Out-of-touch, privileged, cosseted from the real world, little or no interest in what goes on beyond their bubble, imbued with an arrogant born-to-rule sense of their own importance; sons, daughters, nephews and nieces of former occupants, inheriting
Continue reading →Our Sweet Lords
Watson Tide
If we were to think of those who voted for the 2003 Allied invasion of Iraq and did their utmost to block any investigation into the affair, certain obvious names would leap forward; it’s significant that these
Continue reading →Angels with Dirty Faces
An 11-year-old in Jefferson County, Tennessee this week shot dead his 8-year-old neighbour because she wouldn’t let him play with her puppy; the shotgun belonged to his father. Across the Atlantic almost fifteen years earlier, Bristol
Continue reading →Asda’s Got a Brand New Bag
From this Monday, the whole might of the law will prevent supermarkets from giving free carrier bags to consenting adults. Not really a proper law, but an Order made under the Climate Change Act, which allows extra
Continue reading →Straight to Hellas
With creditors at the door, Greece hovers on the brink of bankruptcy, is finally declared insolvent and then has to be bailed out by an international financial authority. No, not 2015, but 1893. I’ll refrain from saying
Continue reading →Flagged as Inappropriate
When Oasis signed to Creation Records in 1993, Liam Gallagher was asked why the sleeve of the band’s demo tape had featured a striking image of the Union Jack looking as though it was being sucked down
Continue reading →Why I Think Edward Snowden is a Hero
by Kingbingo
This is a guest post by Kingbingo, a long time contributor to this blog.
Life used to be pretty good for Edward Snowden. He had a good income of over $100k from a job
Continue reading →Everybody Here but those Turkeys
It was late morning in the Porcument, and Peter the Pig was in mid-nap, dreaming of better times.
Was it really only a few years ago the heroic Sir Stuart Bell had spent days and weeks
Continue reading →This is the Self-preservation Society!
You cannot avoid the Angelina Jolie story this morning, it is spread across every media outlet. A chance to have a gawp at her breasts – but it’s all in a good cause…
In case you
Continue reading →The NHS and Whistleblowers.
“NHS spends £15million (the same as 750 nurses’ salaries) on gagging 600 whistleblowers.” The headlines are particularly shrill this morning – and utterly misplaced.
The NHS is an inanimate object, a legal entity, comprised of human beings. Human beings that we
Continue reading →Socialist Surrealism
This week we have an object lesson in what happens when you dig up the the dead Victorian body of your Great Grandparent, prop it up in the hallway in a sharp 2012 suit, and hope that
Continue reading →Attack of the Rouge Landlords
Those evil Rouge Landlords.
They’re at it again, terrorising tenants up and down the land.
At least in the imagination of anti-landlord campaigners.
Unfortunately, when Shelter did some research to try
Continue reading →London Underground – Shearing the Olympic Sheep
I find myself – unusually – travelling the London Underground, from St Pancras to Waterloo; coincidentally during the height of the Olympic boom.
According to Transport for London, there will be an Continue reading →
Polly Maths
London 2012 Olympic Torch Flames Going Postal
So you can’t afford an Official Olympic Torch from the 2012 Relay, complete with 8000 holes:
Representing the inspirational
Continue reading →Sir Robin the Hood?
How do you write about a terminally boring, hugely complicated, but very important subject?
And especially a subject that could have 10 volumes written about
Continue reading →Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS)
I’m delighted to announce the relaunch of (yet) another left of centre lesser-spotted Flatpack Thinktank, The
Continue reading →Don’t embarrass Kerry McCarthy MP, Comrades.
Overheard on the Twitter, Kerry McCarthy MP wishing that a drunk had been killed before he could ‘breed’.