ninme

Only because it’s the week’s profile:

The Sunday Times - That’s not a spliff, officer, it’s a cabinet smokescreen Profile: Jacqui Smith

It was joint-up government at its best. No sooner had Jacqui Smith, the new home secretary, confessed to smoking cannabis at Oxford than half the cabinet confirmed that they, too, had gone to pot. [...]

Categories: Politics

The Times - Baboons bear fruit of birth control

Research by James Higham, of Roehampton University, and colleagues has found that the plum is a source of progestogen, and that eating it stops the female olive baboons’ reproductive cycles. It also prevented the red swelling that female baboons produce when they are receptive to [...]

Categories: Science and Nature

I’m seriously considering installing a net-nanny to block any page with the word “Harry Potter” in it. I just know some a-hole will say something.

See, the thing is, I won’t buy the American versions (early installments had the English translated to American because we’re all idiots here in this country, according to our publishing [...]

Categories: Art and Literature

She really doesn’t like pop concerts. All those wasted resources… tsk.

Freezes in Johannesburg, subzero temperatures in Australia, snow in Buenos Aires and South American endangered sea bass ambushing Algore at his daughter’s wedding, killer rains in China, earthquakes in Japan… What catastrophe could befall New Jersey? Wait, it’s New Jersey…

Categories: Science and Nature

Including a rather wonderful picture of Sophia Loren.

Telegraph - Stockings: sex, power and sheer seduction As stockings sales plummet, Rowan Pelling says you can’t beat suspenders in the boudoir or the boardroom

The lingerie dissidents would say this is the problem with stockings: they are worn for men’s pleasure, not women’s. Even if this were [...]

Categories: People and Current Events

Today I couldn’t even find golden syrup at the grocery store. Bah.

Telegraph - Sweet-talking winners of the pudding race Judith Woods tackles seven very English desserts in one evening

Pudding. Could there be a more comforting word in the English language? Heartier than dessert, more elaborate than afters, it’s a British culinary tradition to [...]

Categories: Food

Why is it that people think Mitt Romney is so good looking?

He’s not bad looking, but he’s not exactly… well, worth the constant comment, and certainly not the content of that constant comment.

You know what I think it is? I think it’s men that think he’s good looking, because he’s got lots of hair [...]

Categories: Politics

Telegraph - Four UK diplomats expelled as Russia retaliates

Russia has expelled four British diplomats from Moscow, in tit-for-tat retaliation for the expulsion of four of its own officials earlier this week.

Not quite tit-for-tat.

Categories: Geography and Foreign Affairs

Why am I doing this?

Reuters - Voters unhappy with Bush; Congress: Reuters poll

While 83 percent said Congress was doing a fair or poor job, just 14 percent rated it excellent or good. Last October, in its final days, the Republican-led Congress earned ratings of excellent or good from 23 percent of voters.

I link [...]

Categories: Politics

Thank goodness! They like to dick around with little children too!

BBC - JK Rowling rails against spoilers

JK Rowling has hit out at US newspapers that have published plot details from the final Harry Potter book. The author said she was “staggered” that papers including The New York Times had [...]

Categories: Art and Literature

The Times - How A Laydee showed that First Impressions really are misleading

A frustrated author has confirmed what other unpublished writers have long suspected: even Jane Austen would have difficulty finding a book deal in the 21st Century. But what really astonished David Lassman was that only one of 18 [...]

Categories: Art and Literature

Next time you hear a liberal go all misty-eyed over how beautiful it is over there, with their happy willingness to pay higher taxes in order to ensure the security of all citizens or whatever rubbish it’s phrased as…

Aftenposten - Irritation grows over taxes Norwegians have long accepted high taxes to finance their social welfare state, [...]

Categories: Politics

Silicon Glen - Received from an English Professor

**Received from an English Professor You know that book Men are from Mars, Women from Venus? Well, here’s a prime example of that. This assignment was actually turned in by two of my English students: Rebecca (last name deleted) and Gary (last name [...]

Categories: Art and Literature

[Previous: here and here).

Yes, I’m linking to the HuffPo. We’ll get through this together.

HuffPo - Greatest Living American Ignored, by Gregg Easterbrook

Today in Washington I was in the room as the greatest living American received a medal. George W. Bush, Nancy Pelosi and others were present. But will you ever hear this event [...]

Categories: Uncategorized

SMH - Tinseltown’s famously faithful From Christianity to Kabbalah, there’s no shortage of religious fervour in Hollywood, Andrew Taylor writes.

(There they go again. “From Christianity to Kabbalah”? From C to K! Both based on Judaism! What variety!)

When it comes to poster girls, Christianity couldn’t do much better than Jessica Simpson. [...]

Categories: Entertainment