pap

Cost of doing business in a liberal democracy. If we have to suffer the exception so that the rule is fair treatment for everyone, happy enough with that.

Picked up Beevor's book on the Second World War myself. Fascinating read. Some argue that the Second World War really began in 1931, when the Japanese invaded Manchuria. Though Beevor doesn't explicitly come down on the subject one way or the other, the fact that he spends so much time exploring them speaks volumes to the relevance of the Far Eastern situation in the early 1930s. I'm only halfway through right now, but the impression I get is that with the possible exception of de Gaulle, Beevor really doesn't have a lot of time for the French. He backs up his points, and I've seen a lot of them made before, but it is still difficult to believe that the French were quite so sh!t, the Germans and Japanese so brutal and that the US was so opportunistic in using the war to achieve a favourable post-conflict geo-political scenario. Another huge point, which Beevor makes subtly and leaves the reader to do the implications, was the Nazi plan for Russia. Surround cities and starve them to death on order to achieve the lebensraum that Hitler so desired. The number of people killed in the Russian campaign dwarfed the number that died in the Holocaust. Godwin's law is not an accident. I think that the reason that so many of us are fascinated by it is that it represents a truly perilous time. Literal hell on earth for many parts of the world. We also see a lot of the same pre-cursors happening again. Global depression, massive indebtedness of nations, the politics of division, people subscribing to widely spun half truths. Same sh!t, different century. Beevor's book is definitely worth checking out.

Excerpt from the link I posted, about a woman that was 17 weeks pregnant in an Irish hospital, suffering from complications.

Mervyn King speaks of potential triple dip recession and of his concerns that the UK is in a period of persistent low growth. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/nov/14/uk-risks-triple-dip-recession-mervyn-king

This issue has just become huge again. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/14/savita-halappanavar-medically-unnecessary-death

Unfortunately not. Oh, and before any of you pipe-hittin' nerds decide to go to town on poor Jonnyboy here for his insistence on Dirk Benedict, just be aware that one of my mates refused to watch the BSG remake after I informed him that there were no robot daggetts. Dealbreaker, apparently.

Ah, it's so sweet to observe the social eddies of Saints Web swirling about. Tokyo missing his Bear (bless!), making sexual overtures to Turkish. The gentle horseplay that one would commonly associated from fans as sophisticated as we. Good night, Jim Bob.

The whole "spaceships whacking crap out of each other" has been somewhat neglected since the end of BSG. Rejoice. Battlestar Galactica : Blood and Chrome hits next year. Even better, anyone can watch 20 minutes of the pilot right now. Looks the business from what I've seen. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT79x4qM4FE&feature=relmfu Link to Pt 2 embedded at the end of part one. Part 3 out on 16th November

His quiz show wouldn't have had a sporting element, would it?

Obligatory, I feel. One of my Uni pals supports Accrington Stanley. He's from Wigan. He doesn't know any better.

Send him to Hampshire. Alps lasted two weeks.

I would suggest that people take heed of your experience, JackFrost. For the record, do we have anyone who thinks the claims of mistaken identity are legit?

Very good approach. I suspect that viewed through this prism, most would conclude there is something very fishy about the whole affair.

It's a bit Biggles for me. I own precisely one scarf, my Saints scarf. It looks crap on its own, but the foam hands really set the look off. I know you approve.

Discovered via Forza Horizon. If you've a single rock bone in your body, you'll love this. Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups. Conspiracy hat on. Don't think it's a coincidence that they have the same initials as Smashing Pumpkins Building, soaring exploration of a single riff. Stunning.

That is forgivable, I feel. I once went to a rave dressed as "black costume Spiderman" ( red is a bit hard to conjure ). Weirdest experience ever. Total action as Spidey. F*ck all as "Pap Parker".

The BBC has flown too close to the sun before. I was actually visiting Parliament on business on July 17th 2003, the day that David Kelly was found dead, apparently having committed suicide. The most shocking thing about that day was not the news of David Kelly's death; more the matter-of-fact way that my clients dealt with the news and their immediate spoken assertion that it probably wasn't suicide. The fallout, as we all know, was a bit of debeaking for the Beeb. This feels very similar. The problem is that the questions you asked are not being asked where it matters. Every time I have heard mention of the story on Radio 4, they are very quick to assert that McAlpine was wrongfully accused. That whole line of questioning has been broken off because Messham has essentially reversed his testimony and eliminated it from consideration.

I've always thought of red trousers as being the sort of thing exchange student kids would wear. I don't get it. Is it an "I'm a member of a certain social class thing" or is it a case of "hey girls, look at my cock area"? Nothing to stop it from being both, I suppose.

I know that it might be slightly hypocritical for someone who looks like a dwarf mammoth to be ripping the fashion sense of others, but still. FFS. http://bit.ly/yguuYU Sorry about the less than plain link, boys and girls. The domain address has a swear-word in it, and we can't see that. Lord no.

That anagram's a bit of a baffler if you don't mind me saying, Bearsy. Can you provide any more clues?

I shall have to ask my paramedic mate for the full scoop.

Col, it warms my heart to see someone else discover the genius of Babylon 5. I was only really aware of the first series because the effects company used pimped-out Amiga 4000s to generate the visuals. You're right; they get a lot better as the series wears on! At the time though, think my heart was in Star Trek, and was watching Deep Space 9. I actually remember having a late-night row with a mate where I suggested that DS9 was better. In my defence, I was drunk and hadn't seen B5 at this point. Seasons 2-4 are superb. Even a lot of stuff in S1 is worth it for the payoff, but yep; some proper embarrassing stuff in there. The problem with Season 5 is that JMS, the shows' creator, never knew he was going to get to make it until the very last minute. That's why S4 has such a breakneck pace; racing to the end. The prospects of a remake are slim. Unfortunately, JMS has been pretty hardline on the subject. He feels that no-one else could breath life into those characters the same way the original actors did, and a number of the original cast have shuffled off the mortal coil. Richard Biggs ( Dr. Stephen Franklin ) and Andreas Katsulas ( G'Kar ) are both dead now. It's a shame, because despite my ill-advised protest that DS9 trumps B5, the truth is that nothing else comes close. It is the most complete science fiction story I've seen; has OMFG moments aplenty and actually has a proper stab at explaining all of religion! The treatment of humanity is especially interesting. None of this nicey-nicey Federation beeswax. At all times, humanity is both the greatest threat to itself and the greatest chance of salvation.

I'd love to see your blog, mate Guessing that this one is infinitely better, tats and all

Sorry. Still can't let it go. MISTAKEN IDENTITY?!!! Anyone supporting this explanation; do you honestly this chap Messham, who had claimed to be abused over several years, didn't know who his abuser was? Didn't look the alleged perpetrator up on the Internet? Mistaken identity doesn't wash for me, I'm afraid.

Watched a load of enjoyable junk over the weekend. Lockdown is apparently based on one of Luc Besson's original ideas, but I'm having none of that. It's Die Hard in space for the most part, redeemed by a Rule of Cool finale. Not very original, but a good enough movie. The cheesefest continued with Death Race 2, a direct-to-DVD prequel of the 2008 remake. Suffice to say, I had no expectations whatsoever - but it's decent enough for what it sets out to be, and is chock-full of goofs and continuity errors. I think my fave error is in the very first Death Race. There are 9 cars. A mob of convicts have to run to the motors; first 9 into the cars are the racers. So it's quite surprising to see them do WWE-style shots of these random drivers posing with and stroking the cars they actually ended up choosing. Particularly as three of them died within 5 minutes of getting into their cars! Death Race 2 is simultaneously competent and gloriously sh!t. Has my seal of approval.