to know his rights? His constitution?
His rights are preserved both in the Human Rights act of 1998 and by the pre-existing common law principles upheld by the courts.
He is a subject of the queen and can vote for his members of parliament and in practice his government in elections held every 5 years.
Offenders are prosecuted in Her Majesty’s name, she is the commander of the Armed Forces and the font of all honours.
That’s all he needs to know, that’s all he honestly cares to know - why in god’s name would you want to pull apart an edifice to the glorious identity of the United Kingdom (our unique constitution), which was forged by hundreds of years of what can only be described as Utter Britishness and which is completely devoid of the issues plaguing modern documentary constitutions?
No, that’s enough now - stop this ridiculous trend of constitutional reform for constitutional reform’s sake. The abolition of the Lord Chancellor’s post was an unnecessary display of posturing, go no further than that.
Later
John
“prepare for a holocaust”
“Kill those who insult Islam”
Honest to goodness banners at the recent London demonstrations over the Danish cartoons. Watch them for yourself.
“Jiiiihad! Jiiiihad! Jiiiihad!”
If that’s not a contravention of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 as amended by s.39 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, then I don’t really know what is.
‘You’re not allowed freedom of speech, but we’ll happily scream support for the murder of thousands and enjoy your benefit system while we’re at it.’
Awesome.
Later
John
It’s not often that I agree with the Sun but their coverage of Corporal Pritchard, the 100th British soldier to die in the line of duty in Iraq was the most accurate, “100th Iraq Hero Dies”. None of the other papers managed to so much as scribble his name without talking of lies or deceit or bending his name for political gain.
The Times has an interview with Corporal Pritchard’s father about the soldier.
Whatever your opinion of the war, they’re all heroes; every single one of them. I’ve yet to meet one which would disprove such an assertion.
Later
John