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Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Category: UK Page 4 of 8

Friday Notes: Sovereign Edition

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On November 14, 2008

In Law, Policy, Politics, Society, UK

Happy 60th Birthday, Chuck.  Now get a job and move out of your parents’ house(s), you twit.

~

Speaking of twits and Kings, the King kids are as classy as ever, looking for a piece of the action on t-shirts featuring pictures of Obama and King.

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How’d you like to be in the position of having to buy a new country?  The Maldives, who expect their homeland to be submerged by rising sea levels (thanks, Global Warming!) are testing the market.

~

So, what did eight years of a Bush Administration – which is all about promoting democracy (with a little dash of By Any Means Necessary, remember) – do for Burma, which suffers from one of the most repressive regimes on the planet?  Nothing.

Remembrance Sunday

By

On November 9, 2008

In Personal, Society, UK


Photo by smcgee.

A Headline You Don’t See Every Day

By

On October 14, 2008

In Policy, UK

From the front page of the Guardian, right now:

FTSE 100 up more than 6% as president confirms America will follow Britain’s lead

And all it took was a near-complete meltdown of the financial systems!

Like “Yankee Go Home”, But Different

By

On October 13, 2008

In Policy, UK

Iraq’s Prime Minister tells the Brits to get out:

British combat forces are no longer needed to maintain security in southern Iraq and should leave the country, Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, has told The Times.

Well, let’s go then.  I’d aim for the end of the week.  Whatever happens is on al-Maliki.

Why It’s Important to Save Your Money

By

On October 3, 2008

In UK

Yes, it’s who you think it is:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hzQsvxtLTM[/youtube]

Socialists of the World, Unite!

By

On September 28, 2008

In Policy, UK

I’ve got a deep and sincere dislike for lazy cynicism, but that’s about all I’ve got right now:

The [British] government was this morning expected to nationalise buy-to-let lender Bradford & Bingley, as the global credit crisis deepened with the giant European banking group Fortis also being partially taken into public hands late last night.
[ . . . ]

The crisis spread to Belgium where Fortis, its biggest private employer, became the first big European casualty of the credit crunch. Last night a deal was reached between EU and national banking officials and Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg ministers; the three governments will pour €11.2bn into the bank.

Anyone know how to play the fiddle?

And Here’s Your Moment of Sad . . .

By

On September 24, 2008

In Personal, Politics, UK

Let me put this on my permanent record: I had more faith in and hope for Tony Blair than I ever did George Bush.  One of the few bright spots that I recalled from the result of 2000 was thinking that at least Blair could help keep Bush in check. There were, as you might imagine, many lessons that came from the disappointment that followed.  I was reminded of most of them when Tony Blair sat down at the Daily Show last week.  In case you missed it:

And part 2:

Hey Ma

By

On September 19, 2008

In Music, Personal, Society, UK

No Weekend Music edition tonight.  I spent the day at a legal forum in which various legal responses to terrorism were discussed.  Some of the discussion was quite informative, and others less so.  But that all sort of faded next to the reminder that I got of the fact that so many people (in power and otherwise) have long since stopped understanding the human costs of their actions.

This is James’ Hey Ma.  I warn you – it’s not an easy thing to watch.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdYFOABd1DM[/youtube]

Friday Notes: Ridiculous Things Edition

By

On August 29, 2008

In Politics, Society, Travel, UK

Palin?  Small-town mayor to heartbeat away from the Presidency in less than two years?  Heh.  This will be . . . interesting. Kay Bailey Hutchinson painful to watch, trying to spin this as a positive. Here’s a good observation, from a dkos commenter:

I welcome a VP nominee who has demonstrated that she has realized that the Republicans are the party of complete corruption and are void of any moral compass, let alone any patriotism.

Palin has moved against, accused, and turned in Murkowski, Don Young, Ted Stevens, and others.

McCain needs to be asked:  in just a few years Palin has moved against the total corruption that has gutted the Republican Party in Alaska.  What, Sir, have you done in Washington to address the total corruption of the Republicans there?

And Palin needs to be asked:  has the Republican Party served Alaska well?  Is this what we need for the country?

CNN just talking about today’s McCain event “This is something we never – never see at a McCain event – a full packed house in a large venue.”  Ouch.

Update: Oh, lord.  This is just too good not to share.  Fox News’ Steve Doocy explains to us how Palin does have foreign relations experience (seriously):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwWGS73v4_k[/youtube]

Update II: And just to show that there’s a market for that kind of stupidity, there are already idiots repeating it as an actual argument online.

Update III: Blueweeds gives this pick the serious consideration it deserves.

~

Brits are managing to make the proverbial Ugly Americans look like pikers.  C’mon, guys, this is what Spain is for.  Keep it there, please.

~

A plan to go to a Yankees game before Yankee Stadium came down recently fell through, and this makes me completely fine with that:

The Yankees are serious about their bizarre prohibition on going to the bathroom during the playing of “God Bless America” during the Seventh Inning Stretch: a man was dragged out of the stadium for daring to stand up and move around instead of singing a patriotic, religious song.

If I were still to go, I’d probably buy this t-shirt for the occasion.

Weekend Music: Children’s Hour Edition

By

On August 8, 2008

In Music, UK

The plan, at the moment, is to stay up to watch the Olympic men’s road race (cycling), which runs well past 3am EDT.  So given 1) the events of the day, and 2) that I’ll have the time, later, I think I’ll make this a double header.  The first edition will start off with actual children’s songs, from different generations.  The second edition?  More about children than for them.

The first comes from the Animaniacs, and fits well with the Olympic theme I seem to have, today:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDtdQ8bTvRc[/youtube]

The next comes from a special Sesame Street effort by Fiest:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fciD_II7NI[/youtube]

And finally, a song/video that I will always hold near and dear – Rupert and the Frog Song:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auCDOERZyE[/youtube]

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