Don’t you just love this? Ostensibly about errors of science in films, it touches on a most significant point: It is a common misconception of evolutionary theory that organisms are always getting “better”, with humans somehow the “best”. This goes hand-in-hand with the idea that there will be some later, better, superhuman, the “next stage [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Technology & ideas
1. The theory which best supplants the notion of the Creator is: a. Dr. Spock b. Evolution c. Natural selection d. Evolution 2. The highest form of man is found in: a. Barack Obama [Debt Prize winner] b. Colonel Gaddafi [Clear Thinking consultant] c. Gordon Brown [Worldsaver] d. Britney Spears [Evolution of the Blonde] 3. [...]
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Filed under: Diversions
If there were ever the necessity to be reminded of the existence of three political forces, Statist, Free-enterprise or Them, it’s in the Berlusconi Show. James Wilson offers a definition of the political divide: The State has one pole, not two, and puts two parties or more in orbit around it to keep people amused [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
This probably sums it up better than most.
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Filed under: Politics & economics
You all know the old joke about playing aircraft crashes as inflight entertainment. Well, this could be the perfect tonic for you if you hate flying and it’s grand entertainment for airline employees. Japanese airlines believe in hair of the dog: Charred aircraft wreckage, mangled black boxes, photographs of orphans clinging to coffins – Japan’s [...]
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Filed under: Diversions, Leisure, travel & sport
The lure of the orient was irresistible for Puccini and Delibes … Flutterby: Lakmé:
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Filed under: Music, Society & human issues
OK – here’s the task. Firstly, identify the country for each flag and secondly, if you know that these countries are ranked, by the World Economic forum, in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 71st in macro-economic stability, which would be in which place?
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Filed under: Diversions, Politics & economics
Psst! You wanna buy some … ? The Quiet Man explains. Britology Watch has this: I wanted to write to congratulate you and the entire England squad on regaining the Ashes … throughout the series you have led England from the front … I would like to invite the England squad in to Downing Street. [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
The essential problem with Westminster and American politics is that it is determined to divide opinion into two main camps, red and blue. Yellows, purples and light blues might be heard from time to time but the main thrust is always bipolar and everything is arranged around those poles. Leaving that aside, we are coming [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
See Part 1 here. At the 2nd Day Fiscal Crisis session, with John Redwoood, Matthew Elliott [TPA] and an adviser to world companies, it came out that: Credit rating agencies are making it very clear that Britain could see it’s debt downgraded if the next government doesn’t put the UK debt burden on a secure [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
Part 2 is here. The TPA estimates that it is costing the UK £120bn a year to be part of the EU, £5000 for every household. Daniel Hannan said the EU was making us poorer, less democratic and less free. It’s not just the billions handed over but the political implications. Several councillors pointed out, [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
Part 3 is here. Ray Mallon [Middlesborough Mayor] said the single greatest issue at local level is anti-social behaviour. The root causes of this have been the subject of many posts and many blogs worldwide, from the steady drip, drip, drip of socialistic thought permeating the appointment policies to the extent that the only mode [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
Part 4 is here. Very early at the Conference, Andrew Allison and I looked at one another and though Andrew is far more embroiled in UK politics than I am, due to his local area and TPA work, still he observed that we, as bloggers, may have been “punching above our weight this week”. This [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
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Filed under: Music, Society & human issues
Solution to last evening’s: 823 6228 + —- 7051 … is is one of many valid answers. This evening’s: A rich aristocrat decided that he would give every man $45 and every woman $60. Only one ninth of the men and only one twelfth of the women collected their dues. Can you tell me how [...]
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Filed under: Diversions
Thanks, Lord T, for this inaugural guest post. Food for thought: How many times have we seen on the news, either the TV, the papers or the web that ‘An armed gunman was killed today in a shoot out with Police. The IPCC are investigating.’. Quite a few times in the last few years right. [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
It’s still quite a way down the track for me but the Conservative OAP proposals are interesting: The party’s health spokesman Andrew Lansley said those taking part in the voluntary scheme would pay an estimated 8,000 pounds in return for free residential care for life. Under the current rules, anyone with assets worth more than [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
Solution to last evening’s: The third: the rest of the letters sound similar: xi, chi, psi, pi, phi. This evening’s: Can you replace the letters in the sum below to make a valid calculation. Each letter represents one number only and each number is represented by only one letter: DOG FOOD + —- NICE Solution [...]
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Filed under: Diversions
Warwick McFadyen writes about a constant problem: As we neared the end of the line, it was comforting to read a list of things the gallery would rather its patrons did not do, one of which was: could you all please turn off your mobile phones. Splendid idea. The contemplation of genius should not be [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics
The EU – it had to come up and the disconnect was that I was in the Freedom Zone, labelled in the programme as the Fringe, This was no good, in my book because it was the only space in which the ordinary person [or blogger] could meet and put questions to people who [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics
The Economic Voice was recently driving between Crickhowell and Brecon with his family after a lovely Sunday lunch and drove past this view with the music below it: See if you feel the same way.
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Filed under: Music, Society & human issues
Limited posting – more when yours truly returns from the Conference.
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Filed under: Blogging
Brian Monteith is speaking at the moment on the Health and Safety ‘creep’ whereby a H&S measure is then applied inappropriately in another area, with add-ons so that we end up with a bizarre situation of banning Marmite for children because it contains too much salt. The food police, said Roger Helmer, telling us how [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Solution to last evening’s: Fever, queue, zoo, mat, speaker, person, backgammon, house, wax, jury, diligent. This evening’s: Which is the odd letter out? Solution same time tomorrow evening.
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Filed under: Diversions
As I write, Chris Grayling is cutting the ribbon for the Freedom Zone and the bubbly is flowing. Tim Montgomerie is speaking on patriotism and the ignorance of British history. He mentions a woman who said that she wanted her child to have a decent education, to celebrate Christmas again and so on. So that’s [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Ross Fountain is a good lad but he shares the same misconceptions with the rest of our countrymen about Russia. He wrote: Of the world’s 30 largest economies only China, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia are not democratic and 3 of those are dependent on natural resources rather than human capital for their wealth. I [...]
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Filed under: History & Culture
The Quiet Man writes of paperwork: Paperwork is the bane of my life, it prevents me from actually doing the job I’m being paid for (yes I know paperwork is necessary on occasion) by keeping me in an office filling out forms rather than fixing/maintaining the equipment I’m in charge of. All in all though [...]
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Filed under: History & Culture, Politics & economics
The Asia Times reports: The arrival of about 3,000 US Marines in the Philippines next week for training and humanitarian missions in the wake of recent floods has some Filipino officials wary that the soldiers could be diverted to war-torn Sulu island, where Islamic extremists recently killed two US soldiers. The scheduled deployment represents five [...]
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Filed under: History & Culture, Politics & economics
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Filed under: Music, Society & human issues
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