I know, I know. It happened in Dubai: “A father-of-three who was found with a microscopic speck of cannabis stuck to the bottom of one of his shoes has been sentenced to four years in a Dubai prison.” “A search by customs officials uncovered a speck of cannabis weighing just ...
Read MoreQuestion of the day…
With today’s high gas prices, might it be possible to rent a hybrid vehicle like the Toyota Prius from a company like Avis for less than it would cost to drive your SUV? I might try it out; a permanent Prius rental.
Read MoreJefferson and America and religion
Little pleases me more than a discussion with a modern-day evangelical conservative who has been told all their life by their conservative parents, teachers or mentors that America was ‘founded on God’ and who hold Thomas Jefferson as the embodiment of their values. The fact is, as mentioned in this ...
Read MoreArtie walks off the Stern show
I heard it shortly after waking up yesterday morning, an incredible piece of live radio that will make Howard Stern Show history: sidekick Artie Lange having a heated on-air argument with his assistant Teddy, then launching himself at him and having to be restrained by several Stern show staffers, then ...
Read MoreWhat I’m reading today
Reason Online refers to the case of a seven-year-old school kid whose permanent record at school now includes “Sexual touching against student, offensive.” The boy slapped a girl’s bottom in class one day, prompting the teacher to call the police. Neither the boy’s mother nor the girl’s mother believe the ...
Read MoreComments on Heston and on Incest
Heston Our original article here: Today, Kevin Yuill eulogises Charlton Heston, agreeing with us that Moore was “bullying”, “disgracefully.” Yuill summarises, “Heston’s hands may now be cold and dead, and he may have cut a forlorn figure in the past few years, but he remains a giant compared with Lilliputians ...
Read MoreBrown on Brownies
Sometimes I wish members of parliament would smoke cannabis more often. It would be great if we could sit down and watch the news one day to hear the words, “well folks, we’ll rejoin the presentation of the Budget just as soon as the Chancellor stops his bout of uncontrollable ...
Read MoreShame on Michael Moore
Charlton Heston died on Saturday. The man who played Moses in The Ten Commandments was known for playing such heroic roles. In the 1950s and 60s he was “one of a handful of Hollywood actors to speak out openly against racism” and later a vocal advocate of conservative politics. It’s ...
Read MoreLadies: Learn to love the wolf-whistle
Instantly, upon reading that title, feminist hackles are raised. But how sound are the reasons for that? The news in the past week that the British building company Wimpey has banned its workers from wolf-whistling at passing women comes as no surprise to me: “In the 21st century the wolf whistle ...
Read MoreWho will get your vote?
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Read MoreWeird Wednesday – We’re Not Seahorses
It’s the nightmare of many men: being pregnant and giving birth. According to some commentators that very fear was played on by the series of Alien films, in which people would get infected and have baby aliens bursting from their bodies. Seemingly some men have maternal instincts. But I guess ...
Read MoreThought for the Week – The Vice of Social Etiquette
Would you give up your seat on a city bus for an elderly person? A pregnant woman? Someone with a load of shopping bags? A disabled person? I would do pregnant women. Well, when I say “do” I wouldn’t literally “do” them there and then on a city bus, but ...
Read MoreRemembering Mitch Hedberg
“I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to too.” Three years ago, almost to the hour, legendary comedian Mitch Hedberg was found dead of “multiple drug toxicity” including heroin and cocaine, in his New Jersey hotel room. Now, this may seem like a strange thing for ...
Read MoreKeeping it in the Family
Tom and Stephanie sat on the grass in the Minneapolis sunshine, gazing lovingly into each others eyes. They were always glad of the short time they could spend together away from their spouses and kids. Tom regarded his family life as being “in a life I don’t want to be ...
Read MoreNew readers…
“I’ve only been on this website about a day and a half but I bloody love it.” This quote today from Joe, a reader who’s been dominating the comments sections over the past day or so. Welcome, Joe. Our traffic is twice what it was this time last year; thank ...
Read MoreUngracious? Insulting? Patronising? MOI?
I was called these things in this exchange at Will & Testament after giving my opinion about a subject with which I’m intimately familiar: the British addiction to pomp and ceremonialism. My friend William Crawley did a fantastic job of hosting for the BBC a live 90-minute program covering the ...
Read MoreThought for the Week: The Vice of Chuggers
Anyone who lives in Britain is probably well acquainted with the “Chugger†phenomenon. Since I’m not sure if our transatlantic friends have “chuggers†or not I’d best spell out what they are. “Chugger†is short for “charity muggerâ€: people who work for charity fundraising companies and hang out in the ...
Read MoreWired Self-Portrait
Wired asked their readers to submit self-portraits and published the top ten as decided by readers. This is one of them. (I wonder what we’d see if we asked our own readers to do the same?)Â
Read MoreGod: Easter Bunny Writ Large?
With Easter upon us we enter one of the most religious periods on the year and, as with Christmas, we are treated to endless debates about the historicity and meaning of the events being celebrated. I’ve given our religious brethren a bit of tough time over the past few weekends ...
Read MoreThe Second Amendment Debate Begins
The events leading up to this case include a resident of Washington D.C. who challenged the city’s law banning handguns in the home for self-defence on the basis that the law is unconstitutional. Now the US Supreme Court has heard arguments for the first time on what the 2nd Amendment ...
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